My thoughts came in a torrent. I didn’t understand Roth. He ran hot and cold—at one moment tender and another cruel.

The cruelty was what I needed. My plan, after all, was to betray him. And I should know better than to cozy up to a male. It was only a matter of time before he turned on me. I was not going to give up on my plan, not for a smooth-talking incubus. Who had once been a good man, my thoughts taunted.

Pushing Roth’s past out of my mind, I decided that from now on, I would keep our relationship strictly business.

Striding to the motorcycle, I fiddled with the helmet strap to get it loose. Roth approached as I cursed the unyielding security mechanism. His hands gently closed over mine, setting them away as his nimble fingers made quick work of the ties. So very nimble. I sensed a struggle inside him, his muscles drawn as tight as my bow string. The feel of his light breath on my neck sent a shiver of pleasure down my spine. Getting astride the rumbling motorcycle had begun to sound like a good idea before I shook myself. I almost checked my ears to make sure I wasn’t somehow turning into a horny nymph. I’d never been like this over a man. Hell, I hadn’t been with a man since Farrow and that was what, a century ago? And if I was being honest with myself, it had been only once and it hadn’t been that good.

Roth threw a leg over the bike, and I climbed on behind him. His hand rested on my thigh for a second, making sure I was settled before gunning the engine. He was taking care of me. Even though he had just frozen me out by telling me his kiss was an act.

That kiss. He was so masterful with me, making my sex wet for him. I had never been so aroused in my life. But the thought of his explanation sent a chill through me, stamping out the fire that threatened to burn me from the inside out. There was nothing he really wanted from me. I was just another one of his conquests, another notch for his bedpost, if he even had any bedpost left after his lifetimes of lovers.

But he’d told me I’d been his first in hundreds of years. Could that possibly be true? If it was, I might be in some serious trouble. I wanted to believe he was lying to me when he said it was an act. I felt the heat coming off him, knew it meant something to him. But after his revelations in the catacombs, he’d changed. I continued musing on the immortal I clung to, feeling his strength as he raced through the narrow streets.

I leaned out slightly and glanced around him—just in time to see the creature dart in front of us. Roth wrenched the bike to the left to avoid hitting it, but the tires lost their grip and the whole thing started bucking up from the pavement. In an instant, I was sent flying off the back. The only thing that kept me from smashing into the wall of the alley was Roth reaching out for me as he too was thrown from the bike.

We landed in a heap, a sickening crunch resounding in my ears. It wasn’t my bones breaking. It was Roth’s. He’d protected me from the harsh ground, cradling me on top of him as we crashed into the unforgiving stone.

After we skidded to a halt, I ripped off my helmet and then Roth’s. He was conscious but badly injured. The skin was scraped from his right arm, revealing blood and, in one instance, bone. I didn’t know what was broken but had heard more than one thing snap when we hit the pavement.

“Roth, Roth.” I tried to get his unfocused gaze to lock onto mine. His eyes rolled back in his head as I heard the flap of wings close behind me. “Shit.”

Stepping into the street, I found our attacker—a fury straight from the Underworld. It had the shape of a woman, but its gray skin and yellow eyes revealed its true nature. Furies were known for their vicious attacks. Their needle fangs dripped with poison. This one was no exception, her stringy yellow hair hanging in her face as her eyes flicked from me to Roth.

The moonlight—a sigil of Artemis—made me hum with power, giving my abilities a much-needed boost. Roth was still out on the ground. I didn’t want to reveal my bow and arrows to him, lest he guess where I got them. Anything that gave him any insight into my past was a threat to my future. But there was no other way out. I stilled and summoned my bow. It materialized in my grasp, a wisp of silver growing into the curved tips and taut string. It resonated with power in my hands as I pulled a similarly effervescent arrow from my quiver.

The fury’s wings, translucent and covered in a fine black fur, flapped to keep her hovering above the ground. The fury examined the markings on my neck. She pointed. “Not you, servant of Artemis. My master wants the incubus.”

“The incubus is mine. If you want him, you’ll have to go through me first.” The glow of the moon and my instinct made me ready, spoiling even, for this fight. It had been far too long.

“So be it.” The fury splayed her claws and dove for me as its battle cry pierced the night.

I rolled to the left and let my arrow fly, punching through the creature’s wing and soaring off into the night. The fury let out a shriek that had blood running from my ears. But I didn’t care. I was in my element. Over a century of battle in Artemis’s army flowed through my veins.

The fury shot up and came back down, her fangs dripping with poison, strong enough to kill even an immortal. At the last second, she changed course and headed straight for Roth’s limp body. I dove, flipping over on my back next to him and delivering a swift kick to the fury’s face with the heel of my boot. The shriek rang out again, now tinged with frustration. I jumped to my feet, nocking another arrow as I stood over Roth.

“I’m having fun. Come again, hag.” If only Artemis could see me now, dueling to the death against a powerful Underworld fiend.

The fury changed tactics, swooping down at a frantic pace and using her powerful wing to slam me into the ground. The impact made my teeth chatter, but I rolled to the side to avoid the fury’s arcing claws. Too late—my right arm was slashed to the bone. I cried out from the stinging pain before steeling myself for another attack. Emboldened by the successful strike, the fury once again turned to Roth.

While the fury was focused on her intended victim, I heaved myself from the ground, feeling a strange heaviness settling into me. Fighting against it, I nocked another arrow. The fury floated over Roth, rearing back for the death blow.

“He’s mine!”

It hissed at me, its fangs dripping. “Fool to think you could stake our claim on him. He’s bedded thousands, and would have bedded more if I hadn’t come to claim his head.”

I rolled my eyes at the creature. “I don’t mean mine like that.” I wasn’t trying to say Roth and I were together. Because that was ludicrous. I swallowed thickly. Ludicrous. “I mean he’s my bounty. I got to him first.”

Her cackle rippled through the night like an electrical current. “Truly, you are an even bigger fool than I thought.” It dismissed me with a flick of its talon and focused on its prize.

What a bitch. I drew the bow, letting my breath dissipate slowly as I aimed for the fury’s heart. The bolt flew true and pierced its chest, black blood spurting from the wound. It shrieked and rose in the air, listing badly before crashing into a nearby rooftop. Its wings flapped helplessly as its screams broke all the windows on the street, sending glass showering down like a rainstorm.

Silence reigned after the last tinkle of glass whispered through the street. I eyed Roth, his eyes still closed. Incapacitated. Maybe this was a stroke of luck. I walked toward him, my knees going oddly week. I could capture him right now, tie him up, call on one of the goblins to bind him with their unbreakable magic, then ship him off to Ares. The plan was solid, but my heart faltered a few beats as I imagined what Ares had planned.

It didn’t matter. I’d made a deal. One that couldn’t be broken.

I fell to my knees beside Roth as my bow and quiver flickered and disappeared. Heaviness enveloped me like a stifling blanket, covering my entire body with a pressing darkness. My sight began to fade and my hands were numb.

One word whipped through my mind. “Poison.” Not just in the fury’s fangs like I’d been taught.

My mother’s singsong voice echoed in my head, “You learn something new every day.” I gave a crazed guffaw before falling to my side, lying in the gritty street, unable to move.

“Roth,” I croaked, struggling to keep my eyes open while my heart played a strange beat. “Roth.”

Only silence answered.

The venom took over completely, and I fell into the void.