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Chapter 34 - Toven
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Circle of the Stars Chapter 35 - Thane
I felt it in my belly before the call ever came through. I knew something had happened to her. To Hollyn. Like a light had been snuffed out inside me, I felt the moment she lost consciousness. My world plunged into the darkness with her. "Seems your brother is getting lax in his duties as bodyguard, lover," Ainsley said in my ear. The complete deadness on her end of the line signaled an encrypted channel. "What do you want, Ainsley?" I asked, but I already knew. And I knew I would do anything to get Stretch back. "Exactly what we talked about. Show up at the gala, be charming and sexy. Tell daddy that you were wrong. That you undercut Jonathan on purpose, knowing it was him."I gritted my teeth. "Why does this matter so much to you? It's a buried comm line out in the middle of nowhere.""Why doesn't matter. Not to you and your performance. Just do what I want, and you'll get your dirty whore back. Fight me on this, make a stink, or try to go around me, and I'll make sure y
Circle of the Stars Chapter 36 - Hollyn
I blinked rapidly, tried to clear the clouds and mist from my vision. It still looked like I was standing in the middle of a cloud bank. I reached up to rub my eyes. Only I couldn't. Restrained once again. Damn it. I reached out with my senses. It didn't work in this world as well as it had worked when I was in the Village. Nature whispered to me there. But all the cement and metal in Triport blocked that communication. Nothing whispered back to me. Time for the old-fashioned route."Hello?" I called softly. "It's awake," a hard, feminine voice called. She grabbed at something on my head and yanked. I rolled my lips in to keep from shouting when she pulled some of my hair out with whatever the cloth had been. I blinked again, glad my eyes hadn't been lying to me. They were still working. I looked up at the woman. She had a very thin body. So thin, I could see most of her bony parts. Her hip bones looked like mountain cliffs in her tight muted green dress. Her dark red
Circle of the Stars Chapter 37 - Toven
Wednesday afternoon"The signal is still in one place. I've got it narrowed down to two buildings. They're packed so closely together, that the signal is bouncing," I told Tag over the phone. "Give me both addresses. My team is ready to set up surveillance. We just need a spot."I sent him the geotag for the tracker. I didn't know what kind of battery it had, but it was a miracle it had lasted this long. I prayed to anyone and anything that would listen that we got to her in time. Thanked the universe for letting the tracker work. For giving Tag the foresight to put it in her clothes.We'd sat around the last two nights trying to come up with a plan to get her out before the gala. Everything we came up with bordered on insane and carried a super high risk of getting Hollyn hurt or killed. They were thrown out immediately. "Once we get a solid location on her, I'll hit you back," Tag said and hung up before I could say anything. I sent up another string of prayers and pleas
Circle of the Stars Chapter 38 - Tagan
I double clicked my mic in the affirmative. My tech guy, aptly named Radar, had piggybacked the signal Tove had on the tracker for Sweetcheeks. I was in the building across the street. I gritted my teeth as I looked through the thermal imaging glasses. At least she was all alone in that ancient hotel room. On the top floor, her guards were two doors down in both directions. The windows had all been boarded over so I couldn't see her with my eyes. But I knew that body, even if it was outlined in rainbow colors. "Setting up eagle position," Banksy said through the comm link. I double clicked again. I wasn't moving from this spot until I could put my hands on Sweetcheeks. After this, I was going to lock her up in the penthouse. Bar the doors. Demand blood sacrifice before anyone else was allowed in to see her. I took a picture of the thermal imaging with a date/time/location stamp on it. Once we got her back, I was going to toss all of the Christiansens under the fucking bus.
Circle of the Stars Chapter 39 - Hollyn
Friday night - Autumn GalaI skimmed my hands down the sides of the dress. I wondered if Ainsley thought giving me a dress with as little material as possible was in some way an insult. Joke was on her. I hated clothing. The dress was really beautiful though. A long line of fabric that hugged every inch of my skin. It was a very pale green, like shoots of new plants in the spring. It also had huge sections missing over the sides and it was slit up so high I couldn't wear any panties. Again. Joke was on her. Panties were the devil in my opinion. Or the master. I snickered. The way Tagan reacted to the strappy outfit Camara had found flitted through my mind. A slow smile pulled at my mouth. Maybe panties wouldn't be so bad if it got that kind of reaction all the time. "Wipe that smile off your face, you trashy girl," Ainsley hissed at me. I rolled my eyes at her, pulled the smile wider. "You might have tricked me into following you at the store. You might even have been in
Circle of the Stars Chapter 40 - Thane
I wiggled free of Ainsley's touch. My stomach threatened to rebel at having her hands on me. Even through the barrier of clothes, it felt wrong to have someone other than Stretch touching me. "Get the fuck on with it, Ainsley. I'm sick and tired of your shit," I said it under my breath as we passed the mayor and his wife. The man was one of the best we'd had in our city for a long time. After the wars that sprang up following COVID-19, he'd been a voice of reason. The man was a huge advocate of self-policing and natural consequences. "Then you should have just done what I told you to do the first time around, lover," Ainsley said. I clenched my fists to keep from slugging her in the face. I wasn't a violent man, and definitely not against women. But this particular one made me want to do her physical damage. Especially after she kidnapped Stretch to force my compliance. "What do you even want with the land, Ainsley? There's nothing out there. We've checked. Multiple times."
