

The Grey God

War of Gods, Book IV

By Lizzy Ford

www.lizzyford.com/

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Kettlecorn Press

Smashwords edition

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The Grey God copyright November 2011 by Lizzy Ford

Cover art and design copyright 2014 by Regina Wamba, Mae I Design

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All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

## Prologue: The Schism

Day of the Schism

Immortal World

White God's Hall

THE WHITE GOD, Darian, strode through his marble halls, the soft footfalls of his leather boots the only sound in the imperial corridor. He trotted down the stairs from his palace to the apple orchard that stretched from his home to the imperial city beyond. The sun peered over the ocean to the north while blooming apple trees sprinkled their flowers into piles in a cool sea breeze. His closest friend and advisor, the Original Immortal Jule, waited for him atop a horse.

"Late," Jule said, a smile on his dark features. The colorful tattoos on his body told stories of great battles in artful, geometric writing.

"A god is never late," Darian replied. He pulled himself up onto the horse beside his friend's. His personal Guardians trailed at a respectful distance, out of earshot but close enough if something happened. "One day, you'll understand."

"The lure of a woman?"

"The lure of the perfect woman. Sensual, sweet, beautiful."

"A king needs a warrior, not a doll," Jule teased.

"Not this king. And she can fight, the perfect minx."

"If you say so. I've yet to meet one who could have me mewling at her feet the way you mewl at Claire's."

Darian smiled. The entire imperial city knew how taken he was with his mate. The eldest of any of the White Gods to mate, he'd been lauded with celebrations for days upon the announcement that he'd chosen a bride. He was glad he'd waited for the right partner rather than ceding to his advisors' desire for him to mate just to produce an heir.

"Her father, though, I wouldn't trust as far as the beach is from here," Jule added. "Still shady."

"I keep him occupied with assignments I tell him are important," Darian said with a snort.

They reached the beach, and Darian saw his young brother wielding a sword in complex weapons forms.

"He wants to be like his older brother," Jule said, amused. "How old is he now? Sixteen?"

"Seventeen."

"And you haven't mated him off to some powerful House?"

"He hasn't the temper for a woman yet. He'll be a warrior, methinks," Darian said. "Probably a solitary warrior."

Jule chuckled, as aware of the youth's temper as Darian was.

"Looks good, little brother," Darian called as they approached.

The tall, stringy youth with white-blond hair turned to face them. His face split into a large smile, and he waved the sword in the air.

"You're out early," Darian said. "Another duel?"

"Indeed. I have matters to settle with a certain merchant's son," his brother said.

"How would you like to join my Guardians?" Darian asked.

"I'm not some lower born peasant."

"You're not. But you need something to keep you from challenging every merchant's son who insults your boots."

"He insulted my cloak!" the youth shot back. "You would put me in the Guardians, your own flesh and blood?"

"If it kept your hands off the women in court and the merchants' sons out of the Healer's ward, yes," Darian replied.

His young brother's face fell. "Father would not have done such a thing."

"Wrong, ikir. Your father would've put you in the Guardians long ago," Jule corrected him.

"You'd get to see the mortal world at last," Darian baited. "You've wanted to go since you were as tall as your sword."

"I guess. What would I do, Darian? I have the power that runs in our blood, but I don't have any of the natural skills the peasants have. Would they even want me among them?"

"Claire was one of them," Darian reminded him. "She speaks highly of the Guardians and just as highly of you. You would fit in very well."

"You're a great warrior, Damian," Jule added.

"According to the servants, Claire likes warriors," Damian said.

"Hold it, boy," Darian warned. "You know the rules. The most sacred vow a White God takes is to his family."

"I know. She's my family now, too," Damian said and rolled his eyes. "I liked it better when it was just us, Darian. Yesterday was the first day we've spent together since you mated with her months ago."

The White God heard the note of sadness. Darian dismounted and pulled out his sword.

"Our hunting trip was the first time in months, wasn't it?" He'd grudgingly gone on the hunting trip, not wanting to leave Claire behind by herself. She'd never been alone in the palace. "We used to spar every day, until a few months ago, when I took a mate."

"We haven't sparred since."

"Maybe we should start the tradition again."

"I'd like that, Darian," Damian said quietly. "You ignore everyone at court now. They say the Oracle put a spell on you."

"Since when do you care what they say?" Darian asked. He raised his sword and batted his brother's around as they spoke.

"Since I've had no one else to talk to. And, since you said you weren't sure you could trust her, Darian. You're my only real family."

Darian said nothing, unaware of how much his brother missed him until this moment. The youth was not too far off: Claire had been all Darian wanted to focus on since he'd met her. Their betrothal was short by White God standards, a matter of six days. His own father hadn't mated with his mother for ten years, until after Darian's birth. He'd mated with Claire five months ago. It dawned on him he really hadn't seen much of Damian at all since the ceremony.

As for trusting Claire, there were still days Darian wasn't certain her father wasn't still trying to be the puppet master. He'd heard the same rumors his little brother had, that Claire was sleeping with at least a couple other men. He dismissed them as the idle talk of jealous nobles at court, who'd wanted him to marry one of their daughters instead.

But she'd lied to him about small things. In his family, it would never happen. He excused her behavior, knowing she grew up in a different environment. Even though they made his instincts uneasy, they were harmless lies. At least, he kept telling himself this.

"I'll make up for it, Damian," he said. A full ten years older than his little brother, he'd raised Damian from the age of seven, after the death of their father.

"The court says she has no real Oracle powers," Damian said. "Did you know that before you mated with her?"

"I did," Darian said.

"She's not of much use to the White God."

"She pleases me."

"That won't defeat vamps."

"Wise, content leaders with bloodlines as good as ours will," Darian said with a smile.

"And warriors," Damian added.

"Exactly."

"You really want to send me to the Guardians?"

"It's your choice. If you wish to go, go. If not, then stay."

"There are a lot of adventures to be had outside of here," Jule said.

Damian appeared pensive as he responded to Darian's playful strikes. Darian wasn't sure what his little brother would decide. The boy had a wild streak that overcame his sense of decorum too often and landed him in duels every other day. He was also a favorite with Darian's advisors and court, with a knack for connecting with everyone, even the servants. Damian's wine goblet was never empty during the day, and he always had well-cared-for boots and more fresh flowers in his room than Darian. Despite his attempt to look down on the peasants, Damian had befriended many of them. He had a streak of honor that marked him the son of a White God as much as his golden eyes.

"I'll go," Damian said finally. "When I return from my first adventure, you'll have six sons running around the hall."

"I should hope so," Darian agreed. "And you will have a sword notched to the hilt by the number of vamps you killed."

"Oh, yes, I'll kill as many as I can." The young man moved away and began fighting invisible vamps while Darian watched with a grin. "I'll stab and slash and chop off their heads!"

"Keep practicing, little brother," Darian said. "I've got business with Jule."

He couldn't tell if his brother heard or not; the young man was deep in battle with a particularly skillful invisible vamp. Darian mounted his horse again, joining Jule as the Original Immortal led his horse down the beach. They passed the obelisk marked with the White God's lineage. It rose from the beach to the sky and harbored the source of the immortals' power in the immortal world.

"I assume if you had good news for me, we wouldn't be here," Darian said, glancing at his friend.

"There are some strange rumors going around. My Original brethren tell me there will be a split soon between the Watchers and the Others. They'll go back to war."

"I imagine they'll blame you Originals for this one as well."

"Probably. We're warning our respective people to prepare, in case it happens."

"I am warned," Darian said. "This rumor has been around for some time, hasn't it?"

"There's more reason to believe it this time."

"Why is that?" Darian glanced towards his closest friend. Jule's troubled gaze was on the apple trees they passed beneath.

"I can't get into specifics, but two Originals have gone missing. It's a bad omen of things to come."

"You've been a good friend. I'm grateful for your counsel, and I'll protect you as I would my brother," Darian replied.

"Then listen when I say something bad comes."

"I'll deal with it when it does."

"Darian." Jule pulled his horse to a stop. "This won't be something you can battle."

"There's no such thing as something I can't battle, Jule. I'm the White God."

"You haven't lost that arrogance. But you will, if what we think will happen does."

"I trust you more than anyone, Jule, but these rumors of wars between immortals have been around for three generations of White Gods."

"There's more than that."

Darian studied his friend, unable to discern exactly what Jule wanted him to know.

"I'll fight whatever it is. If anything happens to me, you take care of Damian and Claire," he said. "But I don't see it ever coming to that. No White God has fallen in the history of our worlds. It would disrupt the balance between good and evil, rupture the gates between worlds. It can't happen. As long as I'm alive, I won't be defeated."

"There are those who would see the gates ruptured in pursuit of the mortal world. Czerno is one of them. The Black God wants to be the only god the humans know."

"My Guardians are there to stop him. Our duty is to the little humans as much as to our own."

"Very well," Jule said in a softer voice. "I've done my part to warn you."

The Original Immortal was visibly disturbed. Darian studied him a moment before his gaze went to the flowers floating from the apple trees. He loved his orchard. He'd watched Damian's birth here, grown up here, met Claire here. It was the place where he'd always found happiness.

"The trees bloom year round for you," Jule said, following his gaze. "They'll bloom forever, if it makes you happy."

"It does," Darian said. "As long as I live, I want them to bloom."

The trees rustled as he dispelled a fraction of his power. His magic swept through the orchard. The trees would continue to bloom for the rest of his years, filling the orchard with delicate pink-white petals.

"They're beautiful, Darian."

Both turned at the woman's quiet voice. Darian's gaze swept over his mate's form. Only a head smaller than his tall frame, Claire was shapely and beautiful. Hers was the kind of beauty that made a man notice her in a crowd full of beauties, or a god spot her from others gathered in his orchard for a celebration of his twenty-seventh birthday. She wore a snug dress that revealed more of her large breasts than she probably should. Long, auburn hair was loose around her shoulders, and her face glowed.

He felt the familiar sense of desire rise just looking at her plump lips and bright blue eyes.

"If you'll excuse me," Darian said.

"Of course," Jule replied. "Think about what I said, Darian."

"I will," Darian said, half-hearing. He dismounted. Jule left them in peace, and Darian offered his hand to Claire. "I thought you'd be sleeping still."

"I hate to be away from you," she replied. "What was so important Jule dragged you out of our bed?"

"Rumblings of a war between immortals. Nothing new," Darian replied.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, love, that was all."

Claire seemed relieved. Darian started towards the palace, intending to take her to bed with him once more before he started his official duties.

"I planned something for us," she said and pulled away from him. Claire jogged to one of the trees and lifted a small satchel from its roots.

"Breakfast under the trees I love?"

"Better. Breakfast in the forest where we went the first night we made love."

"Beautiful." Darian mounted his horse. Claire tucked the satchel into the saddlebags.

"Must they come?" she asked, gaze going to his Guardians. "I can defend you against anything that attacks us."

Darian glanced at his warriors. He was so accustomed to them, he barely noticed them.

"Do you want them to remain here?" he asked.

"I want us to have a beautiful morning together."

"Then they stay," he said, signaling for the Guardians not to follow. He pulled her up behind him and nudged his horse into a quick walk.

They left the orchard for the quiet city, which had not yet begun to awaken. Darian guided the horse through marble streets marked by statues of his forefathers and beyond the city into the wood running along a stream that ran through the immortal countryside. He maneuvered his way through the forest until he found the place near the warm springs at the center of the stream, where they'd gone their first night together.

The sound of the trickling stream joined with the voices of birds waking to face the new day. Darian dismounted and lifted Claire off the horse, settling her gently beneath a tree.

"The best day of my life," she murmured. "I'll always remember it."

"The best day was when we met," he said and sat beside her. "You wore that dress the same color as the blooming apple trees."

"And you all in black."

"I wore green that day," he said with a chuckle. "Dark green."

"I'm not one for details," she said and smiled. "I fell for you that day, Darian."

"We fell for each other. It took some strong-arming to get you out of the betrothal you were already in with... what was his name? Isac?"

"Yes, Isac."

"Your father was not happy about it. I would've thought he would've supported you mating with someone more powerful."

"Father was not a man easily understood," Claire said, darkness crossing her features. "He still isn't."

"You are a queen. What more can he want?"

"If I were the only ruler of the immortal world, he might be happy," she said.

Darian glanced at her. Part of the reason he'd mated with her so quickly was to get her away from the man she claimed beat her. He knew on sight he wanted her. No one would stand in the way of a White God, even an abusive, power-hungry father.

"I've been keeping him occupied," he said. "He won't hurt you anymore, Claire."

Her smile was bitter. He felt the mood that descended over her without fully understanding it. She normally clammed up when they discussed her father, and today was no different.

Not wanting to ruin their morning, Darian took her into his arms. Her body relaxed instantly. He made love to her under the forest canopy, the way he had their first night. When they both lay sated, he kissed her and rose, pulling on his clothes as he went to the horse.

"I hope you brought my favorite," he called over his shoulder.

"I did, love." The dampened mood was still in her voice.

Something struck the back of his head. Darkness fell over him.

Claire bounded to her feet, heart pounding. She looked at the man who had been her mate, at Isac, then at the third man with them, her father. The White God fell into a heap.

"Father, are you—"

"We've done this before, Claire," he snapped.

"I know—"

"Grab an axe. We'll bury him in pieces, where no one will find him."

She obeyed, as she always did. Isac was the first to slam an axe into Darian's body, his brutal strikes falling over and over. She stared, numbed, as her father joined them.

Her whole life, no one had made her feel as Darian did. Like she was special. Like she was more than the daughter of a whore and a sick nobleman. They'd pulled similar scams on other wealthy men, mostly in the mortal world, outside the view of immortals who might see them. Her father's wealth had come from his whore-daughter's ability to charm any man she chose.

"You want to be queen of the immortals?" her father called.

"Of course," she whispered.

"You either take what you want or become a victim to someone else who will. There's no turning back."

She gripped the handle of the axe more tightly, hands clammy. Her mate, her only love, was nothing more than bloody pulp. The towering, muscular man who held her until she fell asleep every night and made love to her as if she was the only woman he'd ever known was no more. There was nothing now but to claim his throne. She'd find another man to hold her; she always did.

"You do it, or you'll never be queen," her father said. "Only a member of the White God's family can kill him. Your marriage ceremony bound you to him. This is the only way you will ever be queen. Now, make your choice, daughter."

Claire squeezed her eyes close for a moment. She pushed the thoughts of Darian from her head, instead focusing on seeing herself seated in his throne. Opening her eyes, she raised the axe and let it fall, grimacing at the sounds of flesh splitting. She stumbled and looked down, surprised when she realized it was the ground shaking and not the dizziness she felt at hurting the man who'd truly loved her.

"Father!" she cried, knocked to the ground.

"What is this?" Isac shouted as he struggled to remain on his feet.

The rumbling of the earth ceased. She stood. Just as suddenly, the earth began to buck hard enough that trees creaked and smashed into the ground. It stopped again.

"Slay the White God, slay the balance."

Claire twisted to see who spoke and was struck by the tall, slender man who stepped from the shadows of the forest. His eyes and hair were black, his features noble. He walked like he was the White God, with confidence and command.

"It's a naughty thing you've done," he said, eyes taking her in from head to foot. "You've saved me some trouble, but you're too stupid to know what is to come. I need Darian alive, in case the plan to rule the mortal world doesn't quite work out for me."

"Isac, take his head," her father ordered. "We've got two bodies to bury."

Terror on his face, Isac stayed where he was. A moment later, he dropped the axe and ran. Claire stared after him then looked back at the stranger in black.

"The boy-god will need a body to burn," the stranger said, eyes lingering on her father.

"Damian will die next. My daughter is the ruler of the immortal world," her father said.

"Whore, kill your father."

Claire's body rose and grabbed an axe. She fought the invasion, unable to control her own motions.

"Father, run!" she cried. "I can't control—"

Her first strike slammed into her father's head, cleaving straight through it. Claire screamed, unable to pry her hands free of the axe's handle. She struck him again and again. When she tried to close her eyes, the magic controlling her body forced them open again. Over and over, she hacked her father into pieces, sobbing and screaming.

Finally, the magic left her. She dropped to her knees between the two bloodied corpses, hoarse from screaming. The ground still trembled, and trees fell in the distance. The stranger stepped next to her, surveying the damage. He hefted an axe.

"Please don't," she whispered. "I'll do anything. Please don't kill me."

He crouched beside her, his cold smile filling her with a fear unlike any she'd felt before.

"I have plans for you, my sweet Claire. You will do anything for me. Starting now."

He snatched her and sank his fangs into her neck. Claire screamed again, batting at him in desperation to escape. The man didn't let her go until her world grew dark. She dropped to the ground, senseless.

"I'll be back for you, love," the man said. "You're mine now, and so is your lover."

Fading in and out of consciousness, Claire blinked to try to clear her vision. "Who... what are you?"

He fished around in the remains of Darian and yanked free something that glimmered silver in the early morning light. She recognized the necklace that marked Darian as the White God. The man tossed it on the body of her dead father. He leaned over to her and yanked off the necklace marking her as the mate of the White God.

"I'm Czerno, the Black God, your new master and mate," he said. "You disabled my greatest enemy for me. I've got a deal with a certain faction of immortals to bring him back to life and keep him around until I need him. You, love, I have more than one use for. I'll enjoy fucking you for eternity."

Czerno. Claire heard the rest of his words without registering them. Immobilized, fear rose within her as she watched the Black God lift Darian's bloody form from the ground. He disappeared. He hadn't been gone long before another form came into her view. Too weak to focus, she didn't know who it was until he'd knelt beside her.

"I warned him," Jule whispered. "Czerno's marked you. I suppose this rights your wrong, though I will never forgive you."

He rose and left, his visit so quick, she wasn't sure she really saw him.

The roar of the earth grew louder. Unable to move, barely able to breathe, she watched the sun climb into the sky. It was blood red, casting a shadow the color of blood over the immortal world. The ground rumbled more violently as the sun rose, until it began to split open. At long last, she heard a familiar voice.

"Darian!" Damian's white-blond hair was familiar to her before his face came into view. "My gods!"

Claire heard him drop beside the body he thought was his brother's and begin to sob. She used what strength she had to roll onto her back, desperate for a Healer. Damian clutched his brother's necklace in one hand, the reins to his horse in another. Two Guardians pushed him out of the way but hesitated, unable to lift a body she'd completely obliterated.

"Don't worry, Claire," Damian said, regaining himself. "We'll find out who did this and kill them. I won't let anyone hurt you."

She felt him lift her, falter with the shaking earth, then manage to heft her on top of a horse. She sagged against the horse's neck.

"Ikir." One of the Guardians stepped towards him. "There's nothing anyone can do."

Damian wiped his face, staring at the pulpy mess of the body before him.

"We need to go, Damian," Jule said, pulling his horse to a halt. "The gateway between worlds is barely holding up. We have to get you to the other side."

"I won't leave him, Jule," Damian said, sinking to his knees beside the body.

"You must." Jule slung himself down from the horse and dropped beside the boy-god. "There is more at stake here than your brother's life."

"I can't!"

"The human world will fall to the Black God if you aren't there to protect it. What would Darian tell you to do?"

Damian's shoulders shook.

"He'd tell you to fulfill your duty, Damian."

"Build a pyre here," Damian whispered at last. "He deserves a decent burial."

"Take her to a Healer," Jule ordered, motioning to Claire. "We'll find out what happened later."

Claire's horse was led away. She watched the Guardians gather wood in the eerie light of the bloody sun and start the funeral pyre for her father's body. Exhausted, she closed her eyes, Jule's words to her from earlier echoing in her thoughts.

Czerno's marked you.

***

Day of the Schism

Immortal World

Peasant quarter of the imperial city

Duty, honor, courage, selflessness. Jenn, the only daughter of a low-ranking noble's servant, repeated the mantra of the Guardians for days before taking the sacred oath. She looked around at her family and that of her mate. She steeled herself for their rejection, reminding herself she did it not for them, but to give her daughter a better life.

"I joined the Guardians yesterday." She braced herself for their reaction. All talk hushed around the tiny table where their families shared their first and last meals of the day. The wooden table had one leg propped up by firewood, and only three of the eight chairs matched. The tiny main room of the small dwelling was lit by one window.

"Then you'll unjoin," her father said first.

"Today," her mate added. "You have a daughter. You can't be so selfish."

She toyed with her food, gaze going to the closed door behind which her two-year-old daughter slept. Her mate and father were near the same age, over double her eighteen years. They agreed about everything when it came to her life.

"They pay more than shoveling shit," she said.

"You should be grateful you shovel shit in a noble house and not a whorehouse," her mate replied calmly.

"There's more to life than shoveling shit! I can create a better life for Talia in the Guardians."

"The Guardians are for warriors, Jenn. You're not a warrior. The mortal world is no place for a mother of a small child," her father said.

"Mother, please! You must know I want what's best for Talia. This is the way to get there," she said, turning to her mother.

"Do as your father says. You should be grateful for your station. If he hadn't saved that nobleman's child years ago, you'd have been sold on the auction block," her mother said. "You have a comfortable life."

"The child should've settled you," her mate's mother chimed in. "The apothecary has calming herbs. I'll fetch some next time I am in town."

"Besides, you should focus on producing more children," her mother added. "You have a noble master who will find places for all your children."

"I don't want more children," Jenn said, shoving her plate around. "I don't want the one I have to grow up like this!"

"Be grateful," her father snapped. "We have more now than we ever did."

"Mother, the apothecary is a good idea. Jenn's mind does not work as it should. No mother should want to leave her child to go to some other world," her mate said.

"I've heard of this happening before, but normally right after birth," his mother said. "An apothecary might not be enough for the type of medication she needs."

"We can appeal to our noble master for a Healer," her mother said.

"Healers fix the body, not the mind," her mate said.

Jenn slumped at the table as they talked on around her. Her gaze went to the door where her baby slept. She got up without finishing her meal and escaped into the room where Talia was. Jenn's tension fled from her as she picked up the small child and hugged her close. She tugged off the necklace around her neck, the one marking her as the last in her father's line. She slid it over her daughter's head, giggling when she saw how big it was. The symbol was her father's pride and joy. He was the first of his bloodline to earn one, and the coin-shaped pendant was new and bright.

"This belongs to you, my Talia," Jenn whispered. "You'll grow into it."

As much as she hated her life, she loved her Talia. Jenn's gaze went towards the main room of the dwelling. No doubt, the family still sat around discussing how to fix her. They'd done the same when she found out she was pregnant, locking her in a room until she gave birth.

For your own good, they'd told her.

Looking at her daughter, she was grateful for the one part of her life that brought her joy. Talia awoke at her movement, her eyes as large and dark as Jenn's. Her hair was short and curly, too, unlike the blond, blue-eyed father that'd all but raped Jenn on their mating night.

For your own good, he'd told her.

She'd never let him touch her again, but once was enough for Talia to grow in her belly.

Jenn touched Talia's soft skin, smiling. Talia smiled back then tried hard to grip the pendant, fascinated by its shininess. Jenn laughed softly at Talia's chubby hands trying to grasp the bright bauble. Talia caught it finally and held it up.

"It's yours. I wanted to give it to you, in case I..." Jenn's throat grew tight as she looked at her little girl. "I have to go, Talia. I want so much more than this. For both of us. I'm going to the mortal world. I'll save my coin and find us a home there. I just... I can't stand it here. I want us to have a chance."

Talia played with the pendant. Jenn wiped the tears that formed. Her whole body hurt at the idea of leaving the little girl. At least Talia would have a family to care for her until Jenn returned.

"I might be gone awhile, Talia," she said. "I want you to know I love you. I'll think of you every day and I'll come back for you. I promise."

Jenn set Talia back in her roughly hewn bassinet and rifled through the trunk containing the family's possessions. She pulled out a rusted dagger and the best pair of boots she had. She had little else in the way of possessions, aside from the necklace around Talia's neck.

With one last look at the bassinet, Jenn left the room. The family ceased talking as she appeared.

"I'm going to the Guardians," she said firmly. "I'll return for Talia."

Her proclamation startled them in to silence. She left before anyone could shut her up again in a room, running once she'd closed the door to the hovel the two families shared. Exhilaration filled her as she raced down the street. She'd done it! She'd escaped them at last!

She'd build a new life in the mortal world and kidnap Talia if necessary to get her child away from her family. Her daughter would grow up loved, not tolerated, in a world wide open with possibilities. There was no way to move up or improve life in the immortal world, but Jenn heard tales of the mortal world. It was wild and free, and Guardians could stay there, if they chose to.

Hopeful for the first time in her life, Jenn glanced up and stopped.

The sun was red. She stared at it. She'd thought it cloudy, for there was little light this morning. Even the red sun couldn't dampen her mood. She ran all the way to the Guardians' barracks and stopped, awed.

The barracks were plain but sturdy, made of stone. She walked through the gateway and imagined herself as important as the White God walking into his palace. The bailey was clean, the stables large and well-built. She joined a line of mostly men in front of a low stone table. Each received a scroll with information on their first day of training and assignments. She fidgeted as she waited.

"Lots of women signing up," one of them said behind her.

"They heard how the White God's mate slept her way to the top then landed a god," another snickered.

Jenn glanced towards them. Even their words did nothing to suppress her excitement. She waited until it was her turn to receive her scroll.

"Jenn," she said, stepping forward.

The seated Guardian looked down his scroll, gaze lingering on a name. He reached under the table for one of the scrolls.

"Mind manipulator. You tested high. Your quarters are in the third building. Training starts tomorrow morning at dawn."

Almost shrieking in excitement, Jenn snatched the scroll and ran. She'd passed the first two buildings before she remembered to look around her. She entered the third and walked down a hallway. The barracks was loud with chatter from other new Guardians. She walked room by room, seeking an empty one, and finally found a room that didn't seem taken.

Jenn entered and set her few belongings down on one of the beds. She instinctively reached for the necklace no longer around her neck. Her hand fell away, and she sat on her bed, startled to see someone else was in the room. The boy looked to be around ten with blond hair and cold, steady blue eyes.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Jenn."

"Hi," he replied.

"Do you have a roommate already?"

"No."

"You're young to be here, aren't you?"

He shrugged. "I didn't know they let girls in."

"They do," she said with a smile. "Special ones, anyway."

"I'm not special."

"You must be, if you're here."

"I should be dead, like the rest of my family."

"But you're not. I've heard the stories about the mortal world. You'll see. You'll be glad you're alive."

"I'm here because my master told me to be here," the boy said stubbornly.

"Who is your master?"

"Damian. He bought me off the auction block."

"I don't know that name. You're fortunate to be here."

"I wouldn't have been on the auction block if my family wasn't slaughtered!"

Jenn cleared her throat, not sure what to say. The boy's eyes flashed. The ground beneath them moved suddenly, a low rumble that made the beds shake. The walls stayed.

"It's been doing this all morning," the boy said. "Maybe what happened in the country is happening in the city."

"What happened in the country?"

"War," he whispered.

"There's no war right now," she replied.

"I saw it." The look on his face made her want to hug him and ease his fear.

"The earth rumbles sometimes," she said. "You want to sit with me? I'll protect you."

The boy hesitated then left the floor where he sat and joined her sitting on the bed. The earthquake grew more intense. Jenn wrapped her arms around him. He remained tense at first before letting her pull him to her.

"Not so bad now, is it?" she asked.

"It's worse than before."

She almost sighed, not sure what to tell the boy. The shaking of the earth grew worse, until the walls began to tremble. Jenn took the boy's hand and led him out of the building into the bailey area. The other new Guardians were gathered there as well. The boy crept closer to her, and she sought some subject to discuss that would calm him.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Dustin."

"Don't worry, Dustin. I'll take care of you."

He said nothing, his blue eyes darting around their surroundings. There was a crash, and one of the barracks collapsed. Jenn eyed it uneasily. The earth bucked, and two more buildings went down. The walls around the bailey began to crumble. Jenn grabbed Dustin's hand and pulled him through the crowd, out of the enclosed space where the walls crumbled. She gazed at the city around them, startled to see buildings collapsing everywhere she looked.

Her heart sinking, she looked in the direction of her home. She couldn't see the poverty-stricken section of the city.

"Stay here, Dustin," she told him. "You hear me? Right here. Don't go in any buildings."

Scared, he nodded. Jenn released him and ran down the street, startled when the shaking ground knocked her down. She hurried to her feet and continued, heart racing as she ran through the city towards her home. The closer she got to the overcrowded, poor part of the city, the more people jammed the streets, shoving against her in an effort to escape the collapsing buildings.

Weaving in and out of people, Jenn made her way to her street and froze. Almost every dwelling on the narrow, crowded road was in pieces. Panic built as she forced herself forward. She stopped finally in front of the dwelling that had been hers. Her mother and father-in-law sat in front of the crushed structure, hunched over while their sobs reaching her ears.

Jenn approached as if in a dream, struggling to stay on her feet with the earth's shaking.

"Get out!" her mother shouted as Jenn stopped next to them. "You did this!"

Jenn glimpsed the black curls of her daughter's head as her mother tried to push her away. She gasped. Talia's head was split open, her lifeless eyes staring at the sky.

No. Jenn couldn't look away, couldn't register what had happened.

Her mother made it to her feet and flung something at her. Jenn caught the necklace a moment before her mother began beating her, screaming. Too shocked to react, Jenn let her, until the earth bucked again. A crack split the street, swallowing her father-in-law and her little girl. Horrified, Jenn's mother dropped to her knees, sobbing.

"Coward!" she shouted at Jenn. "You did this, you coward!"

Jenn stared, the image of her lifeless daughter falling into the chasm replaying over and over in her mind.

"Jenn!" another voice filled with fear cried.

Jenn turned woodenly, the world around her making no sense in her state. She vaguely recognized the blond boy. He wriggled through the crowd to her, looking past her at the chasm and the woman sobbing beside it.

"C'mon, Jenn!" he urged. "Please!"

She took one step then another, not understanding how her body could move when her mind couldn't. Her steps went faster. Dustin darted in front of her, pushing his way through the crowd. He didn't go the way they did but cut through an alley towards the center of the city. Jenn struggled to keep up, to breathe, to make sense of the world around her. She kept her eyes on Dustin, not knowing what else to do.

The little boy cut through the central square, where neat stone walkways hedged by vibrant grass wound around the familial obelisks marking the bloodline and succession of each noble house. She stopped and looked around, searching for the one that her family served. She trotted through the square until she found it and crouched beside it to see names at the very bottom, the names of the nobles' servants.

Jenn, Finian, Talia.

The names of her mate and her daughter were written beside hers. Jenn stared at them numbly then dug a hole in front of the monument with shaking fingers. She deposited the necklace into it and covered it.

"Jenn, come on!" Dustin shouted, darting through the obelisks towards her. "We have to hurry! My master is waiting for us!"

"Where are we going?" she managed at last, stumbling after him.

"The mortal world."

The ground shook, and she caught him as he fell. He bounded away again, back through the crowds. Jenn focused on keeping up with him. He ran through the city and into the apple orchard on the side of the city she'd only seen once, for peasants didn't go there. Half the orchard was on fire while the other half rained delicate pink-white blooms from the apple trees. She looked around, astounded by the beauty of the orchard, then realized she'd lose sight of Dustin once he crested the hill in the center of the orchard.

She ran faster to catch up to him and saw the small group at the bottom of the hill. She didn't recognize any of them. Dustin ran up to the young man Jenn assumed was his master, and the golden eyes at once told her who this Damian was. Only the sons of a White God had eyes the color of amber!

She moved forward. Someone stopped her, and she looked up, barely registering the face of a tattooed man with long, dark hair.

"She's coming with us," Dustin proclaimed. "Damian, please."

Shifting her attention from the tattooed man, Jenn rested her eyes on the young man, who glanced at her after Dustin spoke. His eyes were red as if he'd been crying, and his clothing was streaked with blood. He nodded.

"Jenn," said the tattooed man, whose hand was on her arm, and she looked back at him. "Yes, you'll come with us." His look said he knew her, though she'd never seen any of them in her life. Another woman lay on the ground near the youth named Damian, her shapely figure, porcelain complexion, and auburn hair indicating her beauty even in her sleep.

"Go, Damian," the tattooed man said.

Jenn looked around, wondering where they were going. Fire still raged at one end of the orchard, filling the air above the trees with black smoke. Damian struggled to lift the woman at his feet then carried her towards a tree. Jenn gasped as the two of them disappeared.

"C'mon, Jenn," Dustin said and took her hand. "We're Guardians now. We're going to the mortal world."

She went, walking towards the tree without knowing what to expect. Suddenly, she fell, just as quickly landing in a field with waist-high grass and a bright yellow sun overhead. Dustin hopped to his feet and ran to join his master.

Jenn looked around, disoriented again. The ground behind her made a sucking sound, and she scampered away, staring at the swirling earth. It spit out someone else from the immortal world then slowed to a near stop. Finally, another body came through, this one bloodied and battered. She recognized the tattooed man. He landed next to her and was still.

"Jule!" Damian exclaimed. He hurried to the unconscious man's side. "Is he alive?"

Jenn knelt beside him and pressed her fingers to his neck. She nodded. The youth with the golden eyes sat back and looked around, appearing overwhelmed.

"Only an Other could hurt an Original like this," he whispered.

"The portal closed," one of the others said.

Jenn looked to where the vortex had been. Damian inched towards it, planting his hands on the ground.

"Gone," he whispered. "We're stuck here."

The small group exchanged looks. The mortal world was raw and new, but there was no magic in it. Jenn felt worn from the inside as her internal magic tried to connect with that of the world. Her movements were heavy and awkward. The longer she sat, the harder it seemed to get up.

"Damian, what happened?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know," Damian replied, looking lost.

"That," another voice said, "was the Schism."

Jenn faced the newcomer, surprised to see a small, grandfatherly man with brilliant green eyes standing near them.

"Are they all dead, Watcher?" Damian asked.

"The only Guardians in existence are now in the mortal realm, and you are now the White God."

More words were exchanged, but Jenn heard none of them. The memory of her Talia falling into the chasm returned, filling her thoughts. Crippling pain began to take over her mind and body. She closed her eyes and pushed it away. Not including the man Damian called Watcher, the man called Jule was the only one of the group older than her, and he'd be lucky to survive the day.

She'd gotten her wish. She was now a Guardian in the mortal world. The people around her—the White God she was sworn to serve as a Guardian—needed her. There was nothing she could do for Talia, nothing that remained of the immortal world.

"What do we do?" Damian asked Watcher.

"You must fulfill your duty to the humans. There are many Guardians assigned to this world already. Gather your Guardians and battle the Black God," the Watcher said. "You are all that stands between him and those who live in this world."

The youth looked lost again. Jenn pitied him but couldn't bring herself to speak, not when she, too, barely understood what was going on.

"I'll protect you, ikir," Dustin said.

"Thank you, Dusty," the youth said and ruffled the boy's hair. "I guess we need to find a... a new home." His eyes went to the still man in front of Jenn. "Jule will know what to do when he wakes up."

Jenn glanced down again. She didn't want to say it, but the bloodied immortal didn't look like he'd wake up for quite a while, especially if there was no Healer among the survivors. She felt the sudden urge to run again, as far as she could from her past, Talia's death, the bleak future of the White God and his Guardians. She wanted to sprint until her body gave out then wait for her death to come. She deserved nothing less than to die broken and alone after what she'd done to her baby.

Her gaze went to the unfamiliar horizon as raw pain began to replace her numbness. She would run until she died or until someone killed her. She'd be at peace then, with her daughter.

The Watcher drew her attention as he bent. He peered at the Original Immortal curiously then looked up at her. His eyes were brighter than the moon, greener than any gem she'd ever dreamt of.

"Your fate is with the White God, Jenn," the Watcher said.

Duty, honor, courage, selflessness. The familiar words in her thoughts were chanted in a voice that wasn't hers. Somehow, they lessened her pain again, as if the strange figure before her wrapped them in magic before placing them in her head.

"Do you understand?"

Duty, honor, courage, selflessness. Her pain faded, and she drew a shaky breath as the tension in her chest loosened.

"Yes," she said in a hoarse voice. "I understand."

Duty, honor, courage, selflessness. The pain was gone.

"Ikir, we should find shelter," she said to Damian.

"Yes, shelter," he agreed. "And then you will go forth and find the other Guardians."

"Yes, ikir." She didn't know how to tell him she had no Guardian training yet and wouldn't even know where to find Guardians in the strange world. But she was a Guardian now. Her duty was to her god and her people.

"Farewell," the Watcher said.

"Watcher, wait!" Damian shouted. "You can't leave—"

The Watcher blinked out of existence. The youth was near panicking again.

"Come, Dustin, we'll find a place for us," she whispered and held out her hand to the little boy. He came stoutly, the only among them not immobilized by fear.

Duty, honor, courage, selflessness. She chanted the words as they walked towards the horizon. There was nothing she could do for Talia. Her god and the Guardians needed her. She'd made her choice the moment she took an oath to the Guardians. There was no immortal world to go back to now.

Your fate is with the White God, Jenn.

## Chapter One

Present Day

Fortress of the Black God

THE BLACK GOD was slipping out of her influence. Though he consulted her as frequently as he always had, he no longer took her with him everywhere he went or told her what he was doing. In fact, he rarely looked her in the eye, as if she was a reminder of something he didn't want to recall.

Jenn did her best to act like everything on her end was the same. She came as soon as he called, offered encouragement when he seemed lost, and pretended to believe his shitty excuses as to why he wasn't taking her with him this time.

Maybe next time, he always said.

She stood before the panoramic window of his lair, gazing at snowfall so thick, it hid the nearby mountains from sight. The steady downward spiral of snowflakes was mesmerizing, peaceful. Dawn had come an hour earlier but only just managed to push away the shadows of night from the cloudy mountain hiding place that had become her home. And probably her grave, she admitted to herself with a grimace.

Duty, honor, courage, selflessness. Her worry faded with the comforting words. If she didn't make it out of here, she'd at least go down serving the Guardians and the White God.

"You sleeping down here now?" Jonny, the Black God, broke her Zen-like moment.

"I figured I'd rather see who was coming for me than risk being killed in my bed," Jenn replied without turning. "Xander took my door off a week ago."

"Xander wouldn't..." Jonny drifted off. "I can... well, I'll think about talking to him."

Jenn rolled her eyes at the window. Jonny's newfound confidence melted like snow every time the name of Xander—the tree-sized forefather of all vampires—was mentioned. But she let Jonny's words slide, as she did everything else he'd said to her the past few days.

"I appreciate you taking care of me." She said the words she knew he wanted to hear.

"I made a promise," Jonny said, his tone confident once again.

"And you've kept it," Jenn said, turning to face him.

The Black God glowed like a storm cloud. His dark eyes and caramel features seemed much older than his nineteen years. He'd lost the air of indecision and regret, trading it for acceptance and resolve. In less than two weeks, he'd aged, transforming from the lost youth she'd tried to take care of into a young immortal exploring his dark powers.

"If you want, you can sleep in my chamber," he said.

Jenn looked at him carefully. He'd taken a few different vamps to his bed the past few days.

