Groaning, I rolled on my bed and buried my face in the pillow, trying to avoid the bright sunlight. Sweet honey scent teased my senses.

I stiffened. Honey? Sunlight?

I sat up on the mattress, groaning once more when pain shot through my chest. What the hell? The blanket slipped from under my arms and, finding myself shirtless, I saw a small black dot over my heart and several lines spreading from it, as if someone had tattooed a small spiderweb on my chest.

I touched the web and remembered. The island, the test, the Cup of Life, the Death Lords, the Black Thorn. Oh fuck.

By the Everlast, I had failed. I had gone to the island, and I had passed the test. I had held the Cup of Life, just to lose it. That couldn’t be true, because if it was true, it meant Nadine would die soon and that was unacceptable.

“It isn’t as bad as it looks. Not anymore,” Nasya said, entering the room with some sticks in her arms. “If they had pierced it any deeper though ...”

She had another transparent dress on. To avoid looking at her, I scanned the place. We were in a large room, with beige stone walls, high ceilings, and round columns. There were chaises, pillows, and rugs everywhere. A fire pit roared in the center of the room. That was my sunlight.

“Where are we?” I asked. My chest prickled, and I rubbed it. Damn thing.

Nasya threw the sticks on the fire. “My home. It’s on the other side of the island.” Then she turned and sashayed toward me.

She sat on the mattress and, uncomfortable with her nearness, I swung my legs to the other side, but groaned when a new pang burned my insides.

She rested her hand on my arm. “Take it easy, my Lord. You had a rough patch.”

“I need to go. I still should be able to track them, to find the trace of their aura and follow it. I’ll fi—”

“Lord Mitrus, you’ve been unconscious for three days.”

I froze. “What?”

She nodded. “I thought you wouldn’t make it, but finally yesterday you started healing.”

Wouldn’t make it? What the fuck? That little prick almost killed me? “I didn’t know the Black Thorn could be used like that.”

“I didn’t either.” She reached to the small table beside the mattress. “The Death Lords left this with you,” she said, taking the Black Thorn from the table. Ignoring the pain, I jumped to my feet and put some distance between us. She looked hurt. “If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have treated your wounds. In fact, I could have used this the moment the Death Lords left.”

It made sense, but it was hard for me to come to terms with it. After all, she was holding a Black Thorn.

I sat on a chaise several feet from the mattress and raked my hands through my hair.

What would I do? I couldn’t kill Levi. It would mean the end of the world, and I wanted a world, a better world, a safe world, where Nadine could live forever. But she couldn’t live forever without the Cup of Life.

I couldn’t go back to NYC and face them both, knowing I had to pick between them.

A new weight fell on my shoulders, and I sighed.

“I have something that will make you feel better,” Nasya said, standing up.

Was she talking about her and her sensual body? No, thank you. I was already in too big of a mess. I had no mind or will for another. Surprising me, she walked away from me. She picked a silver bowl from a corner and brought it over. She knelt before me, handing me the bowl.

I closed my hands around it and felt what it was. “Water from the underworld lake.”

“Yes,” she said, retreating to the mattress. “It was a gift from Imha, like a compensation for making me a prisoner of this island.” She gestured to the bowl. “You can watch over your human. Seeing her will probably make you feel better.”

“She’s not my human. She’s a person, owner of herself.” Though, with the Soul Oath, I was her owner actually. What a mess.

“You love her,” Nasya said, a tint of jealousy in her tone.

I didn’t answer, mostly because I didn’t want to share my feelings with her. Instead, I focused on the water and called upon Nadine.

A black shadow covered the water, spinning in a whirlwind, and revealing Nadine.

She was entering the gym where Keisha exercised. She wore black yoga pants and a pink bra top, similar to the ones she had on when I last saw her. Her hair was still loose, falling in a wave down her back, the way I liked it.

Keisha stopped whatever she was doing and smiled. “Finally. I thought you were going to stay in your bedroom until after we won the war.”

“Three days of sulking was too much,” Nadine said, pulling her hair up in a ponytail. “I’m back to myself now.”

Wait, Nadine had been in her bedroom? For days? Because of what?

“She’s beautiful, even though she looks sad,” Nasya said.

She was beautiful, and she did look sad. And frustrated. And pissed off.

“Next time slap some sense into me and don’t let me waste three days for nothing.”

“Ha, I might enjoy that.” Keisha went back to her exercises. “Hey, uh, Lady Izaera came back a few hours ago. She’s talking to Zelen now about something related to forests and nymphs. I think she may have found another ally.” She shrugged. “And Lady Ceris and Lord Levi are still out.”

Nadine started on stretching exercises. “Searching for the other gods?”

“Yes.” Keisha pressed her lips into a thin line. “They also hope to find Lord Mitrus.” Nadine stilled. Keisha took a step toward her but stopped. “Tell me what happened, why you were so mad and depressed after he left that you closed yourself in your bedroom for three days.” I sucked in a sharp breath. She did what? Because of me? “I don’t mean to pry, but every girl needs a friend. You opened up to me before. Know that I’m here for when you want to talk again. About anything.”

Nadine resumed her movement. “Thanks, but I’m fine. A man who makes a girl cry doesn’t deserve her tears.”

“So he did make you cry?” Keisha asked. Nadine shot her a killer glance. “Sorry, sorry. Lady Ceris and Lord Levi will find him, you know. They will bring him home.”

“I don’t see why. He left. He chose to leave. Only the Fates know for what. We are better off without him.” Sighing, she shook her head and whispered, “I’m better off without him.”

My heart stopped. Not wanting to hear anymore of how I had hurt her, I broke the vision and put the bowl aside.

“I’m sorry, my Lord,” Nasya said.

Yeah, I was sorry too.

* * *

Since Nasya had to cut my shirt to treat my wound, she gave me another one. It was old, like centuries old, but it was the only thing she had—and it probably belonged to her protector. I looked down at it—dirty white with frills on the sleeves. I made a mental note to change it as soon as an opportunity presented itself. I put it on, grabbed my jacket from the chaise, and stashed the damned Black Thorn in an inside pocket.

I turned to Nasya. “Thank you.”

She bowed. “You’re welcome, Lord Mitrus.” She walked with me to the door of her home. “Where will you go now?”

At first, I didn’t answer. Why should I? She was nothing to me, but I needed to vent. “I’m not sure. I think I’ll try to find Amiel, Jed, Keon, and Riel. It’s the only option I can see.”

“But they are four, and you’re one. Look at what they did to you the last time.”

I didn’t need to look. I could feel the damn web prickling under my skin, hurting, burning. “I’ll be prepared this time.” That was the plan, though I wasn’t sure what I would do to be prepared exactly.

I thanked her once more.

She gave me a small smile. “Be careful.”

Nodding, I walked away.

For days, I roamed the Earth, stopping by every relevant point—places the Death Lords and I used to meet to discuss plans and orders or just to hang out, their former hometowns when they had been humans, checkpoints to the underworld, and more. I found no trace of their auras. Nothing. It was as if they were gone from this world. Or after years of hiding from Imha, they actually got good at it.

In the end, I even stopped by Machu Picchu and spied the entrance to the underworld at the Intihuatana ritual stone. Of course, the Death Lords weren’t here. They would have heard of Levi’s death, they would have felt it, and they would come here only then.

There was no way around it. I had a hard choice to make: Levi and the fate of the entire world—the logical choice—or Nadine and my selfishness—my heart’s choice.