After that spectacular meeting with the Legion’s newest angel, we all headed back to our apartments to change into something less soggy—Alec to his apartment, Drake and I to ours. Ivy was waiting for us in our living room.

“How did it go with Harker?” she asked.

“Pretty much how I expected it to go,” I told her. “He was miffed that we didn’t bring in the water elemental alive, so he took Claudia and Basanti off the mission.”

Drake smiled. “And he put Leda in charge.” He patted me on the back.

Ivy nodded slowly. “Interesting. I didn’t expect that.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Oh, you know what I mean, Leda. You’re just so new.” Ivy gave me a reassuring smile. “But you’ll do great.”

I smirked at her. “That would have sounded more convincing if you weren’t crossing your fingers behind your back.”

She lifted her hands in the air, wiggling out her fingers. “I did no such thing.”

“I know. I was just messing with you.”

Ivy gave me a long, assessing look. “You’re nervous.”

“Of course I’m nervous. I’ve never been in charge of people before.”

“Sure you have. Back on the Black Plains after the vampires took Nero, you took charge,” she pointed out.

“That doesn’t count. I told them to stay in town and watch our prisoners while I went off on an unsanctioned solo trek across the Black Plains to rescue Nero.”

“It wasn’t unsanctioned. Nero left you in charge. And you saved his life.”

“Then why did his gratitude hurt so much?” I winced at the reminder of those hundreds of laps around the track and all the extra training Nero had assigned me as punishment.

“He’s an angel,” Ivy said. “I think their gratitude always hurts.”

Drake peeled off his soggy jacket. Ivy’s eyes widened.

“What is that?” she gasped.

His brows drew together. “My firm and muscled physique?”

“No, not that.” She pointed at the enormous bloodstain on the front of his shirt. “That. What did you do to yourself?”

“It’s fine.”

“Fine?” she hissed. “No, it’s not fine. You’re bleeding through your shirt!”

“It’s nothing. I hardly feel it. The one in my leg is much worse.”

Ivy’s nostrils flared in anger. “How many wounds do you have?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. A few.”

“You need to see a doctor.”

“Honestly, I’m fine.”

“You keep saying that word, but I don’t think you know what it means.”

“Ivy—”

“Refusing to take care of your wounds doesn’t make you tough. It makes you stupid.” She looked at me for support. “Tell him he’s being an idiot.”

“After you change, you should head over to the medical ward to get the holes in your body plugged,” I told Drake. “Then we’ll head out.”

Ivy glared at me. “He can’t go on a mission in this condition.”

I looked at Drake. “Are you feeling dizzy?”

“No.”

“Feverish?”

“No.”

“Shivery?”

He smiled back. “No.”

“They’re just surface wounds,” I told Ivy.

The Legion wasn’t a warm and cushy place. We’d all had much worse injuries in training, but Ivy couldn’t see that right now. Her emotions were running too hot. How could anyone be so much in love with another person and not even realize it?

“Don’t worry. The doctors can heal him in a few seconds.” A sly smile curled my lips. “Or you could just let him drink your blood.”

Ivy scowled at me. “I don’t think either of you are taking this seriously.”

Drake snorted, and more blood permeated his shirt.

“Ok, that’s it!” Ivy pushed him toward the door. “To the medical ward. Now.”

He bowed his head and tried to look contrite.

“Meet me in the garage when you’re done,” I told them.

He shot me a silly smile. “Yes, sir.”

“If you salute me, heaven help me, I will refill all your favorite liquor bottles with cleaning alcohol while you’re gone,” I warned him.

He chuckled as Ivy pulled him by the hand into the hall. Chuckling a little myself, I went into my room to change.

Nero was waiting for me inside. I didn’t jump in surprise—this time—but my heart sure did.

“How did you get in here?”

Nero gave me an amused look. Right, stupid question. He’d been lord of this cosmopolitan castle for years. He knew his way around and could bypass any lock. He’d left Harker’s office after us, so I was amazed he’d beaten me back here. Then again, he had his mysterious ways of getting around.

“Why are you here?” I asked, my pulse finally slowing.

A slight smile touched his lips. “Does my presence agitate you?”

The look in his eyes was smoldering. A rush of heat flushed me, right down to my pinky toe, and my pulse sped back up. I was agitated all right, but not in that way. I tried to keep calm, even knowing it was futile. He could read my body and knew exactly what effect he had on me.

“Agitated?” I repeated, sliding my closet door open. “No, of course not.”

I grabbed a fresh change of clothes and a towel to dry myself off. I was still dripping from my unintended swim in the ocean. Nero just stood there, a silent menace. I wondered if he was going to stand there the whole time and watch me strip out of my soggy clothes.