"I mean, if you're sleeping on the floor, you can sleep on my floor," Jonny added hastily, once again the teenager who'd been in love with her for months.

"I appreciate it, Jonny," she said with an understanding smile and added to herself, no way in hell.

"Unless... you can... I mean the safest place is in my—"

"On your floor. I know," she said, not allowing him to complete the sentence. "I'm proud of you, Jonny. You haven't lost your honor. Czerno had none." The mention of his predecessor had the opposite effect of mentioning the Original Vamp.

"I'll be better than Czerno," Jonny said, dark gaze flaring. "You're right, Jenn. He lacked honor. What he did to my sister..."

Jenn eased back on her Guardian power, the ability to manipulate minds. Jonny was slipping out of her ability to use it, in any case, though he seemed more vulnerable to her manipulation when he was emotionally raw. She'd been testing him several times a day, astonished to learn just how quickly he was growing into his new powers. She'd be unable to use her gift against him in a matter of a few days.

She resisted the impulse to check her watch. She'd programmed it to display a countdown rather than the time. She had just under fourteen days left with the Black God until his bargain with her boss was up, and she could go home. With four days at most remaining in her ability to control the Black God, she suspected she'd be dead in five.

"I'm using the skills you taught me to interrogate someone else," Jonny said. The last of his thoughts about her in his bed slid away with the final push of her magic.

"Are you discovering what the Others are doing in your ranks?" she asked.

"They seem to be looking for something," he replied. "The last vamp whose mind I read was convinced it was a treasure hunt. And they want something... here." Jonny looked around.

"Something or someone?" Jenn asked, thoughts going to the Original Vamp.

"It could be a someone," Jonny replied. "You think that's possible?"

"I think anything is possible with the Others. You and Damian threw down the gauntlet. If they haven't acted by now, they're waiting for something," she said pensively.

"True. Who could they want? Me?"

"I doubt it. What use are you to them? They'd be looking for someone who could help them win their war. I mean, that's what I'd do."

"Someone like Xander, maybe."

Jenn shrugged. "It doesn't seem likely, but then again, we really don't know where his loyalties are."

"You think..." Jonny shifted. "You think Xander might not be loyal to me?"

"I think Xander tries to control you."

"He's my advisor."

"What advice does he give you?" she challenged. "I'm saying you need to keep an open mind. And if it is Xander, maybe the Others want something from Xander that Xander himself doesn't know he can do for them."

"That's much more likely."

Jenn cursed silently. She'd been planting hints for days that Xander couldn't be trusted. Jonny was all but immune to them. Rather, he was looking for an excuse not to believe them. She understood why. As the chief of the spies in this hemisphere, she'd been in a lot of really bad situations with nothing but her charm and mind control to keep her safe. She'd never met anything like Xander, who was not deterred by even a god's powers.

"It could be you, too," Jonny added. "What if they know you're helping me? They might want to steal our secrets."

"I'm not worth an Other's attention," she replied.

"But like you said, what if you don't know it?"

"Maybe. But between Xander and me, he's got more power than you and I combined."

A troubled look crossed Jonny's face. "He does, doesn't he."

"But, like I said. It's almost impossible to know. Just stay open to other options," she said.

"I will, Jenn, thank you."

A small team of four vamps approached the window and stopped at the edge of where the carpet from the hallway met the tile of the foyer. She looked them over dismissively, calculating what it would take to kill them all. She could take them. Two looked sleepy and one wasn't armed.

Jonny followed her gaze. "I'm going to town."

"You want me to go with you?"

"No. I need to do some things. Maybe next time."

"I'm here if you need me, hon," she said, not surprised to be excluded again.

"Thanks, Jenn." Jonny's words were more heartfelt than she warranted necessary. Jonny turned to go and joined the four. They walked to the front door of the mansion built into the side of the mountain.

Jenn watched him until he was gone then glanced at a vamp lurking in the shadows. Jonny had assigned her a surveillance team in his own home. They'd quickly learned to keep their distance after she killed two who thought they'd get in her way.

Her thoughts went in a different direction. Jonny didn't seem to know her fate, which meant Xander hadn't told her secret, that she was intended to mate with the Grey God. She still found the idea far-fetched. Darian had followed her around like a lost puppy before she was assigned to the Black God. She'd thought it was because his brothers were busy. Hindsight—and Xander's revelation—made her look at his persistent presence and brotherly protectiveness in a new way.

If the Others wanted to find a way to keep the Grey God from assuming his role as the Gatekeeper between immortal and mortal worlds, they'd likely find her a good target. But she wasn't about to reveal that to Jonny. At least, not until he ordered her killed. Then, it might work as a bargaining chip.

Jenn glanced at her watch. At this rate, what Xander - the forefather of all vamps - told her wouldn't matter. She'd be dead soon enough.

She couldn't help feeling relieved the Black God didn't want her going with him this time. She'd moved to Miami for a reason: because she didn't like the cold. The winter storm made her want to huddle under the covers. Instead, she'd slept with her back to the panoramic window with her down vest and boots on for warmth. And her weapons in hand.

Go for a walk.

As someone accustomed to planting ideas in the heads of others, she recognized the thought as coming from someone else. Jenn cocked her head to the side. It wasn't Xander—who wouldn't hesitate to twist her mind like a Twizzler—and it wasn't Jonny. She glanced at the snowy scene outside the mansion then gathered her small backpack of weapons and strode to the door.

The vamps followed her only to the door. She stepped into the cold, snowy day and pulled on a cap.

West 100 meters, the voice told her.

Jenn drew a knife and obeyed, guessing whatever awaited her couldn't be much worse than the Black God or Original Vamp.

***

Darian caught his reflection in the mirror as he walked down the long hallway of the White God's Texas headquarters. He paused to look at himself, studying his rugged features and swirling gold eyes. When he looked too fast, he still saw the jagged, deep scars that the Healer had gotten rid of.

They're still on the inside, he mused, troubled by his smooth skin. Once a god then a slave, he was just starting to figure out who he was now. His brothers gave him his space and their lifemates kept him company.

From the corner of his eye, he saw one of the many animals his brother Dusty's mate had rescued. The orange tabby was twice the size of every other cat he'd seen. It sidled up to him and wound between his legs until he picked it up.

"Wouldn't happen to know the secrets to the universe, would you?" Darian asked, gazing into its clear green eyes.

The cat purred. Darian had survived two lives and was on his third. He wondered if he had nine like a cat. Darian tucked the feline under his arm with one more look at the mirror.

He wanted his old face back, the scarred one. This new face reminded him of everything he'd never be, of lost opportunities and misguided hope.

Darian walked down the hall and stairwell to the study where his brother, the White God Damian, was probably plotting how to outsmart the pesky little immortals who'd declared war on them. Damian sat at the desk, bent over his iPad as he scanned messages and reports from immortals across the globe.

Darian watched his little brother, at once proud of the White God that Damian had grown into and crushed by the sense of his own failure. Damian had taken his place when betrayal rendered Darian near-dead then enslaved to a madman for thousands of years. Neither of their lives had been easy. Damian's nature was not like Darian's and their father's, but he'd shouldered the responsibility to protect humanity and battle the Black God without question.

"We don't need any more damn cats in this house," Damian said, glancing up.

"I kinda like them," Darian said. He crossed to the seat in front of Damian's desk and propped his feet up on the desk.

"You're as much a wild animal as they are," Damian agreed. "What's up, Darian? You need anything?"

"I made a decision."

Damian sat back, waiting curiously.

"Last week, in Ireland, something happened to me," Darian started. "I always wondered why you and Jonny had power and I didn't have anything. That's changed now. I've found it. I don't know how to use it yet, but I want to learn. And I think I..." He struggled with the words, hating how weak they sounded. He wasn't weak. He was the Grey God.

"Found yourself," Damian finished for him.

"Exactly."

Darkness crossed Damian's features, the same darkness Darian felt go through him as he alluded to the fact he was broken beyond repair.

"You want me to stop mothering you." Damian's eyes gleamed in sudden amusement. "That's it, isn't it?"

"Laugh all you want, little brother."

"You haven't called me that since..."

Darian offered a small smile, aware those around him had no way of knowing the changes he'd gone through in the past week. The magic forced into his body during a battle with an Other in Ireland had opened up much more than he liked. He'd begun to remember his life as the White God, memories that had been trapped in darkness for so long. He didn't want those memories, though. He found the dark memories of his enslavement were enough to motivate him without the heartache of remembering all that was good that would never be his again. The new memories made him feel vulnerable when all he wanted to feel was ... nothing.

"I'll never be who I was," he said. "I know who I am now. I want to discover what I can do. I don't want to be a burden to you or our family anymore."

"You're never a burden," Damian said.

"I need my own space, like Jule and Dusty," Darian continued, referring to their adopted brothers.

"You don't need my permission. What's mine is yours. You can commandeer any safe house or Guardians or anything you want. And please take some of these damn cats with you."

"Thank you, Damian."

"You've come a long way in a short time. I'm proud of you, Darian."

"We've both come a long way," Darian replied. "Our father would be thrilled at how well you've done."

Damian's smile widened, and Darian could see how touched his little brother was at the words.

"Anyway, I'll take a few cats with me when I find a spot. You have any luck putting North America back together?" Darian asked.

"Working on it. We lost a lot of Guardians to Jonny's predecessor and that psycho son of his. Dusty's in Atlanta surveying spots for a new headquarters, and I'm staying right here for now. Jule's the worst off. He's in Europe trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces," Damian said.

"It'll be just you and the girls."

"Great." Damian rolled his eyes. "How does the White God get put on babysitting duty?"

Darian smiled, knowing how much Damian loved his family despite his complaints. He set the cat down and rose.

"Could I ask for one last favor before you leave the nest?" Damian asked.

"Always."

"Check on Jenn."

Darian hoped his excitement at the assignment didn't show. He'd resisted asking about Jenn, but she was almost always on his mind.

Not in a good way. His first mate—who ultimately betrayed him—had been a lot like Jenn: a talented warrior. In a way, Jenn was worse. Where Claire had been a weak Oracle, Jenn was a mind manipulator. Trusting Claire had led Darian to his enslavement. What would trusting a real mind control expert get him?

"I can send someone else," Damian said at his silence.

"I'll go," Darian replied. "Just recalling how dangerous a female Guardian warrior with a knack for manipulating others can be."

"I understand. Jenn isn't like her, though."

I know she's not, but I'm telling myself she is, Darian thought to himself. The last thing he needed was to become involved with someone else. He barely knew who he was. Still, he'd admired Jenn's spunk, beauty, and strength. The tall Guardian was built like a model with the long, lean muscles of a ballerina. She packed a serious punch, despite the purr of a 1940s pinup model.

"I'll check her out," he said then corrected himself quickly. "I mean, check on her."

Damian said nothing, and Darian didn't have to look at his little brother to know he was trying not to grin. Darian left the study and returned to his room. He armed himself and stopped to pet one of the cats that had wandered into his room to sleep on his bed.

Nine lives. He wasn't sure a creature that lived more than one life was lucky. If anything, anyone with more than one life seemed pretty well cursed.

Darian pulled on a down vest. One of their brothers, Jule, had told them quietly where Jenn was after a trip to visit one of the vamps holed up with the Black God. The thought of killing vamps made his adrenaline pick up and his magic wriggle free from the tight grip he had on it.

Darian closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, not yet able to channel his newfound magic. When he felt calm again, he Traveled to the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, where four feet of snow covered the ground. He made his way to the rocky area near the hideout then crouched on the ground, watching. As much as he wanted to kill a few vamps, he wasn't here for that.

Check on Jenn and go, he told himself. He had a lot to do: find himself new digs and track down the immortals threatening his family. Among the gifts his new power gave him: the ability to sense and find the Others and Watchers. They were like burrs in his shoes, but he couldn't yet go after them until he'd learned to control his new power. He'd expected the Grey God's powers to be like the White God's, yet they weren't. Although he couldn't do everything he'd been able to do as a White God, he'd gained other abilities.

Darian debated how to find Jenn before he risked talking to her mentally. As a mind manipulator, she'd have more sensitive mental receptors. He shouldn't draw attention using magic this close to the Black God's hideout.

Go for a walk, he told her. Darian waited. A few minutes later, she emerged from the hideout. West 100 meters.

He rose as she approached. Jenn's dark hair was hidden under a knit cap, her lithe frame moving with a cat's grace through the snow and boulders. Large, dark eyes were wary and guarded, and she was openly armed. When she saw him, she put her knife away but didn't lose the wariness. There was something else in her gaze and the firm set of her jaw that bothered him.

"What is it?" he asked when she was close enough.

"Nothing," she replied with a tight smile. "A lot going on. How are you doing? Is everything back home okay?"

"We're all good. I'm on my way to find a new place."

"What happened? Did ikir kick you out?" she demanded.

"No," Darian chuckled. "I'm not a lost boy anymore. I can take care of myself."

She studied him closely, as if looking for signs of the man he'd been the last time she saw him. Or looking for something else. Darian had never felt threatened around her, even with his desire to find some reason to write her off as another Claire. This time, her intense gaze made him uncomfortable.

"What is it?" he asked again.

"I wasn't expecting you."

"Damian sent me."

"At ikira Sofi's suggestion?" Jenn asked, crossing her arms.

"I don't know," he said. "Jenn, what's wrong?"

"Really, it's nothing," she said with a sigh. "I'm a little rattled." Her glance towards the mountain mansion told him things were not going well.

"I can pull you out at any time," he said.

"Damian's agreement was—"

"Believe it or not, I'm a god, too, and I don't need Damian's permission or help to rescue a Guardian in need." His words came out harsher than he intended.

Jenn's troubled gaze flickered up to him again. She didn't seem convinced of his words or happy to see him. He suspected she was in more trouble than she let on, and it irritated him that she didn't trust him enough to tell him. She shifted away from him. Darian wasn't sure what to make of her reaction. They'd been friends since soon after Sofi found him, and Jenn had never acted this way around him before.

"Are you being treated well?" he asked.

"I'm still standing."

"You're worried about something."

"Being surrounded by vamps all day makes you jumpy."

"Jenn—"

"I'm fine. Really. This isn't a safe place for you to be, Darian. If I need something, I'll send a message, okay?"

Her verbal slap stunned him. The words were purred in her husky voice yet felt as if they'd been shouted. Jenn offered another half-assed smile then turned and walked away. Darian watched her, startled by her abruptness. He hadn't seen her since they sparred last, when Damian interrupted and swept her away to loan her to the Black God for a month. They'd been joking and sparring and having a good time.

Now this. Jenn wanted nothing to do with him. But it was more than that. Something was off here, and it wasn't just Jenn. Darian looked around him, irritated at her rejection but also aware she'd never treat any Guardian like that without a reason.

Jenn didn't look back but strode straight to the mansion and inside. Darian remained for another long moment before Traveling to the nearest town, determined to figure out what was going on.

***

Jenn closed the door firmly and drew a deep breath before facing her awaiting surveillance team. The three vamps were spread out around the foyer and trailed her like bloodsucking puppies as she moved down the hallway. Those vamps she passed hissed at her. There was one place in the mega-mansion where she found peace: the gym. Most of the vamps were late to wake in the mornings, the effect of their nocturnal lifestyle.

The women's locker room was empty. Jenn entered and went to her locker. She opened it and muttered a curse. One of the vamps had left her another deer head at the bottom. They were passive aggressive with her, hazing her when the Black God and Xander weren't around. There was a note affixed to the deer head, and she suspected it said the same thing as the other notes on animal heads she'd found around the house. You're next, Guardian.

At least there's no blood on my clothes, she told herself. She changed, left her folded clothing on the bench outside the locker, and slammed the locker closed. The backpack she kept with her as she exited the locker room into the gym area. It held all the weapons she could cram in there. She'd learned the hard way what happened if she left her weapons in her room. They had a habit of disappearing.

Her surveillance team had set up already. With them was a fourth vamp, one she wanted desperately not to see. Xander, the Original Vamp, stood over seven feet tall and was built like a boulder with dark hair and the glowing, red eyes characteristic of vamps. One of five Original Beings, he'd landed on earth when the Originals escaped from their immortal exile. He'd been a thorn in her side ever since.

"Guardian," he said, lifting his chin in greeting. He was waiting for her in the boxing ring.

"Puppet master," she replied.

"Leave us." This order was to the surveillance team. They obeyed faster than they ever would a command from the Black God, who still struggled to control his vamps.

Jenn ignored him and went to the punching bag she'd adopted as hers. Xander was in the gym whenever she was, no matter what time of day or night she went.

"Not in the mood, I see," Xander said.

"Just warming up. I'm gonna do it this time," she told him with a grunt as she unleashed a kick-punch-kick combo into the bag.

"Beat me?"

"Yep."

"It's good to have delusions."

"We call it optimism. If I could get rid of every single one of your kind, I would."

"You'd have nothing to do if we weren't around to kill," mused the bored predator.

"I can live with that," she replied and straightened. "I'm not here to entertain you, Xander."

"Why else do you think I gave you back your power? Should make what comes more interesting."

"I'm ready." Her blood was moving and her head clear. No part of her believed he'd let her live if he didn't have a reason to keep her around. He unceremoniously offered to return her Guardian power to her a week before in exchange for blood, part of a plan only he understood. The bites in her arm still hurt. Until that time came when their sparring became a final battle, she'd learn as much as she could from the ancient warrior.

Jenn joined Xander in the ring. She was dressed in clothing meant to facilitate her movement, but Xander wore heavy boots and clothing, as if he'd just come from outdoors. If one of his steel-toed boots connected with her head, she'd be dead.

One day, she would beat him at his own game. In the meantime, she wasn't about to go down without a fight. She'd figure out his weakness and hold onto that knowledge for when she needed it.

She struck first, not bothering to soften her blows as she might with anyone else. Xander deflected and attacked. His strikes were hard and fast and seemingly from every direction. She'd learned to stop thinking when in the ring with him and listen to her senses, to include the mind control talent. Anything that would indicate where his next strike would fall.

He and Darian would make for a thrilling match, she noted. Darian was lean as a whip, his body honed to the point where instinct and reaction were one. She'd never battled anyone with Darian's speed.

Xander's elbow smashed into her face. If she hadn't noticed the blow soon enough, she'd have no teeth. As it was, he busted her lip and left her ears ringing. The vamp withdrew.

"That was an easy one. You should've blocked that five times over," he chided.

"Some of us don't move at the speed of light," she snapped and wiped the blood away. "C'mon, I'm ready."

"You're head's not in the game. Someday, you might need these lessons."

"You've got my attention now."

His gaze lingered on her hand, where crimson blood was smeared. He'd never drawn blood before. She wondered how long it'd take before every vamp in the mansion was waiting in the locker room to claim what they could from her. When Xander didn't look away, she began to suspect she'd found a weak point.

"What's wrong, Xander?" she purred. "Whose head isn't in the game now?"

"You'd be wise to clean that up."

"Oh, you mean this?" she asked with faux innocence. "Just a little blood. I'm fine."

"You're a fool to mess with a creature like me, Guardian."

"What're you gonna do?" Jenn stepped closer to him and held out the bloodied hand. "Nothing? Oh, that's right. You want me alive." She dropped her arm. "You wouldn't let me back out if our roles were reversed."

His response was a strike hard enough to jar her to the bone when she blocked it. She filed her discovery as the only known weakness of the vamp. They settled into a battle that left her drenched in sweat before she left the ring and him looking like a cat that just caught a mouse.

When she retreated to the locker room, her lip was puffy and her body achy already. No vamps awaited her there. She cleaned up the blood first then took a fast enough shower that the water didn't have time to warm from cold to hot. She'd stopped trying to figure out why Xander tormented her every day. It was more than because he was bored, and she knew very well what he could do if he wanted to. She'd seen him trying to train the Black God a couple of times but never in the ring with any of the vamps.

Just the lone Guardian whose mission there was as hidden to the boy-god as the Original Being's.

When she was cleaned up, she set about doing what she did every morning: rifling through the sparse pantry then searching the mansion for more information. She went to the bedroom without a door that had been hers until she took up her spot sleeping in the foyer. There were two heads on the bed this day: that of a buck and one of a bear. Each had a note.

Jenn ignored them both. Her surveillance team had yet to follow her to the restroom, and she disappeared inside, locking the door. She stripped out of her vest and hid her bag under the sink. Jenn placed the blade of a knife between her teeth and pried the window of her bathroom open. Cold wind swept through the room.

She knocked the snow off the ledge. As she did every day, she wriggled out onto it and crept the length of the ledge to the neighboring window. Jonny's bathroom was four times the size of hers. She pulled the window open and dropped in, glancing around to make sure she was alone. She peeked from his bathroom into the largest bedroom suite in the mansion then stepped into the area serving as a living room and study.

The Black God's bedroom door was closed for the first time in a week. Judging by the position of his computer, he'd been on it last night, and the black notebook where he wrote notes to himself about his duties was missing. She'd been trying to get her hands on it since arriving. Damian had assigned her here to help Jonny root out the vamps who were working with Others in the Black God's ranks.

More importantly, she had to find out what Jonny's next step was, once the month-long truce between White and Black Gods was up. Nearly all of the Guardians were without their magic. Vamps would be able to pick them off as easily as they did humans. She needed to know what Jonny planned.

Jenn started forward then paused with a glance towards the closed bedroom door. She was sensitive to any change in his habits. Even something as small as a closed door made her instincts tingle.

She crossed to it and pushed it open, her attention falling to the slender blonde slung across Jonny's bed. The dead woman's pale skin and hair starkly contrasted with Jonny's black silk sheets and duvet. Her missing throat left Jenn no doubt what happened. What dismay she felt at Jonny's first killing a week ago had slid into understanding that the Black God was merely becoming what he was.

Her Jonny was almost completely gone. Jenn released a deep sigh. She replaced her knife in its sheath and looked around for more bodies. Jonny should know to respect the dead enough to bury or burn those he killed. Maybe the vamps hadn't taught him that yet.

Jenn carefully positioned the young woman's body and rolled her in one of the sheets. She rose and gasped, not sensing the silent Xander, who stood in the doorway to the living room.

"It's useless to fight it," he observed.

"I don't give a shit about Jonny. I know he's a lost cause," she replied. "This girl deserves better than to be tossed aside like yesterday's trash."

"Good luck digging in the frozen ground," he said, then added, "And I wasn't talking about Jonny."

"I don't care, Xander."

"I was talking about Darian."

She looked up. "What about him?"

"You can't fight your fate."

"I'll never, ever, let you use me to get to him, Xander," she replied. "It's out of the question. Fate is not predetermined anyway."

"No, but some outcomes are more likely than others. If you don't take the next step down that path, you'll likely regret the outcome. It won't be pretty for any of you Guardians."

"If you're not going to help me dig, get the fuck out."

When she looked up again, he was gone. She didn't want to acknowledge there might be truth to anything he said except for one: she couldn't dig a grave. The chances of the vamps sniffing around like the animals they were and digging the body up were too high. Jenn returned the way she came—through the bathrooms—and retrieved her backpack. She pulled it on then left her room, trailed by her vamps. She pushed Jonny's door open and retrieved the dead woman's body, slinging it over her shoulder.

She marched again into the cold snowstorm and to the maintenance tool shed tucked between boulders and trees. She snagged an axe and went to the forest, trailed by vamps that had drawn closer at the scent of blood.

As she hacked at a young tree, she thought of Xander's words. It was impossible that he meant to help the Guardians, yet she'd believed for a moment that's what he implied. Whatever game Xander played, it wouldn't benefit the Guardians. She wasn't about to let him use her to betray any of them, especially Darian, who had gone through too much already.

## Chapter Two

DARIAN FOUND A summer cabin beside a lake in a small logging town near the Black God's hideout. He broke in and checked the electricity, which someone had left on. A quick glance around at the furnished cabin left him satisfied. He left and walked through the snowstorm to the Realtor sign hanging at the end of the long driveway. Plucking it free, he Traveled back to Texas to find the stash of credit cards and identifications Damian kept in the safe in his study. He opened it and rifled through the files.

"How was Jenn?" His sister-in-law's voice was soft.

"So it was you who wanted me to check on her," Darian said. "Jenn thought it might be."

"For an Original Being, Xander has no discretion."

At Sofi's icy voice, Darian turned away from the safe and faced her. She stood in the doorway, silver-blue eyes swirling and arms crossed. Damian's lifemate was petite, beautiful, and angry.

"Take it up with him," Darian said, amused. "Something weird is going on up there. I'm going to stay close."

"That's good." She still sounded irritated.

Darian faced the safe to hide his smile and continued searching. Sofi was the only Oracle to be found since the Schism. Her cool energy surrounded him. She was constantly assessing him and had been since she discovered him as a prisoner of the Black God.

"I'm fine," he said. "Better than I have been in a very long time."

"I sense that."

"Then what worries you?"

"Just the usual."

Darian snorted. "I'm fed up with moody women today. Jenn treated me like a shitbag and now you."

"I was afraid of that. Dammit, Xander," Sofi muttered. "You just need to keep close to Jenn. She's in a great deal of danger."

"Like immediate danger?" he asked, facing her again. "I'll yank her out of there so fast, not even—"

"You'll know when."

"Damn Oracles." He snatched the documents he needed and closed the door to the safe. "I planned on sticking close anyway. You're not about to tell me anything else, are you?"

"Not yet."

"It must be important if you and the Original Being are interested," he baited, even knowing she'd ignore him.

"Don't trip over your own feet on your way there or anywhere else."

"Your Oracle advice sounds like it came out of a fortune cookie."

Sofi laughed. The small woman was the most powerful Oracle since ancient times, stronger even than his own mother. The White Gods had a long tradition of finding and mating with Oracles. When he'd met Claire, he'd been enamored instantly by her beauty and fighting skill. That she was a weak Oracle unable to access her magic meant nothing to him at the time.

"Which cats are yours?" he asked, forcing his mind off of Claire and Jenn. "I'm taking a couple with me."

"The little black one with blue eyes. She sits with me when I read."

"Fitting. Black cat for an Oracle."

"Be careful, Darian."

He waved the words away. Sofi left him alone in the study, and he sat down at Damian's computer to send the info the real estate agent needed to rent him the cabin. He'd set up shop there immediately, but he assumed he'd be there for at least two more weeks. Having some poor, unexpecting Realtor stumble upon him before his paperwork cleared wouldn't be pleasant.

Darian collected his two favorite cats then packed a small suitcase and Traveled to the cabin. He flipped on all the lights. The furniture was worn and rustic with wooden frames and upholstered cushions. He flipped on the heat and looked around the living room, satisfied with his find.

The hair on the back of Darian's neck rose suddenly, and his newfound ability to track Watchers and Others pinpointed where the Watcher would appear before it did. He faced the corner, weapons drawn. A moment later, the small, grandfatherly looking Watcher with emerald eyes appeared.

"Hello, _ikir_ ," the Watcher said.

"Watcher."

"It has been awhile since you have been you. You remember me now."

Darian cocked his head to the side. "I remember enough to know I never liked you."

"And we never liked you. You always were a complicated man." The Watcher offered an empty smile. "Unlike Damian."

"He's better suited to be the White God than I ever was," Darian said. "He lacks my... darkness."

"It makes you stronger."

"You're not here to talk about my shit. What do you want?"

"I admit, I'm surprised you haven't sent me away. Damian would've expelled me by now."

Darian considered the words, well aware of the same truth. He should've felt something, perhaps gratitude to the man before him, for the Watchers had helped Sofi find him and Bianca heal him. But he felt nothing, not even his brother Damian's fury at the immortals messing with the mortal world.

"It's my duty to expel you. As soon as I figure out how, I will," he said simply.

"Ah, I see. And Others? Will you treat them with the same temporary tolerance?"

"No. Them I don't like."

"Good. That will make this a fruitful conversation," the Watcher said. "I need to know where the Others are and what they're doing. I believe Damian has a Hunter among his men, but the White God refuses to speak to me anymore."

"I can find them," Darian said, watching the Watcher's reaction closely.

"Others?"

"And Watchers."

At these words, the Watcher's smile faded. Its green gaze turned intent, and Darian waited for it to speak again.

"If you really can find Others, you must reveal their locations to me. We will remove them from the planet," the Watcher said.

"I could," Darian agreed. "Tell me, Watcher, if I am the Gatekeeper, what gate am I guarding?"

"The one between worlds."

"Show me."

"Will you help us rid the earth of the Others?"

"Sure."

The Watcher held out his hand. Darian took it. They Traveled, and Darian opened his eyes in a place where it was dark and cold.

"There are now two places on earth where we can enter from the immortal world. This is ours. The Others have their own," the Watcher explained. "Once we are here, we can Travel at will."

"I take it the portals can never be closed, or you wouldn't have showed me where it is," Darian guessed, looking around. His eyes adjusted to the darkness. Opposite the entrance, he saw an area that shimmered darker than the rest of the cave. Snow crunched underfoot as he moved closer to the portal.

"Correct," the Watcher said. "Before your battle with the Other in Ireland, there was only one gateway open. You failed to close it, and now there are two. We can't monitor the Others moving in and out of the mortal world. Does that mean anything to you?"

"I have two gateways to guard. I can do it," Darian said.

"The Grey God cannot guard two gateways. The war will spread."

"Do not underestimate me, Watcher."

"Perhaps you need some motivation to do what you should. This can be arranged."

"Or you could tell me what you really want from me," Darian said, not liking the words. Watchers had a reputation in the immortal world as being manipulators. They'd left the human world alone until several months ago.

"That's not our way." The Watcher motioned to the back of the cave. "Gods, Guardians, and Naturals can pass through, too."

"Keep playing your games," Darian growled. "Soon, I'll figure out how to do more than track your kind. Maybe then your _ways_ will change."

The Watcher continued to ignore him. "Have you never wondered what remains, since regaining your mind?"

Darian stared at the portal, memories swirling through him. The only part of his life that had been good lay beyond the gateway in front of him.

_No_ , he told himself. The good part of his life was gone. Only memories remained. He'd been enslaved the day of the Schism, and Damian would never speak of what happened to their home. Was it the way he left it? Were the gardens where he was born and the beach where he played as a child still there? If he walked beneath the apple trees in the orchard, would _she_ be waiting for him with her sweet smile, as she had the day they met? As she had the day she betrayed him?

He couldn't help fearing everything was as he left it, and the only thing truly broken in either world—was him.

"Maybe someday," he said, turning his attention to the Watcher. "You say you don't know where the Others' entrance is?"

"We cannot track them in the mortal world until they use a substantial amount of magic."

"What will you do if I tell you where they are?"

"Confront them."

Darian eyed him. With the memories of a better time drifting through his mind were memories of a war brewing between Others and Watchers that ultimately ended in the Schism, the severing of the mortal and immortal worlds. The battling immortals had nearly destroyed the human world in pursuit of one another. The only way to protect the humans was to close the gateways between worlds.

And now, two gateways were open again, and the immortals readying the human world for another battle.

"No," he said. "I'm the Gatekeeper. I manage who and what comes through these gates. I'm responsible for you—and them—fucking up my world. Which means, I'll let no one through who can fuck up my world."

"We would remove them."

"I can remove them now. I don't need your help," Darian said and turned away.

"You said you'd help us!" the Watcher said sharply.

"I'll help you by getting rid of them. That's what you said you wanted. Or is this another Watcher riddle?"

The Watcher was quiet. As Darian suspected, the small creature was unwilling to reveal its true intentions.

"You can't do what we can," the Watcher said finally. "You can't stop them without us."

"You can't find them without me. At least I know where they are."

"And when they strike?"

"I won't give them that chance. I'll find their gateway and hunt them down one by one."

"You will find yourself short on time, ikir."

"Maybe. But since I am the Gatekeeper, that's my concern, not yours," Darian said firmly.

"You don't want us to leave you to your fate with them! You can't stop what comes!"

"Yeah, I do want you to leave. All of you. Go back to the immortal world. Attack the Others there. I'll clean house here."

The Watcher winked out of existence. Darian cursed at it under his breath, knowing it hadn't done what he said. He looked at the portal. Even if he couldn't close it, there had to be a way to monitor it, or he'd never be able to manage the gateways.

His body seized suddenly, and he dropped to his knees, doubled over. Pain flew threw him, scrambling his thoughts. For a moment, he didn't know who or where he was. Darkness swallowed him before he could figure it out.

***

Tucson, Arizona

Near the White God's former headquarters

The guardsman materialized out of the dark, moonlight glinting off the metallic purple symbol on his back. He approached what had been one of many former safe houses belonging to the White God near the base of the Tucson Mountains. The building had been burnt to the ground, and the guardsman began the process of sifting through the ashes. His masters only needed one small token of the body that had been burned here. Something as small as a piece of hair or a tooth—anything that the soul of the dead immortal might still cling to.

The desert around him was quiet and the sky overhead clear. It stretched for miles, littered with stars brighter than any he'd ever seen. He found himself stretching his head back to take in the view. The stars didn't shine quite so bright in the immortal world, and the sky didn't seem as endless.

If he didn't find what he sought, there might not be an immortal world anymore. The guardsman lowered his gaze to the ashes as he began digging in earnest. Duty replaced his fascination with the mortal world.

His masters wouldn't be pleased if he came back with nothing. This time, it wasn't them he feared. Rumors spread through the guardsmen of a second Schism, one that would finish what the first started. The first tore the two worlds apart; the second would destroy one of them. It wouldn't be his world, not if he found the seemingly innocuous token his masters sent him to find.

He remained throughout the night, crawling on his hands and knees to sift through the debris. Glass bit into his skin. Ashes and dirt sullied his uniform and made him sneeze. Still, he searched. It wasn't until dawn crested the horizon that he smelled the unmistakable scent of blood. He dug deeper into the pile of cement blocks and ashes before him. At long last, he found the object.

Flecks of blood remained on the carbon fiber bullet. It was the bullet of a Guardian, for only carbon fiber bullets would kill the vamps in the mortal world. The guardsman hesitated, not sensing the soul of the dead immortal despite the blood.

It was all he'd found. His gaze went over the area again then to the sun. He was running out of time. If this was enough, his masters could get to work immediately. If it wasn't, they'd beat him and send him back.

It all boils down to a matter of minutes, he'd heard his masters saying. We only need a few to disrupt the Watchers' plan.

He'd risk a beating, if his masters thought a few minutes would save their world. He placed the bullet in a small pouch at his waist and left the ruins, dusting himself off. His gaze went to the sunrise, a brilliant display of reds and oranges over the desert. He couldn't help hoping he saw this strange, new mortal world again, and the rumors spreading throughout the ranks of guardsmen were just that—rumors. The colors and sensations of the immortal world were richer on the senses, but the mortal world seemed raw, untamed.

Traveling to the portal between worlds, the guardsman took one last look around then dropped through the gateway to the immortal world. He gripped the pouch with its precious cargo. One day, he might tell his children about the mortal world, how wild it was, before his masters destroyed it to save his world.

***

Darian opened his eyes. The cave was dark. He was curled up on the cold floor. He hadn't had one of the attacks in a few days. He'd had them frequently when Sofi freed him from the Black God. For months, he'd black out several times a day and wake up somewhere else, usually with the room around him in shambles.

At least he couldn't destroy the rocky cave. He glanced around and pushed himself up. The point where Watchers entered the world was not the best place to pass out. He was lucky he hadn't been killed after telling them off.

With a shiver, Darian Traveled back to the cabin he'd claimed. His head throbbed and his body ached, as if he'd flung himself against the rocky wall. He took a hot shower to soothe the muscle aches and stood in the hot water, letting it run over him.

He hadn't wanted to think about the blackouts when he'd told Damian he was leaving. He'd hoped they'd be manageable. Standing alone in the shower, he realized just how closed he'd come to his own death. If the Watchers hadn't needed him alive for some reason, they'd have killed him as he lay helpless and seizing in their cave.

Three lives down, he told himself. He roused himself, unwilling to sink into the dark thoughts. Darian exited and dressed in all black, arming himself with knives.

Now that he had a place and knew what the Watchers wanted, he could focus on his next item of business: finding and killing a few Others.

Darian Traveled back to Damian's, arriving in the gym. The creature he sought was lifting weights, and bristled as Darian appeared.

"Fine." Charles, the vamp Hunter Damian traded for Jenn, rose with a growl.

"I can sense them but need to know I'm right," Darian said. "This time, we can kill them."

"Ikir Damian said—"

"I'm a god, too, vamp. You can disappear if you get scared," Darian snapped.

The vamp growled again and flung down the free weights. He stalked to the locker room and returned a few minutes later, armed and dressed. His eyes glowed red. Darian sensed the vamp's unease despite the bravado. No one normal would challenge an Other.

"Find one," Charles ordered.

Darian concentrated hard. He felt the Others and the Watchers. He wasn't sure how, but some part of him knew the difference. The closest of the immortals was a Watcher, and there were Others congregated somewhere. By the strength of their presence in his mind, they weren't close.

"How do I get to them?" he asked.

"You let the magic guide you. Find one, focus on him, and let your power do its job," Charles answered.

"I see a whole bunch in one area. Seems like somewhere we'd like to be," Darian reasoned.

"No, don't—" Charles' warning was swallowed as Darian relaxed enough for his magic to carry them to the Others.

Darian opened his eyes and looked around, surprised to find the location familiar. They weren't far from the Black God's mountain fortress. Darian was thigh deep in snow, though the storm had stopped and the half-moon was out and bright.

Charles whipped out his weapons, and Darian soon saw why. Three Others with glowing purple eyes stood several feet away, frozen in surprise.

"Hi," Darian said, striding towards them. "My name is Darian, and I'm the Grey God."

"Fucking idiot, son of a—" Charles hissed under his breath.

"We know who you are," one of the Others replied.

"Then you know why I'm here," Darian said. He stopped a short distance from the one who spoke and drew a knife.

"That we do not."

"I'm here to send you home. Or kill you. Your choice."

There was a short silence, then the Other he addressed chuckled.

"Neither of those things are possible, Guardian."

"Charles, step back," Darian said.

Still cursing him, the vamp obeyed and scrambled away. The Others looked at him in curious amusement. Darian sensed at least one gathering its magic to shred him from the inside out. He tried to remember what Sofi had told him about his magic.

Relax. Let it come to you.

He'd fought the advice for as long as he could remember. Whenever he loosened his grip on his power, he felt it respond. He feared what it could do, that he couldn't control it. However, if attacked by Others, he preferred to level everything around them than take the chance he was the only one killed.

"In the name of the White God, Damian, and the Black God, Jonny, I banish you from the mortal earth," he said. "Let's not make this hard on anyone."

"I am no longer amused," the Other before him said.

Purple magic arced from his body and slammed Darian into a tree. He grunted as he dropped into the snow. The blow hurt, but he was no stranger to pain.

"Now, my turn," Darian said.

The Other glowed purple-black in the night, and more lightning streaked towards Darian. The Grey God pulled his own power and used it to deflect, ducking away from the sizzling strike meant to rip him apart. Instead of waiting for the Other to attack again, Darian spun and plunged his knife into the creature's belly.

