When the train pulled into Chicago, Calli and Bella hurried off to buy supplies in the city. They’d certainly need them if we were going to get Tessa and Gin back. This thing was big. Really big. It didn’t feel as simple as some rogue vampires trying to grow their armies. The fire elemental I’d interrogated had mentioned my sisters’ magic, how they’d been set apart because of it. There was something there. Calli had been tight-lipped so far, but sooner or later I was going to figure out what she was hiding.

Jace’s team drove ahead with their mercenary prisoners, but he chose to walk to the Legion office. And I joined him. I’d been sitting still for too long.

“Why didn’t you go with them?” I asked Jace.

“I like to walk the Promenade of the Gods when I come here,” he told me. “It’s a reminder of the gods’ generosity, of their gifts of magic to us. And it’s a reminder of their power. It’s humbling to feel so small in front of the gods and their temples.”

“Perhaps your father should visit this place to humble himself.”

“He does.” Jace’s eyes twinkled. “But it doesn’t help.”

Chuckling, we entered the Promenade, a lakeshore path that led past seven sparkling skyscrapers, each one a monument to one of the ruling gods.

The first was the Temple of Valora, the Queen Goddess. Diffused light reflected off the stone walls. As the clouds rolled past, revealing the sun, the building seemed to change color completely, adjusting to the new light and weather conditions. The building was very regal, an example of tasteful opulence at its best.

The second temple we passed along the Promenade had been constructed in honor of Ronan, Lord of the Legion of Angels, God of War, God of Earth’s Army. Between its high towers, thick castle walls, and retractable drawbridge, it looked like a military fortress. The building had a life to it, a vibrance. That life buzzed against my skin, a constant hum.

“Parts of the castle can be rearranged for different purposes,” Jace explained, looking up at the skyscraper temple. “But Lord Ronan tends to prefer the battle-ready look.”

The third temple was that of Faris, the God of Heaven’s Army. Beautiful, bright, and white, it looked like a little slice of heaven on Earth. In the gardens that surrounded the outer walls of quite possibly the most upscale high-rise apartment building on the planet, diamonds dripped from gold trees like icicles, jingling like silver sleigh bells.

Next came the Temple of Meda, Goddess of Technology. The skyscraper was a single gigantic clock tower, accented with exposed gold and bronze gears that made delightful clinks as they moved. Mechanical sculptures of all kinds, including a set of moving metal statues in a fountain, decorated the front lawn.

The fifth temple belonged to Meda’s sister Maya, the Goddess of Healing. Big red climbing roses grew up the sparkling walls. The skyscraper look like a fairy castle in a romantic fairytale forest.

The Temple of Zarion, God of Faith and Lord of the Pilgrims, was the sixth one along the Promenade. Tall, dark, and dramatic, it looked like a gothic monastery. Hymns poured out of the open windows, the beautiful, eerie voices raised in song.

Finally, we came to the Temple of Aleris, God of Nature. His skyscraper was a building of opposing elements and reminded me a lot of Storm Castle and the Elemental Plains it sat upon, where all the elements were represented. Fire lanterns lined the path to the enormous front double doors. Koi fish swam peacefully through gentle streams with wooden bridge arches. Wind chimes sang silver songs, and pinwheels hung from the trees. These weren’t simple children’s pinwheels, however; they were elaborate magical constructions, woven by a master elemental. And magic light glistened over it all, soft and sparkling. Every blade of grass, every leaf, every petal was perfect. Nothing was wilted or yellowed or broken. Everything existed in perfect harmony.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to find a message from Nero. Are you safe?

He must have heard about the explosion in Purgatory.

I’m fine, I wrote back.

Where are you?

Where are you? I asked.

On a mission.

Same, I typed out.

Where are you? Nero asked again.

Snickering, I wrote back, Where are you?

There was a pause. Then a block of text popped up on my screen. I will find out what mayhem you are up to, Pandora.

If text messages could glower, his would have. Honestly, I was kind of shocked my phone hadn’t exploded yet.

I speedily typed out, Don’t get your feathers in a twist, General.

I was about to tuck my phone back into my sweatshirt when it buzzed again. I looked at the screen and found a message from Harker this time.

Stop flirting with Nero, Leda. It’s distracting him.

I’m not flirting, I told him.

