B00XXAC6U6 EBOK Read Online Free PDF

been enthralled, he would have been patrolling Camberlaune that night. He was convinced he could have prevented the massacre.
    He sighed heavily. The room faced northwest and since the sun never hit the windows in this part of his home during late fall and winter, the shutters hadn’t come down. The window had a curve to it because of the disk-like shape of his house. With the bend in the gorge he could almost see the river below.
    The sky was blue now, the sun having risen well past the skyline. He had a view of snow-capped mountains, dotted at the lower elevations with evergreens and the bare branches of elms and chestnut oaks.
    He frowned and touched his face, then blinked his eyes. Where were his sunglasses? He must have lost them when he flew Regan to safety over the river.
    He blinked again, several times, expecting to experience the sharp darting pain he’d known for years. But it wasn’t there. The pain was gone, just like the cramps in his stomach. He could look at blue sky and his eyes didn’t hurt. Unbelievable.
    He shook his head. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d set his gaze at a sunlit vista without cringing in pain. A lot of the vampires he knew, once well away from direct sunlight, could enjoy all kinds of scenery.
    When he’d first become afflicted, he’d sought out a powerful fae healer. But all she could tell him was that it was part of his mastyr suffering, unique to him. And somehow, tapping into Regan’s vein, had corrected the problem.
    He still couldn’t believe she was a blood rose.
    He also felt the whole thing a cruel irony since the woman who’d cured him with her blood was someone he could never be truly connected to.
    He knew he needed his bed. He was tired, not just from the night’s vigil, but from a month of stress, of worrying about Regan, of not knowing if she was even alive. But there were a couple of tasks he needed to get done before he could make his way to the master bedroom.
    He pulled his cell from his pants pocket and called Ben.
    “Ian. Been waiting for your call. Everything okay?”
    For a moment, Ian didn’t know how to answer the question. Having fought with Regan before he’d been with her even half an hour, had left a sour taste in his mouth.
    “I’ve got Regan with me. She escaped Margetta’s fortress and yes, she’s fine.”
    “That’s great news. I’m relieved. Have you let Mastyr Zane know?”
    “My next call.”
    “Good. Good.”
    “How’s Camberlaune?”
    “The usual number of Invictus sightings through the night, but the Guard and the Shifter Brigade performed as expected. We only had one injury, with dozens of casualties on Margetta’s side. And we were able to send nine Invictus pairs to Ethan and Samantha for separation and rehab.”
    Ian wanted to rejoice; this was all good news. But a stone sat on his heart. “Glad to hear it.”
    Ben fell silent for a long moment. Ian’s gaze had settled on a chokeberry shrub twenty feet from the window. A red cardinal was flitting around like he was lost, then suddenly darted away.
    “All right, mastyr, what’s going on?”
    Ian shook his head. Ben could read him better than any of the Guardsmen or even any of the other ruling mastyrs. Of course, Ben was at mastyr level himself and not far behind Ian in power, which meant, yeah, he could read Ian. “I’ve just learned Regan’s a blood rose. And before you congratulate me, believe me, this sucks.”
    Ben remained silent for several beats. “Are you kidding me? Why, Regan, of all women?”
    Something inside Ian relaxed. Ben understood the nature of the dilemma.
    Ben continued. “Oh, shit.”
    “What?”
    “I just realized I won’t be able to be around her.”
    “Unless you’re interested in bonding with a blood rose.”
    “Not funny, Ian.”
    “No, it isn’t.”
    Once more, Ben grew quiet. Ian knew his best friend needed to process the information as much as Ian did. The attack on Raven’s Overlook had taken the life of Ben’s