A Chorus of Cats
Amy Sumida
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
More Books by Amy Sumida
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The Playlist
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Keep reading for a sneak peek of the next book in the Spellsinger Series:
Chapter One
Pronunciation Guide/ Character List
About the Author
Copyright © 2019 Amy Sumida
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9781695175044
Legal Notice
This book is copyright protected. It is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote, or paraphrase any part of the content within this book without the consent of the author or copyright owner. Legal action will be pursued if this is breached.
More Books by Amy Sumida
The Godhunter Series (in order)
Godhunter
Of Gods and Wolves
Oathbreaker
Marked by Death
Green Tea and Black Death
A Taste for Blood
The Tainted Web
Series Split:
These books can be read together or separately
Harvest of the Gods & A Fey Harvest
Into the Void & Out of the Darkness
Perchance to Die
Tracing Thunder
Light as a Feather
Rain or Monkeyshine
Blood Bound
Eye of Re
My Soul to Take
As the Crow Flies
Cry Werewolf
Pride Before a Fall
Monsoons and Monsters
Blessed Death
In the Nyx of Time
Let Sleeping Demons Lie
The Lion, the Witch, and the Werewolf
Hear No Evil
Dark Star
Beyond the Godhunter
A Darker Element
Out of the Blue
The Twilight Court Series
Fairy-Struck
Pixie-Led
Raven-Mocking
Here there be Dragons
Witchbane
Elf-Shot
Fairy Rings and Dragon Kings
Black-Market Magic
Etched in Stone
—Completed Series—
The Spellsinger Series
The Last Lullaby
A Symphony of Sirens
A Harmony of Hearts
Primeval Prelude
Ballad of Blood
A Deadly Duet
Macabre Melody
Aria of the Gods
Anthem of Ashes
(A Chorus of Cats)
Spectra
Spectra: A Cynical Superhero
A Gray Area
A Compression of Colors
Blue Murder
Erotica
An Unseelie Understanding
Fairy Tales
Happily Harem After Vol. 1
Including:
The Four Clever Brothers
Wild Wonderland
Beauty and the Beasts
Pan's Promise
The Little Glass Slipper
Happily Harem After Vol. 2
Including:
White as Snow
Awakened Beauty
Twisted
Codename: Goldilocks
Historical Romance
Enchantress
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And dive further into the worlds of the Godhunter, Twilight Court, Spellsinger, and Spectra at Amy's website:AmySumida.com
Follow her on Bookbub to get news on latest releases and discounts: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amy-sumida
The Playlist
You can listen to this playlist, as well as all the Spellsinger playlists, on Spotify for free. Simply look up the book title and author or use this link:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5eGfZNWotPZ0jFXvAJCLGn?si=86R4eGrMS0mzWIGOrDaekg
Songs are in the order they appear.
Kings and Queens and Vagabonds by Ellem
Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos
Macarena by Los Del Rio
Building a Mystery by Sarah Mclachlan
Invisible by Ana Clendening
Between Wind and Water by Hael
Weight of Everything by Ill Factor and Katie Garfield
Poison in the Water by Von Grey
Stray Cat Strut by Stray Cats
The Search is Over by Survivor
King of Shadow by Kat Cunning
Burnin' Up by Distant Cousins
Lost it All by Jill Andrews
Invincible by Pat Benatar
Heat Stroke by Black Math
Missile by Dorothy
Get Out by CHVRCHES
Hunt You Down by Hit House
Chapter One
A married woman. Four times over. I stared at the ring fingers of both of my hands. The one on the left held four thin bands; blood-red, onyx-black, alexandrite-purple, and kyanite-blue. One for each of my husbands. The ring finger on my right hand bore my engagement ring; a gold puzzle with five interlocking components that slid together to form a bird. Gage had given me a piece too, despite the fact that he declined a wedding ceremony. In Gage's eyes, I was his mate and there was nothing more binding than that to a griffin. Still, he wanted to be represented on my hand. I didn't have enough room on my left hand to slide the bird ring on top of the others so it went on the right but someday that might need to change. Because there was one more man who wasn't represented on either hand; Slate.
Neither husband nor mate, Slate was my boyfriend, though that word felt sorely inadequate to describe
what he was to me. It was too soon to talk about marriage with him, but I hoped it would come. Honestly, it didn't matter if we ever got married as long as that gargoyle was mine.