Keeping secrets from an angel is just daring them to hunt you down, replied Harker. It’s foreplay. You might as well toss your panties at him.

It’s not my fault angels are so weird, I texted back.

There was another pause, during which the two angels were probably bitching about me, then another message from Harker popped up. What are you up to?

I tucked away my phone. I didn’t tell Harker what I was doing either because he was such a by-the-books, goody-two-shoes angel, and he would report what I was doing back to Nero. And what would be the fun in that? He and Nero had been friends for decades, though their friendship had experienced its share of bumps.

A rush of homesickness washed over me, except it wasn’t homesickness for a place. It was for Nero. You know how they say home is where the heart is? Well, my heart was with him. I missed him so much.

My phone buzzed again. I glanced at it.

As though he were here, reading my thoughts, Nero’s text read, I miss you. I want to see you again.

Smiling, I teased him, You just saw me.

No, I didn’t. Not really.

How he could sink that much innuendo into a plain text message was a mystery. Or was it just my own wanton mind that was reading into things? We’d reached the Legion office, so I put away my phone before I got distracted.

The Chicago office of the Legion of Angels sat at the end of the Promenade of the Gods, right after the last temple. The building shone like a sleek sheet of blue glass, reflecting the beautiful blue summer sky, along with a few scattered puffy white wisps of clouds.

The inside was as grandiose as a palace. Like in the New York office, murals of gods, angels, supernaturals, and mortals were painted on the walls and ceilings, enacting scenes out of Earth’s history. That was a common theme in Legion buildings. In addition to the collage of the Earth’s past, the walls showed battles that had been fought here and the angels who’d led this territory over the years.

“Your father looks so much more personable in his painting,” I commented.

I pointed at a beautifully painted Colonel Fireswift, awash with soft lighting and heavenly glows. His golden hair fell to his shoulders in soft waves. He wore a white and gold battle tunic and gold boots. And he held a glowing gold sword high in the air as he stared down a huge flying monster. Gold, gold, and more gold. I was sensing a recurring theme here.

Jace looked at the portrait. “The painter took some artistic license.”

That was the understatement of the century. For as long as I’d known him, Colonel Fireswift had worn his hair trimmed to exactly one inch long.

“When they add my portrait to the wall, I’m going to ask them to paint me with a crimson battle gown on.” I smirked at Jace. “And a tiara.”

“Only angels are added to the wall, and I’m ahead right now.”

“Don’t get complacent,” I warned him.

“I learned long ago not to underestimate you,” he admitted. “You fight dirty.”

“You bet I do.”

We’d stopped in front of a thick dark brown door. Patterns of gemstones had been engraved into the wood. It looked like the ancient cover of an important book, one that had been handmade with no expense spared. Colonel Fireswift’s name was the focal point of the sparkling jewel arrangement.

Jace knocked on the door.

“Enter,” Colonel Fireswift’s deep voice called out.

We stepped inside. The angel’s office was as grandiose as the door. The entire ceiling was a mirror, making the room seem larger, as though it went on forever up into the heavens. The walls were covered in subdued, tastefully opulent white marble with accents of gold. There were paintings perfectly framed inside recessed coves in the marble walls, each one the picture of an angel who looked a lot like Jace and his father. It was the history of their family, generations of angels dedicated to serving the gods as soldiers in the Legion of Angels.

Colonel Fireswift sat at his desk, a massive piece of furniture carved from a single tree. I wondered how they’d gotten it through the door. With magic no doubt.

The angel was wearing the black leather uniform of the Legion. Like always, he looked ready for battle. The leather fit snugly to his wide frame, making him look even stronger, like someone who could punch right through your ribcage, shattering everything in his way. Wrecking ball. That’s the word that came to mind whenever I thought of Colonel Fireswift, both in body and in disposition. When his bright royal-blue eyes fell on me, arrogance shone in them. Like he knew he was better than I was.

I considered my options. I needed to convince him to let me join Jace’s mission so I could be there to save my sisters. The Legion would prioritize capturing the deserter over saving hostages. I knew better than to appeal to Colonel Fireswift’s humanity or compassion; he had neither. Though Jace and his father looked very much alike, Jace was different. Much to the Colonel’s chagrin, Jace possessed both humanity and compassion. After all, he’d agreed to help me by bringing me to his father and speaking up for me.

