We shot through the tightening crowd toward the east side. I held onto Jax as he guided me toward a wide alley leading away from the square. We avoided spurts of blood and muddied hands—the daemons were trying to mark us, while those with red lenses kept pointing at us, directing the others after us.

We drew our swords and slashed our way out of the last dozen square feet of fiends trying to get between us and our exit, then kicked and elbowed left and right until we made it out of the crowd. Several bodies dropped behind us, causing a stampede as they all rushed after us.

Jax and I ran fast, our feet barely touching the ground. Hunters and soldiers were hot on our trail, along with those wretched red lens holders. It took several sharp turns to put some distance between us and our pursuers, but we eventually made it out of their sight when Jax pulled me into a dark alley.

There was an abandoned cart there, right next to what looked like a cellar door. I looked around the corner, seeing the daemons getting closer—the ones with lenses led the way, scanning the area. They were less than fifty yards from us, and approaching fast.

“What do we—” My voice trailed off. I watched Jax as he pulled the cart in front of the cellar door. “What are you doing?”

“Down here,” Jax replied, then opened the cellar door.

Without a second thought, I jumped in, followed by Jax. He pulled it shut, and darkness enveloped us. We kept close to each other. It was a small space, with barely enough room to lie down, but it would do for the time being.

The ground above thundered, but we seemed to be safe down here. I heard the crowd of daemons rumbling nearby, but the cart that Jax had moved had successfully obscured our little escape hatch. They moved farther down the road, shouting orders to spread out and find us.

My heart was beating so fast, my lungs were having a hard time keeping up.

“How… How did this happen?” I murmured, the adrenaline still making my arms and legs shake. That had been a ridiculously close call, and we weren’t even out of the woods yet. We only had a few minutes before Blaze got to the top of that tower and burned the entire area down. Only a few minutes to process what had just happened. “How did he know? How did the king know that we were there? I mean, it was a big crowd. I get that the red garnet allows him to see invisible creatures, but… how did he know we were there? Was this planned, Jax? Were we expected?”

“I don’t know, Hansa, but it’s clear that the daemons know more about us than we thought,” he replied, his voice low and raspy as he caught his breath.

“Blaze needs to come through on this one, otherwise we’re screwed…” I managed, my knees getting weak.

“We’ll wait here until he does. We’ll hear it,” Jax said, moving closer.

He couldn’t see me, but he used his hands to feel his way up my arms and over my shoulders, to find my face and cup it in his palms. My breathing was ragged and uneven, my blood broiling from what had just happened. I barely registered what he said.

“Listen, Hansa, there’s a chance we won’t make it out of here alive,” he said gruffly, “though I’m really hoping it’s minimal. However, I’ll never forgive myself if we get killed in the next ten minutes and I don’t get a chance to do this…”

His lips crashed over mine, kissing me deeply. I instantly disintegrated. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. My mouth welcomed him, his tongue working mine as our souls touched one another and we dissolved into a single, extremely intense being. I’d been waiting for this for so long…

Despite the madness and horror waiting for us outside, we had a handful of minutes in a cellar, and Jax had chosen to do this. To kiss me, before anything else. I could feel him—all of him. The softness of his lips, his delicious taste, and his firm grip as he deepened our kiss. He groaned as I locked my arms around his neck and pulled him even closer.

We’d finally found each other. It just so happened that we’d found each other in the underground city of murderous daemons. And there was no way in hell I was letting him go this time.

“We are getting out of here, Jaxxon Dorchadas,” I breathed against his lips, running my fingers through his short hair. “Mark my words. I did not put up with all the uncertainty for three months, for just a peck on the lips!”

He chuckled lightly, and my whole being resonated with him. We held on tight, kissing each other’s faces as we waited in the darkness of that cellar.

“I’m not letting you go, Hansa,” he whispered, then covered my mouth with his and took me on another ride through the stars.

Sure, there were daemons outside looking for us. But we had a little time to communicate everything we’d kept from each other—every touch, every kiss, and every sigh was an unspoken declaration of love. Neither of us was good at putting our emotions into words, but damn, his lips knew how to get the message across…