Rise of the Amberloq: Books 13-15: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Romance (Guardians of the Fae Realms), page 1
CONTENTS
Introduction
Find the Fallen
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Rise from Ruin
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Trust and Triumph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
About the Author
Also by JL Madore
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JL Madore
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Rise of the Amberloq: Guardians of the Fae Realms
JL Madore — 1st ed.
ISBN: 978-1-990853-94-4
BEFORE YOU START!
Rise of the Amberloq is the fourth trilogy (books 13-15) in The Guardians of the Fae Realms series.
If you missed the first three harems, and want the intro to how we got here, you can grab the box sets below and start at book 1 of the entire series. All books are FREE in KU.
Guardians of the Phoenix.
Darkness Calls
Guardians of the Crown
If you don’t want to, that’s fine too. The story stands alone, there might just be characters you don’t know.
To that end:
Calli is the phoenix, and her guardians are Kotah (Wolf), Jaxx (Jaguar), Hawk (Hawk…obvi), and Brant (Bear)
Keyla came next with Creed (Mind Guardian Fae), Dillan/Doc (Bear) and Rhylan (Dragon)
Honor Thornebane is King Creed’s sister and in charge of quadrant security. Her mates are Lukas (mage), Shadow (Elf Oracle), Tundra and Dune (Amberloq warriors)
Hope this helps.
Enjoy,
JL
FIND THE FALLEN
GUARDIANS OF THE FAE REALMS: BOOK 13
CHAPTER ONE
Lark
Two years ago, no one knew our homes would be destroyed, our warriors exterminated, and our people slaughtered. When the forces came, the armies weren’t powerful, they were filthy, traitorous goblin thugs with the Blood Witch behind them and a corrupt bitch behind her, hell-bent on stealing the crown.
The Usurper Queen.
For two years that black-souled bitch terrorized the quadrant, allowing the greedy and corrupt to get rich while the citizens of Dornte suffered.
And then, the Phoenix was born.
Calliope Tanis, now known as Calli, was an ordinary street rat human who wrapped her car around a power pole and died.
That’s when the fae universe stepped in and changed the course of everything that followed.
Calli’s guardians were activated, they re-established the portal gate between the Human Realm and the Fae Realm of StoneHaven, and the Usurper Queen moved to expand her queendom.
King Creed laid eyes on a young wolf wildling, fell in love, and found the strength to reclaim his throne.
His sister, Honor, was rescued from her imprisonment in a lead vault and she reclaimed her place safeguarding the Crown of Dornte.
And then she and her mates, in turn, rescued me.
It boggles the mind when you think about it. If one of those things hadn’t happened… If Calli hadn’t figured out how to reunite the realms…
If King Creed hadn’t been able to take down the Usurper and the Blood Witch…
If Honor hadn’t sent her mates out to find survivors… maybe I, and the people I protected for two years, might still be imprisoned.
It’s mind boggling.
The Elbirfae elders believe it’s the will of the fae universe. I have no opinion on that either way. All I know is that after two years of living under the whip and blade of goblins, we’re free and I don’t know what to do with all the baggage I’m carrying.
I pump my wings and close my eyes, dropping toward the trees until I feel the pocket of air cool above the foliage. On instinct alone, I level out and skim the top of the canopy. The beauty of the Forest and Jungle Biome is making a comeback.
The villages in the trees are being rebuilt, and the rubble of the homes of our past are being swallowed by the dense regrowth. But even as more and more of the evidence of violence disappears, and the people I protected begin to rebuild their lives, my anger and isolation never fade.
I thrust forward, my wings pumping hard, the muscles in my back aching from the hours of torment I’ve been putting them through. I close my eyes again, feel the wind hit my face, and pull my hair with the speed of my flight.
No matter how fast I fly or how hard I push, I can’t outrun the emotions churning inside me. I try to act civilized, but maybe I lost more than my freedom in those two years.
Flipping in mid-air to face the moons of Dornte, I give voice to my fury and scream. Long and loud, my cry fills the sky until my vocal cords ache. When I think I’ve scared enough birds from the treetops, I fall silent and focus on breathing.