Colonel Fireswift looked me over, from head to toe. “So,” he said, clearly unimpressed. “You want to join the hunt for the Deserter.” He said it like deserter with a capital D.

I looked at Jace. Surprise flashed across his face, followed by reluctant acceptance. It must have been frustrating that his father always found out about everything.

Then Jace’s face went blank. It had all happened so quickly that human eyes would not have picked up the subtle shift in his emotions. Colonel Fireswift, however, did see it, and he was clearly not pleased with his son’s momentary lapse in professionalism. Dear gods, Jace had shown human emotion. What a crime.

I couldn’t let Colonel Fireswift’s inhumanity bother me, so I just kept smiling. “That’s right.”

Colonel Fireswift arched a single pale brow, which blended into his tanned skin. “Your sisters were among those taken.”

Nothing got past him. Except the importance of compassion and other pesky human emotions.

“Yes,” I said.

His jaw was as hard and unyielding as iron. “And now you want me to do you a favor by allowing you to go after them.”

What an asshole.

“I’m asking you to allow me to do my job to protect innocent lives,” I said. “There are still twenty-six people missing from towns all across the Frontier. And Davenport is still out there.”

Colonel Fireswift ground his teeth at the mention of the deserter. The fact that Davenport was still at large really grated on him, as though he took it personally. I wondered how long he’d been trying to capture Davenport—and how long he’d been failing miserably at it.

“I fought Davenport at the Doorway to Dusk,” I continued.

Colonel Fireswift seemed to think that over for a bit. Finally, he said, “And you survived?” He wasn’t impressed, but he did sound a little surprised.

“I’m a survivor.”

He said nothing. My continued survival must have annoyed him nearly as much as Davenport’s.

“We can get him,” I said. “I’d be an asset on this mission.”

“An asset to Jace’s mission,” he said, his eyes reflective. “To his career. To his capture of Balin Davenport, the Deserter.”

Yep, because let’s focus on what was important: crushing threats to Colonel Fireswift’s ego and advancing his son’s career. Not on protecting the human race.

“You and Jace have been neck-in-neck since the beginning of this race,” said Colonel Fireswift.

“It’s not a race.”

He ignored me. “But this game has gone on far enough. You have never been, nor will you ever be, equal to my son. He comes from a distinguished line of angels. You come off the dirty streets of the Frontier. You never stood a chance. You must finally see that now. The middle levels of the Legion are designed to set the future angels apart from those who will never be. Those who never had a chance.”

I didn’t interrupt him. He looked like he was enjoying himself immensely. In fact, I’d never seen him so ecstatic as he was right now.

The angel cleared his throat, as though he’d realized he’d gotten carried away in the moment. “Jace is in command of the mission. Not you,” he finished, his eyes harder, more professional now.

“Of course.”

“He gives the orders. And you follow them. As it should be.” He gave his hand a dismissive flick, waving us off. “Now get out of my sight before I change my mind.”

Jace and I left the angel’s office, closing the door behind us. We were halfway down the hall before Jace finally spoke.

“He agreed,” he said quietly, as though he still couldn’t believe it.

I smiled. “What did I tell you? Nothing to worry about.”

Jace shot me a hard look. “That was too easy. What did you do?”

I waited until a group of soldiers had passed us by, and we were alone. Then I stopped, dropping my voice. “Your father really wants to see you beat me.”

“I know. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t tell me I’m a disgrace to the family, that this shouldn’t even be a competition.”

“Because I am the dirt beneath your angelic feet.”

Jace gave me an apologetic look.

I laughed. “Your father is his own worst enemy. He is so intent on seeing you ‘win’ over me, that he can’t see beyond it.”

Comprehension flashed across his face. “You compelled him.”

I pinched my thumb and index finger together, so close they were nearly touching. “Just a little.”

“Your magic shouldn’t have worked on an angel. Not at your level,” he said, shocked.

“My Siren’s Song was just a tiny nudge to make him go where he wanted to go anyway. His ego did the rest.”

“He underestimates you.” Admiration shone in Jace’s eyes.

I shrugged. “That’s the dirty fighting your father abhors, that which he sees as an affront to the proper and dignified fighting the Legion teaches. If you don’t know how to fight dirty, it’s hard to defend against it.”

