Calm Before the Storm

Cara
Lake

In a world on the brink of chaos, only two people can
balance opposing forces and restore order to the universe. To do so, the two must
forge an intimate bond. Unfortunately, they’re complete opposites who are
unaware of their powers—and of the consequences if they fail to unite.

A lawyer with good reason to abhor violence, Irina is wary
of her new client, a famous boxer accused of murder. As a street orphan, Tyr
learned to fight for survival and trust no one. Despite their differences, the
two find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other.

With secret forces working both for and against their
alliance, Tyr and Irina find themselves on a journey fraught with danger,
betrayal and overwhelming desire. Ultimately the fate of billions rests in the
hands and hearts of two lost souls who must overcome their fears and learn to
trust each other.

Reader Advisory: This story has graphic sexual language and
scenes—no closed bedroom doors (or other rooms) here!

A
Romantica®
urban fantasy erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

The Tao begets one.

One begets two.

Two begets three.

And three begets the ten thousand things.

The ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang.

They achieve harmony by combining these forces…

Laozi—Ancient book of the Tao Te Ching

You have heard that opposites attract.

For the sake of the universe

Let’s hope they do.

Aura: Field of luminous radiation that surrounds a being
denoting a particular power or energy. All species with supernatural powers
exude some kind of aura in relation to their specific abilities. Esseni have
auras that manifest in direct relation to the essences they hold. These auras
become stronger and easier to read when Esseni potentials cross paths with
their partner duality. Only trained individuals, usually wiccani or warloki are
able to read auras.

Auriga: Home planet of the Aurigi. Major cities: Elpida and
Magellania.

Balauri: Three-headed dragons, their saliva is poisonous and
can create precious stones.

Chaos: Primary god of disorder and instability.

Chemon: Blade made from shell of a chemosh beast. It is the
hardest substance in universe.

Chemosh: Rhino–horned. armor-plated beast. The chemosh’s
shell is used for swords, blades, and armor.

Chthonia: Home planet of the Chthoni. Major city: Fortress
of Choronzon, also known as The Abyss.

Concordia: Guiding council of the Eunomi Alliance based on
Auriga in the city of Magellania. There are twelve Concordia members: Cygnus,
Terra, Tellurus, Stellar, Sollarus, Etanin, Deneba, Rastaban, Arcturus, Al
Ashfar, Albireo, Ursa.

Discordants: Syndicate of species who strive to serve Chaos
and create disorder and instability in order to exploit populations for their
own benefit.

Earth: Home planet of the Earthani. Major cities: New York
and London.

Elementals: Like Esseni, they hold essences that unite the
fabric of the universe, but tangible things rather than actions or abstract
concepts. (For example, Fire and Water, Sky and Earth, Light and Dark).

Eridanus: Home planet of the Eridani. Major city: Cetus.

Esseni: Unique individuals who hold the essences of one of
the dualities (yin-yang pairings) that help keep the universe in check. (For
example, War and Peace, Love and Hate). They therefore have the power to
control The Balance, to ensure stability or instability, depending on their
allegiance. Bonded Esseni usually develop great supernatural powers and can
live for thousands of years.

Esseni vessel: A vessel, usually in the form of jewelry,
that holds the essences of bonded pairs.

Eunomi: Alliance of species from all over the galaxy who
strive to maintain the Balance and align with Gaia on the side of order and
stability. Named after Eunomia, a child of Gaia who strove for order and
justice.

Gaia: Primary goddess of order and stability.

Lyra: Home planet of the Lyrani. Major cities: Vega and
Elnath.

Ophiuchus: Home planet of the Ophiuchi. Major cities:
Serpens and Arushka.

Portal Travelers: Individuals with the innate ability to
open starportals. The skill can be learned, but true portal travelers can
access territory they have not previously visited, only needing a picture as
guidance.

Realignment: Every eight hundred years as decreed by Gaia
and Chaos, the essences of all things must be realigned to stabilize The
Balance. These essences reside within the Esseni potentials who must bond for
realignment to occur. Failure to realign causes disorder and imbalance, which
will affect the harmony of the universe.

