“—almost healed.” Noir’s voice, confused.

“How?” Valance demanded. “I saw the wounds; they were ... they couldn’t have healed that fast.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Azren’s voice was hoarse. “She survived. She survived Balen.” A calloused hand soothed my brow, and then dry lips brushed my cheek.

“This makes no sense?” Valance’s tone was thick with emotion. “How can she be—”

“I don’t know, but we have to protect her.”

I swallowed to moisten my mouth. “I can protect myself. Should have taken K.”

Noir let out a bark of laughter. “And she awakens.”

I groaned. “She ruined my beautiful dustkicker.” Tears leaked from my eyes, but they were tears born from shock, anger, and relief. Alive—I was alive.

“I’ll get you another,” Noir said. “I’ll get you two.”

I peeled my lids back and the room came into focus. Pink and white and fluffy with three huge guys gathered around my bed. It was the beginning of a bad joke, and if I hadn’t felt like I’d been put through a grinder, I’d have probably come up with an apt punchline, but my stunning wit was on a mini hiatus because my body felt as if someone had gone at it with a steak tenderizer.

My gaze traveled from Noir’s lean, concerned face to Valance’s flushed, windblown one to Azren’s battle-scarred, jaw-ticking one.

“Is the wicked witch of the east dead?” My voice was an unflattering croak.

“Water,” Azren demanded. He cupped the back of my neck and lifted me gently.

A glass was pressed to my lips and cool water trickled down my throat. I winced. It hurt to swallow.

“There’s still a lot of healing to be done,” Noir said. “Internal injuries. I can help a little if you’ll permit me.”

Why was he looking at Azren?

Azren nodded, then looked down at me. “Will that be all right?”

“Sure.”

Azren eased me back down onto the pillow, then slipped his hand into mine before slipping off the mattress and kneeling by the side of my bed.

Noir took the spot Azren had vacated, perching on the edge of the mattress. “This may feel strange, Wila. If it hurts, tell me and I’ll stop.”

“It can’t be ... worse than ... already.” Oh, fuck. It hurt to talk. That fucker, Balen. My gaze traveled to Valance. “He dead?”

Valance’s nostrils flared. “Very. I destroyed the contract too. She can’t come for you.”

I closed my eyes, allowing myself a moment to revel in that knowledge, ignoring the burn at the back of my nose. When I opened them, the guys were watching me tensely.

“Do it.”

Noir held his hands a couple of inches above my body and closed his eyes. A thousand fire ants began to feast on my flesh. I bit back a scream, arching up toward his fingers.

“Stop,” Azren ordered. “You’re hurting her.”

“No.” I squeezed Azren’s hand. “Finish it!”

Azren growled and the fire intensified until the scream erupted from me in a screech. The fire winked out, and my body dropped back onto the mattress. My clothes clung to me with perspiration, because heck, ladies don’t sweat.

Well, hello there, wit. You ready to come home?

“Wila? Wila, can you hear me?” Noir asked.

“Yeah. I feel ... better.”

Azren’s grip on my hand loosened a fraction and pleasant warmth seeped into my bones.

“She needs to rest,” Noir said.

“We need to understand how this—”

“Not now,” Azren snapped, cutting off Valance.

He was snapping at the prince? Dammit. Why had I closed my eyes?

Valance wasn’t having any of it, though. “You don’t own her, she’s my—”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“And you can’t discount it. I know what I felt.”

Azren sighed. “Later.”

“Azren, I don’t have the ...”

Don’t have what? What would happen ... Oh. Hello, sleep.

Sleep was a rolling sea that held me captive, tugging me under after each wave. Consciousness remained just outside of my grasp, but the world seeped into the soothing depths of slumber in dribs and drabs: the caress of a calloused finger on my cheek, the brush of lips on my forehead, and the clasp of cool fingers on my hand.

“We’re going to keep you safe,” Noir said. “She won’t get to you.”

Who? Who was going to get me?

The snap of Balen’s teeth followed by terror’s icy grip.

“Okay, you’re safe.” Tay’s delicious rumble. “I’ll kill her. I’ll kill her for you with my bare hands.”

Back under, back into the depths until the next rise.

“You’re going to be okay, kid,” Trevor said. “You’re a fighter, and you’re going to be fine.” A sniff. “Dammit, Wila. We almost lost you.” A wet nose nudged my face. “What would we do without you ...”

Darkness dragged me under.

Cool fingers traced my brow and trailed down my cheek.

“Mmm.” It felt good. Nice. But sleep still had a claim on my body, holding it under the surface, keeping me a prisoner, allowing me to simply peek through a hazy veil. Long fingers twined with mine, and a delicious prickle ran over the skin of my forearm. A soft gasp was followed by an ironic laugh.

“I have to go,” Valance said softly.

I frowned. “No.”

His thumb brushed my bottom lip. The fingers of the hand he was holding tingled. I needed to wake up properly, needed to see. This was important.

“Pink, who would have thought,” he said musingly. “But I’ll let you in on a little secret ... it’s always been my favorite of all the colors—the color of dawn, of twilight, and the color of your cheeks when you’re overcome with arousal. But I see why you hide it. I see why you don the persona. I understand, because we’re the same, you and me. I felt it the first time we met. I wish I could stay to explore this further.”

His breath brushed my cheek, and I struggled to peel back my lids, to break from the sleep paralysis and look into his dazzling irises. I needed to watch his dragon pupils dilate and see myself reflected in the inky darkness.

His sigh was a protest. “All this time, I thought I was broken. All this time, I thought I was insane. The truth shall set you free, they say, but not for me. Never me. The truth is my shackle, and now I have to go, but I want you to know that I’m honored that it’s you, and I wish ... I wish that it didn’t have to be this way.”

My pulse fluttered in agitation. Go? No. He couldn’t go. He had to stay because ... because a door had opened up inside me, a door for him to step through. He needed to stay. I needed him to stay.

“Don’t come after me. Survive for the both of us,” he said.

