Valis is on his way to free his father from the enemy compound, but it seems like everything is working against him.

The team sent to eliminate the last Anchor of Qos needs his help. Tavros falls ill after an accident, and if he doesn’t get help quickly he’s going to die. And the constant blizzards mean they are moving so slowly Valis is afraid they may be too late to save anyone.

With so much at stake—lives, family, his heart—one wrong move may cost Valis a price he’s not willing to pay.

His army needs him. His husband needs him more. Valis can’t afford to fail either. The race to save his family is on.

Get it HERE!

EXCERPT

While Tavros focused on the horde, Valis focused on their shield, renewing it on occasion if it started getting weak, and moving it as those near him moved so everyone could see the battle that waged before them.

It felt like Valis was stuck in thick, cloying mud. His fatigue weighed him down to the point where he could barely hear the sounds of battle over the ringing in his ears. His vision kept blurring on and off as if he had a pounding headache, but without the pain. He heard his pulse pounding in his ears. Each limb felt as if they were weighed down by pounds of lead. It got so bad that Valis wished he could sit down, but he knew it wasn’t from Tavros draining him. That actually made things marginally better.

“Valis!” Tavros screamed when Valis stumbled.

“I’ll be fine. It’s not because of the drain!”

“Bullshit!”

“Tav, keep going! I’m fine. It’s just fatigue from those two spells. I promise!”

“Fuck!” Tavros yelled. “Fuck fuck fuck.”

Valis shared his sentiments, but forced himself to pay attention. Someone was coming toward them, and Valis had to spare enough of his energy to take care of them.

But then someone else hit them, and Valis cursed. He was too slow. In this battle, he was a liability. But if he stopped the drain, his army’s shields would shatter, and he’d lose too many people to continue with their main mission. He wasn’t about to risk that. He had to rescue Darolen at all cost.

“What is wrong with you?” Tavros demanded. Still, even with berating Valis, Tavros kept his focus broad and did his part to help their ranks deal with the Qos adherents from behind. “Tell me!”

“I’m draining all the Qos adherents’ magic. And I’m doing it by absorbing it from everyone’s shields. It’s a bit much to handle, but I need the magic going forward, and it’s keeping their magic from breaking our army’s shields. It’s also weakening the Qos adherents. I can’t stop.”

“Valis, you have to!”

Instead of stopping the drain, Valis focused on converting it to holy gold as it streamed into him. If he could manage that, maybe it would refuel his strength. But as he tried, something blocked him. He tried again, and grunted with the strain. His focus was too thin, his mind too weak from beating back the darkness that always came with an influx of dark magic. He had been fighting it off subconsciously, and now it took a toll on Valis’ mind and energy.

He had to do better, be better. But it was almost like he was stuck in time, unable to do anything but what he had been doing all along. No matter what he did, it wasn’t enough. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t try hard enough for it to matter. All he could do was suck magic and pray that Tavros could use what he took in to keep them both safe.

Then everything came rushing back in. Valis surveyed the battle before him and his stomach pitted. This time, it felt precognitive, a sensation of something tugging at his mind at the same time his stomach gave him the “We’re fucked” signal.