They say this will pass.
I’ve spoken to a dozen of my people who spend time with the royal counselor, Shadow. He encourages them to feel their emotions, acknowledge what happened, and then leave it in the past.
I’ve never gone to speak to the blind Oracle myself. I can’t. I’m the one who holds everyone else together. If they knew I was as much of a mess as I am, they’d lose confidence in my leadership.
And if I spill my innermost terrors to Shadow, sure as shit Princess Honor will hear about it. I have no doubt patient confidentiality doesn’t apply to pillow talk. Shadow could share my instability with his mates and then I’d be screwed.
Arriving at Amberloq Hall, the security compound found on the grounds of Thornebane Castle, I land and draw a deep breath. The incursion team for tonight’s mission is relatively small—a security squad from the Human Realm, Princess Honor, her human mate, Lukas, and Tundra and Dune, two of her other mates, my Amberloq counterparts for the Snowy Peaks and Desert Biomes.
I’m both anticipating and anxious about tonight’s mission. They are all trained soldiers—I’m a survivor. Dune and Tundra are Amberloq warriors—I’m not.
I’m not sure if everyone here knows I got the honorary position to lead my biome because I was the only Forested Jungle alpha left standing… but I know.
And so do the Princess and her mates.
“Lark, good, you’re here,” Princess Honor says, striding over to join me. The female is tall and confident, with the poise of a royal and the grace of a trained fae warrior. “We’re ready to hit the skies. Are you good to go?”
“Yes, Princess.”
Honor turns to face her soldiers, her long, silver braid gliding through the night air like a whip. “Mac, is your sq
Her attention is directed toward Connor MacDougall, a well-built and chiseled soldier with a mop of shoulder-length, russet red curls. I don’t know the man well, but he was part of the infiltration team that rescued us, and he helped get my people settled in our new home.
He seems like a decent soldier—or as decent as a human soldier can be.
“Aye, Princess. Ready and waitin’ on yer orders,” he says, flashing her a smile.
She releases her ebony and turquoise wings and fans them out behind her. Then she nods to Lukas. “Fire up your bird, magic man. It’s go time.”
Lukas winks and opens the door to the helicopter. Those without wings will use the air machine to fly to the foothills in the Dornte Fringe. “See you there, beautiful. Comms check.”
She touches the small transmitter in her ear and gives him a thumbs up. “Comms are up.”
Tundra, the Amberloq General for the Snowy Peaks, taps his earpiece and nods. “Check.”
And then Dune, the Amberloq General for the Desert biome, nods as well. “Check.”
Their gazes swing as one toward me and I tap the communication device in my ear. “Comms are up.”
With that, the rotors of the sleek, mechanical bird start to spin faster, and we all take to the air.
As we close the distance to our meeting point, Honor opens the comms channel and goes over the night’s objective. “Our contact is a local fire fairy named Remi. She tends bar at a place called the Gauntlet and has been helpful to the extreme. She’s to be considered a valued asset. I assured her no matter what happens, nothing will blow back on her.”
“And she’ll be leadin’ us inta the foothills personally, lass?” Connor asks.
“Does that matter?”
“Och, no, but it does make me trust her intel a little more. If she were settin’ us up fer an ambush, she wouldna want to be sittin’ in the truck next to us when it happens.”
“Good point, and yes, she’s coming with us.”
“That’s good then,” he says.
“Remi has arranged for a small caravan of trucks with off-road capability to get us to the compound. From what my aunt said in the instructions she left me, her super soldier program is, or at least was, being run by a scientist named Andras Brass and his team.”
“Do we know anything about Brass?” I ask.
“Not much. He was born and raised in Travon, excelled as a student, and went to further his education at the StoneHaven Institute of Science and Innovation where he was asked to join the faculty.”
“SISI? Holy shit,” Dune says, flying close on my right. “Brass has gray matter.”
“I think that’s evident from him developing a super soldier program,” Tundra says.
Dune laughs. “No need to be frosty, Ice Man.”
