Thief of Light

Table of Contents

 

 

PRAISE FOR

THE FLAME AND THE SHADOW

 

“Should appeal to fans of Storm Constantine and Laurell K. Hamilton.”

 

“Denise Rossetti has taken the fantasy genre by storm with her print debut.
The Flame and the Shadow
bursts with action, mystery, and passion.”
—Romance Junkies

 

“I was so captivated . . . I couldn’t put it down.
The Flame and the Shadow
is darkly intense, warmly romantic, and blazingly erotic.”

—
Publishers Weekly
’s WW
Ladies Book Club Blurbs

 

“A dark, erotic tale that is satisfying on many levels. Rossetti’s first installment of the Four-Sided Pentacle series is exciting and full of passion and intrigue. I will be anxiously awaiting the second book.”

 

“The connection between Cenda and Gray explodes with excitement in this wonderful read.”
—The Romance Studio

 

“Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. With [characters] who inspire through their own growth a compelling plot and passion as incendiary as the Fire Witch’s power, Denise Rossetti offers readers a novel that is hard to put down until the last page.”
—Wild on Books

 

“Rossetti creates such lovably flawed characters in Cenda and Gray that it is hard not to laugh (and cry) at their expense.
The Flame and the Shadow
is exceedingly hot! Explicitly hot! Beware to keep a glass of ice water or a cool shower handy so that you can maintain your own cool while the sparks fly.
The Flame and the Shadow
is the perfect blend of science fiction and erotic fantasy romance
.
”

—Romance Reader at Heart
(Top Pick)

 

“Denise Rossetti creates an erotic, mystical, futuristic world full of excitement and intrigue, promising even more adventure in the next book in this thrilling series. This is a great read!”
—Fresh Fiction

 

“The erotica is in high supply, and the sexual tension is repeatedly built up and released only to be built again. If you enjoy reading about sensual sex, and like the sex to be flaming hot and steamy, this erotic romance in an unearthly universe will seductively draw you in.”
—SFRevu

 

“Readers will delight in the author’s rich imagination as they are caught up between the dilemmas of the main characters, the fight for power between the magic-wielding Pures and Technomages, and a thorough fall into love
.
”
—Love Romances & More

 

“Denise Rossetti is a stunning new voice in futuristic romance. She hits the scene with a thrilling view into a magical world of fantasy, magic, and intrigues. I’ve not read anything in romance like it.”

 

“Ms. Rossetti has developed an intriguing fantasy world that begs for further stories.”
—Eye on Romance

THE FLAME AND THE SHADOW
THIEF OF LIGHT

Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
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(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
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(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,
South Africa

 

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 2009 by Denise Rossetti.

 

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

BERKLEY
^®
SENSATION and the “B” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

PRINTING HISTORY

Berkley Sensation trade paperback edition / November 2009

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

 

Rossetti, Denise.
Thief of light / Denise Rossetti.—Berkley Sensation trade paperback ed.
p. cm.

eISBN: 9781101353998

I. Title.
PS3618.O8484T47 2009
813’.6—dc22 2009029846

 

 

When the Lady’s dark velvet voice spoke in Erik’s dream, the power of Her will vibrated deep in his bones. He struck out, jarring his arm as his fist hit the wall next to the bed.

But he didn’t wake.

Anger and dread banged about in his chest. “Choose?” he rasped. “Choose what?” Gritting his teeth, he tried to lever his eyes open, but they were sealed shut. The goddess had him cornered in his own body.

Erik stiffened.

The Lady’s tone dropped to the ear-aching pitch of thunder in the mountains.
You made of it a curse. In your vanity and your lust, you spoke a command to an unwilling soul.

“You don’t need to remind me, Great Lady. I know what I did.” Every muscle in his jaw—his neck, his shoulders—locked tight.

Do you, indeed?
A huff of displeasure.
We see little evidence of this
.

Out of the corner of his eye, Erik saw the movement of a graceful, star-dappled hand, the palm so big he could have curled up in it to sleep.

Or to die.

In the waking world, men trod warily around Erik Thorensen, with his massive shoulders, his chest muscled like a warrior’s. The Dark Lady could snap him in two with the flick of a thought.

Should he risk it? Hell, why not? All he had left to lose was his life.

Bracing himself, he said, “Why not see for Yourself ?”

An impatient exclamation, and the Lady was rummaging around in his head, turning his soul inside out to look at the underside, inspecting all the dirty little nooks and crannies. When Erik groaned in involuntary protest, She withdrew, but without haste.

Another voice, so deep as to be almost below the threshold of human hearing, rumbled,
Well
?

The Lady turned to Her Lord.
No better and no worse than many others
. Either the goddess shrugged, or every star in the cosmos shifted in its cold bed.
His soul remembers, but his conscious mind chooses to forget
. Her voice dropped.
He doesn’t think of her if he can help it. Only in his dreams.

Nightmares, more like. Erik squinted into the sparkling nimbus that marked the presence of the Horned Lord. He caught the impression of a vast, nebulous figure, antlers spanning the stars. Without being obvious, he tried to angle himself toward that huge male presence. His heart hammered in his chest, fast heavy beats that hurt.

“I can’t—” Hiding from the gods was useless. He’d learned that lesson at seventeen. “I have to live in my skin, face myself in the mirror, day after fucking day.” Vaguely, he was aware his cheeks were damp. Must be sweat.

He raised his head, resentment burning a sullen hole in his belly. “It’s the way I function, stay sane.” Fuck it all to hell. Say it. “What use is a broken tool, even to the gods? My Lord, when I was a boy and You gave me the Voice, You said You had a task for me. ”

Dead silence.

The Lord’s rumble of anger thundered through every cell in Erik’s body. He grunted, squeezing his eyes shut, willing himself to endure.

But the Lady sounded amused.
Only you, Erik. Only you would dare. Little one, you cannot bargain with Us.
The sensation of Her smile tingled over his skin, both fond and terrible.
The day will come, my dear, when you encounter one you cannot charm, cannot control
.

“So?” he panted, still fighting for breath. “Doesn’t matter about anyone else. I have my own rules, and they work for me.” Cautiously, he sat up. “I live. Exist.”

Last chance
, growled the Horned Lord.
Choose
.