Saevici: Shapeshifters. Individuals born with the ability to
tame the beast spirits that reside in them at birth. They usually need to be
taught to harness the spirit and go through initiation rituals to enable them
to change at will. There are a few species that are both sanguini and saevici.

Sanguini: Blood drinkers. There are many types. Most are
healers with the ability to purge disease by drinking blood and then giving
their own, which has healing properties. There are some species who have lost
the sense of using their ability for good and use it for their own benefit and
to the detriment of others. (Drakulus is a good example.)

Taijitu: The symbol that represents the concept of opposites
existing in harmony and balance (yin and yang). The Taijitu mark appears on the
skin of an Esseni potential when they meet with their partner duality and are
intimate (i.e. they kiss). The mark appears on the body in the same place but
on opposite sides of a pairing. For example, if it’s above the hip it will be
on the right side for one Esseni and on the left for the other.

The Balance: The universal law that maintains the web of the
universe holding all elements in place. Disturbance of The Balance causes
ruptures that have dire consequences for the myriad galaxies that exist in its
web. All things are interdependent and need to coexist in balance for the
universe to be maintained.

Warloki: Individuals who have the ability to harness great
magickal ability. Warloki powers are derived from the negative energy of the
dark. The majority support the Discordant cause.

Wiccani: Individuals who have the ability to harness great magickal
ability. Wiccani powers are derived from the positive energy of the light. Most
support the Eunomi cause.

Fifteen years ago

The spy reviewed the night’s handiwork with no small amount
of satisfaction. The scene was one of carnage. Fragments of a once-harmonious
existence, the wreckage of a once-perfect life, now nothing more than broken
shards strewn like forgotten detritus. A family massacred. A bloody chaos.
Mother. Father. One child. But the task was not yet complete. One other still
eluded them.
The
one. The special one. The other child. How the spy
hated those of her kind. She had to be here somewhere. “Send in the
bloodhounds!”

The order given, the spy watched their right-hand man curve
his thin lips into a grin, the yellow glow in his eyes a sign he would take
great delight in the execution of the task. The spy cautioned him before he
moved. “They can cause as much damage as they wish but make sure they only take
what’s ours, nothing else.”

Commands issued outside, the spy walked across the room,
relishing the gratifying crunch of broken glass beneath booted feet. Surveying
the destruction, the spy smiled at the culmination of years of planning.
Whoever said revenge was sweet, no doubt some puny human, was right. But they were
also wrong. It wasn’t just sweet, it was delicious!

More booted feet echoed in the distance as the rabble of
urchin boys, the bloodhounds they used to seek and retrieve, converged on the
silent house in search of the elusive quarry. A horde of locusts, a plague but
a useful one nonetheless. The spy waited patiently while the vermin set about
their task. “Look for the girl!” Shouts from the upper floors as the search
intensified. Their prey was either adept at concealment or not present.

Doors slamming.

More shouting. “She’s not in here!”

The spy’s elation began to dissolve as the search proved
fruitless. “Where is that damn child?” Mild annoyance exploded into rage as
realization dawned that the one they were searching for had escaped them.
Again. This would not go down well with their superiors.

Sirens in the distance. Too late! The human authorities had
finally deigned to respond. Time for the hordes to depart. The spy barked
orders counting the vermin bloodhounds as they left. The last of the rabble, a
dark-haired, black-eyed boy descended barefoot from the attic, empty-handed.
The spy vented frustration with a blow to the boy’s head, sending him reeling,
before turning and vanishing into the night.

A fraction longer, had they waited, the prey would have been
theirs. A fraction longer, had they waited, they would have heard the sound the
first police to arrive would never forget. The piercing, agonizing sound of a
child’s screams.

Tyr Bellor.