“Please.” My eyes snapped open to inky darkness.

“It’s all right.” Azren’s breath tickled my ear.

The world slowly bled into focus, my back to his chest, and his arms around my waist holding me loosely, carefully.

“I’m here. Sleep.”

No. I needed to wake up. Valance ... There was something I had to do and it was related to ... My mind churned, trying to grasp the important action that was slipping away, but my body had other ideas. It relaxed against Azren and dove back into the sea of slumber.

“It’s good to see some color in your cheeks,” Gilbert said, setting a tea tray on my bedside table.

I ran a hand over my face. “How long have I been asleep? Where is everyone? What time is it?”

He chuckled. “Almost seventy-two hours. But Noir said that was normal for healing. They’ve all been here, taking it in turns to sit with you. Tay, Noir, Valance, and, of course, Azren, although I get the impression he would rather have monitored you on his own. Tay and Noir left an hour ago; they both had business to attend to, but they said they’d be back. I’m not sure about Valance. He was just gone, and I only just managed to convince Azren to go eat something. Oh, and it’s almost six p.m.”

I pressed a hand to my temple. They’d all been here. They’d stayed with me. Seventy-two hours. Shit. It felt like yesterday. Balen’s face, his ghastly face and rotten breath ... A fist clamped itself around my lungs, making it difficult to breathe for a moment.

“Wila?” Gilbert’s phantom hands brushed my face. “It’s all right. It’s over. You’re safe.”

I was home. I was fucking home. The fist eased up, and my breathing evened out. “I’m okay.”

I didn’t need to see his face to imagine the concern etched into it. He poured me some tea but didn’t hand it to me. “How’s the pain?”

I glanced down at my abdomen and carefully lifted my T-shirt to examine the pale, scarred flesh beneath. Long lines ran across the whole of my stomach, raised in angry red and white welts.

“It will heal fully,” Gilbert said. “Noir said it will take time. The wounds were deep.” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat before continuing. “You seemed to have healed some of it yourself, but the rest Noir helped with.”

I’d healed myself—another change to my body, another strange occurrence. I covered up the scars and squeezed my eyes shut, blocking out the terrifying image of Balen’s face flaring to life in my mind again. “I couldn’t fight him, Gil. He was too strong. I ... I’ve never felt that helpless before. No K, no daggers, nothing.”

“But you survived.”

My eyes pricked. “No, I just kept him busy until Valance arrived. I ran, Gil. I ran because I wasn’t powerful enough to stop him from hurting me.”

All this time, I’d fought alone. I’d put myself in danger time and time again, and I’d come home unscathed, triumphant, and I’d believed I was invincible, but Balen had shattered it all. In that chamber, I’d been stripped bare and he’d won. Valance had saved me, but Balen had bested me because he was here with me, in my fucking head.

“You survived, Wila. You held your own against a Shedim, a demon of great power.”

“Because of you. You gave me your strength.”

He was silent for a long beat. “I didn’t give you anything, Wila. I simply gave you the confidence to believe in yourself, to keep pushing and not give in.”

“But you said—”

“It was a wish, a prayer. Nothing more. But I’m ever grateful it gave you strength.”

Me. That had been me. I’d withstood Balen alone until Valance had come. I’d survived. Not so weak after all.

“You may not be all powerful,” Gil continued. “You may not have the Arcana, or the physical strength of your adversaries, but you have the strength of will and determination of a warrior. You have the wit and intelligence of a master thief, and you have the heart of a lion.”

My throat tightened with emotion. “I love you, Gil.”

“I love you too, Wila.”

Dammit, I needed a hug.

The bed dipped as he sat down and then his presence wrapped around me, warm and comforting. I closed my eyes and reveled in it for long seconds. He withdrew slowly, reluctantly. “Azren has been different with you since you returned. Valance too ...”

Things had happened, so many little things, and my mind was still wrapping itself around them, trying to tease out what it all meant.

I pulled back. “When Elora was beating Azren, I think I connected with him, and I saw stuff. I saw the truth about Elora, about what she did to enslave the Shedim, how she convinced them that she was saving them.” I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Azren about what we’d shared yet, but saying it out loud now helped to get it straight in my mind. “There was a treaty, an agreement with the Shedim for equality, and she killed Ivan. She ruined his vision of peace and created one of her own where the Shedim believed her to be some kind of savior and willingly allowed themselves to be enslaved. She told me she changed historical memory. But she wouldn’t tell me how.”

Gilbert was silent for a long time, and when he spoke, his tone was reflective. “She succeeded in manipulating the memory of a whole race?”

“And the Draconi, because I won’t believe Valance knew about any of this. He couldn’t have.” Something niggled at the back of my mind. The way he’d helped me, the way he’d been eager to find the rogue Shedim to protect me from his mother. The way he’d wanted to be involved. “I think ... I think he may have suspected something, though.”

“I know of no Arcana magic powerful enough to manipulate memory in such a way,” Gilbert said. “But we know very little of the magic that Draconi have access to.”

The puzzle pieces were falling into place. “The rebels know the truth. It has to be why they’re rebelling. They must have evaded whatever she did. And telling Shedim the truth doesn’t help, because whatever she did to them prevents them from hearing it. That’s probably why they’ve been taking Shedim. They’re probably doing the whip thing to them that they did to Azren. That glowing whip somehow undoes whatever she’s done. No wonder she’s so frantic. She knows there’s a weapon out there that can counter her memory manipulation.” But there was more. “The whip touched me too.” I stared at my hands, recalling the talons that had pushed out of my fingertips. “And now something’s happening to me.”

“Tell me.”

“I grew talons.”

“Talons?” He sounded perplexed.

“Yes, talons.” I held up my hands and wiggled my fingers. “From my fingers, and I’m pretty sure I had scales cover my arm too. It didn’t last long, but I swear I saw it. Gil, something’s wrong.”

There was a long beat of silence, and then he handed me my cup of tea. I took a sip, glad it was still hot.