“I’ve seen every part of you, touched every part, tasted every part.”

His words caressed me like a silk pillow kissing naked skin. Images of our passionate predawn tumble in the alley flashed through my head. Blushing, I stopped. I realized that I’d moved toward him, nearly touched him.

With a soft chuckle, he reached out to take my hand. He flipped it over and kissed the underside of my wrist. Then he bowed, his eyes never leaving mine, and proclaimed, “I’ll await you in your living room, my lady.”

He turned smoothly on his heel and left my bedroom, closing the door behind him. My heart jumped in my chest. I was simultaneously excited and disappointed by his actions.

I stripped quickly, drying myself off using a magic wind dryer. Then I changed into fresh clothes and headed into the living room. Nero was standing before the fireplace, looking over some of Ivy’s decorations that were set atop the mantlepiece.

“Your roommate has peculiar taste in tabletop ornaments,” he commented, holding up one of them. “I have traveled the Earth, been through heaven and hell, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“It’s an oversized teacup without a handle,” I told him.

“You can’t drink tea out of that. It’s made of straw,” he pointed out.

“It’s a metaphorical teacup.”

Nero looked at the object in his hand. “Your metaphorical teacup bears an uncanny resemblance to a moon charm.”

“A what?”

“A moon charm. It’s a kind of love charm.” He set it back on the mantlepiece.

I blinked in confusion. “Ivy doesn’t need love charms. She has more admirers than anyone on Earth. No, it’s a teacup. Or a candy bowl.”

Nero’s eyes panned across the room. My pulse jumped when I realized that he’d never been inside my apartment before. I really wished it would stop doing that.

Nero’s gaze shifted to the kitchen counter. “Pandora, you are wicked.”

I realized I’d just been fantasizing about throwing him down on that counter and having my way with him. And he’d heard my thoughts. What was wrong with me? My body reacted to him every time he was near, making me think things, want things. It was like I had no control over it whatsoever.

“It’s our bond, an effect of me marking you,” he told me. “That part of me inside of you draws you to me.”

Yeah, like I needed magic for that. I was drawn to him already. My blood hummed like the engine of a high-speed train whenever he was near.

“Will it diminish?” I asked him.

“You’ll get used to it.”

I didn’t fail to notice that he hadn’t really answered my question. Well, it was my fault for jumping into a relationship with an angel without asking about the consequences first.

“Are there any other side effects I should know about?” I asked.

“Nothing that should affect you now.”

Not now, but later? That was hardly comforting. What other side effects were waiting in my future? I decided I really didn’t want to know. I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

“I marked you too. Why don’t you feel the same way about me?” I asked. “Why aren’t you out of control? Why aren’t you drawn to me?”

He stepped toward me. “I can assure you, I’m very much out of control.” His body towered over me, so close I could scarcely breathe. “I shouldn’t be alone with you, Leda. Not when we both have places to be. And,” he added, leaning in. “I’ve never been more drawn to you.” His voice was seductive, his words kissing my ear.

I reached for him, but he’d already stepped back.

“You look pretty firmly in control,” I commented, my heart thrumming in my ears.

His lips parted. “Oh, Leda, how very wrong you are. Right now, I am putting everything I have into blocking out the call of your blood, your body.” His gaze slid over me, burning me like a live wire. He took a deep breath and folded his hands together behind his back, as though he couldn’t trust them. “Your magic sings to me. And it’s only growing. Had you been an angel when you marked me, no amount of willpower would be enough to stop me from taking you now.”

I felt myself moving toward him.

“So, you see, you are stronger than you think,” he said. “An angel’s mark is powerful, especially a new mark. I’m surprised you are holding back.”

That might have had something to do with the number of times we’d had sex in the past two days. It was strange to remember how young our bond was. It felt like it was so much older, that it had penetrated deeper into my magic.

“You’re wrong,” I told him, also folding my hands together behind my back. “I’m not strong.”

Somehow, despite our nights of passion, I still wanted him. I needed to get my mind off of this, or we’d never leave this room. I grasped for distractions. He’d come here for a reason—a reason besides having sex with me. I could tell he was here about something else.

“What do you think of what happened in Harker’s office?” I asked. His reason for coming must have had something to do with that.

“Harker is under pressure. He’s wanted to be an angel for as long as I’ve known him, and if this situation blows up now, so close to the beginning, it could compromise his position.”

“Nyx has put him under pressure by assigning you to observe and report back on him.”