The name echoed wildly in Irina Columba’s
head as she clasped the manila file being pushed across the table toward her. A
sharp spike of adrenaline shot through her veins. How could this be happening?
It was as if there were some weird cosmic conspiracy against her. But why now
after all these years? Heart pounding, brows drawn in confusion she peered
across the desk at her boss, wondering if she had heard him correctly. “The
fighter?” She paused, staring at him incredulously. “You want
me
to
question him?”

Merak Espenson’s steely gaze drilled back
at her, a strange intensity in his sharp gray eyes that seemed odd for her
usually calm, implacable superior. “That was the idea,” he replied smoothly.
“He won’t talk to anyone, has clammed up tight since his arrest.” Merak paused
thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing. “You have a special gift, Irina. There are
not many clients who don’t open up to you and I’m hoping that where others have
failed, you’ll succeed.”

Irina thought about her “gift”. It was
true. Of all the lawyers who worked at the offices of Espenson and Shedir she did seem to have the highest success rate when extracting information
from even the most tight-lipped of their clients, but sometimes what they told
her was nothing she wanted to hear, the stuff of nightmares. Dark thoughts best
kept secret.

She sighed, resigned to the conspiring fates.
“I guess I can give it a go but I can’t guarantee success.” Her fingers gripped
the file. “Isn’t it all pretty cut and dried? He was found with the body, his
prints on the murder weapon, no evidence of anyone else on the scene…” Her
words trailed off as Merak’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.

“He’s our client, Irina, innocent until
proven—you know that. Read the file. Talk to him. Get a statement. Don’t come
back without one.” Merak pushed back his chair indicating the meeting was over.
Chewing her lip nervously as she gathered the file to her chest, Irina stood up
slowly, a thousand unasked questions swirling around her head. The words that
fell from her lips next had been gathering like a storm inside her for years
and like a hurricane hitting landfall, they had to be unleashed.

“You know I’ve seen him before…” She
blurted out the words, her voice trailing to a whisper as Merak’s eyes focused
on hers again. “I know you have,” he said, appearing slightly bewildered by her
outburst. “We were all there at the fight last week when he won the world
heavyweight championship.” She nearly faltered under his scrutiny. “No,” she
countered, urging him to understand. “Before then.”

“When?” Merak asked the question quietly as
if he sensed the underlying panic in her words. She knew then that he already
knew the answer, but it was important to her that he understand fully what that
meant.

“He was there that night.” She watched him
carefully as his brows rose sharply. “I saw him with
them
.”

Merak stared at her with concern. “Are you
sure?” he asked gently. Irina swallowed before replying. “I see his face in my
dreams.”

Merak frowned at this and looked grave.
“Irina, that night was a long time ago. You were just a child of ten,” he said
slowly. “Bellor’s face is well known. He’s an athlete and you’ve seen him many
times in the papers and on TV. Dreams can be…confusing. His face has probably
merged into your memories of that night because you associate him with
violence. After all, he is a fighter.”

Irina shook her head. “I know he was there
that night, Merak. When I dream, his face is younger than it is now. Why would
he look younger in my memories of that night if he weren’t there?”

Merak skirted the desk to take her hand. “I
have no answer to that.” He paused, gray eyes darkening—heavy with sympathy
because he was more than just her boss and one of only two people who knew the
true extent of the trauma Irina had survived. “You know it still amazes me that
you decided on this career path considering all you’ve been through, that you
still have compassion for the kind of people you have to deal with on a daily
basis.” His hands held her steady, feeling her reflexive shudder at the painful
memory of all she had lost that terrible night fifteen years ago. “I’m so proud
of you, Irina, your strength and your innate sense of justice. You always try
the best for your clients, regardless.”

Pulling her into a hug that managed to soothe
some of her fears, Merak rubbed her back gently. “You’ve been working around
the clock dealing with the backlog of cases from the recent rioting,” he said
thoughtfully. “After this case, perhaps you should take a break. You and Cassi
can go lie on a beach somewhere, have fun. You ought to relax more.”

