Anthem of Ashes: Book 9 in the Spellsinger Series Read online

  Anthem of Ashes

  Amy Sumida

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  More Books by Amy Sumida

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  And dive further into the worlds of the Godhunter, Twilight Court, and Spellsinger, at Amy's website

  The Playlist

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Here's a peek into the next book in the Spellsinger Series:

  Chapter One

  Grammar Giggles

  Pronunciation Guide/ Character List

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2019 Amy Sumida

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 9781075463679

  Legal Notice

  This book is copyright protected. It is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote, or paraphrase any part of the content within this book without the consent of the author or copyright owner. Legal action will be pursued if this is breached.

  More Books by Amy Sumida

  The Godhunter Series (in order)

  Godhunter

  Of Gods and Wolves

  Oathbreaker

  Marked by Death

  Green Tea and Black Death

  A Taste for Blood

  The Tainted Web

  Series Split:

  These books can be read together or separately

  Harvest of the Gods & A Fey Harvest

  Into the Void & Out of the Darkness

  Perchance to Die

  Tracing Thunder

  Light as a Feather

  Rain or Monkeyshine

  Blood Bound

  Eye of Re

  My Soul to Take

  As the Crow Flies

  Cry Werewolf

  Monsoons and Monsters

  Blessed Death

  In the Nyx of Time

  Let Sleeping Demons Lie

  The Lion, the Witch, and the Werewolf

  Hear No Evil

  Beyond the Godhunter

  A Darker Element

  Out of the Blue

  The Twilight Court Series

  Fairy-Struck

  Pixie-Led

  Raven-Mocking

  Here there be Dragons

  Witchbane

  Elf-Shot

  Fairy Rings and Dragon Kings

  Black-Market Magic

  Etched in Stone

  —Complete Series—

  The Spellsinger Series

  The Last Lullaby

  A Symphony of Sirens

  A Harmony of Hearts

  Primeval Prelude

  Ballad of Blood

  A Deadly Duet

  Macabre Melody

  Aria of the Gods

  (Anthem of Ashes)

  The Spectra Series

  Spectra

  A Gray Area

  A Compression of Colors

  Fairy Tales

  Happily Harem After Vol. 1

  Including:

  The Four Clever Brothers

  Beauty and the Beasts

  Pan's Promise

  Wild Wonderland

  The Little Glass Slipper

  Happily Harem After Vol. 2

  Including:

  White as Snow

  Awakened Beauty

  Twisted

  Codename: Goldilocks

  Historical Romance

  Enchantress

  Sign up for Amy's Newsletter and get a free book:

  http://google.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=398603e0fc6b3876340e37356&id=3abd32edce

  And dive further into the worlds of the Godhunter, Twilight Court, and Spellsinger, at Amy's website:

  https://www.amysumida.com/

  Pronunciation Guide in the back of book.

  The Playlist

  You can find this playlist, and all other Spellsinger playlists, on Spotify by looking up this book's title or the author and listen for free. Or simply use this link: https://open.spotify.com/user/ashstarte/playlist/6MNoSu5kj5OBlIvJqgvPpC?si=XoF1NSTlRqGSnqPnSWGieA

  Songs are in order of appearance

  Trouble Finds You by Juliet Simms

  Chosen by Generdyn (featuring Svrcina)

  Luci by ZAND

  Heartbeat by Julian Moon

  Savior by No/Me

  Heaven Help Me by Raign

  America the Beautiful by Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert

  It's Going Down by Whissell

  Dust and Bone by Syd Duran of Valora

  Ashes by Endway

  Paris (Ooh La La) by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

  99 Red Balloons by Nena

  Into the Darkness by The Phantoms

  Out of the Dark by Dia Frampton

  Magnet by Jilian Linklater and Dan Storm

  Leather and Lace by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley

  Chapter One

  Heat; blessed heat. It soaked through my body and shivered out into the world. I watched the very air ignite around me and then closed my eyes to enjoy the tickling, teasing delight of flames licking my skin. Everything burned; the buildings, the people, the trees, even the damn sky was on fire.

  It was glorious.

  I strode through the inferno with my shoulders back and my chin lifted proudly. I was the creator and destroyer of worlds. With Fire and Light, I could incinerate everything that stood in my way and then rebuild it as I saw fit. My bare feet left footprints of magma in my wake and my hair trailed embers that ignited new fires. Light fueled me and lifted my heat to incredible heights. No one could stop me.

