20

I must have blacked out for a few seconds because I couldn’t remember hitting the ground. Black and yellow spots danced in front of my eyes, flickering in time to my pulse. I rose slowly, looking around. I was just outside the castle gate. All around me, smoke rose from the castle, masking most of its structure—assuming there was anything left of its structure. I shook out my limbs, surprised to find that nothing was broken—and that I was alive. Nero must have broken my fall.

Nero! Dozens of Legion soldiers had clustered in front of the gate. Nero wasn’t one of them. No, wait. A body lay facedown amongst broken bricks and other debris, his black leather uniform torn, his short blond hair streaked with crimson. At the sight of all the blood, I hurried toward him, swaying with each step. Dropping to my knees, I grabbed his shoulder and flipped him over.

It wasn’t Nero. It was the Sky Dragon. His lifeless eyes stared off into nothingness.

“Leda.”

I jumped in surprise at the sound of Nero’s voice. I looked back to find him standing over me.

“You thought I’d crashed?” His eyes shone with smug amusement.

I just stared at him like an idiot.

“Leda?”

I jumped up and threw my arms around him. “Of course you didn’t crash. An angel always lands on his feet.” Hysterical laughter shook my chest.

His brows drew together, perplexed. “Are you all right?”

“No.”

“You have another head injury.” He brushed his fingers through my hair, looking for a wound.

He wouldn’t find one. I wasn’t suffering from a concussion. I was suffering from an overdose of Venom—and a case of total euphoria. I was still alive. Nero was alive.

Something high above crashed down. It sounded like rocks hitting harder rocks. I looked past the clearing smoke. The sight was very sobering. Larger parts of the castle’s structure had collapsed.

“Did everyone get out?” I asked.

“Yes,” Colonel Starborn said, walking up to us. “Except the corrupted Dragons.” She glanced down at the Sky Dragon’s body.

Captain Somerset was beside her. “Together the Lightning Spear and Storm Castle absorbed the storm.” She patted me on the back. “Your plan worked.”

“But at great cost.” I gave the castle a mournful look. “There’s nothing left of it.”

“I think you’ll find my castle’s tougher than you think,” replied Colonel Starborn.

“I’m going to take a look.” Nero set his hand on my cheek. “Don’t go anywhere.”

“Where exactly would I go?”

He favored me with a hard smile. “I’m sure you could find some calamity to dive headfirst into.”

“I’ll try to contain myself,” I said drily.

“Good.”

He launched into the air, flying over the castle. The glossy feathers of his black, blue, and green wings shone against the dissipating storm clouds.

Colonel Starborn and Captain Somerset left me to check on the wounded. They looked pretty wounded themselves, but they weren’t letting that bother them.

“I’m glad he survived,” Harker said, stopping next to me. His eyes tracked Nero’s flight. “He is my best friend, like a brother to me. Even after all that’s happened.”

His voice rang with sincerity. Colonel Starborn was right about him. He really was a good person. He wanted to do the right thing, but sometimes his ambition got in the way.

Nero landed in front of us. “The castle is salvageable. The main structure and two of the four towers are still stable. The rest can be rebuilt, though it will take some time to weave the magic back into the stones. Time and the care of four Dragons.”

“So it’s decided,” Captain Somerset declared.

We all looked at her.

“We’re having a party in the throne room tonight.” She wrapped one arm around Harker and the other around Nero, leading them toward the open gates. “We narrowly averted the end of human civilization. It’s time to celebrate life.”

Inside, the throne room looked—well, awful, but it was still standing. And Nero seemed to think it wouldn’t fall on our heads.

“I’ll have this place ready in a couple of hours,” Colonel Starborn said, plopping onto her throne. It looked like her quick-fix healing solution was finally wearing off.

“This place looks like a war zone, and she is barely conscious,” I whispered to Nero as Colonel Starborn groggily waved the castle’s soldiers over to her. “How is she going to make it ready for a party by tonight?”

“Never underestimate the stubbornness of angels.”