“I wish I had your devious mind.”

“It’s never too late to learn. We are immortal after all, so we have all the time in the world to get our hands dirty.”

He laughed.

Then, suddenly, he stopped mid-laugh. The pressure in the air had changed, like all the magic in the area was suspended, frozen in time. Nero came around the corner. The angel’s eyes were locked on me, unblinking, intense. My heart let out a nervous, ecstatic thump. He’d promised he would find me and he had. What would happen next?

Two Legion soldiers trailed him: Harker and Jace’s sister Kendra Fireswift. With her long golden hair, eyelashes that kissed her cheekbones, and full rosy lips, Kendra had the face of an angel—and the ego to go along with it. She wasn’t an angel yet, though. From the metal pin of a flower on her jacket, I saw she’d leveled up since last we’d met, so it wouldn’t be long before she realized her angelic destiny.

When Kendra saw me, her nose, so perfect that sculptors would have killed to immortalize it, turned up. She was her father’s daughter through and through. She had the same hard, unwavering personality and the same sense of absolute superiority.

We all stopped in the hall and stared at one another.

Harker was the first to break the heavy silence. “A bit brash, aren’t you, dragging Leda off into dark corners?” he said to Jace.

“Actually, she dragged me off.”

Nero’s jaw cracked, echoing off the silence that had taken hold in the hallway, freezing everything.

“I mean she wanted to talk to me about my mission,” Jace said quickly.

Nero gave Jace a look that promised he could kill him where he stood without lifting a finger. Harker had gotten it into Nero’s head that Jace had a thing for me, which was ridiculous. But angels weren’t always rational. Or reasonable, for that matter.

Kendra looked torn between disgust and anger. She wasn’t my biggest fan, and she certainly didn’t want to believe her brother was pining for me.

Harker was the only one who was completely at ease. In fact, he looked amused by the situation, especially at Jace’s discomfort. Jace had gone a bit pale, but he was making a valiant effort not to look too intimidated by Nero. He bowed before the angels, as though he’d just remembered procedure. Immediately, some of the color returned to his cheeks; he took comfort in the routine.

“Pandora, you could learn some respect from your friend.” Harker’s eyes were laughing at all of us.

But I was looking at Nero. You can’t kill him, I thought loudly. He’s my friend.

I was not telepathic, but Nero was. I knew he’d heard me from the slight tug on his lip, a tug that said, oh, yes I can.

“I need to speak to you in private,” he said aloud.

He turned and walked to the nearest room. I followed him. I was about to shut the door when I felt Nero’s magic brush past me, pulling the door closed.

He watched me closely, drinking in my expressions, my mood. “What happened, Leda? What’s wrong?”

And then the dam gates broke. I told him about the attack in Purgatory, about how my sisters were taken, and our journey to the Doorway to Dusk.

I’d only been teasing him before by holding back information. Inciting him a little. And, ok, yes, flirting with him. But now that he was here, I didn’t want to play games. I needed him. I needed to confide in him, to spill my soul to him. He would understand. I knew he would.

So I told him everything, no matter how much it hurt. I admitted to interrogating the werewolf and the fire elemental. Interrogating—that was just a euphemism for torture. I’d killed one man, and I’d nearly killed the other. If Calli hadn’t shot the fire elemental, my magic might have done him in anyway.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” I finished.

“Nothing is wrong with you. It’s the price we at the Legion pay to ensure that the world is safe. We sacrifice our lives, our identity, our family, everything—so others can live in peace. But we find a new family: the Legion.”

I hardly heard his last words. I was trying not to think about it, about what I’d done, especially not the feeling of the power flowing through me, the high I’d felt while I’d been in the middle of the interrogation. And the low afterwards when I realized what I’d done. Honestly, I wasn’t sure which one was worse.

Nero set his hands on my arms. “You did nothing wrong, Leda. You did what any of us would do to save those we love.”

There was emotion in his voice, conviction. Like he would have done all that and much more to save me. I could feel his magic wrapping around me like a warm blanket, trying to comfort me.

“I don’t want to be calm, Nero,” I said, shrugging off the comfort of his magic. “I want to stay sharp and save my sisters, to end this before more families are torn apart. Before more innocents are hurt.”

