Leo watched the child eating the mango sticky rice. As Vasu ate, he grew. And grew. Until the man who had first appeared sat before them again, licking sweet coconut milk from his fingers.

“That was delicious.”

“Talk,” Leo said.

“You used to be more amusing,” Vasu said. “Though I see a slight glow around you, scribe.” His eyes darted to Kyra. “Does she know yet?”

Kyra said, “Know what?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Leo said. “Tell us why Arindam would want an uncontrollable kareshta.”

Vasu turned to Sura. “Was she young?”

“One of the younger ones, yes. Around forty years, but she looks much younger.”

“And she’s powerful?”

“Yes.”

“How? Her voice?”

Sura said nothing.

“But she doesn’t speak, does she?” Vasu asked. “She can wound the mind in other ways.”

“If she’s angry enough,” Kyra said.

Alyah sucked in a breath. “What? She doesn’t need to speak to use magic? That’s unheard of.”

“Well, you’ve heard of it now,” Kyra said. “Half our blood comes directly from the angels. Did you think we had no power of our own? It’s not having the power, it’s controlling it.”

Vasu turned to Kyra. “She hurt you.”

“Yes.”

“Then why do you care about helping her?”

Kyra said, “Because I was her once.”

Vasu shook his head. “You were never her.”

Kyra paused. “No, I suppose not. Because I had my brother Kostas. But Prija has brothers too. Sisters who care about her. It’s not always about a person’s usefulness or threat level, Vasu. Sometimes you just care.”

“You and your brother were very powerful. Barak spoke of it often.”

“He despised us.”

“No,” Vasu said. “You’re wrong. Also, you should know your father would be very pleased with you and this scribe. He was… fond. I think that is the closest word.”

Leo asked, “What are you talking about?”

Alyah’s phone rang. She picked it up and walked away from the table.

Vasu turned back to Sura. “Your father was skilled in mental combat, even from a distance. It’s why he retained power for so long, even though he wasn’t as old as many of his enemies. Including me. It’s why you and your brothers can exist as peacefully as you do. It’s why your sisters are such bright stars. This sister who has been taken is powerful, and Arindam wants to use her as a weapon. He is trying to expand his territory now that Tenasserim is gone. Thank you, by the way. I found your father very annoying.”

“You’re… welcome?” Sura looked confused. A common problem with Vasu in Leo’s experience.

“So now that Tenasserim is gone,” Leo asked, “Arindam is looking to expand into Thailand?”

Vasu said, “No, the Irin are too powerful here. Anurak and his mate rule in Bangkok, and now they’ve made an alliance with these Grigori. He’s not interested in going east. He’s looking west.”

“Is Arindam expanding into your territory?”

Vasu’s eyes cut to Leo, but Leo did his best to appear innocent.

“That doesn’t work with me,” Vasu said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Leo knew exactly what he was talking about. He also knew—or he suspected—why the mention of Arindam’s name had provoked such a reaction in Vasu earlier. Ginny had said Arindam was making attacks in northern India. According to Ava, who knew Vasu as well as any of them did, Vasu made his home in an ancient city in Rajasthan, which was northwestern India. It was likely that Vasu, who didn’t have many sons after years in hiding, was feeling the pressure of an enemy near his territory.

“That was Niran.” Alyah walked back to the dining table. “They rode up to the border, but they couldn’t find any trace of them.”

Kyra shook her head. “They should have taken me with them.”

“No, they shouldn’t have,” Leo said.

“Don’t be overprotective,” she said. “You’re not my brother.”

“No, I’m your…” He shut his mouth. It wasn’t the time. Not with a Fallen angel and an audience. “They wanted to ride as fast as possible. I’m sure that’s all they were thinking.”

Sura said, “They won’t go into Burma without more people. Once you go that far north, Arindam’s Grigori are everywhere.”

“So what are we going to do?” Kyra said. “We need to get Prija back.”

“We will,” Sura said, “but it’s better to be prepared than fast. Don’t forget, Prija can defend herself. Like the Fallen said, they want to use her as a weapon. They won’t harm her.”

Vasu pointed at Sura. “He has a plan. They both do.”