"Foolish creature. That does not work... on... us." The Other's words slowed, and the creature looked down at the protruding weapon.

Darian followed his gaze, not smelling or seeing blood. The magic around the Other fizzled. Without another word, the creature dropped. Surprised, Darian stared at the motionless body, waiting for it to spring up and attack him. When it didn't, he looked to the remaining two Others, who stared at him in shock.

"One down, two to go," he said and bent to retrieve the knife.

Purple magic seized him, bound him, and lifted him into the air. It slammed him between trees and sizzled through his blood. He felt as if he was burning up from the inside out.

I know pain, and this is nothing, he chanted to himself, waiting for them to release him so he could attack. He smelled the scent of his own skin and hair burning. Still he waited. They'd have to drop him eventually, even if it was to Travel elsewhere. When they did, he'd attack.

He could kill them. It had taken a team of Guardians—including two Original Beings—to kill the last Other. But he'd done it on his own. It was easier than killing a vamp.

His body afire, Darian belted out a laugh of pain-filled triumph. The game was now his.

## Chapter Three

THE COMMOTION IN the forest drew Jenn and those vamps near her towards it. She'd been sleeping somewhat well beside the panoramic window when purple light lit up the foyer. She'd pulled on her boots and snatched her backpack before she was half awake, running towards the door. Vamps poured out of the fortress into the snow, stopping to puzzle over the brilliant purple lights lancing across the treeline.

"Xander! Jenn!" Jonny's voice was young and raw again. "What is it?" He shoved his way through the vamps and joined her.

"Stay here, Jonny," she heard herself say as she started forward. She stopped, angry at herself for trying to protect the boy who was no longer a boy. "I'm sorry. You may want to send a few vamps out that way. I'll go ahead, unless you prefer I don't?"

"No, go. I'll send a team after you," he said quickly.

"Jonny, send Xander." Her gaze went to the sky, and she assessed the sight she'd never seen before. The magic in the air crackled around them even from the distance.

Rather than risk Traveling to the center of the phenomenon, Jenn ran down the driveway the vamps had cleared of snow to the narrow country road leading up the mountain to the Black God's hideout. She trotted until she was parallel to the lights then plunged into the deep snow, forcing her way into the forest.

Ten minutes of walking later, she crouched beneath the lowest branch of a massive pine tree and inched her way to the scene. Her gaze fell first to the vamps Jonny must've sent who made the mistake she'd avoided. Their bodies were torn to shreds where they'd appeared from Traveling. Another vamp was suspended in a tree, pinned by purple-white lightning arcing from the hand of a small creature she recognized as an Other.

Jenn eased back, not about to draw the creature's attention, not for the sake of a few stupid vamps. Her gaze followed the lightning emanating from the second Other's body. She barely recognized the body being slung between trees. Half his face was burned beyond recognition, but the other half...

Darian, you fool!

"Shit!" she muttered. Jenn reached for her weapons. She had knives and the guns with carbon fiber bullets that she used to kill vamps. It'd do nothing to an Other but aggravate him. Her mind raced as she sought some way to save Darian. At last, she realized she had no real advantage.

"Others." Jonny's voice was filled with awe.

She jumped, surprised to find the Black God a couple of feet behind her, staring at the scene.

"Jonny, you shouldn't..." The words died on her lips. "Where's Xander?"

"I don't know. Hunting, maybe."

"Bastard is always around when I don't need him and never around when I do. Then we'll have to do this the stupid way. We need to distract them so I can rescue Darian." She crawled forward. The Black God snatched her ankle, dragging her back.

"You can't leave me," he said.

"I'm not leaving you," she snapped and yanked free. "I'm going to take Darian home to Damian and come back."

"No. I won't let you go."

"Then you can take Darian to Damian and try to explain how you didn't fuck up his brother. Good luck getting him to believe you," she said with calmness she didn't feel.

Jonny frowned but didn't object again.

"Now, can you make those trees behind the Others fall on them?" she asked.

"I think so."

"Do it."

The Black God's power swelled, stifling the air around them. She pushed herself away discreetly, not yet certain he knew what to do with all of the magic in his blood. Splintering and groaning filled the air, followed by muffled crashes as the trees behind the Others toppled into the snow. When Jenn saw Darian drop from the air she launched forward.

"Jenn!" Jonny hissed.

The ground shook, and suddenly, all the trees around them began falling. Jenn dodged one and saw the flash of purple from the corner of her eye. She threw herself into the snow, watching the lightning slice the air where she'd been. With effort, she forced herself up and threw a dagger in the direction of the Other. More trees fell. She clambered over one and landed beside Darian, who smelled like burnt flesh.

"Darian!" she exclaimed, rolling him onto his back. "Say something!"

"I... got... one," he managed. He tried to push himself up. Jenn yanked him against her, taking in his burned profile.

"You missed the other two!" she retorted.

As long as he was alive, she could Travel with him. She closed her eyes and imagined them home in Texas. A gasp made her eyes open, and she looked around the kitchen. Jule's mate, Yully, was frozen before the open fridge, her eyes wide and red curls bound loosely at her neck.

"Go get Bianca," Jenn ordered, struggling out from Darian's weight. Yully hurried away.

"I... got... one," he repeated. His head lolled back, and his eyes closed. Before he passed out, he released what sounded like a hoarse laugh.

"Crazy son of a bitch!"

Jenn looked up as a familiar vamp materialized in the kitchen. She recognized him as Charles, the vamp Damian had gotten in exchange for sending her to the Black God. His arm was bloodied and burned. He dropped to the ground beside them.

"What did this?"

At the sound of a new voice, Jenn pushed herself to her feet as Damian slammed the door to the kitchen open.

"He went after Others," Charles supplied.

"Bianca!" the White God bellowed into the hallway. He turned his attention to Jenn. "Help me carry him down the hallway."

Jenn obeyed and hefted Darian's shoulders as Damian took his ankles. They maneuvered Darian's body through the doorway and into the living room, where they deposited him on the couch.

Jenn's gaze lingered on the unconscious man's body. She admired his bravery but wished he had more sense.

"You okay?" Damian asked, glancing up at her.

"Yeah. I gotta go, before Jonny hunts me down," she said and turned away.

Damian caught her arm. "No, really, are you okay?"

"I'm alive. Less than two weeks 'til I can come home, ikir," Jenn said, looking away. While she'd been one of the original Guardians to escape the immortal world with Damian, she'd also been at the bottom of the totem pole, once the Guardians in the mortal world rallied around their White God. She'd never felt as comfortable around him as she did Dusty.

"If you need me to pull you out, I will."

"I'm good," she said with a forced smile. "Just take care of him."

"I'll let you know," Damian promised.

"Thanks." Jenn stepped away but felt the White God watching her. A small part of her suspected Damian knew what Xander knew.

She Traveled back to the panoramic window, where her nest of blankets wasn't the only thing waiting for her. Jonny whipped around mid-step as she materialized. He relaxed visibly.

"I didn't think you'd return," he said.

"I keep my word, too," she said. Jenn shrugged out of her backpack and yanked off her wet jacket.

"The Others are right here on my doorstep, Jenn, and I can't find them!" the Black God said in frustration. "What if they attacked tonight? We'd be defenseless."

"You're far from defenseless, Jonny," she reminded him. "You're the Black God. You can't track them, but I bet you could put a dent in one of them with your power."

"Xander can't even stop them! And I gave away the only vamp who could track them to Damian."

"Tell him you need help," Jenn suggested. Privately, she willed the boy away. She, too, was rattled by the events of the night. Her mind control magic slid around him, ineffective this night.

"He won't help me. Jenn, I can't interrogate or spy on every one of my vamps! I need a solution, now."

"I gave you one. You need someone with Charles' skill. You and Damian have a common enemy, one that threatens both of you. He'll work with you to get rid of the Others," she said with some impatience.

Jonny paced and brooded. Jenn sat down and pulled off her wet boots, slinging them away. Her eyes settled on her blankets. In the time she'd been gone fighting Others, some vamp had left her the head of another dead animal.

This is getting old, she grated to herself. Any hope of getting more sleep this night was gone. She focused on Jonny again, willing him to accept her solution.

He stopped pacing then shook his head.

"Maybe you're right," he said slowly. "Maybe he'll give me Charles back, at least for a day or two."

There's no way in hell, she told herself. Out loud, she replied, "It's a good idea."

"Yeah, it is a good idea."

She didn't say that she thought Damian would run circles around the boy and find a better solution. Jonny needed help with his Others issues. Even she was freaked out by how close they were. Why were the Others lurking in the forest outside the Black God's fortress, if not to kill them all?

"I'll go ask him now," Jonny said.

"You're being very smart about this, Jonny."

He flashed a tight smile. Jenn waited until he disappeared as he Traveled to the White God's headquarters. She stripped down to her underwear and changed into warm clothing, not caring what the vamps saw so long as Jonny wasn't around to get any ideas. The vamps were jittery enough, with the foyer teeming with young vampires who seemed both eager to do something about the excitement and uncertain what.

Jonny hadn't given them any direction, she assessed.

I'm not about to wait around for Others to fry me. Jenn armed herself with as many weapons as she could then left her backpack, expecting the rest to be gone by the time she returned. She left the mansion into the cold night and scouted around. Built into the mountain, half the fortress was tucked into the stone of a small peak. She climbed onto the roof of the mansion then approached the peak. The vantage point from there would let her see anything coming up the driveway or through the forest, though the pines were thick. It was too snowy to move quietly through the forest. At least from the peak, she'd see anything before it got to the fortress, even in the moonlight.

Jenn chose a small scouting position, hidden from view by rocks and snow. She made her new spot as comfortable as possible and lay down to wait and watch. The cold, still air sank into her clothing and skin. Within a couple of hours, clouds blocked the moon, and the snow began again. She watched vamps go in and out of the fortress. Jonny returned at some point and left with a small group to hunt. An hour before dawn, she began to feel drowsy and shifted her position to keep from falling asleep.

"What're we waiting for?"

She twisted, one knife drawn before she recognized Darian's dark shape crouched over her feet. She hadn't heard or sensed him, as if he'd gone to some sort of stealth mode that silenced even his mind. But he was alive and in one piece after his run-in with the Other. More relief trickled through her than she liked.

"Are you healed up?" she asked, uneasy with the fact his thoughts were so closed off.

"Good as new. Mostly. Is this where you sleep?"

"Not usually. I didn't want to be caught off guard when the Others came back."

"They're not near here."

"You can track them?"

"I can," he confirmed. "That's how I found them last time. They're away for now."

Jenn bit her tongue to keep from saying what she wanted to say. She sat and leaned against the nearest boulder, studying Darian. He seemed at once distracted and aware, as if his instincts were on autopilot while he thought deeply.

"You can say it," he said.

"Say what?"

"I can see it on your face."

"You're a fool and a shithead for thinking you could take on three Others."

"I got one."

"And pissed off the other two," she pointed out. "If the Black God hadn't been there, we wouldn't have been able to save you. You have no idea how hard it is to keep that kid focused."

Darian shifted.

"I'm done," she said. "No, wait, I'm not. If you were one of my Guardians, I'd kick your ass for not thinking before you acted and putting others in danger. Lecture over."

"If I let you kick my ass, will you forgive me? We'll be friends again and you'll stop treating me like I've got the plague?" he asked, half-teasing.

Jenn snorted. "What're you doing here?"

"You didn't say no," he said and stood. "I'm not a fan of the cold. Let's go inside."

"Are you crazy? You want to go into Jonny's lair?"

"I don't know what you told that kid, but he marched into Damian's study and demanded I fix his Others problems." He held out a hand.

"I would've loved to see that conversation," Jenn said, unable to keep from smiling at the picture in her head. She accepted Darian's hand, and he pulled her up. "But you're here. So Damian agreed?"

"Damian traded me, like he did you. Odd, I didn't think a god could be traded." There was bemusement in Darian's voice. Jenn knew how strong the relationship was between the brothers. Darian wasn't capable of begrudging Damian for anything he did.

"If Jonny got you, then what did Damian... Xander. Oh, thank god," she said, sighing. "I no longer feel like meat dangling over a hungry lion's cage."

"You're happy about being surrounded by one less vamp?"

"You have no idea what it's like being around someone just waiting to snap and take you out." Jenn sheathed her weapons and started down the peak above the Black God's mountain fortress.

"I think I do," Darian said.

Jenn glanced over her shoulder. Darian looked unusually calm. He'd changed again over the course of the two weeks she'd been assigned to the Black God. Though she expected him to continue the rapid cycle of changes, she couldn't help feeling this metamorphosis was different. She'd watched him go from a near-comatose state, through his teenager stage that nearly drove them all mad, to the gym-obsessed warrior trying to understand his place in the world. But this felt permanent. Little of the darkness that plagued him was visible in his handsome features and gaze. His wiry body was honed and ready to pounce, his golden eyes taking in the world around him with wary curiosity.

No, this wasn't the same man she'd left behind two weeks ago. This was Darian, not the shell of a man whose mind was stuck somewhere else. Like Jonny, he'd grown into what he was virtually overnight.

"So, what do you do around here all day?" Darian asked, taking in the vamps outside the doorway of the Black God's fortress.

"Try to keep Jonny focused on his vamps and not on dragging me to his bed. Kill a vamp or two when it gets in my way. Burn the bodies of Jonny's girl-toys. Avoid Xander. Spar. Oh, and try to stay alive," she summarized. "The vamps only try shit when Jonny and Xander aren't around. They have a standing order not to touch me, but they can make it look like an accident."

"Did you say Jonny tried to drag you to his bed?"

"Is that all you heard?" she asked, amused. "He thinks about it too much. I have probably three days until my mind control no longer works on him. And then, it's up to my wits to keep me alive."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"This is what I do, Darian. I fuck—and fuck with—dangerous men," she replied. Jenn leapt the last few feet to the level ground. When she didn't hear Darian drop behind her, she turned.

He was staring at her hard. His features had grown dark and shuttered. She caught the slightest hint of his memory.

"I remind you of her," she said. "At least I serve a higher cause than myself."

"I know that." His voice was soft, and he shook off the darkness before dropping to the ground beside her. "I know you're nothing like her. I wouldn't be here if I thought you would betray me."

But... she heard the uncertainty in his voice.

"Of the two of us, I'm the better liar," she said. "You know better by now than to trust a woman who lies for a living."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You sure?" Jenn looked up at him. She took a step closer, waiting for him to back down. The Darian she'd left behind two weeks ago hadn't resolved his issues with his past. He would've turned tail and run.

Darian held her gaze. He smelled of pine trees and a bonfire, his earthy scent mixed with the softer scent of soap. She couldn't read his thoughts, but she saw the shadows in his eyes. She'd stood close to him before, normally when he had her in a headlock. This time, their proximity seemed too intimate. The moment stretched on until it felt awkward even to her. They studied each other, trying to read one another.

"I'm sure, Jenn," he said at last.

His resolution brought home just how much she didn't know this Darian. He'd found some level of peace, and he'd grown powerful enough to kill an Other. What took two gods and two Original Beings to do in Ireland, Darian had done on his own. No, he definitely wasn't the man she'd left in Texas.

He was dangerous in a way that left her certain of two things: being too close to him would probably get her killed. And, if he found out she was meant to be his mate, he'd pursue her with the same wild determination he pursued Others.

Darian didn't flee, but suddenly, Jenn wanted to.

The Grey God stepped around her, striding towards the door to Jonny's fortress. Jenn shivered involuntarily as a cool breeze replaced his body heat. She watched him, unable to identify why she felt the loss of more than his warmth. She had to keep pushing him away, or she wasn't the only one who'd probably end up dead in a few days.

She just had to drive him off before he found out.

When she entered, Darian stood in the middle of the foyer, surveying the vamps staring at him like the god he was.

"I'll show you around," she said. She led him first down the hallway where the gym was, pointing out the locker rooms and weapons room before taking him to the second floor to Jonny's wing and past her doorless room.

"I take it those aren't yours," Darian said, leaning in to look at the animal heads on her bed.

Jenn crossed her arms, irritated that the vamps had opened her windows, too, as if to make her room more uncomfortable for her. She strode in and rifled through the drawers for clean clothes.

"You got anywhere to be?" she asked.

"Just tracking Others."

"I'll go with you."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Oh?" She faced him. "Why not?"

"You can't kill them. I can."

"If I remember correctly, you were about to die when I rescued you from them."

Darian smiled faintly.

"I haven't had a decent shower in a week," she said, tossing him her knives. "They like to creep up on me when they think I'm unarmed. You mind waiting a few minutes?"

"Go for it. I won't say no to being so close to a naked woman."

Two weeks ago, she'd have laughed. After the strange exchange outside, the joke fell flat. Jenn eyed him. Darian flipped a knife in the air then sat down on a chair in the corner.

"Want me to clean up your bed?" he asked, gaze going to the animal heads.

"I sleep on the floor."

"After a zillion years sleeping on the floor, I won't waste another night outside a real bed."

"You're not sleeping in my bed."

The awkward silence fell again. Darian's gaze was intent and shadowed. Jenn shook her head and turned away. She entered her bathroom and locked the door, leaning against it.

Things were getting weird. She suspected part of it was the knowledge that Xander—and Sofi—believed her to be Darian's mate. She found it impossible to act normal around him with a potential fate that would put both of them at risk. Like Darian, she'd lost all she'd ever loved long ago. Since that fateful day, she'd sworn never to share herself with anyone. Her path as a spy for the Guardians had been lesson after lesson in how to fuck and walk. She'd built up a callus around her heart, one that got stronger and easier to maintain as she manipulated evil men.

Resolved to behave as naturally as she could, she stripped and turned up the shower as hot as she could tolerate. Her skin felt like it was melting, and she sighed deeply. She didn't mind sleeping on the floor, but she did mind not getting a regular hot shower. Too afraid to take more than a quick rinse-off with the vamps around, she even bathed within reach of a knife or two.

After a lengthy shower, Jenn exited and pulled on clean leggings, sports bra, and socks. Her muscles felt relaxed for the first time in weeks. She yanked the door open, spirits lifted.

"What happened to you?" Darian demanded. He crossed to her and touched her side, where a long bruise wrapped around her hip. His touch sent fire through her, and she shivered at the sensation.

Jenn glanced down. She didn't even feel the bruises and scrapes covering her body, but she felt Darian's scorching fingers. The wounds healed as she watched, his magic caressing her from the inside in a way that—she was embarrassed to admit—was arousing. She pulled on a shirt.

"That's the price you pay for being surrounded by vamps," she said, unconcerned. "I get in skirmishes almost every day. If it's not them, it was Xander kicking my ass in the gym. Sometimes I think he was trying to improve my skills. Other times, I know he was just fucking with me." She stepped away from his warmth in the cold room, gaze sweeping over his broad shoulders and whiplike frame.

"You didn't tell me this, either."

"I'm doing my job, Darian," she replied. "I didn't get to my position as the head of Dusty's intel networks by backing down from assignments that even most male Guardians wouldn't take."

"This is where we're different. People who hurt me end up dead."

"I wouldn't be a good spy chief if I killed my sources."

"I always liked you, Jenn."

She glanced at him. The small smile was on his face again as he watched her. He had his brother's intensity. She instinctively assessed him for weaknesses the way she did everyone. Claire was his only pressure point. He had no sense of his own mortality and fighting skill that rivaled Xander's.

It was a dangerous combination. If he had Damian's temper, he'd be in trouble. But he seemed calmer than the White God, more driven. Darker.

"You keep looking at me like I'm the vamp that ate your cat," Darian said.

"I've watched you and Jonny change from people I know into people I don't," she replied.

"You know me, Jenn." Darian retreated to the hallway.

Not anymore. Jenn finished arming herself and followed. "You have a plan that involves more than dropping into a secret meeting of Others?"

"I thought we'd try to find their portal this time."

Jenn rolled her eyes at his back. Darian walked through the fortress, retracing their steps from earlier, until they reached the foyer. He led them into the cold morning, looked around then held out his hand. She gave him a long look, imagining them Traveling to a bustling train station populated only by Others.

"Trust me," Darian said. "There's only one of us I'll risk getting killed, and it's not you."

With a sigh, she placed her hand in his and closed her eyes.

## Chapter Four

THE ORACLE SOFIA descended the stairs to the main floor of her mate's Texas ranch, one hand on the railing and the other on her stomach. Her head spun from the visions she'd been having since Ireland, and she'd fought with herself for days before coming to the conclusion she'd have to break one of her Oracle vows. If she didn't help put her mate on a certain path, she couldn't tell if any of them would survive.

"Oracle."

The low growl of the Original Vamp they'd inherited interrupted her thoughts. She turned to face him, arms crossed. Xander had promised Jule to behave, an oath Jule said he couldn't break, since it was Original-to-Original. She still didn't like having him in the house.

Her tall, blond bodyguard, Pierre, stepped closer to her, hand moving to his weapons.

"Got time for a lost soul?" Xander asked.

"Don't mock me, Xander," she replied.

"You have no sense of humor."

"You're not the first to say so," she said. "What do you want?"

"You showed me something a week ago, a vision on a path I cannot see myself."

"And?" she prodded when he fell quiet. The exchange a week ago was the first time she met the nightmarish Original Vamp, when he'd offered to help Jule in exchange for asking her a question.

"I want to know how that comes to be."

"I don't know that answer," she replied. "Even if I did, I'm bound by some limitations in what I can share."

"Are you as powerful as I think, or are you good at making it look that way?" he asked, studying her intently.

"I should ask you that question," she retorted.

"If this place is standing, it's because I allow it to be."

"I'll keep your secrets, Xander. Don't mess with me or anyone I love."

"There will come a time, Oracle..."

"I've Seen it," she said and stepped closer to him. Sofi looked up, meeting his red gaze. "I've Seen all your possible fates, Xander. If you knew the one I plan on pushing you down—and I will manipulate the fate of a selfish creature like you—you'd be running out of here screaming."

He growled. "We'll see, Oracle."

Sofi turned and walked away, irritated with him.

"That, my vamp friend, is what we call a smackdown," Pierre added before following her.

Sofi doubted Pierre would be living if Xander hadn't made a promise. It was egregious that stores of immense power were wasted on such a creature at a time when Damian needed all the help he could get. Xander would never help another without some sort of leverage. Fortunately, she had leverage, and she Saw she might need it before the week was over.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and pushed open the door to the study, already knowing who was inside. Her mate, the White God Damian, sat with his adopted brothers, the assassin Dusty and the Original Immortal Jule. All looked towards the door when she entered, and she smiled. Pierre closed the door behind her, remaining outside.

"Come in, kiri," Damian said and rose, motioning to his chair. "We were comparing notes before the boys went their ways again." He squeezed her arm as she passed him.

"Uh-oh," Jule said, gazing at her closely. The tattooed immortal with cocoa skin sat forward, his magic vibrating in the air around him. "Spill it, kiri."

"When a woman looks like that, you really don't want to know," the blond Dusty said from beside him. With a complexion like hers, he was often mistaken as her brother, a similarity they'd used in the past to keep people from finding out she was Damian's mate.

Damian planted his hands on her shoulders, and she looked up at him for a long moment, feeling sick for more than one reason. The pregnancy had not been an easy one, especially not with the excitement of the past few months.

Now this, a fate where she knew something was going to happen to the man she loved.

"Something bad is coming," she started.

Jule and Dusty grew serious while Damian sat beside her.

"Potentially bad," she corrected herself. "There are a lot of different paths I'm following."

"How bad?" Dusty asked.

"Darian needs a mate, or it'll be catastrophic."

"Darian?" Dusty shook his head. "No way. If the fate of the world depends on him finding a woman, we're fucked."

"I have a bit more faith in him," Damian said, sharing a smile with her. "He's had another of his evolutions. You'd hardly recognize him. I gave him free rein to do what he needs to."

"How long does he have?" Jule asked.

"I think a better question is how long do we have," Sofi said, growing restless. "I've Seen some things... and there are some things so up in the air right now, I can't figure out what it means. What I know is that our fates will end up in Darian's hands."

"That doesn't scare me as much as I thought it would," Jule said.

"Scares the shit out of me," Dusty replied. "Does this have anything to do with the Watchers stalking Jule and me?"

"I'm afraid so," Sofi said.

"Combined, we might be able to escape from one. Could never defeat one," Jule said.

"Darian can. He's killed his first Other," she said with pride.

"Do the Watchers know this?" Dusty asked.

"Probably."

"It's a good skill to have, until he pisses off someone," Jule mused. "I'm still digging out souls imprisoned in the ground by the Other in Ireland. I don't need a pissed Watcher or Other sneaking up on me."

"So it's Darian against all the Watchers and Others in the universe," Dusty summarized. "I'd put my money on him, only because he's got no sense of his mortality. The rest of us might be hosed, though."

"Maybe not," Sofi said. "If he finds his mate..."

"We can find her," Jule said.

"We already know who she is," Damian volunteered. "Sorry, Sofi, but they need to know."

She hesitated, aware she never should've told Damian, let alone allowed Xander to pry the answer out of her when they'd met. Xander had gone so far to tell Jenn. The damage was done. Damian didn't keep secrets from his brothers. She nodded her permission.

"Jenn," Damian said.

"What?" Dusty stared.

"We talking about the same Jenn?" Jule asked.

"She's got too much sense to..." Dusty trailed off. "She would balance him out." He grew thoughtful.

"They'd make good partners," Damian said. "Jenn knows. Dusty, she's fighting it."

"No shit. That's what she does," Dusty said. "If the future relies upon her accepting him, I'm not sure it'll happen."

"It must," Sofi said. "So when she comes to see you, Dusty, tell her whatever you must."

"You want me to convince her?"

"You won't have to. Just reinforce."

"Tricky," Jule commented. "In the meantime, do I have to worry about any immortal assholes stalking me down?"

"You all do," Sofi whispered. "They will come for us all."

The men fell silent around her.

"Are you saying we'll all die?" Jule asked.

"No," she said. "I can't See that far. What I can see is that we will all be taken. I can't see where, but I know Bianca and Yully need to stay here."

"We'll all stay. I'm not leaving my Bianca alone," Dusty said.

"You're the... bait, Dusty," Sofi continued. "And you, Jule. And you, Damian." Her heart hurt at the words from her vision. The images passed through her thoughts again. "I know if you all stay with us, we will have less of a chance than if we're separated."

There was another long moment before any of them could talk.

"Sofi, this is insane," Dusty said. "You can't expect us just to leave."

"It won't happen," Damian said firmly, golden eyes flashing. "I'm sorry, Sofi, but no."

"It must, Damian," she replied. "If it doesn't, we are all lost. This much I can See."

"And if we do leave?" Jule pressed. "We all live?"

"I don't know."

"We could be dead either way," Dusty pointed out. "One way definitely, another way, maybe."

"It's all dependent on Darian. And Jenn," she said. "Darian has to leave his past behind, or we're all screwed."

"There's nothing we can do?" Jule asked.

"No," she replied. "Except to pretend like you don't know what's up and go on about your duties."

"I can't believe there's nothing we can do," Dusty said and rose. "I can't leave Bianca knowing she's in danger!"

"She's in more danger with you here," Sofi said. She turned to Damian. If her mate went, the others would follow. "Damian, please. Trust me."

He studied her features and touched her face with tenderness. His hand went to her belly, where their son grew. She saw the emotion in his eyes, even as he nodded slowly.

"I trust you, kiri." His husky voice sent shivers through her body. "If you believe this is the only way..."

"I do," she said and took his hand, squeezing. "It's not something I'd ask of you otherwise. I can't See any other solution. If you three stay, you'll bring us all danger."

"Then I'll go."

She smiled, honored he'd listen to a message that went against every part of who he was while desperately wishing she could be more assured about the outcomes she Saw. There were too many paths and factors, though all seemed to lead to one of two futures. Neither was ideal, but one would see them all surviving.

Dusty sighed.

"Should I pretend this is the last day of my life?" Jule asked, frowning.

"Not the last. Unless things go wrong," Sofi said. "It all depends on Darian."

"No offense, but I'm spending it with Bianca," Dusty said. "Damian, you need me for anything?"

"Nope," the White God replied. "You guys go. Leave at dusk."

"Sofi, any reason why I shouldn't take Xander with me?" Jule asked. "I don't think any of you want him around here anyway."

Sofi shook her head and met each of their gazes again, wishing she could offer more assurances. When she said nothing else, the two left. Damian crouched in front of her, his hand on her stomach.

"Pierre needs to go," she added. "Send him on vacation."

"You'll be vulnerable."

"We'll survive."

"You're not telling me something," he said.

"Aside from the fact that I'm terrified?" she whispered.

"Yeah."

"There is more. It scares me. I..." She stopped, panic rising within her. She wanted to tell Damian everything, but she'd broken his rules by telling them what she did. If she told him more, he might influence the paths she saw in a way that would make their slim chance of survival even slimmer. Her chest felt too tight to breathe deeply.

"Let's just spend the day together," he said and cupped her face in his hands. He gave her a long, lingering kiss. "Anything you want to do."

"Milkshakes."

He laughed. "I meant me."

Sofi raised an eyebrow. Her cravings had taken on a new life the longer she was pregnant.

"Fine. Milkshakes." Damian held out his hands and helped her to her feet. "Who taught you to make those anyway?"

They stepped into the hall, and Damian signaled for the awaiting Guardian to leave. Pierre trotted away.

"Darian and I were experimenting in the kitchen. I miss food so much, Damian," she said with a sigh. "And my cravings are just brutal. We started tossing stuff in the blender with frozen blood. I can keep down a milkshake."

Damian grimaced. He'd never outright told her it grossed him out, but she suspected it did.

"The rest of the day, I'm yours." She wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked to the kitchen. His power flowed through her, making her shiver. He squeezed her against him, and her eyes went over his perfect body.

A sense of loss filled her. If her vision wasn't right, she wasn't sure what she'd do, for the lives of all three brothers would soon be suspended in time.

Sofi fought back tears. She squeezed Damian harder, praying Darian did what he was resurrected to do.

## Chapter Five

DARIAN TOOK THEM to an area where he'd felt a consistent, high level of Other activity. The area was free of Others now, but so many had come and gone from here, he knew it was something special. He opened his eyes to find them off a dirt road in the high desert somewhere. The air was clear and dry, the sand dotted with small shrubs.

He saw nothing that might indicate a cave similar to where the Watchers entered the mortal world, not even boulders. Jenn pulled her hand free from him, and he glanced at her. She'd been acting standoffish since he sought her out at Damian's direction. The bruises on her body confirmed what she'd never say: she was barely making it through this assignment.

When Jonny demanded someone help him uncover the Others, Darian had volunteered. The White God hadn't said a word, until requesting a hostage of his own in exchange for sending his brother to live with the Black God.

Jenn took a few steps away, looking around. She'd lost weight in the two weeks she'd been assigned to Jonny, and his gaze swept over her lean body. He'd always thought her beautiful—and beyond his reach. He'd accepted that sparring was the only real, physical interaction he'd ever have with her. When they'd met, she'd been the on-and-off girlfriend of Dusty, before the assassin met his mate. Darian had been lost in the mental cave that was his mind.

Standing in the desert sun, he couldn't help thinking she wasn't beyond his reach anymore. She'd done what Claire never would—risked getting killed by Others to save him. His resolve to keep away from her began to make less and less sense.

"There's nothing here. Unless this portal looks like a shrub," she said. "Though I do like this weather better than the snow. I hate the cold. I can't keep warm up there."

"I have a cabin near Jonny's. We can stay there, so we can sleep away from the vamps and take a decent shower," he offered then added quickly, "Separately. We can shower separately. If you want."

She gave him that look again. Rather than frustrate him, he found it entertaining.

"I'm not Jonny," he said with a straight face. "I'm not trying to get you into my bed. I have too much respect for you not to be direct about the fact I'm interested in you."

Jenn frowned.

He cursed himself silently. "I mean, if I was interested, I'd respect you and be direct about how—"

"So, you only have respect for me if you're interested in me?"

"I'll stop now. For the record, I don't have your gifted tongue and wish I did. Metaphorically."

She shook her head and walked away.

Darian didn't know when he'd lost his ability to speak clear sentences, but the idea Jenn scrambled his mind made him want to laugh. And run away. He wasn't sure which instinct was stronger.

Half a moment before she stepped through the portal, she triggered a magic alert that reverberated through him.

"Jenn—" he shouted then dived forward. He snagged her wrist as she dropped into the invisible portal to the immortal world.

Jenn dangled into the other world. Darian glimpsed an orchard with flowering trees and emerald grass as he ducked his head through the portal. He knew that orchard, and an ache grew at his core. It was not the time for memories, not when Jenn was caught between the two worlds.

"You found it," he said, bracing himself to haul her up. He lifted her back through the portal and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to solid ground again.

"Wow. It's not quite what I remember," she said, leaning away from him to peer at the ground. The portal was camouflaged by sand and shrubs.

"It's like heaven," he agreed quietly, regret in his voice.

"I don't remember it that way. I was young when the Schism occurred. I remember nothing but blood and death." Jenn pushed his arm away and stepped to the side to avoid the portal.

Darian blinked his memories away before squatting. The portal was invisible, unless someone fell through it.

"What're you thinking?" she asked.

"I know where they are, but I don't know how to close them."

"You need sensors of some sort. I think positioning Guardians here would get too many of them killed."

"I can't be in two places at once."

"We've got all kinds of clandestine technology. This will be easy to set up. If nothing else, we can bury motion sensors a few feet away, if you think the Others will sense anything close to the portal."

"The first time I meet them here, they're going to know it's not a secret," Darian said with a shrug. "I don't care what they know."

"Don't get too cocky, Darian. You killed one. What if they bring a dozen?"

"They won't kill me. Might knock me on my ass for a bit."

"And then they're loose in the world while you recover. You need monitoring equipment, preferably something they can't sense so you know what you're getting into before you show up with guns blazing."

Darian watched her. Jenn found a stick and carefully returned to the portal, tapping the ground to find where it was solid. She drew a line in the sand around the portal. It was a rough circle about four feet in diameter. Her assessing gaze took in the surrounding area.

"This'll work. Can I borrow your cell?" she asked.

"Where's yours?"

"Xander crushed it."

"You couldn't call for help even if you needed it," he said, frowning. He handed her his phone.

"I believe that was his intent," she said, unfazed.

Darian didn't say what he wanted to, that she was as big of a fool as he was. Jenn stepped away to make a phone call, and he circled the portal. He wanted to see what was on the other side, even if it brought up memories he wanted to forget. Maybe, just maybe, he'd get some closure, if he could return to where everything went wrong.

"They'll send a team down," Jenn said, returning to his side. "You said there's another for Watchers?"

"Yeah. In a cave."

"We can send someone to assess what we can do there, too."

"This is good. We set up sensors and shit, and I can then go hunt down and kill those who are here. I'm not telling anyone where the portals are, though. No telling what Jonny would try to do if he knew."

"Smart. He's lost right now, like..." She stopped herself.

"Like I was," Darian said firmly.

Jenn turned the assessing gaze on him again then flashed a smile. "Sure, hon," she said, clearly disbelieving.

"You, too," Darian complained. "What will it take for me to convince you?"

"No need. I know you've changed. I've watched you turn into you. I've watched Jonny turn into the Black God."

He sensed there was more. "And... what?"

"I don't know. Gods know I've done stupid shit in my life and seen people from all walks of life. Call me naïve, but I spent most of my life around bad people who deserved what came to them. I don't like seeing good people become unsalvageable," she said with a shrug.

"You think I'm unsalvageable?"

"Jonny is. I don't know about you yet."

Darian took this in. He didn't consider what others might think of him, outside of his family. He didn't think of himself as unsalvageable in the least. He would never be what he once was, but he wasn't Jonny, headed down a dark path. He was headed down his own path, that of the Grey God, a creature that never existed before him.

"We all make our choices," he said, puzzled. "Or maybe this isn't about me at all."

"There's a station near here. I called in an order for some equipment. Should be there this evening." Her gaze went north.

Just like that, she was cool and professional again.

"Wait," he said and took her wrist.

"Don't touch me, Darian," she warned and yanked away.

"You're just going to open a can of worms and walk away?"

"We have work to do."

She pushed the location of the station into his mind then disappeared, Traveling without him. Darian lingered, unable to figure out exactly what was wrong. The cool, sexy Jenn he'd sparred with was incapable of being ruffled. Now, she was edgy and terse with him.

He circled the portal once again, stalling, before finally Traveling to the nearby station. The two Guardians assigned to the small adobe house in the middle of a Mexican village stood out front with Jenn. The small town had only dirt roads, and his glanced lingered towards a farmers market under the awnings in the center, a couple of blocks away. The scent of barbacoa made his stomach rumble.

The two large Hispanic Guardians glanced towards him when he entered the yard marked by a stone fence.

"Darian, this is Chapo and Larry," Jenn said as he approached. "Ikir Damian's brother, Darian."

"A pleasure," the man named Chapo said and shook Darian's hand.

"They've seen some guardsmen come through here," Jenn told Darian.

"We've adhered to Ikir's mandate of no engagement, though we followed them around," Chapo told Darian. "Looks like they were scouting the town. Came through twice a few days ago and haven't seen them since."

"Might be a good thing Guardians are largely powerless," Darian said. "You might've had some nasty visitors otherwise." He couldn't imagine waking up to find an Other sitting in the corner. He'd thought the Guardians' loss of magic a curse until he started thinking about how the Others couldn't sense a Guardian that had no magic.

The Watchers blamed him for stripping the Guardians' magic when he froze time, but he began to wonder if they hadn't done it themselves. Whoever did it, it was working in the Guardians' favor right now.

"The team should be here soon," Jenn said with a look at her watch.

The tattooed Larry motioned for them to enter the one-story house. The village and exterior of the house looked run down and barely out of poverty, but the house's interior was immaculate. Low-key, contemporary furnishings in light wood colors and pale neutrals were mixed with splashes of color: the navy blue rug, lime couch pillows, cinnamon drapes, and yellow floorboards. The open floor plan ran from the living area through a kitchen to a formal dining room area that had been converted into an office on the other side.

"I love this place," he said, intrigued by the colors. "All we need is some barbacoa."

The two Guardians gave him a curious look. Suspecting he'd missed something important, Darian joined them in the office area. Larry sat before a Mac, pictures of the portal on the computer screen before him.

"We'll set up cameras here and here," Jenn said, indicating two spots on one photo.

"Under the bushes," Larry added. "We'll have to check them every few days. The dust storms here can knock over trees."

"When did you take photos?" Darian asked.

"At the site. I sent them to Larry," Jenn replied.

"Wow, you're good."

Jenn eyed him, as if suspecting he was being sarcastic. He wasn't. His normal way of doing business was to plan the best he could then leap in. He wasn't lucky enough to get killed. Jenn took planning to another level, one he didn't know was possible after so many years without technology. Sofi had taught him to use his cell phone and Dusty had taught him the computer. He'd been fascinated by the amount of technology Dusty and Jenn used to track vamps in Miami.

"Motion sensors there," Chapo added. "And the solar battery farther back. It's big and ugly. They'll see it otherwise."

