Kane had thought his tear ducts had dried, and yet, droplets rained down his cheeks. Tink. Fully immortal. His forever. “Thank you,” he said, the words for Tink, for Malcolm and his leader. “Thank you so much.”
Malcolm looked to the sky, paused and might even have smiled. “I have been told to tell you the baby reformed with his mother. Though he is only a few days old, he is specially gifted, and very strong.” After dropping that bombshell, he vanished.
A baby. A boy.
To know this soon...
Kane almost couldn’t process the news. Reverently his hand moved to his wife’s still-flat stomach.
Her eyes were wide and luminous. Then she laughed, joyous. “A baby, Kane.”
“Are you happy?”
“More than I ever thought possible. I always thought my gift and my circumstances were a blessing and a curse, but all along they’ve been a blessing, never a curse. I’m alive, and we’re going to have a baby, a baby that will be free—and you’re free, Kane. You’re free! The demon is dead. He’s no longer a part of you or me.”
He buried his face in the hollow of her neck, breathed her in. “What you did for me...I’ll never be able to repay you. The price you paid...the pain you just endured...” He shuddered. “Don’t you ever do anything like that again. I need you. You’re mine. We belong together.”
“Now and forever.”
He pulled back to peer into her eyes. The stitches had burned from her cheek and the swelling had gone down, but even still, a jagged six-inch line stretched over her skin. The hole in her chest had been filled, but there was a big, puckered scar.
“The injuries happened before you were fully immortal, so the evidence of them will never go away, I bet,” he said.
“Are they bad?” she asked, rubbing the scar on her chest.
“Bad? They’re amazing. Like you. Badges of courage—of your love for me.” He searched the rest of her, groaned. “We need to cover you up.” He tore off his shirt and tugged it over her head, concealing her bare breasts. He removed his pants and handed the material to her, leaving him in his underwear.
She smiled, a big happy smile. “The women are going to be drooling over you.”
“They can drool, but they can’t touch.”
“Because you’re mine,” she said, “just like I’m yours.”
“Forever,” he said.
“Forever,” she agreed.
A forever that would be very busy. “I want this kingdom at peace before our son arrives. I want Cameo and Viola found, and my debt to the Sent Ones paid. I’ll have to help them find the demons that killed their king.”
“Together, we can do anything.”
He kissed her, soft and sweet. “For now, I’m only interested in holding you, feeling your heart beat against mine, and proving you really are alive.”
“I think you want to remove my clothes,” she replied huskily.
He kissed her again, this time strong and sure. “Yes, but the removal of clothing is only step one.”
“And step two?”
“Come. I’ll show you.”
Lords of the Underworld Glossary of Characters and Terms
Aeron—Lord of the Underworld; former keeper of Wrath
All-key—a spiritual relic capable of freeing the possessor from any lock
All-Seeing Eye—human with the power to see into heaven and hell, past and future; Danika Ford
Amun—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Secrets
Anya—(minor) goddess of Anarchy; beloved of Lucien
Ashlyn—human female with supernatural ability; wife of Maddox
Atropos—a Moirai
Baden—former Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Distrust (deceased)
Bianka Skyhawk—Harpy; sister of Kaia, Gwen and Taliyah; consort of Lysander
Black—one of the four shadow warriors; famine
Cage of Compulsion—artifact with the power to enslave anyone trapped inside
Cameo—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Misery
Cloak of Invisibility—artifact with the power to shield its wearer from prying eyes
Cronus—former ruler of the Titans
Danika Ford—human female; girlfriend of Reyes; known as the All-Seeing Eye
Deity—former king of the Sent Ones (deceased)
Ever—daughter of Maddox and Ashlyn
Fae—race of immortals that descends from Titans
Flashing—transporting oneself with just a thought
Galen—former second-in-command of the Hunters; keeper of Hope and Jealousy
Gideon—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Lies
Gilly—human female
Glorika Aisling—mother of Josephina
Gorgon—immortal creature able to turn any living being into stone
Greeks—former rulers of Olympus before Titans
Green—one of four shadow warriors; death
Gwen Skyhawk—Harpy; sister of Kaia, Bianka and Taliyah; wife and consort of Sabin
Haidee—former Hunter; Amun’s wife
Hunters—mortal enemies of the Lords of the Underworld
Josephina Aisling—half human, half Fae; aka Tinker Bell, Tinker Hell, Tink, Tinky Dink
Juliette—a Harpy
Kaia Skyhawk—part Harpy, part Phoenix; aka the Wing Shredder; sister of Gwen, Taliyah and Bianka; consort of Strider
Kane—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Disaster
Klotho—a Moirai
Lachesis—a Moirai
Lazarus—an immortal warrior; only son of Typhon and an unnamed gorgon
Legion—demon minion in a human body; adopted daughter of Aeron and Olivia
Leopold—only Fae prince
Lords of the Underworld—exiled immortal warriors now hosting the demons once locked inside Pandora’s box
Lucien—coleader of the Lords of the Underworld; keeper of Death
Lysander—elite Sent One
Maddox—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Violence
Malcolm—a Sent One; member of Zacharel’s army
Marigold—a female from the past
Moirai—three immortal witches who weave destiny; aka “The Three Fates,” “hobags”
Neeka—deaf Harpy; prisoner of the Phoenix
Never-ending—a portal into hell
Olivia—an angel; beloved of Aeron
Olympus—former city of the gods; now known as Titania
Opulens—the Fae upper class
Pandora’s Box—made of the bones from the goddess of Oppression; once housed demon high lords, now missing
Paring Rod—artifact with ability to rend soul from body
Paris—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Promiscuity
Penelope—queen of the Fae
Petra—female Phoenix
Phoenix—fire-thriving immortals descended from Greeks
Princess Fluffykans—Viola’s pet Tasmanian devil
Realm of Blood and Shadows—location of the Lords of the Underworld’s current fortress
Red—one of four shadow warriors; war
Reyes—Lord of the Underworld; keeper of Pain