9:28 a.m.

  Day 53

  “Put me in hibernation, I said!” Ophelia’s lovely face scrunched with frustration and the most adorable fury. “I am a harpy unhinged, and I command it!”

  “Our patience hasn’t grown, I see.” Halo secured the sides of her armor. He loved dressing her like this, no matter her mood.

  They currently occupied her bunkroom, preparing for the new day. After his daily reassignment of Andromeda, he had quickly briefed Roc and raced to Ophelia. They’d spent hours in bed, merely holding each other in silence. Dreading what was to come. At least, he was.

  How much longer must he wait to bed his harpymph? The fact that he’d lasted this long...it was a miracle. He was dying for another taste of her. Another hit of that pheromone. Something! Until she promised forever, he could do nothing.

  Needless to say, he was...on edge. But so was she. Which made the sensual battle of wills the brightest spot in his life. And Halo needed any bright spot he could get. They were running out of days. Only four tasks remained.

  “I won’t be upset with you, I promise,” she whined now, stomping her foot. “Just do it. Hibernate me already. I’ll help to save harpykind from the comfort of a bed, and I’ll get to rub it in the General’s face. Trust me, babe. I’ll be good with everything.”

  “Roux’s newest intel suggests neither trinite or hibernation will affect the final battle. I like this compromise instead. You get your infusion of strength—” perhaps their only hope now “—and I don’t have to murder you.”

  “Yes, but I’ve had to watch you die.”

  “Only the same number of times I had to watch you die. Fair is fair, sweetheart.”

  “Argh! Stop being logical. It’s annoying.” She rested her brow on his chest for a moment. “I just... I hate watching you die, okay? You were right. It’s the worst. So make it stop.”

  He finished the last latch, then grazed his knuckles along her jawline. “Take your medicine, harpy. If I can get through this, you can too. Didn’t you imply as much before?”

  “Stop being reasonable on top of everything else. You don’t wear it well.” Batting his hand away, she grumbled, “Maybe I should pheromone you into seeing things my way.”

  A jolt of eagerness. “Yes. Do that.”

  “But I won’t,” she continued, haughty, flickering her hair over her shoulder. “You would enjoy it too much. If I must suffer, you must suffer. That is our new rule.”

  “Sorry, sweetheart, but that particular rule has been in effect from the beginning.”

  “Be serious! You get that the Amazon is next, right? You should be panicking. What you shouldn’t do is lose more practice tests than you win. We gotta keep the numbers skewed in your favor.”

  “I have two goals. Victory for the Astra, and your continued well-being. I will do whatever I must to ensure both.”

  “You are so frustrating.” She banged her fists against his shoulders. “You don’t give me anything I want anymore. How can our relationship survive?”

  He lightly pinched her chin the way she loved and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “You know what you must do to get what we both know you really want, harpy.” Countless times, he’d nearly surrendered to her intractable will. Anything to sink inside her. But he hadn’t exaggerated. He would settle for nothing less than a vow of forever.

  The lack of stardust no longer bothered him...much. Mostly her reaction to its absence did him in. Sometimes she peered at his hands, her countenance swinging between infinite longing and soul-crushing disappointment. Soon after, he would catch her staring at nothing, lost in thought. The few times he’d questioned her about it, she’d shrugged him off and changed the subject. But he knew.

  Would she tire of waiting for the stardust and leave him? The very idea tore at his insides.

  “There’s going to be another labor today,” she said, her tone pointed.

  “Yes.” As usual, they both sensed its approach.

  “For the good of our mission, we should get rid of this distracting sexual tension between us.”

  “Promise me forever then.”

  She tried another route instead. “How about this? For the good of our mission, we should keep me strong. Pleasure helps do that.”

  “I constantly examine you for the most minute signs of weakness. If ever you display one, I will relent. Until then...you know what you must do.”

  She glared at him. “Erebus wants us miserable. Why are we aiding him?”

  “I’m not living for the moment.” He stole another swift kiss. “I’m living for tomorrow. I want more, Elia.”