“Not necessarily wrong. Maybe you’re coming into your neph power,” Gilbert said. “We have no idea who sired you, but I can document the changes and maybe they’ll give us some clue.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Of course.” Gentle pressure swept over the crown of my head. “There’s nothing to fear, Wila. You’re safe, and we will figure this out together.”

The door opened and Trevor padded in. He leapt up onto the bed and stared at me. “She looks pale,” he said.

“I thought she had a little more color to her cheeks than yesterday,” Gilbert countered.

“No, that’s the reflection from all the damned pink in the room.” He sniffed.

I bit back a smile. “You’re in my room, Trev.”

He huffed.

“That means you must love me.”

“Pah.” But if a dog could smile, then he’d be smiling. His nose wrinkled. “Someone needs a shower.”

I raised an arm and sniffed my armpit. Urgh. Yep, definitely coming from me. But the idea of standing in the shower or climbing in and out of the bath didn’t appeal. My limbs still felt like jelly.

Something bumped the door and Trevor rolled his eyes. “Bloody Hound.”

Pushing back the duvet, I shuffled out of bed and padded to the door. Hound lay across the threshold like a sentry. He raised his head at the sight of me, and then nudged my knee as if to say, glad you’re okay.

I buried a hand in the fur behind his ear and then crouched down to press my face against the top of his head. He tensed and then relaxed in increments. Whoever he was, wherever he’d come from, I was grateful for his solid presence.

“Hey, fancy helping me to the bathroom?”

Hound stood and, using him as a crutch, I hobbled my way across the hall to have a wash.

Feeling a little fresher than before, I climbed down the stairs with Gilbert hovering at my back and Hound at my side. Every step was a jarring experience, but we made it. Hound padded off into the lounge and Gilbert did his going-away thing because Azren was close. I could sense him, hear his heartbeat. No, that was fanciful and pretty impossible.

Azren was seated at the table, the Daily Vine spread out in front of him. The sight of the Shedim sent warmth rushing through my limbs and collecting at the base of my spine. It traveled upward and settled at the nape of my neck.

I stepped through the arch into the kitchen, and his head whipped up.

“Wila.” His eyes flared bright jade and his jaw set. He shoved his seat back with a scrape, strode across the kitchen, and swept me up into his arms.

“Whoa. What the heck?”

“You’re supposed to be resting.” He walked out of the kitchen and back up the stairs.

I tapped his chest with my index finger. “I’m hungry.”

He faltered for a moment but then continued up the stairs. “I will bring you food.”

“Um, okay, caveman. I’m perfectly capable of making myself a meal.”

“Ahem,” Gilbert said from behind us.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I’m perfectly capable of making myself some cereal and ordering a takeaway.”

But we were back in my pink haven and Azren was lowering me onto the mattress as if I were made of cut glass. He hovered over me for a second, lips pressed together, and then he sank onto the bed beside me. His bare arm brushed mine, and his familiar scent seeped into my head.

Gilbert’s presence retreated and the door closed softly, leaving us alone.

He studied me, his intense gaze tracking my features like tiny caresses. “You’re not fully healed. You need to stay in bed.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sore. But I’d be a lot worse if Noir hadn’t done his mojo thing. I can’t stand being cooped up.”

“You healed some of the wounds on your own.”

“I did?”

“Yes.”

Our gazes locked and my pulse skipped as the connection between us zinged.

The expression that crossed his features was part pain, part pleasure. “Can you feel it?” His voice was a low, rumbling caress.

I could feel something—liquid heat low in my belly, a gentle throb at the apex of my thighs, and a delicious knot of anticipation in my chest. I could feel tendrils of ether emanating from his skin and skimming over mine in an ethereal caress. I could feel a tug in my solar plexus every time our gazes tangled.

“What ... What is it?” I leaned into him instinctively, and he laced his fingers with mine, squeezing gently. “What happened in that chamber? What happened between us?” There was a part of me that knew, and that understood clearly what we’d done, but the other part, grounded in reality, needed to hear him say it.

He ran the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip, his breath ragged. “Remember I told you that every Shedim had another half, a Kindred, born on the same day as them.”

“Yes.” My voice was a breathless whisper.

“I think ... I think you’re mine.” He cupped my face, the calluses on his palms sending delicious signals to my brain, and tilted it so our lips were a hairbreadth apart. “I don’t understand how, you’re barely over two decades old, while I’m closer to seventy, but the connection is there.” He frowned slightly. “Although this kindred bond isn’t how others described it to be. The connection is muted. It makes no sense. You aren’t Shedim, and yet, somehow you feel like you belong to me.”

Muted? This tugging, yearning, constant need was muted? What would an unmuted connection feel like?

His lips hovered over mine before dipping to brush across my mouth, feather-light. This was it, this inexorable need to be in his orbit, this sudden innate understanding of his desires. He’d barely touched my mouth with his and my lips were throbbing, begging for more as if intoxicated by his attentions. I needed his tongue in my mouth, needed his weight pressing down on me, grinding against me until I unraveled.

His gasp was a ragged sound as he released me and tucked in his chin. “You need to stop.”

“What?”

He closed his eyes and cracked his neck, breathing through his nose. His hands were fists on the duvet. He flexed his fingers and slowly opened his eyes. “Your thoughts ... The things you want me to do to you ...”

Oh, shit. “You can read me? I thought you said you wouldn’t do that.” My cheeks heated with indignation.

“I wasn’t reading you. You were speaking to me, pushing your needs into my mind, and dammit, Wila, if you don’t stop, I won’t be able to resist giving you what you want.”

He kept his gaze averted and desire rose like a wicked wave inside me. “Look at me.”

He made a strangled sound. “Fuck no.”

I placed a hand on his thigh, moving it upward, slowly, inch by inch. “Look at me.” The muscles of his thigh contracted sharply beneath my fingers. And, yeah, I was playing with fire, but the ache between my thighs begged me to continue, to tell him how I needed him to touch me in my most intimate places.

