Blood of the Infinity War (Afterlife saga Book 8) Read online

  Blood

  of the

  Infinity War

  Afterlife Saga

  Book 8

  BY

  Stephanie Hudson

  Copyright

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the author, as allowed under terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Copyright © 2016 Stephanie Hudson

  All rights reserved.

  -

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning:

  This book contains explicit sexual content, some graphic language and a highly addictive Alpha Males.

  Cover design by: © Blake Hudson Designs

  Dedication

  This last book is dedicated to the ones who deserve it the most…

  You, my Fans.

  Without you guys supporting me through this incredible journey then I would still just be a waitress with a dream. And although I believe that it is a powerful thing, dreaming big and aiming high…you guys are what made it all possible. It had been a long road ahead when I started this saga and I feel that many of you have walked it with me. Strange that given the significance of the number seven in this saga, that it was in fact, seven years in the making.

  It’s been an emotional rollercoaster and it seems as though my own life was at a standstill before I took the brave leap and got on it. But it has been the ride of my life and I thank the Gods (Of Afterlife) that I took a chance at something great. Now, I thank you guys for keeping me on that ride and standing by me, giving me the motivation to carry on, through showing me your love for a world I created.

  This poem is dedicated to you all as this is the last book and it comes from the very heart of me.

  Sharing My World.

  I fall into a world of the likes of no other,

  I hold it to my chest and cherish it, like a mother,

  It starts off as my little secret sin,

  And wraps its way around my heart, blossoming within.

  The story unfolds like opening a door,

  And I venture in the dark, searching for more,

  I reach out and grab the words, holding them to my chest,

  I write them down before I forget, the start, the middle and the rest.

  One day I might let the world in, and let them see,

  The treasures I hold in my heart and trust them to be free,

  To set sail into the world and hope they are met by love,

  To find a passionate response from those reading above.

  Because this journey needs to be told and shared with love and laughter,

  Tears of joy and frowns of hate, but feelings, here, there and after,

  Because a story isn’t told unless it read by one and held in a heart forever,

  And keeping it to myself would be to condemn to a land of happy ever after… never.

  So, I thank you all for sharing with me in this time together,

  We walked as one through the storm and into calmer weather,

  The rocky road, the smooth paths ahead and all in between we gain,

  A friendship that will last the ages, of Author, to fan, to friend.

  All my Love

  Always

  Stephanie x

  Other books by Stephanie Hudson

  Afterlife Saga

  Book 1Afterlife

  Book 2The Two Kings

  Book 3The Triple Goddess

  Book 4The Quarter Moon

  Book 5The Pentagram Child /Part 1

  The Pentagram Child /Part 2

  Book 6The Cult of the Hexad

  Book 7Sacrifice of the Septimus /Part 1

  Sacrifice of the Septimus /Part 2

  Afterlife Spin offs and Extras

  The Forbidden Chapters - Part 1

  About the Author

  Stephanie Hudson has dreamed of being a writer ever since her obsession with reading books at an early age. What first became a quest to overcome the boundaries set against her in the form of dyslexia has turned into a life's dream. She first started writing in the form of poetry and soon found a taste for horror and romance. Afterlife is the first book in the series of seven, with the story of Keira and Draven becoming ever more complicated in a world that sets them miles apart.

  When not writing, Stephanie enjoys chatting with her fans and spending time with her friends. Being with her loving family as much as she can including her wonderful daughter Ava and supportive husband and personal muse Blake, who is there for her no matter what.

  "My Love and devotion is to all of my wonderful fans that keep me going into the wee hours of the night, but foremost to my wonderful daughter Ava...who yes, is named after a Demonic bird."

  Afterlife Saga is 8 books in total plus spin offs, as some stories are just too big for one book, and at the moment she is working on

  The Afterlife spin off series and Afterlife Chronicles

  Warning!

  This book has been written by a UK Author with a mad sense of humour. Which means the following story contains a mixture of Northern English slang, dialect, regional colloquialisms and other quirky spellings that have been intentionally included to make the story and dialogue more realistic for modern day characters.

  Thanks for reading x

  Chapter 1

  Intimidating Interrogation

  I opened my eyes to see I was being blinded by the sun and I blinked back the dark spots in my eyes a few times before things started to become clear.

  “Wakey, wakey, sunshine.”

  “Pip…is that you?” I asked in a groggy voice that grated on the back of my throat as if I was trying to swallow sandpaper.

  “The one and only,” she said in her usual happy tone.

  “Where am I?” I asked trying to sit up but finding it too difficult to accomplish.

