Whispers floated past me and shadowy shapes moved in the darkness. But I couldn’t move, couldn’t even lift a hand in defense. I was powerless, and Ares was there, right outside my field of vision. He’d captured me again, and this time he would make his threats—all of them—come true.

A burning pain shot through my chest, and I wailed with agony, feeling as if someone had poured molten silver directly into my heart. Then I felt hands on me, brushing away the tears that must have been rolling down my cheeks.

The touches were kind, not at all like those of Ares. The whispers became louder, and my eyesight began to clear. Tree branches hovered above me, swaying slightly in a gentle breeze.

The sky beyond was a dusky blue, and the sun was already hidden behind the slopes of the mountain. I had to be in a dream, for I could hear Elena’s voice, singing a clear tune meant only for the hunt. One that all the warrior maidens knew and sang each time we headed out of camp for sport or battle.

I turned my head and saw Elena sitting next to me, braiding wildflowers of the deepest crimson into my dark locks. I was back in the Forgotten Forest, wearing robes of forest green—Artemis’s color. It was a truly lovely dream.

“Elena?” It came out as the faintest whisper.

Elena’s song stopped so suddenly that I wished I’d never spoken. Its melodic tone vanished on the wind as Elena wrapped her arms around me and kissed me on the forehead.

“She’s back. She’s awake!” Elena yelled over her shoulder, never letting me go for a second.

Still dazed, I let myself be held, enjoying the embrace of the sister I thought I’d lost for good.

A patter of feet alerted me to my many sisters who were crowding around. My vision sharpened, and I could make out my old friends. I was surprised to find even Lynxia’s violet eyes were lit with a happy glow. Iphi and two other sisters rushed me, almost knocking me over with their simultaneous hugs.

“H-how?” The last moments of my life came back in a frightful rush—the dagger and the collapsing cave. And Roth, there with me in the worst sort of danger. An icy fear pierced my heart as I remembered him wounded and trapped.

“Roth?” I separated from my sisters and looked to Elena. “Where is he?”

Before she could answer, Apollo stepped from the crowd, his eyes bright as he surveyed the maidens before him. He was like a failed dieter at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

“Miss me?” His gaze settled on me.

I’d never seen a male in Artemis’s encampment—and clearly neither had the other warrior maidens. They couldn’t take their eyes off the golden-haired god.

“Don’t you want to know how I saved you?” A devilish glint lit his eyes.

“If you don’t tell me right now where he is, I’ll…I’ll…” I was having trouble coming up with the appropriate threat because I couldn’t even lift my arms for emphasis. It was as if I were partially paralyzed, though I could tell it was slowly wearing off.

“You’ll what? Attack the god whom you serve?” He was enjoying my predicament a little too much.

Wait, what?

“I serve Artemis, not you.”

Elena cleared her throat. My gaze strayed from Apollo to her.

“You serve Apollo now.”

The words didn’t make sense. “What?” Slowly and with much effort, I brought my hand to my neck. But the mark of Artemis was gone, replaced with an entirely foreign array of symbols.

“It was the only way.” Apollo winked at Lynxia, who had been eyeing him with open interest. Her cheeks colored, and she looked away.

“The only way to what?” I feared I already knew the answer.

“To bring you back.” Elena smiled. “You know the rules. Death must have his due and then only a god can resurrect a halfling, and only if the halfling agrees to give the god her allegiance. Apollo saved you from the cave. If he hadn’t chosen you to serve as one of his warrior maidens, you’d still be dead.”

I looked up into Apollo’s face. He seemed extremely pleased with himself, the mischievous look in his eye making me want to knee him ever so badly.

“She’s mostly right.” Apollo rubbed the stubble on his perfect jaw. “I did owe Roth a favor, so I gallantly rescued your tight little body from that disgusting lair.” He stared at my robe as if he could see right through it. “But she got one little thing wrong. Unlike my sis Artemis, there are no maidens in my service. Or at least, not for long.” He gave me and our audience a rakish smile.

There were more than a few “oh, gods” from my titillated sisters at this remark.

“But Ares?”

Apollo’s gaze darkened, and his fists clenched. In that moment, he looked every bit the god, fearsome and powerful. “He won’t touch you.” He gave a slight shake to his right hand, as if remembering a pain in his knuckles. I only hoped it was from beating Ares senseless. “He knows if he touches one hair on your head, it will be war.”

