Becca woke to silence. Glorious, peaceful silence. The pain in her head and chest was gone, and so were the voices… voices she shouldn’t have been able to hear in the first place.

A hint of panic squeezed around her heart. She stiffened, and the person beside her — no, it wasn’t just some person, it was Nero — shifted in his sleep, sliding his arm around her and drawing her against him, her back to his chest. His warmth seeped into her body and spread to every cell, easing the panic and filling her with a calm certainty and — if she was being honest with herself — a sizzling desire she wasn’t sure she wanted to keep ignoring. It churned her insides, made her breath hitch, and charged the calm warmth into sudden sultry need.

The panic over her insane reality and the fear she wouldn’t be strong enough to fight for herself and her friends vanished. All that remained was the alluring feel of his body tucked tight against her back and his arm holding her secure.

His warm breath feathered over the back of her neck, scorching need through her veins to her core. There were no voices, no fear, only him, and his essence magically anchoring her within herself.

Yes. Magic. He was magic and not just in how she craved him. There was something about him and his soul that, if she accepted it, steadied her. Told her that she was all right.

Except the memory of them appearing in the kitchenette flashed into her mind. He’d been willing to sacrifice himself and everything he held dear just to save her. That wasn’t all right. He barely knew her, and just existing with her mental connection to him put lives in danger. The devil had said… thought?… jeez, did it matter? He’d said that Nero was inamorated, but she didn’t know what that meant—

And yet, a part of her did know.

Soul bound. Forever.

The thought drew another shiver, and God help her, it wasn’t one of fear.

She eased from his embrace, not wanting to face the truth about his condition, and the whisper of voices flooded her head again. She concentrated on turning her mental volume knob down. Nero groaned but didn’t wake, and the voices dimmed.

What were the odds she was getting better at that?

She bit back a sigh. She could only hope. It had been agonizing, back at the abandoned factory. She’d fought to stay focused on her thoughts while everyone else had screamed at her, but she’d been afraid if she tried to shut them up she’d hurt Nero. The sooner she figured out how to disconnect herself from him, the better.

But that thought made her chest ache. He’d been the one steady voice inside her when everything else had gone crazy. He was the calm in the middle of her storm, and she didn’t want to lose that. Except she had to. She endangered everything he cared about, and she now had proof he’d sacrifice it all to save her. She just had no idea if she’d be able to keep it together without him.

She slid out of bed and hugged herself, her hoodie stiff and crusty with her blood.

Some soldier she was. She needed to stand on her own. Only then could she be an asset to a partnership… which they didn’t have… because they barely knew each other… and because she had to get as far away from him as possible to protect his family. She might not have a family anymore, but she knew what it was like to have one. It was precious and deserved to be safe. She could do that for him, and them… and for herself.

She had to. She also had to get her shit together, returned to the factory and find Werner… and if he hadn’t escaped from Stanbury’s men, she had to return to the facility for him, Glenn, and the others — she wasn’t even going to contemplate the possibility that Werner was dead. That would mean she’d failed at everything and she couldn’t accept that.

A soft feminine voice said something from down the hall. Raven. She had to be talking to the guy in the bed again. Maybe she’d have some insight into how to control this — God, Becca couldn’t believe she was going to think it — this magic. In the very least, maybe Raven had a way to not break down in a panic when magic reared its dangerous head and things got stressful, something Becca could use when she headed out on her own to find Werner.

A shudder swept through Becca, but the certainty from Nero’s presence within her billowed and soothed it. Even the other voices softened a bit. She mentally clung to his presence, a lifeline she needed but knew eventually she’d have to give up. Sooner would probably be better for everyone.

Who was she kidding? Being on her own made her even more of a danger to his family. Which only made everything more complicated. As much as she wanted to belong, she didn’t and didn’t know if she ever would.

She headed into the hall. It was the same one as before, just this room was a few doors down from her previous one.

Raven said something else and another feminine voice responded. Guess she wasn’t talking to the guy in the bed. A hint of Raven’s presence flickered into Becca’s head. Raven sat at the table in the kitchenette, talking to another woman, still terrified for Nero’s sanity and that she wouldn’t be able to save Becca. The other woman, also afraid but holding herself together with a fierce determination, was trying to calm Raven but wasn’t certain what to say.

Becca ducked into the closest room — the one with the unconscious guy in it — not ready to face anyone other than Raven. This other woman might not understand that Becca hadn’t meant to inamorate Nero. Hell, Becca had no idea how it had even happened, and she had no idea how to make him uninamorated. Everyone was afraid and angry over the situation, and it was all Becca’s fault, and God, all she wanted was to fix it, ensure his kids were safe, and rescue her friends.

The guy in the bed groaned and jerked in his sleep. Light billowed around him, and sweat slicked his forehead.

I’m sorry. This new voice — the guy in the bed’s voice — was a soft tenor, filled with pain.

“It’s all right,” Becca said. And it might be for him, if she could just fix the situation with Nero so he wouldn’t risk his life for her.

It’s not. I failed. I’m sorry. Please, he begged. End it.

Becca’s throat tightened. His pain was overwhelming, a mix of physical agony and soul-deep grief, and she shifted toward him, drawn by his plea. She knew that grief. The pain in his body was nothing compared to the agony of his soul. She still saw that kid with the backpack, still heard that baby’s wail, and now felt the monsters clawing under her skin, tearing into her. She fully understood the pain that might drive someone to suicide. If Werner hadn’t taken her with him when he’d escaped, she’d have succumbed to her demons. But even if she’d been sure it was a nightmare, he’d given her a purpose.

Please. End me.

More light flared from the guy, and his body arched off the bed with convulsions. I’m sorry. So sorry. I deserve this.

“No.” No one deserves this.

But I made so many mistakes.

We all make mistakes. Horrible mistakes. Mistakes that got people killed. Mistakes that could never be forgiven. She’d been awarded a medal for her mistake when all she’d been trying to do was save as many of her men as she could.

We were so afraid. I was afraid. Another blast of light radiated from him, stronger than the last. I’m still afraid.

So am I. Even if he wasn’t an unnaturally created mage like her, discovering the truth about the world had to be terrifying. Maybe together we won’t be so afraid.

You don’t understand.

Do I need to?

The guy’s eyelids flew open, and his attention jumped to her as a ferocious power filled her mind. The weight of hundreds of years flooded her, and her pulse leapt. He wasn’t human. He wasn’t a naturally created mage, as Raven thought. He wasn’t even unnaturally created like Becca.

He was a dragon.

“You’re a—”

I’m not! he roared. Not anymore. I’m not—! He screamed, the gut-wrenching cry in her ears and in her head, and brilliant yellow light exploded around him, ten times more powerful than before. His body jerked, his back arching off the bed again for an agonizing heartbeat, then he started thrashing.

I’ve got you. Becca scrambled to him and grabbed his shoulders. I’ve—

White lightning slammed through her body, searing into every cell with a power stronger than the first time his magic had shot through her. Her breath caught in her throat and every muscle jerked taut. The dragon screamed, and so did she. Everyone in the building screamed. Everyone in the city started yelling— no, the country— no— more, so many more.