We left the city of Amathus and headed south.

I sat in front of Ares on Ventus’ back. We were both silent, but Ares hadn’t removed his arm from around my waist. I slouched against him, the side of my face pressing on his sculpted chest.

I needed the haven of his warmth, though I dreaded the questions he was going to ask.

The guardians were still thrilled from battling with the Angels. Ares and his team couldn’t hear their telepathic chats, but I heard everything loud and clear.

The Angel was strong and fast, Ventus said.

When he comes back, Glacies snarled, his ass is mine.

Any wound from an angelblade was hard to heal and I was sure Glacies’ shoulder was searing with pain. If he were an ordinary beast, he’d be dead by now.

They marked the witchling, Ignis said.

We’ll defend her, Mettalum said.

I’d thought he wasn’t happy with me after I’d called him Metty.

That Angel wore an eye-patch because of our witchling, Ignis said. She stabbed him. Wake her up, Ventus. I want to know the details.

Freyja? Ventus called in my head.

I ignored him. I wasn’t in a high spirit as he was. Plus, I didn’t want Ares’ attention on me.

“Freyja, wake up!” Ventus shouted. “I have a question.”

Ares growled. “Leave her alone, Ventus. She needs rest. When we get to a safer location, Einarr will take care of her and check on you all again.” 

The tip of the angelblade had pierced my skin under my shoulder blade. Einarr had tried to tend to me, but I’d refused to let him touch me. I’d also refused to let Ares inject the serum into me.

“We need to treat your injury,” Ares had said. “The wound from an angelblade is the worst case.”

“It’s only a graze,” I had said.

“Even a graze from their blade will cause a serious infection on a mortal.”

“The serum won’t work on me. It’ll mess me up.”

“How do you know?”

“I learned that when I was a child,” I’d said. “Any drug will do me more harm than good.” At his worried expression, I’d added, “It’ll heal on its own.” 

He had simply cleaned me and bandaged me. “We’ll need to monitor you. If you run a fever—”

“There will be no fever,” I’d cut him off. “And I don’t need a nursemaid.” 

He hadn’t insisted on getting his way. Though from his dark look, I knew he had simmering questions for me. He hadn’t pushed, but had put me in front of him on Ventus. His arm hadn’t left my waist ever since.

After a couple of hours of quiet flying, my body relaxed a fraction.

Ares definitely noticed I was less clingy.

I could feel the questions burning on the tip of his tongue, and I had a few of my own burning hot. Most of them concerned the lovely noblewoman.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“Uh,” I said vaguely.

“Are you scared of me?” he asked.

I gave him a sidelong glance. “Why must I be afraid of you?”

“You saw my beast form. No other women have ever seen it.”

“I’ve seen worse monsters, Ares.”

He didn’t seem happy with the answer. “You compare me to those monsters?”

“You want me to be scared? Fine. I’m still shivering from the sight of your enhanced form. Please don’t eat me. I beg you, Your Highness. I’m all bones.”

He shook his head. “Other than your own comfort and freedom and your pack, you don’t take anything seriously, do you?”

I took my hunters very seriously, but I didn’t tell him that.

“But at least your annoying traits are back,” he said, “which means you’re now normal.”

“Is it normal for me to say thank you?”

He sighed and tucked me closer to him. “Why do you keep running away from me, Freyja?” he asked in a composed voice, but I heard exhaustion, hurt, and repressed anger in it. “You almost got yourself killed.”

“Yes, enlighten us, why did you run away from us, Freyja?” Ventus echoed. “We’ve been good to you. Do you even care that I was frightened when Ares told me you were missing? Who else could protect you better than us? I’m disappointed in you. Very disappointed.”

Now he was disenchanted. When he’d driven Eye-patch away and come back for me, he’d brushed my side with his snout to comfort me. It had made my throat tight. I hadn’t wanted to form any bond with anyone outside of my pack, but I’d started cherishing his friendship more than I knew.

“I’ll forgive you if you tell me how you maimed the Angel and took out his eye,” Ventus continued. “When was that? I wanted every juicy detail.”

“Ventus,” Ares snapped. “I’m doing the questioning here.”

“I was helping,” the guardian of wind said.

