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Fine! It was a betrayal. Wrong on every level. But she was still going to do it. Because priorities! Save her consort and harpykind or assuage Rathbone’s feelings? As quietly as possible, she dressed in her uniform, then strapped on as many daggers as she could hold and tiptoed from the bedroom. Without the ability to flash, she’d have to go on foot. And she’d have to go fast, or Rathbone would catch her. He’d have something to say about her no harm, no foul sentiment.
Wings rippling, Neeka cast the arresting male a final glance. Her chest compressed.
I do this to save him.Not herself. Not the worlds. Him. Was there any better reason?
She hurried from the palace, entering a deserted nightscape teeming with overgrown trees, vines, and bushes. She hacked and chopped through them, tacking the scent of crisp, fresh water. Her mind whirled. If she and the Scarlet Tornado actually ended up making a go of things after this, she was totally taking over the landscaping of their kingdom. Because dang. This sucked.
By the time she reached the outer edge of the overgrowth, coming upon a charred wasteland and the head of a river, she was panting and beating herself up. Perhaps she and Rathbonecouldmake a relationship work? He seemed to really, truly want her. Like, big time. To keep. Forever. And dang it, she wanted him, too. Like, big time. To keep. Forever.
He fit her, as if his intensity, ferocity, and charm had been tailor-made from a blueprint of her most secret desires. How he looked at her...smelled...moved... She shivered with desire.
Trust was important to him. As it should be. Trust was important to her, too. A need like no other. With it came security, one of life’s greatest treasures. She’d broken Rathbone’s once, but he’d given her a second chance. Could she allow herself to hurt him the same way twice? Besides, his loyalty to his uncle should be rewarded, not punished.
Neeka skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding an eruption of fire. The flames burst through cracks in the dirt. What was she even doing? Betraying Rathbone by doing the one thing he’d asked her not to? No, she couldn’t, wouldn’t do it.
Resolved, she spun, intending to head home. A vibration in the ground jolted her, and she turned, ready to strike. A flash of red stopped her.
Maximus! His mouth was open with a war cry as he rushed toward her, a hammer raised over his head. Bloody cuts marred his upper body and face.
He stumbled to a halt as soon as he clocked her identity. “You.” The arm with the hammer fell to his side, as if too heavy to hold up. “You’re the wench with my father.”
She winced and waved. “Hi. The name is Neeka the... Wanted.” The boy looked like he’d been shoved through a wringer and beaten with a stick. What had he suffered to get here? For that matter,howhad he gotten here? “Your dad and I are friends.” They were, weren’t they? Rathbone was tough but fair, insistent but generous. At least he was with her. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in hiding out with your grandmother?”
Maximus bared his teeth. “I came to meet my father, and that’s what I’ll do. I won’t be stopped. Not by you. Not by anyone!”
“Hey,” she said, showing him her hands, palms out, “I won’t stop such a laudable endeavor. Do you know what that means? Laudable?” She was going to rock being a stepmother. “Why don’t I take you to him?” Rathbone would be over the moon!
As the kid’s eyes brightened, she added, “Here’s the thing. If you pat my rear or compliment my boobs, I will break your face. Understand?”
“I understand it’s Tuesday,” he remarked, regaining his former sass. “Why are you wearing a top?”
“Hey! You don’t speak to your future stepmother with that mouth.” She jammed her fists on her hips. “How did you escape Hera?”
“What? Like it was hard.”
Were the two males really clones? Because wow. Neeka—hot prickles seared her nape, a sensation she knew well. Tension descended from her head to her toes, turning her muscles into stone. Ahdán neared.
Heart jumping, she withdrew two daggers from their sheaths. Scanning the area, she told Maximus, “Listen up, kid. Run as fast as you can. The palace is beyond the thicket. Shout for your father and tell him the oracle’s ex-husband is here.” She didn’t need Rathbone’s help; she just needed the boy safe.
Maximus nodded and shot toward the thicket, but he stopped before reaching the foliage and gaped upward. Ahdán hovered in the sky, flapping wings of fire. The flames spread to his entire body, turning the surrounding area into a smoke-filled oven.
Neeka groaned. She wouldn’t emerge unscathed from the coming battle, that much she comprehended. “Go!” she shouted, waving Maximus on. He did not obey. Argh! To Ahdán, she called, “Here for another round of divorce court, baby?”
“Here to settle this between us once and for all, wife.”
“You’re planning to die permanently then?”
Her ex threw back his head, releasing what must be his “power squawk.” Smiling with icy delight, he revealed a syringe in his hand. A snippet she’d heard in the Hall of Secrets teased her mind...
Give her the remaining doses at once. If she dies, she dies. If she survives, she’ll be able to withstand your fire and you can bed her anytime you wish.
Dread slapped Neeka. Ahdán intended to force her metamorphosis to Phoenix or kill her, and all it’d take was a single needle prick. Oh...crap.
28
Rathbone awoke with a jolt.Something is wrong.The knowledge burned through any vestiges of slumber, bringing instant clarity. He was in his bedroom, and Neeka was gone.
He pursed his lips. Where was she? Was her absence the source of the problem? Had he grown accustomed to having her cuddled in his arms after a single night?