I couldn’t hide my surprise—Apollo was ready to go to war over me? A war among the gods was no small thing, and the lives of scores of immortals would hang in the balance if the likes of Ares and Apollo were to battle for supremacy.

Before I could question it, Apollo’s demeanor lightened once again, and he exuded that same schoolboy charm.

“I see my work here is done, Lilah de Apollo.” he stretched, giving the maidens a clear view of his muscled chest and arms. “Guess I’ll be seeing you at Pergamos—my city—when you get all healed up. We’ve got business.” He strolled away through the whispering masses.

After the spectacle of my new master was gone, I turned again to Elena. “Roth?”

“I can’t tell you much, only that he—”

A horn sounded. Artemis was calling her maidens to the arena.

“We must go.” Elena threw my arm over her shoulder. Iphi took my other side and pulled me to my feet.

Before I could get another word in, my sisters hustled me into the arena, placing me before Artemis’s dais. I knew the spot well—over a hundred years ago I had been exiled while standing on this very piece of ground.

I stood on my own, thanking Elena for her help. Though I was weak, I would meet the goddess as a true warrior, even though I now served another.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t foresee what happened next. Artemis appeared on her throne. Next to her, with his arm entwined with the goddess’s, stood the vampire Paris.

A collective gasp shot through the crowd. A male in Artemis’s inner sanctum, and a vampire at that. The rattle of blades and the tightening of bowstrings caused a clatter that died away into a tense silence. The maidens sensed a threat in Paris, and they weren’t about to let him survive an affront to the goddess.

Artemis raised a hand and gracefully motioned for the warriors to lower their weapons. “Paris is welcome here as my guest. And he will be accorded every honor you offer me.”

Artemis rubbed a hand on Paris’s arm, stroking what was clearly her prize. Though Artemis was beautiful and fierce, I had never seen the goddess look like a lover. But there she stood, dressed not in her green tunic but rather wearing a flowing white dress in the style of old Hollywood. Paris was dressed in black, which set off his bad-boy reputation perfectly.

His gaze rested on me, and I could detect the warning that lay within his eyes. It seemed Paris hadn’t let Artemis in on the little lap dance he’d tricked me into giving him. And if I were to share that information? Artemis would likely gut Paris right here and now. But I thought better of it. After all, I’d been fooled by a total cad. Now it was Artemis’s turn.

To quell the muffled whispering of the crowd, Artemis continued, “Paris and I have been an item for quite a while, but I just didn’t know how to tell you all.”

She sounded like a triumphant schoolgirl who’d finally won the love of the football hero. Only I knew she’d been fooled by the tricks of an old pro.

The entire thing seemed so implausible as to be hilarious—at least until I remembered the questions Paris had been asking me when I was under his thrall. He’d wanted to know about Artemis and the Forgotten Forest. And now I knew why. He had been trying to worm his way back into Artemis’s heart, and it worked.

It was odd, though. I couldn’t help but notice Paris glancing at Elena. He did it so surreptitiously only I, standing directly before him, noticed. Interesting.

I didn’t have time to investigate what dark motives were at play. My sudden anger toward the goddess overrode any conscious thought.

“You let me rot in the mortal world for the same sin you’ve been committing with Paris, of all creatures?”

Just hearing my own words echo around the chamber made me burn with wrath. I would never have done this before, never have questioned the goddess I served. But I no longer served her, now did I?

“Answer me!” I ignored the shocked gasp that went up from my sisters. No one had dared challenge Artemis, especially not with her pantheon of warriors surrounding her. But I wasn’t going to let this go. I could not forgive missing my sisters for a century at the whim of the goddess.

“I understand why you’re angry, Lilah.” Artemis adopted a petulant tone and rose to her full height. “But I did give you your powers back when Ares had you. Remember? So don’t act like I’ve done nothing for you. I am your mother, after all.”

“My mother lived and died in Killdeer Hollow. All you did was keep me here in perpetual servitude.”

“I gave you your immortal life.” Artemis fired back. “And I can take it away.”

“Can you?” I pointed at my neck. “Would you willingly start a war with your brother?”

Artemis seemed to calm a bit, considering my words as she continued to stroke Paris’s arm. A slight smile began at the corner of her perfect lips. “I see I trained you well, Lilah. Another boon from me, your mother. In your heart you know that’s true. Why else spend a century trying to get back in my good graces?”

Gods, she had a point. Then I did what I should have done long ago, I turned my back on the goddess. My sisters stared up at me, curiosity and concern scattered on their faces. They were my true home.

