Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (14 page)
Read Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) Online
Authors: Chrissy Peebles
Tags: #romance, #love, #fantasy, #paranormal
“
Yes. I’m well aware of
your feelings, or lack thereof, toward Aramis. But I didn’t have a
choice. Hekili saved my life and in return I had to give him
whatever he wanted,” Atargatis responded. Although he regretted
promising his daughter’s hand, he had every intention on keeping
his promise.
* * *
Letting the flowing current of the
water assist her, Echo darted through the dimly lit passages toward
her chamber. The sun above was starting to set and soon the
floating orbs of light that laced the passages would brighten to
full capacity, making it easier for the Mers to see. Even though
they had the capability to see in full darkness, it was a draining
magical power they reserved for when they truly needed
it.
Upon entering her chamber, she spied
her younger sister’s orange tail and flowing long brown hair.
Nerissa had been waiting by the entrance for her. Echo swam by her
without a word, too upset to speak. Nerissa started to enter the
chamber after her, but paused when she heard Echo’s best friend,
Ariana, call her name.
“
What’s wrong with Eck?”
asked Ariana.
“
I’m not sure yet,” Nerissa
answered. “She just swam by me without saying a word, but I’d bet
my life our father is involved somehow.”
Nerissa and Ariana entered Echo’s
chamber and found her resting on her kelp bed. Cradling her face in
her hands, she was crying with an occasional wince thrown in. Mers
hated to cry because clear crystals would form in the corners of
their eyes instead of tears, stinging them.
Echo looked up and dropped her hands
to her lap when she realized she was no longer alone. They could
then see the last of the tiny crystals falling from her
eyes.
Ariana hung back as Nerissa swam over
and rested beside her sister. Growing up, Nerissa and Echo had
always been very close. And although many of their physical
features were different, she and Echo were very much
alike.
Putting her arm around Echo, her voice
laced with concern, she asked, “What has our father done this
time?”
Before she answered, Echo looked
around her spacious chamber. Her eyes fell upon the layers of coral
rock adorning the farthest side, some of the layers protruding out
farther than others. Those particular layers were the ones she used
to display the numerous treasures their father had given her
throughout her life. She’d spend hours looking at them when she was
alone with just her thoughts. Her favorite was a palace her father
had carved from seashells when he was a young merchild. But now she
looked at them as if they were his way of buying her off so she’d
do what he wanted—to marry and mate with the person she hated the
most—Aramis.
“
He’s refusing to budge! He
won’t release my obligation to marry you-know-who!” she finally
answered. It made her almost ill to say his name, so she avoided it
whenever possible. “I just don’t understand why he’s forcing me to
marry that blowfish!”
“
I wish I had an answer for
you, sis. But who knows what runs through our father’s mind when he
does the things he does.”
Nerissa was all too familiar with the
way their father tried to control their lives. She knew she was
fast approaching mating age as well and was already preparing
herself to have to deal with him. He could go to Scylla or
Charybdis before she was going to let him have a say in who she
married.
In the next moment Ariana swam up to
Echo. They’d grown up together. Her father was once a Guardian for
the Royal Guard under the command of then General Atargatis. The
girls had become fast friends and were inseparable.
Stopping in front of Echo, Ariana
tucked her turquoise fin beneath her and gently settled against the
sandy bottom. She brushed the strands of her long brown hair away
from her face, draping them over her bare breasts and then rested
her hands on top of Echo’s.
“
I hate
seeing what this is doing to you Eck. And I’m so disappointed in
your father for putting you through all of this.” She turned her
head and winked at Nerissa before looking back at Echo. “But
we
promise to find a way
to help you get out of this mess.”
Slipping through the depths as fast as
she could, Naia made her way to their secluded spot. They were
meeting in secrecy because neither of their families would approve
of their union.
Book 3
– ETERNAL
VOWS BY Chrissy Peebles (A full length book at 63,000 words. It’s a
combination of paranormal romance and fantasy
adventure.)
BOOK
TRAILER
:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_w-eZwPJbA
Blurb
:
Never
marry a stranger
...even if he is a
drop-dead gorgeous immortal king.
Never pretend to be a
princess.
And most
importantly
...never slip on an ancient
wedding ring you know nothing about.
