Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,85
through a frusta demon as flames licked up its webbed feet. Shoving the creature to the side, the slam of a door in the foyer caught my attention. “Azara!” I sniffed the air, but the scent of charred flesh blotted out her delicate scent, the honey and gardenias were too faint to discern.
I searched my gut for her presence but only a gaping hole remained. Would I ever get used to the emptiness the broken blood bond had left? Tossing the useless thoughts aside, I darted toward the entryway. Azara had to be there. I couldn’t lose her now, not after everything we’d been through. I loved her, and I’d been stupid not to tell her sooner. When we got out of here, I’d spend every day telling—and every night showing her how much she meant to me.
“Talon!”
My heart lurched at the panic in Azara’s voice. “I’m coming!”
Two demons jumped in front of me, blocking my path. My talons lengthened, and I swiped my claw across the first bastard’s neck. Dark blood spewed out as his eyes widened for a second before they completely glassed over. His friend let out a shriek and lowering its horned head, charged.
My wings snapped out and I leapt up, soaring right over the demon’s hairy head. Sucker. I landed in a crouch and took off toward the sound of Azara’s voice. Straining to hear, a faint rustle caught my attention again. I crept closer. It was definitely coming from the entrance closet.
“Talon!” Azara’s muffled cry sent rage coursing through my veins. I was going to rip Thax’s heart out and make his warrior harem eat it.
I rammed the closet door, and splintered wood and rusty hinges scattered across the floor. My eyes met Azara’s frightened ones, and my raging dragon clawed its way to the surface. He would make Thax suffer, and I’d let him. No one took what was ours. And Azara was ours.
Her hand reached out for me. She was inches from my grasp. I could feel her skin against my fingertips, her scent enveloping me as I lurched forward. And grabbed hold of nothing.
A black cloud wrapped around Azara and her bastard cousin, and they vanished.
Thax stole her right out of my fingertips. I failed her. Again.
The memories faded, and I was back in our mini SIA headquarters. Vander stood no more than a foot away from me, his concerned gaze boring into me.
“I’m fine,” I grunted and spun toward the door.
“No, you’re not.” His hand closed around my arm as he tried to stop me.
I shook free of him with ease. Vander may have been strong for a wolf, but he was nothing compared to my dragon.
“T, wait.” Hayden’s chair scraped the floor with an irritating squeal as he jumped up after me. “You know what today is, right?”
A boulder-sized pit of dread sank to the bottom of my gut. Of course I knew. I’d been counting down the days since Azara reappeared on our radar. For over two months, there’d been no sight of her. We’d scoured the Underworld, but both she and Thax had vanished. Then a little over a week ago, one of Logan’s gargoyles stumbled upon a pile of demon carcasses—all devoid of souls. Up until that day, I was certain Thax had been keeping her locked up in a dungeon somewhere. With the warden’s help, I managed to convince Maxim, the director of the SIA, to give me a week to find Azara and bring her in on my terms.
Today was D-day. I hadn’t managed to find her, and the body count was only rising. Worse, the corpses weren’t only demons anymore. A variety of supernaturals had been found soulless, bearing Azara’s signature.
Gods, Azara, where are you? Please, answer me. I don’t care what you did. We’ll figure it out. Please, come home. For the thousandth time, I searched for her, but she never responded. For a time, the guys wanted me to consider the grim possibility that she was dead, but I never gave up hope. Regardless of the broken bond, somehow, I knew she was alive.
“Talon?” Hayden waved his hand a few inches from my face.
“Of course I know.” Our mission was about to change from a search and rescue to a capture and kill.
“Maxim already contacted Logan this morning. He expects the three of us in the Underworld by mid-day. Our instructions are not to return until we have Azara in our possession—” He cut himself off.
“Dead or alive,” I snapped. “I know the drill, man.”
“How did you even convince Maxim to keep you on the assignment?” Vander asked.
“He owes me.” There was no way in hell I was sitting this one out. Azara was my responsibility. And I didn’t care what the director said, when I found her I’d deal with her my way. I didn’t care what it would cost me.
Dallas pressed the button on his computer screen, and the video of Azara that I refused to watch disappeared. He stood, his expression somber. Seeing my brother without the typical smirk stretched across his face spoke volumes. My brothers had spent almost as many hours as I had scouring the supernatural and human realm for Azara these past months. “T, speaking as a fellow drainer of sorts and your brother, Hayden’s right. Whatever is going on with Azara right now is more powerful than she is. The demon’s taken over and her humanity has been buried far below the surface. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like, and how it changes you. She may not be gone forever, but she’s gone for now. You have to accept the fact that when we find her—which we will, she may not be the same.”
A part of me knew what he was saying was true, but I couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t. Now that we knew for certain Azara was alive, I’d tear the Underworld apart until I found her and dragged her soul-sucking ass back home.
Darkblood Prison: Demon At Large will be out on January 12th and you can preorder it now!
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Also by G.K. DeRosa
Royally Hitched Series
Royally Hitched: The Fae Prince
Royally Hitched: The Fae Twins
Royally Hitched: The Fae Princess
Darkblood Academy
Darkblood Academy: Half-Blood
Darkblood Academy: Supernatural Slayer Squad
Darkblood Academy: Demons
Darkblood Academy: Prophecies
The Hitched Series
Hitched: The Bachelorette
Hitched: The Top Ten
Hitched: The Final Five
Hitched: The One
The Vampire and Angel Wars
Wings & Destruction
Blood & Rebellion
Souls & Salvation
The Vampire Prophecy
Dark Fates
Dark Divide
Dark Oblivion
The Hybrid Trilogy
Magic Bound
Immortal Magic
Beyond Magic
Magic Bound: The Hybrid Trilogy The Complete Collection
The Guardian Series
Wilder: The Guardian Series
Wilder Destiny
Wilder Revelation
Wilder Legacy
Wilder: The Guardian Series The Complete Collection
Acknowledgments
A huge and wholehearted thank you to my dedicated readers! I could not do this without you. I love hearing from you and your enthusiasm for the characters and story. You are the best!
A special thank you to my loving and supportive husband who always understood my need for escaping into a good book (or TV show!). He inspires me to try harder and push further every day. And of course my mother who is the guiding force behind everything I do and made me everything I am today. Without her, I literally could not write—because she’s also my part-time babysitter! To my father who will always live on in my dreams. And finally, my babies, Alexander and Stella, who bring an unimaginable amount of joy and adventure to my life everyday.
A big thank you to my new talented graphic designer, Sanja Gombar, for creating a beautiful book cover. A special thank you to my dedicated beta readers/fellow authors Jena, Tiea, Bethany and Mary Ellen who have been my sounding board on everything from cover ideas, blurbs, and story details. And all of my beta readers who gave me great ideas, caught spelling errors, and were all around amazing.
Thank you to all my family and friends (especially you, Robin Wiley!) and new indie author and blogger friends (you’re the best Mary Ellen!) who let me bounce ideas off of them and listened to my struggles as an author and self-publisher. I appreciate it more than you all will ever know.
~ G.K.
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author, G.K. De Rosa has always had a passion for all things fantasy and romance. Growing up, she loved to read, devouring books in a single sitting. She attended Catholic school where reading and writing were an intense part of the curriculum, and she credits her amazing teachers for instilling in her a love of storytelling. As an adult, her favorite books were always young adult novels, and she remains a self-proclaimed fifteen year-old at heart. When she’s not reading, writing or watching way too many TV shows, she’s traveling and eating around the world with her family. G.K. DeRosa currently lives in South Florida with her real life Prince Charming, their son, daughter and fur baby, Nico, the German shepherd.