His chest rumbled in warning a split second before he turned toward me. His hand grasped the nape of my neck and his mouth came down on mine, crushing, desperate, and hungry. I opened for him, ready for the sting and lap of his teeth and tongue and the coppery taste of my blood. But this time, the sting didn’t come; his teeth clashed harmlessly with mine, and it was me that claimed his tongue, sucking on it and drawing it into my mouth, swallowing his moan.

His hand slid down over my breasts, cupping and kneading as I swelled against him, and then he reached my stomach and flames raced across my torso. My body tensed around a wince.

“Wila, fuck.” He tore himself away. “You’re still healing.”

“I’m fine. I can take it.”

He swung his legs off the bed so his back was to me. I watched the rise and fall of his shoulders as he got himself under control.

I gnawed on my bottom lip. “I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s not your fault. It’s me. I don’t know how to do ... gentle. I just ... I don’t want to hurt you.” When he turned to face me, the glow in his eyes had ebbed. He was back in the driver’s seat. He leaned back against the headboard and pulled me against him. “Let me just hold you.”

I laced my fingers with his again. How could this feel so right? How could we fit together so well? “What happened at the Keep? How did you get away?”

“Noir came for me. He had a transponder.”

“But how could he have known?”

“Valance called him.”

The way Noir had reprimanded Valance that time he’d gotten too close to me, the way they’d bantered back and forth, it suggested familiarity, but they’d never admitted knowing each other outside of their association with me.

I sat up, twisting slightly to look into Azren’s face. “Don’t you think it’s strange that Valance has Noir’s digits? I think they know each other from before they got involved with me.”

“There’s only one way to know for sure and that’s to ask them.”

I sat back. “So, Noir got you out using the transponder ... where were you?”

His heart beat a little faster beneath my palm. “It doesn’t matter.”

I closed my eyes, biting back a scream. “She had you, didn’t she? She was ... she was forcing you to be with her.”

Azren gripped my hand, the one that was on his chest. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over now.”

But it wasn’t. It would never be over until she paid for the abuse and the hurt she’d caused him. It wouldn’t be over until I ripped out her evil heart, and he knew it.

“Was she with you when Noir found you?”

“No.” He’d gone all tense beside me.

Oh, God. She’d finished using him and left him alone. My heart ached for him, and impotent fury writhed in my gut. But pushing the subject, forcing him to recall it, to speak about it, wasn’t fair. I forced myself to relax against him, to exhale the rage that was building up inside me, and his muscles unknotted in response.

“What happens now?” We needed to be realistic, prepared. “No lies, Azren. No kidding ourselves.”

He let out a rumbling sigh. “We know her secret. She won’t let us go.”

“But it’s not as if any Shedim will believe us. Balen didn’t even bat an eye.” Safe in Azren’s arms, saying my attacker’s name didn’t evoke the same fear it had earlier. He was dead. He was gone. I was safe. “I don’t think he even heard me.”

“But the neph here will. They may believe us,” Azren pointed out.

“But they won’t care. The Collective won’t get involved in Draconi business, not unless it affects them directly.” Something Elora had said tickled the back of my mind. “Not unless they believe Elora is planning something else, something bigger.” I looked up at Azren. “She said that soon no one would remember me, not you or anyone else. She said nothing we’d seen would matter.”

“You think she’s planning something targeted at this side of the border?”

“How else would she get my loved ones to forget me ...” A horrific thought gripped my mind. “Oh, God. The spell, whatever she did to your people, what if she’s planning the same for us?”

Azren sat forward and the muscles across his abdomen flexed under his shirt. “If that’s the case, then we’ll need proof. We’ll need to find out exactly how she did it the first time to understand how she could do it again.”

“We’ll need someone who was there, someone who can tell The Collective what happened.”

“We need a rogue Shedim,” Azren said softly.

And just like that, we were back at square one, but it was a plan. A fucking good one.

We were on the same wavelength, and it was surreal. “She’ll come for us not just because we know the truth but also because of you. She wants you, Azren. She’s obsessed.”

He went still, his breath hitching. “I’m no longer bound to her will or her lies. If she comes, she’ll have a fight on her hands.”

My gaze fell to the V of his T-shirt, catching sight of the inky tendrils of the tattoo that had materialized when Elora had been beating him.

I ran a finger over the exposed inked skin. “What does this mean?”

He glanced down at his chest with a frown. “I don’t know, but maybe the rogue Shedim will be able to help us understand it. Maybe they can help us understand why our Kindred is different and how it is we have one in the first place.”

Elora had thrown me to Balen just because she thought we were lovers. What would she have done if she’d realized we were Kindred? She’d claimed him, made him her slave in every way. She’d begrudged him happiness. She needed to pay for all the pain she’d caused, not only to Azren but to Valance too. But there was more I needed to understand.

“Azren. Why you? Why did she pick you?”

He shifted, tucking me against him securely. “I was chosen after a series of trials. If I’d known then what being her chosen would mean, I’d have never entered. But I was young, boisterous, and ambitious. I won and she claimed me as her own in every way.” He was silent for a long beat. “I told myself it was an honor. That she was my liege, and that I was her servant. I tried to love her.” His voice cracked. “But Elora’s love is like a venomous viper that strikes repeatedly. It’s insanity and darkness, and yet I believed her to be our savior. She’d cut away a part of her soul by killing Ivan in order to save us. I told myself that I owed her mine.”

“I get it. You were loyal. What I don’t get is why she needed you, and why she made you hurt Valance?”

He squeezed my hand slightly. “I’ve asked myself the same question a hundred times and come to no solid conclusion. As for her abuse of Valance ... That is Valance’s story to tell, and I wouldn’t disrespect him by stealing that right.”

A sleepy memory bloomed in my mind—Valance’s voice telling me goodbye. Had that been a dream? My heart sped up. “Where is Valance?”

