I lost track of time while sifting through Lemuel’s bookshelves, and came up empty. There wasn’t a single book in there discussing the asteroid belt from a more scientific perspective—just lots of useless lore. It seemed as though the Maras had actually brought some impressive development to the planet. The Imen seemed quite primitive and gullible, holding their legends and ritualistic beliefs in high regard, while the Maras opted for scientific and technological advancement. Swamp witch magic seemed like one of the few things both species agreed on as very much real.

I moved to another shelf, and looked at the titles. Mostly folklore about water spirits and deities that influenced the weather. The Imen had gathered an impressive culture throughout their millennia on this planet.

Hot air brushed against the back of my neck, and I instantly jolted to the side, pulling my sword out on instinct. I wasn’t alone in here. My heart thudded violently against my ribs as I briefly scanned my surroundings and noticed the air rippling in the reading corner.

“Don’t come any closer!” I called out, my voice firm and filled with the promise of death, while I looked for a water source to use against the daemon.

“Would it make you more comfortable if I revealed myself?”

That voice… It sounded awfully familiar. My spine tingled, and the air seemed to thicken around me as I watched a vase get lifted off a corner table. The daemon took the flowers out, tossing them onto the floor, and poured the water over his tall and broad frame, revealing himself.

I held my breath. I recognized Zane, standing in the freaking bookstore, just a few feet away from me. He was as tall as I remembered him, his muscles heavy and toned, and his chest and arms covered in tribal tattoos. What was he doing in the city?

What is he doing here? Oh no, is he here to take me away again? Not happening!

I kept my sword out, my grip tightening around the handle to the point where my hand trembled a little. There was no way in hell I was letting him drag me back to those wretched gorges again.

Zane cocked his head to one side, a flicker of amusement lighting up his fiery red eyes.

“Relax, Fiona, I’m not here to take you away,” he said, his voice gruff and sending some very mixed signals to my brain. “Although I could, since the dragon’s out of town.”

“No longer surprised that you know so much about our movements,” I muttered, taking a couple of steps back to increase the distance between us. My throat closed up in his presence, the intensity weighing heavily on my shoulders. There was something about him that demanded my full attention and… not fear, but rather… respect. “What are you doing here, Zane? What do you want?”

A couple of seconds went by. He took his time to formulate an answer as he measured me from head to toe with renewed interest.

“I’m just… visiting.” He shrugged, his gaze settled on my face, while I had trouble keeping my eyes on his. The sinuous curves of his shoulders, the deep lines of his hips as they sank beneath the massive leather belt, the ropes of muscle threaded down his abdomen—they all required attention. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, and, by the looks of you, I bet you missed me.”

His smirk set me off. My cheeks burned, and I snapped out of my split second daze, shifting my focus back to his red eyes. He’d caught me staring, and I hated it.

“It’s been a while since we saw each other?” I mockingly repeated his statement with a raised eyebrow. “You saw me just yesterday.”

“And today couldn’t come soon enough.” He grinned, leaning on one of the wooden support beams. He crossed his arms over his chest, and that somehow made him look even bigger. “You look beautiful, by the way. Your stay in the gorge did wonders for your skin.”

“What in the world is wrong with you?” I groaned, rolling my eyes. I could not, for the life of me, figure out what his end game was.

“What? I’m just giving you a compliment. Is that a crime?” He raised a patronizing eyebrow at me, further fueling the fire burning in my core. I really wasn’t used to such high body temperatures.

“You abducted me. Your species is killing innocent Maras and Imen. You’re using magic that you shouldn’t even know about, and you are literally stalking me. I’m pretty sure a compliment is kind of useless at this point!”

“I’d dare to disagree.” Zane seemed unfazed. “I think it’s good to tell the truth, even if it makes people uncomfortable. And the truth is that you look beautiful, and the black leather does you justice.”

I blinked several times, trying to wrap my head around what was going on. Why was I just standing here? Why wasn’t I looking for the optimum attack angle? And why was I blushing?

“I think you’ve lost your mind somewhere in those gorges.” I shook my head slowly.

“Okay, fine, don’t take the compliment.” Zane scoffed, feigning exasperation. “But either come at me or put that fire poker away before you hurt yourself with it.”

“Did you just make fun of my sword?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

Why am I letting him get to me? Snap out of it, Fiona!