"I called for the infrared cameras. We should have good night vision, too," Jenn added. "You guys need someone else to help monitor?"

"We got nothing going on with the mandate," Larry answered. "We're good."

"I'd say to monitor it for a couple of days and get a feel for any trends in time they enter and exit. Unless you have something you want them to look for, Darian?" She turned to him.

"Nope. Sounds good."

"When the cameras get here, you'll have to go with them to make sure there are no ugly surprises."

"Yes, ikira," Darian replied.

Jenn's eyes narrowed.

"Meant respectfully," he added.

"Watch it, ikir," Larry said, smiling. "She'll take you out."

"I imagine so," Darian said. "I've pissed her off enough for one day."

"I've got to check in with Jonny," Jenn said.

"I'll walk you back," he said and held out his hand. He kept his voice casual. He was worried about her, more than he'd let on. She was too independent for him to voice his concerns for her. He thought she'd refuse him but she caved and took his hand.

They Traveled to see Jonny pacing in front of Jenn's window. She pulled loose from Darian and strode to him. Darian hung back and watched, arms crossed. The two spoke, and he felt Jenn's magic in the air as she exerted what control she could over Jonny. The young god seemed in a good humor, though his gaze flickered nervously to the vamps awaiting him. After a short exchange, Jonny walked away, joining the vamps.

They walked past Darian, with the Black God hesitating before continuing on. Darian watched them leave, not surprised Jonny didn't approach. They'd been almost friends at one point, but they'd both change dramatically since the days of squabbling over cookies Jonny's sister, Bianca, made.

"He wants a daily headcount of how many Others you killed," Jenn said, approaching him.

"He can't tell me that himself?"

"That's not the way he works. Basically, he trusts me fifty percent of the time, Xander fifty percent of the time, and no one else."

"I take it you and Xander don't necessarily see eye-to-eye."

"It'll be easier to get my way when Xander isn't here," she said with a faint smile. "It's rough going toe-to-toe with an Original Being."

"You're brave," he said, genuinely impressed she'd attempt such a thing. "I like that."

"We're both foolish."

"Speaking of which, I need to go set up monitoring shit and kill some Others."

Jenn raised an eyebrow but didn't ask to accompany him this time. He suspected she was relieved he was leaving, even if he didn't understand why.

"Keep this. If something happens, I'll contact you," he said and handed her his phone.

She took it. "I'd tell you to be careful, but I don't think you'll listen."

He smiled and closed his eyes to Travel. He had some ideas to test about killing Others. When he figured out how to do it without also ending up dead, he'd figure out what had fallen between him and Jenn. First, the monitoring equipment.

***

Jenn waited until he'd been gone for a few minutes, her thoughts more insistent than she wanted. Interacting with Darian was too appealing. He was easy to talk to, despite knowing his history and his elevation to a god. He listened and watched—traits that made her wary. She pocketed the cell, grateful for his consideration. After her two weeks in the Black God's chaotic camp, she'd almost forgotten what it was like to be in an organization that took care of its own.

Jonny was gone on another daytrip. She was growing suspicious of his frequent journeys. Nothing seemed to come out of them. At least, nothing she could see. He kept no notes on his computer about the mysterious meetings. He'd taken Xander with him twice. He never said where he was going aside from to town.

Another thought pushed this one out. Before she talked herself out of it, she Traveled back to the Others' portal into the immortal world. She'd recognized the orchard she'd nearly fallen into. The last time she saw it, it was on fire.

Eyes on the ground, she retraced their steps until she found the circle she'd drawn. She stared at the ground in the center of the circle, emotions building within her. Normally, she was a master at hiding her feelings. These emotions had taken thousands of years to bury and were bubbling up again, too strong for her to ignore forever.

She snagged a few small rocks from the ground and approached the portal, knife in her other hand. Jenn held her breath and jumped.

She landed hard on the soft ground. The dry desert heat gave way to cool sea breeze, and a massive apple tree protected her from the sun overhead. Jenn rose warily, expecting the Others to pounce. No one was in the orchard but her.

She circled the tree, placing rocks around its trunk as she went. Halfway around, she dropped again, emerging back into the desert a few feet from the other portal. Jenn grabbed more rocks and returned to the immortal world. Placing the rocks on the ground near the return portal, she looked around.

If all was as it used to be, at one end of the orchard was the White God's palace, a place a woman raised as a peasant had never seen. At the other end, the imperial city. She marveled at the immortal world. The colors were more intense, brighter, the air filled with the perfume of flowers.

Jenn trotted through the orchard towards the city, energized by the plentiful magic in the world around her. Using magic in the mortal world was like trying to swim a channel with arms tied. She'd forgotten how hard the adjustment had been from immortal to mortal world. Here, magic emanated off of everything and filled her with its energy.

The wall dividing the orchard from the city was the first thing she didn't remember. Jenn climbed a tree close to the wall then leapt onto the top of the thick, marble wall. She crouched, catching sight of a guardsman several hundred feet away. The cuneiform symbols on his back were purple, marking him as a servant to the Others. She made sure he continued walking then swung herself over, dropping ten feet on the other side.

What peace she'd found in the familiar orchard fled as she looked at the charred, crumbling ruins of the once great city that lay beyond the wall. Before his enslavement, Darian had reigned over the city, as had his forefathers.

He wouldn't recognize it now. She felt a pang of pain for him at the prospect of seeing what happened to the White God's legacy in the immortal world. The destruction continued for miles without end, as far as she could see. The ashes had long since stopped burning, and the air was still filled with magic. Jenn stepped into the city, at once aware of the sorrow the place held. Unlike the mortal world, everything in the immortal world was alive, even the stones making up the buildings.

She squatted beside a fallen statue of one of Darian's forefathers. One eye still glowed gold, the telltale sign of those born into the White God's family. She patted the statue, feeling the magic cling to her as she rose.

The war between Others and Watchers had destroyed everything in this world, except for the orchard. She wondered what made it immune to the destruction.

Uneasily, she realized this was what the war would do to the mortal world. Jenn hesitated, guilty she'd indulged herself to visit a place she shouldn't instead of protecting the world she was sworn to preserve.

But she didn't look back. Not now. She was close to her goal. She trotted through the streets, making her way through rubble and debris to the park in the center of the city. She vaulted over a low stone wall, landing with a crunch in the dead grass on the other side. The park was over a mile on each side, hedged by a wall. There had been trees and bushes in her time, but none of them remained. Even the stone pathway winding through the stone obelisks was either buried in dirt or missing. Many of the stone obelisks were gone or broken.

Her heart beat faster as she followed a familiar path through the obelisks. She stopped in front of one at last, taking in the cuneiform writing. Each obelisk listed the members of an immortal household and their offspring. Servants—which her father and mother had been—were listed on the House of their immortal lords. This immortal House had been somewhat lowly on the immortal totem pole, evidenced by the fact it was a third the height of most of the others.

Jenn squatted to find the servants' portion of the records. She wiped dirt from the grooves of the cuneiform.

"Midu, Tanna," she read the names of her parents out loud. Her gaze followed her finger as she rested it on her name below theirs. She touched the two names beside hers. "Finian, Talia."

The name of her long-dead daughter was the end of her family's lineage. Thousands of years later, Jenn could still see her daughter's brown eyes and curls. She released a deep sigh, finger lingering on the names from her past. For all her ability to manipulate the minds of others, she couldn't push the memory of her family from her own thoughts. She'd buried them under the callus she'd grown around her emotions.

She sat in front of the obelisk, staring at all that remained of her family history. The Schism hadn't changed everything; she'd thrown everything away. Her marriage was arranged. Unable to love her husband, she'd taken it out on the one who meant the most to her, Talia.

Pulling a knife free, she dug into the dry ground, not expecting to find the treasure she'd buried so long ago. To her regret, it was there: the leather necklace and its silver symbol that had marked her family line. She'd given it to Talia before she left then reclaimed it after the first wave of the Schism ripped through the Immortal world.

Jenn didn't let herself remember the sights and sounds of that day. No one knew the Schism was coming when she stormed out of the house that fateful morning. She'd left them both to pursue a position among the Guardians, so she could start a new life in the mortal world.

"I got my wish," she murmured.

When the world began to crumble, she returned to find the house in ruins and the body of her dead daughter in the arms of her father-in-law. If she'd stayed, she might've died with them. Or maybe she could've saved them.

I'll never know. Sadness had long since waned, leaving only a hole that'd never be filled. She'd sworn never to be vulnerable again or to become emotionally involved with anyone.

Darian and Jonny were cracks in her armor. She'd taken pity on both men who lost their own families and ended up feeling more than she ever wanted to again. She wasn't about to go through losing someone she cared about or letting Darian go through his loss again.

Feeling raw, Jenn rose. She retraced her steps until she reached the tall walls outside of the orchard. Scaling the wall once again, she dropped to her feet and was still for a long moment, using her senses to see if anyone was there. Though she sensed nothing, she'd never know an Other was there until he'd zapped her. She moved cautiously through the well-maintained orchard, back to the tree marked by the rocks.

Her gaze flickered towards the other end of the orchard, where the White God's palace had been. She couldn't see it through the rows of trees.

Next time, she told herself and circled the tree. The ground dropped out from under her, and she arrived back into the mortal world. The loss of the magic from the immortal world made her feel slow and heavy as she took her first few steps. Though her trip had taken more than two hours on the immortal side, less than an hour had passed in the mortal world. She Traveled back to Jonny's, appearing in her room.

Wired and agitated, Jenn left for the gym. She stripped down in the locker room and tossed her shirt over the animal head in the bottom of her locker. Not caring how many vamps might be in the gym, she entered and took up her favorite spot and began channeling her emotions into the punching bag.

Awhile later, someone's voice broke her concentration.

"Look what I got."

Jenn straightened, not yet ready to leave the gym. Her necklace felt cool against her warm chest, a reminder of a memory she wished she hadn't reopened.

"Five of them!" Darian's voice held a note of triumph.

She turned to see him hauling a garbage bag. Darian's golden eyes pulsed and swirled with battle fever. He was bloodied and his clothing shredded. She couldn't tell how much of the blood on him was his.

"I figured it out."

"How to fight more than one without getting fried?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's not as hard as I expected. Almost got my ass kicked again before I figured it out. I brought these back for Jonny."

"I don't want to know," she said, gaze lingering on the garbage bag. She glanced at the clock on the wall behind him. "Jonny's probably hunting now."

"I figured I'd leave these in his bed for him," Darian said with a wink. "Seems to be the custom around here."

"You do that." Jenn turned away. The vulnerability she felt in the immortal world lingered. She didn't like it. She'd kill as many punching bags as she could, until she was numb to the world again. She'd almost managed to return to the zone when Darian gripped the chain at the top of the punching bag, stabilizing it before her and disrupting the swaying rhythm.

"Something happened," he said, gazing at her with the intensity that disturbed her.

"Leave me alone for a bit."

"Wanna spar? Kicking my ass always makes you feel better."

Jenn hesitated. Sparring with Darian kept her mind busy, for the Grey God was unpredictable in the ring. At the same time, she wanted him away from her.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said at her silence. "I just... let me get the blood off before the vamps start circling." Darian stepped away to a towel rack. He peeled off his shredded shirt and wiped himself down with a towel.

Jenn's gaze took in his lean body. There was no part of him that was soft, from the chiseled abs and hips to his thick biceps. His was a body that had been honed until all that stood between muscle and air was a thin coat of skin. She'd always had an eye for a man with a body, and Darian's was perfect.

As if sensing her look, Darian turned. He met her gaze, his intense look steady. Jenn felt warmth bloom in her body in response to his stare.

It's not going to happen, she told herself, striding to the ring. She wasn't going down the path Xander said was hers. Darian was a god, one betrayed by the only woman he'd ever loved. She was the last in a long line of servants. Even if her position among the Guardians was among the highest levels, she still considered herself a slave to her duty. She tried to tell herself this was why she couldn't let them get close. As good as she was a lying to others, she didn't believe herself.

"Go easy on me," he said, entering the ring with her, sans shirt and shoes. "I just took on five Others. You can have the first—"

Jenn didn't wait for him to finish but launched a kick straight for his head. Darian ducked, eyeing her as he moved away.

"Someone's not playing today," he murmured. "All right, c'mon."

The words had barely left his mouth when Jenn launched a quick sequence Xander helped her perfect. He'd taught her a few things during the two weeks he toyed with her, among them, how to combine her flexibility and speed into something more lethal. He'd taught her to dance in the ring to outmaneuver the seven-foot vamp's hard strikes.

"Nice!" Darian breathed, reacting to the quick succession. He missed one strike, and she pulled the punch, not wanting to hurt him despite her anger.

Where Xander used brute force to subdue an opponent, Darian was wily. The moment she paused, he pounced, reminding her of just how fast he was. Jenn adjusted her stance, keeping more of a distance from him than she would Xander to give her more time to react. Darian pierced her defenses twice. She braced herself for the blows before recalling he'd never struck her full force. Unlike Xander.

They sparred hard for several moments, until Darian's upper body carried a sheen of sweat. He eased back so they could both catch their breaths.

"You've learned a few things," he said.

"Darian, I swear you've gotten even faster."

"You've gotten slower."

She glared at him.

"I don't mean that how it came out," he said quickly. "What I mean is that the world moves more slowly. I don't know how else to explain it, except it's how I beat the Others, too."

"It makes sense. You have more magic now. It'll react differently with your natural abilities."

"You move differently," he said, gaze sweeping up and down her frame.

"Xander taught me how to use my body."

Darian's gaze flew up to her face. "He did what?"

"You know," she said with a wink, unable to resist the urge to mess with him a little. "You ready for round two?"

"How did he teach you to use your body?"

Jenn almost laughed at his sudden intensity, both flattered and terrified to see just how interested in her he was. The part of her job she'd never tell people: Sometimes she loved messing with the dangerous men she spent her life around. Instead of answering, she lashed out at him, following her kick sequence with an elbow to his chest. Darian deflected it and dropped his hip, sweeping her legs out from under her.

Jenn shifted her weight and rolled into a somersault, leaping up before he could pin her. Darian anticipated her first kick and snatched it, sweeping her off her feet again and falling with her this time to keep her from escaping. Jenn broke his first chokehold and elbowed him in the back of the neck, this time at near full-strength. She expected the blow to faze the Grey God, but it didn't. He reacted too fast for her to counter, snatching her forearms and shoving her onto her stomach. His weight kept her from moving.

"Don't tell me you slept with him," he said, his hot breath on her cheek.

"It's what I do, Darian. You know that," she snapped. "You're two seconds away from me kicking your ass."

"Make it sixty. I'm enjoying this too much."

So am I. She didn't know where the thought came from. His magic warmed her from the inside out, the gentle current spreading through her body the longer they remained in contact. She'd sparred with Darian hundreds of times and never noticed the way he smelled or the heat of his body against hers. They both breathed hard from their battle. His breath tickled her neck and sent shivers through her body.

"I'm serious, Darian," she warned again. "Two seconds. One."

"I surrender," he said without moving. "I'd rather die here than elsewhere."

"Two."

"If—"

She snapped her head back and felt it crack him in the nose. Darian muttered a curse and rolled off her, gripping his nose. Breathless, Jenn pushed herself into a sit. The Grey God's broken nose bled for only a second before the wound healed.

They stared at each other.

"Xander didn't pull punches, Darian. I learned to move differently so I could survive. I had no choice."

"Wrong," he said firmly. "You could've told Damian you were in danger. Or me."

"Ikir Damian would've understood danger is part of my job," she said, rising. "I'm going to take a quick shower and catch some sleep. Jonny should be back soon. He'll want to see what you brought him."

Jenn left him in the gym and trotted through the halls and up the stairs. She was wired with a different kind of energy after the sparring session, one that made her remember all too clearly how she'd felt under his body.

Definitely not a good sign. She ducked into her room.

"Jenn."

She stopped and stepped back into the hallway, too preoccupied to notice Jonny standing in front of his door. His gaze swept over her body, lingering on her breasts, and she wished she'd stopped by the locker room to pull on a shirt instead of racing to get away from Darian.

"Hello, Jonny," she greeted him.

"Yes." He continued to gaze at her, his eyes showing the same fire Darian's had when he returned from killing Others. Only Jonny's was a high borne of blood and sex. She could smell both on him.

"I've gotta get cleaned up, then I can find you to talk," she offered.

"I love the way you smell when you've worked out." Jonny approached her until he stood toe-to-toe with her, gaze taking in her body. She saw his upper lip swell as his teeth grew, stimulated by lust. "It makes your skin glow."

Jenn pooled her mind control power and released it. Jonny flinched, took a step back, then focused again on her. With a sinking stomach, Jenn admitted she had less than a day of influence left on the Black God. The mental blow would've destroyed a human's mind and scrambled a Guardian's indefinitely. Jonny barely registered it.

"I've always admired you," he said. The dark lust was gone, though his gaze still carried too much interest. "Until now, you've been stronger than I. I feel that will change soon."

"Darian killed five Others and brought you their heads," she said calmly, unwilling to react to his words. "Maybe he knows what they're doing."

"Five?" Jonny asked. "Wow."

"You need to know what he found out," she told him, shoving the rest of her magic at him.

"I need to know what he found out," he echoed, gaze going to the stairwell.

"I'll talk to you in the morning." Jenn stepped aside. The Black God hesitated one more time before striding forward.

She went into her doorless room and into the bathroom, sagging against the closed door. It was almost two in the morning. She'd be lucky to get any sleep with the vamps hovering over her and before facing one god no longer under her influence and another with a wild streak that might get them all killed.

Jenn wiped her face. Her hand went to the symbol around her neck. Whatever happened, she chose her path long ago. She was strong enough to get through this. Maybe. If Jonny or the Others didn't kill her.

She took a cold, three-minute shower and then dressed. Her emotions still felt too close to the surface; exhaustion would only make them worse. She needed a little sleep while the vamps were out hunting. She trotted down the stairs to her window and paused. Darian sat on one of the couches. Her pile of blankets was folded next to him.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" she asked.

"Even I need a break," he replied. "Killing five Others is no joke."

Jenn looked at him. He did look beat, though still wary of the vamps lingering in the shadows of the great room. She picked up a pillow and two blankets, spreading one on the floor a foot from the window before plopping her pillow down.

"Hope you dressed warm," she said, sitting. She pulled on her knit hat and braced her bag of weapons between her body and the window before lying down on her back. "It gets chilly here."

"Body warmth," he replied and joined her, lying beside her.

He was warm, she admitted. His magic filled the space around them, bending light and shadows in a way she found as mesmerizing as flames or the falling snow.

"D and I used to camp out on the beach when we were little," Darian said. "You ever do that?"

"The life of a god and a servant were very different," she replied. "I was put to work before I turned eight."

"You must have some good memory of the immortal world."

Her thoughts were on her family. She touched the necklace at her throat, the hole within her growing. She wondered what a life surrounded by those with the luxury to care for one another was like. She'd seen Sofi and Damian together, their love and attachment. When Dusty found Bianca, she swore she'd seen a miracle, for the master assassin was the last person in either world she'd ever have thought would fall to something like love.

Love, after all, was nothing more than being vulnerable and waiting for someone to hurt her. At least, she'd thought this until Dusty succumbed to it. The day she'd met Bianca, she'd known Dusty would know unconditional love from the Healer.

Jenn had felt alone after that day but thrilled nonetheless. Dusty deserved happiness after all he'd been through. But she... she didn't want what came with that kind of happiness. Loss of independence, complete surrender, placing her fate in another's hands.

She'd never be able to trust someone with everything or find her equal the way Damian and Dusty had found theirs. She'd give anything to be treated as Sofi and Bianca were: as treasured partners. She was too different, though, too independent. She'd never found someone with her mental toughness, someone who could challenge her. Someone who could love her and understand how important it was that she remained her own person. No man she'd ever been with could tolerate the part of her that refused to be caged.

Some small part of her yearned to feel that sense of unconditional safety and affection. But doing so also meant sacrificing her independence and the risk of losing everything that meant something to her, a potential lifetime of pain. Again. It wasn't worth it.

"I take it that's a no."

"No, I don't," she whispered. "Considering what happened to you there, I don't know how you can look at it with any kind of fondness."

"It's where my family was and where I grew up. Damian, our father and mother. Trust me, I need all the good memories I can keep," he said, a dark note in his voice.

"Do you still have those issues?" she asked curiously, rolling onto her side to face him. She propped her head up on her hand.

Darian was stretched out in the space beside her, hands beneath his head. For the first time since arriving at Jonny's, she wasn't cold. His warmth made her drowsy and comfortable, and she liked the feeling.

"The memories will never leave. Every day with Czerno..." He drifted off. "I need those good memories."

Jenn studied him, unable to fathom the type of evil he'd endured. That he was remotely normal now made her realize how strong he was. He seemed unaware of the world or his effect on it at times, but he'd not only survived the Black God, he'd regained his mind.

"You're an amazing person, Darian," she said. "I don't know how you did it."

"I had help. Couldn't even walk when Sofi first found me. I had to let go of my pride and realize I couldn't heal alone. That was probably the worst lesson for someone who was a White God. Thank goodness I was too brainwashed to know it."

"Sofi helped you, but you wouldn't have gotten far if you weren't as strong as you are."

"Strong or stubborn?" he mused. "I'm going with stubborn."

"I'm serious, Darian. I admire that about you. You lost everything in the worst way possible yet you don't let your past cripple you like it does... others," she managed.

"Some scars stay just below the surface. No one can see them but me."

"I'm sorry, Darian." She couldn't help hurting for him, all too sensitive to the scars left by her own past.

He rolled to face her, mirroring her position. While she welcomed his warmth, the space between them seemed to shrink. They gazed at each other.

"Don't be. You didn't do this to me," he said.

I've treated you like shit the past few days. She felt frustrated with herself, knowing what he'd gone through. But she wouldn't be the one to hurt him again, and he wasn't going to be the one to pry open the door to her heart. She'd work on burying her emotions again, this time deeper than before.

"I admire you, too, Jenn. More than is probably good for either of us," Darian whispered.

"You shouldn't, Darian."

"I'm not so sure."

He touched her again, the gentle stroke on her cheek sending warm shivers through her. Her gaze swept over his frame. She found herself liking this Darian too much. Unlike most men, he didn't back down from her, a reaction that intrigued her. She wanted to push and tease him to see how far he'd let her. But part of her knew Darian would not only excel at the games she played with people; he'd push back. He played to win. For the first time in her life, she thought she'd found someone she wasn't sure she could challenge without losing herself in the game. The idea of losing herself to Darian was more appealing than she expected.

"Good night, Darian," she said and shifted onto her back.

"I'll watch over you tonight. I think you need the sleep. Someone needs to take care of you."

Jenn didn't respond. A twinge of gratitude sprang up, and she suppressed it. She wasn't about to encourage Darian, not when she couldn't handle the results. She didn't think she'd fall asleep with the thoughts of her family and Darian's body close enough to make hers tingle with more than warmth. Whether he used his magic to put her to sleep, or her body needed it, she instantly fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

She stirred after dawn, startled to see she'd slept so late. A shadow fell across her, and she rolled onto her back, unsettled to see Darian gone and another Guardian standing over her.

"Ikir Damian sent me to get you," he said. "There's an issue."

"Give me a minute," she said and hastened to her feet. She adjusted her clothing and weapons then swept the backpack up and trotted to the locker room. Jenn splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth quickly.

She heard the sound of someone beating a punching bag. It was too early for the vamps to be up. She went to the door leading into the gym, pausing to watch Darian. He was covered in sweat, the muscles of his exposed back rippling with his movement. He was beating out his demons, the way he did every day. She felt dirty again for treating him as she had, even if it was for his own good.

Jenn pushed herself away from the doorframe and returned to the foyer. The waiting Guardian paced, eyeing the vamps that had gathered around to glare at him.

He held out his hand as soon as she appeared.

"Ready," she replied and took it.

## Chapter Six

DARIAN STEPPED OFF the gym floor and showered quickly, disturbed by Jenn. Last night had brought him no closer to figuring out why she was pushing him away, though he'd begun to realize his body's response to her was endangering his own resolve not to be involved with anyone else ever again.

He retrieved the bag with the heads of the Others from a locker and exited into the hall.

The Black God awaited him. Jonny looked wary, the same look every Guardian and vamp alike gave him.

"These are for you," Darian said, handing off the bag.

Jonny accepted it and opened it. He frowned.

"You asked for a daily report," Darian reminded him. "This was yesterday's catch."

"I didn't think you could do it."

"Of course I can."

"Give these to the vamps on duty," Jonny said. "I had my fill last night. Where's Jenn?"

Darian reclaimed the bag. Jonny's gaze went upwards, as if he could see through the ceiling to the second floor.

Towards Jenn's room.

A different instinct went off in Darian's mind, one that recognized the look on the Black God's face as being another sign Jenn was in more trouble than expected.

"I hope you know better than to hurt a certain Guardian," Darian said.

Surprised, Jonny's gaze returned to him.

Darian crossed his arms.

"I wouldn't hurt her," Jonny said. "Ever."

"That's not what your mind tells me," Darian baited.

"First Xander, now you." The Black God's face flashed bright red. "This is my world. Who are you to interfere in my world? Jenn is mine. Damian said so. She's mine."

"Jenn is not yours. I don't have the pretty little boundaries you do, boy," Darian replied. "I'm the one person on this planet who can fuck up your world."

"I'm the Black God. My domain is every evil thought and deed. So what if I use what I am to get what I want from her? I have a free pass now. I can do and take and be whatever I want!"

"Yes, you can, but a woman like Jenn would choose death over what you'd do to her. You will not hurt her."

Jonny stared at him. Darian watched him, gauging the emotions crossing his features. The Black God turned and walked away. Not entirely satisfied, Darian started in the opposite direction. He'd keep an eye on Jenn between his missions to kill Others, even if she didn't seem to want anything to do with him.

Darian felt a thread of warmth in the hallway. It wasn't the cold power of the vamps and Jonny but the warmer magic of a Guardian. He turned, expecting to see Jenn. Darian stood at the other end of the hallway where it met the foyer. The Guardian was a man Darian didn't recognize, who spoke to Jonny for a brief moment before handing him a small note and disappearing.

After reading the note, Jonny, too, Traveled elsewhere. Darian walked down the hallway, uneasy with what appeared to be a summons, delivered by a Guardian. What would Damian want with Jonny? Why not send for Darian, too?

Darian shook off his unease. If Damian needed something, he'd contact him. It must not concern him, if Damian hadn't delivered the message personally.

Darian ascended the stairwell to the second floor and strode by Jenn's room. A glance through the doorless entry revealed no one there. He paused in the doorway, eyes going to the bathroom door. It, too, was open. He glanced at her backpack, which rested in the corner.

Something was up. He closed his eyes and Traveled back to Texas, to Damian's home. No one was in the White God's study. Darian peered out the window, where he had a good view of the barn that had been converted into a gym.

"Sofi says to tell you they're in the wine cellar."

Darian smiled to himself at his sister-in-law's Irish lilt. He turned to see Yully in the hallway outside the study, holding one of the dozen cats they'd adopted.

"Thanks," he said. He strode across the room and down the hallway. The wine cellar had been an addition to the sprawling house, accessible only by leaving the house and descending a set of stairs off the kitchen.

Darian opened the door into the wine cellar. His eyes adjusted quickly to the darkened room as he passed empty shelves to a second door. He paused to draw a knife, uneasy to feel who was inside the cellar.

An Other was there.

Darian opened the door and slid into the storage room. Not only was an Other there, but so was Damian, the messenger he'd sent, Jonny, Jenn, and Xander. The tension in the room was high, each creature bristling with magic.

"He doesn't need to be here," the Other said without looking at Darian.

"My brother goes where he pleases," Damian replied.

"He killed five Others yesterday. I'd rather have him here," Jonny seconded.

Darian moved away from the door and kept to the edge of the room, sensing he was only welcomed because he was in the unique position to defend everyone there if the Other started blasting people. Curious about what was going on, his eyes strayed from the Other to Jenn. She was almost too still to be breathing, her jaw clenched.

"We're debating an alleged act of misconduct by one of our Guardians," Damian explained then faced the small man with purple eyes. "Go on with your wild accusations, Other."

"Your Guardian crossed into the immortal world. It's forbidden to do so, has been since the Schism," the Other said.

"It would stand to reason it's also forbidden for you to be here," Damian replied.

"One would think. And one would be wrong. The Original Beings made no such law when they split the two worlds. You have one here. Ask him."

"Unfortunately, it's true." Xander shifted from across the room, his red eyes punctuating the darkness.

"Even so," Damian said, addressing the Other. "You've done more harm here than anything one of my little Guardians could do to the immortal world."

"Perhaps. However, the rule stands. As the White and Black Gods of this earth, you are bound by the requirement to turn the violator over to us."

"This is like jailing Al Capone for tax evasion," Damian said.

"If we do as you say, will you stop whatever it is you're doing in my ranks and leave me alone?" Jonny asked.

All eyes turned to him. Darian straightened from his position slouching against the wall. Jenn didn't even blink.

"You have my word," the Other said after a pause.

"Damian," Jonny said, turning to the White God, "I will not object if you wish to turn her over to them."

"You forget, Jonny, it's impossible for one of us to cross over," Damian replied. "You can't condemn someone who didn't do something."

Darian moved closer, gut sinking. The station nearest the portal had called him with the previous evening's activity report early in the morning. Among the movements of Others, they'd seen Jenn. He'd planned on asking her about it this morning, before the summons took her and Jonny from the mountain fortress.

"Ikir, I—" Jenn voiced quietly.

"Quiet, Guardian," Damian ordered. "To be perfectly honest, shouldn't this kind of dispute be solved by the Gatekeeper?"

The Other sneered. "The Gatekeeper is unnatural. There was none in the beginning. There should be none now."

"But there was," Xander spoke again. "Maybe you are not old enough to remember, Other, but the Gatekeeper existed before the Originals. He was slaughtered by my kind, but he exists now. The Guardian has broken a law that only the Gatekeeper has the power to enforce."

Darian met Damian's gaze. The White God winked at him, and Darian resisted the urge to snort. He sensed every creature in the room—except maybe the poor messenger—had an agenda. For once, he didn't know what Damian might be thinking.

"Assuming this violation occurred, what is the punishment for breaking this law?" Darian asked, stepping into the center of the room beside the White and Black Gods.

"Life," the Other said. "It becomes ours. The Guardian will be banished to the immortal world."

Darian wanted to strangle the Other. He looked from the creature to Jenn and approached her. Damian stepped out of the way. A look at Jonny sent the Black God back quickly as well. Darian stopped when he was close enough to Jenn for their bodies to touch. She was tense and still, her mind on lockdown.

"Anything I need to know?" he asked for her ears only.

"I freely admit it, ikir," she whispered with an air of formality. "I did what he said. I wasn't there long, but I still went. If I'd known it was off limits, I wouldn't have gone."

"But what drew you? Tell me it was magic by one of them."

Her jaw clenched again. She said nothing.

"You must turn her over," the Other said. "As a God, you are obligated to follow the few rules you barbarians have here."

Darian drew a breath and faced the Other. "I may be obligated, but I also owe a life debt to this particular Guardian. She rescued me from three of your kind. Which means I can forgive any trespass she may have committed. Pretty sure that's a rule, too, right, Xander?"

"It is," Xander agreed.

"Then it's settled," Darian said. "You get nothing, Other."

"There's another matter."

"You're trying my patience," he growled.

"Your Guardian stole something from the immortal world."

"What? Air? Now you'll tell me it's illegal for her to breathe the air down there."

"It wasn't air she stole," the Other replied. "It was an object. I want it back."

"This is getting old," Darian said, pacing. He glanced at Jenn. Her eyes sparked with fury too deep to be mere offense. "Brother, Jonny, Original. If you'll excuse us."

All three hesitated. Damian was the first to show his support by Traveling, taking the messenger with him. Jonny waited for Xander to go before he, too, disappeared. Alone with Jenn and the Other, Darian looked between the two.

"What the fuck is going on?" he demanded.

"I stole nothing of his," Jenn replied with forced calmness.

"Everything in the immortal realm is ours," the Other spat.

"I don't think you're here for that reason. I'm more interested in what an Other wants from a lowly Guardian. Why did you pick this one to torment?" Darian asked, studying the Other.

"Ask her."

"Jenn? How'd you piss off these slimy creatures?"

"I did nothing to them, ikir," she said, ducking her head in typical sign of respect. From any other Guardian, he might've believed that's why she hid her gaze.

"She did nothing to you, and you're insisting on taking her to the immortal world forever," Darian mused. "You, Other, get the fuck out. If she stole something from you, I'll return it. I can find you anywhere you are."

"If it's not returned before one day has completed, her life is ours."

"Fine. Go." To his astonishment, the Other went. "I didn't think that'd work. Now, Jenn."

"Ikir, it doesn't belong to them," she said firmly. "There's no reason for them to pursue this except to—never mind." She kept her eyes on the floor.

"What did you take?" he asked, curious. He approached her again, stopping only when she grew tenser.

"Nothing of any possible value to them, ikir." Her voice was tight.

"I'm not asking as the Grey God, Jenn," Darian said. "They're demanding your life in exchange for it. Whatever it is, it's not worth that."

"It might be to me."

"It isn't to me," he said firmly.

She hesitated then reached into her shirt and pulled free the necklace marking her House in the immortal world. She pulled it off and handed it to him. Darian studied it. There could be nothing the Others wanted with the necklace. Jenn was from a servant's house, so lowborn she was barely off the streets. Carrying a reminder of a station so far below her current one seemed odd for the pragmatic warrior. It had to hold some great significance to her.

"You said there was a reason for them to pursue this?" he asked.

"It has no value to anyone but me."

"That's not what you said, though. They're after you for some reason. You know why."

"There's one way to solve this. Turn me over to them," she said, looking up at last. There was challenge and defiance in her gaze. "You know I'll go down fighting."

"I'm going to return this, and that'll be the end of this mess," he replied, placing the necklace in his pocket. He focused on his senses to pick up the location of the Other that had been in the wine cellar. Satisfied he could find it, Darian started towards the door.

"Darian."

He turned at her voice.

"Thank you." Jenn looked calm, but she was squeezing and releasing her fists in a sign that she was ready to explode.

Darian held her dark gaze. "Everyone in this room knew something I didn't about this. How is that possible?"

"Not everyone."

"What is it you all are keeping from me?"

Jenn drew a deep breath. "A choice. I'm going back to Jonny's."

"Jenn, I'm done with this shit. You've been acting strange towards me for days now. I want my friend back."

"That's not possible, Darian."

"Tell me why."

"The first lesson I taught Jonny was that those people closest to his target were vulnerabilities. The more people there were, the more liabilities. I will not be a vulnerability the Others can exploit," she said.

"You underestimate my ability to protect these liabilities, as you call them," he said, irritated with her words. "I'm not the lost soul I was, in need of others to make decisions for me. I decide who I want to be around, not you or anyone else."

"Very well. Then maybe I don't want anything to do with you."

"That can't be true."

"Why not? You've changed. My duty was to take care of you. You're fine now, and it's time for me to move onto the next mission," she insisted.

"I thought you were better at lying."

"Women like me are much better at seducing men into agreeing with me," she said.

"Then seduce me." He didn't flinch this time, suspecting she was purposely trying to push the Claire button to manipulate him.

"No, Darian, I'm not going to do it."

"Coward. You say you want nothing to do with me. Convince me." Darian crossed his arms. "If you can do it, I'll do as you ask and walk away."

"Easy." Jenn ran her fingers through her hair, tousling it. As if a switch inside her was flipped, her tense movements disappeared, replaced by the graceful, supple movements of a cat. "You don't think I can do it." Her voice had lowered into a husky purr.

Jenn took several steps towards him, Darian shifted, reminded of another temptress, one that had succeeded not only in mating with him but betraying him. He almost called off the game, but something in Jenn's dark eyes stopped him. She didn't look away from him. He felt a tingle at the base of his skull, one that warned him she was using some sort of magic on him.

"Your magic won't work on me," he said.

"Maybe not," she replied. "But I won't need it." She stopped in front of him and placed her fingertips in the middle of his chest. "Men are easy to manipulate, as you well know."

"That's a low blow," he said.

Jenn's eyes went to the finger on his chest. She traced it down to his upper abdomen and paused. With a lick of her lips, she flickered her gaze up to his again then down, a smile playing across her face. Her fingers continued, and he felt the heat of her touch like lightning running through his body. He remained stoic, unwilling to let her see that her touch was affecting him.

She leaned forward, her breasts brushing his chest. With her large, warm brown eyes, plumped lips, and fingers stopped just north of his belt, Darian began to believe her about not needing her magic. The beautiful woman in front of him rose on her tiptoes as if to kiss him. In that moment, he couldn't think of a better idea.

When he shifted, Jen leaned away with a coy smile and trailed the finger across his lower abdomen, moving around him. Her breasts brushed his arm, sending lightning and warmth through him. She leaned into him again, this time whispering husky words that would've made him blush years ago. Her lips tickled his ears before she moved away. He turned with her, watching her languid walk. Jenn unbuttoned her jacket one button at a time. Even though she wore a snug shirt beneath it, Darian couldn't help willing her to hurry. She lowered it to the ground, dropping it in a heap. He fidgeted to keep from reaching out to her.

"You're making this too easy," she said.

Jenn sensed his arousal. She had let him bait her. Worse, she'd taken the bait. The furious part of her wanted nothing to do with letting him admit she'd won until he was mewling at her feet. She also sensed his turmoil, a moment of insecurity that made her want to pounce for the win.

He'd saved her life. Rather than feel grateful, she felt shame that she'd caused them all such a problem and hadn't been able to take care of herself. Anger and other emotions grew within her. She focused them on Darian, the man she tried to protect by convincing him she felt nothing for him.

He was wild, unlike the men she normally seduced, and that thrilled her. She could predict them but not Darian. Worse, he made her feel for the first time. The brush of their skin had jolted her with a rush unlike anything she'd ever felt. Convincing herself it was only his magic, she couldn't help sensing once more there was something else between them. The way he looked at her, the emotion that stirred within her when they talked and touched.

Focusing hard on not letting him affect her, she continued her game of seduction, teasing him with looks, touches, whispers, until Darian's body was rigid and his turmoil had melted into lust intense enough to make his eyes glow. She sidled up to him one last time, pausing close enough to hear him breathing. Triumphant yet still angry, she wriggled slowly out of her shirt, dropping it beside her.

Darian stepped away, his breathing quick. Jenn held his gaze, wanting with all her heart to convince him to walk away from her here, now. She'd beat his game. If she didn't, she wasn't sure she ever would. He should've been running for the door by now.

Instead, he stayed. She narrowed the distance again, this time rising up on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the lips, the final push over the cliff on which he teetered. The moment their lips met, lightning flew through her, setting every nerve afire with awareness unlike anything she'd felt before.

"Damn, you're good," Darian whispered. "I don't know what that was, but I want more of it."

