About Lotan

For my last meet the characters blog post, I really saved the best for last. Lotan started out as a passing mention in the first Demon Spring book, then turned into a fully-fledged, flawed, handsome ~~love interest~~ new character in the last book. Today, I’m so thrilled to tell you more about him. He’s definitely a character ~~Cam~~ you will remember.

Spoilers for the end of the second book ahead.

Lotan the Prince

Without spoiling much, Lotan wanders into Anya and Cam’s path by design. He showers them with hospitality, he offers them food and drink. Then lowers the boom: He wants Anya to help him wage war against Bael. Anya, of course, is focused on getting Jack out of danger. Cam, too, is very focused on getting Jack out. Very focused. So focused. So very focused.

As last week, it’s just more fun to share a sneak peek….

“Enough discussion. I think we should eat,” Lotan said with a chuckle. He pulled out a chair across from him, and smiled at Cam. “Please, Agent Macarro, have a seat.”
“Well, it would be rude not to,” Cam said to Anya’s dry glare. She perched on the seat and let Lotan slide it to the table. “Thank you.”
“You’re—” Lotan frowned when Anya loudly pulled her chair out, sat down, and scooted to the table. “Welcome.”
“Ignore her,” Cam said with a wave of her hand.
“I plan to,” he said with a wink. “Wine?” He plucked a glass carafe off the table and tipped it into a nearby wine glass. “There’s a vineyard here in the noxlands, but you really can’t beat a vintage merlot. Wouldn’t you agree, Lady Anat?”
“I’m partial to cabernet franc,” Anya said as he poured wine into her and Oce’s glasses.
“I’m partial to wine, period,” Cam said, swiping hers from the table. “Cheers.”
Lotan and Oce lifted their goblets, but Anya hadn’t lifted a finger. The wine was like velvet on Cam’s tongue, probably the most delicious vintage she’d had in her life. Then again, she mostly drank boxed wine for expediency’s sake.
“Now, please, eat,” Lotan said.
Cam didn’t need to be told twice. She helped herself to as much as she could fit on her plate. Then, when that was gone, she took second helpings of the potatoes and fruit relish, and bread so fresh it must’ve just come out of the oven. And just when she thought herself stuffed, Lotan passed her a plate of dark chocolate bark flecked with berries.
“This wasn’t what I was expecting,” Cam said, nibbling on the chocolate so her stomach wouldn’t burst. It was perfect with the wine, which had relaxed the tension in her shoulders and left her feeling quite content.
“What?” Lotan asked.
“I mean, all this,” Cam said, looking up. “When I learned about the Underworld at the Academy, we didn’t really have a lot of information about how the belus lived.”
“The Academy?” he asked.
“The Academy for Demon Management in Denver,” Cam said.
“She’s a formidable human,” Oce said, swirling the remnants of her wine in her glass. “Your partner Jack was highly complimentary of you.”
Cam’s face burned. “Yeah, well…”
“Tell me everything there is to know about you, Cam,” Lotan said, leaning across the table.
Cam nearly choked on the chocolate as Oce tutted. “W-what?”
“Lotan,” Oce said. “You shouldn’t ask such direct questions.”
“I can’t help it, I’m fascinated,” he said, taking another sip of his wine without breaking his stare. “What kind of woman forces the Lady of Destruction to transform her so she can go on an ill-advised rescue mission?” He chuckled. “This Jack must be some kind of man to be so loved by two women.”
“I love Jack, but she’s the one with the romantic angle,” Cam said, looking at Anya, who had eaten, but hadn’t touched her wine nor the chocolate sitting in the center of the table. She didn’t look pleased to be having this conversation either.
“So,” Lotan leaned on his hand with a charming smile, “you aren’t in love with this Jack?”
Holy shit, is he hitting on me? Cam was, for once, lost for words.
“They are partners,” Anya said, with a curious look across the table. “And my feelings about Jack are not intended for public discussion.”
“And a Division agent as well,” Lotan said, taking another piece of chocolate from the stack and ignoring Anya completely. “Yet, here you are, now transformed—willingly, I assume—into a very rare athtar third.”
“Is there a point to this prattling?” Anya interjected with a sharp look. “You invited us to dinner, not an interrogation.”
“Calm yourself, Lady,” Lotan said. “I want to get to know your charming compatriot a little more.”
“Why? So you can learn more about her talismans?”
“Can’t I just find the woman fascinating?”
Anya’s eyes narrowed. “No. You can’t.”
“Perhaps it would be better, Prince Lotan, if you and Agent Macarro went for a stroll,” Oce said. “Anat and I have some catching up to do.”
Cam wasn’t sure if that was true, or if Oce was simply trying to separate Lotan and Anya. Either way, she could probably do with a walk before going to bed.
“Yeah, let’s go,” she said. “Anya, are you going to be okay?”
“Fine,” she snapped. “Go.”

Buy the first book in the Demon Spring trilogy

Demon hunter Jack Grenard’s life changed three years ago when his wife was brutally murdered by the very demons he’d been hunting. At the urging of his partner Cam Macarro, he’s starting a new life in Atlanta, hoping he’ll find the man he used to be. But on a routine hunt, they come across a new type of demon–one that saves instead of kills.

Meanwhile, demons across Atlanta are preparing for the quadrennial uprising of their Underworld brethren. Worse yet, there’s a rumor the so-called king of the demons, Bael, will appear for the first time in over a century. Jack and Cam must uncover the truth about the mystery woman before all hell–literally–breaks loose.

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