I smirk.

  When I look back at the castle, my gaze is drawn to the backdrop of the night sky. In the darkness, more stars than I’ve ever seen on Earth wink back at me. Two moons hang heavy almost directly above us. The sight of them feels like a weird sort of double-vision mind trick that sends another wave of dizziness through me.

  Before I can point it out, Kendall gasps.

  I turn to see what’s drawn her shock and find Legion standing across the courtyard where he’s shifted back into his human form. A very naked, very impressive human form. I don’t want to stare, but there’s literally no other option. A broad chest and rippled abs give way to a perfectly shaped V where his hips point the way to⁠—

  “Tori,” Kendall hisses, turning away and yanking me with her.

  My cheeks heat as the sight of his large cock becomes permanently stamped in my brain. Even more awkward, my sister has the same image stamped in hers.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Legion turn and begin walking away.

  “Hey,” I call as he nears the door of the massive estate. But he ignores me and disappears inside, leaving us alone.

  “Where did he go?” Kendall asks.

  I don’t answer, my senses on high alert as I scan for a way out. We could scale the wall, but I’m not sure if Kendall could keep up. She hasn’t trained physically like I have. And besides, it’s not like I have a way to get us off this literal mountain before Legion notices we’re gone and snatches us into the skies.

  “Come on,” I say, marching toward the same door Legion used. If we can’t run away, I’ll have to settle for confronting my captor instead.

  The door opens easily when I shove it. Cool, gray stone greets me though the air is warm enough from some heat source I can’t see in the large, echoing entryway.

  I’ve only made it a couple of steps inside when a teenage girl emerges from the hall on the left. Her brown hair hangs in a messy braid down her back, and her cheeks are flushed red like she rushed. There’s an innocence in her features, but considering the nightmare we’re in, I don’t trust it.

  “Hello,” she says.

  Tucking Kendall behind me, I pull myself as tall as I can. “Who are you?”

  “Chaya.” She glances between us. “You must be Tori and Kendall.”

  “How do you know our names?” I demand.

  “Mister Legion informed me.”

  “He told you he’d be bringing us here?”

  “He mentioned your names as he walked by a moment ago,” she says uncertainly. “Said you were going to be staying for a while.”

  A while, huh?

  “Can you tell me where I can find Mister Legion?” I ask.

  “He’ll return momentarily. Would you like something to eat or drink while you wait?”

  “No.”

  “Tori.” Kendall pokes me and then turns to Chaya. “Some water would be great.”

  “Of course.” She hurries off through a doorway, and I nod at Kendall.

  “Good idea. You got rid of her. Now we can⁠—”

  “Making yourselves comfortable?” Legion’s voice has me whirling, eyes narrowed. He’s clothed this time, and I’m not sure whether to be disappointed or grateful. At least, my eyes know where to look.

  Then again, they sure knew where to look last time too.

  “You can’t keep us here,” I say, taking a step toward him.

  The foyer is massive, and my footsteps echo, but I refuse to be intimidated by his wealth or position. Whoever he is in this world doesn’t negate what he did to me in mine.

  “You’re free to leave anytime,” he says, and while his words say one thing, his gaze says another.

  “And what about you?” I press.

  “What about me?”

  “Will you just follow us wherever we go next?”

  “Not if you don’t want me to. In fact, there are some houses available for rent near the king’s residence that you might find⁠—”

  “We are not staying in Tartarus,” I snap.

  He frowns, and I almost lose myself in the small lines that appear between his brows. What would it be like to smooth them with my fingers?

  No. He’s the enemy, I remind myself.

  I fold my arms across my chest to keep from reaching for him.

  “It would be unsafe to return to the Earth realm for the time being,” he says.

  “Right.” I snort. “Because Tartarus is such a safe place.”

  “Compared to what waits for you in your realm, I’d say it’s your best option.”

  He’s right, of course, which only serves to piss me off. Suddenly, taking my chances with the mountainside sounds preferable.

  “I don’t have to listen to this.” I turn for the door. “Come on, Kendall. We’re leaving.”

  “Um. No?”

  I stop short. “What?”

  “Tor, Legion is offering protection. We’d be stupid not to take it.” Her voice is way too calm, given the circumstances, and I can feel my control slipping. “Besides, he promised to help you break this curse.”

  “We don’t even know him,” I hiss.

  “He killed those men to save us,” she says, brows lifting. “I’d say we know enough.”

  A headache builds behind my eyelids. “Kendall, you don’t understand how the world works. Just because⁠—”

  “When are you going to stop treating me like a child!”

  Her outburst echoes off the stone walls loud enough to shock me into silence, and I feel the guilt settle right between my shoulders.

  “We just lost Juniper,” she adds quietly, and I see the grief brimming in her watery eyes. Her unshed tears pierce me like a blade. Guilt pricks sharp between my shoulders, and I relent beneath the weight of it.

  “You’re right,” I say quietly. “Survival is what matters now. We’ll stay until we figure this out.”

  “Thank you,” Kendall says softly.

  I turn to Legion. “Happy?”

  His gaze sweeps over me, leaving me tingly in the wake of his perusal. “Getting there.”

  I roll my eyes.

  “Chaya,” he calls.