  “Ellie,” a voice I knew; one in pain.

  I stopped. Listened. Strained to hear it.

  “Elaria!”

  My parents. I turned, trailing smoke from my fingertips, and saw them huddled on the balcony of their tree house. The whole of the enormous banyan was aflame, trailing roots sucking up the fire and distributing it efficiently. My mother could have saved my father—flown him to safety—if her siren wings hadn't been burned to blackened, bloody stubs.

  I stumbled.

&
nbsp; “El,” Cerberus groaned.

  I swung around as my best friend limped over to me and then fell at my feet; his face a bloody mask and his body covered in welts. I crouched beside him and started to lay my hand on his cheek.

  “Stop!” Cer shouted. “Don't touch me!”

  I looked at my hand. It was burning; covered in dancing flames. I flinched back and fell on my ass. The ground caught fire beneath me and spread instantly to Cerberus. He screamed as my magic incinerated him. I lunged for him desperately but all that was left was ashes. They crumbled in my hands and drifted away.

  “Little bird, you need to stop.”

  “No,” I whispered, knowing who that voice belonged to.

  “Elaria, please.”

  I glanced at Torin. He knelt on the charred earth, hands draped loosely in his lap. Before him lay Slate Devon. My gargoyle was an open wound; every inch of his beautiful skin burned away. His silver stare was set on me in accusation but there was no life within it.

  Slate was dead, and I had killed him. Slate. Cerberus. My parents. Who would be next?

  “No!” I screamed.

  “Stop, Elaria,” Torin begged. “You must learn to control your Fire or it will consume us all.”

  “No!” I kept screaming. “No!”

  “Elaria, stop.”

  I struggled against chains that suddenly bound me. A lake of fire bubbled beneath me, pulling me down into an eternal prison. I knew there was a metal box waiting at the bottom, empty now that I had released Lucifer. And it was hungry for another god to fill its belly.

  “Elaria!”

  I lurched upward, gasping, as my eyes popped open. Midnight silk sheets tangled around me, but they weren't restraining me. That was Slate; crouched beside me, his hands like steel bands on my arms and his silver eyes gleaming like a cat's in the darkness.

  “Elaria?” Slate asked hesitantly.

  I realized it had been his voice calling to me, invading my sleep and pulling me back to him.

  “I'm sorry,” I whispered. “What happened?”

  “You started hitting me.” He paused to smile but it looked strained. “Not that I don't enjoy a little S&M but warn a guy first. I was dead asleep.”

  “Dead,” I murmured as my dream came back to me. Correction; my nightmare. “Yes, you were.”

  “What?”

  “I was dreaming of fire and death.” I let out a long breath. “Your death.”

  “Lovely.” Slate grimaced and leaned back against the black enamel headboard.

  Slate possesses the usual bulk of his kind but with a sleek deadliness to it, like a broadsword with a razor edge. A predator, but closer to a jungle cat than a bear. His deep mahogany hair hung about his head in sleep-tousled waves, absorbing the shadows until it turned black. He ran a powerful but elegant hand through those careless locks and sighed deeply as he looked me over. I was up on my knees and had no memory of moving. Slate's thick brows drew together in a scowl as he pulled me down against his side.

  “Don't worry about it. You're probably still mentally venting from that whole Lucifer incident.” His scent washed over me as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. Crisp and slightly mineral; like fresh rain over hot stone with an undertone of sultry male musk.

  “I don't think that's it,” I protested.

  Although, there had been that lake of fire.

  “Then what?” Slate eased us both down beneath the covers and cradled me against his chest.

  “When I was in Heaven, I discovered that there's a small ember of my Fire magic left inside me,” I confessed.

  Slate tensed.

  “Lucifer tried to teach me to control it, but he failed.”

  “What does that mean?” Slate asked warily.

  “It means that every time I tried to access my Fire, it began to turn me into Faenestra.” I glanced over at him. “Or a new version of her.”

  “A new version?”

  “Lucifer believes that magic affects the soul, not the other way around,” I explained. “The part of my soul that was separated from my magic was influenced by the human and Beneather lives I've lived. Now, it's coming into contact with Fire again, and the goddess magic is changing it.”

  “In a different way than it was changed before.”

  “Perhaps slightly different. The nightmare I just had; I think it's my soul's way of telling me that I need to learn to control the Fire, even that small piece of it, before it controls me and turns me into a new Faenestra.”