“You aren’t helping,” Ares said. “You’re distracting.”

“Never mind me,” Ventus said, his left shoulder rising and falling in a half shrug. Next, he might roll his eyes to the back and could see how tightly Ares held me.

“Freyja,” Ares said, “I told you over and over you need to learn—”

“Where is your witch?” I asked.

“Don’t know and don’t care,” he said.

“Did you let her go?” I asked incredulously.

He snarled. I knew his niceness wouldn’t last.

“How could you let her get away?” I said indignantly. “I secured her for you!”

What witch? Ventus asked in my head.

“Secured her for me?” Ares sneered. “You tried to tie me down to a fake witch!”

I blinked. How had he figured that out? Now he was going to get really mad if I didn’t find a way to appease him. 

“Did you ask her if she was the First Witch?” I asked.

“I didn’t need to ask,” he said, almost smugly.

“You won’t know if she or anyone is the witch or not,” I argued. “Only I can validate it for you.”

“Don’t be so sure, wolf girl. You aren’t the only one who’s got pure instinct. I would know it if she were the witch.”

Then this big idiot should know I was the witch, but he had no idea. No idea at all.

I gibed at him. “Enlighten me?” 

“I didn’t feel anything for that woman.”

“It’s not for you to feel, Ares. It’s for you to trust and accept my judgment.”

“Who do you think I am?” he asked. “You think I’ll let you trick me so easily? You think I’ll accept a fraud?” But he contained his fury, considering the ordeal I’d just gone through.

I frowned at him. “I didn’t expect you to be picky.”

He scoffed. “When I meet my witch, I’ll be on fire,” he said, then glanced down at me. I kept my expression demure, and his look turned forlorn on top of his predatory hunger for me. “Maybe it won’t be like the kind of fire I have with you, but I should at least feel something, something strong.”

My heart leapt. He’d just unwittingly admitted his feelings for me.

“But you did feel strongly for Agatha,” I said. “Is her name Agatha? You just aren’t good at admitting your feelings.”

“If she were my witch and I had feelings for her, she’d be in my arms right now.”

And here I was—in his arms.

Ventus was particularly quiet as he focused on eavesdropping on our conversation.

Shouldn’t you pay attention to flying, Ventus? I reminded him. 

“I knew you lied to me the moment I let go of your shoulders outside the dressing room,” Ares said.

“If you’d known I was lying, you wouldn’t have stared at her as if she was the wonder of the wonders,” I said, unable to let go of the last image I’d seen before I’d left them to their devices.

He narrowed his amber eyes on me. “When did I do that?”

“I saw you two drink in the horny sight of each other before I left the store. You were into her, even though she wasn’t your witch. You’re just so good at lying to yourself. Anyway, I don’t even care. I’m only shocked that you lost her.”

“You do care, and you’re still jealous.”

“If I were jealous, Ares Darken, I’d have taken her down the moment she laid her claws on you.” I’d almost done just that. “But I let you have her, didn’t I? I even encouraged you.”

His dark anger returned, his voice promising a punishment after my recovery. “So you admit you intentionally misled me?”

“I was trying to help,” I said innocently.

“You’ve tried to screw me over at every turn ever since I took you in!”

“That’s not true. You tend to think the worst of me.”

“Tell me one good thing you’ve ever done.”

“I told you about your half-brother wanting you dead,” I said, putting down a finger for my first good deed. “You haven’t thanked me for the priceless information, and I didn’t even charge you a penny for the valuable intel.” I put down a second finger. “Third, I prevented you from foolishly nose-diving into the safe house to be toasted by an army of skilled bounty hunters.” Four fingers went down. “I’ve been cooperating with the guardians. I led you to the rabbit stews in Merlin’s house. I provided entertainment for you on the road. And before I came with you, I ordered my wolves not to tear your throat out. That wasn’t easy.”

He stared at me incredulously.

“The list can go on, but I only have ten fingers and ten toes,” I said. “Even now I’m still doing a good deed, leading you south toward your coveted witch. And Your Highness, instead, exposed me and led me to danger. How fair is it?”

“Twisted lies,” he said. “When you lie, you carry this calm air to try to convince people. You face becomes blank and you make firm eye contact.”

