And then she was gone.
Chapter Thirty-five
Draven looked around him one last time. Gone was the underground bunker he’d spent so many thousands of years in. Gone also were the soulless trolls and imps he’d brought into being to be his army and sole companions in his exile. He was standing on the surface of Hrakaz.
Once a barren, rocky void teeming with the disgusting imps and trolls, the land was now quiet and empty as far as the eye could see. The streams were finally flowing clean again and here and there he could see greenery sprouting. The tiny planet was coming back to life.
But restoring Hrakaz to its former state was only the start of what he had to do. So many evil deeds had to be made up for, so much retribution had to be paid to the races he had displaced or in some cases, nearly wiped out altogether. It was going to be the work of centuries.
And it looked like he was going to do it alone.
Even now he could feel the Goddess calling him. Wondering why he had not yet ascended to her plane.
“Just a few minutes more, Mother,” he sent, flexing his wings, which were tired from so much work. “I promised her I would wait. I need to make sure she’s not coming.”
The feeling of waiting from the Goddess faded somewhat but didn’t go away all together. Draven knew his heavenly mother was anxious to welcome him home and he was anxious to see her too. But he couldn’t help hoping against hope that L would come. Wishing to see her one more time. If only…
But no, she probably wasn’t coming. He should just go now and get it over with.
With a sigh, he turned his eyes to the light purple sky of Hrakaz…
And saw a single, small craft descending.
* * * * *
She was barely out of the door before Draven caught her up in his arms and swung her around and around until L was dizzy.
“You came! You actually came back!”
“I promised I would, didn’t I?” she demanded, laughing.
He set her down but kept his arms and wings wrapped around her, holding her close. “I was afraid you’d change your mind.”
“I almost did,” L admitted. “It was hard—so hard—to leave my sister. But in the end, she understood why I had to go.”
“I’m glad you had time to say goodbye.” Draven kissed her softly. “But I’m even happier that you’re coming with me.”
L looked around. “Are we going now?”
He shrugged. “There’s no reason to delay. My work here on Hrakaz is complete. In a few years it should be back almost to the way it was when I found it.”
L cleared her throat. “Oh, all right. Well, then I guess…let’s go.”
Draven frowned. “Are you all right? You seem anxious.”
“Well…” L gave him a weak smile. “I’m a little nervous to meet your mother in person. It’s not everyone who can say their mother-in-law is a Goddess.”
Draven kissed her again. “She’s going to love you. In fact, she already does. She loves you for saving me—if it wasn’t for you and the half soul you gave me, I’d still be trapped in misery and darkness.” He nuzzled her cheek. “I love you so much, L. How can I ever repay you?”
L smiled. “I love you too, baby. And as for repaying me, we can discuss that later. After we meet your mom maybe we can find a little privacy. You know, maybe complete our bond?”
Draven’s true green eyes grew dark with lust and he gave her another, much deeper kiss. “It would be my pleasure, darling. Now hold on tight—we’re going to ascend.”
He took a firmer grip on her and L put her arms around his neck and held on. Draven’s great wings beat the air and then they were airborne, flying high over the quiet landscape of Hrakaz.
“This is amazing,” she said in his ear. “But are we going to fly to where your mother is? I mean, won’t the air get awfully thin if you go too high?”
“Look up,” Draven murmured.
L did and gasped when she saw a shimmering, silver portal above them in the sky. “Oh, it’s beautiful. Is it some kind of gateway?”
“Exactly.” Draven kissed her again as his great wings pumped the air. “And we’re going through it…together.”
The End
Author’s Note:
Some of you who have friended me on FaceBook know that I thought this was going to be the last book in the Kindred series. I was so sure, in fact, that I wrapped up Draven and L’s storyline along with Saber and Lissa’s. Imagine my surprise when an idea for book 8 came to me while I was writing the next to last chapter of book 7! I’m pleased to say that there will be another Kindred book and probably more than one after this. In fact, I promise to keep writing the books as long as good plots keep coming to me and I feel like I can give my readers a satisfying reading experience, which is very important to me.
A few of my advance readers have asked if Draven will appear in any future books. My answer is I’m not sure but it’s certainly possible. He was a great bad guy and lots of fun to write but he and L might still have some adventures together in the Goddess’s realm. For the next book, however, I want to stick closer to home. I don’t know the name of the heroine for book 8 yet but I do know that she’s an Earth girl and Reddix, the Touch Kindred with the reversed Touch sense, will be the hero. I’ll probably start working on their story in early 2013.
In the mean time, I have an idea for a YA series that I really want to write. Those of you who follow my YA writing, under the pen name Emmaline Andrews, are welcome to write and ask me for a review copy when the first book, Lock and Key, comes out. And please check out my first YA novel, The Academy which is available on Amazon, AllRomance, and Smashwords.
