Book Title: Shadowy Illusions (D’Vaire, Book 38)
Author and Publisher: Jessamyn Kingley
Cover Artist: LJ Anderson of Mayhem Cover Creations
Release Date: August 3, 2023
Genres: MMM Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Tropes: Fated mates, menage/MMM
Themes: Love
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 98 000 words
It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
Three men determined to find love and put the shadows of the past far behind them.
Blurb
For two thousand years, the sentinels were imprisoned. They lived in a world of grayness and loneliness. But those days are far behind Shadow Lord Gerard Treily’s people. Today, the sentinels are revered and distinguished members of society. And Gerard’s purpose is clear. He decides punishments and guides his brethren through the finer points of the law. That, along with being a member of a devoted task force, gives him purpose. But Gerard wants his mate.
Ardusian Valzadari has also distanced himself from his past. Once a sullen elf who pilfered small treasures, Ardusian is now a success and a friend to his chieftain. As an important executive in the renowned company Elven D’Vaire, Ardusian works long hours to avoid the loneliness eating at him. What he wants is the other half of his soul.
The enchanters belong to the same Council as Gerard and Ardusian, but Amaury Gennevois’s people guard their privacy and rarely interact with anyone outside their race. The Gennevoises are a powerful family, but Amaury has little to his name. He has no money or job, and his father and uncle control everything. Neither man cares for Amaury, and he has the scars to prove it.
To the surprise of Amaury, Ardusian, and Gerard, they discover Fate has granted them a triple matebond. Although relationships like theirs do not have a high rate of success in the Council, the three men care little for statistics. They are determined to build something meaningful. But secrets rest between them, and the past refuses to stay hidden. It will take grit, courage, and instituting change for every enchanter to build the future they deserve.
Gerard stepped out of his office and stopped at the enormous desk that sat at the entrance of the sentinels’ headquarters. Two men manned it—a sentinel and a necromancer-druid hybrid. They were more than coworkers. Dudley and Evergreen were best friends and family. It was the kind of bond Gerard yearned to experience and hoped to have someday.
The pair were also standing behind their workspace with their gazes locked on something happening out in the hallway.
“What is going on?” Gerard asked.
Without glancing in his direction, Evergreen shrugged. “We aren’t sure. These two guys are out in the hallway acting strangely. I think they might get into a fistfight.”
“They would not have a fight in front of the Sentinel Brotherhood offices,” Gerard stated.
“That is what I said,” Dudley remarked.
Gerard’s eyebrows flew up as he looked through the tall panes of clear glass. There was a Valzadari with his hands raised, and a blond man who stood a couple of inches shorter than the blue elf.
“I wish I could hear what they are saying,” Evergreen said. “I’m pretty sure they were yelling. Why do we have such thick glass?”
“For your safety,” Dudley replied.
“I wasn’t even working for you guys when this place was designed.”
“Not for you specifically, but for whoever sits here,” Dudley explained.
The two men continued to have a conversation in the hallway. One dashed off, but the other halted him in his tracks with whatever he said. It was odd, and Gerard was curious. And annoyed that anyone would choose to have a personal altercation in front of his workplace.
“I am going out there,” Gerard remarked, intrigued by the strange tableau beyond the glass and the squabbling men.
“Good,” Evergreen replied. “Get all the details. What’s going on? Who started it? Are they going to solve their obvious rift with some man love? Tell them to feel free to do that right where they are.”
Gerard rolled his eyes as he stalked to the door. “Elves lack sexuality like sentinels.”
“Stop ruining my day with pesky details. They’re hot together,” Evergreen retorted. “I wonder if we have any popcorn around here, I could use some if I’m watching a show.”
Whatever response Gerard had at the ready for Evergreen disappeared as he pulled open the door. The blood in his body rushed to his groin, and the sweet scents of plums and Concord grapes hit his nose. Both the elf and the sorcerer, who Gerard’s brain immediately catalogued as an enchanter, turned to Gerard with shocked, open-mouthed stares.
None of the three men were shifters, but somehow Gerard’s unfailingly perceptive senses told him the pair were his mates. Gerard did not know how he’d pleased Fate so much for her to bestow such handsome prizes on him.
The blond enchanter had eyes the same deep reddish-purple as plums, and his hair was combed away from his pretty face. His pert nose was slightly upturned and scrunched as his mouth snapped closed.
The arresting elf stood nearby in a silk tunic, pants, and flowing cloak. His high cheekbones brought immediate attention to his lovely blue eyes, and his sleek tresses were decorated lavishly with beads and braids.
“Two,” the elf shouted as he bent forward and clasped his head in his hands. “I think I need a doctor.”
Gerard had never been so grateful for his fast reflexes as he rushed over and grabbed the elf before he hit the ground. The poor man had fainted.
“Is he okay?” the enchanter whispered.
“I am not sure any of us are,” Gerard replied, sharing an awkward smile with the pretty enchanter. He finally understood what made a face beautiful. His mates were breathtaking.
The door to the Sentinel Brotherhood whipped open, and Lich Sentinel Alaric Daray stood there expressionless. “What is going on?”
“I just met my mates,” Gerard said, hardly able to believe the words. How he had the calmness to answer questions or help the unconscious elf, Gerard didn’t know, but he attributed it to being a sentinel. The spell that had created him had obviously prepared him for everything—even the almost unbelievable truth of his triple matebond.
Alaric’s dark brows flew up, then he grinned. “The first sentinel with two mates. Bring them inside so you can have some privacy.”
The elf sprawled in Gerard’s arms moved as his lashes fluttered upward. “At least my hallucinations are handsome.”
“Hallucinations?” Gerard asked in confusion.
“He didn’t think I was real,” the enchanter said, his head bowed. “I had my appearance glamoured and removed my spell in front of him. I may have scared him.”
“Can you put me down?” With a huff, the elf straightened, and Gerard gently helped him to his feet. The elf tugged on his tunic, and his cheeks turned a faint purple. “I was startled. But you grew angry with me. Why?”
“Come inside, we can speak in private,” Gerard encouraged. His mates had an issue, and the three of them deserved privacy as they adjusted to their new reality. Although Gerard was still stunned, elation worked its way through him too.
Jessamyn Kingley has published over thirty titles and refuses to pick a favorite among them. With an extraordinary passion for her characters, she enthusiastically adds tales to her D’Vaire series and avidly re-reads them whenever her schedule allows. After decades living in the Washington, DC area, she now resides in Nevada with her husband and their three spoiled cats. When she is not writing or adding new ideas to her beloved notebooks, she is gaming with family and friends.
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