He chuckled, then resumed a standing position, putting his hands behind his back.

“You call that a sword?” He pursed his lips.

“Okay, that’s it!” I hissed and lunged at him, the blade pointing at his chest.

He expertly dodged it but didn’t retaliate. Instead, he stilled and waited for me to come at him again. I wasn’t going for the kill, anyway. Something told me that would be nearly impossible. But I needed to assess his fighting skills and, most importantly, his speed.

“That was a bit… weak.” He gave me a playful smile.

Oh, really?

I slashed at him again, this time bringing my sword down from the left, and he effortlessly moved back. The blade missed him by inches. He growled with excitement as I launched a flurry of hits, gripping the sword with both hands and swinging it with ample movements that were quite demanding on my shoulder muscles.

Nevertheless, I still couldn’t hit him, as he flashed left and right with impressive speed.

We went on like that for a couple of minutes, until I started getting closer. I noticed that the fewer feet between us, the more sluggish his defenses got. Something sparked in the back of my head, and I feigned a hit on the right side, stopped halfway, and immediately executed a rapid 360-degree turn and brought my sword in from the left. I hit nothing but air.

Zane had already vanished in that fraction of a second that I’d turned away.

What the…

“Don’t take your eyes off me.” His whisper in my right ear made me yelp and jump. His hand came down hard and fast, and knocked the sword out of my hands.

Oh, no, no, no!

Before I knew it, Zane had me with my back against the wall, his massive body pressed against mine as my blade clanged loudly on the wooden floor. That was the sound of defeat I was hearing…

My breath hitched. I couldn’t move. His thigh had slipped between my legs, and my arms were twisted and caught behind my back, stuck between my body weight and the wall. When did he manage to do that?

I was helpless, my heart pounding out of my chest. Zane looked down at me. His red gaze darkened, his natural fragrance filling my lungs with hints of cedarwood and leather—so intense, almost mesmerizing. I could rip him a new one with my fangs, enough to get my arms out and claw at him like there was no tomorrow. But my instincts were on lockdown. I couldn’t react. My brain was working perfectly, but there was something about him that kept me pinned down and motionless.

His breath warmed my face, and his lips stretched into a lazy smile. What was he going to do now? Most importantly, how was I going to react? Because there was something terribly off about me where Zane was concerned. I had no desire to go for the kill. None whatsoever. He was still, by all possible definitions, the enemy. So why was I so reluctant to treat him as one?

“Do you mind letting go?” I whispered, unable to find my voice.

“I honestly don’t know what it is about you,” Zane replied, as he sank his face in my hair. I could hear him breathing in deeply, and it made my skin ripple in an eerily pleasant way. My own reaction was baffling. “I can’t get enough of your scent. I don’t know if it’s your soul that smells so good or just you—I’m not sure… but I just had to come see you.”

His words sank in slowly, hitting the bottom of my conscience with a loud thud, as I found myself softening against him. My muscles were relaxing, and I couldn’t do anything about it. My body was eager to betray me.

“Where did you get the swamp witch magic?” I croaked, changing the subject and trying my best to be a professional. Zane wasn’t making it easy at all…

He lifted his head to look at me, his gaze clouded and glimmering crimson. What a fascinating color to look at from up close! His eyes were like round rubies with liquid dashes of gold sprinkled in the middle, and I was slightly hypnotized.

“You just had to ruin the moment, didn’t you?” He sighed, shaking his head slowly.

“Well, I need to know,” I replied. “You are the enemy, after all.”

“Am I, though? Besides, you’re in over your head. You wouldn’t understand, Fiona.”

“Ugh, again with that same crappy line,” I groaned, manifesting an exaggerated amount of boredom. “Can you please come up with something new?”

He stiffened against me, and I could feel tension building up in his body. He held my arms, his fingers digging into my flesh through the layer of black leather. His gaze darkened as he inched forward, the tip of his nose touching mine.

“You might want to do yourself a favor and stay on my good side, Fiona,” he said slowly, his voice rumbling through my stomach. “That is, if you want to survive once it’s all over.”

“Wait, once what is over, exactly?”

He grinned and puffed yellow dust in my face. My brain lit up, but it was too late for me to do anything. Gah, he expertly conned me!

I wheezed and choked as everything went dark around me. My body surrendered, and I passed out, once again at Zane’s mercy. Damn…