Leo asked, “What is he talking about?”

Sura sat at the table and folded his hands. “We’ll wait for Niran.”

Vasu rested his chin on his hand. “Boring.”

“I don’t care.”

Vasu disappeared.

Everyone froze, but the Fallen didn’t reappear. Not even when Kyra reached over and took the bowl of sticky rice.

“Vasu?”

Nothing.

“Huh,” she said. “I guess he’ll come back when it gets interesting again?”

Leo said, “With Vasu, you never know.”

Alyah said, “My country was boring until you came to it, Leo. Tell me why I shouldn’t put you on a plane and send you far, far away.”

“Because I think I know what Vasu was talking about.” Leo looked at Sura. “And so does he.”

* * *

“When we killed our father, we didn’t do it alone,” Niran said. “There was no way we could have managed it. We had help.”

The two Grigori brothers, Alyah, Leo, and Kyra were sitting at the dining table again, the map still spread in front of them. Niran looked exhausted and angry. He’d ridden for two and a half hours, up to the Burmese border, trolling through the villages and side roads for an hour in the middle of the night before he returned. There was no sign of Prija or her captors. Niran was certain they’d crossed into Arindam’s territory.

Leo said, “Sura said he used his father’s enemies in the plan to kill him. Were they Arindam’s sons?”

Niran hesitated, then nodded.

“I am the one who made the connection,” Sura said. “I’d performed Sak Yant on several of them. I was living away from our father in the mountains along the border. There were like-minded Grigori there, trying to live quietly. After some time, trust built between us. We knew we would never be free if our fathers lived. As long as they ignored us, we could live as we wanted. But the minute our fathers called us, we would come.” Sura’s face was bleak at the memory. “We would answer their call and do whatever they asked.”

“We had no choice then,” Niran said.

Sura lifted his eyes. “We made a plan to free ourselves. First we would kill Tenasserim. Then we would kill Arindam.

“But it didn’t work out that way.”

“No. Our brother Kanok had become close to Intira’s mother when she was pregnant. Though she was human, he developed strong feelings for her. Intira’s mother survived her birth, but Tenasserim called for her too quickly after the baby was born. She did not survive more than a month.” Sura’s face filled with sorrow. “She was a bright woman. A student at the university in Chiang Mai, but she was enamored of our father, as all the human women were. Kanok was devastated when she died. He could speak of nothing but killing our father. Prija helped him. She spoke then. They plotted to kill Tenasserim and only told us a few hours before they moved. We were able to call a few of Arindam’s sons who were close, but we didn’t have many. Prija engaged our father while the three of us attacked him.”

“Arindam’s sons held off our brothers as well as they could, but two of them were killed,” Niran said. “Sura and I survived, but Kanok did not. Prija was in a coma for a year. When she woke, she didn’t speak anymore.”

Leo said, “And Arindam’s sons lost the taste for rebellion.”

Niran nodded. “They decided that they could not bear the losses to their number, even if it meant staying under their father’s rule.”

“You cannot discount that Arindam has always been more generous with his offspring than Tenasserim was,” Sura said. “Many of their number are hundreds of years old because their father feeds them power.”

Alyah said, “So they’d rather live longer, even though they serve a Fallen master?”

“It’s easy to judge them,” Kyra said, “if you don’t fear sudden death.”

Leo heard the brittle pain in her words. He reached for her hand and brought it to his lap. He wanted to steal Kyra away and perform the mating ritual immediately, but that would mean explaining how he knew they were reshon.

It wasn’t a conversation he wanted to rush, but fear for her life tormented him. He also didn’t want to raid a Fallen compound weak from the mating ritual, but he’d do what he needed to keep Kyra alive.

“Arindam’s sons returned to him, and because of my tattoos on their bodies, they are more powerful,” Sura said. “We knew it was a risk, but we trusted them. That trust was misplaced.”

Leo nodded. “Do you know where their compound is?”

“There are several where they could keep Prija among their own sisters.” Niran marked three locations on the map. “There are very few kareshta among Arindam’s children, but here is where he keeps them. I would guess they would take Prija to one of these places.”

“How far are they from the border?” Kyra asked.

