Aidan escorted Rhianna back to the Falcon station, which had become their home base. She was stumbling as they went, and he supported her with his arm beneath her ribs.

He was worried about her. She needed rest and food to keep going. And she’d had little of either since Theodora had seized her yesterday.

“You need to rest, just for a little while,” he said to Rhianna.

She shook her head weakly. “I can’t sleep. There’s too much at stake. We only have six days before the next Game Day.” She groaned. “And that’s only if Theodora sticks to the same schedule she’s been using.”

“Two hours,” he pleaded. “We won’t lose that much for you to catch two-hour nap.”

She pulled away from him. “Nope.”

When they got inside the station, it was empty. Steve, Sean, and Dillon hadn’t returned. He plopped onto the sofa and patted the worn, faded cushion. “Have a seat,” he said. “They’ll probably be back any minute.”

“Do you think they are all right?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

“Sure. They were here before you, right?”

She sat by his side and, with his guidance, rested her head on his shoulder. Her cinnamon scent filled his nostrils. Her softness teased his fingertips, and he listened as her breathing relaxed and slowed. She fell asleep within minutes.

Having her there beside him felt so right. He couldn’t believe he’d lived his immortal life alone. And while she would sadly be more or less immortal now, this was not a life. He wanted so much more for her—love, joy, laughter.

She moaned and clutched him tighter as she flung her arms around his ribs.

He dipped his head and gently kissed her. “Any other time, and I’d make love to you.” His lips tugged on hers and his tongue traced the inside of her mouth. They groaned in unison. “I promise you, we’ll continue this another day. When we’re free of this place.”

He cradled her against his chest and closed his eyes. He didn’t sleep, but his mind ran through potential scenarios for how to get them out of this before the next Game Day.

* * *

Awhile later, Steve and the others came shuffling in. Aidan pressed his index fingers to his lips. Rhianna was still sleeping.

Dillon nodded, and set a small plate of chicken and rice on the table. The guys each dropped into one of the mismatched chairs scattered around the room. Sean’s seat slid and squeaked.

Aidan held his breath. Rhianna stirred but didn’t wake.

He exhaled. Good. His job was to be a Guardian. He’d done it for hundreds of years, and now he needed to protect her.

He fisted his hands at his side. The weight of being alone for so long had finally been lifted, only to be replaced by the fear of losing Rhianna. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

The passage of time was a strange thing without the normal rise and fall of the sun. Rhianna, along with the guys, dozed for a few hours, barely moving. But when she did, Aidan stroked her back to rouse her. He wanted to take a stab at the perimeter before the rest of the population stirred. If he found a way out, he felt compelled to return and help the others escape this torturous existence also.

“Rhianna, wake up,” he nudged.

She kicked her leg over his waist, slid on top of him, and snuggled down into the sofa. He hissed in a breath. God, she felt so good.

But now was not the time, he reminded himself.

He jostled her. “Hey, we have to see if we can find a way out.”

As she came awake, she sat abruptly, pushed off him, and stood in one motion. “You let me fall asleep,” she accused him, her face turning red with fury. “Even after I told you I didn’t want to.”

He lifted both hands and shrugged. “You’re not the only one.” He jutted his chin to indicate the other three men, each sacked out on a chair, looking uncomfortable but dead to the world.

She waved a finger at him. “No. You knew perfectly well what I wanted and you disregarded it.” She made a growling sound deep in her throat. “Look at the time we’ve wasted!”

He stood, ignoring the uneasy feeling in his chest, a discomfort that worsened the angrier she got. He wasn’t used to having a female mad at him. Part of him didn’t know how to react.

Unable to resist and thinking this may be their final day together, he cupped her face with both hands and kissed her lovely lips. She tasted even better than he’d remembered. “If we get out of this . . .”

Her hands slid up to his biceps, where she dug her nails in, seeming unwilling to forgive him. Then her eyes flashed with lust, and she moved her palms to his chest and up to his jawline. She matched his movements and passionately kissed him back, tangling her tongue with his and finishing with a long, sensual pull on his lips.

They were both breathing hard. “That’s when. When we get out of here. We will finish this.” She met his gaze with a promise.

He threaded his hand into her hair and brought her close for one more kiss. “Okay. When.”

Dillon cleared his throat. “Now that that’s settled, what’s next?”

Aidan held on to Rhianna as he answered. “We head out.”

“I know you’re coming up with a plan,” Dillon added. “Just wanted to make sure you include us.”

“Yeah,” Steve said, still groggy. “We’ll help. Tell us what to do.”

He turned away. “Sure.” He stared at the guys, silently daring them to contradict him “Bring your weapons.”

A few minutes later, he ushered everyone out the door, then paused. “I want to prepare you . . . If we encounter Theodora, it will get ugly. You don’t have to go.”

They looked around at one another.

“One corner of Hell is as bad as another,” Dillon said. “I’m in.”

Steve nodded.

“Damn right,” Sean agreed.

“Okay,” Aidan said. “Just don’t expect me to save all your asses.”

Although he knew it wasn’t in him to leave a man behind.

* * *

It had taken them an hour or so to make it to where they had entered this pitiful world. She had a vague feeling that time may not pass the same in this world. So she couldn’t be sure.

Whether they made it or not, she was thankful that he was trying. At least they were doing something other than waiting for the next Game Day. It gave her hope that they could do it, that they would get out of here.

“Hand me your sword,” Aidan said to Rhianna. She held it out to him as he pushed on the elastic wall with his hand. Once he was holding the hilt of the sword, he nudged the barrier with the tip of the blade. He hesitated.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He pressed his lips together. “I’m just wondering what will happen if I can slice through the barrier. Will it lead us out of Riam and directly to our world? Or does it lead elsewhere?”

“At this point, it doesn’t matter. It’s the only option we have,” she said with a frown.

No, he thought, it’s the first option we have.

And the easiest. But it was worth testing the theory because other options involved confronting Theodora face-to-face, which was a far more dangerous prospect.

Steve stepped toward them. “What do you think will happen? Perhaps it will exhale us like a balloon does air.”

“Whatever occurs—” Aidan’s brows came together and he scowled at the men “—we get Rhianna out. If something happens to me . . . you get Rhianna out. Understood?”

The three men nodded. “Understood.”

Aidan thrust the sword into the fog that hovered around the barrier. The steel bounced off the elastic structure, almost flying out of his hand.

“Try it slowly,” Rhianna said. “You might be able to use the point to tear it.”

Aidan did as she suggested and pushed it slowly this time, his bicep bulging with the effort. He twisted the sword, pushed harder, and then tried again. But the invisible barrier still did not yield.

A hissing female laugh made all four of them turn. “Well, well. What have we here?”

Dillon literally shook in his boots, Steve’s mouth gaped open, and Sean threw his arm over his eyes.

Aidan stepped to the front of the group. “I had to at least try.”

“Of course you did.” She gave a wicked laugh as she hurled fireballs at him in quick succession. He made quick work of deflecting them all, but it took a toll on him

Rhianna grabbed his arm as he stumbled, exhausted.

“Oh, gag me,” Theodora said, eyeing Aidan and Rhianna. Producing another magical net with her staff, she locked the five of them in it and floated them back to the city.

Aidan cut at the net with Rhianna’s sword, but it held strong. Everything she used had magical properties. How did he fight that?

Then a bronze chariot pulled by six black horses materialized out of thin air. Theodora hurled the net in the back and flew into the city with great fanfare.

Instead of being mad, she seemed quite pleased, as if she was utterly entertained by this change of events and their attempt to flee.

Oh God. What did she have in store for them now?