It takes a lot of strength and courage to trust a stranger when you've been harmed by the very people who were supposed to protect you. But the one thing I've learned is that it can be done. That all of us are worthy and that we all matter. As to this, I can never thank my husband enough for being the man he appeared to be both inside and out. Thank you, baby, for saving me, and for showing me that there are people in the world like you.

As my friend Tish taught me to say: Digmus Sum. Thank you, Tish.

So if you're looking for the humor of my previous books, it picks up when we go from Ash's past to present day New Orleans. I assure you all the sarcasm and bantering that the series is known for is alive and well.

But to understand Ash's present personality and mind-set, I think it's imperative to know his past.

And so here it is. Unvarnished and whole. This is the steel that was forged by the fires of hell.

As we leave behind this arc in the series, we will pick up with Stryker's tale, One Silent Night, in November, which starts us on the next arc: Jaden's, and it picks up right where this tale ends. The Dark-Hunter world is evolving, but Ash and the others will still be back and will still hold their places in this elaborate universe.

Part I

May 9, 9548 BC

"Kill that baby!"

Archon's angry decree rang in Apollymi's ears as she flew through the marbled halls of Katoteros. There was a fierce wind blowing down the hallway, plastering her black gown against her pregnant body and whipping her white blond hair out in spiraling tendrils. Four of her demons ran behind her, protecting her from the other gods who were more than eager to carry out Archon's orders. She and her Charonte demons had already blasted half of her pantheon back. And she was ready to kill the rest.