There was no road to the old house that sat on the edge of a mountain. An old and overgrown trail was the only path. It would take over an hour to hike in the heavy winter snow of the Dolomite Mountains. Even with the superior strength and stamina granted by his angelic blood, Maxim knew he’d be exhausted by the time he found her.

He’d parked his four-wheel drive in the closest town, cautiously following the directions of an old librarian a few villages farther south. Chasing rabbit trails to dead ends was commonplace at this point in his search, but Max knew he only needed one more piece of the puzzle.

He’d finally found a name for her hiding place. Ciasa Fatima.

It had taken him eighteen years to find that name. Eighteen years of lies and misdirection. Eighteen years of frustration. At this point, he didn’t know if he wanted to find her from longing or sheer spite.

The librarian who gave him the name of the house was an ancient Ladin man who’d lived his entire life in Southern Tyrol and claimed to know the house Max was looking for. Once it had been the house of a great family, he claimed. They had a library to rival the duke’s! Strange people would come and go. Soldiers and noblemen. Beautiful women and visitors from foreign lands. There were stories and legends galore.

Then two hundred years ago, everything went quiet. There were no more visitors. No caravans or dignitaries. One hundred years passed before signs of life emerged.

These days, the house was rented out to discreet and very private travelers in the summer. No one knew how it was listed, and it couldn’t be an easy place to stay. There was no electricity running up the mountain and probably no running water. But the meadows that surrounded it were worth the hike. The view, the old man remembered, was breathtaking.

In the winter, of course, it was vacant. No one wanted to brave the snow and ice of the cold Tyrolean winter on their own, especially not on a mountain slope like the one around Ciasa Fatima.

Except during the winter solstice.

For a few weeks in the middle of winter, villagers claimed that smoke came from the chimneys and lights glittered on the mountain. Whoever stayed at Ciasa Fatima didn’t come down into the village.

This did not surprise Max.

There was no one better at hiding than Renata.

* * *

Max crested the last hill and stopped to breathe, making a note that high-altitude training was an area of his fitness that could be improved. He’d become accustomed to the lazy heat and balmy sea air of Istanbul.

Perhaps there was a spell he could conjure for increased lung capacity. Maxim of Riga was an Irin scribe, and though most of his duties consisted of gathering strategic information for his watcher and other allies across the globe, he was still an accomplished practitioner of magic. All scribes had to be in order to wield the power granted to them by their angelic forefathers. Male Irin harnessed their magic by writing. Female Irina used their voices.

For scribes, the most permanent spells—those for increased strength, stamina, eyesight, speed, and long life—were tattooed on their skin in intricate talesm unique to each warrior. Max had tattooed more than most, caught for years in a friendly rivalry with his cousin Leo. Both of them were young for their race at a little over two hundred years old, but they were massive men with intense focus who had spent the majority of their lives surrounded only by warriors. With a single brush of his thumb, Max could activate a dense web of magic on his skin, giving him a coat of living armor.

But none of that armor helped when it came to tracking down one elusive Irina.

The hike had taken twice as long as he’d anticipated, and darkness had already descended on the mountain. It didn’t interrupt the grandeur of the view.

The house beyond the snow-covered meadow was just as the old man had described. A typical Ladin house, almost a perfect square of solid architecture that could withstand the fiercest storm. It was backed up to the mountain slope, possibly built into it. The bottom story was stone and plaster, the top was weather-aged wood. It was in good repair from the steep-sloped roof to the large porch that wrapped around the second story. Two outbuildings stood to the side—a low stone cottage and a larger barn that looked like it had once been a dairy.

Max started toward the house, breaking a path through two feet of solid snow. He could see lights in the distance; it was dark, and he was freezing cold. The chimney smoked, promising warmth if he could just make the last frozen yards.

A storm was coming in, and Max couldn’t stop his smile. He couldn’t have timed it better if he’d tried.

* * *

He beat on the door, but no one answered. “Renata!”

Nothing but silence, though he could hear someone inside.

“I know you’re in there, and it’s freezing out here. If you want me to keep the ass you seem so fond of, then you’d better let me in.”

Still nothing.

This isn’t like her.

Renata never ran from confrontation. Instincts on alert, Max turned the heavy brass knob.

The door swung open on silent hinges, and Max walked into a kitchen out of a Tyrolean postcard. It was nothing like he’d expect of Renata. An old stove glowed in the corner, and a round cake dotted with fruit cooled next to it. Cinnamon and sugar drifted on air filled with the sounds of soft accordion music from an old record player. A kerosene lamp was centered on the rustic wooden table, and stacks of cut wood lay piled along the far wall. Dozens of pine boughs hung from dark wooden rafters, and intricately cut paper stars decorated them.

