A Kiss of Ashen Twilight (Ashen Twilight Series #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

him.
    Then he remembered the silence.
    Jace looked down at his lover and saw her deep blue eyes icily staring ahead forever. He waited too long once again. Her thin, pale body already grew cold as he gently closed her eyes. He ran his hand over the thin, blond tresses splayed across his five thousand count Egyptian cotton pillows. With one gentle kiss upon her forehead, he reached for the cordless phone and dialed a number.
    He let out a deep sigh, rubbing his hand over his face as the phone rang on the other end. His body slowly descended from the high while he still warmed up from the feed. He already missed the blissful elevation, but more pressing matters waited for him than his unquenchable thirst.
    “Polidori here.”
    “Hey Angel. It’s Jace.”
    He felt her smiling across the line as she spoke her next words. “Well, well, well your highness. What could I do for a big important guy like you?”
    Jace chuckled. “I’m not any of that high royalty right now. Just an heir moonlighting as a foot soldier for Julian.”
    “Not just any heir, handsome,” she said with a chuckle. “Julian would have your head if you forgot how important you really are.”
    “He doesn’t give me enough time to forget. That’s not why I called though. I got another accidental necro on my hands.”
    “Got a little happy in the sex feed again, huh?”
    Jace stared down at the still girl underneath him. “Apparently so.”
    “Well,” Angel sighed. “Hang tight and I’ll be over in ten.”
    “Ah, I can’t stay.” Jace pushed off the girl and moved to the cold area of the bed next to the girl. “Got an emergency meeting tonight with Julian. Okay if I leave her outside my door?”
    Angel scoffed. “All right, but you’ll be risking nosy human neighbors sniffing around.”
    “I’ll risk it.”
    * * * *
    After making a quick rest stop, Jace stepped was out on the street, feeling the cold night air on his equally cold skin. He loved the sounds of the city around him and of all the cities he’s been to, downtown Phoenix had to be the lowest key.
    Summer was near. The air flirted with the cold one day and teased with a warm caress of heat the next. City nightlife sprang to life with car horns, bright lights and unsuspecting humans walking the streets to and fro.
    He breathed in deeply, sensing the flurry of people, their thoughts and emotions along the busy street. Even though his body felt full from the recent feed, his nostrils tickled with the smell of blood. His mouthed watered to taste the sweet liquid. The city dwellers smiled, laughed and conversed among themselves. So unaware of what the world held beneath their radar for so many centuries.
    Jace tightened the loose leather jacket around his torso. He waited until his driver opened the back door to the waiting limo before sliding in.
    The Archane house was located downtown amidst the art scene. A massive green lawn and large foliage obscured the structure, nearly hiding it from the patrons who walked by. The ancient gothic European architecture was a vast contrast from the normal southwestern ranch homes in the area. Although it scared the crap out of the older residents of the town, it was a scream during Halloween time.
    The limo rounded the circular driveway to the front of the house and stopped. As Jace stepped out, he spotted the three main sport cars parked out front. The black Lincoln town car belonged to his Uncle Julian, Patriarch over the House of Blood; the hunter green 1956 Jaguar Roadster belonged to Michael Hammond, Patriarch over the House of Lycans; and finally the dark green Corvette was Daoine Oberon’s, Patriarch over the House of Shifter Elves. Julian planned to pass down the Lincoln when the time came. As much as Jace admired the beauty of that car, he wasn’t ready to take the House of Blood throne or give up his BMW Volga Roadster. Sooner or later his uncle would have to understand that.
    Jace ran up the steps to the front doors that opened