Fallen: A Paranormal Romance Novel (Shadows Of Regia Book 1) Read online

  Fallen

  The Shadows of Regia

  By

  Tenaya Jayne

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 Tenaya Jayne

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews. Copying, file sharing, and piracy in general is forbidden by the publisher and is in direct violation of the author's rights.

  Cover design by Cold Fire Book Covers

  Edited by Finish The Story.

  Cold Fire Publishing, LLC

  ISBN: 9780998674124

  This one is dedicated to Lacey’s tattoo.

  Characters from The Legends of Regia

  Forest

  Half elf, half shapeshifter. Skilled warrior, now the highest judge in Regia. Has the elven ability to become invisible at will. Can shape shift her full appearance, except her eyes. Carries a sword of obsidian glass infused with lightning. Mated to Syrus. Daughter of Rahaxeris. Mother of Tesla and Maddox.

  Syrus

  The vampire prince. Mage and master of the Blood Kata. Has the power of lightning. Can heal almost all wounds and illnesses. Gave up the throne, in favor of making Regia a republic. He works in the Obsidian Mountain, training other masters in the Kata. Mated to Forest.

  Shi

  Dryad princess. Died when her race was poisoned and existed for thousands of years as a ghost in the Wolf’s Wood. Close friend and adopted mother to Forest. Mated to the late vampire king, Leramiun.

  Netriet

  Vampire. Thief. Murderess. Sacrificial messenger. Tortured by the leader of the werewolves, resulting in the loss of her arm. Possessed by a dark entity. Used as a pawn by Baal, a priest of the Rune-dy. Given an illegal, alien robotic arm. Finally, finds redemption in the love of her mate Merick. Mother of Melina.

  Rahaxeris

  Elf. Father of Forest. Former high priest of the Rune-dy. World jumper. Strong magical abilities, some unnatural. Loves his family but nothing else. Deadly. No scruples. No morality. On a constant quest for more knowledge and power.

  Journey

  Alien. Storyteller from the world of Illumistice. Has the power to look inside your heart and spin a story from your deepest desires. Can hypnotize you with just her voice. Gentle, and healing nature. Mated to Redge. Childless.

  Shreve

  Clone. Shapeshifter. Created by the wizards. Has Rahaxeris’ DNA. Considered Forest’s brother. Deadly fighter and weapons master. Lived as an outlaw. Redeemed through family love. His blood was the key ingredient in the blood lock that kept out the wizards before the war. Mated to Sabra. Father of Sophie.

  Sabra

  She-wolf. Became the leader of the pack through combat. Lost her sister to the insurgents. Mated to Shreve. Vicious in battle. Loves without restraint. Mother to her people, and Sophie.

  Tesla

  Daughter of Forest and Syrus. Half vampire. World jumper. Has the power of lightning in her hands. Can manipulate natural laws. Created her own mix of magic, science, and technology. Revered as a legend and the savior of Regia. Killed the wizard king. Mated to X.

  X

  Human. Necromancer. Cursed by a witch. Has the power to always know the truth. Helped Tesla save Regia from the wizards. The only human able to survive in Regia. Tesla’s soul mate. Granted unnatural long life by the heart of the world. Works in Regia’s government as an interrogator.

  The Heart

  Deity. Lives under the ground in the Wolf’s Wood. No one had ever seen the Heart. All that can be seen is the manifestation. The manifestation is an immortal flame that burns in a circle of crystal trees. Speaks to few. Protected and served by the Dryads.

  Prologue

  As the sun sets, jeweled colors flow through the sky like ribbons in the wind. Darkness falls, and the moon wraps you in silken bands of aquamarine light, disturbing your dreams. Don’t be afraid. You might think you have wandered into a fairy tale. You are in Regia.

  Step into the Wolf’s Wood and lose yourself among the Dryads as you venture to The Heart of this world. Listen to the music of the wind as it chimes in the leaves of the crystal trees circling the flames of the manifestation. Watch the emotions of the world’s heart in the shifting colors of the flames that never die.

  Take off your shoes and breathe deep in the Dreaming Desert of the Vampire lands. The hallucinogenic Shadow Sand will show you your dreams. Or venture to the Obsidian Mountain where the Vampires train in the ancient martial art of the Blood Kata.

  If you’re looking for a little R and R you might enjoy the luxury of Kyhael where the Elves dwell in the clean straight lines and warm glow of the Bellis stone. While you are there, if you feel a chill under the surface, those are just the ghosts of the past. For once under the city of Kyhael were the priests of the Rune-dy: a sect of elves dedicated to perfecting torture and twisting science. Rest easy; they are no more.

  In the mountains, the werewolves will welcome you in, but beware invoking their ire, for they are truly a pack, and they will kill you as a pack. Shake hands with an ogre, if you dare, and feel the power that throbs deep inside their palms. Power to open portals and forge deadly weapons.