  “So?” She clutched his shirt, wrinkling the material, and pouted, “I want your body, but I’m not getting it.”

  “We have a busy day, anyway.” Beginning with a tea party. The honored guest? His former concubine. Ophelia had insisted on a get to know the Amazon session.

  “Fine,” she grumbled. “Just know you are kind of the worst.”

  “Noted.”

  They finished dressing in silence. He couldn’t wait to be out of this godsforsaken time loop, when Ophelia could move into his bedroom permanently, her things mixed with his, her scent infusing everything.

  —Halo, there’s a problem.—Ian’s voice filled his head, snatching his attention. —This morning you listed everything that’s happened throughout the task, but you omitted a mention of Taliyah and Blythe’s catfight. Roc isn’t happy.—

  A fight between Taliyah and her half sister? That was new. But then, despite the repeating day, no two mornings had played out the same. Each time the Astra and harpies learned about the time loop and their memories erased, their tempers flared ten degrees hotter than ever before.

  Another valuable lesson he’d learned. Just when he memorized everyone’s routine, something changed. The slightest adjustment altered everything else. Even the smallest decision mattered, shaping the road ahead.

  “What’s wrong?” Ophelia asked, aware of his sudden unrest.

  “There’s been a development. We are needed.” Halo flashed her to the palace foyer, where groups of harpies congregated before the mantel. Nothing unusual there. But those harpies now formed a growing, chanting circle around the General and Blythe. The blonde and the brunette. Both possessed slender frames, blue eyes—and no mercy.

  “Fight, fight, fight,” Ophelia called, shoving her way through the crowd.

  He dogged her heels, unwilling to let her out of his range.

  “Are you seeing this, Sweetheart?” a harpy called from the front line, waving her closer.

  “How is that moniker sticking, despite the memory loss?” she muttered. Then she called, “That isn’t my name. I’m Ophelia...something.” Nothing struck her as “the one.”

  At the head of the throng, the battling harpies came into view. The ferocity of each strike staggered him. The females were family. Despite their love for each other, they did not temper their blows. Blood dripped from multiple wounds.

  “Is this a challenge for leadership?” he asked.

  “I honestly don’t know,” she replied.

  Ian, Roc, and three other Astra also occupied the circle. Ian grinned. Roc seethed. Silver looked as though he was taking each harphantom’s measurements for a cage, while Azar, the Astra memory keeper, observed with unshakable concentration, absorbing every detail. Sparrow, an uncompromising voice of peace, waited calmly for a chance to intervene.

  Bleu, Vasili and Roux were missing. Made sense. Bleu, their spymaster, excelled in the shadows. Vasili never interacted well with others, especially females. And Roux avoided everything Blythe.

  The warlord had done more than kill her consort during the invasion. He’d also unwittingly harbored Blythe and her daughter within himself. Fearing for Isla’s life, and her own, Blythe had forced her daughter to disembody and hide within her own body. Then, she too had disembodied and slipped inside Roux without his knowledge. Like living nesting dolls.

  The two females would have died if Taliyah hadn’t extracted them. Blythe had yet to confront Roux about any of it, but her hatred for him was clear.

  “Don’t you dare do it,” Taliyah spat as she punted her sister in the stomach. “Claiming a blood vendetta against Roux will only hurt harpykind.”

  Ah. A blood vendetta. Revenge. A death for a death. This was nothing new for harpies.

  “Do you think he can’t defend himself?” Blythe shouted with a brutal punch to the General’s jaw.

  Taliyah whipped to the side, blood spraying from her mouth. She recovered quickly, the sisters launching at each other, rolling over the floor. “Do you think Daddy Dearest won’t use our strife to his advantage?”

  “If I do something, I’m doomed. If I do nothing, I’m doomed. I can’t take it anymore! He screwed with my mind. The things I’ve seen...”

  They grappled, broke apart, and prowled closer, then started all over again. The battle continued until Blythe stopped and dropped without receiving a blow. Flattening her hands on her temples, she curled into a ball.

