New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author and master of romance Bertrice Small continues her magical, sensual story of the World of Hetar.
Lara, Domina of Terah, has mysteriously disappeared, and Magnus Hauk is frantic to find his beloved wife. When no trace of her can be discovered, he turns to two strong allies—Prince Kaliq of the Shadows and Ilona, the most powerful of the faerie queens.
Meanwhile, Kol—the Twilight Lord—revels in his victory. The exquisite Domina is now in his possession, and her powers will soon help him to conquer first Hetar and then Terah. But Lara will not stand for his treachery, even as she is seduced by his charisma. She calls on all of her strength—and the passion in her heart—to once again rise to the challenge of her destiny.
“The third in the World of Hetar series has plenty of political intrigue, some fantastical characters, and lots of Small’s unique brand of hot, boldly descriptive…romance.”
—Booklist on The Twilight Lord
Praise for the World of Hetar series and
New York Times bestselling author
Bertrice Small
“Readers who enjoyed the first in [this] new series
will devour Lara’s latest adventure.”
—Booklist on A Distant Tomorrow
“Small’s newest novel is a sexily fantastical romp.”
—Publishers Weekly on The Sorceress of Belmair
“Rich in colorful characters,
brimming over with Small’s unique sense of
erotic passion and a plot filled with mystery,
the fourth title in the series is another masterpiece.”
—RT Book Reviews on The Sorceress of Belmair, Top Pick
“Small is not only a queen of erotic/adventure historicals, with the fifth book in the World of Hetar series, she is a grand mistress of erotic fantasy.… With this newest story, the author demonstrates that we can ‘have it all.’”
—RT Book Reviews on The Shadow Queen, Top Pick
“The final volume in The World of Hetar
delivers a fantasy lover’s delight.”
—RT Book Reviews on Crown of Destiny
The Twilight Lord
Bertrice Small
To all those people who, like me,
know that the Light will forever prevail
Contents
Prologue
HE had not thought it possible to be vanquished by a creature half-human, half-faerie. But as the stones concealing the tower window exploded outward with her incantation and the bright light poured into the chamber, Usi knew that he would not survive. He howled a moment in frustration and with his last vestige of strength tried to tempt Lara into the darkness, but her powers and her resolve were too strong for him now. The light scorched him cruelly with its fierce cleansing burn.
In that single instant before he was finally hurled into the realm of the Lord of Oblivion, he thought of how long ago he had prepared for just this moment, though he had not truly believed it would ever come. The faerie woman had defeated him. But his essence would survive in his descendants. His enemies never knew that he had deliberately fathered children on two of the women he had brought to his tower. He had sent the women away before their condition could be known, not just for their safety but for the safety of the progeny they would bear him.
Aye! His black blood ran in the veins of others to this day. And as he called out to that blood with his last dying breath he heard it answer him, and rejoiced. The final battle was yet to be fought.
Chapter One
THE great winged horse galloped across the skies above the Emerald Mountains, a single rider on his back. Strapped to the animal’s side was a woven basket in which a sleeping child lay. Lara glanced now and again at her daughter Zagiri to make certain she remained asleep. She was a beautiful little child with her father’s dark gold hair; her golden eyelashes fanned out over her pale pink cheeks. She looks like him, Lara thought. The only bit of me in her are her green eyes.
“We’re almost there,” Dasras said as they left the mountains behind them. “I can see the fields of the Blathma below us, and just beyond and to my left are the meadows of the Aghy. I wonder if Roan has any pretty new mares.”
Lara chuckled. “You are as lusty as a Shadow Prince,” she told him.
Dasras chortled. “Well, I was born and raised among them,” he said drolly. Then he asked, “Is the princess still sleeping?”
“Aye,” Lara responded. “She’ll be delighted to see Dillon again—and he her. I hope Anoush has gotten over her jealousy by now. She doesn’t even understand that I am her mother and her invidiousness toward Zagiri is hurtful.”
“She is too young to have developed that attitude without help,” Dasras remarked.
“Who can have planted the seed of envy in Anoush? Certainly not your good Noss. She has always been a fine foster mother to your children.”
“Vartan’s mother,” Lara said sadly and with certainty. “She grows madder with each passing day. I have asked Noss to limit my children’s visits to Bera but she is their grandmother. Of course there is Cam,