A Golden Opportunity - Amy Sumida Page 0,1

called auras. Not only that, but I could also alter the colors in a person's aura and use those colors to hurt or heal them. I could see all colors, in fact—the full spectra from ultraviolet to infrared—and could use the colors around me to create illusions. But, most importantly, I didn't need to connect with Danu. I could stay away from the realm for as long as I wished. Not that I wanted to stay away for long; I rule the Southern Kingdom of Danu with my husband, King Everan.

But back to the Fusion. In addition to my Danutian husband, I'm also married to a Faulin and a Bleiten (Demon) prince. My final lover is a Triari prince, but that's a military title, not a royal one. All my men are now immortal and can see auras as I can because of that sharing aspect of the Fusion that I mentioned. So far, three of them have also developed additional talents.

Faulin survive by exciting and then feeding on a person's lust, but Cyprian, my Faulin husband (he's the Ruar, or alpha male, in our fusion and the whole reason we have this bond), can now magnify and feed on any emotion. Kyrian, my Triari boyfriend, can compress emotions and feed off them like a Faulin—a talent stemming from his Triari training to compress his emotions until his aura becomes a blinding white halo. Finally, Everan can connect with the elements inside someone and feed on them—a combination of the Faulin feeding and his Danutian tie to the elements. I've gained the ability to feed off emotions, but when I do, I also take some of my target's life force. It doesn't hurt them if I don't take too much; life energy can replenish itself as long as there's some life left.

My Bleiten husband, Malik, hasn't shown any new abilities beyond seeing auras, though he's both physically and magically stronger now. Even if he never receives another magic, he'd be content with what he has because, in addition to all of those other perks, the Fusion can unite us intimately. When I have sex with any of my men, we can share our pleasure with the others in our fusion, and when it comes to a group situation, that pleasure can be mind-blowing. Yes, I'm a very lucky woman.

And yet, there I sat, thinking about another man.

Chief Braxis of the Fengoth had just become a duke of Hell. We'd been enemies for a while, bitter enemies, but beneath the anger had been a sharp attraction that had driven us back together even after Braxis had fled the planet of Hell to escape retribution from my mvarro—the Bleiten word for husband—and his father, King Lucifer of Hell. Braxis had found me a few months ago and used a Triari relic to abduct me. The man who had given him that relic—a thing called the Silver Tongue—asked for only one favor in return: that Braxis and his warriors attack the Triari and break a truce that Malik and I had helped to forge.

The Triari and Bleiten had been at war for hundreds of years prior to that truce—a war that had spread to many planets, including Earth, and cost the lives of millions of people. But there were those who wanted the war to continue—those like the ex-Triari prince who had given Braxis the Silver Tongue. His name was Gregory and his villainous resume included the death of my parents. His most recent goal had been to overthrow the Triari King, my uncle Jovan. Thankfully, he had failed, and that was partially due to Braxis.

Despite our violent and traumatic beginning, Braxis and I had found a way to forgive each other and in the end, he had freed me and returned the Silver Tongue to the Triari. But before he returned the relic, he used it to help us save Danu. Yes, the entire realm. That last bit, and the fact that Braxis had saved my life as well, did a lot toward earning him forgiveness from my men. But he wanted more than forgiveness now.

I had helped Braxis acquire a coveted trade agreement for his people, a pardon for himself and his warriors, and a dukehood from King Lucifer, all in exchange for Braxis hunting down Gregory and bringing Lucifer his head. I think my father-in-law got a kick out of the nod to the Bible with a severed head—pun intended. Either that or he had started the whole “bring me