I smirked at him. “Don’t worry. There’s no danger of that, Colonel.”

* * *

Snowflakes fell softly from a stormy ceiling of pink, orange, and blue magic swirls. Fire lanterns hung in the air over the grand hall, their orange lights flickering off the trees and flowers that had spontaneously popped out of the stone floor. Appetizer platters sat atop a ring of giant mushrooms growing around a majestic waterlily fountain. Beside the fountain, on a raised wood stage, glowed four elemental magic sculptures, one at each corner. A red flame, a gold lightning bolt, a green tree, and a blue water drop—the symbols mimicked the same ones on the Dragons’ thrones.

As far as party decorations went, Colonel Starborn had outdone anything and everything I’d ever seen. Everyone at the castle was in attendance, decked out in silk and satin, platinum and gemstones. In addition to celebrating our thwarting the end of the world as we knew it, tonight was the promotion ceremony for the six level-four candidates.

Like so many times before, I was spending the final moments before the ceremony at the bar, drinking magic cocktails with Captain Somerset. The soldiers of the Legion sure drank a lot. What did that say about our lives? I suppose it said that we needed something to help us forget all the horrors we’d seen—and to remember that we were alive. Every battle we survived was a victory, something worth celebrating.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her.

“Alive. Thanks to you.” She smiled at me. “I might have been only half-conscious, but Leila told me about how you drank the Venom out of me.”

I returned the smile. “Just doing my job to keep you alive, Captain Somerset.”

“No, what you did went far beyond a soldier’s duty. You acted like a true friend. And you’re going to call me Basanti.”

“Are you sure? It might go straight to my head. I might become all disobedient and unruly,” I teased her, smirking.

She snorted. “I suppose that’s a risk I’m willing to take.” She lifted her glass. “Friends?”

“Friends.” I clinked my glass against hers. “So, as a friend, I should tell you that Colonel Starborn is still in love with you.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You don’t waste time, do you?”

“In helping my friends? No, I really don’t. You should have seen the anguish on her face when she was trying to purge the remaining Venom from your body with her magic. And you should have heard the regret in her voice when she spoke of what happened between you two.”

“The crazy thing is I’m not actually surprised that you managed to convince an angel you’d only just met to pour her heart out to you.”

“What can I say? I have a way with angels. Except Colonel Fireswift.” A cold chill shivered down my spine. “And it might have helped that I’d just helped save her from the Dark Force. People tend to get real sentimental when you save their life. That experience makes them reassess what’s really important to them. And who is important to them.” I looked at Basanti over my glass.

“I saw what you did there.”

“You should talk to her,” I said. “Angels can be overbearing—don’t I know it—but they’re not as inhuman as they pretend to be.”

“And we’re not as human as we like to think,” she sighed.

“Yes.” I sighed too.

“I hear you’ve developed a very angel habit.”

“Which one? Taking myself too seriously?”

She laughed. “Deciding what’s best for people. Leila said you pushed her away before she could drink the Venom out of me.”

“She’s an angel with very strong light magic. She wouldn’t have survived the Venom.”

“And Nero told me how you went behind his back, asking Nyx to send Harker here.”

“It was our best shot at saving Colonel Starborn. And you know how stubborn Nero is. He wouldn’t have made the call.”

“So you made it for him,” she said. “Sound familiar?”

“I was acting like Nero.”

“You were acting like an angel. Come to think of it, you’ve always acted like an angel. You’d been at the Legion for hardly a month when you drove alone across the Black Plains to save Nero.”

And before that, I’d joined the Legion without telling my family. I’d decided how we were going to save Zane. I’d decided what was best. Gods, she was right. I’d always been like this, even before I’d sipped the gods’ Nectar.

“It’s not a bad quality. Not in you,” she told me, setting her hand on my shoulder. “It’s precisely that trait which compels you to selflessly throw yourself in danger to save others. It’s what makes you a hero.”

“Thanks. That sounds a lot better than an overbearing, stubborn, bossy pants angel.”

“Talking about me?” Colonel Starborn said, sweeping up to the bar with angelic grace.