Irina clung to the tall, handsome man who
had come to mean so much to her over the last few years, his aristocratic face,
strong jaw, hair slightly graying at the temples, so familiar and warm. Family.
Merak was her family now, along with Cassi, his niece, her only constants in an
unsteady world. Together they had nurtured and nourished her back to life,
salve to the wounds that would never truly heal. Replacements for those she had
lost but not forgotten. They had taken her in at the lowest point in her life,
Cassi becoming a sister to her and Merak a father. There was nothing she
wouldn’t do for them.

Swallowing the knot of fear that had tied
up her throat since hearing that name, Irina gave Merak a wry smile of
resignation. “I guess I’d better read the file. What time is the meeting set up
for?”

“Tomorrow. Ten a.m.”

Once Irina had closed the door, Merak sat
back in his chair and pressed speed dial. Irina seemed to have an interest in
Tyr Bellor, an unusual interest, which meant that Merak needed to take an
interest in him. Since that day fourteen years ago, when he had plucked a small
frightened girl from an orphanage and taken her home to his niece, not one day
had gone past where he did not take his position as Irina’s protector extremely
seriously. For Irina Columba was a very special individual, her safety of
paramount importance. So important that if she were to be found by others who
sought her, the consequences could be disastrous, not just for Irina or Earth,
but for the whole of the known universe.

“I have a possible lead,” he instructed his
colleague on the other end of the line. “Find out all you can about Tyr
Bellor.”

* * * * *

Back in her office, Irina sat down at her
desk, took a deep breath and opened the file. The pictures clipped to the
inside cover slammed into her gut. Raw muscle. Power. Blood and rage. Snapshots
of fights past, faces taut in fury, caught in that frozen moment as fist
connects with jaw. Her fingers gathered one picture closer. She scanned the
face that part of her recognized on an intrinsic level. So much so that it was
threaded and woven into her soul, her past.

She knew that face.
Knew she had seen it that night. That devastating night that had
turned her life upside down. But more than that, it was a face that she carried
with her, that some part of her held in connection to what she had lost. The
tips of her fingers brushed across eyes frozen in a gaze that spoke of storm
and battle.

Tyr Bellor. Her lips spoke his name
silently as she studied the grim crime scene pictures of Saleos Black’s corpse.
The bloodstained floor and contorted body a reminder of the night her whole
world collapsed. Images that contaminated her consciousness with memories she
could never forget, no matter how hard she tried. Maybe…maybe there would be
answers tomorrow, more than those needed for this case. Answers to
her
questions.

Crunching. Bones cracking.

Booted feet. Blood and death.

The hiding place, a toy box.

Eyes staring out through the hole her
father had made because her sister insisted the toys would need some light.

Light in darkness.

A face scanning the room for hiding
places.

“Bellor!” A shout. A name.

“Look for the girl!”

The boy’s response: “She’s not in here!”

His face intent on the box.

Intent on her as if he could see through
the wooden barrier into her soul.

Black eyes, dark as night.

Fingers to his lips.

Ssshh! A silent plea.

A light switched off.

“Hey there, Rina!” Cassi’s voice cut
through the dark of her thoughts, Irina’s eyes blinking to awareness and
sunshine, to Cassi’s bright form standing at the door of her office. Cassi, her
sister in all but blood. As usual, she looked stunning, dressed for business,
her sharp, dark red trouser suit and cream blouse enhancing the honey gold
strands of hair that fell loose from the tight bun she always wore for work. It
was funny how they meshed so well together. Complete opposites in every way,
Irina was the quiet, petite brunette foil to Cassi’s gregarious, elegant
blonde. They shouldn’t have worked together but they did, Cassi’s generous
nature breaking through Irina’s protective shell of reserve at the age of
eleven, when Merak had come to her rescue, propelling her from the darkness of
the orphanage and back into the light.

“Daydreaming again?” Cassi asked, her
cobalt-blue eyes twinkling with warmth. Irina’s mood lightened at once. It
always did when Cassi was near. More than that, Irina knew she would never have
survived the darkness without her. Irina forced the shadows away with a mental
shove. “Guess what?” she said lightly. “I have a celebrity to visit.”

“Ooh interesting! Actor, musician,
footballer, politician?”