I looked from one to the next and realized I had a gift for them—something Artemis would never give unless pushed. Freedom. “I lived more on the dirty, hardscrabble Earth than I ever lived here. It’s cruel and different, and mortals are a pain in the ass sometimes. But it’s also beautiful and always changing. Being cast out wasn’t the worst thing that happened to me. Staying here would have been. And I wasted one hundred years trying to run back to this place, but now all I want to do is run to…”

Roth. I didn’t realize the truth of my words until they came tumbling out of me. I was glad to be out of Artemis’s service. Happy even though I was now indebted to Apollo. At least I knew he would let me travel freely and live a life without Artemis’s rules. And he would never cast me out for scratching an itch. It was as if I had climbed to the top of Olympus and proclaimed an end to my servitude, and it felt wonderful, though my sisters were eyeing me like I’d lost more than my life that dark day in Ares’s lair. Roth had taught me something essential, something I never would have found cloistered here with my sisters. Love.

“I hold no one prisoner here.” Artemis’s voice cracked almost imperceptibly as she stared down her nose at me. “If your sisters want to follow in your folly-filled footsteps, I won’t stop them. They will always be in my service, but they are not slaves as you make them out to be. I decree here and now that my warriors may travel freely so long as they always heed my call for aid.”

Her words were a challenge, one I knew my sisters wouldn’t take up. At least not yet. But before long, Artemis’s warrior maidens might begin testing the boundaries. Might even venture to earth or the Underworld. And they would be the better for it.

“Really, Arty? You hold out this long only to waste it on that trollop by your side?” Apollo had sidled up to me, munching on an apple. His casual air seemed calculated to rile his sister.

“Don’t you dare judge me.” Her voice sliced like a knife.

“I’m just saying it seems like you would have gone for a guy who wasn’t already in love with someone else. Am I right, ladies?”

The warriors tittered at Apollo’s question. “Don’t act like you didn’t know, sis. Paris here, he’s had his eye on someone else for, how long has it been? Are we talking thousands of years?”

Paris had murder in his eyes.

Artemis stopped stroking Paris’s arm and directed her gaze at Apollo. “Leave. These. Lands.” Her voice was measured, but power imbued every word.

“Fine, sis. I’ll just take my prize warrior here, and we’ll be on our way.” He put a hand at my lower back to lead me from the arena.

I gave one more look at my sisters, hoping that I’d at least encouraged them to question Artemis or to seek out new adventures.

“She’s not really mad,” Apollo said conspiratorially, still crunching away on his apple. “For a goddess who’s had a guy ripped apart by dogs for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, that was nothing. She’ll be over you in no time. Paris, though. Now that’s going to sting a bit.”

Apollo was right. The gods were capricious to a fault, mercurial even when at their best.

I allowed him to steer me away from the goddess’s wrath, but I was only concerned with one thing. “Where’s Roth?”

“He’s in the meadow,” Elena stage-whispered behind me. “You know which one I mean.”

Without so much as a by-your-leave to Apollo, I took off. My limbs were energized from the thought of Roth being so near, though my pace was far slower than it would have been at full health.

I crashed through the undergrowth, not caring if the entire forest heard me coming. The familiar thicket appeared ahead, and I never hesitated, shrugging through it and into the cool night air that flowed through the starlit meadow.

I didn’t have a chance to call out for Roth before I was swept up in his arms. His warmth was like a radiator of heat. I’d never felt an embrace so complete. He was kissing me in a flurry, pressing his lips to my hair as he spoke in Latin. Lifting me farther, he encircled my waist with one arm so he could kiss my face and neck. His delicious lips sent warm shivers down my spine.

After covering every inch of bare skin with light caresses, Roth set me on my feet, and my knees went weak—and not just from the tiring run.

But Roth’s face made me inhale sharply, for it was drawn and pale, like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. He looked wild, feral even, as if he had become a part of the Forgotten Forest.

“Roth, you’re sick!” I ran my fingers down his gaunt jawline. “Do you need—”

“No.” He cut me off. “It’s fine. We’re fine. I mean, we’ve waited for you—both of us.”

I took his meaning but could scarcely believe the incubus could go for so long without an infusion of sexual energy. No wonder Roth looked like a ghost. “How?”

“Because you’re mine.” As if that was the only explanation he needed.

