Key Series, Short Story 1.5. Available FREE.
After a hellish ordeal suffered at the hands of evil, Zoey wants only to live a normal human life. Yet, demons haunt her every step and a power grows inside her that she does not understand and cannot control. If she is to win her life back, she’ll need to trust in a fallen with a hidden agenda.
Rafe’s war with the hellspawn of Las Vegas has … Las Vegas has dragged on for centuries. He needs an edge to take out the demon boss once and for all. The girl may be the answer, but to gain her trust, he’ll have to use all of his powers of seduction and stop at nothing to win her heart…even if it means losing his own.
Now, as the stakes rise, Zoey and Rafe must put their faith in each other to heal the wounds of the past and overcome the challenges in the present. Only by discovering their strength together can they find peace, not by running from the night, but by embracing darkness.
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Embracing Darkness, The Key Series: Short Story 1.5 by Yelena Casale and Tina Moss (2014)
Reviewed by: Patricia M. Muhammad
Date: August 05, 2021
This book review was originally posyed on LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/work/17511535/book/204015393
*CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Embracing Darkness is paranormal novelette set in New York. The story outlines an epic battle between good and evil. The focus is on the proliferation of demons which primarily seem to inhabit New York City. An ancillary character, Cassie, has great power. She is part demon and part human. Her fully human friend who was present at the spiritual fray becomes affected by a touch of this power. Zoey is now haunted by demons wherever she goes.
She has nightmares about them. Zoey attempts to fend them off. Whatever she does she is unable to avoid them. In one instance she is stuck in an alley. The demons appear in human form. They always do. She, however, has the ability to discern who is demon and who is human by looking at their eyes. There is a blackness that permeates them. An evil depth which she attempts to avoid. They approach her incessantly from wayward directions. Zoey reaches for mace. In the chaos she is confronted by an inhuman. She initially does not recognize him. He takes her away from the scene, but not before she remembers that Rafe, this fallen being was there “that night”. He was present when Cassie was battling the demons, somehow transferring power to Zoey. This, Rafe believes, is the reason why Zoey is attracting the demons. She has power that she has never used nor understands how to wield.
Rafe is attracted to her. He is aware of Zoey’s power from what the demons have reported to him at the beginning of the story. Rafe seeks to ravish her. There is something about Zoey that draws him to her as well. He promises to protect her though he initially desires to obtain her powers in exchange. Zoey only desires a normal life and the author implies that she does not mind being relieved of the source of her demonic haunt. Rafe keeps his word and drives Zoey to Long Island. He takes her to his home in the Hamptons where he promises to keep her safe. She wonders why this place is so special and how Rafe will be able to safeguard her. He brings her to a point of the beach where the sands meet the waters. The area has a different feeling to it. It contains a sort of energy. This is where Rafe reveals that he was among the fallen angels. Zoey can sense the parameters in which the ethereal shield of safety protects them. Rafe desires to be intimate with Zoey and she wishes for the same. Neither denies their attraction to one another. They become especially intimate. Rafe realizes that what he truly wants is to have Zoey. He no longer craves her power. Zoey accepts that as long as she is with Rafe, this being that has encompassed her heart, she will be safe. Neither knows what is left for them in the world, but they both agree that whatever it is, they will confront it together.
Zoey had a hellish ordeal at the hands of evil and just wants to live a normal human life, but demons are haunting her every step mainly because there is a power growing inside her that she does not understand and cannot control. It seems if she wants to win her life back she will have to trust a fallen angel with a hidden agenda. Rafe has been at war with the hellspawn in Las Vegas for centuries and he just needs an edge to take the demon boss out. Zoey might be the answer but to gain her trust he’ll need to use all of his powers of seduction in order to gain her heart – the problem being it might well mean losing his own. The stakes are rising and Zoey and Rafe need to put their faith in each other to heal wounds from the past as well as face the challenges of the present. Can they find their strength together to find peace even if it required embracing darkness?
This was a sweet short story that had the necessary ingredients of danger, lust and compromise. I liked the way Rafe started off with one agenda but finished with a completely different one (which gives hope for any relationship that they have in the future). It was well written and easy to read and understand.