Maybe it was all the caves, natural springs, and deep cliffs that funneled its inhabitants’ energy into a river I could almost touch. It had a deep, resonant feeling, like a ringing bell that I could almost hear.

The thought made me sad, because I actually liked this town. Only a week until Christmas, but I’d be gone by then. I’d been in Eureka Springs, Arkansas for about two weeks. And if I cut my finger, I’d better leave on the next bus as quickly as possible, knowing the scent was like a beacon shining over my location. Thanks to my very regular menstrual cycle, I could count on them always finding me in under a month. They always found me again, because they hunted by the smell of my blood. It was always the same story, and at dawn, I’d head out to the bus stop and try to lose them again for a few days. Shadows crowded around my cheap room, testing the doors and windows, looking for a weak spot in paper-thin walls. I’d lose them for a few weeks at a time, but then I’d start to get that old familiar itch down my spine. Mom always said they were hunting her, but after she died, I kept seeing them. Always hunting.ĭemons with pasty gray skin, wasted bodies down to skin and bones, with red, glowing eyes. Waiting for the sun to set, monsters were real and they were always hungry. My mother met the same fate when I was seventeen. I’d learned that at an early age, when my father was brutally murdered in front of me. It sucked to be twenty two years old and still afraid of the dark.īad things always happened in the dark. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to any organization, event, or person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.Ī special thank you to Sherri Meyer for beta reading. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in print or electronic form without the express, written permission of the author. Shara must learn how to wield her new powers quickly and conquer her fears if she intends to keep them all alive.Īll rights reserved. Except maybe his body… and his friend’s, too.īut they’re not the only ones searching for a lost queen. Then she realizes she’s never wanted anything more. It all seems like a crazy nightmare, until the alpha offers his blood. They say she’s a lost queen descended from Isis, and they’re her Blood, vampire knights sworn to protect her. Out of hope with nowhere else to turn, she’s ready to end it all when two men come to her rescue. Alone, scared, and exhausted, she’s finally cornered in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Two vampire knights sworn to protect her.Įver since her mother was murdered by monsters five years ago, Shara Isador has been on the run.

Queen Takes Queen by Joely Sue Burkhart