I made a mental note to correct my tell the next time I lied. Now I needed to further distract him from asking me the questions I dreaded.

“So what happened to your pretty, refined, and sophisticated noble lady?” I asked.

When Ares had had his first hard-on for me, he’d been displeased. He’d told me straight in my face, “You aren’t even my type. I prefer refined, sophisticated females.”

The prince gave me a sour look, his thumb and finger holding my chin. “Will you turn everything I said against me?”

Even that challenging touch brought me electrifying pleasure. I held my breath and arched an eyebrow, signaling I was waiting for an answer.

“I didn’t stay with Agatha long,” he said. “When I returned to the second floor and you were gone, I lost my mind.” He swallowed. “I panicked. All I wanted was to find you. Nothing else mattered.”

His vulnerability made something flutter in my chest.

“Not even the witch?” I asked.

He snarled. “She isn’t the witch. We’ve established that.”

I sighed at his temper.

“I forgot about her and everything,” he said. “I didn’t even bother to say a word to her when I ran out of the shop to track you. I remembered Merlin said you were being hunted and I had the worst feeling. I summoned Einarr and the guardians. When I found you in that damned alley and saw that fucker swinging his sword at you—” He stopped, unable to continue. But a second later, he was the hard Dragonian prince again. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, Freyja. Stop running! You’ll have your freedom when the time comes, but not sooner, and not at the risk of your life. I’ll make a good arrangement for you and you’ll have a comfortable, safe life when this is over. While we’re searching the true witch, I’ll protect you.”

He still coveted his witch more than anyone and anything. So, it was true that a Dragonian never strayed from a set path, and Prince Darken would never abandon his ambition.

His lust for me was just lust. It was nothing compared to what he thought the First Witch would offer him. He would continue to risk me for her. The warmth I had felt when he’d told me how he had come for me vanished.

My face grew cold, and it wasn’t because of the icy current.

“I’ve never been as afraid as I was when I saw the Angels—” Ares said.

“Angels are fearsome species,” I said flatly, interrupting him.

“I do not fear them,” he said, his voice cold with rage. “I was nearly paralyzed today because I thought I’d been too late. I thought I lost you.”

“If I perish,” I said, “you should return to the Oracle and ask for a refund.”

His arm tightened around me. “Don’t say that,” he said gruffly. “You won’t be harmed under my watch. But I’ll have to think of something to prevent you from running away again.”

“If you think you can chain me,” I said, my voice harder than ice, “you’ll be making the biggest mistake in your life.”

“I’ll never chain you,” he said, “but I can’t allow you to be so ruthless and put yourself in danger.”

I let cold silence stretch between us.

He shook his head. “Why are we quarreling? I just got you back.” He tugged me against his hard chest and buried his face on my hair. “I just got you back,” he murmured, inhaling my scent.

I started crying.

I shouldn’t cry. I’d survived the Angel attack. I had Ares back, even if it was temporary. The Angel’s threat was terrifying, but that wouldn’t make me sob. 

I blamed it on Ares’ chest being so warm and cozy.

“Hush,” he said, squeezing me, his large hand patting my head.

That only made me sniff harder. 

“Hey,” he said, “I’m here. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Until he found his witch.

He scooped me onto his lap and pulled my face a few inches away from his chest so he could wipe my tears away with his thumb, but they just kept streaming down, faster than he could dry them.

He rocked me in his arms and murmured unintelligible words that sounded like lullaby. He’d never been so tender with me, and so I quickly found something I could complain about.

 “You were respectful and gentle to the noblewoman,” I said, my voice breaking. “You’ve never been sweet with me. You always yell at me.”

“Not always,” he said. “I can be tender and caring to you, but you drive me mad most of the time, and the rest of the time I can’t think straight around you, especially when you—” he sighed, then chuckled. “All of this sniveling is because I was nice to another female? I don’t get you, Freyja. I didn’t even flirt with her. But if you’re sour about it, you have only yourself to blame. You set me up with her. Speaking of which, there’ll be consequences . . .”

I didn’t hear the rest of his threats or comforts as I fell asleep on his solid, warm chest with hot tears on my face.