Basanti smirked at her. “Of course.”

“Good,” she replied to Basanti’s immense amusement.

Colonel Starborn looked at me. “The ceremony will begin in a few moments.”

I swallowed hard.

“You’re ready,” she said. “I saw how you fought against the Dark Force—twice.”

“I just can’t help but remember what happened at my last ceremony.”

“How you were poisoned with Venom,” she said, nodding. “I wouldn’t worry over that. You already survived the Venom last night. It’s just good old Nectar this time around.”

I didn’t point out that Nectar was also a poison. We all knew it.

“Well,” I said, rising from my barstool. “I guess I’d better go splash cold water on my face or something.”

They waved to me, then turned toward each other. I left them to it. They had a century of heartbreak to mend, and I really hoped they could do it. I moved across the room, looking for a friendly face. I found Major Singh instead. She was standing under a blossoming cherry tree, speaking with Nero. They weren’t even flirting, but that didn’t stop a surge of anger from boiling up inside of me. I felt an irresistible, irrational urge to impale her pretty body on that pretty tree.

“Leda,” Nerissa said, catching my arm.

Soren moved in front of me, subtly blocking me before I made a scene. So this was an intervention.

“You look ready for a fight,” he said. “Didn’t you get enough of those lately?”

“Maybe just one more.” I tried to move around him.

Nerissa closed the opening. “Rumor has it the Major is a biter.”

I slid my tongue over my fangs. “So am I.”

Their honest laughter soothed the anger in me. My head cleared enough to realize that attacking Major Singh would not end well. My newfound sanity also allowed me to see what I hadn’t before: Nerissa and Soren with their arms wrapped around each other.

“I take it a lot happened while I was away from the castle?”

“Yes. The Dragons showed their true faces and trapped us all in the dungeon,” Nerissa said.

That’s not what I’d meant, and the mischievous spark in her eyes told me she knew it.

“It’s a real medieval dungeon down there,” Soren added. “We’d almost escaped when Colonel Windstriker and Major Singh smashed through the final wall, chasing the Sea Dragon.”

“He’s a real dynamite angel,” Nerissa said to me, wiggling her eyebrows.

It was an open invitation to share the details of what had happened between us—which was nothing thus far—but the chiming of the bell saved me from utterly disappointing her. The promotion ceremony was starting. As Colonel Starborn made her opening speech, Jace sidled up to me.

“It looks like you got to have all the fun and glory again, Leda,” he said, his expression equal parts humor and resignation, with a hint of jealousy.

“You got your share of glory too. You and the others drove the soldiers of the Dark Force out of Storm Castle.”

“That was but a brief battle.”

I smiled slyly. “A testament to your prowess on the battlefield.”

“Yes, I was part of the five-minute battle in which I and a hundred other soldiers drove out the Dark Force. On the other hand, you rescued an angel from dark angels, defeated the three corrupted Dragons, and saved the world from a storm that would have ended life as we know it.”

I didn’t mention that I’d been unconscious for the defeat of the three Dragons. I didn’t think it would make a difference to him.

“It’s not nearly as glorious as it sounds,” I said.

“Leda, I was trapped in a dungeon for most of the day,” he said drily. “Next to that, making sandwiches sounds downright glorious.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, your sister was also trapped in that dungeon.”

He laughed. “Actually, yes, that is some consolation. Better yet, Kendra was knocked out by stray magic when Colonel Windstriker blasted through the dungeon. She missed the whole fight against the Dark Force. Our father will be thrilled to hear that. He might even torment her instead of me for a change.”

“I’m getting the feeling you don’t like your sister very much.”

“I hate her. And I love her.” He shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

“Jace Fireswift,” Colonel Starborn called out.

Jace walked up to the stage. Alec and the two soldiers from Los Angeles stood beside the waterlily fountain. They’d survived the Nectar. Jace survived too. I held my breath when Nerissa went up there, but her magic also proved strong enough. It was down to just me.

“Leda Pierce,” Colonel Starborn’s clear voice cut through the room.

