Prisoner of Temptation Page 5

  Demetrius glared down at her, rage contorting his face. “You are a fool if you think you can use your magic against me!” His fingers began to spark as he uttered the words of another spell.

  Fueled by rage, Lucien charged forward just as the entire hall shook with a fierce explosion. Lucien was thrown backward, striking the rear wall again just as the center of the floor collapsed.

  Lucien crawled to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain that shot through his right wing—it had been broken. He looked on in horror as a geyser of fire shot up through the floor. It rose high, scorching the ceiling. None could survive such a spell. The feeling within him at the thought of losing Tatiana to the very man who’d killed his father was too great to withstand, and as the flames began to wane he dived in after her without a second thought.

  A glow of silver light came from the bottom of the pit that had been ripped into the earth. As he descended, he realized that it was a cloud of silver dust and amidst it was Tatiana, alone. She lay motionless upon the rubble, her beautiful face peaceful in the soft light.

  Lucien hurried to her side, his heart hammering as he searched her for any sign of life. To his delight, she gasped softly and opened her eyes a fraction. She lived!

  Overwhelmed with joy, he drew her close. “No harm shall befall you again. This I promise you,” he told her softly.

  Her lips parted and faint words slipped out. “Did my incineration spell work?”

  Lucien looked around them again, noting the silver dust that had come to settle everywhere, including upon them. Now he understood. It was the remains of Demetrius. Although he would have preferred to end Demetrius’s life himself, he was still finally at peace to see his father’s murderer dead at long last.

  “Yes,” he replied softly. “Demetrius is no more.”

  A look mingled with regret and satisfaction crossed her face. He knew that it must not be easy for her, having killed the man she’d called father. Lucien watched her somberly. Her world, however fraudulent it might have been, had just come crashing down on her and she had nothing left. Strangely he shared her sadness.

  “Come,” he told her as he stood, gently lifting her in his arms. “Let us be gone from this place.”

  As his wing was broken, he began the slow ascent out of the pit on foot. He realized that, even though he could consider his obligation to Tatiana completed, he still felt strongly for her. He wanted to protect her and to restore her shattered life. He wanted her.

  They reached the surface and Lucien found a path through the fire that still burned around the opening. Once they were out of range, he lowered Tatiana to her feet. He paused then, his attention drawn to the throng of gargoyles and witches that crowded the entrances of the hall. But it wasn’t the number of them that gave him pause. It was the fact that they had all begun to kneel, their faces impressions of reverence.

  Tatiana looked around. She gazed up at him in wonder. “What are they doing?”

  Before he could express his like confusion, an old witch advanced. He recognized her as Tabitha, the eldest and most revered among the Ananovian clan. With her head bowed, she paused within a few feet of them before falling to her knees.

  “What is this?” Lucien asked.

  Tabitha looked at him, her eyes crinkled with joy. “And from the earth they will ascend, wreathed in flame and draped in silver.” She recited the words of the ancient prophecy that had bound their clans for centuries. “Brought together, they will give birth to peace throughout the lands.”

  Still confused, Tatiana whispered again. “What is she saying? What does this mean?”

  Lucien gazed upon the woman at his side. There was no denying that the prophecy had come to pass, but who would have thought that he, with all his imperfections and disbeliefs, would be the chosen one—and who would have thought that Tatiana, a woman who only days ago had been his enemy, was made to fulfill him?

  Slowly her eyes widened as a subtle understanding crept into them. Understanding…and what could only be love. Lucien brought a gentle hand up to caress the soft curve of her cheek. He understood now all the emotions that had plagued him over the past week. Tatiana was his completion, his soul mate…his destiny.

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  ISBN: 978-1-4268-5724-9

  Prisoner of Temptation

  Copyright © 2010 by Zandria Munson

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