  You might come across a few nomadic shape shifters, but really, how could you know for sure? For they can imitate every race. Then there are the Halflings, whose parents dared to break convention and mate across racial lines. Of all Regians, the Halflings are the blessed and the cursed. Shunned by those who stick to the old ways and reject the mixing of the races. Halflings are the unpredictable ones, for you never know what power they may have.

  Magic hangs in the air like dew. Many other worlds know of this place. Some have tried to breach the borders. Even the strongest of all, the Wizards, tried to conquer and claim the power of The Heart. They are all dead now.

  Come with me. Let us stand on the sharp cliffs of the coast and gaze at the rose-colored waves of the Crystalline Sea as they beat the shore. Don’t be afraid. You might think you have wandered into a fairy tale. You are in Regia.

  One

  City of Anue, Regia.

  13 years after the war of the wizards

  A rage burned in Erin’s twelve-year-old heart, branding her with darkness. Rage at her mom for dying. Rage at her mother’s family for not even bothering to show up to the funeral. Rage at her own powerless state. Her soul wept. She’d cried an ocean, but her eyes were dry, empty shells now.

  “Mom…” she whispered, pinching her eyes shut tight. “Mom, I just wish you could hold my hand once more.”

  Erin put her hands together and imagined her left hand was her mother’s.

  Cold swept up her back as she realized she was an orphan. Her dad still lived in a technical sense only. He breathed, he spoke, his face was the same. He was there, and at the same time, he wasn’t. The moment her mother had died, so had he. Erin watched it happen. The light went out of his eyes. His soul, forever tied to her mother’s, left when hers left. There was no comfort she could offer her father. Witnessing him lose his destined life mate terrified Erin. The gravity of his loss seemed to dwarf her own, and Erin’s grief was so severe it maimed her.

  She raged at the injustice of reality. She was shunned by her mother’s family because she was a Halfling. Cursed to suffer the stupidity of racism because her father was a vam
pire and her mother was an elf. But destiny had chosen to lock her parents together with the famous soul bridge shared by life mates. Destiny was a heartless bitch. Everyone said Regia had changed and now it was acceptable for the races to mix, and perhaps it had been worse before she was born. That didn’t change the fact that her grandparents didn’t even acknowledge her existence.

  Erin leaned out her bedroom window, took as deep a breath as she could, and let it out slowly, gazing at the nearby homes that lined the humble street. Not one window was lit. Everyone slept. She was adrift in the dark quiet, and she would have to learn her own strength. No one else was going to hold her up. Halflings had to be tough, because the world would kick the shit out of you just for being mixed. She had to learn to kick back harder. How could she do that? She wasn’t skilled or strong.

  A faint rustling startled her. She pulled back into the house and used her elf DNA to turn invisible. Through the gap in the curtains, a hooded figure walked closely past her window and around the side of the house.

  Creeping from her room, slowly she approached the front window and looked out. The figure was there, leaning down by the front door. The size and shape of the stranger let her know it was a boy maybe just a little older than herself. His hands caught her attention. A mark, like a medallion, the size of a coin, glowed on his wrist in a beautiful gold.

  He placed an envelope and a white flower on the front step. The breeze snatched the envelope and lifted it up. He caught it, put it back down, grabbed a rock from the ground, and set it on top of the envelope and flower stem. Before he moved away a surge of warm light from his marked hand went into the rock. She watched him walk away until the shadows swallowed him.

  Erin waited a few minutes just to make sure he was really and truly gone before opening the door. Clasping the envelope, flower, and rock to her chest, she locked the front door and sat down on the floor. She opened the envelope and gasped. A small fortune of silver coins and a simple note spilled out into her hand.

  I’m so sorry for your loss. I know money fixes nothing and cannot soothe your pain, but I have nothing else to give you.

  It wasn’t signed.

  She put the note and money on the kitchen table before taking the flower and rock to her bedroom. She sat on her bed, brought the flower close to her face and inhaled its sweet fragrance. Kindness from a stranger. It touched her battered, broken heart. She pressed the flower inside the book on her bedside table. She didn’t want to lose it.

  Erin climbed into bed, the rock clutched in her hands. It glowed very faintly—the same gold as the mark on the stranger’s hand. What kind of power was imbued inside? She instantly and inexplicably attached strong feelings to the stone. Lying face up, she put the stone over her heart. There was something about it…the tightness that held inside her chest for the last few days, eased. The stone made her feel better, healthier, and oddly enough…luckier.

  In the years that followed, rumors spread about the benevolent, anonymous person who left help to those who needed it the most, and there was always a stone that the recipient kept and considered lucky. Erin listened to the rumors and would argue with any skeptic that indeed the generous stranger did exist.

  Sometimes, in the dead of night, if she had a hard time sleeping, Erin got up and snuck out. She lurked in the shadows, invisible, just watching and hoping she might catch the gift giver in the act. A desire to know his identity only grew through the years and she had more than a few fantasies about him. Even though she didn’t know his name, had never seen his face, or heard his voice, she loved him. Just that such a person existed gave her hope.