Azren looked down at me. “I don’t know. He left without saying goodbye.”

Goodbye.

“Azren, why do I have this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach?”

Azren’s grip on my hand tightened again. “Wila ...Valance will explain it all when he returns.”

His tone was assured, acting like a comforting blanket, but there was another layer to it, one that needed to be peeled back to expose what he was hiding.

A yawn cracked my jaw.

Azren shifted on the bed. “Let me get you some food.”

But the hunger was gone, washed away by weariness. “No. I just want to sleep. Will you stay? Will you wake me when the others get back?”

In answer, he shuffled down to lie with me. I rolled onto my side, and he pushed up behind me so my back was to his front. I drifted away, coasting on the fringes of sleep, aware of his body behind me, taut, powerful, and mine.

“Azren ...”

He answered me with his lips on the nape of my neck, with his tongue licking at the top of my spine, and with his hands skimming over my hips, fingers tracing patterns over the exposed skin where my top had ridden up.

“Sleep.” His voice was like distant thunder.

But sleep was suddenly the last thing I wanted. Instead, I pushed my hips back into him, desperate to feel the length and girth of him. His arousal pressed against the base of my spine, hot and hard.

“Wila, dammit, woman.”

My skin sang his name, calling to him to soothe the chill fever that had taken hold. He answered with a growl, slipping his arm around me and sliding his hand into the waistband of my PJs. He cupped me, his breath hot on the nape of my neck, forehead pressed to the back of my skull.

“I’m going to touch you, Wila. I’m going to make you feel good.”

My mouth was suddenly dry as my body coiled, ready for the invasion. And then his fingers dipped into me, rough yet gentle, deftly sliding across my secret place, alternating between slick strokes and maddening circles until there was nothing but the sound of my whimpers and gasps, nothing but the blood roaring in my ears and the jerk of my hips as he played me to my ultimate conclusion. My cries were swallowed by his mouth and soothed by his tongue as I rode the wave.

We lay side by side, wrapped in silence, while blood pounded in my ears and my thighs trembled. He ran his thumb over the back of my hand, his breath as ragged as mine. He’d sent me freefalling into an abyss of pleasure, every sense was heightened, and yet he was still unfulfilled.

I reached for him.

“No.” He gripped my wrist. “It will be worth the wait.”

He rose above me, his harsh features highlighted lovingly by moonlight. “I think I know where Trevor hid the mint choc chip ice cream ...”

Joy was a real, potent, living thing doing backflips in my chest. “You do?”

“Behind the box of waffles.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead and then swung his legs off the bed. “I will feed you.”

“Okay, caveman.”

He paused at the door to look back at me, his lips twisted in an emotion I failed to catch before the door closed softly behind him.

This was real. Him and me and this connection I’d had no control over. I’d run from this very thing for so long, and yet now that it had happened unwittingly, there was no fear, no anxiety, it was what it was and it felt right. Was this what Tay would feel like when he mated? Thorns buried themselves in my chest.

What was that? Jealousy? Should that even be there now that I’d found my Kindred? Azren was right, we needed to find the rogue Shedim and get some answers, and as soon as I was healed, we’d start scouting the undercity for them. Not for Elora, but for ourselves, because, fuck that bitch.

A loud crash and then a series of growls had me leaping from the bed and then falling to the floor as daggers pierced my belly.

Fuck, fuck, what was that?

I made it to the door, vision clearing.

“Azren?”

Another crash. I sucked in a breath as a sharp pain slashed my side.

Shit. Blocking out the pain and riding the adrenaline, I broke into a run.

The kitchen was carnage. Hound was on the table, his teeth bared, ready to pounce. Azren was on the ground nursing a wound to his side, and two Shedim I’d never seen hovered by the fridge.

“Azren!” I made to step into the room.

“No! Wila, get back.”

Gilbert materialized inside the room and a kettle flew across the kitchen, hitting one of the Shedim in the shoulder.

“What the hell is going on?” Trevor yelled from the foyer.

Hound leapt in front of the door, blocking my entrance.

“No! Get out of the way, dammit.” I shoved at his bulk as further crashes and thuds emanated from inside. My chest burned with fiery impotence. “Move or I swear I’ll never forgive you.”

“Wila, no.” Gilbert’s presence wrapped around me, holding me back.

“I swear, Gil, if you don’t let go of me ...”

Hound’s body tensed and then he shifted out of the way. Gilbert held on for a moment longer before letting me go. Heart in my mouth, rage churning in my chest, I rushed into the room in time to see one of the Shedim grab Azren in a headlock and slip a silver robe over his head. Azren went completely still, his eyes wide with shock. Our gazes locked and there was no mistaking the sorrow in his eyes.

This was goodbye.

This was defeat.

“No!” I made a grab for Azren.

I never made it. The second Shedim knocked me to the ground. My shoulder jarred, sending electrical shocks through my arm. I flipped onto my back to see a dagger glinting in an arc headed for my heart. No time to scream, no time to block, but Hound’s jaws clamped around the arm wielding the weapon. He yanked and then propelled the Shedim across the room. The demon slammed into the cooker, shook his head to clear it, and then flew over our heads toward Azren and his captor. The Shedim linked hands, Azren held immobile between them, and then the one that had attacked held up a flat blue disc. His lips stretched in a smug smile.

No. “No!” I pushed off the ground, biting back the agony. “Hound, stop them.” My voice came out as a strained rasp.

Hound leapt over me and barreled toward the Shedim but met thin air.

Azren was gone.

“Valance. I need Valance.”

“Wila, slow down. You need to slow down,” Gilbert instructed.

Anger bubbled up and exploded from my lips. “Why didn’t you help him instead of trying to stop me? We could have saved him. We could have ...” My lungs constricted, and I slumped onto the step, hand on the banister, pain in my heart. “She has him, she has him. Oh, God. You don’t understand.” Too much, it was too much. My Azren. Elora had my Azren.

“He made me swear,” Gilbert said. “He made me swear that if they came for him, I was to protect you.”

