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A shudder nearly rocked her off her feet. She should not have portaled here. But, she’d wanted to help her best friend and mentor, Galen, who’d hoped to save the woman he loved from a cloned god. Long story. The unarmed Sent Ones had occupied a far corner, as still as statues, locked in some sort of trance.
The next thing she’d known… she’d moved through their ranks, decapitating each and every warrior. No one had fought back or even ducked.
I can’t be trusted anymore. If she were to inadvertently harm her friends, because of her demon’s whispers…
Horror consumed her in an instant. Won’t risk their lives. The time had come. After spending five thousand years with Galen, she needed to ditch him.
Ready to sob, she planted her heels, going still, then blinked to clear her vision. She would return home, pack a bag, and go. A hot tear trickled down her cheek. I don’t want to go.
As she wrapped her arms around her middle, the temple crystalized. A bloodstained altar, and a golden throne. The tree that had grown through the marble floor. Where were her frien—
Firm hands settled on her shoulders and squeezed. An enemy?
Distrust did his thing, whispering, Kill him before he kills you. Kill him now, now, now.
No! Not again. Never again. Heart thudding, Fox wrenched free, but she didn’t dart off. Not yet. Not until she knew the male’s identity.
She pivoted, spying blond curls, baby blue eyes, and feathery white wings. Galen! Relief bombarded her. She loved the keeper of Jealousy and False Hope with all her heart.
He’d found her on the flagstone roads of Ancient Greece, mere days after the death of her mother. She’d been a child, and he’d saved her from a life on the streets. Not only had he cared and provided for her, he’d helped her anytime she’d encountered a problem.
With a sob, she launched into his strong, open arms. Me? Sob? Fox wasn’t a crier. Except for that one…ten times she’d accidentally watched a Hallmark movie. In every other case, tears were reserved for kids and men with colds. But still she didn’t stop snotting against Galen.
“Did you do a bad thing? Yes. Can we undo it? No,” he told her, gently petting her hair.
“Are you strong enough to get through this? Hell, yes. I’ll send in a crew to dispose of the bodies, though we both know word will spread anyway.”
Oh, yes. Word would spread. They were in an immortal realm, where spirits could be hiding around every corner, watching and listening.
“You are my favorite protégé, and you can do anything,” Galen said. “Even overcome a terrible mistake.”
Heartbeat, heartbeat, heartbeat. “I…I’m your only protégé.” He’d fired all the others. Literally! They’d died screaming as flames melted their flesh. What? They’d deserved it.
His soft chuckle ruffled strands of her hair. But, only seconds later, his amusement evaporated. “Other Sent Ones will come for you. They will want to end you, but it’s going to be okay, babe. I swear it.”
“Why didn’t the Sent Ones defend themselves, Galen? Why?”
“I don’t think they could. They were under some sort of enchantment. At least you made it quick and painless.”
She recoiled, but he held tight, refusing to let her go. “You should cut ties with me. Otherwise, you’ll be guilty by association and—”
“Don’t be foolish. I will never cut ties with you.”
A pang ripped through her chest. Most people considered Galen a villain, and they weren’t wrong. Centuries ago, Fox and Galen had done terrible, awful things in the name of war. At the time, they’d entertained a single goal: do whatever proved necessary to gain more money and power. Only friends in their circle of trust had been safe. Therefore, no one had been safe, because they’d had no friends. But. In the past year, he had built a trust circle. Fox had not.
Fox still had Galen and only Galen, but he had Legion—his every waking hour revolved around her happiness—and a close-knit group of warrior confidants.
Would Fox ever find someone special? Or even a friend?
Don’t want to. Better off on my own. According to previous “boyfriends”—her relationships never lasted past a few weeks—Fox didn’t know how to love.
The foundation at her feet evaporated as Galen swept her up into his arms. The temple vanished next, her private bathroom appearing, complete with hundreds of tools, screws, and sheets of metal. In her spare time, Fox loved to build…anything. Her specialty happened to be robotics and weaponry.
Someone must have flashed them home, moving from one location to another with only a thought. She sucked in a familiar breath: machine oil, leather, and lavender.
When her friend set her on her feet, the ringing in her ears subsided. Her vision cleared. Legion, Galen’s mate, stood at her side, a beauty with blond hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin. The opposite of dark-haired, hazel-eyed, pale-skinned Fox.