  “I think I agree with your soul, sweetheart.” Slate nuzzled his cheek down beside mine. “We'll find you a teacher. Just as long as it's not Lucifer.”

  “Slate—”

  “No, Elaria,” he said firmly. “You've already admitted that Lucifer wasn't able to help you. Even if I didn't want to kill that motherfucker, he wouldn't be the best choice. We can go see Odin in the morning. I'm sure he'll have some suggestions.”

  I sighed and snuggled in beside my gargoyle—my perfectly healthy, living gargoyle—and sighed deeply. He was right again. No big surprise there; Slate has a tendency of being infallible. It was damn annoying, but I was beginning to appreciate it.

  I turned in his arms and kissed him suddenly; passionately. There are other things I appreciate about Slate, and I had a feeling they would chase away the remnants of my nightmare faster than his assurances.

  Slate groaned and pulled me over his chest, our legs entwining for a moment before I straddled him. He hardened in seconds as he filled his hands with my ass. I ground against him urgently, mindlessly, sex to sex and breasts to chest. That was too much teasing for Slate, at least for a midnight romp. He jerked away from our kiss and yanked me up his body to suck a nipple greedily into his mouth. As he did, I eased his shaft inside me.

  We both moaned as I sank onto Slate and started a slow rhythm. His hands clenched tightly and pulled me onto him faster. My body flopped like a rag doll. I laughed as I got to my knees and reclaimed control, dislodging his mouth from my breast and getting a quick growl for it. That clean, mineral scent lifted from his body and filled my head. Cleansing. Reviving. Exciting. I stared down at the chiseled angle of his jaw—an abrasive fuzz of stubble coating it—and reached down to run my fingers over that rough edge. Slate would shave it off in the morning, going right back into the slick businessman persona he cultivated, but I loved seeing him this way; the gargoyle trying to emerge from the man. His silver stare sliced me open and bared both my lust and love to him. I could sense him analyzing both even as I rode us toward pleasure.

  And then he smiled. Softly, tenderly; a smile Slate Devon, Zone Lord, would never show the world. It made his scrutiny worthwhile; that gift of vulnerability.

  “I love you,” Slate growled, his smile turning feral. “But I'm done with this bullshit.”

  Slate grabbed me around the waist, lifted me up, and turned me around. I found myself on my hands and knees, facing the foot of the bed. I caught our reflection in the dresser's mirror across the way; Slate and I sensually poised on his utterly masculine bed. Fair flesh glowing against all that black. Arousal cut deeply into every line of face and physique. Slate's body loomed behind and over me—powerful and savage—as he angled himself against my entrance. Merciless hands of stone grabbed my hips as Slate slammed himself home.

  The Gargoyle flicked his flashing stare up and joined it to mine in the mirror. He smiled again, wickedly, as his muscles bulged and his pelvis slapped my ass in the most delicious way. I grinned back, but then a flash of his burned body covered him for a split second, and I broke our stare in horror. My whole body clenched and shivered in a way that had nothing to do with ecstasy. Slate gave a vicious growl and quickened his pace, determined to fuck away whatever he had seen in my eyes.

  I dearly hoped he'd be successful.

  Chapter Two

  In the morning, Slate and I journeyed to Coven Cay; the Witches' private island off the coast of Canada. We used our traveling stones to take us there and since we started out in
Slate's underground zone in Oregon, we had to travel to Tír na nÓg first. Shining Ones—AKA Fairies—created traveling stones to move easily through the Veil—the boundary between the Realms—but when using them, you have to go through the Veil to get anywhere. In other words; we couldn't travel around one realm without leaving it first. It sounds like a pain in the ass but journeying via stone takes mere moments so it's not as big of a deal as it sounds.

  Plus, I needed to check in with Declan anyway.

  Slate is my boyfriend; he's my newest romantic acquisition, as it were. He would spank my ass if he heard me referring to him as such but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt me. I currently have two husbands (one a Blooder Prince—AKA a Vampire—and one a Shining One king), two fiances (one of whom is the ex-God of Darkness who I was married to, back when I was the Goddess of Light, and the other is another Shining One king), one Griffin mate, and then, of course, my Gargoyle boyfriend. It's a long story but to make it short and sweet; I was attacked and forced to host a spell that requires me to take multiple lovers for it to feed on. The Rooster Spell, RS for short, is sustained by the love between my men and me. In return, she empowers and unites us. It's a fair exchange but it's been a rocky road to get to this place of peaceful and mutually beneficial coexistence.