I was still getting used to my married status. It had been a couple of months since I'd returned from my honeymoon with Darcraxis; my newest husband and also my first. Darc and I had been married back when we were powerful Gods—true Gods; as in Creators of the Universe—but since we were in new bodies now and living less-godly lives, we decided to renew our vows and make things official. Darc also rules Kyanite with me; he became a shining one king after I locked up most of his god magic in an orb of Light. “Shining Ones” is the proper name for Fairies, and they're just one of the numerous alien races of the Beneath—the secret world of paranormals who live on Earth.
Shining Ones come from the planet of Tír na nÓg which is divided into Jewel Kingdoms and the Primeval Forest. They have magic that stems from precious stones. Each gem has different properties that can be tapped into, but Shining Ones are born with a connection to only one jewel. The stronger they are, the more distance they can put between them and their stone and still be able to draw upon its magic. The weakest shining ones wear several pieces of jewelry featuring their stone, needing physical contact to connect with it, while the most powerful—the Kings and Queens— can be miles away from their stones and still access their magic. Kind of ironic when you think about it; in Tír na nÓg, the more jewelry you wore, the less powerful you appeared. Although, us Shining One Queens do enjoy sparkly baubles just as much as the next woman and crowns are another exception to the rule.
By the way, I'm not a Shining One. I became Queen of Kyanite through a series of strange events, but I'm actually a Spellsinger; daughter of a Siren mother and a Fire Witch father. My kind can make music into magic, using lyrics as our spells. We are very rare; there are only five of us in existence. There were six, but my Aunt Alexandra died and was brought back to life as an Asrai. Long story.
Torin and Declan, my other two Shining One husbands, are kings as well; of Onyx and Alexandrite respectively. Their kingdoms border mine which always happens when shining ones who rule different kingdoms marry; the land adjusts itself to bring the lovers closer together. Although, it didn't need to adjust in our case. I just so happened to become queen of the kingdom that bordered both of my husbands' lands. Gee, it's almost as if that was meant to be.
My last husband, Banning, is a Blooder prince; the Blooder Prince, actually, although he's relinquished his claim to the throne. Instead of ruling over the entire Blooder community Banning rules a gura—a vampire clan—in Kansas, where he also owns several businesses. Which brings me to why I was in bed with three men instead of six. Not that I regularly slept with all of them at once, but we did indulge in the group thing on occasion and probably would have today. Except Torin and Declan were busy looking after their kingdoms while Banning was seeing to business issues in Kansas; he was working on a new venture. Slate is a zone lord—he runs a subterranean city exclusive to Beneathers—but he also has two brothers to help him look after things and doesn't need to check in as often as my other men. So, I had Darc, Gage, and Slate snuggled in around me in our enormous bed. We had just finished several rounds of exuberant and erotic lovemaking and were basking in the afterglow.
“Are you staring at your rings again?” Slate asked in an irritated tone.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I'm trying to let it sink in.”
“I can sink something even better into you,” he purred in my ear.
“You just did, honey.” I smirked at him. “Several times, in fact, and in several places.”
“Not enough to keep you focusing on me instead of your wedding bands,” Slate grumbled.
“Get over yourself, Gargoyle,” Gage lifted his head from my stomach to say. “I'm not married to her, but you don't hear me whining about it.”
“I do not whine. Not ever.” Slate's silver eyes flashed. “And you are mated to her and have a ring on her finger.”
“So put a ring on it, Beyoncé.” Gage dropped back to my belly and nestled against me.
“He's not ready to put a ring on it,” I chided Gage. “We haven't even been dating a year.”
Slate frowned, his gaze going distant, and then climbed out of bed, giving me a delightful view of his sleek, muscular body and perfectly rounded ass, but I was too startled by his abrupt abandonment to appreciate it.
“Slate?” I asked in confused concern. “Are you okay? I didn't mean anything negative by that.”
“I'm fine, sweetheart,” Slate murmured as he bent to kiss me. “I've just remembered that there's something I need to do. I'll see you later, okay?”
“Sure,” I whispered as I watched him hurry into his clothes. “See you later.”