My head jerked up. “He knew she’d come for him?”

“He suspected.”

I bit the insides of my cheeks hard enough to draw blood, hard enough to hurt, to clear my mind. “Valance will know what to do.” I pulled myself up. “Help me get to my room. I need to summon him.”

Gilbert and Hound propelled me up the steps and onto the third floor. There was no time to dwell on the stabbing pain in my abdomen, no time to sit and breathe. The ring was in my bedside drawer. I slipped it on, pushing hard to get it onto my pinky, and then twisted it, biting back a yelp as it scraped against my skin—way too tight.

He’d be here. He’d be here in a moment.

Long seconds ticked by and nothing happened.

I tried again and again, but nothing.

“Wila ...” Gilbert patted my back.

I shrugged him off. “No. This has to work. It ...” The word was swallowed by a sob. “Fuck this. Fuck this shit.” I grabbed my phone and speed dialed Noir. It went straight to voicemail. “Argh!” My shoulders shook with frustrated sobs.

“Wila!” Taylem’s bellow carried up the stairs and then the thud of his boots followed as he took the stairs two at a time. He burst into my room, blinking at the overload of pink, and then zeroed in on me. “What the fuck happened?” He fell to his knees beside me. His large, warm hands wiped at the tears on my cheeks. “Wila, talk to me. Are you hurt?”

“They took him, Tay. Elora sent them to take him. They took Azren.”

Tay’s tawny gaze darkened. “Fuck! I knew I should have stuck around. He was worried they’d find a way to get into the city.”

“They had transponders.”

A storm cloud passed across Tay’s face. “They broke the Treaty.”

“But who the fuck is gonna believe us? Who is going to care?”

With the contract destroyed, Azren shouldn’t even have been here. I was planning on speaking to Loraine, offering to work for The Collective to get him an exemption allowing him to live here. We were going to find the rogues. We were going to make Elora pay for the lies, and now ... now he was gone. The tears were back, stinging my eyes, choking me as a tide of sorrow swelled in my chest, because she’d make him pay. She’d hurt him because she could.

My nails dug into the duvet, and then Tay made a strangled sound. He gently gripped my wrist and lifted it up. The duvet rose with it, attached to my hand by the talons that had punctured it.

I stared at them now—stupid fucking things. Where had they been when I needed them?

“Wila, what the fuck?” Tay asked.

A wave of nausea assaulted me as the adrenaline that had been coursing through me dissipated. I slipped to the floor, knees hitting the rug, and wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me back, stroking my hair, his chest rumbling with soothing sounds. We remained like that for long minutes and then slowly, carefully, he pulled away, pushing me back so he could look down into my face. His eyes were brimming with compassion, but his mouth was a harsh line.

“I want to help, but you need to tell me everything.” His head whipped up at the sound of more footsteps coming up the stairs.

Noir entered the room, bringing the scent of fresh rain with him. His golden hair was plastered to his scalp, his fancy clothes dripping wet.

“Wila ...”

The tight knot in my chest loosened a fraction.

I held out my hand to him. “We need to help him. We need to get Azren back.”

“Valance is gone.” I sipped my tea, stretched out a jogger-clad leg, and stared at the metal door. “Noir said his ambassadorship was revoked. They shipped him back over the border. The bitch has got them both.” My tone was unemotional and measured. No point wasting the fire now. Best to store it up, best to let it burn deep inside until it was time to roar.

“But she won’t get to keep them for long, will she, Wila?” the voice said.

“No. She won’t.”

“Because you’re going to find a way to get them back.” He said it with confidence, his smooth, dulcet tones soothing the rage that wanted to burst from beneath my skin. “If anyone can pull this off, it’s you.”

“Damn straight, I can.”

“Be careful, because she’s not done with you. She wants you dead, and she’ll try again.”

Yes, the bitch wouldn’t be able to handle the fact that Azren was connected to me. She’d want to hurt him, and what better way to do that but to kill me. But dying was not part of my plan. Killing the dragon liege was. I just needed a way to do it, and the rogue Shedim were my only hope. With Tay and Noir on my side, I’d find a way to get Valance and Azren back, and then together, we’d bring the dragon bitch to her knees.

The voice made a sound of exasperation. “Are you running an inner monologue?”

I cleared my throat. “No.”

“You so are.”

“Am not.”

“I could help, you know ...”

“Help?”

“With getting your Kindred back.”

I snorted. “Nice try.” It was time to take my leave. Slowly pushing out of the chair, I began my totally unbadass hobble toward the stairs.

“You wonder why I’m locked away ...”

I paused. “Yeah, and you refuse to tell me.”

He laughed. “I’d have thought it was obvious.”

“You’re dangerous.”

“Maybe, but only to those that deserve it. I’m locked away because I have power, a shit-ton of it, and my captor is afraid of that power, but Wila, there is no need for you to fear me. Let me out, and I promise we’ll be the best of friends. I’ll get your Kindred back ... I’ll get you everything you’ve ever fucking wanted.”

It was the first time he’d used a curse word, and it sent a delicious shiver up my spine. There was something new in his tone tonight. He’d been asking me to let him out for as long as I could recall, but always as an afterthought, as if he didn’t really believe I’d comply. It had become our thing, a joke, the way to end our little conversational trysts, but tonight, he was different. His tone was saturated with concern, and his demand to be set free was brimming with intent and fire.

My feet had already taken several steps toward the metal door before I came to my senses and ground to a halt.

“Wila, just open the door.” There was a magnetic quality to his tone that resonated deep inside me.

I took another step toward the door.

“You need me, Wila. I need you.” His voice cracked.

I reached out and placed my palm flat against the cool metal.

His sigh penetrated my bones, turning my knees weak. I needed to open the door. Needed to let him out. I needed to see.

A loud clatter and thud from above sliced through the tension that had gripped my mind. Shit. I dropped my hand to my side and backed up. What the heck had I been thinking?