I climbed the three steps to the stage, lifting the skirt of my gown so I wouldn’t trip on it in front of all these people. Someone—probably Alec Morrows—whistled in appreciation. Admittedly, it made me feel a little better. I stopped in front of Colonel Starborn.

“Sip now of the gods’ Nectar,” she recited, handing me the gold goblet. “Consume the magic of their fourth gift. Let it fill you, making you strong for the days to come.”

“For the days to come,” the crowd repeated in unison.

I lifted the cup to my mouth, hesitating for a moment before I downed the contents in a single go. The Nectar slid across my tongue, igniting sweet sensations on its way down my throat. My breath caught, my heart stunted—frozen in the moment a cold rush of magic gushed into my bloodstream. I could feel my light and dark magic circle around each other like two warriors before a fight. The Nectar and Venom inside of me were trying to reconcile, to balance.

My heart restarted, my lungs came alive, and I drew in a deep, gasping breath. Slowly, the chill melted off my body, dissolving before the burning river cascading through me, knocking my magic up a notch. The magical euphoria, that drunk-on-Nectar feeling, kicked in. I saw everything so clearly—and in that moment, I saw Nero too.

I walked over to him with renewed purpose, thinking of Basanti and Colonel Starborn, of how one moment of anger and fear could lead to a lifetime of regret. Well, not me. I wasn’t going to regret anything. Not ever.

“Nero,” I said as I came to a stop in front of him. Rising to my toes, I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him against me for a long, deep kiss.

Then I pulled back just as quickly. I could feel people staring at us, but I didn’t care. I turned into him, wrapping my arm around his back. My hand settled on his hip. Major Singh looked at us, uncharacteristically perplexed. I met her stare, willing her to step back. Anger flared in her eyes when she realized that I’d compelled her.

I leaned forward. “Your dress is on fire,” I whispered to her with a wink.

Then I led Nero from the room, leaving the Major to deal with the burning train of her slinky evening gown.

“I don’t actually know where I’m going,” I admitted to Nero after a few steps down the hallway. “I just wanted to make an exit.”

“And you certainly did. That was remarkable.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, setting her clothes on fire was fun.”

“Not that,” he told me. “Your presence. You made someone of a higher magic level back down.”

“I’m not sure how I did it. Pure force of will, I guess.”

“The Nectar and Venom in you have made you powerful. Each ability is enhanced. But that wasn’t enough. The power we witnessed back there was something else. A mating bond.” A joyful spark lit up his eyes—joy with just the right amount of smugness.

“I was…” I struggled for words.

“Murderous, possessive.” His brows lifted. “Bitchy.”

“All of the above,” I said. “And for no reason. These feelings have been gnawing at me ever since I saw her at the Desert Rose base.”

“Now you know how I feel all the time.”

“You’re not bitchy. Gruff, maybe,” I joked.

“What you did back there was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. You showed everyone in that room that you are mine and I am yours.”

“Surely not everyone was watching,” I whispered against his throat. I could feel his heart beating, his pulse throbbing against my lips. I wanted to show everyone that he was, without a shadow of a doubt, entirely mine.

“I can assure you that every eye in that room was on you. Mine included.”

The look in his eyes, the surge of feeling, the raw need burning in them—it was too much. My fangs descended, sinking into his throat, drinking deep. His sweet blood spilled into my mouth, flashing through my veins in hard, hot pulses.

He groaned in protest when I pulled back. Smiling, I brushed the hair from my throat.

“Drink from me,” I said. No, demanded.

A silver-blue sheen lighting up his green eyes, he dipped his mouth to my neck. His bite was a hot splash of pleasure. Every draw of his mouth synced to my breaths, to my pulse. I could feel myself inside of him, making him mine.

He pulled away, chuckling.

“What?” I asked.

He leaned in, his lips so close I could taste them. “So you’ve made your decision.”

“What decision?”

I shivered as his mouth brushed against my neck one more time. “You are an angel through and through, Leda. You always have been. All that’s missing are the wings.”

