 
Every molecule of air vacated Christine's lungs in one wild,
heart-stopping rush. A whistle like shrill winter wind blowing
through an attic crack screamed in her ears. The earth fell
away, stars spun to black, her stomach heaved. Panic turned
her throat raw. For a split second, she thought she was dead.
And then...
Silence.
Her feet hit something solid. She gasped, sucking in air,
her legs collapsing like overcooked spaghetti. But she didn't
fall. Strong arms encircled her, keeping her upright.
"Well," a man's voice said with an air of grudging
admiration. "It's been a long time since I've seen a female
do something that stupid."
Kalen.
She inhaled a shaky breath, but couldn't quite work up the
nerve to open her eyes. Her other senses were drowning in him.
His voice? That alone could drive a woman half-way to orgasm.
It was low and rumbling, a vibration in his ribcage. His lips
grazed her left ear--too close. His arms, hard as steel bands
yet not at all bruising, surrounded her completely. His scent
was a heady mix of spice and sun-heated earth.
His wool kilt rubbed her bare stomach, and his chest, tempered
by a slight abrasion of crinkly hair, heated her naked breasts.
But the physicality of him--the meager information gathered
by her mundane senses--was nothing compared to what her witch's
senses told her about his magic. Teasing sparks of it skated
over her skin, dipping and swirling in all her intimate places.
Goddess, was she in trouble. With full sensory overload so
imminent, she was afraid that if she opened her eyes and actually
looked at him, too, she'd climax in his arms. And wouldn't that be
mortifying.
Fully anchored against him, skin to skin, she felt his power
as if it were her own. Except she was sure if such magic ever
resided inside her all-too-mortal body, her bones and muscles
would shatter with the sheer stress of it. Kalen's magic was
as wide and deep as the sea, as broad as the sky. Immortal
magic, born of the Etruscan mother goddess. Magic that, perhaps,
could save the world.
He was holding her much as the Selkie had. But where the Selkie
had been all fluid, seductive motion, Kalen was as solid and
sure as the earth. His skin was warm, almost too hot. But his
touch was gentle and strangely comforting. Christine found
herself wanting to believe in him. Cling to him forever.
The thought caused her to stiffen. If Shaun's death had taught
her anything, it was that misplaced faith led straight to disaster.
And judging from what she'd seen of Kalen so far, he didn't
deserve her trust.
She eased from his arms. Surprisingly, he let her go immediately.
Turning away from his heat, she drew a deep breath and opened
her eyes.
She was facing the sea.
She was so startled she nearly fell, and would have if she
hadn't gripped the low stone wall in front of her. She stood
on the battlement of a castle. There was a steady breeze, inexplicably
warm. Some magical effect, perhaps? Now that her senses weren't
filled with Kalen, she was free to smell the tang of salty
air, to hear the angry pounding the ocean against the base
of the steep cliff upon which the castle was perched. The first
hint of an early dawn laid a shifting trail of light across
the water.
"Where am I?" she breathed.
"My home." Kalen's voice
came from above and behind, too close. She sucked in a breath
as the front of his body covered the back of hers. His warm,
heavy hands settled on her shoulders, massaging heat into
her chilled skin.
"But...the cairn...the tour. We
were miles from the sea."
"Yes," he said, stroking up and down her arms. Magic
tingled. She couldn't help it--she began to relax into his
heat. "We've traveled about twenty miles. Northeast," he
added as an afterthought.
This was the castle from her vision.
She turned and looked up at him. "But how did we get
here?"
"Translocation."
 She stared at him. "I...don't
understand."
He raised his brows. "I opened
a portal in space. We stepped through and emerged in a different
place."
She searched his eyes. They were dark,
and told her nothing. "You
mean...you can just do that?"
"It's a bit more involved than 'just doing,'" he
said. "But yes. I can."
No wonder she was still shaking. And her stomach didn't feel
so great, either. She took a few steps away, out of range of
his unsettling touch. She gripped the battlement, as if wrapping
her fingers around rough stone would keep him from whisking
her away again.
"That was horrible," she muttered. "Just
horrible."
"It's not bad once you get used
to it."
"I can't imagine that ever happening." She
looked back at him, then tensed when she realized the movement
had drawn his attention to her chest. Her bare chest.
Her sweater and bra were twenty miles away. Abruptly, she crossed
her arms.
He chuckled.
She turned away. "What's wrong
with traveling by car? Or boat?"
"My way is quicker."
It was that. It had also been disorienting, nauseating and
horrifying. In other words, sheer terror. She rubbed her bare
arms, though she wasn't at all cold. The friction settled her
nerves somewhat. She looked past Kalen toward the center of
the castle. The rocky island was separated from an unevenly
lit coastline by a dark slice of sea. The castle proper consisted
of a high central tower of somber gray stone, and longer, lower
buildings constructed of same material. She was standing atop
the perimeter wall that enclosed the complex.
She took a few steps along the battlement, aware of Kalen's
eyes on her. Even though she was no longer in physical contact
with him, her body still hummed with the echo of his power.