“Yes. It is a common practice when a new angel is made, but there is a reason Nyx chose me to carry out the assessment. And it’s not so I could spend time with you. She doesn’t quite trust Harker.”

“If Nyx doesn’t trust him, then why did she make him an angel?”

“She might not have had a say in the matter. If the gods tell her to make someone an angel, she cannot refuse. The role he played in saving Colonel Starborn was an act worthy of becoming an angel. Harker’s patron god could have used that triumph to push the other gods to vote for his promotion.”

“So I guess that answers our question as to whether Harker still has the support of a god.”

“Indeed,” he agreed. “And Nyx must realize Harker still has the support of one of the gods. The purpose of my assessment is to see if Harker will be a useful angel in her army, or if he’s going to be a problem.”

“And what do you think?”

“That it remains to be seen. How he handles these first few weeks will establish what kind of angel he will be. There is a place for all kinds of angels at the Legion.”

True. After all, Nyx had managed to fit Colonel Fireswift into her army.

“We angels are not known for our kindness, Leda,” Nero said. “Kindness is not something that concerns Nyx. She only cares that her angels will be loyal to her. She doesn’t want a repeat of the Legion’s early days.”

“What happened?”

“A lot of angels went dark and joined the Dark Force of Hell. The exodus was led by an angel very close to her. That betrayal hit her hard. And it’s why she is so careful now. She knows not all of her angels are the nicest people, but we are loyal to her and to the Legion. She strikes down any who are not. And she has become even more vigilant now that the demons are trying to make a play into our world.”

“Does Nyx know what happened between you and Harker?”

“I don’t believe so. If she knew Harker had tried to give you pure Nectar, she would be assessing him herself. She obviously knows something happened, but she hasn’t asked me about it. She does know that I no longer completely trust Harker, which is probably why she gave me this assignment. She knows I will watch him for any sign of misstep.”

“Harker knows it too,” I said. “That’s why he was so upset in the meeting just now.”

Nero nodded. “This is the first major crisis the city has faced under his command. It did not go well, but crises rarely do. And this one is the perfect problem to test how well he can handle his new position. If Nyx decides Harker will be loyal to her and the Legion, she’ll keep him.”

He didn’t say what would happen if Nyx decided Harker wasn’t loyal enough. That was obvious. Nyx had chosen well. Nero would be a fair judge. He didn’t want Harker to die because they’d been friends for so long. And he wasn’t jumping at the chance to accept him because Harker had betrayed us—well, actually he’d betrayed me, but Nero took that betrayal rather personally.

“How is Harker doing so far?” I couldn’t resist asking.

“Nyx would approve of the way he handled the incident. Claudia had to kill the elemental; it was the only way out of that situation. If she hadn’t acted, larger parts of the city would have been destroyed and thousands would have died. On the other hand, Claudia’s actions robbed the Legion of an opportunity to interrogate the water elemental, to learn how she had acquired her unusual powers.”

“Saving the city is more important than questioning her,” I declared.

“Perhaps, but what if questioning her could prevent this from happening again?” he posed.

He had a point. Maybe the gods were right after all. Maybe you couldn’t have everything.

“Harker punished Claudia for depriving the Legion of answers, and he punished Basanti because she was in charge of the mission,” Nero said. “But Harker also demonstrated that he valued and respected them, that he considered them to be outstanding examples of a Legion soldier.”

“By putting them in charge of training the initiates,” I realized. “That’s why he chose that punishment.”

“Training our initiates is an important task,” Nero said. “The Legion needs soldiers, especially now that the demons are pushing harder to return to Earth. Giving Basanti and Claudia that responsibility is putting a piece of the Legion’s future in their hands. You don’t put just anyone in control of the survival of our newest soldiers when they are at their weakest. Harker demonstrated that he trusted them with this important task.”

“He’s always liked them.”

“Yes,” Nero agreed. “And more than that, he respects them. He handled that well. And he was right to put you in charge of a mission too.”

“I was wondering about that. Why me? There are other soldiers, more experienced ones. More capable ones.”

“You have proven yourself many times in your short tenure at the Legion. You are experienced and capable. More than that, you don’t back down. Harker knows that as well as I do. He saw your magic at Storm Castle. He knows you have the power inside of you. You just need to grow it. This mission is the perfect opportunity for that.”

“And growing my magic fits right into his god’s plans for me, to level up my magic so they can use me to find Zane,” I pointed out.

“That too. Harker is in that way a perfect angel. Everything he does accomplishes many things at once.” Nero set his hand on my shoulder. “But that doesn’t mean he’s wrong to put you in charge of this mission. I would have handled the situation in exactly the same way. You are tenacious and resourceful. You will figure this out.”