Page 138 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

Lacking gonads, though, had never been Lucian’s problem. The dust-up with the OneCreator had not been the guy’s only transgression.No. A few centuries after he had recovered from his beheading, he gathered some of the evilest sonsabitching Scourges he could find. Armed, they cut a bloody swath through Angor before Dom and Remi had caught up with them in Loneliness Desert.

On that day, Lucian and his followers took a stand where the desert met Mortus Peak in the Razor Mountains. Though Dom and Remi had called in the rest of the Feard as back-up, the battle raged for days, maybe a week. He had to hand it to Luce. The male was an asshole, but he was a great soldier and dedicated to causing havoc.

After that rebellion, the OneCreator had again not issued an extinction order. Lucian and his followers had been chained, staked, and left to shrivel in the sun. But once the rebel lost fifty percent of his body mass, he slipped his chains and hid out somewhere to recover.

Ascending, Dom rejoined Maddy above the encampment. “They’re in the valley where the lake feeds the river. You stay...”

Before he could finish, she interrupted. “I’m coming along. I thought we settled this.”

“You settled it. I’m iffy. Lucian is dangerous, and the village is filled with Scourges. We don’t know yet if your body has settled into Immortality or if you can use your gifts at will.”

“All I hear is blah, blah, blah.” She laughed, arched her wings, and bulleted toward the encampment.

He had no choice but to catch up, and she was damn fast. After a soft landing, Dom glared at Madeline, certain he’d get gray hair unlike any other Immortal. Then he took a quick look-around. Nobody was storming toward him.

He shoved his mate behind him, swooping out his wings as a shield, unsheathing his razored onyx-bladed feathers as a just-in-case. A crowd gathered slowly, likely most of them recognizing him.

When the mob parted, Lucian strode through a pathway, a confident swagger, his golden hair glinting in the rare sunshine and whipping around his face in the wind. He stopped directly in front of Dom. Catching a glimpse of Madeline, he asked, “Who’s your new partner?”

“None of your business.”

“Anybody in my encampment is my biz.”

Dom rested a palm on the blade holstered at his hip. He’d laugh at Luce’s hubris if the guy weren’t such an asshole. “You are not a warlord in Angor. You’re under the OC’s rule as is every Scourge. Disobey and face punishment.”

“Uh-huh. I’m shaking in my shitkickers.”

“Are you looking for trouble, Luce?”

“Never. Especially not with such a pretty female here.” As Madeline slipped around Dom, Lucian stretched out his arm and offered her a hand.

When she put her palm into it, the ballsy rebel kissed the back of her fingers. A grin crawled across his face. He said, “I am fascinated.”

“Oh,” she said, flipping her gaze to Dom and shrugging.

What?he asked his mate.

I think Lucian’s in my head and knows my gifts.

Impossible.

Just a feeling that’s snaking through me while he holds my hand,pathed Madeline.

Dom snatched Maddy from Luce’s grip. “She’s my mate, asshole.” He gave no warning before he drew back a fist and knocked Luce on his ass. “Stay out of her head.”

Lucian rose, dusting off his pants, a slight grin curling his lips. “Got me. But I won’t fall for that a second time.” He wiggled his jaw between his thumb and fingers.

The rebel’s eyes ping-ponged from Maddy and back to him. “I heard a rumor that you mated an unusual Scourge but didn’t believe it. You know how the malady-stricken like to gossip. Anyway, why are you here?”

“Crazy shit’s going on in OneWorld. The OC’s worried about you.”

“You mean the earthquakes and the volcanic disturbance?”

“Volcanic?”

“Yep. South of Necrosis Valley. At this moment a mountain is burping smoke, but who knows what the future holds.”

Dom combed worried fingers through his hair.

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