It made it very hard to think. Especially given the fact that
she was half-naked, and he was looking at her so frankly. His
eyes told her he wouldn't mind at all if she dropped her arms.
Goddess help her, she almost considered doing it.
"I..." She stopped and swallowed. "Thank
you for getting me out of there. The tour, I mean."
"Ah, yes. The tour. Would you
mind explaining what the hell you were doing, challenging
a band of Sidhe half-breeds? I can think of few better ways
for a human witch to get herself killed."
"I...I wasn't thinking of that."
"That much was obvious."
She scowled. "I wouldn't have
had to act if you had
stopped Leanna. How could you just stand there and watch
while she summoned a demon portal?"
"She wasn't summoning a demon," he said tightly. "She
was casting a fertility spell."
"At first, yes, but then she added shadow runes at the
very end..." She broke off, frowning. "You were planning
to get her pregnant tonight?"
His expression abruptly closed down. "I
don't wish to discuss it."
He took two strides toward her, his fingers closing on her
elbow. The sudden, firm touch sent a shock of awareness reverberating
through her body. Magic--Immortal magic--surged through
the connection. Her knees went weak. Her thoughts--what she
could remember of them--scattered.
"Come."
Blessedly, he didn't seem to notice the effect his touch had
on her. It wasn't a deliberate spell, then. She tried to pull
discreetly away, but his grip wouldn't relent. He drew her
toward a narrow door set in a corner turret. Once inside, he
propelled her down a dizzyingly steep circular stair.
Round and round they went, down what must have been at least
five or six stories. At last, Christine stumbled out of the
stairwell and onto level ground. Still gripping her elbow,
Kalen changed directions, striding purposefully down a long,
dark passage.
"Wait..." she stammered,
trying to break free of his grip. No luck. The hallway was
so dark that Kalen was little more than a shadow in the darkness,
yet he walked as quickly as if the passageway were flooded
with light, dragging her along behind him.
"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see soon enough."
He paused at a portal that led to a large room, his large
frame nearly filling the arched opening. Finally, finally,
he released her. Christine sucked in a breath as the shock
of his withdrawal ran through her body. She pressed her back
to the cold stone wall of the corridor and crossed her arms,
anchoring them once again across her bare breasts. When his
gaze didn't move from her face, she didn't know whether to
be relieved or insulted.
"So tell me," he said. "Are
all American witches as foolhardy as you?"
"I..." She inhaled. "I'm
not foolhardy at all. In fact, I'm the dullest witch I know."
"I find that exceedingly hard
to believe."
"It's true. I never would've challenged
Leanna, except for that demon portal."
He gestured impatiently. "I told
you, it was a fertility spell. That's all. Sidhe and demons
do not mix. Tell me--did you feel any death magic?"
She sucked in a breath. Of course she hadn't. But that was
because she could only sense magic through touch, and she hadn't
been touching Leanna when she cast the spell. Still, a niggling
doubt assailed her. Could it be possible she'd only imagined
she'd seen Leanna trace the same runes Shaun had drawn? Had
she overreacted? She knew she wasn't the most rational person
when it came to demons.
"You didn't feel anything, did you?" Kalen
said quietly.
"No," she admitted. "But
that doesn't mean--"
"What it means is that now you
have a problem. There's no grudge like a Sidhe grudge. Leanna's
going to be looking for you."
"But I didn't really hurt her!
I just stopped her spell."
"You think that matters? You've made a powerful enemy.
Leanna's no ordinary Sidhe." He paused. "She's the
daughter of Niniane, Queen of Annwyn."
Christine felt the blood drain from
her face. "But...I
don't understand. If Leanna's Sidhe royalty, what's she
doing leading sex tours for humans?"
"Unfortunately for Leanna, her
father was human. Her mother never acknowledged her, so her
rank is very low among the Sidhe. Her power, however, is
too strong for them to dismiss her entirely. So...she does
as she pleases."
"And what about you? Does it please you
to play gigolo for her?"
The sudden, harsh expression in Kalen's eyes told Christine
she'd gone too far. When he spoke, the quiet anger in his voice
made her stomach clench.
"You've made one enemy tonight,
little witch. I don't suggest you make another."
END OF EXCERPT. LIKE
IT? ORDER IT!
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» Inside
the world
of the Immortals.
» Inside
Joy's book in the Immortals series, Immortals:
The Awakening.
» Inside
Kalen's Castle. Artwork you have to see to believe.
» Check
out an exclusive
interview with Kalen, Immortal hero
of Immortals,
The Awakening.
» Travel
to Scotland with Joy. Joy shares her experience
while traveling to Scotland,
where many of her books take
place. See photos and more on
her blog... The
following include research that
ties into Immortals:
The Awakening.
Day
1: Edinburgh
Day 2: Edinburgh
Witchery Tour
Day 3: Dunnottar Castle
Day 4: Culloden Battlefield,
Clava Cairns and Cawdor Castle
Day 5: Loch Ness,
Urquhart Castle
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