The car turned down a wooded lane, passed through a set of wrought iron gates, and sped to an enormous chateau. It was set in an isolated clearing, the road no longer visible. The building rose from the landscape like a miniature mountain range, its dark roofs and turrets slashing through the night sky.

I remained silent after the creature’s bizarre claim that we were married. He continued to study me, watching my every move as if he were measuring my breaths. When the car came to a stop, he rose and held out a hand to help me from the car. I ignored him and exited, searching my surroundings for any avenues of escape. The yard was large and open, but I doubted I had a chance of outrunning my captor, and my magic was of no use. The bangles on my wrists had tightened such that they felt welded to my skin.

I would have to wait until I saw an opening, sometime when he wasn’t watching me. And once I got the metal off my wrists? I’d return to this place and destroy it down to the foundation.

“Please, step inside.” He gestured to the large front doors that swung inward as a butler appeared.

I climbed the steps into the foyer. A glittering row of chandeliers lit my way along the bloodred marble floor. I continued on through the wide hallway, opulence in every detail of the paneled walls and the pieces of art expertly placed at intervals. The home was palatial. So much so that I almost felt small, as if crushed under the weight of its finery and sheer size. Each fine work of art and furnishing was just more kindling for the fire I would bring down later.

I scanned the rooms as I passed, looking for potential weapons and examining the windows for escape. Each one was accented with crossed iron pieces in a scarab motif, serving as a decoration and an effective jail. The stranger trailed a few steps behind me. I could sense his gaze roving over my backside, still taking in every move.

“In here.” The stranger waved me into a room with a roaring fire. It was a drawing room, tufted leather couches and a delicate writing desk gracing the polished wood floors. The door closed behind us, a solid thunk followed by the click of the lock. I was once again trapped with him.

My throat closed up, but I kept myself on an even keel. This wasn’t the first time an enemy had underestimated me.

“Please, sit.”

I perched on the nearest couch and awaited my chance to strike. It would come. The stranger would eventually make the wrong move and give me the opportunity to sweep the game board and take him down with it.

The stranger took the seat opposite me, leaned back, and steepled his fingers. “I know you don’t believe me when I say I’m your husband. But, I assure you, Helen—and that is your true name—you are my wife.”

I said nothing and took stock of the room. Only two doors—the one we’d entered through and another, behind the stranger. The first was locked and the other a mystery. The windows bore the same scarab bars, no help there. I pinned my hopes on the mystery door.

“Would you like to know how I found you?”

He tapped his fingers together as he watched me, a smug smile taking over his features.

“Yes.” Any information about how he’d tracked me down could help me find him, when I was out of here and had the full contingent of Artemis’s warrior maidens at my back. This was not the sort of slight I would let go unpunished. I only wondered how much I could make him scream before I took his head. I smiled a little at the thought.

He frowned, as if he knew I was fantasizing about his death. Then he regained his mask of smug pleasure. “I knew where you were the moment you left the confines of Olympus. All this time, I’d thought you dead. But, as a demon’s mate, you are marked. It’s like a beacon of sorts, alerting me to what’s mine. Fate was such that I was in the city the moment you arrived. You were so close, I could feel my mark. I could feel you, Helen.”

My unease grew. I was surprised to hear he was a demon, but more than that, angered by his words of ownership. It was true that demons did mark their mates, but I bore no such mark. I kept my demeanor even. “The only mark I bear is that of Artemis.” I turned my head to the side and ran my fingertips down the runes. “And this birthmark.” I turned my head to the other side, showing him the red mark at my jugular. Pointing out just how wrong he was.

He growled as I touched the pink skin.

“Not there.” He rose and sat next to me, too close for my comfort, but I did not move. A cold sweat broke out along my brow, and my stomach churned. Something stirred beneath my breast, a self-preservation instinct that demanded I get away from this creature. His nearness dredged up some horrible darkness inside me that I hadn’t even known was there.

“Here.” He ripped through the back of my sweater in a smooth movement, leaving me bare. I raised a hand to strike him, but he caught it and twisted it behind me. Forcing me forward, he ran his free hand down my exposed flesh. Then without warning, he slicked his tongue along the top of my shoulder blade. I cried out and felt a searing pain where his mouth had been.

Craning my head around, I saw a symbol burned into my shoulder blade. It was a scarlet mark, twisted and slashing—the demon language. No.

“Let me go!” I tried to wrench my hand away from him. But he was strong, stronger than any immortal I had ever fought.

The air around me flickered, my magic seeking to break through, but the dispelling bangles kept my powers in check.

He leaned me back and pushed me down onto the couch. Settling on top of me, he smiled as if he’d won a victory. His body was hard against mine. His bottomless gaze had not warmed, but the rest of him was on fire. His shaft pulsed against my thigh, and my gorge rose.

“You see, it is you, Helen. You are mine.”

His words were like a jolt to my system, a strong wave of déjà vu rushing over me. I sensed memories, but more palpably, a deep warning. The panic rose within me, threatening to engulf me and my plans of escape. My heart beat rapidly, as caged in my chest as I was in this mansion. I tried to calm myself, to strategize, but I was helpless, trapped by a demon who I feared had some dark claim on me.

“You know it’s me, Helen.” His voice had dropped to a whisper as he greedily eyed my mouth.

He ran a hand through my hair and then pulled viciously, exposing my neck. He fastened his lips to my skin, grazing my birthmark with the sharp tips of his canines. I cried out, revulsion overcoming my resolve, and readied my plea to Artemis to save me from this fate. But it wasn’t necessary.

The door I’d been eyeing burst inward, showering the room in dust and splinters. The stranger jumped from the couch and rushed to it, giving me the opening I had been waiting for. I darted to the door we’d first entered, but it was locked.

The stranger stalked through the blasted opening without giving me so much as a glance. Was he so confident in his trap? I furiously twisted the door handle, but the lock was solid. Before I could search the room for something to use as a lockpick, I heard the mechanism click over. There was no time to question it. I swung the door wide and dashed into the hall. I took off at a run back toward the front door, but only managed a handful of steps before an arm as strong as iron encircled me. A hand clamped over my mouth, cutting off my scream before it even lofted from my lungs.