Page 60 of Princess Redeemed

“Oh my God!”I gasp and clamp my hand over my mouth.

An abyss has opened in the middle of my living room.

Descend, a voice says directly into my mind.

“Dad?”I whisper.

“It’s me, Hannah.Alara awaits you.Descend.”

“I have to feed.The baby…”

“Descend!”he roars.

I gulp.I no longer feel bound to obey my king’s command, but something deep within me feels I must in this circumstance.I step near the abyss, and a spiral staircase made of stone appears.

“Is this the ether?”I eke out.

But no more answers come.

I breathe in deeply and take the first step.

An oddly calm sensation envelops me, and the child inside me seems sated, at least for the moment.How long has it been since I fed from Rogan?Since I watched him bound toward his true mate and out of my life?And since we were in the ether, where time apparently has no meaning, it could have been ages ago.

I nod to myself and take another step.

More calm.

And my baby seems calm as well.

I slowly descend the many stone steps that spiral deep into the earth until I’m in a large round chamber made from bedrock.Torches ensconced in iron cast flickering light that glows against the walls.

I draw in a deep breath and close my eyes.Power pulses through the air, as tangible as the chill that seeps into my bones.

“Welcome, Hannah.”

Alara’s voice.I open my eyes.

Alara stands poised, a haunting silhouette framed by the eerie luminescence, her violet eyes pools of ancient knowledge that see right through me.

“Every shadow holds a secret,” she says, “and every flame, a truth.Harness them.”

“Uh…I’m sorry.What, exactly?”

“Your craving for blood has decreased as you gained control over your body and descended to this training area.”

“Training area?”

“Yes.You are here to train, Hannah, and your first lesson will be in controlling the blood lust.”

I touch my abdomen.“But my child.He needs his father’s blood.”

“Does he?”

“Yes!Of course he does.He’s half wolf, Alara.You know that.”

“And what makes you think he requires the blood of his father?”

I swallow.“He tells me.The ache in my abdomen becomes so pronounced, and only wolf blood heals it.”