On a Clear Winter Night: An Irin Chronicles Novelette
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About this ebook
A very special holiday story for readers of the Irin Chronicles.
Join Ava, Malachi, and their friends for Midwinter holidays in Prague. The Irin might not celebrate Christmas, but that doesn’t mean Ava has to give up on the holidays. With her children on the way, nothing will stop the newest Irina from celebrating with her growing family. But will lingering doubts and worries about fatherhood let Malachi celebrate the way he wants?
On a Clear Winter Night is a novelette set after the first three books of the Irin Chronicles.
Elizabeth Hunter
ELIZABETH HUNTER is a ten time USA Today bestselling author of romance, contemporary fantasy, and paranormal mystery. Based in Central California and Addis Ababa, she travels extensively to write fantasy fiction exploring world mythologies, history, and the universal bonds of love, friendship, and family. She has published over fifty works of fiction and sold over two million books world-wide. She is the author of the Elemental Mysteries, the Glimmer Lake series, the Irin Chronicles, and other works of fiction.
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Titles in the series (2)
On a Clear Winter Night: An Irin Chronicles Novelette Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Storm: Irin Chronicles Book Six Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Book preview
On a Clear Winter Night - Elizabeth Hunter
A very special holiday novelette for readers of the Irin Chronicles
On a Clear Winter Night
Join Ava, Malachi, and their friends for Midwinter holidays in Prague. The Irin might not celebrate Christmas, but that doesn’t mean Ava has to give up on the holidays. With her children on the way, nothing will stop the newest Irina from celebrating with her growing family. But will lingering doubts and worries about fatherhood let Malachi celebrate the way he wants?
On a Clear Winter Night is a novelette set after the first three books of the Irin Chronicles.
On a Clear Winter Night
ELIZABETH HUNTER
Recurve Press, LLCOn a Clear Winter Night
Copyright © 2015
Elizabeth Hunter
ISBN: 978-1-941674-06-2
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover artist: Elizabeth Hunter
Editor: Lora Gasway
Editor: Victory Editing
Formatter: Elizabeth Hunter
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only, then please delete it and purchase your own copy from an authorized retailer. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
ElizabethHunter.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Epilogue
Preview: The Staff and the Blade
About the Author
Also by Elizabeth Hunter
For all the readers
who had to know
what happened after.
Happy holidays,
Elizabeth
Chapter
One
AVA LEANED INTO THE SOFA, shifting the unwieldy bulk of her eight-months-pregnant body farther into the embroidered cushions that decorated the couch. Malachi’s eyes were trained on the television in a corner of the room, the black and white image glowing in the dim sitting room. The fire crackled in the hearth and early snow fell outside the window. A peaceful scene. Idyllic on a cold winter night.
But the jostling in her belly was just a bit much.
Calm down in there,
she muttered.
Malachi’s hand drifted over to her, running a comforting hand down her arm and then lower over the swell of her stomach. He lifted the edge of her wool sweater and laid his skin against hers.
Instant relief.
The pulse of his power flowed over her like a warm wave. Spreading from her abdomen and up her torso, she felt her body calm, then the ache eased. The tension in her belly relaxed and the jostling slowed down.
She heard the last of the old dialogue on the classic Christmas film fade out and Malachi heaved a sigh.
Really?
he said.
What?
She blinked at him innocently. Didn’t they teach you that at the scribe academy? Everyone knows that every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings. Common knowledge, Mal.
He tried not to smile, but she saw the peek of his dimple through the beard he’d been growing since they arrived in the old farmhouse outside of Prague.
You’re ridiculous.
He swung his legs up and stretched out, resting his head in her ever-shrinking lap. Then he turned his head to the side, lifted her shirt, and pressed a kiss to her belly.
Beautiful man. Ava’s heart felt like it could burst when he did things like that. And he did. Often.
All Irin men were tactile by nature, feeding off the energy Irin women contained. They couldn’t touch the humans they protected without hurting them. Touch was reserved for family, friends, and lovers, and before he’d met Ava, Malachi hadn’t felt an Irina touch in hundreds of years. Since then, he’d been making up for it.
And once she’d gotten pregnant…
Well, if she hadn’t derived so much mental ease from physical contact, she’d have been tempted to call him clingy. He was constantly with her. Leaving him to visit the small market in the village or run into the city with some of her Irina sisters was almost