I blinked. His words echoed my thoughts from before.

“If this is about me calling Nyx without asking you—”

“That and so much more.”

“I don’t understand.”

He smirked at me. “You marked me.”

“What?” I gasped.

“Just now, when we exchanged blood. You drank in my blood, then returned it to me with your magic marked into it.”

“I…”

His chest shook with laughter.

“How is that even possible?” I snapped in frustration. “I can’t mark people. I’m not an angel.”

“Perhaps not, but you have an angel soul.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. It’s like some part of you is an angel. I felt that part calling out to me when you marked me. You are an angel inside, Leda. You just don’t have the magic yet.”

“That’s completely backwards. It’s the magic that makes someone an angel.”

He shrugged. “I can’t explain it.”

“And it’s angel magic that allows them to mark someone. I read it in your book,” I continued. “Without that magic, you can’t mark someone.”

“I didn’t say it made sense.”

I sighed.

“Your magic has grown so much in just a few days,” he said. “You might not have all of our abilities, but thanks to the Venom and Nectar, you control both light and dark magic for the abilities you do have. Perhaps it was that which gave you enough magic to mark me.”

This was all so confusing. “What am I?”

“I don’t know.” He set his hands on my face. “But we will find out, I promise you.”

I let out a strained laugh. “I’ve been so worried about losing my humanity. But it seems I was never really human at all.”

“You’re disappointed.”

“No.” Smiling, I touched my forehead to his. “I’m not. Really. Nothing has changed. I am the same person I always was. That means…I don’t have to be human to have humanity. I… It seems things aren’t as black and white as I’ve been making them out to be. I don’t have to lose something to become an angel. I can gain something. Someone.” I gave him a sheepish look. “Are you mad I marked you?”

“No,” he replied without hesitation. “In fact, I have to amend my previous statement. That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. You were positively stunning. So possessive.” His hands dropped to my shoulders, sliding down my back. “So vengeful.” His lips parted in a sensual smile. “So Lethal.” His words kissed my face. “But I bet you could push yourself harder.”

“To be like you?” I gasped as his hand caught on the front zipper of my dress.

“You are just like me.” He slid the zipper halfway down. “Just as raw.”

My breasts swelled against the fabric of my top. Another half inch down with that zipper, and they’d pop right out. This is what I got for not wearing a bra.

“You will make a magnificent angel, Leda.” He closed his eyes, savoring the thought.

“So you came here to push me hard?”

“Yes.” His voice was like liquid silk—like the silk burning against my nipples.

He pushed me against the wall. Steam hissed. I realized we’d somehow stumbled halfway across the castle to the Tranquility Pools, the same place Nero had found me after flying here through the storm.

“And to save the world, of course.” He kissed me gently.

But I didn’t want him to be gentle—not now. “Aren’t you busy enough with your own promotion training without worrying about me?” I asked.

“I always worry about you.”

I arched my back.

His gazed dipped to my chest. “But I must admit that my intentions were not entirely selfless.”

“Oh?”

“They were at least fifty percent selfless.”

I caught his lip between my teeth, drawing it out slowly. A deliciously dark groan rumbled in his chest.

“Fine,” he said, his voice strained, like he was having trouble holding back the darkness. “At least twenty percent selfless. I need something from you.”

I peeled back his collar to kiss his neck, teasing his pulsing vein with my mouth. “I need something from you too.”

I slid the zipper all the way down. My dress slid off my body like a waterfall, leaving me in nothing but my panties and a pair of high heels.

“Pandora,” he said, his voice a hard, needy rumble, like sandpaper on silk. “I’m trying to be serious.”

I stepped over my dress. “I’m very serious.”

He cast a long look down the length of my body. Temptation flared in his eyes. “I need to talk.”

“Talk.” I peeled back my hair, baring my neck to him. “I’m listening.”

His hands flashed out, locking onto my arms. I gasped in delight as he turned me around roughly. My back slammed into the hard wall of his chest.

“I missed you so much,” I said.