"That's how this works," she replied, her body tingling with desire. "I win. You gotta walk away now."

"Do I?" Darian's voice was low and husky. "Is that what you really want, Jenn?"

"That was the deal," she lied, meeting his gaze. "Walk away, Darian. For good."

He studied her, his eyes lingering on her lips and the swells of her breasts before he met her gaze again. Instead of moving away, he rested his hands lightly on her arms. More of the warm electricity flowed into her.

"One more kiss," he said.

Her triumph warred with the instinct that warned her she was doomed if she agreed. His large, warm hands drifted down her body to her hips. Jenn cupped Darian's face with her hands then rose to kiss him lightly again on the lips and walk away. Only what she meant to do and what she did were two different things. The moment her lips touched his, she lingered instead of moving away.

Their faces inches apart, Jenn looked up into Darian's eyes.

"You win," he whispered and then kissed her.

Desire flew through her, hot and fast like the strange energy running between them. Jenn's magic and senses came alive like they did in the immortal world. Darian's scent and touch overwhelmed her while his hot kisses set fire to a desire stronger than any she'd ever experienced. She could think of nothing more than his bare skin against hers, of the feel of his muscles beneath her fingers.

"Darian?" Damian's voice was accompanied by a knock at the door.

Darian withdrew. Jenn's eyes opened, the sound snapping her out of the haze she was in. What she'd done—and been about to do—made her step back. Darian crossed to the door.

Jenn snatched her clothes and fled, Traveling to the one place where she knew the threat and it didn't confuse her. She opened her eyes and found herself in the locker room at the Black God's lair. Her hands were shaking and her body on fire with something she'd never felt before. She couldn't control it, which terrified her.

She pulled on her shirt and jacket, turning towards her locker without opening it. Blood from whatever the vamps had put in it already pooled on the floor. She rubbed her face and shook out her arms, trying to fling away whatever was in her blood.

It didn't work. Jenn paced for a short time, until a vamp entered. Too scattered for a confrontation, Jenn Traveled. Her thoughts turned to the one person she felt comfortable talking to.

"Jenn?"

She turned at the master assassin's low voice. Dusty stood in the corner of a small hotel room, peering out the windows. His cold, chiseled features were bathed in the light of a streetlamp while his room was dark, aside from light lining the cracked bathroom door.

"Ikir wouldn't spring for somewhere decent?" she asked, looking around in disgust. The sagging bed, moldy smell, and cracked window did nothing to settle her nerves.

"I hate living in shit," Dusty said. He lowered the curtain, dropping the room into darkness. A moment later, a light clicked on. His cold eyes took in her features. "What's wrong? Jonny do something stupid?"

"Nah. Him I can handle," Jenn said. She sat down on a wobbly chair and wiped her face. "Just thought I'd drop in and say hi."

"You're too much like me to do anything without a purpose."

"I guess." Jenn smiled faintly, comforted by the presence of her friend. She and Dusty had been platonic lovers, sharing a bed and their frustrations, until Bianca swept him away. Though she missed her friend, Jenn couldn't be happier for Dusty. She, too, adored Bianca. "What're you doing in this hotel? You don't like to get dirty."

"Trying not to touch anything," Dusty replied. "I'm being stalked. Every inch of this city is crawling with vamps. Perfect place for my new HQ, if I can find the right place."

"At least there's no snow here. I'm sick of the cold weather."

"I doubt you came here to escape the cold." He leveled his blue gaze on her. "You came here to escape something else, though."

"Technically I think I'm running from me," she admitted. "Kind of pointless. I just wanted someone to talk to and thought of you first."

"I got time," he said and sat down in a chair near the windows. "If you're gonna cry, go see Jule. I don't deal with that shit." His faint smile softened the words.

"It's not that bad," she said. "It's about... Darian."

Dusty sighed. "He's normal now, I hear."

"As normal as he'll ever be."

"He couldn't be normal when I was stuck with him," Dusty said and muttered a few curses. As the brother charged with watching over Darian, Dusty had been responsible for keeping the Grey God from killing himself and others during his angry teenager stage. Jenn tried not to smile, recalling how frazzled the normally cold, organized assassin had been for months as he tried to juggle fighting the Black God with a teenage god.

"You raised him well."

"I hope I beat some sense into him. It'll surprise me if I did," Dusty said.

"You did. He turned out well."

"Obviously not, if you're here."

"It's nothing he did," she said, looking down.

"Did you try to kill him or something? I wouldn't worry too much, if so."

Jenn chuckled and shook her head.

"This is like a game show. You came here running from yourself and said it's about Darian," Dusty summarized. "I think I understand now. You're falling for him."

"No. I mean it's not like that."

"Not like what?"

"I don't know, Dusty!"

"Start from the beginning."

"There's no beginning to start from," she said, frustrated. "It's nothing. I just got freaked out. It's nothing. Really. It's gone now."

He studied her hard. Jenn rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. If her mind wasn't so scattered, she'd have thought it odd he expressed none of the surprise she expected.

"Jenn, you remember what we learned when we went through training together, about how, when you realize how thirsty you are..."

"... you've already reached the point of dehydration," she finished. "Yeah. Why?"

"Think about it. It's a lot like love."

Jenn let his words sink in. "You're not saying... no, Dusty!"

"You already passed the point of no return," he said. "There isn't shit you can do about it."

"One kiss does not mean I'm in... I'm dehydrated!"

"So it went that far?"

"What do you mean that far? I've gone so much farther with hundreds of men."

"Thousands. And you never once came running to me, upset about a kiss," he pointed out.

"It's absurd. I've had a lot on mind. I'm just confused."

"Like what?"

"Like... I went to my family's obelisk in the immortal world. I remember my last day there. I remembered them," she stumbled, unaccustomed to revealing her past. "How they died. How I wasn't there for them. How I ran off just before the Schism killed them."

"You never mentioned your family before."

"I had a husband and a... a daughter. Both killed in the Schism."

"I had no idea," he said. "You still blame yourself for their deaths."

"It's my fault. I should blame myself," she said. "I wasn't there for her. My own..." She couldn't say the words. They'd gone unspoken too long. They didn't seem real. "Anyway, I broke some immortal law by going back. Darian basically had to trade a life debt to the Others to keep them from taking me. I just... they're gonna come after me, Dusty."

"I'm not sure I understood much of what you just said."

She sighed and rubbed her face.

"But I understand what you're feeling. You've spent your time since the Schism forgetting, only now you can't. You're vulnerable, feeling things you shouldn't be. Right? "

She nodded.

"There's only one thing that can cause that," he said. "Dehydration."

"It doesn't make sense."

"Exactly. That's how you know. It hits you when you least expect and certainly don't want it to. As much as I hate to say this, there's a reason fate pulls your guard down when it's time for you to meet your match."

"I never thought I'd hear you say something like that!"

"Me, neither. Did I tell you right before Bianca, I started dreaming of my sister?" he asked. "She died before the Schism. I rarely thought about her until that point when I began dreaming about her every night. I thought I was meant to die, and she was warning me."

"You did for a short time," she said, recalling the battle that killed Czerno, the previous Black God, and replaced him with Jonny. "She fixed you."

"What I went through before was what you're going through now. I, too, had my guard pulled down by my past. Nothing else in the world seemed out of place, except for that piece inside of you that you thought you buried."

"That's exactly it," she said quietly. "Dusty, it can't happen. If Jonny found out, if the Others grab me, they'll use me to destroy Darian. I can't let that happen to him again. I can't let my emotions interfere with a mission."

"When you're dehydrated, you gotta drink the water," Dusty teased. "I never would've been open to Bianca if there hadn't been that... change within me."

"I won't do it, Dusty. I won't put him in danger."

"Or become vulnerable to someone else hurting you."

"Or become vulnerable to... fuck you, Dusty," she muttered. "Fine. That's part of it. But it's not all about me."

"Of course not. You care about the other person in the equation."

"You're not helping."

"I'll tell you the truth, Jenn. It's very simple."

She looked up hopefully.

"You're fucked." He was smiling. "Things will either work out or they won't. But it's beyond your control now. What you need to focus on is surviving the next two weeks. After that, whatever happens, happens."

"You're right. I lost sight of my mission," she said, grateful for the one piece of advice she could stomach. "But he's with me there, Dusty. How do I protect him?"

"You don't. You let him protect himself. Darian has magic far stronger than either of ours. You need to make your choices, and he needs to make his."

"It feels like entrapment."

"It is."

She waited for more. "I guess I'm doomed."

"A good assessment. I never saw that one coming, though," he said. "I could've guessed Darian would fall for you the way he followed you around. But I thought you'd fall for someone less... wild."

"I thought I'd never fall for anyone," she retorted. "That was the plan."

"You know I'll keep your secret," he said. "Now, you've got a mission, and so do I."

Jenn rose. "Thanks, Dusty."

"Take care."

She nodded again before closing her eyes and Traveling back to Jonny's. She appeared before the panoramic window and gazed out of it for a long moment before turning to face the foyer.

Jonny was there. Jenn jumped, surprised she hadn't sensed anything.

"I just wanted you to know I wasn't selling you out," he said. "I want to do what's right for my people, and it made sense to trade you to the Others, if they'd leave me alone."

"I understand," she forced herself to say. "No hard feelings."

"Good. I really care about you," he said, distracted. "Jenn, how did you get to the immortal world?"

Jenn met his intense gaze. The Black God bristled with contained power. He was calmer than she'd seen him in a while. The air around her felt thicker than usual.

"I'm not sure. By accident," she said, recalling Darian's words about the portal.

"Charles and Xander are actively looking for the portal," Jonny said. "A Hunter and an Original Vamp can't find it, yet you found it by accident."

The air around her seized her and shoved her to her knees. Jenn didn't fight it, instead gathering her magic for a push.

"Where is it, Jenn?"

"I don't know, Jonny." She kept her voice calm and even.

"Where did you go after Damian's?"

"I went to see a friend."

"A friend," he repeated. "You didn't go back to the immortal world?"

"No." Jenn released her magic, hoping he was still vulnerable to it.

"You don't leave here again, Jenn," he said. She heard his voice break as her magic took hold of him. The clamp around her released. "You understand? You don't leave here again. Ever."

"I understand," she said.

He took a step away from her. She glanced up, unhappy at how little of an effect her magic had on him. He was barely fazed now. He shook his head to clear it and walked away, towards the front door.

Ever.

Jenn stood, uneasy with his command.

## Chapter Seven

WHEN DARIAN TURNED to find Jenn gone, he knew it was the only reason he hadn't done something they both might've regretted. He released his breath, blood pounding through his body. Her scent still lingered in the air, and he could almost feel her hands on his body again, caressing him in a way that turned him from a god in control of himself into a fawning teenager.

He wiped his face. She'd been stronger than him. She'd walked away where he couldn't.

Maybe Jenn was right. Maybe she could fuck-and-walk just as easily as Claire.

No. Jenn is not Claire. He knew this just as he knew he'd been smitten by both women.

Agitated, Darian retreated from the wine cellar to the house. He paced alone in the kitchen. Damian had come to tell him he was taking a special trip elsewhere. He'd given no more details, a sign something was up. Darian felt—not for the first time—that everyone present in the basement that day had an agenda they tried to hide from the others. Except him. He'd thought Jenn didn't either, but after that kiss...

He made himself a hamburger, ate it, then raided the fridge. He was hungry for something besides food, but he couldn't have her. Yully's shepherd pie and Bianca's paella did nothing to fill the gnawing hole within him. At last, he gave up trying to make up for it with food and rose from the table.

A strange commotion in the hallway drew him from his thoughts, and he pushed the kitchen door open. Redheaded Yully and tiny Bianca raced down the hallway towards the foyer, chasing the vamp Charles. He flung open the door and slammed it behind him. The two women stopped.

"He didn't eat any of my cats, did he?" Darian demanded, stepping into the hall.

They turned at his voice, glanced at each other before shaking their heads.

"What he'd do?" he asked.

"Nothing really," Bianca said. "We wanted to make sure he was okay."

Dusty's lifemate was small and shapely with a sunny disposition and caramel features that resembled her brother's, the Black God. Her eyes glowed with both delight and mischief while Jule's mate, Yully, appeared less certain. The newest member of their family, Yully wasn't quite comfortable yet.

"I don't think a vamp needs you worrying about him," Darian said.

"Oh, he's not a vamp anymore," Yully said with her musical Irish lilt. "We fixed that."

"We think we fixed it," Bianca said quickly. "We were going to confirm, but he freaked out."

"He won't be eatin' anymore of my rabbits," Yully said with satisfaction.

"You turned him from a vamp into a uh... nonvamp?" Darian asked, fascinated. "Seriously, you can do that?"

"Together we can," Bianca replied. "I did it once to Jonny, long ago, before..." She drifted off, darkness crossing her features.

At her silence, Yully spoke. "Bianca needed more magic to do it, and I can channel anything. I'm not called the Magician for no reason."

"Bianca," Darian said. "You're not thinking of trying to change your brother back."

The Healer shook her head. "I know that's not his fate. But I also know he made a mistake long before he became the Black God. I fixed him, but he wasn't a fully turned vamp yet. With Yully, I can change even a full vamp back into a human. There might be others like him who want to go back to who they were. I can help them. It'll be another tool for Damian to use against the vamps."

Darian smiled, doubting the White God would remotely agree with the two women before him but proud of them nonetheless.

"We need more vamps," Yully said. "We have to try again."

"You turn vamps into humans, and I kill Others. We're quite a family," Darian said.

"I don't like Others," Yully said darkly. "They'll come after you if you mess with them, Darian."

Darian met her gaze. Raised by a sadistic Other who beat her, the Magician Yully had used the magic of all of them to kill the creature that planned to use her to sever the boundary between mortal and immortal worlds before wiping out Watchers and humans.

"I can kill them now," he said. "I promise. Nothing bad will happen to any of us."

The two women stared at him quizzically. The awkward lull in talk made him wonder if a certain Oracle had told them otherwise.

"What am I missing?" he asked uneasily.

"That's not what Sofi says," Yully said at last.

"I made you cookies, Darian," Bianca said quickly and started to the kitchen. "We'll check on Charles later."

"Thanks. I've grown out of cookies," he said. Darian resisted the urge to tell her he was no longer the lost man who asked her for cookies every day. He sometimes felt like his family treated him like a child when he'd grown overnight into a god. "Now, what's going on?"

"Peanut butter," she called over her shoulder.

Dammit. Darian trailed her into the kitchen, unable to turn down her peanut butter cookies. Maybe they would fill the hunger inside him.

"Now, what did Sofi say?" he asked and seated himself at the breakfast bar.

"Just that you need us," Yully said.

"Darian, you know better," the Oracle said from the doorway.

He twisted to look at her. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and her aura was beyond agitated. Bianca and Yully shared a look. Darian was left out of whatever secret knowledge they shared.

"C'mon, Sofi, spill it," he ordered.

She shook her head. "My hormones are going crazy today."

It was a lie. They both knew it. Darian grabbed a few cookies, now frustrated by four women rather than one.

"Sofi, I can't get ahold of Dusty," Bianca said, uncertain gaze on the Oracle.

"Nor I Jule," Yully added.

"I know," Sofi said. "They're safe."

He sensed their fear. No one else said anything for a long moment. Sofi made herself a milkshake consisting of frozen blood from Damian, chocolate syrup, pickles, and a scoop of ice cream. Yully stared into space, troubled, while Bianca stacked more cookies on the plate before Darian, unstacked them, then restacked.

"I think I'll go now," he said, rising. Something was going on. Everyone around him held secrets, even the normally open Bianca.

"Be safe, Darian," Sofi said.

Darian shook his head. He needed a distraction from the odd interaction with his brothers' mates and the thoughts of Jenn. Her kisses had made his body sizzle. He'd meant what he said about finding out what her problem was, only he suspected he now knew. Their friendship had turned into something else, something she wasn't comfortable with.

Oddly enough, he wasn't as upset by it as he thought he should be. He Traveled to the Others' portal to the immortal world. He sensed none of the creatures in the mortal world, and he still had Jenn's necklace in his pocket. He had to return it as promised, even knowing it was a bogus rule.

The heat of the desert disappeared as he dropped through the portal to the immortal world. Darian felt the magic of the world bombard him, both welcoming home the man that had been its king and trying to figure out what he now was. He shuddered at the feeling.

His gaze took in the beautiful apple orchard that had been planted by a foremother of his and Damian's. The orchards stretched from the palace to the city and had been open to the public for immortals all over to visit and enjoy.

Only there was now a wall at one end, he noted. He moved through the trees, trying to see the palace that had been his for a short time at the other end. He thought he glimpsed a marble wall and hesitated, peppered by memories and magic. He and Damian were born here, and their worlds had fallen apart here.

Darian started towards the palace. His pace quickened as he ran, his heart pounding with eagerness to see the magnificent hall that had been his. The marble he saw came into view as he crested the hill in the center of the orchard.

It was all that stood in the place where the palace had been. Darian stopped. A single marble obelisk marked the bloodline and legacy of a once powerful clan. All signs of the palace were swept away, replaced by neat lines of apple trees that ran all the way to the beach beyond.

Darian felt something else die within him. He'd remembered the immortal world with fondness, for it was the only place and time he'd ever been happy. He recalled growing up and running around the apple orchard with his little brother and the children of the palace. He recalled meeting Claire for the first time, right here.

She'd been wearing pale pink, as innocent as the flowers that fell from blooming apple trees and caught in her hair. From a lower immortal noble House, she'd been sent into the Guardians at a young age, a spare child to a House too poor to support her. She'd excelled as a warrior and been present in the orchard at the celebration of his twenty-seventh birthday along with half the city. Now, he suspected her presence was on purpose, their meeting not so much fate as manipulation by her father.

Darian looked around, expecting to see her again beneath the shade of an apple tree, as beautiful as she was deadly with the daggers she wore at her waist. She might as well have been swept into the sea like the palace. The fury he'd felt since awakening from the dark place the Black God kept him started to fade. He doubted he could ever forgive her, but he could at least pity her.

She'd never look upon the obelisk or her immortal home again. A traitor, she'd no longer be recorded on any obelisk in the immortal world, even her own family's, especially the way Damian killed her. No one would remember her. No one would mourn her.

Except maybe Darian. The tightness that filled his chest whenever he thought of his betrayer and lover unfurled. Damian had killed her for her betrayal, left her soul in her body and burned her. She'd killed one White God and been killed by another. She died with the greatest shame: her soul imprisoned for all time and her memory erased from the immortal world.

Darian lowered himself to the ground and sat, draping his elbows loosely over his knees as he gazed at the obelisk. With his disappointment at the discovery of his immortal home no longer standing, he also felt a sense of peace that had eluded him. The black memories that made him wake up screaming at night, the fear he could still taste in moments of despair, were softened by the sense of stillness that settled into him.

At least their bloodline wouldn't end. The magic of the immortal world would continue to record their children and grandchildren on the obelisk. Damian and Sofi's son might already be listed. They weren't lost, even if it seemed like everything else was.

Deep in thought, Darian sat for a long while, until the wind at his back shifted to carry the scent of the sea to him. The sun would set soon in the immortal world. He roused himself and trotted down the hill, towards the obelisk. It was pristine and white, rising out of the ground like a natural formation. The souls of his forefathers inhabited the obelisk, making it hum with immense power. In his time as White God, the obelisk had been the source and seat of power for the White Gods in the immortal world. The Schism changed that, severing the tie between Damian and the source. Damian's son would be the first White God born outside of the immortal world, and not even Jule dared to guess what that would mean for the White God's power.

Darian knelt and found their father's name. Dristian. Beside it was the name of their Oracle mother, Kinila, who had gone crazy soon after Damian's birth. Damian, Sofia, Adrian were written beneath it, and Darian grinned, wondering when Sofi had picked a name for her son.

Although older, his own name was present under Damian's, as if it had been erased during the long years of his slavery and newly added. Not only was Claire's name gone, but a new one was in its place.

"Holy shit."

Darian, Jenn.

Suddenly, the secrets of those around him began to crack open. Jenn knew. She had to. It was the only thing that explained why she tried to push him away. Sofi knew, or she wouldn't have told Damian to send Darian to check on Jenn.

Which meant Damian knew. And the Others. Why else would they want Jenn, if not because they'd seen her name written as the mate of the one creature who could prevent them from executing goals as mysterious as those of the Watchers?

Everyone knew! Darian stared at the names. When they were written on the obelisk, it was meant to happen. How long had her name been written? Since he was freed from his imprisonment to the Black God?

Since he realized he wanted more from her than to spar?

Seeing her name there surprised him, but it seemed only natural a woman he'd watched and admired from a distance so long would be his mate. He simply hadn't wanted to face what his instincts told him. He'd been drawn to Jenn since he'd started to recover his mind. It was not the hard, fast, lustful connection he felt with his first mate, but a deeper connection. Attraction had given way to admiration and respect over the months as he sparred with her and saw her in action. He'd mated with Claire days after meeting her. He never knew more than lust for her.

But Jenn was different.

His gaze went to the line above his. Adrian. Damian would have a son, a future. Darian never thought it possible, yet seeing the name of his little brother's son made him want more out of life. Would the name of his own son or daughter ever be written beside his and Jenn's name on the monument?

Darian rubbed his face, his fingers running the length of where the deepest and most knotted scar had been. Sometimes he still felt it there, even knowing it wasn't. He pulled the necklace Jenn had taken from the immortal world and rose, wanting to see why it was so special to her.

He made his way through the orchard and over the wall at the other end, stunned by the mess that had been the immortals' imperial city. Distressed by the damage, he jogged to the central square, where smaller obelisks marking lesser immortal Houses rose out of the ground.

He searched until it was almost too dark to see, finally coming to the one with the same marks as Jenn's necklace. He knelt and then hunched to see the names at the very bottom of the small obelisk.

Jenn, Finian, Talia.

A husband and a daughter. As the lower ranking of the married couple, the name of Jenn's betrothed was added to her family's record, indicating he was likely the son of another servant. A small dirt hole was in front of the obelisk where she'd dug up the necklace.

Darian sat for a long moment, comprehending why Jenn viewed the immortal world with such bitterness. He didn't know if she still yearned for her husband during a time when marriages among servants were arranged, but there was nothing that could soothe the ache a mother felt at losing her child.

Her loss was darker than his. He began to understand her reluctance to be involved with him and how thick the walls around her heart were, if she spent the years since the Schism learning how to shut people and emotion out.

Why she'd been able to walk away from him when he knew he couldn't have walked away from her. Which was stronger: her fear of being close to anyone again or her sense of duty to protect a fellow Guardian from the Others?

Probably both, he told himself. She doesn't realize I have nine lives, like my cats.

He buried the necklace again, satisfied the Others would have no overt reason to grab her. She'd be in danger no matter what, but he wasn't about to give them the rope they sought to hang her.

As much as he didn't know what to think about having a new mate after the disastrous relationship with his first, he knew one thing: her life was now his priority. He'd been content to play around with the Others and test his magic. If he wanted to protect Jenn, there would be no more playing. Hunting, extermination, as methodical and merciless as he knew himself capable of. He'd learned a few things about killing from the previous Black God, lessons that would now serve him well.

He trotted back towards the orchard, pensive. Of course, Jenn herself wasn't completely off the hook. They were overdue for a discussion, one she'd been unwilling to start but that he would see through. He'd have to figure out how to start a conversation she didn't want to have. She was strong and stubborn enough to walk away from him.

He had a mate.

Darian paused mid-step, not at all certain he was worthy of a mate. Her name was written on the obelisk. He'd admired her for so long, and their kiss in the basement made him feel as nothing ever had. Some part of him had known long before he saw her name written.

Darian ran to the wall of the orchard and vaulted over. He landed hard and looked around at the only remaining beauty in the immortal world. As mixed as his feelings were, he knew he couldn't let the Watchers and Others do the same thing to the mortal world.

He stepped through the portal through worlds and landed in the desert. It was afternoon in the mortal world. He sensed several Others and Watchers on earth. He needed more weapons before he began hunting them down. This time, the Watchers wouldn't get off easy. He'd rid the planet of both.

Resolved, Darian Traveled to Texas, his presence in his sister-in-law's room waking her.

"Darian?" Sofi asked, her blue-silver eyes glowing in the darkness of predawn.

"You can't tell me you're actually surprised to see me," he teased. "Your fortune cookies forget to tell you I'd figure out what you didn't tell me about Jenn?"

"You know I can't tell you those things." Sofi pushed herself into a sit and rested her hands on the top of her stomach.

"I know." He pulled a rocking chair from the corner to her bed and sat. "But everyone else knew."

"You're not here this early to bitch at me about that," she said with some of the moodiness he'd come to expect from her since learning of her pregnancy.

"I want to kill Watchers," he said. "Give me a reason not to, and I won't."

"They freak me out."

"Is that a yes, go ahead?"

She hesitated. "You don't need my permission."

"I need what insight an Oracle can give me about something that might just cause the end of the world," he pointed out.

"I hate the Watchers right now. I want them all dead. But I think your focus should be on the Others." Her eyes swirled, and he felt her cool power surround him.

"Just give me any indication I'm not going to ruin everything," he added.

"As long as you do your duty, you won't," she replied after a pause. "If Watchers and Others are allowed to do their will here, they'll destroy both worlds. Darian, you can't let that happen."

"I just need to discourage them both from coming," he said. "Even if I can't close the gateways between worlds."

"You can't close the gateway. You will have some very difficult choices soon," she said. "I don't see your job getting any easier, Darian."

"Sofi, tell me about Jenn."

"Darian, I can't—"

"Sofi, please. I know you've done so much for me already, but I need to know. I can't go through what I did before. I can't lose her like I did Claire," Darian said quietly. "Could you live through losing Damian?"

"You're not playing fair!" she snapped.

"I don't play fair. That's Damian's job."

Sofi was silent. He felt her grappling with his question and willed her to help him.

"You both have choices to make," she said carefully. "How you handle this is important, Darian."

"What the fuck does that mean? How I handle what?"

"I mean, you need her. She doesn't know she needs you. If she pursues the course she's on, well, it's not good, from what I can See."

"What course, Sofi?"

"The one that takes her away from you. She has some serious decisions to make. Yours are probably already made, if you're half as stubborn as Damian," Sofi replied.

"You think I should leave her alone to decide?"

"I think you need to be careful to keep from driving her away. I also know her—and our—danger increases every day. It's not something she can fight."

"I can," Darian said, thinking of the Black God and the Others. "So I have to give her space and protect her. Then everything will work out okay."

"Not exactly. It'll only work out okay if she takes her place at your side. Every other path ends very badly." Sofi's voice took on a dark note.

"This is one shitty fortune cookie," he said with a frown. "I can't make her choose me."

"No, you can't."

Darian scowled. It wasn't the answer he wanted. The way things were going, Jenn would probably choose her own death over being with him. In her mind, she'd probably be protecting him. But she was his mate. There were no limits to what he'd do to protect her. There was a lot Sofi wasn't saying, this much he sensed. He wondered what it was.

"Earlier today, you all acted really weird," he said.

"I'll tell you why next week."

"After whatever happens, happens?"

"Exactly."

"You're in danger, too," he said.

"We all are, Darian. There's a lot riding on the choices you make as the Grey God."

"I'm not sure I like how that sounds."

"You shouldn't. But you can do it. Trust your instincts, no matter what," Sofi added. "Now, I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"How does time work in the immortal world?"

He studied her. "What do you mean?"

"What happens to people who move between worlds?"

"Why are you asking this?"

"Please answer the question."

"Nothing happens to those who pass between worlds. At least, from what I remember, nothing did. The only time something happens is when you've been in one world more than twenty-four hours. Then you'll become what you were, what you would have been had you been in that world your whole life. Mortals will age faster in the immortal world and immortals age very, very slowly in the mortal world."

"Do those who cross over have increased powers?"

"Yes, if you've been there a day and until you get back to your own world for a full day. Sofi, you aren't thinking of going to the immortal world, are you? You're a powerful enough Oracle," he said.

"Sometimes it seems like it'd be nice to have a bit clearer vision," she admitted. "But I know it's not worth running into Others."

"Promise me you won't go," he urged. "There are ancient laws that forbid it."

"I wouldn't know how to get there," she said. "Don't worry, Darian. I have a good head on my shoulders."

"I know." He was about to press her to make an actual vow when she sighed.

"Now, get out of my room. I'm exhausted."

"You have to tell me if you're in any sort of danger, Sofi."

"You'll know soon enough. We'll be fine, Darian. Just do what you were brought back to do."

Darian rose, not wanting to leave when his family was in danger. Sofi waved him away before sinking into the bed again and pulling the covers up. Darian hesitated one moment longer before he located a small group of Others near Jonny's lair. He Traveled to them, wanting to blow off some of the emotional build-up and kill those that threatened everyone around him.

When he'd gone, Sofi flung off the blankets. She got dressed and looked at the time, her heart pounding harder and harder as she moved towards the door. She'd had dreams of Damian, Jule and Dusty being picked off one-by-one by the Wathers. And now, it was her turn. She'd almost made it when she heard the voice.

"Hello, ikira," the Watcher said. "I know you've Seen this moment."

"I have," she whispered. "I was going to get Bianca."

"We already got her."

Sofi turned, clenching her fists. "Damian."

"They are safe for now. The Others can't find them."

She wasn't sure whether to trust him or not but nodded, praying he was telling the truth. The Watcher extended his hand. Sofi grudgingly took it, terrified of what was to come. Her visions were all over the place this night, and she wasn't sure what she'd initially thought was the right path would actually turn out well.

"You know where we're going?" the Watcher asked.

"The immortal world," she answered. "Part of your plan to manipulate Darian."

"Seems we have the same plan, if you didn't tell him."

Sofi ground her teeth. They Traveled to a place where it was cold and dark but didn't stay long. The Watcher led her to a hole in the back of a tunnel, and they emerged in a sunny, warm world. As if a shaken bottle of soda had been uncorked within her, her magic swelled and burst from her body. She staggered at the sensation, taking in the crumbled world around her.

The Watcher steadied her. Several of his guardsmen stood nearby, their uniforms emblazoned with green cuneiform symbols. He waved them away.

"You know this is for your own good," the Watcher said, leading her towards one of the only standing buildings she saw.

"I don't know that," she answered. "My vision isn't strong enough to See that. I do know the alternative will see us all killed."

"A full day after you've been here in the immortal world, your vision will clear. You will see as you never have before."

"I will become as if I'd lived here my whole life, isn't that right?"

"In a sense, yes. The most powerful Oracle in millennia."

"What of my child?" she asked, hand going to her stomach.

"It depends on how long you are here." The Watcher glanced at her belly. "A full day will make you powerful and probably, a mother."

Sofi concentrated on stepping through the rubble of what looked like a once-great city. The woman in her screamed for her to leave, to find Damian and have their son in the place they'd planned in a few months. The Oracle side of her knew there was more at stake, that there was no guarantee they'd make it out of the immortal world, if Darian didn't do what he needed to.

"You'll be safe here," the Watcher said, not unkindly. "You did everything you could. We were impressed by your sight and sacrifice."

"It's only a sacrifice if they don't live through this!" she snapped. "I have faith in Darian, not you. We are here because I saw this as the only chance we really had."

"If this ends as it should, I'd gladly help him hunt down the remaining Others."

"When this is over, I'll encourage Darian to hunt your kind as well."

"We mean no lasting harm to humanity or to your family. We are protecting you the only way we know how."

Sofi bit back her response. Already, she could feel her body changing in the immortal world. While she welcomed the feeling of newfound power, she was terrified for her son.

"The guardsman will show you to your room," the Watcher said as they reached the building. "Good luck, ikira."

If nothing else, she'd have a much better vision of what was to come after a full day in the immortal world. Resigned to a fate she couldn't determine, Sofi obeyed the Watcher and followed the guardsman through the building.

## Chapter Eight

"JUST ME." DARIAN'S voice was low.

Jenn lowered her weapons. She'd heard the crunch of snow beneath boots indicating someone had appeared without her seeing anyone. Darian was only a few feet away, a testament to his stealthy magic. She looked around, the prey she'd been stalking in the forest before dawn now lost. She'd found Darian instead. Warmly dressed and well-armed, Jenn nonetheless felt the predawn chill tickle her neck.

"What're you doing here, Darian?" she asked.

"Tracking Others. You?"

"You're certain they were Others?"

"You really need me to answer that question?" Darian snorted in amusement, though she heard the note of tension in his voice.

"I followed Jonny."

His sudden disappearances without her made more sense. If Darian tracked Others here, she tracked Jonny, and neither was there... they'd gone somewhere together.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Darian asked.

"Why would he be working with them? What would he have to gain?"

"There's no telling with a Black God."

"He's not like Czerno. He has some level of restraint."

"Keep telling yourself that, Jenn. It sounds like he's the one manipulating you."

"My magic no longer works on him, but I'd know if he was messing with my head," she replied coldly.

"Then you're deluding yourself." Darian's voice carried a dark note, one that made her uncomfortable alone with him in the dark forest. "A Black God does not know restraint."

"What god does?"

"Is that for me? Cuz you started this mess."

She rolled her eyes. "Can you track where they went?"

"Gone. Immortal world is my guess."

Darian's boots crunched snow as he moved closer. Jenn resisted the urge to leave, wanting to pretend things were as normal as possible between them. Running from a man like Darian would only make him chase her; this much she knew.

"Funny thing is he asked me if I knew where the portal was last night," she said. "I thought he needed to know for his own purposes."

"Maybe they blindfold him. What did you tell him?"

"I lied."

"Speaking of lying, manipulating females," Darian said, tone lighter. "I brought you something. Hold out your hand."

"Better be a cheeseburger," she grunted. She held out a hand. "I haven't eaten a decent meal in weeks."

"You and I are probably the only people who consider cheeseburgers a food group."

He placed something small in her palm. Jenn's cold hand closed around it as she struggled to identify it. She finally recognized the shape of the necklace she'd given Darian the day before.

"I thought you had to return this," she said in a hushed voice.

"I did."

"And... what?" she asked when he said no more.

"It's taken care of."

Jenn tucked her knife and gun away and replaced the necklace around her neck with clumsy hands. The metal was cold against her warm skin, and she pulled her scarf on tighter once the necklace was where it belonged.

"Thanks, Darian," she said. "I hope it didn't cause you too much trouble."

"More than you realize."

Jenn gazed in his direction for a long moment, unable to place the dry humor in his voice. Whatever the inside joke was, he wasn't about to share it and she didn't ask. The silence grew awkward, and she found herself thinking of the last time they were together. Her blood warmed at the idea of seducing Darian again. Alarmed by emotions Dusty had warned her were permanent, she took a step away.

"I can't risk being caught not in my assigned spot," she said.

"Jonny didn't threaten you, did he?" The dark note was back, the one she didn't like.

"Not directly. Just made it clear I'm not allowed to leave."

Darian growled, sounding more animal than human. Jenn started away from him.

"I'll be fine, Darian," she called over her shoulder. "Twelve days left. Enough time for me to figure out what Jonny's doing with the Others. I'm in no danger."

"Bullshit."

"If I don't figure out his plans before the truce is up with Ikir Damian, every Guardian on the planet is fucked. They still don't have their powers back," she said. "I can't have you distract me from my mission right now."

"Interesting choice of words. In any case, considering I'm the one that broke the balance between good and evil, immortal and mortal, you aren't the one with the fates of the Guardians on your shoulders."

"I can help fix it."

"It's not your personal responsibility to make this right."

"Would you do differently?" she demanded, facing him. He'd been following her, this time silently, and she was surprised at how close he was.

"No," he said. "But I wouldn't try to do it alone, either."

"This coming from the man who drops into secret meetings of Others?"

"Don't make me pull rank," he warned. "Because the Grey God's orders trump your better judgment every time."

Jenn grated her teeth. He wasn't going to be dissuaded. That he remained so calm when she felt ready to explode again only made her tenser. It was too dark for her to see his features, but she heard his resolve.

"We can talk about the fact you'd have no issue working with any other Guardian but me if you want," he offered. "I'm giving you an easy out. Just say yes, no more secrets about this mission, we'll work together from here on out, yadda yadda, and we can move on."

"Very well. You can help me, so long as you don't get in the way," she replied. Jenn turned and walked towards the fortress again.

"Thank you, ikira."

She bit her tongue and marched back to the lair, just as snow began to fall again. Vamps awaited her in the foyer. She readied herself for a fight, making certain none of them had orders to jump her yet, and then continued to the panoramic window. Snow fell heavily outside. Jenn brushed flakes from her jacket and sat, changing boots. She found a supply room and acquired several pairs of boots, fully knowing she'd come back with wet feet every time she left.

A glance towards Darian showed his intense gaze on her, not the vamps surrounding them. He looked away and turned his back to her, stance guarded as he paced short distances back and forth, like a caged panther. Jenn couldn't help feeling more comfortable here than in the forest, when it was just the two of them. He ceased pacing and cocked his head to the side.

"I've got three," Darian said for her ears only.

"Maybe they're with Jonny."

"I'll check it out."

Before she could ask to go with him, he Traveled. Jenn tied her boots quickly and swapped out jackets. She darted to the door and whipped it open, trying hard to sense if Darian reappeared close enough for her to follow. A moment passed, and her frozen breath drifted upwards.

"I know you're not paying room and board, but you're running up the bill," the Black God said from inside the fortress.

Jenn turned and closed the door. The Black God looked around him, disoriented, as if he'd been dropped into the foyer and not Traveled there himself. She wondered if Darian was right about the Others blindfolding him somehow.

"Darian was here. Said he found some Others nearby," she said, watching Jonny carefully.

"I need more heads for my collection," the Black God said with vehemence. "I'm losing vamps right and left to them."

"They've started attacking?" she asked, unable to detect any duplicity in the anger he directed at the Others.

"Yesterday. It's another reason I was so harsh with you last night," he explained. "If you go back to Damian, I have no leverage to get him to help me."

After her discovery in the forest, Jenn wasn't certain what to believe. The Black God didn't give off any of the signs she knew would mean he was lying. His anger looked too real to be faked. If he wasn't working with Others, then what was going on?

"Something isn't right," she voiced.

"More than you know," he replied. "How do I fight an enemy I can't see until it's wiped out a few dozen of my vamps?"

"Darian can."

"Until you leave." The flash of darkness crossed Jonny's face again. "Then where am I?"

"The Grey God is sworn to help," Jenn reminded him. "He'll rid the planet of anything that comes from the immortal world to threaten us."

"No, Jenn," the Black God said with a shake of his head. "I've heard about the Grey God that existed long ago. Xander told me everything. I know why he was killed. It'll happen again."

"What're you talking about?"

"The Grey God existed for a very short time, and he was supposed to balance out the two worlds. But he didn't, Jenn. Darian was born in the immortal world. He belongs to that world. He will end ours to preserve his."

"Jonny, that's not true. Darian is a Guardian first and foremost. He's sworn to protect our world."

"Is that what he told you?"

"It's the same with every Guardian."