Someone had decorated for Midwinter.

Max stepped into the room, immediately removing his snow-covered boots and heavy backpack. “Renata?”

“Max.”

He followed the sound of her voice through the kitchen and into the large open area dominated by a central hearth. More pine boughs hung from the rafters. More stars. Cut crystal lamps with glowing beeswax candles lit the room. Snow had started to fall beyond the frost-covered windows.

Renata was sitting on the floor in front of the crackling fire, hair long and loose around her, dressed in an old-fashioned nightgown. She looked surprisingly young and more than a little vulnerable.

Max was struck dumb at the sight. If there was anyone more jaded and cynical than him, it was Renata. But here she was, sitting in the middle of a snow-covered dream, her brown eyes locked on him as he slowly approached. She’d been crying. In her hands she clutched an old silver candelabra, the seven-branched kind the Irin people used to celebrate Midwinter, the longest night of the year, and the coming of new light and life.

What is this place?

Renata did not look happy to see him. Then again, he hadn’t expected her to.

She asked, “How did you find this place?”

He knew she was angry, but he couldn’t stop his smile. “It’s only taken me eighteen years.”

She stood, set the candelabra down, and reached for a robe on the chair beside her. She wrapped it around herself and stood tall. She was nearly as tall as Max. He loved that about her figure. Then again, he loved everything about her figure.

“I climbed the mountain to find you,” Max said. “The snow—”

“You should go,” she said. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

He caught her arm before she could walk away. “I’m not going anywhere.”

With a whispered spell, she forced his hand away. Max backed up without thinking, his body obeying her magic even as his mind fought against it.

“We’ve already had this conversation,” she said. “I’m not interested in repeating it.”

“I wouldn’t call that a conversation. You had your say. Now it’s my turn.”

“I didn’t agree to that.”

His temper spiked. “I tracked you down to the middle of nowhere. I hiked a mountain in two feet of fresh snow. I damn near froze my toes off to get here. You’re going to hear me out.”

Renata glanced out the window. “There’s a storm coming.”

“I know.”

“Did you plan that?”

“Despite your obvious admiration for my magical prowess, I don’t control the weather.”

She refused to look at him. She walked to the kitchen and he followed her.

“Renata—”

“You can stay the night.” She bent down to one of the cupboards in the kitchen and took out another lamp. “You’ll leave in the morning.”

“I don’t agree to that.”

She continued, “There’s only one bedroom prepared, so—”

“That’s fine. It certainly won’t be the first time we’ve shared a bed.”

“You can take the sofa in the living room.” She lit the lamp and pulled her robe tighter. “I told you. No more. There is no electricity here. You can use the lamp on the table if you need light around the house. They put in pumps last year, so there is plumbing inside now. If you want hot water, you’ll have to boil it yourself. The toilet is down the hall.”

Max took a deep breath, forcing back the anger that wanted to take the reins. They did this to each other. They had been sporadic lovers, sparring partners, and wary allies for eighteen years. No one knew how to push his buttons like Renata.

“You made a decision,” he said quietly, “that you decided was for my best interests—”

“You know I’m right.”

“—but you never consulted me.”

Max stepped closer until his lips were inches from hers. He could feel her energy, the pulsing, powerful magic that drew him. Max didn’t need a fire when he had her. She’d thawed out the cold heart of him, and then she’d had the audacity to take that heat and life away.

“I’ll sleep on the sofa,” he said. “But I’ll see you in the morning.”

* * *

Sometime in the dead of night, she came to him. Part of him knew she would. Their attraction was a force of nature and always had been.

The couch was too small for his large frame, so he’d rolled out a pallet on the rug in front of the fire. With the thick wool rug, heavy blankets, and down pillows from the sofa, it was far from the most uncomfortable place he’d slept.

Renata slipped under the blankets and scooted her back to his chest. “Don’t say anything.”

He didn’t. Max knew better than to question her need when he felt it just as keenly.

She laid her head on his bicep, using his arm as her pillow. Max combed his fingers through the length of her hair, bringing the weight of it to his lips so he could feel the satin against his skin. Then he laid his head on the down-filled pillow and tucked his arm around her waist, fitting her body to his.

This is how it should be. This is how it should always be.

“Rest with me tonight,” he whispered. “Wake with me in the morning. I’m not going anywhere. Neither are you. It’s time to finish this.”