Slate slid his suit in place, smoothed back his dark mahogany hair, and winked at me before he used the Shining One traveling stone I'd given him to move through the Veil—the barrier between the Realms—and travel to his zone in Oregon.
“That was abrupt. Did I say something wrong?” I asked the two lovers I had left.
“Slate is the sort of man who would simply tell you if you said something that bothered him.” Darc's steady, deep-sea stare assured me. “He wouldn't have run away like a child.”
“You're right.” I relaxed. “It must be zone business.”
“My business is right here,” Gage murmured as he slipped down between my legs. “It's nice being a kept man.”
“You are not a kept man,” I protested.
“I don't work, and you support me.” He gave me a cocky but teasing grin. “I believe that makes me a kept man.”
“In that case, you'd best get to earning your keep,” I teased back.
“As my lady commands.” He eagerly bent his head to the task.
Gage has the body of a warrior—thick muscles, broad shoulders, and a chiseled chest—so I had to spread my legs wider to make room for him, but I didn't mind. I sighed deeply as he began to lick me. Slowly. Gage flashed his hazel eyes up at me; they were shifting to gold, a sign of his arousal. That shift set off a chain reaction inside me; shivering down my chest and straight to him. I groaned and wove my fingers through Gage's hair as I slid my free hand into Darc's lap to discover that he'd been enjoying the show.
Darcraxis was just leaning in to kiss me when a hellhound shouted up the stairs.
“Ellie! You up there? I need you!”
I jolted upright, dislodging Gage and bumping Darc away. “I'll be right down, Cer. Stay there!”
Cerberus started laughing. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Always,” Darc growled in irritation.
I climbed out of bed, adrenaline chasing away my arousal, and slipped into some clothes.
“Pushed aside for a dog,” Darc grumbled to Gage.
“I think she's more worried about the dog bounding upstairs and seeing us in all of our naked glory,” Gage pointed out.
“I am. Thank you, Gage.” I gave Darc a sassy look. “Are you two waiting here or are you going to get dressed and join us?”
Darcraxis sighed deeply and settled under the covers as his answer. I shook my head but smiled anyway. We had gotten pretty wild during that last romp; I didn't blame him for wanting a nap.
“I'll go with you,” Gage offered as he started to crawl out of bed.
“It's okay, honey. Stay here and get some rest too. I'll see what Cer wants. If I need to, I'll come back and wake you up.”
“You sure?” Gage asked but his eyes were already closed.
He hadn't even made it up to a pillow, just sprawled across the lower half of the bed. Griffins can sleep anywhere.
“I'm sure.” I pulled the blanket over all of that Griffin gorgeousness and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind me.
Two flights of curving stairs took me down to the social floor of my tower suite where the kitchen, dining room, and living room are located. Cerberus, my best friend and ex-Hound of Hades, stoo
d at the beverage bar in the living room, pouring himself a drink. Cer has a similar physique to Gage but has a little height on my mate. His enormous body, with its slabs of muscles, nearly blocked out the narrow table entirely.
“What happened?” I asked immediately.
Cer shot back half a tumbler of vodka, his dark, shaggy hair flailing with the movement, and then turned to face me. He sported the usual sandpaper stubble on his cheeks but it looked rougher today. He looked rougher today.
“Fuck,” I whispered as I looked at the empty glass. “What fresh hell is this?”
“I appreciate the homage to my origins.” Cerberus tried to smile but it turned into a grimace. “Kosmos called me.”
My bestie poured himself another drink and went to sit on one of the plush, velvet couches.
“Kosmos Terrencal?”
“You know another Kosmos?”
I just grimaced at him in the way I'd been doing from the very beginning of our friendship.
“Kosmos said that after running into us that day in the Bazaar, he was reminded of how powerful you are and now, you're even stronger.”
“Is he in trouble?” My voice went low.
Kosmos and Kasteo Terrencal had befriended Cer and me back when we were new to the Beneath scene; me—fresh off the private island I'd been raised on, and Cerberus—recently released from his service to Hades. Neither of us had known how to navigate the dangerous streets of a Beneather bazaar, and the Terrencal Brothers had shown us the ropes. Then they stuck around and proved themselves to be loyal friends. If they were in trouble, I'd make it my business to turn that trouble back onto whoever had dished it out.