Jonny gazed at her for a long moment, more troubled than ever. He glanced at his vamps, several of which had moved closer while pretending not to listen. Jenn held her ground when the Black God marched towards her. He took her arm and hauled her down the hall and up the stairs to his chamber. Jenn bristled, but Jonny locked the door and ignored her, striding to his desk.

He dug out his black notebook from the depths of a desk drawer and held it out to her. She hesitated then took it, trying not to act too eager to read its secrets. She'd been looking for it for weeks now.

Jonny flung off his coat and boots then sat in a chair in the living area, brooding.

Jenn approached when he stilled. She shrugged out of her coat without releasing the notebook and sat across from him on the black couch. The notebook was filled with diary-like entries. She flipped through it.

"What am I looking for?" she asked.

"This was Czerno's before it was mine."

She looked up, surprised.

"My entries start where the red string is. He didn't write in it the last month or so before his death, but look at his last entry."

She did so, hands almost shaking in anticipating. This was the Holy Grail for a spy! The plots and minds of two Black Gods in the palm of her hand!

Jenn flipped to the string and read the short entry. She frowned.

"Read it aloud," Jonny ordered, leaning forward.

Jenn obeyed. "They're going to get rid of me. This much has been clear for months, since the Oracle made her appearance. It was so before the Schism, when the White God took an Oracle as his bride and was himself betrayed. If I am fortunate, I will have the Grey God at my command before my demise. They cannot destroy me when I will determine which world survives."

"Which world survives," Jonny repeated. "Now, read my entry from the day I met Xander, four weeks ago today."

Jenn flipped. Jonny's handwriting was harder to read, tiny and tight, where Czerno's held a calligraphic flair.

"He promised to take me to the immortal records when he finds the door to the immortal realm, the ones that will tell me about the Grey God," she read. "If we can't stop the Grey God, the mortal world will not survive. Jonny, what are you telling me?"

"I'm telling you that Darian is about to destroy one world. It is his destiny as the Grey God. It almost happened millennia ago. It will happen this time," the Black God said. "The Others want to prevent it. They showed me what they can do and wiped out every vamp I have on the East Coast. I thought the Guardians were cursed without their magic, but the Others can't track them. Instead, they track and kill my vamps. I hate them, but I finally threw my hat in the ring with them to stop Darian and to stop them from slaughtering my people."

She heard his words but couldn't quite digest that Darian would knowingly destroy any world. Jonny and his predecessor clearly believed the Grey God was a danger to their own world.

"He has no choice. And he won't pick ours, Jenn," Jonny continued. "Xander said he spoke to the Oracle, and the Oracle confirmed that one world would die."

He won't pick ours. Jonny's words bounced around in her thoughts as she recalled the look Darian had given the portal they stumbled upon. He'd been yearning and delighted, even claiming the immortal world to be heaven.

"No, Jonny. He won't forsake his duty," she said and rose, agitated.

"What makes you so certain?"

Two weeks ago, she wouldn't have known which way Darian would go. But he'd changed again. He would hold his duty over his fascination with the immortal world. Especially if he saw it as she did. The world was in shambles.

"I know he won't," she said. "Are you certain one world must die?"

"Why do you think the Grey God existed and then was killed? This time, Xander says Darian's fate is not the same as his predecessor. But neither has his choice changed."

"There's nothing that would make him choose the immortal world over ours."

"What motivation does he have to choose our world?" Jonny argued, approaching her. His agitated air was filled with magic. "The Others told me he was enslaved by a Black God. There's no Black God in the immortal world!"

"There are no humans there, either," she pointed out. "As the White God, he was sworn to protect humanity."

"As Grey God, he's destined to destroy a world. Are you comfortable saying it won't be ours?"

"Yes, I am!"

"I'm not. And if I can't protect my world, I'll find a way to destroy him."

"Jonny, he's not your enemy," she said. "The Others are your enemies. They're setting you up to betray you."

"They won't, not if they want..." Jonny ran his fingers through his hair. "I made them a deal."

"What kind of deal?" she breathed.

"One that will see my vamps protected and the worlds both survive."

"Jonny—"

He held up a hand. "It also might save our world, Jenn. They're going to stop attacking Guardians, too, and they're going to focus on Darian. Xander says they can't kill him, but maybe they can keep him from destroying our world."

"What makes you think they won't focus Darian on destroying our world?" she demanded.

"I had to do them a favor."

There was a tense silence and then she spoke.

"This is madness, Jonny. What did you trade them for this favor?"

He looked away.

"Jonny, what did you do?"

"I made them the deal I tried to make yesterday. All they wanted was you," he said.

"Fuck!" Jenn cried. "They manipulated you, Jonny! Can't you see what they're doing? They're preying on you. I don't know what's true about Darian destroying a world, but the Others would do everything they could to destroy ours."

"No, Jenn, they said—"

"I don't give a shit what they said, Jonny. Turning me over to them is... it's..." She couldn't bring herself to tell him why it mattered.

"I've loved you almost since I met you," Jonny said, stepping closer. "You think it was easy for me to consider turning you over? I told them no the first two meetings."

"You don't love me, Jonny."

"But I do, Jenn. You protected my sister. You came with me here, and you've taught me how to lead," he replied. "You've been the only person who stayed with me through this all."

"Jonny, what you feel for me—it's not real. It's gratitude," she said quickly as he took another step towards her. "I did those things because they're my duty. I'm here because it's the will of the White God."

"Xander told me not to agree with the Others," Jonny considered. "When he left, I felt like they started to respect me more. They didn't talk down to me like they did when Xander was at our meetings. I didn't want to agree, but... Jenn, I'm going to save the world."

"They lied to you. They used mind manipulation to control you, which wasn't possible with Xander there to protect you."

"I'm the Black God. No one can do that," he scoffed.

"Xander can. I can."

Jonny searched her gaze. "Did you do that to me, Jenn?"

"Up until last night, when it stopped working. You're too powerful now," she replied. "Xander can still do it. I've watched him work you like a puppet."

She saw the wounded look a fraction of a moment before the Black God hardened. He turned away from her.

"Jonny, I don't know how to tell you what you've done," she said. "The Others took advantage of you. They're going to destroy you and our world."

"It seems like everyone's taken advantage of me."

"I don't know how else to say this, Jonny, but that's the game we're playing."

"Game?" His whisper turned to a roar. "Is that what I am to you, Jenn? A game?"

"I didn't mean—"

He whirled and snatched her neck, lifting her off the ground. Jenn whipped out a dagger, but he knocked it away. She felt his magic swell around him, the fire in his gaze sizzling through her blood.

"Tell me where the portal is, Guardian." His voice was inhuman.

Jenn closed her eyes, struggling to breathe. Jonny wasn't trained in reading minds; his entrance into hers was like taking a machete to a piñata. Her world grew red then black while he smashed through her memories.

He dropped her finally, and she landed in a heap. Sand was rough against her cheek, and she blinked back tears and darkness. The sun peeked over the desert horizon to the east.

Jonny squatted beside her. "Where is it?"

Jenn pretended to be more disoriented than she was, wanting to catch him by surprise and Travel before he caught her. She pushed herself up to her knees. Jonny shifted away. She closed her eyes to Travel, but he clamped a hand on her forearm.

"This will keep you from running," he said. Black smoke swirled in his other hand, molding into a cuff. The Black God slapped it over her arm.

It sucked her magic out of her, storing it in the black cuff. Jenn stared at it. Jonny released her and rose.

"I'll count to three, Guardian," Jonny said. "Tell me where it is. One."

"You can't go to the immortal world, Jonny. The Others are there."

"Two."

"Whatever they told you, it's wrong. You have to trust me."

"I did more than trust you," he said, glancing at her. "This will hurt me more than it does you, Jenn."

"Jonny—"

"Three."

His gaze flashed. Pain flew threw her. Jenn cried out, her body bucking from waves of agony. They stopped just as suddenly as they started again.

"Let's try this again," the Black God said.

Jenn gritted her teeth. She'd sworn an oath to Darian, and the last thing she wanted was to return to the immortal world and wait for the Others to grab her. Of course, if Jonny had his way, her fate was already sealed.

Jonny crouched beside her. Jenn wiped her mind clean, instead thinking of Bianca, Jonny's sister. She focused hard on the image of Bianca and braced herself for Jonny's fiery touch. He touched her and withdrew immediately, cursing.

When Jonny's hand clamped around her arm again, she felt the unmistakable sense of Traveling. He released her. Jenn heard him stride away and slam a door. She opened her eyes. She was in the living area of his suite again. Jonny slammed the bathroom door then shoved everything off his desk onto the floor. His magic filled the air around him, flinging the living room furniture against windows and walls in a fit of fury.

She pushed herself up, grimacing at the flickers of pain still running through her. The cuff was warm against her skin and she tugged at it, seeking some way to free herself. It was solid. Her hand dropped, and she eyed a credenza that swept close to her head.

Just as quick as his hissy fit started, it stopped. Jonny planted his hands on his hips and stared at the ceiling. The furniture landed randomly around the room.

"You're going to do something for me, Jenn," he said.

"Whatever you say, Jonny," she replied and rose. She refused to let him see she was hurting from his magic and weak without her own. Instead, Jenn straightened and met his gaze.

"You're going to find out how to keep the Grey God from destroying our world. If that means he dies, so be it."

"If Xander told you—"

"I don't give a fuck what Xander said. For all I know, he was manipulating me, like you did," Jonny snapped. "No one seems to think they can kill him. If that's not the answer, then you'll figure it out, Jenn, and you'll do it in two days. Or I'll unleash my vamps on your precious Guardians. I'm well aware they have no magic to defend themselves."

She stared at him.

"You think I missed that thought when I read your mind?" he demanded, stalking to her. "Your true mission here, not to help me but to undermine me? I saw everything, Jenn. I saw every memory you didn't want me to see, everything Damian said to you about what to do when you got here. Even the one about how you abandoned your family. Who knew a Black God had more honor than the shitty Guardian you are."

Jenn slapped him hard. Jonny took a step back then gazed at her in silent surprise.

"Did you see the one where I pitied you?" she demanded. "Where I took on this assignment, hoping you'd retain the part of you that makes you human? Did you see the memory where I watched you kill your first, and I still thought maybe there was some part of you that could be salvaged?"

The Black God didn't move.

"Maybe I hoped you could do what I could not do for myself," she said.

"I will do as I swore," he said at last. "I'll destroy every Guardian on this planet if you don't bring me the answer I want." He walked away, hesitated, and faced her again. "I'm the Black God, Jenn. I can't be salvaged."

Jonny left. Jenn rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms.

I can't be salvaged. The words struck her hard. He was hurting, that much she could sense even without her magic. He'd truly thought he loved her. She was lucky to be in one piece after all he'd learned.

Duty, honor, courage, selflessness.

The chant no longer soothed the pain within her as she thought of her own past.

Sorrow, then fury filled her. She didn't know what to think about Jonny's assignment or his insistence Darian would destroy one world. For once, she wanted to see Darian, to ask him outright what the fuck was going on. She wondered how she'd do what he told her when she couldn't Travel. She'd have trouble defending herself in his mansion without the sixth sense that helped her track the vamps prowling around her.

Jenn checked her pocket, not surprised to see the phone Darian lent her was missing. She flung a knife against the wall in anger then strode out of the Black God's chamber to the ground floor. It was too early for the vamps to be in the gym, so she stripped down to her undershirt without changing into her sparring gear and began pounding into the dummy in front of her.

Even if she had no magic, she still had most of a Guardian's superhuman strength. Jenn slammed her hands and kicks into the punching bag.

I can't be salvaged.

She hadn't thought she'd wanted the opposite so badly. The words stung, because she hated feeling as though she, too, was beyond redemption. She'd buried those ghosts a long time ago, owning up to her responsibility in the deaths of her family. And yet, the guilt never completely left. There was nothing she could do to change that.

You're going to find out how to keep the Grey God from destroying our world. If that means he dies, so be it.

At the thought of Darian, her punch faltered, and pain shot through her wrist. Jonny hadn't mentioned knowing she was Darian's mate, but keeping anything from him just got harder. She hadn't wanted anything to do with Darian. Jonny all but ordered her to interact with the Grey God.

Just turn me over to them already! she wanted to shout. The Others would get her eventually anyway, if not by Jonny's hand, then by their own. She wasn't about to live with the guilt of hurting yet a third person she cared about.

Exhausted, Jenn stooped to grab her clothes and returned to the locker room. She took a long shower this time, not caring if the vamps got her. None did. She dressed and grabbed a comb from her locker, crossing to the mirror above the sinks. The cuff on her arm was black and heavy. She'd tried to work it off in the shower but found it impossible.

The familiar swing of the necklace drew her gaze as she leaned over to lace a boot. She looked at her shoe then back up, straightening as she stared at her reflection. Jenn leaned against the sink counter, one hand taking the worn, ancient medallion around her neck.

It wasn't her family's necklace. She wore the mark of Darian, the firstborn of the White God. Sofi wore the White God's pendant, Bianca wore Dusty's mark, and Yully wore Jule's.

Darian knew.

After a long pause, Jenn tucked it beneath her shirt. With jerky movements, she finished dressing and replaced her weapons. She needed to find Darian, even if she'd rather run as far as she could. He'd said something about a cabin nearby. The nearest small town was thinly populated during winter, but she'd seen people there during her exploration of the area around Jonny's.

She pulled on a coat and her hat. It was midmorning, and the snow still fell. She walked to the foyer and looked out, dreading the idea of walking somewhere when it was so cold.

Jenn emerged from the mansion. Jonny had ordered her never to leave, crippled her ability to Travel, and then told her to get information from Darian. She wasn't sure what the Black God's priority was, but she wanted to find Darian. The information Jonny revealed about one of the worlds being destroyed was too crazy for her not to find out the truth.

Snow swirled around her as she strode from the mansion into the cold morning. Jenn walked until she reached the end of the driveway. She crossed the road and walked into the pine forest, towards the small town. A glance at the sky revealed darker clouds in the west. They didn't appear to be moving quickly.

Jenn jogged until she was warm then settled into as quick of a walk as she could through the thick forest and tall snow. By noon, the dark clouds made the sky as dark as early evening. Snow fell heavier, until she could barely see the next tree in front of her. Jenn pushed onward, even when a wicked wind began to blow against her.

The storm grew too heavy and she stopped finally, looking around her. She'd kept the mountain to her left, just in case she needed to find a place to hide out. She maneuvered that way now, leaning against rocks to peer into dark depths. After a short search, she found a small cave and scaled the boulders in front of it.

Jenn drew a knife in case an animal had also taken refuge in the cave. It was empty. She entered, stomping her feet to clear her legs of snow. She pushed it off her coat and hat.

"Couldn't stay in Miami," she complained.

The wind howled as she settled against the far wall to wait out the storm. With a knife beside her, she wrapped her arms around her knees and huddled, trying to keep warm. Dark fell, the only light in the cave coming from the snow.

Where are you?

Jenn lifted her head at the words. She couldn't respond, not with the cuff on her arm. She rested her chin on her knee until her nose grew too cold then ducked her head down again.

The necklace was cool against her skin. Jenn pondered it and what she'd felt kissing Darian. Despite the cold, her blood hummed with warmth. It kept her from freezing, just like the hot tears on her face. For the first time since she left the immortal world, she cried.

"Hello!"

She jerked at the voice. The snow fell in sheets outside the cave. Jenn rose and crossed to the edge. She could see nothing amid snow and darkness.

"Hello!"

"Darian?" she called, irritated at moving from her warm spot at the back of the cave.

"Jenn!"

She stepped back, waiting for him. The curtain of snow parted finally, and Darian's dark form entered the cave.

"What're you doing out in this storm?" she asked.

"Looking for you."

"You should've waited until morning."

"Jonny's flipping out," Darian said. His body brushed hers as he moved deeper into the cave, and he took her cold hands. "Gods, you're freezing."

"I don't give a shit about Jonny." Jenn yanked free and stepped to the back of the cave again. It hadn't felt small before Darian arrived, but it did now. She sat down, huddling with her knees again.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Let's get the fuck out of here."

"I'm fine."

"You hate the cold," the Grey God said, squatting in front of her. "Something's off." Darian touched her face.

If he felt her tears, he said nothing, though his fingers lingered on her cheek. Jenn moved away.

"Jonny stripped my magic," she said.

"That's why you didn't respond when I called you mentally."

"Exactly," she said with enough sarcasm that he chuckled.

"C'mon. I'm taking you someplace warm." Darian didn't wait for her to respond this time. She felt herself lifted into his arms.

Jenn opened her mouth to object when they Traveled elsewhere. At once, the cold and dark was replaced by soft light and heat. Darian set her down on a small couch and moved away. She recognized the huge orange cat seated on the chair across from her.

Her hands were too cold to move. Jenn looked down at them with a grimace and tried to stretch out the fingers on one hand.

"You don't call, you don't write," Darian complained, returning. He had a bowl in one hand and pulled the ottoman closer, seating himself close to her. "Hands in the bowl."

Jenn obeyed. The warm water stung.

"Might take a few minutes," he said. He gripped the bowl between his knees then took one of her hands in both of his.

Comforting warmth spread through her fingers and palm.

"So you just thought you'd take a walk in the middle of a huge snowstorm?" he asked.

"Something like that." She kept her eyes on her hands, not liking how his warmth was spreading throughout her body. She pulled her hand away from him. "I'll be fine. I think I just want to sleep off the cold."

"For once, let someone else take care of you, Jenn."

She bit her lip. Darian took her hand again. She wanted to resist, to push him away, but she was so cold. And his warmth felt so good.

"What were you doing in the forest?" he asked again.

"I was going to find you," she replied. "I couldn't Travel, but I could walk."

"Jonny said he sent you after me." There was a guarded note in the Grey God's voice.

"He did," she confirmed. "Things got weird with Jonny."

"Which would explain this," Darian said and pushed up her sleeve to show the black cuff. He pushed it up farther, thumb moving gently over the bruise forming from where Jonny grabbed her. "And this."

She felt the air around him shift, darken. Jenn fought the urge to back away. Where Damian radiated sunlight and Jonny storm clouds, Darian shifted between the two.

"Rough night," she murmured. "I survived, as usual. Whatever it takes."

"The funny thing about Jonny stripping your powers: we're on even ground. You can't lie, and I can tell when you're trying to get a rise out of me."

"You call that even?"

"Compared to a normal day, yes."

Jenn couldn't stop her small smile.

"What happened, Jenn?"

Her smile faded. "I failed to keep the portal a secret. He knows about where it is but not exactly. It's only a matter of time before he finds it now. Admittedly, it's hard to keep anything from a jackhammer like the Black God going through your memories. At least he doesn't know about us." Too late, she realized what she'd said. Her eyes flew up to meet his.

"So you mean I wasn't the very last person to know?"

"Son of a bitch!" She yanked her hands free and stumbled around him, wanting to flee. "Just couldn't shut up, could you, Jenn?"

"Too late for that."

Jenn faced him, one cold hand across her mouth to keep any other stupid secrets from spilling out. Darian remained seated, watching her with intensity that made her feel edgy.

"Why did Jonny send you after me?" he asked.

Jenn lowered her hand. "Does it matter?"

"Yeah."

"He wants to know the answer to a question."

"And you planned on getting it for him how?"

"Fuck you, Darian," she replied, anger rising once again. "How have I ever treated you?"

"Before or after you kept secrets from me about our fates?"

Jenn glared at him. She tried to grip the necklace around her neck with hands still too cold to function.

"Don't." There was anger in his sharp voice this time, and his golden eyes flashed. "There is no fucking rock on this planet you could hide under where I wouldn't find you."

Jenn dropped it. "If there is any part of you that thinks I'd do anything less than ask you what he wanted to know, take it back. I want nothing to do with you."

The silence stretched between them at the stalemate.

"I'm sorry," Darian said at last.

Jenn couldn't remember any other time in her life when a man apologized to her. She stood where she was as Darian swept past her to the kitchen. When he didn't return immediately, her gaze fell to the warm bowl of water. Her hands hurt from cold. She returned to the couch and dipped her hands in the water.

When he did emerge, he had a hot cheeseburger on a plate. Jenn's eyes fell to it as he set it beside her.

"If you let me help you, you'll be able to grip it before it's cold," Darian said.

Her stomach roared. Jenn nodded. Darian resumed his seat on the ottoman and took her hands again. Jenn tried not to look at him, focusing instead on the scent of cheeseburgers. Her eyes went to his long fingers and roped forearms then upward to the thick biceps and wide shoulders. She found herself remembering what his body looked like when he stripped down to spar with her, how the muscular length of him felt against her own body when they were locked in combat.

"Jonny thinks you're going to destroy one of the worlds," she said. "He wanted to know your intentions, or he'd find a way to kill you."

"Would solve your problem of being mated to me."

"I was planning on being killed by Others," she said.

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"No, Darian, I'm sorry to disappoint you."

He looked up at her quiet words.

"I... I can't, Darian," Jenn said and touched the symbol at the small of her neck.

Darian took her hand and lowered it. "Yes, you can. It's easy. Just don't fight it."

"It's not right."

"Are you going to try to convince me again that you don't care for me?" he asked. "I'll admit, I don't know how you walked away from me like you did in the wine cellar."

Pure terror, she answered mentally. Out loud, she said, "I'm not going to put you in more danger."

"Try again."

She raised her eyebrows at his challenge. "I don't want to be involved with anyone."

"Not convinced."

"I can't have you killing off sources I sleep with."

"You won't be sleeping with any more sources," he snapped. "Try again."

"What can I say to convince you?" she demanded.

"One thing. Tell me Claire was right to betray me. If you can say those words, I'll let you walk."

Darian waited. Jenn couldn't formulate the words. They went against every fiber of her honor. She'd hated Claire when she found out. Jenn still remembered the first time she'd seen Darian. He'd been scarred so badly, he was hardly recognizable as a person. His now vibrant eyes had been empty, and he'd spent many days just sitting with Sofi in the study. She recalled taking messages from Dusty to Sofi and how, at first, Darian hadn't even been able to register the sound of another human's voice.

Claire had done that to him.

Jenn held Darian's golden gaze, feeling awed at his transformation. She'd taken care of him since she met him. Those tables had turned. She'd always thought him her perfect match in the sparring ring. And now, a small voice told her he'd be her perfect match outside the ring, too.

Something within her broke. There was no dissuading someone like Darian. The moment he figured out the truth, she was screwed, just like Dusty told her. Lost in thought, she dropped her gaze to her hands as Darian's warmth moved through her body, healing her.

"The great wordsmith is quiet. Looks like I finally won a round," he said then motioned to the cheeseburger. "I've got more on the stove." He rose and moved towards the kitchen.

Jenn stood and tested her body when he disappeared into the kitchen. Her body felt like it had before her assignment to the Black God. She pulled up her shirt to confirm the bruises were gone. By the sudden lack of stiffness in her torso, she wondered if her ribs had been broken. She had a high tolerance to pain, more so when she had Guardian magic.

She picked up her cheeseburger, walked to the kitchen door, and leaned against the doorframe, watching Darian flip hamburgers on the stove. Even the simple, everyday task was done with his flawless, effortless movement. She ate fast, ravenous for real food after surviving off of scraps at the Black God's house. Someone had food in their pantry at one point, but it was stale and consisted of canned food she wouldn't normally eat.

A cheeseburger had never tasted so good. It was well-cooked, the cheese perfectly melted.

"My god," she sighed. "This is fantastic!"

"How many can you eat?"

"Four."

"Four?" Darian glanced at her. "I only eat three."

"I haven't eaten real food in weeks."

With his healing magic and the first cheeseburger in her belly, Jenn felt renewed energy. She moved to the fridge and opened it, still starving. He didn't have much, but she wasn't feeling picky. She tugged a beer free from one of two six-packs and popped the top. The first mouthful tasted like bitter honey and she drank the bottle down, sighing again.

"Haven't eaten real food in weeks." The disapproval was clear in his voice as he slowly repeated her words.

"I hear a Jenn-like lecture approaching," she said and crossed her arms as she faced him.

"No, no," he said. "Just know it won't happen that way again."

For once, let someone take care of you.

She didn't know what to feel at his words. She'd never thought she needed someone to take care of her. She worked hard to keep it that way. Dependence on others created not only potential liabilities but made her weaker as well.

Jenn's gaze swept over Darian.

Trust. It wasn't something she did. It wasn't something she thought she'd missed. Standing in the kitchen with the man meant to be her mate, she couldn't help feeling a small kernel of longing deep inside her. An ache that remembered what it'd been like to trust someone else. An ache that wanted to trust someone again.

Darian.

Fear trickled through her as she recalled the amount of pain trusting someone could cause. Of all the evil in the world, she feared this the most.

"Coward," Darian murmured.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"About destroying worlds," she shot back.

"Have another cheeseburger," he said and handed a plate to her.

"You don't have enough cheeseburgers to keep me distracted forever."

"You really want to do this right now?" he challenged, meeting her gaze. "You're half-starved and powerless. You think you can take me?"

"I thought you learned that lesson," she reminded him. "I don't need magic to twist you up in knots."

"You need it to run away again. You throw down now, we'll have us a little talk, and you've got no escape plan."

She snatched the plate and walked into the living room.

"Damn that felt good!" Darian shouted.

"Cheap shot."

"I learned that from you."

Jenn resisted the urge to smile. Frustrated and off-center, she couldn't help finding his triumph entertaining. The part of her that loved to mess with powerful creatures also knew she was damned good at it. That she'd had a god off balance for so long—and it took losing her magic for him to finally score—was an accomplishment. Of course, any advantage she had over him was over now.

She was enjoying the challenge and their repartee. More than she liked. Darian had a quick wit that was as unpredictable as his actions.

"I also learned the best time to take advantage of someone is when they're off-center," he said, joining her with another plate of cheeseburgers.

Stop it, she directed him mentally.

He winked in response, saying, "No more secrets."

"I'm not afraid of you, Darian," she replied and wolfed down another cheeseburger.

"You're terrified," he supplied. "Want to play a game?"

"What kind of game?"

"I ask you a question, you answer with the honest truth. You ask me one, I do the same," he explained. "Absolutely nothing off limits."

Jenn shifted, studying him. She wasn't sure what to do if she couldn't manipulate her way out of something. Yet, she wasn't sure she wanted to get out of anything. Her emotions were twisted when it came to the Grey God. She admired him as she had no other.

Darian was too intense to appear relaxed, but he was waiting with a predator's patience to see what she'd do. He'd thrown down the gauntlet. If she accepted, there was no going back, and she suspected Darian had already stacked the deck to win, whatever win meant to a wild man like him. Her heart quickened again, and her palms grew sweaty from what she knew was fear. She'd never let fear stand between her and a mission. She couldn't let it stop her now, though this kind of fear was far different than that of losing her life or failure on a mission.

"Fine," she said softly.

"I knew you wouldn't back down," he said with a smile that confirmed her instinct. "You ask first."

"The worlds issue," she said without hesitation.

"It may be true." His words were slow, thoughtful. "If I can't disrupt the war between Others and Watchers, it's an option. I didn't think it inevitable, though. They're telling me I can't close the gates. I'd only need to close one to control their entrance into this world. I can't camp outside both gateways, but I could one. I'm going to try it."

"And if you can't? What then?"

"My turn."

She leaned back, unwilling to let her impatience show.

"Talia."

Jenn's whole body went rigid. She resisted the urge to reach for a knife, knowing this was a test without knowing what answer it was Darian wanted.

## Chapter Nine

"I SAW THE name on the obelisk in the immortal world when I returned your family's marker," Darian said.

To her credit, Jenn remained in her seat. He didn't touch her thoughts, already aware of the level of turmoil he'd just caused her. She was silent for a long moment and finally looked away from him. There was no sign of her inner angst in her deep brown eyes or on her beautiful features. But without her magic ability to cover her emotions, the air around her sizzled.

"You know the answer," she said in a low growl. "Why ask it."

"I need to know," he said. "You're not the only one terrified by this."

"I'm a liability," she said, raising an eyebrow in her only sign of offense. "I'd never betray you, Darian, no matter what ghosts are in my closet."

"Answer the question."

For the second time that day, he sensed how close she was to exploding. Jenn drew a steady breath and met his gaze again.

"I was betrothed when I was sixteen to another servant. My father had just landed a gig working for one of the lesser nobles after he saved the life of the noble's son. It pulled us off the streets. At first, I was thrilled, until I realized any freedom I had was now gone. On the streets, I could do what I wanted. In a noble house, everything down to my shoes was scripted for me. Our lord even chose the man I was to wed, another lesser servant in need of wife. He was twenty years older than me, born into his position. He didn't question anyone or anything, and I couldn't understand his world," she began. "I found out I was eligible to join the Guardians the day before I found out I was pregnant with Talia. I tried to run away twice, to take us both to the mortal world, where we could start over. My husband and father forbid it, locked me away until I had Talia, and believed a child would tame that part of me they couldn't. She couldn't."

Jenn's gaze grew distant. She fell quiet for a moment, and Darian watched the disjointed images in her mind as she recalled the memories.

"I left them both when she was two. I signed up for the Guardians, and I was getting ready to leave for the mortal world. My plan was to go, find a place, then come back for Talia. Then the first wave of the Schism hit. I went to check on them. The house was crushed. My... Talia was dead. My whole family."

Darian couldn't help feeling dirty for causing her to relive the pain.

"I took back the marker of my family and buried it at their obelisk. I left. Free at last," she said with bitterness. She focused on him again, pain and anger in her gaze. "Now answer my fucking question, Darian."

"If I must destroy a world, I'll do it," he said firmly. "If that's the only way to keep my family safe, I won't think twice. I don't think the Others or Watchers can stop me."

"You'll protect whichever world your family is in?"

"My turn."

She muttered a curse, and the cool façade slipped. Jenn ran a hand through her short hair. The discussion was costing her much more than it did him. As much as Darian empathized, he did what he thought necessary. Only when he'd been broken and faced his past had he been able to let go of his own demons.

"Jonny," he said. "He got to you. How?"

"Chink in my armor," she said. "I met him when he was a broken soul. He thought he'd lost his only family. I took pity on him, not knowing he would become the Black God. Ikir sent me on assignment to spy on him. I went too far. I thought he could be... salvaged. I wanted it to be true. But it's not. I know that now. We all make our choices and live with the results."

"Yes," Darian said. "I'll protect whichever world you are in."

Jenn met his gaze again, surprised.

"The most sacred vow a White God takes is to his family."

"You're not a White God."

"I get to make up my own rules. That's one of them."

After a thick silence, she whispered, "Explains why the Others want to drag me over there. So I was right in thinking it's better they—or Jonny—kills me, before you destroy our world to get to them. In any case, it's my turn."

The glint in her eyes warned him. "Claire."

"Unlike you, a White God had some choice in who he took as a mate. Claire had your spirit. Her beauty was flashier, the kind that drew every man around her, including me. I wanted her, and I got her. But so did a few others at court. I thought the nobles were jealous that I took her as my bride, instead of a daughter from a more prominent family. I believe now the rumors were true," Darian said, at peace after his trip to the immortal world. He'd buried his emotions for Claire there, among the apple trees where he'd first met her. "I was blind to her other side. She was ambitious, driven by her controlling father and then by her own need for power.

"The last day I remember her, she invited me to a picnic outside the city, near a stream. We were newly mated and made love under a tree near a fountain. Afterwards, I went to the horses to grab our lunch. It's my last memory of the immortal world until I returned a day ago."

"Ikir Damian avenged you when he finally learned of what happened," Jenn said quietly.

"I remember every day enslaved to the Black God," Darian said. "I remember every time she visited to donate more blood to keep me enslaved. She was proud of what she'd done, how she'd beaten the White God. Her only regret: the Schism kept her from becoming the rightful queen of the immortal world. Poor timing for her, good for me."

"I wouldn't call thousands of years enslaved good timing," Jenn voiced. Her features were still, her dark eyes riveted to him. He saw his pain in her gaze.

"I could've been outright killed."

"Your fate was much worse than death."

"At first, when Sofi freed my mind, I thought so. I don't think that way now."

"I can't accept my past that easily," Jenn said.

"Mine made me what I am, Jenn. A life with Claire would've been more hellish than a life with the Black God," he said with a smile. "And it would've prevented a life with you."

Confusion crossed her features. "Darian—"

"My turn," he interjected. "Me."

Jenn looked away again. "No."

"Rules of the game. You have to answer."

"How do I answer that?" she demanded and rose, moving to the window. "What do you want me to say, Darian?"

"Easy. Yes or no."

"It's not that easy."

"Tell me why."

"You know why!"

"I want to hear you say it," he insisted, joining her at the window.

Jenn's distraught features gazed up at him, and he felt bad again for causing her any sort of pain. The air between them was electric, her breathing uneven.

"We've established there's no one between us but you," he pushed. "Not Claire, not your mate—past or present—no one. Just you."

"I'm terrified, Darian!" she snapped. Her voice rose until she was shouting at him, and any control she had over herself slid away. "When I left the immortal world, I taught myself not to feel, never to be vulnerable to someone else hurting me. I'll live with their deaths on my shoulders for the rest of my life. That's what love does to you, Darian! It makes you vulnerable. It destroys you over the course of a very, very long time! If that means I dive off a cliff to keep the Others from using me against you, I'll do it. I couldn't bear it, Darian, if I hurt you like Claire did or to be hurt like that again!"

Jenn moved away from him and swiped at tears on her face. Darian debated whether to pursue or let her go. She was a proud woman, one who didn't like being out of control. Right now, she was nowhere near control.

"I won't let myself love you, and I won't let you fall in love with me," she added, snatching her coat and jerkily pulling it on as she strode to the door.

"Too late," he replied.

She froze, hand on the doorknob.

"For me, anyway," he added carefully, moving towards her. "Anything Jonny and the Others do to you, they do to me. You can't run from me, Jenn, any more than you can run from yourself."

Her hand dropped.

"Now, about my question," he pushed again.

"I'm sensing any objection I have to this game is futile," she said after a pause. Her voice was ragged.

"You can object all you want. But this isn't a game you'll win. I'll push you until you break. Eventually, you'll give up and admit you see what's right in front of your face."

"One condition, and I'll answer your question."

"Depends on the condition," he replied.

"If the Others take me to the immortal world, and you must choose between me and the fate of humanity, you will save the mortal world," she said, turning to look up at him again.

Darian met her gaze, debating. It was a loaded question by a woman capable of manipulating a situation to her advantage.

"My devotion to being a Guardian is the foundation of who I am. I won't accept you, if you don't understand that about me."

"Deal." He reached forward, half expecting her to punch him, and wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb.

"Then my answer is yes," she said.

"You earned yourself another cheeseburger," he said. He dropped his hand and stepped aside, motioning to the living room.

Jenn hesitated before moving past him. Darian relaxed, aware he'd won the hardest battle yet. His gaze followed her as she sat on the couch again. Their exchange kicked her ass more than an hour of sparring. She rubbed her face.

Until she recovered, he was content to feed her. She'd lost too much weight over the past couple of weeks. Sofi and Bianca had taught him how to care for someone else, and he was going to put those lessons to good use with his stubborn mate. Like him, she didn't know when to throw in the towel. Darian retrieved more cheeseburgers and beers from the kitchen.

"What happens now?" Jenn asked as he returned. The guardedness was back in her voice.

"Whatever you want," he said in as level a voice as he could. He set their dinner down.

"What if I don't want anything to happen?"

Darian sat down. "Then nothing happens."

"No, really," she said, crossing her arms.

"Yes, really. I'm not some source you're obligated to sleep with. You have a few things to learn about a healthy relationship," he said. "Though I'll admit, I'm really curious for you to teach me a few things, since you've been with so many men. Like, thousands, right?"

Fuck. Darian wished to take the words back the moment he said them. He grabbed a cheeseburger and took a huge bite, glancing up.

Jenn looked startled. She began to laugh.

"That was meant as a compliment. I meant to say, you probably know a lot more than I do because I've been with one woman only," he said when he'd swallowed. "It didn't come out right that time either, did it?"

Jenn laughed harder. Darian relaxed, pleased to see her genuinely laughing after their otherwise traumatic night.

"Sorry," she managed at last. "I'm really not laughing at you."

"It's fine if you do. I'm happy to see you smile again."

"Not many people can take me by surprise, but you manage to every time we're together."

"I imagine you like that about me," he guessed. "Seems like it would appeal to your cruel streak of messing with people to see what they'll do."

"It does," she confirmed. "I admire you, Darian. No one can go through what you have and still have the sense of humor you do."

"Do we have a shot together?"

She hesitated then said slowly, "If you felt a fraction of what I did in the wine cellar..."

"Good," he said.

"Did you?"

"Like nothing I ever felt before," he replied honestly. "I've never wanted anyone the way I do you. I wouldn't have walked away that day."

Jenn's gaze flashed with a different emotion before she looked away. He recognized her desire. It ran through him as well. She hadn't quite yet surrendered to her fate at his side; this much he sensed.

"I'll sleep on the couch tonight," he added. "No pressure."

"I think I can handle you if you get fresh," she replied, amused.

"I'll cave if you get fresh with me. This is for my own good."

"Thank you, Darian." The tight note in her voice told him how heartfelt the simple words were. She stood. "I promise not to make you wait too long. I just need a little time to think."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Jenn nodded and strode towards the stairwell. Darian watched her then finished his cheeseburger slowly, listening to her thoughts. She was at war with herself, a war he understood too well. She'd never forgiven herself for leaving her family, and she'd never given herself permission to move on and be happy.

He rose, distressed by the familiar despair. Darian hesitated before making his decision and taking the stairs two at a time. The door to his room was closed. He pushed it open. Jenn lay across his bed in the dark, sobbing quietly. Affected, he pushed off his boots and sat beside her. He touched her shoulder. When she neither rejected nor attacked him, he lay down beside her and wrapped an arm around her, holding her tightly against him.

Darian closed his eyes and watched the discordant memories flickering through her mind, not wanting her to suffer alone. His heart ached to see his mate in such pain, but he knew from experience there was nothing more he could do. She had to accept her past before she, too, could move on.

He held her until she cried herself free of tears, and her body relaxed in his arms. When her breathing grew steady, she shifted.

"You don't have to stay," she said.

"When you care about someone, you don't run from them," he said pointedly.

"Ouch."

"Darian two, Jenn five hundred."

"I'll fuck this up, Darian. Somehow, I will," she whispered, the raw note in her voice making his arms tighten around her.

"No, you won't. Neither of us will. We're a good pair. I kill Others and you rescue me," he replied.

"I'm serious. Aren't you worried?"

"I'm terrified by what comes, but I don't fear what's between us," he said and kissed her temple. He let his hands travel down her arm and side, enjoying the sensation of her body.

Silence fell. The contact of their skin was causing a raging fire within him. Darian tried hard not to think about holding her body against his in his own bed. She didn't move away from him, the first sign she'd given that maybe she had come to terms with their relationship moving to the next level. He left her mind alone, not wanting to intrude now that she was calmer.

His body burned for her, while her body relaxed even further as she drifted asleep. Darian didn't let her go even then, instead soothing her mind enough for her to sleep in peace.