“The first is around one hundred kilometers into the country. The others are deeper in.”

“I’ll be able to read the first one before we cross,” Kyra said. “I should be able to give you an idea of what you’ll be facing.”

Sura nodded. “Then you’ll come with us. Leo, can I assume that means you will too?”

“Of course,” Leo said. “Keeping the kareshta safe is within the mandate of every scribe. I am happy to help in the search for Prija. Plus we need to find out the identity of the Irin who is working with them.”

“Agreed,” Alyah said. “I have just spoken to Dara. With your permission, she would like to assist. She can have five warriors here in the morning if you wish.”

“I think stealth is our friend,” Niran said. “With Sura and me, two of my men, Leo, Kyra, and you, that is already seven. Any more than that and I think we risk attracting too much attention.”

“Agreed,” Leo said. “But perhaps some Irin scribes and singers would be able to help keep watch over the temple while you are gone? That would allow you and Sura to focus on finding Prija without worrying about your sisters’ safety.”

It would also be a startling act of trust, and Leo doubted Niran would agree to it. He was surprised when the suspicious Grigori spoke directly to Alyah.

Niran said, “Do you guarantee that my sisters will be safe with these men? That they will do nothing to expose them or take them from their home here?”

Alyah said, “I give you my word. I will choose the scribes myself. Dara will listen to my suggestions. If you want only trained singers here, that is also possible.”

“And Ginny would help,” Sura said. “I’ll call her once we have a plan.”

Niran stared at Alyah for a long minute before he nodded. “Then I accept your help in guarding our sisters. My men will remain in authority here, but we will take your offer.”

“Understood,” Alyah said. “Thank you for your trust.”

Niran said nothing else, but his eyes returned to the map. “The longer we wait, the farther they can take her.”

“Where is Arindam himself?” Leo asked.

“He moves.” Sura gestured over the map. “I can think of half a dozen secluded places he might hide.”

Leo shook his head. “I know nothing about Myanmar, so I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”

“We’ll plan everything.” Niran glanced at Kyra. “You take care of our radar system.”

* * *

She looked exhausted. Her eyelids were drooping, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Leo picked her up halfway through the forest and carried her to the cottage.

“I can walk,” she protested even as she laid her head on his shoulder.

“But why would you when I can carry you so easily?”

“Leo…”

“Hmm?”

She yawned. “I don’t remember what I was going to say.”

“I’m going to stay with you tonight,” he said. “I can sleep on the floor. Or if you don’t want me in the cottage, I can sleep on the porch.”

“That doesn’t sound comfortable.”

Leo smiled. “I’ve slept in worse places. Trust me.”

She paused, and Leo thought she might have fallen asleep.

“My bed is big enough for both of us,” she said quietly. “But… just for sleep.”

“Whatever you want, ana sepora.” His heart sang. He’d be able to hold her as she slept.

“That’s Irin language. I recognized the sounds. What does it mean?”

“My bird.” He kissed the top of her head. “Because I want to watch you fly.”

“Leo…”

“Hmm?”

Kyra had fallen asleep.

Leo sang a low song as he walked through the forest. It was a song of thanksgiving, the same song he’d sung kneeling before her when he realized that Kyra was truly his reshon.

“And what does reshon mean?”

“What?”

“Reshon. Your voice was very, very clear…”

Kyra was his reshon. A soul created to match his own. A gift of heaven and the truest mate in every sense. Her soul would feed his own. His touch would soothe her, and his voice would resonate the most clearly in her mind. Always—for the rest of his life—she would be his other half.

Profound gratitude filled his heart, and a prayer fell from his lips in the Old Language:

“I give thanks to the Creator

For in my heart I have found

The other half of my being

My search is over

My soul is complete.”

Leo walked through the silent forest, nodding at each of the Grigori who stood watch among the kareshta cottages. Clad in deep saffron robes, Niran’s men looked like monks and bore the intricate Sak Yant tattoo marks Sura had given them. But every face, no matter how calm, had the determined look of a warrior.

He climbed Kyra’s steps and opened her door, toeing off his shoes before he entered. A lamp was burning in the corner of the room, and Kyra’s eyes flickered open when he closed the door behind them.