  “Well, you’re not in Kansas anymore,” she said and my eyes widened.

  “We’re home!? We finally made it back…back in time!?” I shouted no matter how painful it felt to the back of my throat.

  “Uh, well about that…” she started to say as I lifted myself up to look for myself where we were. The first thing I saw was the desert sand outside of the stone arched window and my heart started to sink.

  We were still in Persia.

  But this wasn’t the worst part I now faced. Not when I saw the tall looming figure of Draven standing at the bottom of the bed with his arms folded.

  Pip looked back over her shoulder and said,

  “We have some explaining to do,” then gave me an ‘oh shit’ face that I was no doubt mirroring.

  “Leave us, Imp!” The sound of Draven’s stern order sounded like it verged on deadly. I swallowed hard, for once welcoming the burn it caused. For there he stood in all his battle won glory as he may have been about to lose against the God, but against the Romans, it was easily classed as a victory. Which had me wondering, what must he have thought when seeing me that way? I can very easily say it was probably the first time he had seen a human woman go up against such odds…but then again, after that, could I ever really class myself as just human?

  “Righty O…laters chickyd…�
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  “NOW!” Draven snapped interrupting her and making me frown up at him. Pip flinched and gave me a small smile before saying,

  “Outta here!” Then she ran from the room as he snarled at her when she passed. This managed to do only one thing and that was morph my fear into anger.

  “Don’t speak to her like that!” I snapped and he gave me a look that said this was the very last thing he expected me to say…something he clearly wasn’t happy about.

  “I can speak to the Lesser Demon however I please…I am her King,” he stated arrogantly and I laughed once without humour.

  “Yes, well I wouldn’t let her husband hear you say that, if you value your life that is!” I told him whipping back the covers and shifting off the bed, soon realising that thankfully I was dressed. I took a second to see that I was wearing a long red and gold kaftan dress that was pulled in at the waist thanks to the long crimson sash I had tied to one side.

  “And here I was, thinking you finally knew the depths of the position I hold and with it the immeasurable power, for a threat like that has little effect on a King of my kind,” he told me firmly and I rolled my eyes thinking for once he had no clue. Well, this was certainly a turnaround of events I thought wryly. Back in my world I was usually the one without a clue in a world that held only endless questions for me to ask but now, it seemed I was nearly 2000 years ahead of him.

  “And where do you think you are going?!” he said blocking my path. I had to say that if I thought he was intimidating before, then crossing his arms across his still bloody breastplate and now in all his battle worn gear, it definitely had me taking a cautious step back.

  “To…to make sure you haven’t hurt her feelings,” I told him with less of the attitude this time, but it just made him laugh cruelly and for once it wasn’t a nice sound.

  “A Lesser Demon is…” On hearing this for the second time, I verbally lashed out at him.

  “Don’t you dare finish that sentence or so help me, I will slap you!” I shouted at him and before I could think about his stunned features, I continued with my rant, telling him what for.

  “And just so you know, that Lesser Demon, that you seem to think so little of, well that Imp, is one of the greatest beings to ever have graced the Earth with her soul! She has saved my life more times than I can count and is someone that I care about enough that I would die for her!” I told him, ending with the last three words a vow spoken in a voice that I barely even recognised.

  “Easy Little Lamb, remember that you still speak this way to a King,” he warned me, his voice turning cold and this was when all logic flew through the stone archway, along with the last of my cool.

  “No, actually I don’t…” I told him walking past him but he grabbed my arm and swung me around to face him, which is when I threw the truth at him in the worst way possible,

  “…I speak this way to my husband!” Then I used his utter shock to yank myself from his hold and storm my way through his bedchamber until getting as far as the sunken living space. Then I felt bands of steel encase me from behind as he held me locked to his hard frame, one that I could feel was still shaking from what I gathered was his rage.

  “I fear you are not sound of mind if you think I have taken you as my wife without my knowledge!” he told me with an underlining growl I could feel rising from his chest. This was when it hit me, he didn’t yet know or realise I was from the future. So yeah, I guess in that case I did sound like a crazy person. But hey, silver lining was that at least he would haven’t me put to death now he knew I was his Electus. No matter how much I said sod it to royal etiquette. I mean, Hell, it wasn’t like I was any good at it any way.

  “I…well I…um…” Okay, so this one had me stumped! Do I tell him everything or keep this teensy tiny…okay so, who was I kidding, more like massive, huge and crazy unbelievable fact from him?