The muffled ring of his new phone woke him just as dawn's light crept through the window. Jenn was asleep, curled against him. Darian withdrew from her and the room, trotting down the stairs to hunt down the phone.

He reached it as it ceased ringing.

Yully flashed across the screen, identifying who called.

Darian called her back.

"Darian!" she sounded panicked. "I can't find anyone! Bianca, Sofi—"

"Wait, what's wrong?" he asked.

Yully responded, her thick Irish lilt and the poor phone reception frustrating him.

"I'll be there in a minute," he said and snapped the phone closed. Darian started towards the stairwell then stopped, not wanting to disturb Jenn after their long night.

He'd go, grab Yully, and come back, he decided. He closed his eyes to Travel, opening them in the living area of Damian's Texas ranch.

"Darian!" Yully cried from the second floor, where she all but hung over the railing. "They're gone!"

"Yully, gods, can't you tell me what's going on?" he demanded, bounding up the stairs. Yully flew down the hall ahead of him, and he ran to catch up with her, not convinced she hadn't lost it.

"Gone!" she said, throwing open Bianca's door. She raced to the next one. "Gone!"

Darian peeked into one bedroom then the other, a sense of doom sinking into his stomach. His senses picked up more Watcher and Other activity than normal this morning. The house, however, was the opposite. He heard nothing aside from Yully's quick step down the hall to yet another door.

"Charles!" she shouted and opened another door. "Oh. He's here, but... no one else is, Darian."

"You're sure they didn't go out for breakfast?" he asked uneasily, joining her at Charles' door.

Charles was half dressed, wearing sweats only. Darian stared at him. The former vamp's baleful look remained, but his eyes were blue, not red.

"They don't go out for breakfast," Yully said. "All the vehicles are here. But none of the Guardians are."

"That makes no sense. They can't just disappear." Darian moved into the center of the hallway, gazing around.

"Maybe the Others got fed up with you hauling off their people," Charles replied. "You know, girl, not every vamp wants to be human."

"You volunteered," Yully said.

"I volunteered to help you catch a vamp, not become the vamp you experimented on!"

"If the Others came here and snatched everyone, why did they leave you two?" Darian asked.

"Because we can Travel," Charles said. "The others can't escape."

"Yully can't..." Darian gazed at her, alarm swirling within him.

"I can," she said. "If I can use the magic of another."

"Steal magic? Like you stole my fucking—" Charles sputtered.

"Charles, this is not the time," Darian snapped. "Yully, go get Jule."

Her features grew more worried at the mention of her mate. He held out his hand, and she shook her head.

"He's gone, too," she whispered. "All of them are. Sofi said Jule, Dusty, and Damian would all be taken. She said to tell you they'd be safe. I didn't know she would be gone, too."

Darian let her words sink in. Urgency rose within him, along with anger.

"Get dressed. We got shit to do," he said to Charles. The vamp grudgingly disappeared into his room. "Do you still have Hunter powers?" he called after his back.

"Everything. I'll starve to death by evening if you don't change me back."

"I don't give a shit right now. I can't change you back anyway," Darian muttered, thoughts on his missing family. Only Watchers and Others could grab everyone in the house without raising one alarm. It made sense they'd take those who couldn't escape.

The others can't escape. Charles' words struck Darian in a new light. The cuff around Jenn's arm kept her from escaping as well. He strode into the vamp's room and clamped a hand around his arm. Struggling into his shirt, Charles tried to yank away, but Darian Traveled to his cabin before releasing him.

"Jenn!" he shouted, rushing up the stairs. "Jenn!" He shoved the door open.

The bed was empty. Darian froze, listening for a moment for any sign she was somewhere else in the house.

Jenn was gone.

A new kind of fury rose within him.

"What did you expect?" Charles called. "That you could run around killing and threatening them without any kind of retribution?"

"They wouldn't do this unless..."

... they thought the same as Jonny, that Darian was getting ready to destroy their world. If that was what they thought, they'd hold his family hostage in the immortal world. Or maybe Charles was right and they just wanted revenge for picking them off.

Darian's mind worked fast as he rejoined Charles in the living room. He'd want Damian and Jonny with him if he went to the immortal world to take on the Others. Hell, he might even need the pesky little Watchers.

"If you touch a hair on Yully's body, I'll slaughter you. Got it?" he said. "Go back and wait with her. Tell them I'll be there soon. I've gotta corner me a Watcher."

Charles growled. He Traveled and Darian closed his eyes. When he opened them, he stood in the cold cave where the Watchers entered the world. One awaited him.

"I thought you would come," the small creature before him said.

"Where is Jenn and the rest of my family?" Darian demanded.

"Safe in the immortal world, for now," the Watcher said. "That can change pretty quickly. It all depends on you."

"Why were they taken? Others didn't like me picking off their kind on earth?"

"You were destined to close the gates, Darian. You had a chance to do it in Ireland."

"I had no idea what I was doing in Ireland!" he retorted. "I had no real power and absolutely no guidance from you or anyone else on what my role was."

"You missed your opportunity." The words were cold, unaffected by Darian's anger.

"And what? This pissed your kind off while killing Others pissed them off?"

"There were two potential fates when you went to Ireland and one when you left."

"If I could close them then, I could do it now," he reasoned.

"It would take the magic of the Original Beings and Gods to do it. You were almost to that point in Ireland. With the Magician and the Other, you could've done it. Before Ireland, there was one gateway into the mortal world. Now, you'd need double that magic to close both."

"Wait a minute. You told me you had one gateway and the Others had their own. Are you saying you share gateways?"

"I think you call it a gentlemen's agreement. The immortal world has suffered enough. There, we are at a truce."

"And you come here to fight," Darian finished darkly. "I saw what you did to the immortal world. There's nothing left."

"There's magic. That's all we need. The mortal world has nothing we need."

"And the immortals stuck on earth?"

"They can choose to go home, before the Others destroy the mortal world." The Watcher trailed off. "Unless you beat them to it."

Darian's head began to pound. Damian would've exploded by now, probably decimating everything in the vicinity. Darian, however, drew a deep breath.

"It is your destiny to choose which world survives. You failed to close the gateways," the Watcher said.

"Why is it so absolute?" Darian questioned. "Why can't you go back to the immortal world, fight each other there, and leave us alone?"

"Our war will claim a world."

"So you're keeping my family hostages in the immortal world," he said.

"And locked up your brothers in this one to protect them. The Others were getting ready to act against them."

"You didn't hurt Damian."

"No." The Watcher took a step back at his lethal tone. "You must choose, Darian."

"I'm not going to choose a world. But I am going to slaughter any of your kind involved in this insanity. I'll do whatever it takes to get my family back!"

"We're counting on it."

Darian's temper snapped. He reached out to snatch the Watcher's neck. It disappeared before he could grab it. His power surging within him, Darian closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He'd managed to control his magic for a while now, but he had to stay calm.

Damian, Jenn, Sofi, Bianca, Dusty... all of them were trapped somewhere. All but Yully and...

Jonny, who had told Jenn that Darian was going to destroy a world. Darian Traveled to Jonny's, appearing in the Black God's chambers. Clad in boxers, the startled Black God looked up from his computer. He rose, his magic rising around him like a fog.

"What the fuck do you want?" Jonny asked.

"The Others took Jenn."

The Black God's face flushed. "That bitch made her choice."

Darian's magic threw him against the wall. Jonny broke loose, dropping to the ground. Darian squatted beside him.

"That bitch is my mate. When this is over, you and I are going to have a little talk about how shitty you treated her," he said with calmness he didn't feel. "And she's not the only one missing. They took Bianca as well."

Jonny's anger faded. "My sister... made her own choices as well."

"Bullshit. You gave up everything for her. You can't tell me you don't give a shit now."

"You fix it." The Black God shoved him away and rose. "Who fucked up the balance in the first place? Or do you think me the ignorant idiot Jenn did?"

"Jenn respects you. Way more than you deserve, in my opinion," Darian replied. "If I'm not mistaken, you're as responsible for this mess as I am. Got suckered into a deal with the Others, Jonny? You really think they'd trade an entire world for one Guardian? They took you for the fool you are."

The Black God's magic swirled around him in fury and agitation. Jonny looked away finally and strode to his bedroom. Darian followed close enough to make sure he went for clothing and not weapons.

"For the record, Darian, I hate you most of all."

"Understood. I stole your woman," Darian said. "You realize by cuffing her, you made her—and your sister—vulnerable? She can't protect anyone like that."

"I had no way of knowing this would happen. She betrayed me. To let her go free would've been a mistake."

Darian paced, mind on Jenn. She was the most resourceful Guardian he knew. If she could find a way to escape, she would. He carefully tucked away the reality that—if Jonny hadn't crippled her—she wouldn't have been taken.

"Why take Bianca?" Jonny asked at last. "I had a deal with them! They know who she is!"

"They used you."

"Where the fuck is Xander in all this?"

"Can't think for yourself?"

"Czerno should've finished you off."

Darian paused in his pacing, savoring the words. He'd love a battle with the god that enslaved him. As Grey God, he had access to magic Czerno didn't. The fight would be long, and chances were, it'd end as a draw. Jonny was born a god-slayer, the only creature that could take the place of a Black God. Still, Darian would relish the battle.

"You have a plan?" The Black God emerged from his chambers at last, eyeing Darian.

"I think I do. But I need to know everything the Others told you about blowing up a world."

"You wouldn't... I wouldn't even do that," Jonny said in a quiet voice.

"You're not the Grey God."

Jonny paled. Darian smiled.

## Chapter Ten

JENN PICKED HERSELF up off the floor, sensing the swirling magics of her prison in the immortal world. They were there, just beyond her reach. The cuff around her arm warded them off, and they flowed around her instead of through her. Her head pounded. She recalled waking up and searching the house for Darian. Too late, she'd heard the footsteps behind her and felt something smash into her head. If she had her magic...

"Jenn?" Sofi's voice was quiet.

"Ikira? What's going on?" Jenn asked, not expecting to hear the soft voice. She shook her head and twisted to face the corner, where the blonde Oracle and brunette Healer sat together.

If Sofi's eyes glowed in the mortal world, they blazed here. She radiated power that surprised Jenn. She knew the Oracle was powerful, but seeing her in the immortal world drilled home just how strong her power was.

"Watchers," Bianca said.

Jenn took in her aura, just as surprised. Where Sofi's magic was cold, Bianca's was cool, and the air around her shimmered as if with sunlight.

"Welcome to the immortal world," Jenn said and rose. Her body felt heavy and her senses dull without her magic.

"It's not what I expected," Bianca said. "Are you okay? Anything I can do?"

"Just pissed," Jenn replied. "Unless you can get this fucking thing off." She held up her arm to reveal the black cuff.

"I can try," the Healer said doubtfully. She rose from her corner and strode to Jenn, the air around her filled with glitter. Jenn watched, fascinated. As a low-level servant, she'd never seen any of the powerful immortals. She'd never even seen Damian prior to the Schism, when the Guardians exiled to the mortal world were a small band struggling to stay alive.

Bianca held out a hand. Her healing magic whipped through Jenn. She took a step back at the flash of heat. The cuff didn't move.

"No. But I got rid of your body aches," the Healer said, plainly disappointed. "Sofi?"

"I don't think so," the Oracle said. "I take it there's a story behind this."

"Not a good one," Jenn said with another look around their prison. "Bianca, I know Dusty won't let you out of the house without a weapon. Cough it up."

The Healer reached down, rolling up the leg of her jeans to reveal a small sheathe with a knife. She pulled it free and handed it to Jenn.

"Sofi?" Jenn prodded.

"Caught me napping," the Oracle said sheepishly. "Hormones make me forget everything."

Jenn's gaze went to Sofi's protruding belly, and she was hit with both urgency and fear. The lives of the White God's mate, and her best friend's mate, were in her hands. The women weren't trained to fight as Jenn was, yet she was the only one of them without power. She stripped out of her long-sleeved shirt, leaving just her T-shirt on, then pulled out everything from her pockets she didn't need.

"I see he figured it out," Sofi's said, eyes on Jenn's neck.

Jenn glanced down self-consciously. She tucked the necklace back into her shirt. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think, except that last night, something she never thought would happen—did. She'd let down her guard to Darian after thousands years of rebuffing everyone else and had woken up feeling recharged, confused.

Hopeful.

"Work in progress," she said at last and turned away from both. "Won't matter if I can't get us out of here."

"They come by every two hours, that we can tell," Bianca said. "They're not Others or Watchers. Some sort of... soldiers, maybe?"

"Guardsmen," Jenn supplied. "On this side, Others and Watchers keep guardsmen. They can't evade each other the way they can in the mortal world, so they use bodyguards. This is actually really good for us."

"How so?"

"I can kill a guardsman in the immortal world. You just have to keep me alive, Bianca. I've got no magic, so chances are I'm gonna get myself killed a time or two."

Bianca was silent. Jenn scoured their cell. It was made of solid rock, even the heavy door. One small window was high up against the nine-foot ceiling, barely wider than the span of her two hands. There were no weaknesses to the cell.

"The door hinges are on the other side," she murmured. "Could be a good thing. Door opens out, not in."

"They usually come in pairs," Bianca said. "We got here... yesterday, I guess. It was evening in our world but dawn here. Their schedule seems pretty consistent."

"Ikira, any advice?" Jenn asked.

"Block low."

Jenn glanced at the Oracle. "I can do that. Anything else?"

Sofi appeared relaxed in the cell, her head resting against the wall and her brilliant eyes focused on Jenn.

"Jonny's not the only one who can get that thing off you," Sofi said.

"Fucking Black God." Jenn stopped. Bianca tensed at the mention of her brother. "Sorry. A little bit of bad blood there. Who else, Sofi?"

"If he feels like showing..."

"Gods, not Xander. Bianca, let me die if that happens," Jenn said with a grimace. "I'd rather face ten guardsmen than one Xander."

"Jenn, where do we go if we escape?" Bianca asked.

Jenn considered, her gaze going to the small window above them. She could smell the sea; they were probably somewhere in the destroyed city. How far from the gateway, she wasn't sure. Her gaze went to Sofi. At around four months pregnant, the Oracle barely showed in the mortal world but looked closer to nine months here. She was the most vulnerable of them.

"I can run," Sofi said with some level of offense. "Pregnant doesn't mean crippled."

Jenn cleared her throat and looked away before the Oracle saw her smile.

"Yeah, don't go there," Bianca advised in a whisper. "Damian said he'd need to buy a wheelbarrow to roll her around in soon, and she tore him to shreds. That was a rough day."

Jenn almost choked on her laugh. The Oracle was staring at them, displeased.

"So where do we go?" Bianca asked again.

"To the orchard. The Others have a gateway to the mortal world there. If we can reach the orchard, we can get back home. If we get separated, go toward the ocean. The orchard is right there on the edge of the city," Jenn answered. "In the middle is an apple tree marked with a ring of stones. Walk around it, and you'll end up in the mortal world."

"I never knew the worlds were so different," Bianca said, fascination in her voice.

"Don't get used to it," Sofi said, rising.

Jenn looked at her closely, uncertain how to take the words. The Oracle probably knew how this day would end, which world would survive.

Darian would swing through here like a wrecking ball. Jenn shivered at the idea. As powerful and patient as he was, he wouldn't hesitate to lay waste to anything between them. She suspected even his promise to sacrifice her if it meant saving their world would melt in the furnace of his fury. He'd been sweet to her last night. He meant what he said: if she wanted him, she could have him. If she didn't, he'd accept her decision.

She'd never had much of a choice before. Sex was a weapon, her body a tool. She wielded it well, but it usually meant the choice was never really hers. Darian had given her the power to choose. He treated her as an equal, a partner in a relationship with a wild god, one who respected her enough to let her decide.

"Not so bad, is it?" Sofi said.

Jenn shook her thoughts away, her heart hammering with both anticipation of seeing him again and fear. Her hand was clenched around the necklace.

"I think hell is a good word for it," she said.

"At first, maybe," Bianca added. "It's worth it, though."

"Everyone in this fucking room can read minds but me," Jenn said with a snort.

"We're sisters now. Get used to it." The firm words came from the Healer, not the Oracle, who smiled in agreement.

"I guess we are," Jenn agreed uncertainly.

After thousands of years alone, she inherited a mate and a family over the course of a single night. Her gaze lingered on the two women. Despite being polar opposites, they were both honorable to the core and two of the most powerful Naturals ever discovered. Yully, the third woman who would become her sister, was just as unique with a heart equal to that of any of the women.

She didn't expect her life to change quite so fast or to be accepted into the White God's family with such ease. Of course, none of that mattered if she couldn't get them out of there.

"They should be back around soon," Bianca said.

"Do they come in?"

"They've just opened the door. They don't come in."

"Door opens out," Jenn said. "This will work. Stay back, unless I get my ass kicked. Dusty will kill me if anything happens to you."

Bianca retreated to the far wall where Sofi stood. Jenn paced and stretched, edgy. She had one knife on her, plus Bianca's. It'd have to be enough; there was no back-up this time. Her fingers swept over the cuff, and anger swirled through her again. Jonny or Xander. The two people she wanted to see least of all. She'd have to approach one of them eventually if she ever wanted her powers back.

She grew impatient waiting for the guardsmen to return. At long last, she heard the sound of boot soles against stone as people walked down the hall.

"That's more than two, Bianca," she said, listening. "Sounds like four. Ikira, I think it's time for you break the rules. No one's playing fair anymore."

Sofi's gaze swirled. "Bianca, stand in that corner. The third one's gonna kill Jenn. Blast her when she falls." The Oracle strode forward, hand held out.

Jenn took Sofi's hand and staggered at the vision the Oracle implanted. Sofi released her. Jenn's closed her eyes, running through the motions in her head that Sofi directed her to take.

The sound of a key scraping against the door drew Jenn's attention outward again, and she moved to the side of the door, flattening her back against it. In order to find her, the first guardsmen would have to enter the cell.

Steadying her breathing, Jenn gripped her daggers and waited.

The heavy door opened with a grating sound. She held her breath as the guardsman on the outside hesitated, seeking out the two prisoners he couldn't see. Only Sofi was visible from the door.

The point of a sword entered ahead of the guardsman. Jenn waited. She counted to three, when the guardsman's hand came into view.

Jenn launched into action. She chopped at his hand with one dagger, slamming the sword into the ground as she whirled and slashed his neck with her other hand. She whirled again, this time slamming the dagger into the opening between the door and frame, just above a hinge, to keep it from closing. She snatched the dead man's sword and shoved him into the hall out of his way as two more swords descended.

She couldn't sense them as she did when her magic was free, but she could dance the way Darian and Xander taught her. Jenn let her instincts take over, ignoring the instinct that told her no mortal should be able to fight one guardsman, let alone three. She slashed and blocked, soon seeing what Sofi meant. One of the guardsmen was half the size of the other two, and his strikes were almost too fast and low for her to catch.

Another fell, and the third shoved her into the cell. Jenn slammed onto her back, the sword flying free. She rolled and leapt to her feet. Her kicks were ineffectual against the guardsman's chainmail, and his sword plunged into her chest.

Instantly, her world fell into blackness. Just as fast, it exploded into light again, as Bianca's charged healing power slammed through her. Jenn pushed herself up. Bianca stepped away, and Jenn dropped, sensing the guardsman's next blow. It grazed her arm.

She rolled onto her back and swept his feet from beneath him, pouncing. A punch to his throat kept him from reacting, and she launched up again as the fourth guardsman attacked. A fifth appeared, as in Sofi's vision, and tried to push the door closed. The dagger jammed it open, and the guardsman reached up to snatch it.

Anger filled Jenn. With a wince, she stepped straight into the sword of the smallest guardsman then slashed his throat. Pain radiated through her, but she pushed herself towards the door. The guardsman on the ground rose, coughing and choking from her blows. Jenn tackled the guardsman trying to close the door. She slammed her elbow into his face, grunting as his dagger sliced through her shoulder.

She was losing blood fast, her movements growing heavy.

"Bianca!" she barked. She strained to keep her hold on the guardsman, even as the other one left the cell and snatched a sword to finish her off.

Fire blazed through her as Bianca snatched her leg. Jenn rolled away, blocking the standing guardsman's shot of her. She gripped the blade of the dagger the man on top of her tried to shove through her throat. Smashing her forehead against his nose, Jenn wrenched the knife free and drove it through him.

She struggled out from under his body as the last of her opponents slashed at her. Kicks made him keep his distance and bought her time. His sword slashed downward at her. Jenn rolled, ran into the wall, and cried out as he split her back. She didn't wait for him to step back but kicked his knee as hard as she could. He staggered, and she snatched his wrist, hauling herself up. With the last of her energy, she stabbed him through the eye.

The man dropped. Jenn fell with him, bloodied and in pain.

"Bianca," she called again.

The glowing woman emerged, trailed by Sofi. The two looked around, visibly unsettled by the damage Jenn had done. The walls and floor of the hallway were splattered with blood, the bodies of the newly killed still kicking. Even cool Sofi appeared upset.

Jenn didn't remember a time when she would've looked twice at a dead man. She couldn't help pitying the women who had been thrust into a bloody war when they met their Guardian mates. It wasn't an easy life, though if anyone could adjust and thrive, it was the women Damian, Dusty, and Jule chose.

"Anytime," she murmured, feeling herself sinking into the darkness.

Bianca dropped to her knees beside her, and her cold healing fire tore through Jenn. Jenn gritted her teeth against it as her body mended itself. The Healer released her. Jenn rose unsteadily and looked down at herself.

She was a train wreck. She stripped off the shredded T-shirt and tossed it. Returning to the cell, she used the long-sleeved shirt to wipe the blood off her body quickly and then to clean the blades of the weapons she snatched off the ground. She shoved one blade into her belt and stripped the knives off the dead men, putting them in her cargo pockets. She kept two out and joined Sofi and Bianca in the hallway, handing one to each.

They stared at her. Jenn wasn't sure what to say after the battle. Both women took the knives, handling them with awkwardness borne of a lack of familiarity with handling deadly weapons.

"You were awesome," Bianca said finally. "Dusty said you trained him. I believe it now."

"That was cool," Sofi agreed. "Gory but cool."

"Thanks," Jenn said. "We need to go. Sofi, any idea how to get out of here?"

The Oracle shook her head. Jenn chose a direction and paused at the first intersection to listen for anyone approaching. She moved forward again. Glancing out a window, she confirmed they were in the city, somewhere near the center. The ocean was visible; she estimated they were about half a mile from the orchard.

"Ocean," she said, pointing out the window. "If anything happens to me, go that direction."

She stayed on the same floor until finding a stairwell leading down. They hurried to the ground floor. Jenn readied herself for a battle as she cracked the door open. She saw nothing and stepped cautiously into the hallway, looking both ways.

Sofi and Bianca trailed her. They wandered the hallways on the main floor until finding one that led to a side door of the large, stone building. Jenn opened it, relieved to see the outside world. Her gaze assessed their location for a safe path towards the ocean.

"We're going there," she said, indicating the next largest structure nearby. It was the remains of another large building.

"Something's not right," Sofi said.

Jenn looked around for signs of a trap. She was about to venture away from them when Bianca took her arm. Jenn turned to see Bianca's other hand on Sofi, while the Oracle's hands were around her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Jenn asked immediately.

"Call me crazy, but I think Sofi's getting ready to deliver," Bianca said.

"That's impossible!"

"It's gotta be the immortal world. She's not due for another four months."

"Can you stop it?" Jenn looked around again and then at Sofi. She'd thought the Oracle looked much larger than a few months pregnant. Everything that held magic was amplified in the immortal world. Even carrying a White God, Jenn couldn't explain Sofi's pregnancy accelerating so fast, unless..."Wait, exactly how long have you been here?"

"At least a day and a half," Bianca said. "We were grabbed yesterday before dawn."

"A full twenty-four hours in the immortal world," Jenn said and sighed. "Sofi, you had to know this was coming."

"I can't see my own fate, but I suspected this might happen when I saw yours," the Oracle said. "We need to get out of here. Now."

Jenn trotted forward, towards the huge block of marble. They slid behind it, and she sought their next move. Sofi leaned against the rock. Jenn exchanged a worried look with Bianca.

"No," Bianca said to the unasked question. "I can't stop it."

"Then we need to keep moving," Jenn said. She started forward again, towards more debris. While she tried to keep close to objects that might provide some sort of cover if attacked, she chose the fastest route possible. Sofi slowed as they walked, and Jenn looked up at the midday sun. Changes undergone in the immortal world normally weren't permanent, once they returned to their world for twenty-four hours. However, if they didn't hurry, Sofi would come back with a child before twenty-four hours passed in the mortal world.. Jenn didn't know if her pregnancy could be reversed, even upon returning to the mortal world, but she knew they couldn't stop long enough for Sofi to have her baby.

Jenn gasped, dismayed, as the wall around the orchard came into view. It was patrolled by guardsmen wearing the Others' symbols on their cloaks. She motioned to a hollowed-out building and turned to face the other two.

Sofi was pale and Bianca anxious. Jenn watched Sofi lower herself to a boulder. For the first time in long while, Jenn didn't think she could get them to safety alone. The Oracle was ready to pop and the wall was guarded by half a dozen men.

"Fuck," she murmured. "How long do we have, Bianca?"

"An hour, tops," the Healer said.

Jenn calculated silently. "We're not going to make it."

"We'll make it," Sofi said.

"Is this the Oracle or the pregnant chic talking?" Jenn asked.

Sofi gave her an icy look.

"I take it it's the pregnant chic. I'll work fast."

Jenn gazed towards the wall, mentally determining her chances at taking on six guardsmen and getting them all over the wall before more came or worse—before Others showed up.

"Bianca, you know where to stab someone?" she asked, facing the two of them again.

"Dusty taught me."

"Take Sofi's knife. If anyone, and I mean anyone, comes this way, you stab first, talk later. Got it?"

"Yes."

Jenn turned to leave, almost crying out in surprise. The creature she least wanted to see stood before her, eyes glowing red. She lowered herself into a fighting stance.

"Interesting," Xander said, gaze sweeping over them and lingering on the Oracle. "Bet you didn't see this one coming, Oracle. I did."

"What do you want?" Jenn demanded, stepping between the women and the towering vamp.

"I see you made a choice." His eyes went to the necklace dangling at the center of her chest.

"You didn't come here to gloat. If you came to stop us..." Jenn drew her second knife.

"He's going to help us," Sofia said.

"You're talking about Xander, right?" Jenn glanced over her shoulder and saw the Oracle teetering to her feet with Bianca's assistance.

"Yes. You're going to take that thing off Jenn's arm, and you're going to make sure we all make it back safely," Sofi said to the Original Vamp.

"I didn't come here for that," Xander replied.

"But you'll do it."

"What the fuck is going on?" Jenn asked, startled as the Oracle pushed her aside to stand before Xander. The small woman glared up at the Vamp. Jenn sensed some sort of silent communication between them, one that made the Original Vamp shift.

"I do nothing for free, Oracle," he growled finally. His eyes fell to Jenn. His fangs lengthened. They were half the size of her longest finger.

"If that's all it takes. I survived the first time" she said and lowered her weapons. She swallowed hard. Xander's bite hadn't been gentle. "Bite me, Xander."

"You'll do it, Xander, or I'll reveal your little secret," Sofi said calmly.

"An Oracle—"

"—has nothing to lose right now and doesn't mind breaking your rules."

Jenn glanced at the fiery Oracle, impressed by her spunk. The woman radiated cold power, her eyes brighter than even Xander's.

"You get one favor in exchange," the Vamp snarled. "The other will cost one of you."

"Your secret. And I won't fuck up your... fate. That's two."

Xander stared at her. "Someone's not playing fair."

"Looks like you just got your ass beat," Jenn said, unable to keep the smugness out of her voice.

Xander's fangs receded. He didn't look happy.

"You can Travel here?" Jenn asked, looking up at their unwilling protector.

Xander nodded once.

She held out one hand to him and another to Sofi. The Oracle took it, and Bianca took her other one. Jenn touched Xander's arm. He was tense and furious. She felt it even without her magic. Touching him was like sticking her finger in a light socket. She tried not to move away.

They Traveled, stopping at the base of the tree at the center of the orchard. An alarm went up at the wall. Sofi dropped to her knees, holding her stomach.

"You're staying," Xander said as Jenn bent to help the Oracle to her feet. "You two, go."

"Remember, Xander," Sofi gasped.

"I heard you the first time," he snapped and grabbed Jenn's arm.

Before Jenn could object, they Traveled. When her vision cleared to reveal where he'd taken her, she sucked in a breath.

"I doubt this was what Sofi told you to do," she muttered.

"Next time, she won't fuck with an Original Vamp. And neither will you."

"You're not going to free me first, are you?"

"What is it you used to say to me?" He pretended to consider. "Oh. Fuck you."

Jenn looked up at him then grabbed her weapons, stepping into the ring with an opponent she wasn't sure she was meant to beat.

Near the desert gateway between worlds, Darian found his rhythm. Evade, strike. Evade, strike, kill. Evade, strike. Evade, strike, kill. His body adjusted to the physical blows while his magic absorbed the purple lightning. Every once in awhile, he absorbed too much, and the result threw him on his back.

He launched to his feet again, this time flinging a dagger at the Other nearest him. His rhythm disrupted, he glanced towards the boulder where he'd hidden Yully and Charles, making sure they weren't in danger. The Black God was fighting nearby, hurling black clouds at the Others then trying not to get hit by lightning in return. Darian heard him yelp twice, but the pain only seemed to make Jonny angrier. His power swelled, until dark clouds blocked the desert sun.

Darian was working hard to keep the Others from returning to the immortal world. He'd killed a dozen so far, but more kept appearing. At some point, he'd have to snatch Yully and Charles and drag them down to the immortal world and hope they had a chance to Travel before being blasted to pieces.

From what Jonny revealed, Darian needed to be on the immortal side of the world before he unleashed his magic. He wasn't entirely certain the Black God could be trusted, if not for Bianca being in danger.

Darian tripped suddenly and landed on his stomach. He rolled, startled to see two people come through the gateway where no one had been before.

"Bianca!" Jonny cried, moving towards them.

"Darian, Sofi—"

Darian didn't let her finish but swept the Oracle up into his arms, grimacing as he absorbed the lightning magic. It rippled through him and into Sofi, who'd gone still in his arms. She was bigger than he remembered. He dropped to his knees behind the boulder where Yully and Charles hid.

"Bianca!" The Black God reached them.

The Healer knelt beside Sofi. "I'm okay, Jonny!"

"I'm taking you out of here," Jonny said, snatching her arm and hauling her up.

"No, Jonny, Sofi's—"

"Where's Jenn?" Darian demanded, taking her other arm.

"She's with Xander. Jonny—"

"Alone?" Darian asked, his anger rising another notch at the thought of Jenn with the Original Vamp.

"Darian, Sofi's having her baby!" Bianca shouted.

"She what?"

Even Jonny hesitated, eyes going to the pale Oracle. Charles inched away, as if pregnancy was contagious, and Yully reached out to touch Sofi's forehead.

"You can't leave them alone," Yully said. "They'll find them again. They'll never let any of us go!"

Darian hesitated, stomach churning at the thought of what he'd come to do.

"Finish what you started, Darian!" Jonny ordered.

"Take them somewhere safe," Darian replied. He released Bianca. She looked to her brother uncertainly.

Darian saw the hard look on Jonny's face as the Black God bent down to pick up the Oracle. Bianca rested her hand on her brother's arm. With her other hand, she handed Yully a knife.

Purple lightning lit up the space around them. Jonny, Sofi, and Bianca disappeared. Darian held out his hand to Yully. Armed and dressed for a fight, the redhead looked determined, if scared.

"I hate my life," Charles muttered. He planted his hand on the woman's shoulder.

Darian Traveled to the portal then leapt through it, pulling them with him. The minute his feet touched the ground of the immortal world, he heard shouts. The air trembled with magic. He Traveled again. When he opened his eyes, the three of them stood in the middle of the city. It was quiet.

Yully moved away from him, holding out her arms as she drained the surrounding area of magic.

"Not too much yet," Darian warned. "You don't want to blow up before I need you."

He surveyed the area around them, sensing Jenn without seeing her.

Jenn.

He didn't expect a reply and started forward, trailed closely by Yully. He entered Jenn's mind, aware she couldn't talk to him with the cuff otherwise.

Stay away, Jenn replied. I got this.

Irritated at his mate's rebuff, he whispered, "Where are you?"

She didn't answer, but Darian could feel her distress. He apologized to her silently before he pushed deeper into her thoughts. Jenn resisted him, and he pried harder. Without her magic, her defenses were too limited to stop him. When he could see what she saw, Darian stopped in place.

## Chapter Eleven

Bianca helped Sofi to the couch then turned to her brother, torn. Jonny watched her, his dark eyes holding none of the youth or friendliness she remembered. But he didn't leave. She glanced at Sofi again before approaching the Black God.

"Thank you, Jonny," she said.

"You're welcome, B."

"Can you take us to the hospital? Sofi needs a doctor."

"The Oracle is on her own." Jonny's eyes narrowed as he looked at the healer.

"Please, Jonny."

"You're a Healer, sister. You can fix her."

"I can't deliver a baby!"

"Where the fuck is Damian? Dusty?" he demanded and paced away. "They leave you alone here to fend for yourself against Others?"

"No. They were taken." Her voice shook as she admitted the words out loud for the first time. She'd lost contact with her mate before being taken to the immortal world. For all she knew, he was trapped down there as she had been.

"I will shred Dusty for not taking better care of you!"

"No, Jonny," she chided. "I love Dusty. I love you both, no matter what happens. Right now, I need your help."

Jonny met her gaze again, and she saw a flicker of familiar warmth in his dark eyes. Her heart still hurt for her brother, whose road was dark and lonely. She'd never forget he chose it to save her, just as she'd never forget how much she loved the little brother she'd all but raised.

"I'll take her."

Bianca turned at the newcomer's voice and hesitated, staring at the seven-foot vamp standing next to the couch. After the exchange in the immortal world, she knew Sofi was on no good terms with Xander. Her gaze fell to Sofi's still form. She'd knocked the Oracle out to make Traveling a little more comfortable. Their return to the mortal world seemed only to hasten the birth rather than slow it. Without touching her, Bianca could still feel Sofi's body preparing to expel the child within, whether or not she went to a hospital.

"Very well," she said.

"I do nothing for free," Xander reminded her. His fangs grew before her eyes, nearly the size of her pinky. "Always wanted to taste a Healer. I hear your blood is the sweetest of all."

Bianca swallowed hard, reminded of her time being bled near death by the former Black God and his son. Her throat was too tight to answer, so she nodded her agreement. Xander snatched her arm, and she closed her eyes.

"Wait, no." Jonny's voice held a note she couldn't place but it sounded almost like fear. "No, Xander."

"She agreed. She pays the price for my assistance."

"Not my sister."

"You're the Black God. She's no longer your sister, not when she serves the White God. You will let me do this."

"Don't try your mind tricks on me!" Jonny exploded. His magic filled the air, shoving between Bianca and Xander and pushing her away. "I felt it this time, Xander. Jenn was right. You've been manipulating me for weeks now."

"I seem to be the only thing standing between you and an army of angry vamps you can't control," Xander pointed out.

Jonny took Bianca's hand and pulled her behind him, stepping between the two of them. Her gaze returned to Sofi, whose body was under distress.

"Not anymore. I'm claiming my rightful place as the Black God, and I'll do it without traitors like you and Jenn at my side." Jonny's voice took on a firm, cold note. "Get the fuck away from me and my sister."

"Is this your final choice?" Xander asked.

"It is."

"Very well." The Original Vamp disappeared.

"What just happened, Jonny?" Bianca asked, looking up at her brother.

"I'm strong enough to do it alone. I don't know what he wanted, but he must've been trying to use me," he said. "I don't need him or anyone."

"Except your big sis."

Jonny looked down at her. He smoothed her hair from her face. Her magic prodded him, and she saw the same trace of metamorphosis that had marked Darian the past few weeks. The Grey God had morphed quickly from someone confused by his world to someone in control of his world. Jonny was going through the same.

"You would be ashamed to know what I've done," he said. "I will always protect you, B, no matter what you think of me."

"I'm never ashamed of you, Jonny. I'll love you no less because of what you are."

"I'll take her. But I can't do this again. I hope you understand."

"I do, Jonny. I won't ask any more favors," she said, spirits rising.

"Tell Dusty, if this happens again..." Jonny warned.

"It won't."

Jonny strode to Sofi and lifted her again. Bianca took his arm, heart somersaulting. She wanted to tell her brother how proud of him she was. Black God or not, he'd never forgotten his sister. He took them to the nearby hospital and set Sofi carefully on a stretcher in the hallway leading to the emergency room.

Bianca bent over her, sending her soothing power into her.

"Good-bye, Bianca," Jonny said.

"Thank you, Jonny." She turned to face him.

He took in her features again then looked down the hall, where several people moved towards them. Jonny turned away from her and walked out of the hospital, waiting until he was out of view to Travel.

Bianca's gaze lingered on where he'd been, sensing she wouldn't see him again for a long time. Whatever the exchange between him and Xander meant, he'd showed how strong he'd grown. He wasn't the conflicted boy anymore. He was a man who understood power. It made him dangerous, an enemy of her mate and his brothers.

I meant it, Jonny. I'll always love you. She didn't know if he heard her or not.

She woke Sofi with a touch and tugged the gurney down to the emergency room.

"Where am I?" Sofi asked.

"Hospital."

"Damian."

Bianca heard her voice catch and couldn't answer. She squeezed Sofi's hand and was soon hustled out of the way by a nurse and his aide. Bianca watched Sofi being rolled away, unable to stop the tears that rose the moment Sofi was out of sight. Dusty, Sofi. If something happened to either, she wasn't sure what she'd do. She paced then sat. Her phone vibrated and she pulled it out, heart soaring at the hope it was Dusty.

It wasn't. The only of Damian's family to be on any sort of speaking terms with the Watchers, she'd tried not to contact them after Damian's edict about declaring war on the immortal creatures. Still, she'd texted once, soon after Dusty disappeared, asking her Watcher where her mate was.

Safe. Soon. The answer from her Watcher was far briefer than its normal exchanges. Relief poured through her. As much as Dusty and his brothers distrusted the Watchers, she'd found them unlikely friends. They'd never lied to her.

Bianca sat back, hands shaking. She waited for news of Sofi and prayed for her mate, wherever he was.

***

Darian couldn't believe what he'd seen through Jenn's eyes. He'd altered their course to take them to the beach, where the obelisk was. Where Jenn was. Where she was.

"Darian, where are we going?" Yully asked.

"I've got some business to take care of."

"And I want to kill some Others."

Darian glanced at Charles. "Both of you, go to the obelisk. Stay behind it. No one will mess with you before I get there." He held out his hand to Charles, pushing the location into his mind.

"I'll start collecting its magic," Yully said. "Don't be long, Darian."

"I won't be far," he promised.

