Jessica Andersen - Skykeepers

And his face . . . gods, his face. Features that had been pleasantly regular before were sharper and broader now; his jaw was aggressively square, his formerly borderline-too-large nose had come into perfect proportion, and high cheekbones and broad eyebrows framed hazel eyes that she knew, yet didn’t. He watched her with an unfamiliar level of intensity as he held out his right hand, palm up, so the fox fire lit the dual marks on his right forearm: the black Nightkeeper slave mark and the red quatrefoil hellmark of the Xibalbans. She’d seen them before, of course, but back then the marks had seemed out of place, magic unwittingly imposed on a mere human. Now, though, they looked . . . right. As though they belonged.

Jade didn’t know why the sight made her want to break and run.

“Well?” he asked her softly.

“You look . . .” She trailed off, not sure he’d be flattered by her first few responses, which involved steroids and testosterone poisoning, clear evidence that her scientific, analytical side was trying to buffer the shock. So she went with, “different.”

In fact, he looked amazing, reminding her of the long lunches she’d spent at the Met on her student pass, wandering through the Greek and Roman art galleries and imagining the carved marble and cast bronze coming to life in a raucous stampede down Fifth Avenue. He was that perfectly imperfect—

human, yet something more now. And that more had her nerves skimming beneath her suddenly too-

sensitive skin.

It’s just Lucius , she told herself. Only it wasn’t. He’d broken the rule that said people didn’t fundamentally change. And—oh, gods—she’d offered herself to him. More, she’d fought the whole damn royal council long distance for the opportunity, and she’d brushed aside Strike’s and Anna’s concerns when they had tried to tell her that he wasn’t himself. In her rush to finally escape from her backup role, she’d thrown herself headlong at . . . what? What was he now? He didn’t command the Prophet’s ability to reach the library, yet there was clearly magic at work, changing him into something more than himself.

“Not exactly what you were expecting when you volunteered for sex-magic duty, was it?” he asked, his eyes dark and inscrutable.

“I . . .” What was wrong with her? Where had her words gone? She was the one with the answers, the cool-blooded scribe who didn’t get rattled. But right now her body was saying one thing, her spinning brain another, and her verbal skills had gotten lost in the cross fire.

His not-quite-familiar mouth curved in a humor-less smile. “That’s about what I figured. I wish they had warned you.”

That, at least, she could respond to. “They tried. I wasn’t listening. But . . . you could’ve called me, or e-mailed.” She’d posted her contact info in the mansion’s kitchen, just in case. “I hate thinking of you going through all this alone.”

“I haven’t been in the mood for company.”

Feeling her magic—or maybe her nerve—fading, she let the fox fire go out, plunging them back into darkness that shouldn’t have been as much of a relief as it was. But it was easier not to look at him as she said, “What are you in the mood for?”

“That, dear Jade, is entirely up to you.”

“Raw passion, dark romance, and seat-of-your-pants suspense all set in an astounding paranormal world—I swear ancient Mayan gods and demons walk the modern earth!”

— New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward

“Andersen’s got game when it comes to style and voice. I love [this] kick-ass series . . . a mix of humor, suspense, mythology, and fantasy . . . a series that’s sure to be an instant reader favorite, and will put Andersen’s books on keeper shelves around the world.”

—Suzanne Brockmann on WritersareReaders.com

“I deeply enjoyed the story. It really hooked me!”

— New York Times bestselling author Angela Knight

“Part romance, mystery, and fairy tale . . . a captivating book with wide appeal.”

— Booklist

“[A] nonstop, action-intensive plot. . . . Ms. Andersen delivers a story that is . . . [a] solid romance and adventure novel. If you enjoy movies like Lara Croft . . . or just want something truly new, you will definitely want this.”

—Huntress Book Reviews

“Intense action, sensuality, and danger abound.”

— Romantic Times

“ I f Nightkeepers is any indication of her talent, then [Jessica Andersen] will become one of my favorites. . . . [The book] brought tears to my eyes and an ache [to] my heart. I read each word with bated breath.”

—Romance Junkies

“[A] terrific romantic fantasy . . . an excellent thriller. Jessica Andersen provides a strong story that . .. fans will cherish.”

—Midwest Book Review