  Two

  Paradigm, Regia

  20 years after the war of the wizards.

  Maddox left his date in the dancing crowd and stepped outside for a moment of fresh air. In the dark courtyard of The Academy, he leaned against the castle’s wall and sighed. The after-graduation party was well under way, but he wasn’t even halfway drunk yet. Always the center of attention—where he liked to be— there still were times, like right then, that he needed to be alone. No doubt, his best friend, Kendrick, would find him soon.

  Maddox pulled his lighter and a joint from his pocket. The end glowed happily in the dark as he inhaled the head-spinning smoke and held it in his lungs. On his second pull, the door opened.

  “Dude, why are you out here?” Kendrick asked, coming out.

  Maddox blew smoke in his face and held up the joint. “Fresh air. Wanna hit?”

  Kendrick took one drag and handed it back. “I’m not even close to being wasted. The party punch sucks.”

  “Did you expect better?” Maddox asked incredulously. “This is a school-hosted function. The music isn’t bad though. The punch will work on the panties, don’t worry.”

  “Thank goodness for that. Not all of us are superstars and have hordes of women throwing themselves on us the way you do.”

  Maddox smirked and took another drag. “Don’t complain. I know picking the carcasses clean of my discards is one of your favorite pastimes.”

  Kendrick chuckled. “True. Most of the time the poor girls think I can get them back in your good graces. They will do anything for that. If it wasn’t weird, I’d ask you to teach me. You’re such a slayer.”

  Maddox pulled his face like he’d just swallowed something sour. “Eww… Anyway, my gifts can’t be taught.”

  “Are you going back in or cutting out?”

  “Haven’t made up my mind. Neely is boring me. She can’t dance. I hate that. Such a turn off.”

  “So?” Kendrick snorted. “She’s got a great rack. Are you really not going to hit that?”

  “I already have, yesterday. It wasn’t that great. Once was enough. If I leave now, she’ll get the hint.”

  “You think?” He scoffed. “She’s got stars in her eyes when she looks at you. You know she’ll show up on your doorstep tomorrow, begging.”

  Maddox pulled more smoke into his lungs and rolled his eyes. “Well, that will be more fun than taking her home tonight. Feel free to wipe her tears and whatever else. I don’t give a shit.”

  Kendrick held out his fist. Maddox bumped it with his own and threw the joint to the ground.

  “See you tomorrow, brother?”

  Maddox nodded and began walking away. “Not before noon, or I’ll kick your ass.”

  The music faded behind him as he walked through the school grounds and out. He grimaced since no one could see him. He shouldn’t be so cruel, he knew that, but it was like a drug. It made him feel powerful…afterward however, the guilt was heavy.

  He looked at his watch, the face shivering under the touch of his fingertip. He scrolled through his messages for a second, and then unfastened it and put it in his pocket. The watches most Regians used were all designed by his sister, Tesla. She’d taken her inspiration from Earth’s technology and added her own flare to it. Everyone was connected as they chose, but Regia’s version of the Internet was a product of Tesla’s singular mix of science and magic. Nothing had to be charged. No equipment kept things running.

  Now that his watch wasn’t hiding the portal embedded in his wrist, he touched the gold medallion on his skin, opening a gateway to the outskirts of Anue. He wanted to walk a bit before going home. He relaxed in the dark solitude as he strolled, his hands in his pockets. His rangy frame cast a very thin shadow across the ground. He looked around and smiled. He’d missed this place. Anue had grown from a small town into a medium-sized, racially diverse city. And since he’d spent over half the year living at school, he didn’t get time to spend there. That could change now that he’d graduated.

  Memories of his past nightlife in Anue came into his head and caused him to scowl. He didn’t want to analyze his character, it would just make him feel guilty. At least no one ever found out about his good deeds. He wove through the empty back streets, unconsciously moving toward the low-income area. He stopped in front of the shabbiest house he’d ever seen and smirked. Why not? Just for old times’ s
ake.

  He fished out a few large coins from the bottom of his pocket and put them in the mail box. The sum was enough to feed the family for a month. He began to walk away and stopped after three strides. He’d forgotten something. He bent over and picked up a stone from the ground. He tossed it in the air, caught it, and went back to the house to place the stone in the mail box with the coins. He never knew exactly why he did this, but he always had, ever since the first time, when he’d just needed a rock to keep the letter from blowing away. After that, it was just an odd compulsion he indulged.

  He turned the direction of home and walked a little faster than before. Thumping music floated on the air a few streets over. He followed the beat to the house having the party and looked into the open front window. His eyes devoured the scene for a moment before he backed away and continued home. He smiled to himself as he opened a portal to home. Yeah, summer slumming was going to be good. The townie girls he’d glimpsed through that window were hotter than the snooty school tail he was used to.