  Taliyah’s anger instantly morphed into concern. “Not this again.” She skidded to her sister’s side. “Just breathe through it, B.” Blue eyes blazing, she bellowed to the masses, “All harpies go! Now.”

  Soldiers sprang into action, rushing from the foyer. Only the Astra, the combatants, and Ophelia lingered.

  “That’s my cue.” The harpymph peered up at him. “Stay and play with your friends. I’ll attend tea.”

  Halo slung his arm around her waist, holding her body flush against his as he sent a message to Roc, who nodded. “Blythe isn’t part of my task,” he told Ophelia. “The Commander has this situation, whatever it is, under control. I will attend the tea, as expected.”

  Halo transported her to the proper sitting room. A spacious chamber with multiple round tables strategically placed throughout. Near the farthest corner, Andromeda sat next to Vivian, both females polishing a dagger.

  “—see those heads in the foyer? That’s my girl,” Vivian said with obvious pride.

  He tensed at the reminder. His own head hung from three different mounts, alongside the beasts. The entire display never failed to ruin his good mood. If ever he woke to find the harpy’s head propped there... Halo thought he might raze the entire realm.

  “Where is the tea?” he asked with a harsher tone than intended. He scanned the room, ready to fetch and carry as needed.

  “Aw. It’s so cute when you remind me how much my old man isn’t hip to the times. The tea is already in our mouths,” Ophelia explained. “Tea is gossip. I am tea. You really should learn your girlfriend’s language. It’s only fair since I’m learning Geezer. Come on.” She led him forward.

  At his approach, the guests went quiet. They watched him with unwavering curiosity.

  He adopted his “in public with allies” face—a pasted on I’m not planning to kill you smile. He assisted Ophelia as she sat next to Vivian, then claimed the spot next to her and slung his arm over the back of her chair.

  “That’s, um, quite a smile, Astra,” Vivian said, clearly trying not to laugh. “Worried because your girlfriend is meeting your concubine?”

  “Andromeda isn’t my concubine any longer.” But yes. A bit. Just not for the reasons she might think. He expected Ophelia to note the lack of stardust on the Amazon’s skin, remember the lack of stardust on her own, and project more soul-crushing disappointment. She might grow tired of waiting.

  Sweat beaded on his upper lip. When will I produce it? When, when?

  “By the way, I’m Ophelia. Not the Sweetheart. I don’t care what rumors suggest.” The harpymph withdrew a dagger of her own and began sharpening her claws on the blade. “Considering I’ve been going toe-to-toe with this guy—” she hiked a thumb at Halo “—I might change my designation to the Come Back From The Dead Kid. Too soon?” she asked when he scowled.

  Just for that... “The Not is silent,” he told the Amazon. “Her name is pronounced the Sweetheart.”

  “Good to know. Nice to meet you, the Sweetheart,” the Amazon said with a wink. “I’m Andromeda. Meda to my friends.”

  “Meda?” Halo frowned. “Since when?”

  She hiked her shoulders. “Since always, I guess.”

  “Wow.” Vivian gaped at him. “You didn’t even know your own concubine’s name? Disgraceful!”

  “Former concubine,” he corrected. Perhaps he would be better off not addressing the harpire’s question.

  “You know who doesn’t remember his concubine’s name, Halo?” Vivian batted her lashes at him. “A bad lover.”

  Deserve this. “I was a bad lover.” His cheeks burned. Why? “I’m not anymore.”

  “I can vouch for that.” Ophelia kissed his cheek, then winced, stealing a quick glance at Andromeda—Meda. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to rub the big guy’s obsession with me in your face.”

  The Amazon gave another shrug, not the least bit concerned. “Guys. Honestly. I’m fond of Halo, but my emotions were never part of our relationship. No offense,” she said with a wince of her own. “I needed a Get Out of Amazonia Free Card, and he provided it. Now I’m thinking about dating around. The army sometimes trains near my window, and I’ve had my eye on a few dozen or so shifters. And berserkers. And vampires.”