She murmured, “We’re back.”

“And you’re exhausted,” he said. “But do you want to clean up before you get in bed? I can get water.”

“My feet…” She wrinkled her nose. “There’s water in the corner.”

Leo set her down on the bed and took off her sandals. Her feet were dusty from the dirt and gravel paths through the temple and the forest, so he walked to the corner and poured some water into the large bowl on the nightstand. He took it to her, then placed her feet in the cool water.

“What are you doing?”

“Washing your feet.”

Her cheeks turned delightfully red. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.”

Leo brought the pitcher to the side of her bed along with a lump of fragrant soap and a towel he found hanging in the corner.

“Pull up your dress,” he said, kneeling at her feet. “Just a little.”

Kyra slowly pulled the sundress up to her knees, baring her ankles and calves to his gaze. Leo’s pulse picked up and he hardened, but he ignored his reaction and poured the water over her legs, following the path of the clear liquid as it ran over her shapely calves, caressed her ankles, and fell quietly into the ceramic basin. He picked up the soap and dipped it in the water, lifting his eyes to hers as he ran his hands up and down her legs, washing the dust and grime of the day from her skin.

Kyra said nothing, but her lips were flushed. Her breasts rose and fell with each breath as she watched him. Leo took his time, running the soap over every inch of her skin, slipping his fingers behind her knees to ease her foot up before he traced the lines of her legs down her shins and around her ankles. He stroked the arch of her foot, and her toes curled in his palm before he washed them too. He massaged her ankles and her calves, easing the tension from the muscle there with long strokes.

Her skin was soft and smelled of jasmine. The oil in the soap shimmered on the surface of the water as he tipped the water pitcher over her legs again, rinsing the suds from her skin before he lifted each foot and dried it with the soft towel. He pushed the basin to the side and placed her clean feet on his thighs before he closed his eyes. He put his forehead to her knees and kissed her skin, hugging her legs to his chest.

“Leo, you—”

“Shh.” His breath warmed her knees. “This is enough.”

“I want to wash you too,” she said quietly.

Erotic images bombarded his mind. He wanted to bite her knees and kiss the soft skin of her inner thighs. He wanted to spread her legs and search for the lush scent that tormented him. He wanted to cover her with his body, invade her heat, and find release. He imagined Kyra wet and naked, pouring water over him in the bath. He would circle her waist with his hands, lick at her belly, dip his tongue…

His erection was so hard it was painful.

“Not tonight,” he said, his voice grating in the silence.

Leo stood and lifted Kyra’s legs over and onto the bed. “Do you need to change?”

She nodded. “My nightgown is hanging on the peg by the washstand.”

He walked over and retrieved it for her, trying not to envy the cool cotton fabric that would touch her skin. He handed her the gown, then went behind the screen in the corner, facing the wall as he heard her change from her dress to her nightclothes.

“I’m changed.”

He walked back toward the bed and sat on the edge, forcing his thoughts to remain on the mundane. He took off his socks and placed them at the end of the bed. He removed his shirt; he would need to borrow one in the morning if anything could be found big enough for him. His pants… were definitely staying on.

Kyra was lying on her side with the bedspread pulled over her, watching him as he undressed. Leo blew out the lamp and decided sleeping on top of the bedspread was probably a good idea. In the darkness, her eyes fell to his chest and the dark tattoos that covered his arms and shoulders.

“So many,” she said.

“Call me an overachiever,” he said. He scooted up next to her and put his head on the pillow. “You’re certain you’re comfortable with me sleeping on the bed?”

“Yes.” She lifted a hand, then let it drop. “You make me feel safe, Leo. You always have.”

Leo took her hand in his. “Did you want to touch?”

Kyra’s cheeks went red again, but she nodded.

Leo placed her palm over his heart. “Touch anywhere.”

Her eyes went wide. “Anywhere?”

Oh, heaven give him self-control. He folded his hands behind his head and breathed deeply, the muscles of his chest hard under Kyra’s hand. “Anywhere you want,” he said. “Anything you want. Touch me, Kyra. I’m yours.”