Blood Rites 5, page 39
Even if he sometimes found joy in the quiet and solitude of the rookery, too.
Lazarus fixed a tiny scroll to the legs of four ravens, sending word to Henrick Tillerman who was now stationed at Stormhaven, Gideon in the Saltmarsh, Thaddeus in Silvergrass Steppe, and Herschel at Crimson Keep, keeping them abreast of the minutiae of life at Castle Ravenhold and inviting them to the Solstice Celebration Belladonna was planning to hold in the newly rebuilt city center that summer.
Herschel was still threatening to retire, though he’d reluctantly agreed to oversee the Ashwood Barony until there was an heir to the Blackwood clan old enough to take over. He still spent most of his time chasing Morwenna about the kitchens, and pulling the housekeeper, Ursula, into secluded rooms for a romp. Lazarus’s suspected he’d accepted the position as temporary baron because it helped keep him out of trouble with his women.
The king grinned as he released the raven bound for Crimson Keep. He’d pointedly written in Herschel’s letter that both Morwenna and Ursula were invited to the festival, and that all three of them would be sharing a room.
Let’s see the old rogue talk his way out of that one, Lazarus thought, chuckling to himself.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of gold and crimson, Lazarus reflected on the journey that had brought him here. His battles, his losses, his victories—they had all led to this moment, surrounded by a family he had never dared to dream of in his first life. The peace he had fought so hard for, that had once felt like a foreign concept, had become his reality.
One of the remaining ravens cawed appreciatively and pecked a grain of wheat from Lazarus’s palm and his heart swelled, knowing that he had played a part in bringing the iconic birds back to the castle. As they finished eating, Lazarus released each raven into the sunset, a sense of pride welling in his chest to think of Selunath’s provinces being united once again.
He did belong here, he realized, as strange as it sometimes felt to belong in this quiet, peaceful world. This peace, this family, this life—they were his, forged in the fires of war but cooled in the waters of love.
He smiled, a genuine expression of contentment that reached deep into his soul. The battles may have defined him, but it was love that had truly made him whole.
He wouldn't trade this life for anything else in the world.
Not for all the battles yet to come, not for any treasure, nor even for the crown he had fought so hard to hold.
This, here, with the laughter of his children echoing up to him, the voices of his wives chatting happily below, this was where he was meant to be.
Perhaps, peace wasn't so bad after all.
The End
Thank You for Reading
That's it! That's the end of Blood Rites!
Thank you so much for coming along with me on this journey, and I hope you have enjoyed Lazarus’s tale as much as I have writing it. If you did, please leave a review!
This was my first attempt at a dark fantasy harem. I know it's a bit different in tone from a lot of what is popular in the HaremLit genre these days, so I really appreciate you for giving it a chance. If you enjoyed it, and you'd like to see more epic adventures like this one in future series, a review is the best way to let me know.
If you want to be notified when my next series book is available, hit the link here to follow me on Amazon, and never miss a new release!
Audiobooks for the Blood Rites series have already started dropping and will be released throughout 2024. Keep your eyes open for my monogamous Romance 4 Men series Fantastic Love, as well my next harem series Arcane Arctic—an isekai LitRPG dungeon crawl.
Recommended Groups
For HaremLit and Men's Romance recs, I suggest checking out the following pages on FB and Reddit:
Dukes of Harem FB
HaremLit Readers FB
HaremLit FB
r/haremfantasynovels Reddit
r/romance_for_men Reddit
r/HaremLit Reddit
Further Reading: Romance for Men
You already know I write HaremLit series, including Elemental Empire and Blood Rites, for those who like more ladies and more action with their romance, but did you know that I also write mono-romance?
If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, check out my series of standalone novels and novellas, Fantastic Love, which explores individual relationship between regular guys falling in love with fantastic women (those might be magical, monstrous, or otherworldly girls, or just fantastically awesome real-life women!)
You can find other stories like this in the Romance for Men FB group, or the r/Romance_for_Men sub on Reddit.
My titles include A Goblin for Christmas and My Lovestruck Succubus Girlfriend.
I also personally recommend also checking out:
Grady Sparks’ My Catgirl Broke the Internet
Kirk Mason’s A Tale of Tail Brushing
Cebelius’ Would You Love a Monster Girl?
Virgil Knightly Headpats After Dark
I hope that supporting these and other mono-romance books will help to grow this subgenre along with HaremLit, giving us a wider range of romance and action books for the discerning male reader!
Peter North, Blood Rites 5