Sarah Larker returns to a cave where
her sister disappeared ten years earlier. She walks through a
portal and is mistaken for a runaway princess on the run by a
dangerous immortal king in medieval times. Her plan is bold as well
as daring—become this princess, wed the king, and slip on an
ancient wedding ring that will unlock the portal back home. Then
find her sister and run as fast as she can out of Dodge. But taking
on the identity of Princess Gloria comes along with dangerous
consequences; and slipping on the ruby ring comes with an even
higher price.
Eternal Vows
(Book 1 in The Ruby Ring
Saga)
By
Chrissy Peebles
Copyright © 2012 by Chrissy
Peebles
Cover design by: Willsin
Rowe
Edited by: Autumn J. Conley
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise)
without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner
and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously.The author acknowledges the trademarked status and
trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of
fiction, which have been used without permission. The
publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated
with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Chrissy’s
blog:
http://chrissypeebles.blogspot.com/
Book
Trailer for Eternal Vows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_w-eZwPJbA
Chapter 1
A soft
growl echoed in the darkness. Sarah snatched the thermal imaging
camera from the row of equipment by the fire. Turning in a slow
circle, she scanned the dark trees beyond. Nothing moved. Just as
she was taking a few tentative steps through the ferns and thick
brush, a branch snapped, making her jump. Another growl pierced the
silence.
She clutched her chest, as if
that might calm her racing heart.
Five
years as a Bigfoot researcher, and she was still not used to the
occasional howl. Then again, no animal she had ever encountered
before had made such an ominous and menacing
sound.
She
stopped for a moment and listened, her heart thumping hard in her
eardrums. “Show yourself!” Her voice echoed from the trees with a
courage she couldn’t feel. A shiver slid down her spine as she
pulled her radio off her belt. “Base camp to Adam. Computer
screen’s flashing like crazy. Something broke the perimeter
line
.
”
The radio crackled and a voice
answered. “Adam to base camp. What zone?”
“
Zone 3. All cameras up and
running, but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. I’m getting
sounds over here—some movement too. I’m gonna check it out.
Over.”
“
Wait…all by yourself?”
Adam’s snort carried through the static. “No way. Just because
you’re running this operation, that doesn’t give you permission to
break protocol. Stay by the fire. We’re coming.”
“
Sure, bring in the
cavalry.” Sarah rolled her eyes as she picked up her infrared
camera. “Listen, in the meantime, I’ll just walk around the
perimeter, that’s all. Maybe I’ll see something.”
“
Roger that. Just be
careful.” The radio transmission ended.
She
straightened and peered around in the darkness. A branch snapped
behind her, followed by another.
How many
creatures are there?
She switched on the
walkie-talkie and moved her fingers over the buttons; she could
barely see what she was doing. “Base camp to Adam. Something’s
coming down the hill.”
Sarah
pointed the FLIR camera straight ahead, then took a few more steps
into the foliage. A red amoebic-looking blob on the scanner screen
began to morph, growing larger as it took on a humanoid shape. She
gasped.
Oh, this time they’ll see. This
time, I’m gonna have more tangible evidence than mosquito bites and
a bad case of poison ivy in places where I didn’t even know I had
places.
She spoke into the radio, “Get over
here NOW! I’m getting a heat signature on the thermal. Something’s
moving closer…something really freaking huge!”
“
We’re on our way!” said a
voice over the radio. “Stay put and be careful!”
She shouted into the walkie-talkie.
“Is every team still in place? Nobody was supposed to return to
base camp without my permission. Do you hear me, Adam?”
Her radio crackled as Adam answered.
“All teams accounted for. Nobody near base camp. Wait for a team. I
repeat, wait for a team.”
Her heart
rate spiked.
Could this really be that
elusive creature I’ve been stalking?
“Are
you kidding? This is what I came here for. It’s what
we
came for. I’ll stay
within the perimeter and proceed with caution. Trust me, I’m not
leaving in a Medivac.”
The red
blurb disappeared from Sarah’s monitor. She held her breath, her
head whipping from left to the right, ears and eyes straining to
take in any tiny noise she could make out. Moonlight flooded
through the trees, and a cool breeze blew across her face. Crickets
sang, and mosquitoes buzzed. She held down the lever on her radio.
“I’m not seeing anything. Whatever it is, it’s gone now.”
Is my mind playing tricks on me? No way. The
thermal definitely picked up something. A bear?
Possibly, and if it was, I probably spooked it off.
She spun in a slow circle, extending the thermal
image camera; suddenly, there was a snap of another
twig.