He swept one of my flowered braids away from my face so he could again search for any sign of hurt. He pulled open my robe to check my chest for the deadly wound. Nothing remained but a single scar that ran diagonally over my breast. Roth lowered his lips to it, gently tracing it with whispered words and sending a tingling sensation all over me. His hands opened the emerald fabric the rest of the way, and he crushed me against him. I shuddered at the feel of his warm chest.

“I thought I’d lost you.” He softly stroked my back. “Apollo told me you lived, but he didn’t know if you’d wake—”

Roth’s voice broke, and we stood in silence. I buried my face in his chest, and his spicy scent enveloped me. “Mmm.”

“I love you, Lilah. More than I can put into words.”

I leaned back and caught the swirl of fire in his eyes, sincerity flowing from both him and the incubus. “I love you, too. I’d die for you.”

“And I you.” He kissed me, gentle and sweet.

I needed more. And I wanted to heal him. My love was the way to do it. “Roth, I need you.” I slid my arms around his neck and leaned into him.

He growled and deepened the kiss, his tongue tangling with mine as we shared a breath and a heartbeat. “But you’re hurt.” He shook his head slightly, but brushed his lips against mine as he spoke, as if he couldn’t stand any distance between us.

“So are you.” I opened my robe and let it fall. It puddled on the ground at my feet.

He held my gaze. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.” I knelt and pulled him down with me.

He pulled the robe out behind me and lay me down, settling between my thighs as he kissed me with a hunger that thrilled me down to my toes.

“Don’t hold back.” I hooked my heels around his hips.

“I couldn’t if I tried.” The incubus peered at me through Roth’s eyes, both man and demon utterly focused. He claimed my mouth again, the tenderness gone and pure, primal need in its place.

I moaned and darted my tongue against his. My core was slick, burning for him, and he reached between us and unclasped his pants. The head of his cock pressed against me, and I arched up, spreading my legs wider and inviting him inside.

“Carissima.” He whispered it like a prayer, and pressed forward.

My body tensed for a slight moment as he pushed inside, but then the pleasure overcame me and I bit his bottom lip. He slid deeper, stretching me as I dug my nails into his back.

His body, which only moments before had been almost haggard, filled out with muscle and vigor. I peered into his face, shocked at the health that flowed into his cheeks, the light in his eyes.

“I told you.” He thrust all the way to the hilt. “You’re like an atomic bomb.”

“Destructive.” I could barely get the word out as he palmed my breast and thumbed my nipple.

“Powerful.” He bent his head and sucked my nipple into his mouth.

I arched and ran my fingers through his hair, pulling the strands as he pistoned into me, each stroke deliberate and delicious. He pulled back and rose onto his knees, gripping my hips and holding me steady as he continued his pace. His body flexed and surged, each movement highlighting his masculine beauty.

“Look at you. At us.” His gaze strayed to where we were joined, and he began stroking my clit in maddening circles. “Perfect.”

“Gods.” I clutched my robe in my hands and moved my hips against him.

“That’s it.” He grunted low in his throat and strummed his thumb faster on just the right spot.

My entire being centered between my thighs, Roth giving me everything I needed and more. He caught my gaze and held it as my hips seized, my breath catching in my chest.

“Give it to me.” His words pushed me over the edge, and I fell, drowning in bliss as he rocked into me.

“So beautiful.” He pumped deep inside me, my orgasm stealing my senses until all I could feel was him and the push and pull of my pleasure. He bent over me, pressing his lips to mine as he groaned, his cock kicking inside me with his release. A buzz of electricity lit between us, sparkling along his skin and dissipating in the twilight falling over the clearing.

I relaxed, every bit of worry inside me draining away as Roth pressed his forehead to mine.

“You’re everything. I swear myself to you, before all the gods on Olympus.” He sat back and pulled me into his arms, his body heat sizzling as strength emanated from him in a steady wave.

I was boneless, every ounce of energy spent. But I’d never felt more safe, more loved, than I did in his arms. I stroked his cheek. “I’m yours and will be that way for as long as I live.”

Roth cradled me and approached a tree at the edge of the meadow. Sitting back against it, he kept me close and wrapped my robe tightly around me.

“Sleep now. I won’t let you go.”

Then he recited the same Latin phrase he’d said the first night we’d made love.

“What does that mean?” I contentedly snuggled against him and watched his gorgeous face lit with the silver starlight.

“It means ‘Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.’”

I sighed and closed my eyes. I was lost, utterly lost to him. My heart and soul were blissfully forfeit to the man—the demon—who lovingly held me in his arms.