A low groan emanated from behind me—despair, pain, imploration—and my feet faltered before I forced them to turn away, walk to the steps, and begin to climb. I reached the top and pulled open the door.

“Stop fighting your instincts, just open the door.” His voice was a seductive purr that tugged at every part of me. It was as if he’d reached out and gripped the back of my neck in a desperate lover’s caress.

My spine stiffened. “Not happening. Not today, not ev—”

“Never say never, Wila.”

The door slammed behind me, and it was only then I realized he’d had the last word.

Chapter 1

Being stuck in a disused sewer pipe, surrounded by the stench of shit, with Noir’s hand on my boob, wasn’t my idea of fun.

“What is ... Argh!” He pulled his hand back as if my tit had just caught fire. “Sorry. I—”

“It’s fine. Not the first time I’ve been groped in a dark tunnel, although the last time had been intentional and much less stinky.”

He cleared his throat. “Just let me get some light going.”

“While you’re at it, maybe get us some gas masks. Ooo, can you make it smell like daisies down here?”

The tunnel lit up with weak light. “This is the best I can do if I’m going to sustain it.”

His golden hair was brushed back off his forehead today, and his lean face was all planes and angles. He had a hard face, intelligent and inquisitive, but the thick, dark lashes framing his baby blues softened it a little.

He glanced down at me. “Lead the way, map lady.”

Who knew that even dried up, uber old sewer systems that had been flushed out before being sealed would reek like the inside of a Karnworm’s anus. We began to trudge through the network.

It had taken almost a week to heal from the injuries Balen had inflicted. Precious time we couldn’t afford to waste, but there had been no choice but to wait. One of the guys had needed to be with me at all times for fear that Elora would send more Shedim to kill me. Noir hadn’t been able to ward against the use of transponders and so my home was vulnerable. And that was another thing Noir was looking into—how Elora had gotten her mitts on the tech in the first place.

This was the second day of our search and I’d switched Tay for Noir. For some reason, being underground made Tay super antsy and growly. It was as if being surrounded by all the earth teased at his troll, bringing it to the surface. An hour down here and all I’d managed to get from him were grunts. Then our flashlights had died. Thank God for Tay’s super sight or we’d have been stuck down here forever. Okay, maybe not forever, because Noir was only a phone call way and there was enough reception to make a call. But still, things had felt a little hairy.

But Noir was on Wila watch today. He’d cleared his calendar and everything. Between the two of them, Tay and Noir had made sure I was never left alone. They’d taken rooms at casa de Bastion, and everywhere I stepped there was evidence of Tay or Noir. I’d have protested except I wasn’t dumb. Elora had Azren and Valance, but I was still free. I knew her secret, and the longer she left me alive, the better chance of me doing something with it.

Noir had been unsuccessful in finding out anything about Valance’s fate, and Elora had upped her border security. Getting into Draconi territory was not going to be easier, but if we managed to get The Collective on our side then maybe we could find an official way in. But the only way to do that was to convince them that Elora was a direct threat which brought us to our sewer search. We needed to make contact with the rogue Shedim. We needed to find out the truth.

The light bobbed up ahead of us as we navigated in silence.

“How many more areas are left on the map?” Noir asked, keeping his voice low.

“Just the tunnels under the Turnaround Forest, but guess where the entrance to those is?”

“The Petting Zoo?”

“Yep, and I doubt Lex Hunter will be accommodating enough to give us access.”

“You never know.”

I snorted. “Yeah, well we won’t have a choice but to try if we get no joy here.”

Yep, I was not looking forward to that conversation. Tay was on standby to take me to the next event at the Petting Zoo in two days’ time, where, hopefully I’d be able to charm the pants off Lex, figuratively speaking of course. Although, if it meant ultimately saving Azren and Valance, maybe I’d even go the whole hog and do it literally.

We turned a corner and then another. My eyes scanned the map, checking off the route as we went, looking for doors, hidden passageways, anything that might lead to a secret lair. But as the minutes ticked by, my heart sank.

And then we came upon a dead end.

“Fuck.” I folded up the map. “Let’s retrace our steps then take another route.”

Noir followed me back the way we’d come, but the futility of this exercise was a bitter taste on my tongue. The Shedim weren’t down here amongst the stench of shit. We were wasting our time and meanwhile Elora had my guys. A week. She’d had them a week and every minute, every hour, that she kept them was a fresh shard burrowing under my nails. My fingers prickled as if in response, and a cursory inspection revealed the damn talons again. Stupid things—always showed up when not needed. I’d have to report to Gil once we got back. He’d been keeping note off my new abilities. Trying to figure out what the heck was happening to me. I hoped to God that whatever it was, was kickass enough to rip Elora’s smug face off.

“We’ll get them back, Wila. I promise,” Noir said. “We have the gala tomorrow, and between us, we’ll get the information we need.”

Ah, the gala, a chance to dress up and mingle with the elite, but also the perfect opportunity to meet the new Draconi ambassador. The perfect chance to discover what the heck had happened to Valance.

I linked arms with Noir. “Come on, let’s get this over with. If we stay down here any longer than necessary, I swear the stink is gonna get into my skin.”

With a chuckle, he picked up the pace.

Wet footprints led out of my bathroom and vanished into the hallway carpet. Seriously? Again? I’d let it go the first time, but Noir really needed to stick to the fourth floor and his own bathroom ... Azren’s bathroom. I’d have to have words with him about this. My bathroom was my fluffy, pink haven. It smelled of ... My raspberry body wash! Urgh. What the heck? Now that was going too far. Okay, calm down Bastion, the bottle cost a bomb but making Noir feel really bad about using it might mean a brand new bottle. Funny how the thought of new stuff always succeeded in making me feel better. Locking the door, I switched on the hot water and stepped under the spray.

Time to wash away the icky stench.