“No. Boxer.”

“Really…” Cassi drawled, attention caught.
“Is it who I think?”

“Well do you know any other fighters recently
in the news and arrested for murder?”

“It’s true there has been a glut of murder,
rioting and general all-around criminality recently but only one
boxer-celebrity thrown into the clink.” Cassi looked searchingly at Irina,
hesitated a moment and then teased, “And you have pictures of him…”

Irina’s jaw dropped. “What?”

Cassi grinned and waggled her finger. “I’ve
seen your pictures of Tyr ‘Muscles’ Bellor. I just didn’t like to mention it
before. I always suspected you were more into brawn than brain.”

Cassi smirked, ducking her head quickly as
a pink stress ball whizzed over her shoulder. “Aren’t you glad now that I
dragged you to the fight last week? It might be the last time he gets into the
ring, other than a prison one of course.”

Irina frowned at Cassi. “Is that why you
made me go, because you’d seen my scrapbook?”

Cassi’s eyes widened in shock. “What? No! I
was just joking about that! You mean you actually have whole scrapbook? I only
saw a couple of newspaper clippings you saved!”

Flushing scarlet, unnerved by the
realization that Cassi had not known about her complete obsession with Tyr
“Muscles” Bellor or her scrapbook of articles and pictures she had felt
compelled to collect over the years, Irina fought to hide her embarrassment.
“Oh my god you…you…” she spluttered, heat rising in her cheeks. “Then why did
you make me go to the fight when you know I hate violence so much?”

There was a serious expression in Cassi’s
eyes as she explained. “It was just a corporate event, Irina, and Merak was
saying that you don’t get out much and that you need to socialize, network a bit more. Plus, Luc was going and I thought it would be
good for you. I know Luc thinks you’re cool and I thought maybe in a different
environment you might loosen up a bit.”

Irina was even more shocked. “Are you
seriously trying to fix me up with Luc?” she said, shaking her head in utter
bewilderment. “We’ve been friends and flatmates since university. If Luc and I
were going to hook up I should think it would have happened before now!”

Cassi turned to her with an intense
expression in her eyes. “Sometimes,” she said slowly, “these things only happen
when the time is right.” Picking up the pink stress ball from the floor where
it had landed, she threw it back at Irina. “Maybe that time is now.” And with
that cryptic remark, Cassi left the room, leaving a shaky Irina to catch the
ball. Her hands fumbled to catch it as Cassi disappeared, her legs so unsteady
she had to sit down and take a deep breath. Irina could not remember feeling so
off balance and out of kilter, not even after her family died.
What is going
on with me?

Her current state of mind could only be
traced back to the day of the championship fight last week and the strangely
intense reaction she had experienced toward a man who was now a murder suspect.
A man whose face was a constant shadow, haunting both her nightmares and
dreams. A man who was a secret obsession she had hidden for years even from her
closest friend. A man whose occupation was an anathema to her very soul and a
man who, with one look, had set off a chain reaction that reverberated in every
cell of her body, inciting a maelstrom of confusion and chaos.

She could not explain her extreme reaction
or the strange fascination he held for her, and in truth, it was not something
she had ever expected to have to address. But last week, at the fight…her pulse
quickened as she recalled the myriad emotions she had almost succeeded in
packaging up and locking away in a “to be forgotten” box. Emotions her boss was
unwittingly forcing her to tear open and confront. Emotions so bloody and raw
they were terrifying.

Eight days ago, when Cassi had reminded her
that Merak expected them both to attend an event that night, Irina had taken it
to mean the usual boring meet-and-greet fancy cocktails with some major clients
they needed to sweet talk. Gritting her teeth because, even though she loved
her job as a lawyer she really wasn’t into the networking scene, Irina threw on
her best strappy dress, a soft-blue floaty number that fell discreetly
mid-thigh, and hoped it was sophisticated enough but wouldn’t draw unwanted attention.
She paired it with her only Jimmy Choo shoes and flicked on some pink lippy and
a dash of mascara on the way out.