As always, you can find me on FaceBook or check out my website www.evangelineanderson.com I have recently had it revamped so those of you who haven’t seen it in awhile please come and check it out. I love the new look which was done by Crocodesigns.
Well, that’s all I have for now except to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving and to add, once more as I always do—please DON’T PIRATE. I make my living with these books and try to keep the prices low so everyone can afford to enjoy them. Please support your favorite independent authors by buying their work instead of taking it so we can all keep writing for your pleasure and ours.
Hugs and happy reading to you all!
11-27-12
Evangeline
Brides of the Kindred Glossary
AllFather—the evil head of the Scourge, a race that are the byproduct of a failed genetic trade. The AllFather is one of the Old Ones and has the power to reach into a person’s mind to harvest emotional pain and trauma. He lives for the fulfillment of the Scourge Prophesy.
Ancient Ones—beings which live in the Deep Blue—the darkest and most inaccessible part of the Rageron jungles. They are sentient but not related in any way to the Kindred. Each Ancient One has two forms—a bipedal form which resembles a human or Kindred and a beast form which can be deadly and they can change between forms at will. The Ancient Ones predate even the First Kindred and revere the skrillix plant, which they guard jealously.
Bespeak—to contact someone mentally using a Think-me device. It is considered rude to bespeak someone you don’t know intimately.
Beast/Rager Kindred—come from Rageron—a jungle planet full of beautiful but deadly flora and fauna. They have dark hair, golden eyes, and hot tempers but their most defining characteristic is the mating fist. The mating fist is an area at the base of the Beast Kindred’s shaft which engages fully only during bonding sex with his chosen mate. When engorged it swells to keep the Beast Kindred and his bride locked together until she is completely bonded to him. This ensures sex that is both extremely long lasting and multiorgasmic for both partners.
Blackness between the Stars—another name for the Hoard or Grimlax, an ancient enemy of the Kindred. These beings have no souls and so are considered demonic by the Kindred.
Blood Fever—a condition suffered by unmated females on Tranq Prime, the home
world of the Blood Kindred. Blood Fever or Burning Blood as it is often called, is caused by a parasite living on the icy world that affects only women. The parasite—found in the fleeta or blood beetle—reacts with a compound in the Tranq Prime water supply to cause the fever. Symptoms include chills, increased sexual need and the feeling of the blood heating in the veins as well as increased coloration of the nipples and sex. If the fever is not treated in forty-eight hours, it will result in death.
Once a Kindred male has had a female’s blood, he forms a natural antidote to Blood Fever which he can pass on by sharing body fluids with her. The most effective way to get the antidote into the female’s system is for a Blood Kindred to bite her, thereby injecting it along with his essence. However, it is also possible to pass along the healing fluid through sex.
Blood Fever used to be very common on Tranq Prime which is what prompted the cold, proud natives to initiate a genetic exchange with the Kindred in the first place. A recent vaccine has nearly eradicated the disease, however, and the original inhabitants of the ice bound planet have little reason to continue the trade. A faction calling themselves Purists are against any further trade with the Kindred.
Blood/Tranq Kindred—are blond with pale blue eyes and come from Tranq Prime where ice, snow, and arctic-like temperatures are the norm. To combat the severe weather conditions, the Blood Kindred have higher than normal body heat with double the human amount of red blood cells. They have developed specific biting rituals to share their supercharged blood and take the blood of their mates during their own version of bonding sex. They have a set of double fangs located where a human’s canine teeth would be. These fangs do not develop fully or become sharp enough to pierce flesh until a Blood Kindred is with a woman he wishes to mate and bond with.
Bonding Ceremony—a wedding-type ritual which takes place after the Claiming Period if the bride chosen by a Kindred warrior has allowed him to have bonding sex with her and joined her mind to his.
Bonding Sex—the extra step a Kindred warrior takes to bind his bride to him permanently during intercourse. For the Beast Kindred, it is the use of the mating fist. For the Blood Kindred, bonding sex means sex during penetration. Twin Kindred bind a bride to themselves by entering her and coming in her at the same time.
Claiming Ceremony—a sort of engagement service that takes place when a bride is first claimed by a Kindred warrior. He declares his intentions toward her and she vows to obey the laws of the Claiming Period.
Claiming Period—women who are drafted are required to go up to the Kindred Mothership and spend a thirty day “claiming period” with the warrior who has chosen them. If, at the end of that time, they have managed to resist the charms of their Kindred mate, they are allowed to go back down to Earth and resume their normal life. However, if they succumb to their Kindred male’s seduction, they are mated for life and must move to the Kindred ship to live, leaving everything else behind and seeing their family and friends on Earth only infrequently. Of course, many women are unwilling to give everything up at the drop of a hat, draft or no draft. But the Kindred have a secret weapon—devotion to their female’s pleasure and attention to detail during incredibly hot sex.
