Lorelei

The world dissolved into a blinding, golden glare. I blinked, my eyes stinging, fighting to make sense of the sudden assault of light and sound.

For a disorienting second, I thought I had been thrust directly into the sun. Then shapes coalesced. I was standing in a shadowed alcove, half-hidden by a heavy velvet curtain, looking out onto a vast, opulent stage. And there, centered in that sea of glittering light, was a throne.

And on that throne, he sat.

My mate.

My blood ran cold, ...