His mouth trailed kisses across my shoulder. “I missed you too. When I came to the castle, I wasn’t sure you’d be happy to see me.”

“I was.”

His hand traced the outside of my breast, brushing down my ribcage. I could feel the hard prick of his fangs against my neck, pushing just lightly enough to not break the skin.

“After what happened in New York, I thought I’d lost you.”

“You didn’t,” I said, glancing back at him. “You have me, Nero.”

All the doors to the room clicked shut.

“Good,” he said, his eyes burning with dark desire.

He moved like lightning. He lifted me off the floor—and tossed me into the pool.

I surfaced, spitting out water. “That was not what I had in mind.”

He was already in the pool, facing me. And there wasn’t a shred of clothing on him. Water streamed down his chest like diamond tears. I shivered.

Nero slid his hand across the water’s surface. Heat spread out from his glowing fingers, warming the pool. “Better?”

“Moderately.”

“You’re so hard to please.”

“I seem to remember a certain angel who was never satisfied with my performance.”

“You would have preferred me to go easy on you?”

“Oh, did you think this was about you?” I smirked at him. “I was actually talking about Colonel Fireswift.”

His mouth hardened.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” I rose to my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Of course I meant you, Colonel Hardass.”

“I’m not always dissatisfied.”

“Only most of the time.”

“I’m trying to push you to be something more, something greater. I warned you from the beginning that the road you were on would be difficult, that I would have to push you hard. And that you might hate me for it.”

“I don’t hate you, Nero. I could never hate you.”

A sweat broke out on my face. The pool wasn’t just warm now; it was scorching hot. A week ago, the heat would have been too much for me. Now, with the magic of Dragon’s Storm flowing through my veins, it actually felt pretty good. It soaked into my muscles, melting the tension out of me, soothing me.

I closed my eyes. “So why have you really come here? What is your not-entirely-selfless reason?” I asked him, dipping deeper into the water, allowing the heat to permeate my body.

“I couldn’t be away from you.”

The bubbling water beat against me, a slow, deep massage.

“You’re trying to make me more accessible to suggestion,” I said.

“Leda, we both know it doesn’t take much to make you accessible to my suggestions.”

Liquid ribbons streamed between my legs, each kiss searing my soft flesh. My body pulsed with an aching, growing need.

“If all I wanted from you was sex, I would have had you many times over already.” His voice was dangerously soft.

My breath caught in my throat. “Confident, aren’t you?”

“I’m merely speaking plainly.”

“So what else do you want from me?”

“I need your help.”

Water streamed over my shoulders, cascading down my breasts. My back arched, my legs parted, and I moaned in wanton desperation.

“Nero.” His name was a demand, my voice a hard and ragged rasp, my body a throbbing pulse of agonizing need.

The side ties of my panties burst open. The lacy garment peeled away from me, floating up to the water’s surface. The pool bubbled higher, harder, faster. More liquid ribbons flashed out, thrusting between my thighs. Like a bolt of lightning, the pressure inside of me exploded. My mind shattered, my body convulsed, and sweet ecstasy spilled over me.

“Gods, Leda. You will be the death of me.” Nero was breathing heavily, his shoulders shaking with the aftershocks of his own release.

I slumped against him, shaking, quivering. My pulse was pounding in my ears. Magic ignited in my blood. His magic, mine, both of us merging together as one. One blood, one magic. He wrapped his arms around me in a protective, tender embrace. He dipped his mouth to mine, kissing me softly. I’d never known an angel could be so gentle. So sweet.

He chuckled, his chest humming against mine. “If you could read my thoughts, you’d hardly call me sweet. And I’m not done with you yet.”

I smirked back at him. “Bring it on.”

He lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the pool, laying me onto a lounge chair. He sat down beside me, his naked hip burning against my quickly-chilling skin. I shivered.

“You’re cold.”

He waved his hand in the air, and the large umbrella lamp over us began to glow red. Heat bathed our bare bodies. He gazed down upon me, his eyes dilated with magic. His hand stroked along my side, his mouth trailing, kissing every spot his fingers touched. His lips brushed my scar, and I cringed, drawing away.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, concern warming his eyes.