Heart pounding, Darian waited until they were gone. He sheathed his weapons and Traveled to where the beach met the apple orchard. Xander materialized and leaned against a tree, watching. Darian moved forward as if in a dream, stopping within the shade of apple trees as he gazed at the scene before him.

"Sexy," Xander purred. "Hope you don't want them both to live through this."

The two warriors were well matched physically. Darian took in Jenn's body first. She'd been through a lot already today; her exposed midriff and leggings were red with dried blood, and cuts crisscrossed her arms and back. His necklace bounced against her chest as she struck and blocked with fluid, catlike movements.

His gaze moved to her opponent, a woman who looked as poised and rested as Jenn appeared battered. Claire's auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail, her shapely body clad in a black cat-suit. Her blue eyes flashed with familiar fire, fire that used to make his blood hot for her.

Memories bombarded him, almost crippling him. Memories of a time when he'd been happy as the White God with his Oracle at his side. Memories of a time spent in a black hell while his mate helped the Black God keep him enslaved. She was still as beautiful as the day he met her, but she'd never have Jenn's heart. Jenn fought for him. Claire fought for Claire.

"I thought she was dead," he said at last. "Damian killed her."

"Does it matter?" Xander said. "Whoever you don't want is mine. Jenn would be a good addition to my... collection."

"You're not getting either of them."

"You only get one mate. Pick one."

"There's no decision to make." Darian looked at Xander, unable to determine what game the Original Being played. The Vamp watched, interest on his features as the two women fought.

"She's not going to win with that cuff on," Xander observed.

Darian watched for a moment longer. Jenn was holding her own, even without her magic. But as a mortal, she'd tire faster than Claire, whose magic would continue to feed off the surroundings to keep her energized. Claire just had to keep on her feet until Jenn's strength gave out. A few close calls made it more of a challenge, as Claire bounced back to avoid Jenn's strategic strikes.

Xander was right. Darian had to interfere before either was killed. He had unfinished business with both women, and he wasn't about to let Jenn fight a battle she'd lose.

His surprise wore off, replaced by cold rage that rose from deep within him.

"I don't have time for this."

Darian strode forward, Xander forgotten as he focused on the two women. The tip of Claire's sword sliced Jenn's collarbone, freeing the necklace. Jenn ducked a second strike, and Claire snatched the necklace from the ground with a triumphant smile. Darian saw the fury cross Jenn's face, and her next strikes were fast and hard enough they might've given her the upper hand she needed.

Darian snatched her sword arm to keep it from falling. Claire was in the surf, her own sword just out of her reach but the necklace clenched in her hand. She scrambled up, ever the actress, and smiled at him as if this was any other day before the Schism.

"Go to Yully," he said to Jenn with firmness even she wouldn't challenge. Darian released her and stepped between the two women. Trust me, he added silently.

He felt Jenn's pain the moment he stepped towards Claire. Jenn's emotion was raw, and it reverberated within him. He knew that kind of pain. He was looking at the only person who'd ever caused it.

"It never pays to be the mistress, love," Claire said to Jenn.

Darian motioned for his former mate to walk with him down the beach. Claire appeared pleased, and he couldn't quite get over just how unconcerned she was with what she'd done to him.

"Did the Others or Watchers set this up?" he asked.

"What matters is that we're here together again," Claire replied.

Others, he told himself mentally.

"Have you missed me?" she teased. "I remember how we used to walk this stretch every night, before the Schism."

Darian looked out over the sea. He'd always loved the teal waters that were neither too warm nor too cool.

"We're not thirty feet from the pool where you used to make love to me," Claire said. "You do remember, don't you?"

"I remember everything."

"They gave me a second chance. I was as much a prisoner to Czerno as you were. I never thought we'd be here again."

Darian said nothing. He expected the sight of her to stir the storm within him. He was as calm as the sea.

"I don't remember you being so quiet, love," she said, looking at him finally.

"A lot has changed," Darian replied. "I've come to peace with some things and am working towards peace on others."

"You were always so strong. So much stronger than me."

He glanced at her, taking in the face he'd fallen for so long ago. A tingle of regret rose from his quiet thoughts.

"Yeah," he agreed softly. "I am."

"We've both learned important lessons about ourselves."

"What was yours?"

"To trust myself instead of the words of others. I was manipulated into doing what I did to you."

"Betrayal's a bitch," he said.

"You weren't the only one betrayed, Darian."

"I didn't earn my betrayal."

"It's done. We both learned and grew," she said. "We have a second chance now to live as we should have before."

He stopped walking to face her. Claire hadn't aged since the day they met. Her fiery hair was darker than Yully's, her eyes bluer than even Sofi's. Her face was flushed from the fight with Jenn while her trim body was close enough for her breasts to rub his arm when she breathed in.

He'd wondered how he'd feel if he met her again, what he'd say. The possibility hadn't existed before the trip to the underworld. He thought he'd feel anger and a familiar passion for the first and only woman he'd ever made love to. He felt nothing, except concern for those fighting guardsmen at the obelisk.

A sound from the direction of the fighting made his heart slow. Jenn's scream. His mate was alive, but if the Others had it their way, she wouldn't be for long. They'd been cunning by bringing Claire here to distract him. They meant to light the fuse on his emotions and power by taking what he cared for most. Maybe they wanted to use Jenn against him.

Darian held out his hand for his necklace.

Claire searched his face, trying to read him. She placed it in his hand.

"You forgive me?" she asked.

"I do forgive you," he said. "I came here to bury the past and the immortal world."

"I don't have to be your past. We are, after all, still mated."

He held up the necklace, gazing at the symbol that marked his lineage. His eyes went past Claire for a moment, to the dark figure waiting by the tree line. The look was enough for the forefather of all vamps to start towards them.

"I forgive you, Claire, but I don't want you," Darian said. "I have a new mate."

"Darian—"

"I am, however, grateful I got to see you one last time. I don't think I could've let go of you otherwise."

"There's no need to let me go."

"Yes, there is. I made the mistake of not trusting my instincts when I met you," he said. "I'm going to trust them this time. Right now, they tell me the woman I love is in danger, and you were meant to distract me so someone else could finish her off." He started away from her towards the obelisk.

"Darian, wait—" Claire called.

"Farewell, Claire."

He didn't look back but tagged Xander on the arm as he passed. The vamp's fangs were already showing. Darian jogged towards the obelisk and followed its tall form into the clouds with his eyes. The raw rage he didn't feel walking with Claire unfurled within him, until he was sprinting.

***

Trust me. Darian's words did nothing to soothe Jenn. She lowered her weapon, breathing hard from the battle in the soft sand. Darian stepped towards Claire. The traitor sheathed her weapons, and Jenn's gaze went to the necklace in her hand.

"It never pays to be the mistress, love," Claire purred to Jenn.

Darian motioned for Claire to walk with him, and they started down the beach. Leaving her. Darian clasped his hands behind his back, and Claire's smile was both triumphant and sweet. They looked like two lovers out for a stroll, not enemies. Raw pain filtered through Jenn as they walked away.

Maybe they aren't enemies. Jenn sucked in deep breaths, hanging onto Darian's words.

Trust me, he'd said. Nothing else. And he hadn't taken back the necklace.

She watched them until she couldn't bear to anymore. Darian hadn't even looked at her. He'd blocked the strike that probably would've killed the woman who betrayed him, saving her instead.

While the hole inside her grew, Jenn's sense of duty returned. Darian told her to find Yully. Jenn forced herself to move, hurting more from the wound inside than all those outside. Xander watched her approach, seemingly at ease while the world went to shit around him.

"Where's Yully?" Jenn asked.

"Obelisk."

"Take this shit off." She held out her arm.

He complied, touching it. The cuff fell away, and magic flooded her. At once, her body felt energized where she'd been drained before. Her extrasensory gifts returned. She still felt raw on the inside, but she could fight.

"Good luck," Xander said, not looking at her.

His dismissal felt permanent, and she hoped whatever business he had with her, it was now done. Jenn glanced up at him. His eyes were on the two walking down the beach, his arms crossed, as if he waited for something. She trotted away from him up the beach towards the marble obelisk that rose out of the orchard. Her hands shook as much from emotion as the returned magic in her blood.

She didn't let herself think. She ran hard, spotting Yully and Charles fighting back-to-back at the base of the obelisk. The beautiful Magician sparked with magic that rippled through her body and shot out through her knives as she deflected and attacked the guardsmen. Yully's hair blazed like a fire, her skin as pale as the obelisk. Something seemed off about Charles, but Jenn didn't have time to place what. She launched into the melee, fighting her way towards the two with brutal ferocity borne of emotion.

She couldn't get the image of Darian and Claire out of her head. Jenn closed her eyes, reveling in her freed senses and allowing her instincts to guide her. Sweat and tears ran down her face. She fought harder to keep the pain inside her from winning.

Suddenly, there were no more swords falling. Jenn opened her eyes. She slung her head back, filling her lungs with air. She was coated in blood, the metallic scent heightening her blood lust. A glance around revealed the carnage: twenty guardsmen.

"Ye possessed?"

Jenn snorted and swallowed hard. She faced the two. Yully appeared as uneasy as she sounded while Charles licked his lips at the blood around them.

"Not possessed," Jenn said. "What're we doing here?"

Charles let out a string of curses and dragged one of the guardsmen off the ground. Frustrated, he flung the body down again.

"Waiting for Darian," Yully hedged. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine." Jenn gazed at the obelisk that rose into the sky. It radiated power, the seat of the White God's magic. She took a step towards it. Her hands grew clammy as she circled the wide base of the obelisk to see the names on the other side.

Damian, Sofia, Adrian.

Darian, Jenn.

She touched her name, leaving bloodied streaks on the white marble. Her hand went to her chest, where the necklace had been just moments before. She didn't know what to think.

Trust me.

Trust was not something she did well. It made her heartbeat elevate, her body sweat. If given a choice between trusting him and walking away from him, she'd trust him. Dusty had been right; she was in far too deep to walk away this time. She'd never left her fate in the hands of another, and right now, it was. She closed her eyes, feeling sick.

"Jenn," Yully whispered from the edge of the obelisk.

Jenn glanced towards her. Yully was pale, her hair sizzling with magic. Her gaze was on something behind Jenn.

Jenn turned, knowing what was there before she faced it. She sensed nothing; she wouldn't, for only Charles and Darian could.

"Step back, Yully," she ordered.

"Jenn—"

"Now."

Touch the obelisk, Yully said into her thoughts.

Jenn nodded once to show she heard. Yully retreated, and Jenn faced the Other. It bristled with purple power and was focused on her. She eased back a step, closer to the obelisk. The Other raised a hand, and Jenn dived to the ground as lightning ripped through the air towards her. It glanced off the obelisk. She rolled away from the second strike but the third tore through her, frying her from the inside out. It flung her against a tree then dropped her.

She cried out. The blast was short but sucked her magic and left her feeling as if her insides were on fire. Jenn grated her teeth and climbed to her feet, wishing Bianca was there for another of her healing charges. The obelisk was twenty feet away. It could've been a million, with the Other readying another attack.

Drawing her knives, Jenn drew a deep breath and gathered what magic she could from the world around her. She flung a knife. The Other moved, his first strike sizzling by her. She threw herself down to avoid the second, sent another knife in its direction to distract it, and leapt up, dancing and twisting through the lightning streams. From the corner of her eye, she saw the first of another group of guardsmen rushing the obelisk.

Her ankle twisted as she landed on a rock, and she fell, yanking free another knife to block the guardsmen's first blow. Jenn rolled and slammed into the obelisk. Its power raced through her and out, sending the guardsman nearest her flying.

Channel it! Yully's voice was almost a shout in her mind.

Jenn looked from the next guardsman to the Other whose lightning lit up its hands. She touched the obelisk again. Yully shoved the magic into her from the other side, and Jenn pointed her knife at the Other. White lightning snaked through the air. The Other sailed across the orchard and slammed into the hillside and through it.

Jenn didn't have time to celebrate. She stumbled away from a guardsman's blow that knocked her remaining dagger from her hand and landed hard.

Another Other appeared. Purple lightning sizzled and a guardsman's sword arced towards her simultaneously. Jenn covered her head, waiting for the pain.

It didn't come. She looked up. Darian stood over her. He knocked the guardsman back with a punch and deflected the Other's lightning effortlessly. He offered her a hand. Jenn stared at it then at him. She took it. Darian pulled her up. She stepped away from him quickly.

"You dropped something," he said, holding out the necklace.

Her eyes lingered on it, emotions churning within her. She met Darian's gaze. His golden eyes blazed. Light and shadow bent and swirled around him, his magic magnified by the immortal world. The warm-cool sensations swept past her.

"Another shitty proposal," she said at last.

"Just a formality. You're already mine."

Jenn snatched it and leaned forward to grab a knife from his waist. Hope and anger raced through her, her body tingling with more than his magic. She stepped away to slash at a guardsman then tugged the necklace on quickly.

"You know what, Darian?" she called over her shoulder.

"You're grateful for my help?"

"Not quite. To quote an Original Being, fuck you."

"That better be an invitation," he replied.

Jenn met his gaze again, furious. "Let me clarify. Go fuck yourself."

His eyes burned brighter, and he gave her a dark smile that sent chills through her. Rather than reply, he released a wave of power that knocked over guardsmen and trees alike. Jenn stared as they fell. Darian strode to her, not stopping until she took a step away. His scent was strong, sweat and man, tainted by the sea. Her body's aching response to his direct stare and nearness took her by surprise, and she inched back.

Darian moved forward. "You really thought I'd even consider choosing her?"

"I thought for the first time in my life, I can't walk away and wish I could."

"You belong at my side, Jenn, just like I belong at yours."

"Are you gonna do something about the Other creeping up on us?" she asked, catching sight of the small creature.

"In a minute. We've got to settle something first."

"My gods, Darian, the world is falling apart! We—"

"No. Now. I need to know before we leave here."

She looked up at him again, unaccustomed to sharing her thoughts or emotions. Her mouth wouldn't form the words she wanted to say. Instead, she reached up and took his face in her hands. She rose to her tiptoes to kiss him, not as she had anyone else, but as she did her mate: with hunger she'd never let herself feel before. Darian's response was instant, his passion and need matching her own. Jenn felt the last of his barriers fall as her own did in the face of their unspoken promise of complete surrender between lifemates. There would be no more secrets or restraint, no more attempts to deny him. In that moment, she yielded as much to her fate as she did to him.

"Darian!" Yully's yell was panicked.

He withdrew, resting his forehead against Jenn's while he wiped away the newest tears on her face.

"Good enough," he whispered hoarsely.

"If we survive, I'll teach you a thing or two when we get back," she teased.

"Oh, we'll survive," he assured her. "I plan on collecting this time. No more games."

"No more games."

He kissed her forehead and stepped away, turning. Jenn ducked at the sight of purple lightning, stunned when he caught it midair and flung it back towards the Other.

"Yully, you ready?" Darian called.

"God, yes!"

Darian snatched Jenn's hand and pulled her around to the other side of the obelisk. Yully floated several feet off the ground, radiating power.

"What's going on?" Jenn asked.

"Destroying this place," Charles answered.

Jenn's throat grew tight at the words, and she thought of the family she'd lost. Her eyes went to Darian and Yully as she thought of the family she'd gained. Her past was about to become permanently gone.

Darian met her gaze, his features resolved yet tinged with the same sorrow she felt. She smiled tightly up at him, squeezing his hand. The air between them was as calm and peaceful as it was raging around them.

"One world, one future," he said.

"Our future," she corrected him.

He squeezed her hand back and released it. Darian approached the obelisk and wrapped his arms around it. The air grew more charged, humming with magic from god and obelisk. He appeared to be trying to lift the massive structure.

"Guardsmen!" Darian bellowed.

She yanked her weapons loose. Charles darted to the other side of the obelisk to protect Yully. Jenn whirled.

"Hit me, Yully!" Darian's voice carried over the sounds of clashing metal.

Jenn didn't risk looking back, but the surge of power knocked her and her opponents to their knees. She killed one before he could recover. The obelisk groaned, and the hum in the air became a whine almost too loud to bear. Darian shouted again, and another pulse of power made the earth rumble.

The guardsmen stared past her, and Jenn turned at last, horrified to see the obelisk teetering. Yully's hands were on Darian's back, and magic flowed from the world around them, through her, combining with his power before he shoved it into the obelisk. Jenn covered her ears against the high-pitched wail of magic. The obelisk tipped and then fell, tearing a hole in the ground that threw Darian and Yully into the shallows of the ocean. It slammed into the orchard, shaking the earth.

Sprawled on the ground, Jenn stared at the pillar of roaring magic that replaced the obelisk, as if a cork had been loosened from the core of the immortal world. It rose to the sky. Darian snatched Yully and pulled her forward.

Take them to the gateway! Darian directed into her mind. I'll follow.

Jenn expected him to run around the power coursing upward. Instead, Darian released Yully and ran straight into the magic.

Jenn scrambled up, terrified when he didn't emerge.

"Charles! Yully!" she shouted above the roar.

The vamp shook his head as he pushed himself up from the ground a few feet away. Jenn dashed forward and grabbed Yully's arm, motioning for Charles to follow her. Magic fluctuated around her, sometimes pounding her and sometimes absent. Her own power felt scrambled, and Jenn fought to keep from becoming disoriented.

They struggled through the remains of the orchard as the earth rumbled and bucked. Jenn saw the tree at last and staggered to it. She gave Yully a shove, satisfied when the Magician disappeared. Charles tripped and fell through the portal.

Jenn turned to face the magic. Darian hadn't followed. Her chest grew almost too tight to breathe at the thought of losing him so soon. She made her way back and circled the screaming pillar, shielding her eyes against its brightness. At its center, she thought she saw the dark shape of a man.

"Darian!" she shouted.

Leave.

"Come with me!"

Can't control. It's coming on again. Go! His words were choppy and faint.

Jenn drew back, unwilling to let her mate die in the immortal world. She balanced herself as much as she could with the rumbling ground and then ran straight into the magic. She leapt through it, half blinded, and tackled him. Fire and ice ripped through her, sucking the air from her lungs.

Her momentum carried them through to the other side. They burst out of the light, landing hard. Darian was unconscious, his body convulsing. Magic shot off him in bursts of black and white lightning. Jenn flinched as it went through her. She knelt and carefully lifted him over her shoulders in a fireman's carry. She made it only a few steps before the shaking earth brought her to her knees.

She looked towards their destination then back at the pillar of magic, which had grown thicker and had begun eating away at the earth around it. The skies were covered in billowing clouds that pulsed with power. She rose only for Darian to seize again, sending her crashing onto her stomach. The trees were falling around them. She clambered forward to drag Darian out of the way of one, only to feel the crushing weight of another as it slammed across her legs.

Tears rose with the sharp, hot pain, and Jenn looked down. Her legs were crushed. She choked back a sob and wrapped her arms around Darian, pulling him as close as she could. The world crashed down around them. Jenn kissed Darian's forehead and breathed in his scent again.

I love you, Darian, she whispered in her mind and closed her eyes.

"Funny things about Oracles."

She opened her eyes.

"They're purposely vague. If I leave you, does she fuck me over?" Xander said calmly. He squatted beside her, unaffected by the destruction around him.

"She must have some kind of dirt on you," Jenn murmured.

"I wouldn't be here otherwise, Guardian."

Xander's red eyes went to the unconscious god. "Glad he finally stepped up to the plate."

"You knew this would happen?"

"I've been counting on it. I can't kill Others and Watchers. Makes my life on the mortal world much easier. Only the Guardians are in my way now."

The words should've scared her, but the world was growing hazy, the pain fading as darkness crept into her vision. The weight from her legs lifted suddenly, and fresh pain jarred her back into the imploding world.

Xander bent and hefted Darian over his shoulder. He held out a hand to Jenn. She shook her head, indicating her legs.

"I can't carry two," he said.

"Take Darian. Tell Sofi I traded my life for his. Your debt to her is done."

Xander didn't hesitate. He turned and left. Jenn watched him go until he was out of sight. She gripped the necklace around her neck then rubbed her eyes. With a grimace, she dragged herself next to a tree stump and leaned against it, exhausted. The pillar of light was moving closer, enveloping everything in its path. Trees flew overhead and the sparkling clouds drifted down from the sky. What the fire didn't incinerate, the electrified clouds would.

She was fading fast. She couldn't feel anything, let alone her legs. Another form appeared before her. She squinted to see it, unable to make out anything but glowing green eyes.

You did well, the Watcher said into her mind. Both of you.

Jenn couldn't respond.

I can't carry you out of here. It would break too many rules.

She closed her eyes, ready to die, when a different kind of warmth flowed through her. It was gentle. It pulled her from the darkness and mended her body. The Watcher's magic drifted out of her body.

Give my regards to the Grey God.

Jenn opened her eyes, disoriented. No one was with her, but her legs were healed. She tested them and wobbled to her feet. Instinct took over, urging her towards the gateway. Jenn stumbled forward and then ran, jumping over fallen trees and ducking flying debris. Her body pulsed with the surge and retreat of magic. The fire wasn't far behind her, while the clouds had reached the tops of what trees were still standing. They burst into white flames.

She ran harder up the hill. A log tripped her, and she rolled partway down the other side of the hill then bounded to her feet. Jenn focused on the sound of her breathing and the placement of her feet on the trembling ground. Her lungs were burning and her legs aching by the time she spotted the tree ringed by stones. Hope soaring, Jenn sprinted as hard as she could. The tree was on fire but still standing. She caught herself against it, squinting back the way she'd come.

Struck by the familiarity of the scene, she paused as the fire reached the top of the hill. The last time she'd seen the orchard, it'd been on fire. This time, it wouldn't survive. Nothing would.

There would be one world, the one she shared with Darian.

Jenn balanced herself against the tree and worked her way around it. The ground dropped out from under her, and she landed in the desert on her belly. Gasping for air, she rolled onto her back. The hot midday sun was reminiscent of the immortal world, but the screaming was gone, replaced by silence.

The ground rumbled. She forced herself up and half stumbled, half ran away from the portal. When she felt she was a safe enough distance, she stopped and looked back. White fire spewed from the ground upward, towards the sky. It blazed before fading to a flicker. It died completely. She straightened. A shockwave exploded from the gateway and knocked her back. The magic swept through her outward.

Jenn waited for the ground to stop rumbling before she stepped forward uneasily, gaze on the area where the portal was. She picked up a rock and threw it into the center of the gateway. It didn't fall through but remained where it landed.

Exhausted, she sank to her knees. Her thoughts went to the Watcher that had spoken to her and healed her. She looked around for any Others or guardsmen that might've escaped through the portal. There were none.

It didn't seem possible that none of them had made it to the mortal world. It didn't seem possible that a Watcher had saved her.

"You survived."

Jenn nodded without turning. The Black God came into view, trailed by his storm clouds. Jonny's dark eyes had taken on a new spark of intelligence, his air settled where it had been agitated before.

"You're different," she voiced.

"Yeah. A little less naïve. Far less forgiving, Jenn."

"I understand, ikir."

"That's the first time you've called me that."

"It's about time, don't you think?"

Jonny smiled faintly. "I wanted to thank you and warn you."

Jenn looked up at him. As with Darian, she sensed this change was permanent. The boy-god had figured out something about who he was.

"The thank-you is for protecting me when no one else would. The warning is that, next time we meet, there will be no discussion. I will not spare my enemies, and you are my enemy."

"Yes, ikir, I am," she said softly.

The Black God held her gaze for a moment before turning away. Jenn struggled to her feet. Her body was streaked with blood, sweat, and dirt. Her magic was but a trickle, and her head pounded with fatigue.

"Jonny," she called.

He froze.

"I still believe in you."

"Farewell, Guardian."

He disappeared, leaving her alone again in the desert. She expected to feel the turmoil she'd felt before at his transition. She didn't. If anything, she couldn't help feeling at peace knowing what she did now about salvation. It came in the form of letting go of her past and embracing her future, not trying to fix something that couldn't be fixed. Whether or not Jonny would ever know that same sense of peace, there was always a chance he could. He could be salvaged, if he chose to be.

That was good enough for her.

"Gods." Her gaze turned to the desert. She didn't have the magic to Travel, and this place was as barren as barren could be.

Jenn looked north and began walking. She needed to know what happened to Darian, if Xander followed through and delivered the Grey God home. Her walk turned into a trot as she pushed her weary body as fast as it would go.

## Chapter Twelve

FOUR LIVES DOWN.

Darian awoke feeling as if he'd just survived a hurricane. He'd had another of his episodes; his body hurt as it always did. One second, he'd been in the immortal world. The next...

"Jenn!" he breathed.

He threw off the covers, gaze sweeping the room. It was his room at Damian's. Darian yanked open the door and strode into the hallway.

"Sofi!" He pounded on her door before opening it. Her room was empty. "Bianca! Yully!"

"I'm here, Darian," Bianca's voice came from down the hall. She appeared at the top of the stairwell.

"Bianca, where's Jenn?" he demanded.

"Darian..."

He saw the answer on her face and stopped. "Where's Sofi?"

"Resting. She had Adrian. Darian," Bianca said quickly as he turned away, "we can't find Damian, Dusty, or Jule."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, they're still gone."

"What does Sofi say?" Darian's body rippled with power and emotion.

"She says they're alive but she can't find them."

"I need to talk to her."

"I'll wake her up. She's in the study."

Darian retreated to his room and pulled on clothes. His hands shook as he fumbled to lace his boots. He wouldn't think the worse, not unless Sofi confirmed it. He didn't know how he left the immortal world, but if he made it, Jenn could. She was the strongest woman he'd ever met. She must survive; he wanted nothing to do with a world if she wasn't in it.

He jogged down to the study, stopping at the sight of the bassinet beside Sofi's favorite chair. A tiny form, with white-blond hair and swathed in a blanket, slept peacefully. The Oracle looked exhausted, worry on her features. Bianca was pacing.

The sight of the child hammered home his desire for a future with Jenn.

"Sofi, tell me she's not dead," he said. His heart pounded hard.

"I don't know. I can't See anything. It's like my vision is being jammed. I can See other things, but nothing about any of us. Or Damian. The Watchers said they'd be safe. I thought when we got back, they'd be here." The note of distress in her voice was echoed on Bianca's face.

Darian was pensive. He stepped closer to the bassinet and peered at the sleeping child.

"I'll find them, Sofi and Bianca, I swear it," he said. "There are Others and Watchers on the planet. They must've escaped before the immortal world collapsed. No one could do this but them, especially to an Original like Jule. Where's Yully?"

"Sleeping. She's been up with me for over a day," Sofi said. "Bianca knocked her out."

"I think I know where to start," he said, focusing on the sense that told him where the immortal intruders were. "Sofi, can you see Jenn?"

"I can't see anything, Darian."

"How did I get back?"

Bianca and Sofi shared a look before Sofi said grudgingly, "Xander brought you."

"And where is he?"

"Gone. We think he went after Jule, but we don't know. Something about how Originals stick together," Bianca said.

"Even if he finds them, he won't help us. I traded my trump cards," Sofi added. "Darian, you have to find them."

Darian nodded, hearing the strain in her voice. His gaze went to Damian's son again.

"I'll go now. What of the Guardians, were they brought back?"

"With their powers. Whatever you did down there, you reset the balance," Bianca said. "Jonny... I don't think he'll wait for the truce to be up." Her words were hushed.

"It's okay, Bianca. You know he loves you, but he has a duty to fulfill," he said. "Sofi, did you recall Pierre from his vacation?"

"He's on his way back."

"If anything happens, contact me," Darian ordered. "Anything, Sofi."

She nodded.

Darian left them in the study, wired with energy. He located the nearest Watcher and Traveled, appearing in a small attic. The Watcher turned away from the window, surprise on its face. Darian snatched it by the neck and slammed it against the wall.

"Talk," he snarled.

"They're alive."

"Who is alive?"

"Your brothers."

"What did you do to them?"

"Saved them."

"Bullshit!" Darian said and shook the small creature. "If you lie, I'll snap your neck and move on to the next one."

"Ikir, I am serious. The Others planned to snatch them all. If they couldn't find them, they couldn't take them."

"Where could you hide them that no one can find them?"

"You were supposed to close the gateways," the Watcher said with a note of sadness. "The immortal world is gone."

"Because you brought your war here!"

"Because there was no other way."

The Watcher Traveled, disappearing from Darian's grip. He spun as the creature materialized on the other end of the attic.

"Now I can hunt you all down one by one. You can't disappear into the immortal world. Fish in a barrel," he said.

"Your kind is not exactly protected against us. You can't stop us all."

"I think sending a message or two of what happens if you fuck with my family will be enough."

"For us, yes," the Watcher said. "We've never meant any harm to you. For the Others, it's a different story."

"You've always used us."

"Whatever you think, it's for the greater good. We set this chain of events in motion before the Schism. It was necessary."

Darian wanted to destroy him, but he needed to know where his little brother was first. He drew a calming breath.

"Ikir, I can take you to them."

"Do it."

The Watcher held out his hand. Darian took it, and they Traveled to a locker cold enough for his expelled breath to hang in the air. Three bodies were lain out on three separate tables.

"They're frozen," he said, shocked.

"A form of stasis. Neither living nor dead. Off the Others' radar. We used magic on their minds and the freezer for their bodies. They're undetectable."

Darian strode to Damian's side, touching his cold skin. Panic rose within him at the thought of losing his little brother, especially now that Damian was a father.

"They could've interfered with our plan."

"You've used everyone to win a war that none of us understood. How can you consider yourself acting in the greater good?" he snapped, moving to Dusty's body next.

"This was the only outcome we could allow. You were the only one who could do it. You never would've done what you did if we didn't... stack the deck, I believe you say here."

Darian wanted to explode, release the fury and energy within him.

"It had to be done." The Watcher's words grew quieter.

"Tell me how to wake them up."

"Bianca."

"That's it? No aftereffects?"

"None that we know of. We've never frozen immortals before."

Darian looked at the Watcher, who seemed amused at the idea.

"We will not interfere with your hunt of the Others," the Watcher added. "We are... content here now."

"I'm not content with you here."

"You may need us to help with the Others," the Watcher continued, ignoring Darian's words. "You may call upon us as needed. We moved our magic source into this world in anticipation of your actions. The Others were not so fortunate, though the Originals all escaped. We'd rather they didn't." The Watcher looked at Jule's still body.

Darian felt sick, understanding just how cunning the Watchers had been in their pursuit of destroying their enemies, the Others. They'd been patient, setting up their ultimate victory over the course of tens of thousands of years.

When the Others were dead, he'd turn his hunt to the Watchers. He needed Jenn to help him plan how to track the hundreds of creatures on the earth with the power to do what they want, unopposed, except for him. His odds were better than they had been against thousands of them.

Jenn had a mind for strategy. Darian's spirits dampened. She had to be alive. He couldn't believe otherwise, not after all he'd been through to keep her. He'd even made his peace with Claire before feeding the treacherous bitch to the sociopathic Original Vamp. Her second death wouldn't be as quick or painless as her first at Damian's hands.

Darian wanted to ask about Jenn but didn't. He feared the answer, and he'd never let one of these creatures see him vulnerable. He glanced towards the Watcher to find the space empty.

"Hang in there, little brother," he whispered to Damian and then Traveled back to the study.

Sofi and Bianca sat, one on each side of the bassinet, peering into it at the fidgeting baby god within.

"Bianca." Darian motioned her over.

She approached, a sad smile on her face. Darian couldn't help but pity her as well; her eyes were circled with black and puffy, as if she'd been crying recently. He held out his hand, and she took it without question. When they reached the meat locker housing her mate, Darian planted both hands on her shoulders before she turned.

"They're alive. Don't freak out. You just have to bring them back."

She frowned and pulled away, twisting to see the three bodies. She gasped and rushed to Dusty's side, touching his face with her hands.

"Oh, god, Darian!" Her voice rose in panic.

"They're alive, remember? Just do what you do," he said, remaining where he was. Already, he felt her magic in the air as she channeled it into her mate. He waited and watched, tense.

After a long moment, the color returned to the assassin's face. A few minutes later, Dusty sat up suddenly, sucking in air and gazing around him wildly.

"What the fuck happened?" he breathed. "Where are those fucking little green-eyed trolls that did this to us?"

Bianca threw her arms around him. Dusty's frame relaxed. Darian watched them hug, until the ache at his core grew too strong. He moved to Damian's side, grateful his brother would soon be back on his feet. He smiled, wondering how Damian would react when he found out about his son.

Darian's thoughts grew darker as he thought again of Jenn. He may never have the chance to hold his own child. He'd never take another mate. He let himself admit a thought he didn't want to face: that if Xander had brought him back and not Jenn, there might've been a reason.

"Bianca, can I leave you here with them?" he asked, restless. "I need to go."

"Yes, of course." The Healer's voice radiated happiness that made Darian sink lower into the black thoughts in his mind.

He left them, Traveling to the portal in the desert. The sun had set, and the bright moon made the sand glow like snow. He crouched next to the circle Jenn had drawn around the portal. He reached forward and rested his hand where the gateway had been. His hand didn't sink into another world. It remained on the sand.

He sat back and stared at the portal listlessly, knowing the immortal world was no more. He couldn't remember what happened, only that one of his episodes had come on when he was in the pillar of magic. He didn't know how Yully and Charles made it back or if Jenn had been with them. He'd blacked out then, waking in his room.

Furious at his own weakness, Darian lay back and stared at the sky. His magic danced around him, bending starlight and night into a subtle light show. He watched it. If Jenn escaped, she'd have contacted him by now. He'd felt her surrender in their final kiss. She wouldn't run from him again. Of all the magic he contained, none of it would bring her back.

He'd lost her as soon as he finally won her, all because he couldn't control the spells he still suffered from his years in slavery. He'd saved the world and lost his partner.

Darian watched the sky turn from dark to dawn, unconcerned with the chilly desert morning. Only when the sun peeked over the horizon did he decide to leave, preferring a dark place where he could dwell with his dark thoughts. He checked the portal one last time then stood, turning away. His heart felt like a brick in his stomach.

"Hey." Damian stood a few feet away.

"Hey, little brother. Glad to see you're not a Popsicle anymore."

"Even Bianca can't get rid of the headache. I don't know what possessed them to freeze us."

"I'll kick their asses. Don't worry," Darian assured him. "I saw Adrian."

"That's, ah... wow. Wasn't expecting that." Damian said then grinned. "I've got a lot to learn about being a dad."

"You'll do fine. You've always excelled at everything you've done."

"You raised me. I know the lessons you taught me will help him turn out well."

Darian smiled, touched by the words.

"How are you?" Damian asked.

"I've got nine lives. I'll survive," Darian replied.

"I'm really proud of you and the girls, Darian. I know it wasn't easy."

"No, it wasn't," Darian agreed softly. "I'm probably gonna start hunting down Others today. The Watchers made a mess of this."

"I'll help you. There's got to be a way to track and mark them. Jule and I have a few ideas."

"We'll worry about it later. Go home. Enjoy your family, D."

"They're your family, too, Darian," Damian said firmly.

"I know."

"We're moving the headquarters again. Seems like the Black God is done playing. His vamps started stalking our Guardians this morning, and I lifted the ceasefire mandate."

"Good to know."

"Whenever you're ready, we'll be in northern California," Damian said. "Also, there was some sort of disturbance reported near the local Guardians' station. Might be some guardsmen loose in Mexico who escaped before the immortal world collapsed. I told them you might be by."

"I'll check it out," Darian said, grateful for something to do. "I'll be by later."

Damian studied him, the White God's power swirling in the space between them. Darian sensed his concern but couldn't bring himself to talk about it. Not yet. Maybe in a few thousand years, after he'd killed every Other and Watcher he could get his hands on and found some way to numb his pain. He'd go home then. For now, he couldn't fathom an existence in a home filled with a family when he'd lost his other half.

"Take care, Darian," Damian said.

"You, too, little brother."

Damian left. Darian rose and dusted himself off, thoughts going first to his cats at the cabin and then to the possible guardsmen nearby. He felt more like destroying than nurturing. He Traveled to the small town, at once struck by the scent of barbacoa again. His eyes drifted down the street.

The town looked quiet. He sensed no Others or Watchers there, though he wouldn't know if a guardsman was present until it attacked him.

"I take it you're my ride."

He whipped around to face the speaker, too shocked to move. Jenn stood on the low front porch of the Guardians' station. She'd cleaned up since he last saw her, and her short hair was still damp. When he didn't move, she approached and stopped in front of him, looking up at him.

Darian had never seen anything half as beautiful as the pale, exhausted warrior in oversized clothing she must've borrowed from the beefier Guardians who lived at the station. She glowed from the inside out.

"I couldn't Travel. Still can't. Have had this headache since—"

The spell broke. He was frozen in disbelief that bordered on horror then suddenly swept her up into his arms. Darian bear-hugged her, lowering his head to breathe in her scent. Jenn laughed at the tickling sensation as his nose brushed her neck and squeezed him back. He looked as tired as she felt, his hair disheveled and dark circles beneath his blazing golden eyes. Even so, she'd never seen anything that made joy spring up within her.

"We made it," she murmured, marveling in his scent and warmth.

"Jenn, I love you. I should've said it sooner," he whispered. "I love your spirit and your strength and that look you give me when I say stupid shit."

"I love you, too, Darian. You are the strongest, most honorable person I've ever known."

"Next time my twice dead ex-wife comes back to try to kill me again, you'll know better than to freak out," he teased.

She laughed, unable to contain the emotion bubbling within her. She lightly kissed his cheeks and forehead and lips. Darian met her gaze, and her heart sang at the emotion in his eyes. She'd lost a family and a world, only to discover the other half of her soul in the man before her.

"Take me home," she told him, touching his face.

"Not sure I know where home is anymore. Damian moved it again."

"Take me somewhere," she replied. "I got some things to teach you."

"Hot damn," he said, grinning. "I've got an eternity to learn." He wrapped his arms around her tightly again. "Never letting go this time."

"If I knew this is what love felt like, I wouldn't have fought it for so long." Jenn breathed in deeply. She melted against him. His warmth and magic filled her, flowing between them in an indication that they were one. "You know what this means?"

"What?"

"I get to go with you to hunt Others. No more leaving me behind."

"I'm the Grey God. I still outrank you," he said.

"If I've learned anything from watching Sofi and Damian, it's that the mate of a god is truly the one with rank."

"We're having six kids."

She stared at him.

"Two can play this game," he said and nuzzled her cheek.

"Trust me, hon, this isn't a game you will win," she replied, smiling slowly.

Darian kissed her long and deep, his passion flying through her, leaving her breathless and aching for more than a kiss.

"I think I will," he whispered huskily.

"What're you waiting for? Let's find out."

War of Gods

Damian's Oracle, Book I

Damian's Assassin, Book II

Damian's Immortal, Book III

The Grey God, Book IV

Damian Eternal – War of Gods spinoff

Xander's Chance

The Black god

## Also by Lizzy Ford

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As SE Reign, erotica writer

101 Nights Box Set (Serials 1-7)