Circle of the Stars Chapter 41 - Hollyn
I turned around and stepped forward. If anyone would be getting punished, it was going to be me. Not these brilliant, brave men who'd done nothing but accept me for who I am. I dipped my head. "Master."He stepped closer and I forced myself not to move or shiver. He punished weakness to a brutal degree. "We've missed you in the village, Hollyn. It's time for you to come home."Grumpy, sweet, brave, stupid Grumpy, stepped forward, wrapped his arm around my waist. "That won't be happening. We're keeping her."My eyes fluttered closed. Hollyn. I squeezed them shut now. No. No. No. Get out of my head. I screamed it. Howled it. I grabbed both Tove's and Grumpy's hands. I needed their help. This close to the master, I needed their help to resist his call. Their fingers entwined with mine. Take what you need, sweetcheeks, Grumpy said. I believe in you.So do I, Tove added. You'll kill them. They have no magic of their own. You'll rip their spirits from their chest
Circle of the Stars Chapter 42 - Thane
I pulled Hollyn's limp body up into my arms. She'd crashed into sleep as soon as we were ensconced in the car. Tove jogged forward, hit the button for the elevator as Tag parked the car. "When do we start the campaign?" Tag asked softly as he joined us in the elevator. "Tomorrow. We need to figure out what they want the land for. There's no way they went to this much trouble just for a buried communication line or the right thereto." Stretch wrinkled her nose as she settled herself deeper into my arms. "Did you see her when she stepped up to that douche, Patrick?" Tove asked Tag. "I about blew my load right then and there. Nothing sexier than your woman getting all feisty.""Or when she cowed Ainsley," I said. "As soon as we were out of eyeline, she dropped me like a hot potato. Keep that bitch away from me, Thane." I tried to mimic Ainsley's voice. By the chuckles from the other two, I was pretty successful. "Damn, I'm glad she's back," Tag said as he watched her.
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Circle of the Stars Chapter 138 - Epilogue II
Eleven Months Later"Give me my babies, Grumpy. I carried them. I get to hold them." I held out my arms. My tired and noodley arms. I didn't care if I could barely hold them up. I was going to snuggle with my three girls until we all fell asleep anyways. He slid the one wrapped in purple into my arms. "So bossy, cheeks." He kissed my sweaty brow. "I love it. But I'm still the boss." My daughter's blonde hair and dark purple eyes were a startling combination. Her dusky skin made her even more exotic looking. I blew a raspberry at him. "That's what you think. We've got you outnumbered now."Tove carried over the little girl snuggled in pink. "Yes, you do. We're all going to be wrapped around your fingers. Hell, I already am and I have no problem admitting it." With her citrine eyes and black hair, she was just as pretty as her sister. Thane smiled. He laid the little bundle of yellow on my chest. "I'm right there with you. They're perfect, Stretch. Just like you." Little Miss Sun
Circle of the Stars Chapter 137 - Epilogue
One month laterI looked at the little computer screen. Squinted. When that didn't help, I rubbed my eyes. Blinked. Looked at the screen again. "Are you sure?" I asked. The nice dragon smiled at me. "Very sure, my lady."I grimaced at the name. But no matter how many times I told people not to call me that, they continued to do so anyways. I shook my head. "I still don't believe you.""Cheeks, you're pregnant. You can't tell me all the crazy mood swings and eating us out of house and home has been lost on you," Grumpy snapped at me. His face was basically plastered to the little screen. I glared at the back of his head. "If that's so, maybe I should go live with Drace and Finn. They won't bitch at me."He turned with a snarl. "Try it and see what happens."The dragon healer chuckled, the sound a little uncomfortable. "Perhaps we could all calm down. New mothers, especially dragon carriers, need to be calm and happy." I raised my eyebrows in victory at Grumpy. "Yeah. No m
Circle of the Stars Chapter 136 - Hollyn
"Where is she? Where's my granddaughter? Hollyn, he was lying. He was lying, baby!" Ari raced up. Tears and fear soaked her voice. "I would never do that. Not ever. You're mine. Just as your mother was mine. I don't trade one for the other. I'd never do that." I looked up at Tove, his blue green eyes smiling down at me. "Think I should talk to her?"He nodded. "You know you want to. I can tell." He gave me a cheeky wink. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Watch it, mister."He smacked his lips to mine. "You just smashed Merlin into light particles. I'm pretty sure you can handle a discussion with your Grams."I smiled hugely. I had smashed Merlin into light particles. His bitchass was no more. My eyes widened. "Shit!" I pushed Tove off me. "We've got to get out of here. Merlin's gone. The Valley could collapse at any second."Ari crushed me into her body. "He was lying. He was lying. I swear to you he was lying." She kept saying the same thing over and over again, her eyes wi
Circle of the Stars Chapter 135 - Toven
I still rushed forward. I would do whatever was necessary to help her win this. To get her back. To bring her home. Literally blind, I plowed into someone. She gave a hoarse oomph as we smashed to the ground and rolled. "Batman," she whispered. Then she settled her lips on mine. Two more heavy bodies crushed down on us. She inhaled sharply. "Can't...breathe."With a grunt, I forced myself to my hands and knees. Made a cage of protection over her. My brothers rolled off to the sides. "Sorry!" Tag said as he popped back up."Damnit, Tag," Thane snarled. "You good, sweet girl?" I whispered. She nodded. "As long as you're all here, I'm better than good."Soon, she was in our arms in another Hollyn burrito.
