Embrace the Power: A Paranormal Romance (The Blood Rose Series Book 9) Read Online Free

conquer the Nine Realms. If the Ancient Fae, as Margetta was known, had once accessed the elf-lord power that originated in Ferrenden Peace and which caused Rosamunde so much nightly pain, Margetta would have funneled that power into her war machine. A thousand years of her savage rule would have come to every citizen of the Nine Realms.
    She felt the veil of mist grow stronger and as it did, the pain dissipated.
    She’d never told anyone about her suffering except Vojalie and Davido. The powerful fae had tried to work with her to help her channel the power better but it had come down to something very simple: Rosamunde did not have the proper physical structure for the process.
    As the stream of energy receded, Rosamunde dropped from her levitating state to the woven carpet on her stone living room floor.
    Vojalie was with her immediately. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to endure this.”
    “Actually, I’m not.” And she wasn’t. If she’d obeyed her mother as a child, Evelyn would still be alive. A thousand years of pain seemed like a small punishment for being the cause of her own mother’s death.
    She took a couple of deep breaths, grateful the pain was gone. “Thank you for coming to me tonight and lending your counsel. I don’t easily go-with-the-flow, but I will try to where Stone is concerned. As for the mist, I’ve repaired it fully so you and Davido shouldn’t have any problems. Will you both be at Joseph’s for the evening?”
    Vojalie snickered. “That forest gremlin should be shot. Have you seen his lair lately? I vow he has enough stolen goods in there to support a small nation.”
    “He’s hopeless, yet somehow I adore him.” She’d met Joseph a few decades ago when he’d been trying to steal a birdbath from her private castle garden. She’d never met a forest gremlin before. In fact, realm-folk rarely ever saw them. Yet, Joseph had stood there, then commented that she was as pretty as a sunset, what with her red hair and violet eyes.
    He’d become an occasional confidante, though she reminded herself that self-interest would always define a forest gremlin and Joseph no less so. He’d left the garden without taking the birdbath, but by the next evening, the small stone edifice was gone. She hadn’t been able to figure out how he’d managed it until he invited her to take tea in his underground dwelling. When she saw his intricate system of pulleys and rolling carts, she understood how the eighteen-inch tall creature had managed the theft.
    Rosamunde shrugged. “He’s a good man, he loves his wife, and he does everything he can to keep impressing her with his thieving abilities. The truth is, I hold him in great affection, though there are times I want to kill him.”
    “Same here.” When Vojalie laughed, Rosamunde joined her. After a moment, Vojalie continued, “Davido is with him now and will be there through the night.”
    “But not you?”
    “Not this time. Bernice has been cutting molars and is miserable without me, so I’ll be returning to Merhaine to care for her. Don’t worry, though. Davido can support the mist by himself.”
    “I’m sure he can.” The old troll had more power than any realm-person she knew.
    But there was a sudden odd light in Vojalie’s eye, one of serious concern. Yet, she remained silent.
    Rosamunde watched her for a moment. “What are you not telling me?”
    Vojalie caught both her hands and squeezed them hard. “You’ll need to be strong tonight, Rosamunde, stronger than you’ve ever been. And for the next few nights, as well. My instincts tell me we’re fast reaching a crisis with the Ancient Fae. But that’s all I can tell you. I can’t even give you a direction for my concern.”
    Rosamunde squeezed her hands back. “Thank you for the warning and please don’t worry about it. I’ve been feeling something similar.” Looking into the future was a difficult and not always advisable undertaking. Sometimes it was better not to know too