Later that day, Mira walked beside Kagan on Michigan Avenue, holding his hand and smiling. It wasn’t just the sex, though that had been mind-blowing and fantastic. It was simply being around him. She only had to look at him and she happy.

He scanned the crowds of holiday shoppers around them and the store windows and the cars speeding by, everything. It all seemed to interest him. Then again, if she’d been trapped in the same room in front of the same screen for hundreds of years, she’d probably gawk at the scenery too. She studied his handsome profile and he turned to look down at her. His crooked grin made her heart flutter and her chest squeezed with sweetness. She checked her watch to make sure they weren’t late for their meeting at the bar. Argus had been deceptively civil over the phone and had accepted her invitation immediately, both of which made Mira suspicious. She didn’t trust the guy any farther than she could throw him. Kagan would handle it, she had no doubt. As the time inched closer to five, twilight encroached on the sky above and all the holiday lights twinkled to life. It would be another beautiful night, clear and cold.

They were almost at The G Spot. She sighed, not looking forward to seeing Argus again, even if this would be the last time. Kagan tugged her closer in to his side, as if sensing her reluctance.

Mira snuck another glance at him, glad she’d gotten past all her hang-ups about him to see the real man within. He’d worn the dark suit again from the nightclub and looked magnificent. The way the material clung to his body made her want to pull him into one of the side alleys and have her wicked way with him again. He winked at her, his gaze knowing, and heat prickled her cheeks. He gave her a slow head-to-toe appraisal, letting her know he was thinking the same.

The wind gusted harder and she huddled inside her wool coat. Unlike Kagan, she’d dressed for work, in her usual uniform of jeans and a T-shirt. Hauling crates of booze around and filling in wherever she was needed didn’t make wearing cute outfits practical. Besides, Kagan would be enough of a distraction tonight without having to worry about her clothes too.

She couldn’t afford to mess up and lose her job. She had bills to pay.

He squeezed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head, making her feel cherished. She’d never had that before, growing up in a series of foster homes after her biological mother had left her on the doorstep of a firehouse. But Kagan brought her to life, freed her inhibitions, made her feel confident and adventurous, in or out of bed.

With him, she felt beautiful and worshipped and adored.

Being with Kagan was like Heaven on Earth.

Probably the Scion effect.

They crossed the street and rounded the corner. The G Spot’s pink neon sigh flashed ahead, and she steeled herself for the battle to come. Argus was in there, waiting.

“Problem?” Kagan’s deep voice soothed her frayed nerves, warming her chilled body even as the temperatures around them dropped.

“No.” She gave him a small smile she didn’t quite feel. “I’m fine.”

“I’ll take care of him, don’t worry. Then, perhaps we can talk.” He led her toward the door. The bouncer gave Mira a nod of greeting and let them inside. Her birthmark burned on her shoulder blade and she winced as they entered the noisy bar.

Kagan carried himself with such power. She wished she had even half his chutzpah. Instead she spent most days keeping her head down to avoid conflict and letting thing pass because it was easier. She’d always been that way, at least until Argus had crossed the line and she’d had enough.

Now, here they were, about to confront her cheating ex and repay him in full for his cruelty. She should be happy, relieved. Instead, all she felt was a growing sense of dread and a sneaking premonition that things weren’t going to end well at all.

Once Argus was dealt with, Kagan’s obligation to her would be fulfilled and there would be no reason for him to stay. He would leave, and she’d be alone again, with only the memories of the night they’d shared together to keep her warm. She sighed as she shrugged out of her coat. She’d gone into this affair with her eyes open.

No one to blame now but herself if she’d fallen in love with him.

The one man she could never have, not permanently anyway.

He’d go back to his heavenly quarters and she’d stay on Earth. He’d watch her on his screen as her days passed until her life was over. He’d move on to the next Seal host and she’d rot away in a grave for eternity.

Her birthmark seared hotter and Mira cringed, grumbling under her breath as several women flocked closer to Kagan. He’d not cloaked himself like he had before, so they all saw the hot guy in a killer suit. The thought of him sleeping with another woman made Mira’s stomach knot and her fists clench. She wasn’t jealous. She wasn’t. She just didn’t want some skank with skimpy underwear and even skimpier morals taking advantage of him.

Kagan might be immortal, but he was still inexperienced when it came to earthly women.

In response to her emotional discord, Kagan pulled Mira into his arms and kissed her soundly, staking claim and showing the other women he was already taken. Warmth rushed through Mira. There was definitely something to be said for an alpha male.