  He spun me once more and raised an eyebrow at me in question, as if waiting to hear what I would say next. His hold on the top of my arms told me he wasn’t letting me go anytime soon and this, combined with his sexy, ‘I am on the demonic edge’ look, and I knew I was on thin ice. Okay, so this was definitely an ‘oh shit’ moment as I had let my mouth run away with me without engaging that oh so important ‘thinking’ filter.

  So, in the end I blurted out the only thing right now that I thought could save me. Even said in whisper it sounded more like a confession than the declaration of love it was meant to be.

  “I’m your Electus.” On hearing this, something shifted deep with him and his eyes finally seeped to the purple fire I was so used to seeing and it brought me so much joy to watch, I nearly wept. It was like breaking the damn as he was showing me his true self and it felt like acceptance of the best kind.

  “Yes…yes you are.” He said this on a growl, this time one of pleasure before he pulled me to him and I literally fell into his dominating kiss. It felt as though he was trying to brand the knowledge across my tender skin for all to see. It felt as if he was tasting me for the first time, as if this new knowledge now let loose something like…well like the demon in him.

  He could finally be himself and with it came a kind of domination that even for me, I wasn’t used to. The Draven from my time was of course dominating yes, but he at least had years of restraint built up through both culture and modern-day principles, but this one? Well, this Draven was more like a Barbarian King who took whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted and with little of the consequences to care for. I knew this when he spoke,

  “By the Gods girl, you are mine! Do you understand? Tell me you understand what this means?!” he demanded, finally letting me take a breath. The intensity of his stare told me he was battling emotions that he had never experienced before. I bit my lip and nodded slowly. His eyes homed into the sight and this time the rumbling in his chest made me jump.

  “I told you once before Little Lamb, that lip no longer belongs to you, for it is now mine to torture,” he told me and then was once again kissing me, taking possession of my bottom lip in between his teeth. I moaned as I felt myself sinking into the keeper of my heart and soul. It was as though we had been reconnected after battling the storm to get to one another.

  However, this time it was I that broke away first, making him growl down at me.

  “Your sister! Sop…I mean Saphira, how is she?” I asked letting all that had happened flood back to me. The look he gave me was hard to read but I guess the questioning hint I saw in his eyes was understandable, considering she had spent most of my time with him openly hating my guts and trying to kill me.

  “I confess I don’t know what I find more in question, the fact that you ask this of me or that my own sister asked after your wellbeing also, when waking.” Ah…yeah, so that would seem odd upon reflection but then I realised what just happened to us all, so replied,

  “I guess being kidnapped together is enough to form any type of friendship between the most unlikely of people,” I told him, but when he scoffed I didn’t take it as a great sign that he had believed me.

  “Why? Did she say something different?” I enquired, trying to sound blasé about the whole thing. Of course, my appalling acting skills weren’t fooling anyone and his look said it all when he folded his arms across his plated chest once more.

  “Ah, Little Lamb of mine, I think what interests me more is what you think she told me?” he said nodding to me and once more I bit my lip, easily giving away my poker tell.

  “That same thing I said?” I asked timidly trying once again not to slip up. But then he simply shook his head and said a firm,

  “No.” Then it was at this point that Draven started to use his greatest weapon from his jam-packed arsenal…sexual intimidation. He started to walk me backwards and just as I looked back and down at the floor, so as not to trip, it was too late. I was about to fall backwards into his sunken seating area when he grabbed me. So instead of hurting myself he landed with me, lowering me down to the seat, with his hand hitting out
against the raised stone back next to my face to hold himself above me.

  “Now, do you want to try again with the truth this time, or continue to spin me your little web of lies?” he said in a tone that told me he had hit his limit.

  “I…I…can explain,” I told him and I could almost feel my conscious mind nudge part of my subconscious with a shit load of sass and say ’Oh yeah, this should be good’. Because in truth what exactly I thought I was going to try and explain I had no clue.

  “I sure hope so my Nāzanin, because you will not be leaving this room until you do!” he promised me and it was nothing short of a threat. He was at the edge and his intense purple gaze told me that much, if not the way the stone cracked under the strain of his punishing hold.

  “You won’t like it,” I warned him and at this he frowned.

  “I have no doubt of that, but trust my words Electus, for I like not knowing far less.” Well okay, so I could understand that considering how much important stuff he had kept from me in the past. But this was the problem when arguing against a man who had not yet committed his own lies against me. I had nothing to throw back his way that would stick, because the devastating truth was that this time it was me…all me. I was the one keeping important choices of our life from him and it made me hate myself for it. Had this been what Draven had gone through when he made the heart-breaking decision to cut himself out of my life? To hide the truth behind the prophecy and to keep the Oracle’s fated words from me. Simply put we were both as bad as each other but in this time then…