Prologue
In Otherworld (10 weeks ago)
Dana laughed, shaking her head as her son-in-law face-planted onto the wooden floor. The look of stunned joy followed swiftly by dawning horror was a sight to behold, and she took as much delight in it as his family did. As the others laughed and joked, stepping around the fallen soldier, Dana couldn’t really blame him. The thought of another Max in the world was daunting even to her. Though she shouldn’t really be observing, she found she was unable to look away from the rapturous joy on her daughter’s face. The gentle, protective hand on her womb cradling the delicate young soul within, had tears rushing to the forefront and Dana blinked rapidly to dispel them. Now was a time for happiness. Her daughter had returned to her family.
Dana watched as Darius unceremoniously slapped his Captain awake and Ryker bolted upright, the name of his love the first sound on his lips. Dana sighed, watching as Ryker’s and Max’s souls literally reached out to each other. Theirs was a one in a billion love to be sure. Although, looking around at all the happily matched couples, she decided that the one in a billion chance was occurring at an alarming rate within the wooden and stone walls.
Despite her best intentions, Dana sought out Mordecai – the father of her child. The guardian and keeper of death was immersed within the festivities for once, instead of standing on the sidelines – his four trusted and noble companions still loyally by his side. As she watched, she saw Mordecai’s deep, green eyes travel to his daughter where they lingered, hungrily tracing her features as if he were afraid she would disappear from his sight. Dana pressed a hand to her stomach, feeling it churn and rebel. It always acted so whenever she thought about the grievous wrong she had committed. Even so, the urge to reach out and smooth away the lines of stress present on Mordecai’s face was overwhelming.
Unable to help herself, she passed her hand through the veil and ever so lightly, brushed the back of her hand over his forehead. Mordecai’s frown deepened, and he reached up, his hand passing untouching through hers without pause. She knew he didn’t feel her – he couldn’t when she was between worlds like she was now. But the way he straightened and looked around suspiciously made her wonder if he could somehow feel her watching him. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time she had done so.
Despite the futility of her desires, she longed to feel Mordecai’s strong arms wrapped around her once more. She yearned to see his cool, green eyes warm as they stared down at her, his muscular body trapping hers in a cocoon of heat and lust. But she knew what she would see if their eyes were ever to truly meet now; hate. She exhaled shakily, pressing the heels of her palms against her eyes, physically forcing the tears back. She had no right to cry and deserved everything Mordecai said, felt, and thought about her. She had betrayed him in the worst possible way. Yes, she had asked permission and gained consent to do what she did that night so many years ago in Germany. But the consent was dubious at best because she had not divulged all the facts. And she knew they certainly would have made a difference to the man. Mordecai would never have agreed to the night of incredible sex had he been fully aware of the outcome. By the Gods, she would never have agreed either.
In the early hours after the Great Massacre, with so many of her guardians slaughtered, nature’s balance so horribly skewed, and the Earth crying in mourning, Dana’s senses were so raw that every breath was agony. The voices of her warriors calling for her aid had been deafening. But she could do nothing. As omniscient as everyone believed Gods to be, they were still limited by the laws of nature and governed by the laws of their kind. She could no more enter the Earth plane and fight battles for her wardens and paladins than she could become human. She was what she was. But that didn’t mean there weren’t loopholes.
On that day, one man’s pain had pierced her shields more than others. One voice had called to her and resonated within her so clearly, that she had spun where she stood in Otherworld, thinking him beside her. The voice had been