Circle of the Stars Chapter 134 - Hollyn
I saw his smug stupid face as he smiled up at me.He raised a hand. The energy crackled like pale pink lightning in his palm. His lips moved. The stores of my magic that had been topped off with Chaos' boost bubbled and writhed as I filled them with starshine. There were no longer any stars in my bright Autumn sky. None. Save for one. The sun. Using a thread of Chaos' magic, I linked up to the shining orb that rested high above our globe's heavens. The power shivered and danced through me. An unbreakable link that let me see far beyond what my eyes were capable of. The hint of pink shot from Merlin's hand, straight at me. I steadied myself. Prayed that my magic would hold me true. That I wasn't going to be the reason everyone in my life, in this fucking Valley, died. Just as the spinning, crackling sphere of pure energy neared me, it burst into a rainbow of motes. I hurtled towards the earth and an idea began to form. I had no idea if it would work, but I was out
Circle of the Stars Chapter 133 - Toven
He dies. Right now. I was torn between screaming in victory and yelling at my girl until I ruined my voice forever. Either way, I was out of time. As we raced up the final small hill, I saw her dart down from her spot in the sky. We thrust through the line of Wardens as she angled herself like an arrow at the man who had caused all of this. "You shouldn't have told me my men were dead." Her voice was in my head, but I could also hear it as if she'd whispered it to me. Shit. I poured on the speed.
Circle of the Stars Chapter 132 - Hollyn
I gritted my teeth. Tried to convince myself it was a lie. He wrapped a hand in my hair, yanked my head back. With his free hand, he displayed another screen of some kind. "Watch, pet. Watch with me as you realize your doom." A picture wobbled and then steadied in front of me."My daughter, Hollyn's mother, crying out for me," Ari said as she turned to look at someone.Grumpy. She was with Grumpy. They were both wearing the clothes we'd arrived in. The backdrop of the picture showed the hollowed out remains of the Village. Body and pieces of creatures dotted the ground."She's gone. You said yourself that she was gone. Cheeks told us." Grumpy squeezed her arm. Ari's gaze darted over his shoulder, back to his face. Her blue eyes were wide, scared. She shook her head. "You don't understand.""NO!" I screamed and thrashed against his hold. My heart stuttered in my chest. "No!" She was just like everyone else. Only using me for my power. For what I could give her. She wanted
Circle of the Stars Chapter 131 - Tagan
I sliced through the last zombie that stood in front of me. Wiped a hand over my brow. I hadn't thought there were that many people in here the last time. But I guess if Merlin could raise one, he could raise all the dead people here. Time wouldn't really be a factor. Ari yanked her sword back, spit on the corpse that still twitched at her feet. "And stop touching my shoes!" She hacked off the creature's hand. I snorted, causing her to look up at me. A blush rose over her cheeks. "Sorry. That wasn't very goddess-like."I shrugged it away. "Honestly, I liked it better than the goddessy parts you usually show. A bit more real."She smiled as she looked around the Village. Dead bodies littered the ground like trash in an abandoned alley. "Where is everyone else?" She looked at me. I pointed to the right. "Apparently there were a lot coming in from the standing stones. I'm guessing these were the old Villagers?" I shrugged. Oh well. They'd deserved to die for treating my Sweet
Circle of the Stars Chapter 130 - Hollyn
I bent my knees to keep my balance as I soared on Drace's back. I hadn't really been thinking about anything but destroying Merlin when I launched myself towards the sky. Luckily, my bestie had my back. Although...I think I might have been able to fly for a little bit there. I focused as huge, gleaming balls of pure energy were launched into the sky. He's throwing magical grenades, I announced to the dragons. Hold on, Mistress, Drace said. She started dipping and dodging, weaving and winding in the sky as she tried to miss being hit with the missiles of unadulterated power. I lost my balance and landed on my ass between her spikes. Luckily, they felt like feathers instead of the sharp knives of Thane's scales the first time I'd hit those. I clenched my hand around the one directly in front of me as I held on for dear life. I'm going to swoop down and let you off. You're nothing up here but an easy target, corcra. Just make sure you stay alive down there until I can come and