I watch Dune, Tundra, and Princess Honor as the three of them fly. They seem genuinely happy. And when she’s with Lukas and Shadow, the five of them seem happy as well.
I don’t get it.
I’ve never enjoyed dating and being accountable to another person, let alone four other people. Too many cooks in the kitchen, if you ask me.
Then again, nobody asked me.
The tactical watch on my wrist vibrates and I bring it around to read the incoming message. It’s a proximity warning. We’re almost at the coordinates of the meeting point.
Honor checks her watch as well and begins to drop altitude. “Time to get this party started, boys and girls. Meet you on the ground.”
I draw a deep breath and follow. Making my mark and proving to Honor and her mates that I’m the right person to lead the Forested Jungle Biome is imperative. I won’t let them take from me the respect and leadership I earned over the past two years.
I can learn to be a team player.
I can learn to be a skilled warrior.
For the good of the citizens of Dornte, and the decimated Amberloq army, I will rise to any challenge and rebuild the image of my biome.
As the first-ever female Biome General, I can show the quadrant how to grab the reins of life and be the change they want to see.
Honor and her two Amberloq lovers land beside three gray, black, and beige all-terrain trucks. Dune begins to examine them the moment his massive brown falcon’s wings fold behind him.
Lukas cuts the power on the rotor blades of the helicopter and their bird stops screeching. Damn that thing is noisy.
If you ask me, that’s unnecessary noise pollution.
Except, once again, no one asked me.
Mac
Lukas touches the bird down in the foothills of the Dornte Fringe and I check in with my squadron. “Ready and steady, lads and lasses?”
“Right and tight,” Josie says back, her hand on the handle of the door.
“All clear,” Lukas says, the hum of the rotors slowing. “Keep your heads down.”
“Thanks fer the lift, Squad Leader.”
“My pleasure, Mac. Are you ready to show the quadrant what Alpha Squadron is made of?”
“Ready, sir. Just give us enough rein to do our thing and we’ll make ye proud.”
Lukas nods. “You always do, my friend.”
As he heads over to confer with his mates, I raise my hand to quiet my team. “Tazz and Dwa, I want a vehicle sweep. No one steps foot into any of those vehicles until ye clear them. Drix and Martin, give me a three-sixty. I don’t want any surprises. Blue, yer on sniper watch. The rest of ye grab our gear and transfer vehicles. Quick and quiet, people.”
As Alpha Squad kicks into gear, I take a moment to scan the horizon. It’s good to be back in Dornte.
There’s something about the magic of this place that feeds my cells.
That’s not hyperbole.
There is actual magic in the air here that isn’t present back home. It calls to the predator prowling inside my veins. It emboldens the furry beast and I’m not going to pretend I don’t like it.
It’s like having a constant battle hard-on ready to put to good use. How could that be bad?
“Are you good, Mac?” Honor offers me a curious smile.
“Aye, Princess. Never better.”
She takes a step into my personal space, facing the landscape behind me. Leaning close, her lips whisper just above my shoulder. “Keep an eye on Lark, will you? For all she’s been through, she’s not a soldier and is too damned headstrong to admit it.”
“I can do that, Princess.”
She touches my wrist, and the contact sends another surge of magic through my system. “Thanks, Mac. I appreciate all you do for us.”
I clear my throat and try not to look too closely at my body’s reaction. “Not a problem, Princess.”
Stepping away, I make busy work of checking my guns and overseeing my squad. It won’t do to have her mates smelling my current state of arousal near their female.
Lukas would understand. He knows better about the predator I share space with, but still, I value him both as a friend and a commanding officer.
Besides, it’s not Honor that has me cock-hard and randy. It’s this blessed quadrant. Something about Dornte is like an aphrodisiac, a feel-good party drug ramping me up for a wild night.
When everyone is busy prepping for the mission, I step into the shelter of the vehicles to assess the female in question.
Lark of the Forested Jungle Biome.
She’s tall and physically fit, as most Elbirfae are. She’s also stunningly beautiful. Her wings and hair are raven black and seem to absorb the daylight around her to shroud her in shadow.
