When Valentine’s sire is forced to take a mate by his Clan leader, Valentine is reduced to stoking the castle’s furnaces as nothing more than a cindered servant to the new matriarch. With his sire Libertine incarcerated and Valentine forced to wear a cursed collar, there seems no way to escape Belladonna’s hold on them. When a stranger appears, Valentine is surprised by how quickly he trusts the other vampire. He accepts the request to go to the castle of his Clan Lord, the ancient and powerful Hades, to uncover who is working to overthrow him. His reward is freedom for both him and his sire. No one is meant to know who he really is, and Valentine pretends he’s one of Hades’ favorites while in the castle, adopting the name Cinder and playing his Seductive nature to its full. But his world is shaken to its core when Valentine finds himself falling for the enigmatic Cole. As a Seductive, Valentine never imagined he’d want an Alpha Predator as a mate. Worse yet, it may be that Cole could be the very one he’s been sent to uncover. When the battle for dominance begins, where will Valentine’s loyalty lie?

Cinis

Valentine had heard of Enigmatics, those who practiced magic arts but other than Belladonna, had never met one in the flesh before. Other than other vampires and lycans, he only knew the gargoyles and their vestigial magic. But that was so slight, it barely allowed them to come to life.


“Very good. You’re powerful in your own way.” Seth nodded.


That notice made Valentine laugh. “I’m a Seductive. Our power lies in our persuasive talents.”


“Perhaps.” Seth’s smile unsettled Valentine, but he ignored the cold chill which crept down his spine. This wasn’t the time to back down. Libertine, and possibly his clan Lord, depended on him.


“Now, let’s dress you. Something simple. We don’t want to draw toomuch attention. Concentrate on clothing. On something suitable to wear if visiting Hades.” Seth aimed his cane at Valentine and for a second or two, Valentine thought he saw its colors shift.


“Vestitus. Yes, indeed.” Seth grinned triumphantly. “That should most certainlydo it.”


Chapter 12