Jessa Slade: Vowed in Shadows

She curled into him, and the anklet clicked against his wrist. A single violet spark raced around and through the patterns of his cuff and crossed to the anklet. “Ah, I knew from the start you liked to look. Thank heavens for my newfound ability to prettify hell.”

“You’ve always enthralled me. Stop fishing for compliments.”

“I don’t fish.”

“You caught me.” He slipped off the cushions to kneel beside her.

“I guess I’m caught too,” she said. “Mated-talyan bond. Symballein . Whatever that means.”

“Love.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled as it sprang loose. “It means ‘I love you.’ ”

“How can you?”

“My body and my sword are yours—were always yours.” He rested his forehead on her thigh a moment. “But you didn’t just make me fight again. You let me love again.”

She buried her fingers in the gilded waves of his hair and closed her eyes to focus on the whisper of his breath across her reven and faded scars. The sensation he ignited smoldered in her soul, sweet and everlasting. When he lifted his head, she met his gaze. His eyes reflected the blue of the water and sky, and she felt herself falling.

“But my heart is yours too,” he said, “if you want it.” He cupped her cheek, and she realized he’d waylaid a tear at the corner of her eye. “You don’t believe me?”

“I do. I can’t believe I believe you.” She knew the wonder in her voice betrayed her. “But I love you.”

His smile lit every corner of her heart with a hint of devilish heat. “I have forever to prove myself good and true.”

“Start now.” She leaned into his hand. “And touch me.”

ascendant:The rise of a demon within a possessed human; refers to the initial incident of possession and subsequent risings.

birnenston:Also, brimstone . A sulfuric compound leached from some demonic emanations interacting with the human realm.

desolator numinis:“Soul cleaver”; a demonic weapon.

djinni:djinn (pl.): Upper echelon of demonkind; fallen angels who are content to stay fallen.

djinn-man:A human possessed by a djinni.

ether:The elemental energy of spiritual and demonic emanations.

feralis:ferales (pl.): Lesser demonic emanation encased in a physical shell of mutated human-realm material. Physically strong, but not so impressive in the brains department.

heshuka:The unknown darkness; from Aramaic.

horde-tenebrae:Blanket term for lesser demonic emanations, including malice, ferales, and salambes. Also, tenebrae .

ichor:A physical by-product of demonic emanations not compatible with the human realm.

league:Isolated clusters of possessed fighters assigned to high-density human-population areas with the mission of reducing demonic activity.

malice:Incorporeal lesser emanation from the demon realm, typically small and animalistic in shape with protohuman intelligence.

mated-talyan bond:The synergistic combination of male and female possessed powers.

reven:The permanent visible epidermal mark left by an ascended demon.

salambe:Highly emanating demonic form from the same subspecies as malice.

solvo:A chemical version of the desolator numinis ; produces opiatelike effects in humans while splitting off the soul.

sphericanum:The realm of angels, separated from the human realm by the gates of heaven. Also used in reference to the ruling body of angelic powers.

symballein:A token, such as an engraved metal disk, that is broken into two pieces and used to establish identity when reunited; from Greek.

talya:talyan (pl.): 1. Sacrificial lamb; a young man (Aramaic). 2. A human, typically male, possessed by a repentant demon.

tenebrae:Blanket term for lesser demonic emanations, including malice, ferales, and salambes. Also, horde-tenebrae .

tenebraeternum:The demon realm, separated from the human realm by the Veil.

teshuva:A repentant demon seeking to return to a state of grace.

Veil:An etheric barrier between the human and demon realms and composed of captured souls.