A half hour later, dressed in a casual, knee-length skirt and camisole top, I found Noir lounging in the ... lounge, nursing a cup of tea. Gilbert had prepared a tray and it sat on the coffee table in front of Noir. There were even scones—warm, buttery, ready-to-be-slathered-with-jam-and-cream scones. Mmmm. The television was on low, some chat show with people shouting at each other.

Noir set down his cup when I entered, his gaze widening slightly as he took in my attire.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, it’s a skirt. Yes, I do have legs, and no, I don’t show them off enough.” I gave him a twirl.

He bit back a smile and poured some tea into my special cup. “Skirts suit you. You have nice legs.”

“Nice? Heck, I have epic legs.” I sniffed. Did he think a compliment would let him off the hook for using my shower? He was going to have to do better than that. I crossed my arms under my breasts. “You have your own shower, you know.”

He balked. “Um, yes.” His expression cleared, and he raised an arm to sniff his pit. “Do I still smell?”

“What? No. I mean why are you using mine?”

“Using your what?”

Oh, look at him and his poker face. “My shower.”

He frowned looking sincerely confused. “Wila, I did not use your shower.”

“Oh, really? Tell that to the wet footprints and the raspberry haze.” A thought occurred to me. “In fact ...” I bounded onto the sofa and stuck my nose into the crook of his neck before inhaling deeply. A fresh, zesty tang filled my head and my stomach contracted then flipped hard. Oh, God. He smelled good. Too good.

“Wila?”

His voice sounded strange. Strangled and then I realized where my hand was—high up on his thigh, right by his ... “Whoa!” I backed up. Hands in the air. “Shit, Noir. I’m sorry.”

He took a moment, swallowed and licked his lips. “Would you mind explaining what you were doing? Because it seemed to me that you were sniffing me?”

I winced. “I thought you’d smell of raspberries.”

He frowned in confusion. “And why in the world would you think that?”

“Someone’s been using my bathroom. Since the only people living here who’d use a shower are you, me and Tay, and Tay isn’t here, I thought it was you.”

He canted his head. “No. Definitely not me.” He made an ‘o’ with his mouth. “Wait, Trevor said Tay swung by earlier. Maybe he took a shower then?”

“Yeah. That explains it.”

“Are you going to sniff him too?” Noir asked with a small smile.

Sniffing Tay meant getting close which was a bad, bad idea. “It’s cool. I’ll just have words. I know it seems petty but that’s my space, you know?”

“I get it. I get this must be hard for you, having Tay and me invade your home like this.”

Wait, did he think I didn’t like having them here? “God, no! I love you guys being here. You have no idea how grateful I am for the protection. I just like my privacy is all.”

Now I just felt petty. So what if they’d used my shower. They were giving up their time to be here for me. Man, I needed to deal with my issues.

Noir nodded. “I understand. I’m the same.”

“You are?”

He gave me a lopsided smile which turned his intense face boyish. My heart squeezed slightly, and I reached out to ruffle his damp hair.

His pupils dilated. “What was that for?”

My throat was suddenly thick with a new emotion. “Nothing.”

He reached across and brushed a thumb down my cheek, skimming the corner of my mouth. “You are a funny thing, Bastion.”

“You’re one to talk, accidental boob groper.”

Color bloomed high on his cheekbones. “Yes, well ...” He tucked in his chin.

Ha, he was flustered. I loved it when he was flustered. I ducked my head to look into his face. “Was it good? Eh? Was it good for you, Noir?”

He raised his head and our gazes met with a zing. My breath caught and pinched my throat. His phone rang with authority from the coffee table, and we both jerked away from each other.

Noir stared at the mobile phone as it alternated between vibrate and ring, but made no move to answer it.

I nudged him with my elbow. “Ha. Yeah. You better grab that.”

“It will be work.”

Which would mean he’d have to leave. So much for clearing his calendar. “You need to work, Noir. Answer it.”

He took a shuddering breath and then picked up the phone. “Noir.” His voice was clipped, annoyed, yet professional. It conveyed his irritation at being disturbed on his day off, but left room for the caller to petition him with whatever issue they were calling about. “Yes. No. I already explained that. No, don’t.” A deep sigh. “I’ll be right over.” He hung up and pinched the bridge of his nose.

I shrugged. “You have to go.”

“I have to go.”

I grinned. “Well, it looks like I’ll get to start the next season without you.”

“Like hell.” He grabbed the remote off the table. “I’m taking this with me. We’ll watch it when I get back.”

I cocked my head, looking up at him coquettishly. “Which will be ... when?”

He sighed. “As soon as I can.” His gaze softened and my stomach did that slow flip again.

An outsider would be forgiven for thinking we were a couple. Heck, we’d fallen so easily into living together it was scary, but we weren’t a couple. We were friends.

I broke eye contact. “I guess I’ll see you later then.”

“Na-huh.” He made a get up motion with his fingers.

“What?”

“You’re not staying here alone.”

“I won’t be alone. I have Trevor and Gilbert.”

He arched a skeptical brow. “I’m sure Gilbert will agree that you need to come with me.”

“I certainly do.” Gilbert said from the doorway, making me jump.

I hadn’t even sensed him this time.

“If Hound were here then I’d be less concerned,” Gil continued. “But I haven’t seen him all day.”

“I didn’t see him yesterday either, “Noir added.

Yeah, Hound was AWOL, and it was bugging me. He’d only been a member of the team for a short while, but he’d quickly become part of the furniture. “What if a client comes in? I need to be here.”

“Trevor will take the details, and we’ll call you,” Gilbert said firmly.

It looked like they had an answer for everything. I stood up. “Fine. Where are we going?”

He smiled. “Oh, I’m dropping you off with Tay, and then I’m headed to the office.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Let me change and grab my coat.” I offered him a twinkling smile. “My new, beautiful, extra-enchanted leather dustkicker.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome, Bastion, and keep the skirt on. It looks good.”

Leaving him chatting to Gil, I headed out of the room to suit up and grab K, because there was no way I was going anywhere without my bolt shooter until Elora was dead.