Their personalities were just as different. Legion was sugar, and Fox was spice. They’d never gotten along, and it was Fox’s fault. She’d been rude as hell, too proud to admit she was jealous of the bond Legion shared with Galen.
Voice soft and sweet, Legion told her, “We’re here for you, all right? Whatever you need, we will provide.”
Guilt and shame coursed through her, torching her newfound calm. For weeks, she’d acted like a total bitch to this girl, hating every minute they spent together. “Thank you, Legion. I don’t deserve your kindness, but…thank you,” she repeated.
“Fox, you need to shower off the blood. It’s not a good color for you,” Galen said. “And I need to put distance between us. My demons are itching to attack you.” Unlike Fox, he hosted two fiends. Jealousy and False Hope. Also, unlike Fox, he had not willingly welcomed his dark companions. He’d received punishment for convincing other warriors to steal and open Pandora’s box, unleashing the demons trapped within…then he ratted them out to the king of the Greeks. Partly because his pride had been pricked, partly because he’d felt bad about the plan. “Legion?”
“I’ll take care of her,” Legion vowed.
Galen kissed Fox’s brow, then Legion’s lips. “Thank you, love,” he told his future wife before stalking out of the room and shutting the door behind him. Fox sank onto the edge of the tub, head bowed.
Legion perched at her feet and took her hand, linking their fingers. “I’m sorry you were hurt today. You went to the temple to save me, and now… I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“You did nothing wrong.” The ragged response tripped from her tongue. Sent Ones were beyond powerful; they commanded armies of angels and lived to assassinate demons. They were physically unable to utter a lie, and they despised magical abilities...like portal opening. Once they decided to travel a particular path, they could not be budged until they reached the end. They delivered wrath better than any other species. “I plan to pack a bag and hit the road after I shower. I won’t let you and Galen get injured in the crossfire—”
“No, no, no. I’m not worried about being pestered by an army of Sent Ones. You are a Gatekeeper. You can escape, overcome, and win anything.”
True. Gatekeepers were extremely rare; they wielded the power to open a portal to any location at any time, as long as they knew the coordinates. No one could catch her, because no one could keep up with her. If anyone had a chance of success, however, it was a Sent One.
“But,” Legion continued, “I am worried about your state of mind.”
Another pang lanced Fox. “But why? I treated you terribly.”
Legion waved in dismissal. “I was afraid of my own shadow, and you called me on my crap. How can I complain about any harsh words you uttered when I’m a thousand times stronger as a result? I mean, I got to decapitate Galen’s greatest enemy today. Actually, I got to decapitate the bastard twice! I’m a new woman, and I’ve left the past in the past. I hope you do, too. You are a wonderful, secretly nerdy, closet do-gooder, and I love you.”
“What’s nerdy about loving fun things?” she asked as Legion patted her
knee. “Trolling internet trolls. Playing Dungeons and Dragons, with actual dungeons and dragons. Bingeing reality TV shows. And, yeah, okay, I know a lot of my favorite shows have sucked this season, letting people break rules while pretending viewers are too stupid to notice.”
Legion grinned, clearly proud that she’d distracted Fox from her pity party. “Maybe you’re getting a wee bit worked up about your TV obsession?”
If there’d been a narrator for Fox’s life, the bastard would have said, “She always gets worked up.”
“Maybe,” she agreed, only then realizing she’d sunk her nails into her thigh, drawing forth a bead of blood. “I usually ship and stan the so-called villains, and love to hate the supposed good guys. A couple of times, I’ve even portaled to places where live broadcasts are being filmed to cheer on my favorites.” Once, she’d been a total conspiracy theorist. She’d loved coming up with scenarios and theorizing about possibilities. After Distrust, she just wanted to believe something, anything beyond a shadow of a doubt.
“Ship? Stan?” Legion asked. “You are speaking English, but I’m hearing Greek.”
“To ship is to love someone so much, you want to sail away into the sunset together. A stan is a mashup of stalker and fan.”
“See! Nerd.” Legion pressed her lips together, an obvious attempt to smother her laugh. “I don’t want you going on the run. I’ve been there, done that, and it’s no way to live. I want you here, with us. I will marry Galen, and you’ll become my stepdaughter. I’ll have daily chores for you and stuff.”
“And I’ll have a magic apple for you to eat,” Fox muttered.