Argus stepped forward from the shadows, looking every bit as sinister as she’d remembered, and her pleasant dreams about a happily ever after with Kagan faded. Funny, but when they’d first met, Argus had been so charming and attentive, sweeping her off her feet with his lavish attention. Then he’d gradually grown more controlling and nasty when she didn’t obey his rules about how she should dress, how she should talk, how she should live.

His flat gray eyes met hers and her heart skipped, not with passion, but with trepidation.

Argus looked from her to Kagan, a small smirk forming on his lips.

Hard to believe she’d once thought him handsome—in a whippet-thin, pale Icelandic model sort of way. Now he seemed colder than the icicles forming outside.

“Stay behind me.” Kagan frowned, herding her with one hand to stand behind his back. Her feet, however, refused to move. Mira’s birthmark pulsed with heat and power and she felt a crazy urge to walk up to Argus and give him an ass kicking of her own.

“Don’t.” She shook off Kagan’s hand. Maybe it was residual anger over the trip to Cook County ER that she’d taken courtesy of her asshole ex. Maybe it was the fact those women were still staring at Kagan even though she’d clearly claimed him. Maybe it was years of just taking it, putting up with all the crap, not fighting back.

Whatever it was, Mira’s mercy was at an end. Time to fight. Time to conquer.

Kagan looked alarmed now. “This is not you. It’s your Seal. You must leave.”

“What? Hell no.” She scowled, staring deep into his aqua eyes, trying to understand. According to the bible, the first Seal unleashed the power to conquer, brutality, enslavement. It wasn’t possible that she hosted this thing, as Kagan thought, and yet… Her mark flared again, and power pulsed through her in waves. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

Kagan cupped her cheeks. “Being with me awakened your Seal’s power, but you must fight it. I’ve seen what it can do to a host, destroying them and ruining their lives. Please. I am your Scion, your protector. Let me protect you now.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” she said, her voice suddenly deeper and rougher as it echoed off the walls of the bar and caused the other patrons to cower and scurry away. “You’ll hurt Argus, and then you’ll go. I don’t want you to leave.”

Her skin felt too tight and her head hurt. Her ears rang with a constant buzz that threatened to drive her insane. Kagan maintained his hold on her, leaning closer to whisper words in ancient Latin. Slowly, steadily, the buzzing noise died away and the pressure building inside Mira eased, though she still felt hot and shaky and more embarrassed than she’d ever been in her life.

“I’m sorry.” The words croaked out of her suddenly parched throat.

“It doesn’t matter.” He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, soothing her, calming her, even as that wary glint in his eyes hardened into purpose. “I will handle this, and then we talk.”

“Stay away from her, half-breed,” Kagan growled, moving to stand before Argus, nose-to-nose. “This is your final warning.”

Reality around them dropped away and Argus’s smile morphed into something a whole lot more terrifying. He’d waved his hand, as Kagan had done the day before, transporting them from the bar to a barren wasteland filled with slithering shadows.

“Ah, Mira.” Argus’s pale skin looked even whiter now, his gray eyes more animal than human, a tiny flame sparking to life behind his pupils. “Hiding behind your Scion I see. Your Seal will be broken, there’s no stopping it. The plans are in motion.”

She stared at him, shocked into speechlessness. Argus knew about Kagan and the Seal.

But how? Who was he? What was he?

Argus reached toward Mira and Kagan picked her up with one arm, moving her behind him.

“Do not touch her again, Nephilim, or you will die.”

Mira gaped. She’d read about the half angel, half human offspring in the bible too but had never really believed in them. Then again, she’d never believed in Kagan and the Scion either yet here he was, snarling down at her ex like he’d as soon rip Argus’s head off with his bare hands as look at him. Argus was a Nephilim?

“Killing me will accomplish nothing, Scion,” Argus snarled. “More will come to take my place We grow stronger each day. We’ve spent eons building our numbers, training, preparing for the day when we will unleash the Apocalypse on Divinity’s shitty creation and finally have our justice, our retribution. The day is nigh.”

“Go to hell,” Mira said, leaning around Kagan, pleased her voice sounded strong even as her insides shook. “Where you belong.”

“You first, Seal.” Argus hissed, his eyes closing. “When the first Seal was opened, I heard the noise of thunder and beheld a white horse. They that sat on him had a bow and a crown was given unto them. They went forth conquering, and to conquer. You will unleash our glorious rebellion, Mira. You are the key to it all.”