Claming Period Rules—The Claiming Period lasts for four weeks during which the Kindred warrior attempts to seduce his chosen bride and she tries to resist him:
The Holding Week: the Kindred warrior may hold his bride.
The Bathing Week: the warrior and his bride bathe together and he is allowed to massage her with scented oils and make her come.
The Tasting Week: the warrior is allowed to perform oral sex on his bride.
The Bonding Week: sex is allowed but it is completely up to the bride whether she will take things a step further and allow bonding sex which is a special and specific process to the three different types of Kindred males. (Most women have given in well before this point but a few do resist.)
The only way out before the claiming period is up is a breach of contract. This can happen if the Kindred warrior does not strictly follow the rules and tries to skip forward in the order of allowed events or by breaking one of the rules laid down by the Kindred High Council. These rules—mostly to do with restrictions on communication with Earth—are for the safety of everyone aboard the Mothership and are nonnegotiable. Ignorance is no excuse for breaking them and will result in immediate termination of the claiming period.
Convo-pillar—A half inch long insect which resembles a brightly colored caterpillar. Convo-pillars were genetically engineered by traders on the fringe colonies around Rageron to translate alien languages by communicating via thought waves to their wearer’s brain. They have been outlawed by the Kindred High Council because their notoriously unreliable translations cause more conflicts than they solve.
Deep Blue—the darkest and most inaccessible part of the Rageron jungles
Dream Sharing—occurs when a Kindred warrior’s mind aligns with that of his bride and they begin to see each other’s day to day activities and memories in their sleep. However, the alignment of the two (or three in the case of the Twin Kindred) minds can take several forms and is not limited to sleep.
Fireflower Juice—an alcoholic beverage made from the Fireflower plant native to Rageron. It resembles milk in appearance but has the flavor of honey, vanilla, lavender and blueberries.
High Councilor—the rightful ruler and defender of the Kindred home planet, First World. Only the High Councilor may sit upon the throne of wisdom and see with the eye of foreknowledge. Without a High Councilor in place, First World and the rest of the Kindred race cannot be adequately protected against the evil machinations of the Hoard.
Hoard—an ancient enemy of the First Kindred also known as the Grimlax or the Blackness which eats the Stars, they are evil, demonic beings with ravenous appetites and a desire to conquer, devour, and destroy every living thing in the universe. They are divided into tribes with the lowest echelon being the most numerous and primitive. The elite or upper echelon tribes are more sophisticated and intelligent but also much more dangerous. They are notoriously manipulative and able to change their appearances using a technique called “shadowing” to look like anyone or anything they choose.
Kindred—a race of genetic traders who have traveled the universe for centuries looking for viable matches to expand their gene pool. Since a genetic anomaly ensures that their population is ninety-five percent male, they are specifically looking for women.
The three genetic trades the Kindred have already made have resulted in three very specific types of men. But though they take on some of the physical characteristics of the race they are trading with, the Kindred gene always ensures three things: physical prowess, extremely large and muscular body structure, and undying loyalty to the female of their choice.
Krik-ka-re—a Scourge tradition in which the mind life of one being may be traded for or ransomed by another.
Kusax—a special knife made from the tainted metal at the core of the Scourge home planet. One scratch can be deadly as it infects the wounded person with a soul poison which ensures a slow, agonizing death.
Law of Conduct—the Kindred law which says every warrior is responsible for the good behavior of his bride and gives him the right to punish her—within reason. Often the “punishment” is sexual in nature and some brides become serial offenders simply to experience their Kindred warrior’s particular form of discipline. ; )
Luck Kiss—a kiss performed by the best man and maid of honor at a Kindred Bonding Ceremony in order to bring the happy couple good luck.
Mate of my kin—the way Kindred warriors refer to the brides chosen by their brothers. It is analogous to the English term sister-in-law.
Marks of Possession—the Scourge way of marking a female as their mate. The Marks of Possession include a close-fitting collar, piercings in the nipples and clitoral hood, and a brand on the inner hip or the top of the buttocks. Scourge with Kindred blood also desire to scent-mark their mates but they r
equire the traditional marks of their kind to really feel bonded to the female of their choice.
Mother of All Life—the main Kindred Deity, a kind and benevolent goddess whose teachings include respect and reverence for all things female.
Numala—a Blood Kindred name which means “liquid pussy.” It refers to a female who produces more than the regular amount of lubrication when aroused. Numalas are much prized by the Blood Kindred and sought after as mates because they are more likely to be able to accommodate a Blood Kindred warrior’s larger than average cock.
Psychic-Knife—a torture device developed by the Scourge which is able to break the mental and emotional bond between a Kindred and his bride.
Rage—also Protective Rage or Berserker Rage—a state of altered consciousness that comes over a Kindred warrior when his bride is threatened. It floods the bloodstream with endorphins and causes such intense anger and aggression that a Kindred in this state becomes a killing machine who will die to protect the woman he has claimed.