“No, not anymore. I…” I glanced down at the hand I’d used to cover my scar. “I’m just self-conscious about it,” I admitted.

“Don’t be. It is a mark of honor. You survived the kiss of an immortal weapon.” He peeled my hand off the scar. “This scar is a window into your soul, Leda. It is a testament to how strong you are, to your compassion, to how you will always do the right thing, no matter the cost.” He kissed the ripple of imperfect skin burned into my stomach. “It is as beautiful as you are. Just like every part of you.”

“Even my quirks? My incorrigible snark? My penchant for undignified, dirty fighting?”

“Yes.” He took my hand between his, kissing my fingertips. “Every single one of them.”

I smiled. “Ok, I admit it. I’m a sucker for your charm. I’ll do it.”

“Anything?” The look in his eyes made me blush.

“You said you needed my help,” I reminded him.

“Yes. I do.” His lips caressed my shoulder. “I will soon undertake the trials to level ten, challenges set by the gods themselves. Every promotion until now was about proving that I could embrace my new power, that I could use it. This is different. This time, I will need to prove I can survive without my magic, by my will alone.”

“I don’t understand.”

“They will strip me of my magic.”

“I didn’t know that was possible.”

“There is a potion, a temporary magic inhibitor,” he told me. “It will strip me of my powers one by one as the trials become more difficult. By the end, my magic will be gone. I’ll have to succeed by my wits and will alone. And with one weapon.”

“A magic sword?”

“Not a weapon like that. I may choose one person to be my support in this. One person to be my ally.” His hand traced the curve of my spine, sliding over my bottom to settle on my hip. “I choose you.”

“Shouldn’t you choose someone with more power?”

“Magic is irrelevant. Yours will be stripped too for this trial. What matters is the power within.”

“So you want me there with you because I’m stubborn and hard-headed.”

He laughed. “I want you there with me because I trust you more than anyone.”

Warmth—content and happy—spilled out from my heart.

We’ve been playing this game for too long, Nero’s voice spoke inside my head. Do you trust me, Leda?

“Yes.”

Smiling, he climbed on top of me, his hand gently parting my legs. Heat blossomed inside of me. I felt myself opening up, ripening, wanting him with an intensity that bordered on madness. The insides of my thighs were slick and hot. A hollow, empty ache throbbed deep inside of me. He slid lower, a gasp breaking my lips as he thrust inside of me. A feeling of intense fullness filled that emptiness.

“I’ve wanted you for so long,” he told me.

My fingers dug into the hard muscle of his back, pulling him in closer. I wrapped my legs around his waist. “I’ve wanted you…” I groaned as he began to move faster, harder. “…too.”

“Will you be my partner in the trials?”

An inferno raged inside of me, building and burning. Heat pulsed through my body in dizzying, feverish waves. The hot-white kiss of his fangs pierced my skin, and I nearly came again.

“You know I will, Nero. You’ve always been there for me. I’ll always be there for you.”

“Will you be my partner in life? Mine, my lover, the keeper of my heart?” The raw vulnerability in his voice nearly made me cry.

“Yes. I’m all yours.”

Satisfaction spread across his face, lighting up his eyes. Gold and silver flashed across a sea of green, like a tropical lightning storm at sea.

His next thrust came so hard that the lounge chair groaned in protest beneath us. “Say it again.”

A soft whimper tore out of me. “I’m all yours.”

“And I am all yours.” He traced his finger down his neck. “Show me.”

I sank my fangs into his throat, and as the sweet nectar of his blood filled my mouth, he bit me too. Pain collided with pleasure in an explosion that sent a shock wave rippling through my whole body. A deep growl tore out of Nero, his face twisting in pure rapture. His body still shaking, he folded his arms around me.

“Show you like that?” I asked with a shy smile, my heart hammering in my chest.

“Yes, Pandora.” He kissed my forehead. “Just like that.”