“I wish I could help, but I have an emergency of my own. The Magitech wall in the south is weakening. If it collapses, monsters will flood through the gates and swarm our cities.”

“How is the wall weakening? I didn’t think that was possible.”

Magitech walls were supposed to be unbreakable.

“Neither did I,” he said. “But I suppose if you hit a magic barrier with enough opposing magic over the centuries, it eventually begins to break down.”

“When do you have to go?” I asked him.

“I was on my way out now. I came here to gather the last of my team to repair the wall—and fight the monsters if necessary.”

“Who is coming?”

“Harker, Major Fireswift, Major Singh, and Basanti, among others.”

Wow, those were some heavy hitters.

“If things had been different, I would have come,” I told him.

“And I would have wanted you by my side,” he said. “But you needed a break. You were supposed to be on vacation.” There was a hint of rebuke in his voice—and a lot of frustration.

“Life doesn’t throw me breaks or vacations, only obstacles. I have to save my sisters.”

“I’ll come back and help you when the wall is repaired. In the meantime, be strong and remember to practice your telekinetic resistance. Get Jace Fireswift to hit you with psychic attacks.”

“You mean, nudge me in the ass with magic like you do?”

“No, Pandora. Only I get to do that,” he said seriously. “And I will kill anyone else who does.”

I laughed. “I was just kidding.”

“But I was not.”

I could see in his eyes that he was dead serious.

“Killing my friends is not the best way to endear yourself to m—”

He swallowed my words—and my breath—with a kiss. Magic, hot and insistent, rolled down my body, melting into my skin. He was drowning me in his magic. I opened up, lapping up his magic greedily, wanting more. I craved the sweet nectar of his magic, a force as powerful as the gods’ Nectar.

“Leda.” Nero’s voice dipped lower, reverberating against the sensitive skin of my throat. “I’m already late.”

A strangled, incomprehensible sound broke my lips. I couldn’t even think straight, let alone speak.

He stroked his hand down my face. “Oh, Leda. If only we had more time.”

“Make time.” I was proud of myself that the words had come out. And that I’d sounded so firm, so commanding.

He chuckled. “Not now, love. I have no intention of rushing it.” His hand traced my side slowly, so torturously close to my breasts. “Indeed I will torture you many times over before the night is through.” His mouth brushed against my neck.

“Is that a threat or a promise, angel?” I choked out, my voice a tormented, inhuman growl. I resisted the urge to throw him against the wall and give into the agonizing hunger that was consuming me, that was threatening to burst out with every deafening throb of my pulse.

“Each gift of magic comes with new powers. Magic we use in battle to kill monsters and defeat our foes.”

Where was he going with this? And why wasn’t he touching me?

“But that is only one side,” he said. “Each magic gift, each power, opens up new ways to make love.”

Like the water elemental magic in the pool at Storm Castle, I remembered. The memory was like a phantom, fiery kiss, a wicked twist of pleasure uncurling inside of me.

He held my chin between his fingers and whispered hotly against my face, “When I return, I will give you a lengthy demonstration.”

“Lengthy?” My legs shook.

“Oh, yes. I expect it to last hours.”

I hiked up my skirt, hooked my fingers under the band of my panties, and tossed them to the ground at his feet.

His eyes looked at the lacy red panties, then slid across my body. “You’re tempting me.”

“You’ve proven amenable in the past,” I said without a shred of shame.

A breeze kissed my skin. Soft and hot, it ran along the inside of my thigh with excruciating slowness. A soft moan broke free of my lips. Gods, I had to have him and it had to be now.

“What is that?” I gasped.

“A taste of what’s to come.” Quick, silken, his magic slipped inside of me, drowning me in pleasure.

“What is to come?” I whimpered. “Death by magic?”

Chuckling, his chest brushed against my mine, and my nipples were on fire. My back arched, my legs spread, and I dug my nails into his skin, pulling him in closer.

“Oh, Pandora, you can’t even begin to comprehend how much I want you,” he whispered into my ear, his breath melting against my skin.

“Don’t be too sure about that,” I said, my voice croaking.

Nero’s lips brushed softly against mine. “I can hardly wait to have you again,” he whispered into my mouth.

Then, like a splash of icy water, he pulled away. “But it will have to wait,” he said with a wicked smile. “Back to work.”