  “You know what I just realized?” Vivian examined her blade in the light. “I’m the only one at this table who hasn’t boned the Machine. Maybe I should, I don’t know...just thinking out loud here...have a go at him myself? Just to be fair to everyone at the table.”

  Ophelia tossed a rag at her. “Go get yourself a side slice of your own. Then we can discuss an overnight trade.”

  “Okay, okay.” Vivian ducked. “In the meantime, your side slice has to set me up with three of his friends. Minimum.”

  “Deal.” She winked at Halo. “I’m teasing, darling, only teasing. I would never trade you...for an entire night.”

  He pinched her chin and held her gaze. “Sorry, sweetheart, but you are stuck with me—forever.” A promise as much as a warning.

  After today’s labor, he would turn up the heat. He would not stop until he’d won her total surrender.

  * * *

  Ophelia chatted with the girls. For a little while, she forgot her troubles. And she had big-time troubles.

  Every minute of every day, she fell deeper into her infatuation with the Astra. Didn’t help that her body maintained a constant state of desperation for his. They had grown closer mentally and emotionally, but not physically. She hadn’t even managed to talk Halo into an innocent fingering!

  No matter what wiles she applied—flirting, stripping, fondling, pouting, teasing—he had continued to resist her. Something he shouldn’t have been able to do, especially while he was hard as stone. Which he was. Always. But he never broke, never went further than a peck.

  At first, she’d feared she’d lost her touch. Then she’d realized the truth. She had lost nothing; his hunger for her was never hidden. He yearned for her. He yearned for her madly—but he wanted her pledge more.

  Did he have any idea how sexy that was?

  Holding out was growing increasingly difficult. Sometimes she imagined saying yes to a happily-forever-after without the promise of stardust, more and more of her resistance crumbling.

  Once the girls took off, Halo escorted Ophelia to an empty entertainment room. The place she liked to relax and watch movies. The freeze wasn’t due to occur until 8:00 p.m. The next labor would kick off soon after; that, she knew. Erebus wasted no time nowadays; he couldn’t. They neared the end of the entire blessing task.

  And she couldn’t forget Erebus’s claim that the “real fun” kicked off with this next labor. A time Ophelia and Halo would supposedly suffer untold agonies.

  “Something upsets you,” he said as he removed his shirt. He reclined on a couch and crocked his fingers at her.

  She joined him, straddling his waist. Mmm. Her core rested atop his hard-on.

  “Is it the stardust?” he asked, his alevala jumping faster than usual. He gripped her hips to prevent her from grinding down.

  The beasts—her beasts—caught her attention every time they reappeared. But oh, how she hated seeing their battles. Witnessing Halo’s agony... Now that she had watched him die on a battlefield, she understood his upset with her deaths.

  She traced a fingertip over the lioness. The one who started it all. It jumped again, another image taking its place. A beautiful female with kind eyes snagged her attention...

  27

  A haze fell over Ophelia’s mind, her present superseded by Halo’s past...

  A new world opened. Six moons set in a circle around a seventh. Those celestial bodies came in a variety of colors, from pink to blue to gold, a few streams of light bleeding into others. Even the stars twinkled in circular patterns, creating symbols. A magic realm? The land itself took her breath away.

  A forest clearing, spotlighted by the moonlight. Trees with tops that appeared to be cotton-candy roses, the petals like fluff. Roots that swirled over azure grass, simulating waves washing over the ground. Large, glittering rocks.

  A beautiful female clad in a flowing ruby dress hovered nearby—the one from the alevala. She floated over the grass, a ring of fire and smoke seeming to create a force field around her. The gown’s hem flapped in a wind only she could feel. Long auburn hair whipped around a pale face. Eyes like an abyss. Lips the same shade as fresh blood. She had aligned her body perfectly with the moons.

  Thirteen Astra surrounded the ring. They were silent and exuding concern. Halo fought his way closer to the female—Ophelia gaped as the smoke thinned. Not mere flames, after all, but a horde of small, horned creatures set ablaze. Halo shredded monster after monster. Black blood splattered him, the droplets eating through his skin. He didn’t seem to notice.