The power inside her flared again and she tried to claw her way around Kagan to get to her ex, but he stopped her with a single hand on her arm.

“No.” Kagan looked back at Mira over his shoulder. “Don’t let him provoke you into doing something we’ll both regret.”

She glared at Argus. He’d cheated on her. Beat her. Betrayed her trust. Hurt her so badly she’d craved revenge and summoned an immortal warrior to carry it out on her behalf.

Kagan had taken her side, protected her, cared for her. He’d healed her heart. He’d brought back her smile and made her feel alive again. She met his aqua gaze and saw his true feelings there—love, lust, undying loyalty.

In the end, there was no choice at all.

With a nod, Mira looked back at Argus again. “You won’t win. Whatever we have to do to stop you, we will. Love conquers all.”

Argus gave a dismissive snort. “What a bunch of sniveling bullshit.”

Kagan’s posture stiffened and the floor beneath their feet trembled. A muscle ticked near his tight jaw. “Time for vengeance.”

Her Scion stalked over to the smaller Nephilim and punched him hard in the face, knocking Argus to the ground. She’d been worried about them being unequally matched, but surprisingly Argus got back on his feet with superhuman speed and charged Kagan, landing a few blows of his own. The fight erupted, vicious and brutal, as the ground quaked and thunder rolled through the endless black sky.

Mira didn’t want to watch but couldn’t tear her eyes away as they fought. Then lightning flashed behind her and three burly men appeared, each Kagan’s size or larger. They rushed forward to pull the two brawlers apart. Kagan took a final shot at Argus, slamming his fist into his opponent’s stomach. Argus doubled over, and the Scion took advantage, hitting the Nephilim hard across the jaw with a left hook.

Argus crumpled to the parched ground at last, covered in blood and gashes, out cold.

The three men grabbed Kagan before Mira reached him and dragged him away. He was bruised and bleeding too, but still alert. He’d wreaked this bloody violence for her.

He’d avenged her.

Her gaze flicked back to Argus where he laid, still unconscious. She couldn’t be angry with Kagan what he’d done. He was her sworn protector, her Scion. She believed it now.

Believed it all.

The wasteland slowly dissolved to reveal the bar again, sans Argus and Kagan.

Mira hurried back to the bar and grabbed her coat, mumbling an apology to the manager and something about an emergency, then she rushed outside. She needed her job, yes, but she needed to find her Scion even more. The night was brisk on her heated cheeks. She spotted Kagan about half a block away, pacing the sidewalk before the three men who’d dragged him away from the wasteland. She sensed his agitation. He wasn’t satisfied. He’d wanted to fight Argus to the death and finish things once and for all. Kagan looked up as she approached. The cuts on his face looked painful but were already healing. His skin bristled with power, his aqua eyes fierce.

She glanced at the other three men, sensing they were like Kagan, not of this world.

“I’m fine.” Kagan’s hand caught hers and held tight. He led her away from the others for privacy. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” He looked as rattled as she felt by what had happened. In the span of twenty-four hours she’d discovered her true love was an immortal warrior she’d summoned from Heaven and that she was host of an ancient Seal of the Apocalypse. To top it all off, her douchebag ex was a Nephilim set on destroying the world. If that didn’t rock a girl’s universe, she didn’t know what would. “I’ve had enough revenge. It’s over. I want to go home now.”

Kagan stared at his toes, his expression distant. “Home.”

Mira nudged a mound of snow with her boot. She didn’t want Kagan to leave. She trembled on the brink of asking him to stay, to remain here on Earth, but how could she when he’d proven himself loyal to his duty.

Asking him to turn his back on Heaven now would require too great a sacrifice.

He traced his soft fingers down her cheek, caressing the curve of her jaw. She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain in her heart.

“I’ll accompany you to your apartment...if that’s acceptable?” he whispered, his tone hesitant. “To ensure your safety.”

Mira drew back and met his eyes, the thought of him leaving weighing heavy inside her. How could she convince him to stay when she had nothing to offer but her love?

Kagan gave a final nod toward the trio of men still waiting nearby, then pulled Mira into his arms, cradling her against this solid, warm chest as he smiled against the top of her head. “Nice night for a traveling.”

Tears blurred Mira’s vision as another rainbow vortex surrounded them. She leaned her head against Kagan’s shoulder, holding his neck with one hand and the lapel of his suit jacket with the other, not wanting to let him go.

This could be the last time she traveled with him, their last night together.