  The young woman who greeted us reappears, holding a glass of water. “Yes?”

  “Will you show our guests to their rooms?”

  “Of course.” She offers the water to Kendall.

  “Thank you,” Kendall tells her.

  Chaya flashes a tight smile then hurries by, leading the way down the hall. “This way.”

  I follow Kendall out, refusing to look at Legion as I pass. I can’t. Not while I’m drowning in my own failure and guilt.

  Chaya leads us down the hall, up a flight of stairs, and around a series of turns that make it impossible for me to remember the way back. I’m fairly certain that’s her goal, though, when she stops in front of a door in the middle of a random passage.

  She pushes open the door and steps back, gesturing to Kendall as she says, “This is your room.”

  Kendall walks in, and I start to follow, but Chaya stops me. “Yours is at the end.”

  “I prefer to stay with my sister,” I say.

  This time, it’s Kendall who stops me. She blocks the door and pins me with a serious expression. “Tor, you should go with her.”

  “Kendall,” I start.

  “Listen, I’m not mad at you, okay? And I don’t want to fight. I just need some time alone.” Her eyes, though hard, fill with tears. “Juniper⁠—”

  She breaks off.

  I nod. “I get it,” I say quietly. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. I just… Can we talk later?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  I step back, and she closes the door with a soft click.

  The rejection stings even though I know exactly how she feels.

  “This way,” Chaya says.

  I follow her to the end of the hall, aware that Legion has put me as far away from Kendall as possible.

  Asshole.

  I push open the door and head inside, thinking of a shower and maybe a stiff drink if I can find it.

  “I’ll give you some time to rest,” Chaya says. “Dinner is at seven.”

  I turn back, ready to refuse, but she looks so damn friendly, and this isn’t her fault. “Do you know how far we are from the portal?” I ask instead.

  “The portal? To Earth?”

  “Yes. Do you know how long it would take to get there?”

  “Three hours if you walk. Obviously way faster if you’re flying but…”

  Hope sinks in my gut. “Great.”

  “Do you need anything else?” she asks.

  “Do you have any alcohol in this place?”

  “There’s a bar in your room,” she says uncertainly.

  “Perfect. See you at seven.” I flash her a smile and then shut the door.

  More guilt pricks at me for being so short with a girl who has nothing to do with any of this, but I can’t bring myself to find politeness in this moment.

  As soon as the door shuts, sealing me in, my mind conjures the image of Juniper dead in the leaves in the backyard.

  Her body was broken beyond repair.

  Her life, lost, for us.

  For fucking nothing.

  A victim to thugs and monsters.

  Because of me.

  Tears blur my eyes. Forgetting the alcohol, I pull out my phone, intending to call Niamh, and find the screen cracked and dark. No amount of pressing the power button revives it. Loneliness slams into me then.

  With my back against the door, I slide down until I’m sitting on the floor. My grief and pain squeeze my heart, and I pull my knees up, pressing my forehead to them as the tears begin to fall.

  Losing my parents was the worst pain I’d ever felt. Until now. My parents’ death was a horrible accident, but Juniper’s is my fault. If not for me, she’d be here now. And I wouldn’t be locked in this damned castle, a world apart from my home.

  Sniffling, I lift my head and bang it lightly against the door. Through the blur of tears, I see a bedroom nicer than any I’ve been in before. The bed is huge with four posts, each with beautifully intricate designs carved into the wood. The mattress is made up with a ridiculous number of pillows and a plush comforter I could sink into.

  On the left, glass doors overlook the night sky. On the right is a cozy sitting area set before a fireplace and, beyond that, a doorway that leads into what I glimpse to be a gleaming bathroom.

  It's disgusting, being here, draped in luxury and comfort when Juniper is gone.

  I have no idea how long I sit like this. Tears fall then dry then fall again.

  I grieve for Juniper, for my parents, for Kendall—for me.

  I cry until my shoulders and ribs ache from the effort and my insides are hollowed out, empty of everything, including a future that is anything less than bleak and lonely.

  Maybe it’s no less than I deserve. Not only did I fail to protect Kendall and Juniper from danger, but I’ve just sealed my fate as a target of the Crimson Roses forever. Even bringing them Legion won’t work. After leaving so many of them dead today, the Crimson Roses will never accept someone else’s death as a replacement for mine. Killing Legion will not earn me and Kendall our freedom. In fact, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do to survive this threat.

  Stay here and hide. I can practically hear Legion saying the words, and my muscles tense with frustration. This is what he wanted all along. To get me here to his world—to his home—and never let me go.

  He’s just won, and he thinks the prize is me. Fuck that. I intend to ruin his victory if it’s the last thing I do.

  Chapter 12

  Legion

  Kendall is pleasant company at dinner, but I cannot ignore Tori’s absence. If not for her younger sister—and my strained sense of decorum—I would have stormed her room the moment she’d failed to appear. Her insult won’t go unpunished. But Kendall’s been through a lot today, and I can see the grief she’s battling.

  Despite her loss, she attempts conversation with me, and I do my best to offer answers. Her manners are, at least, better than her sister’s.

  “How long have you lived here?” she asks while Chaya serves the soup, quiet as a mouse.

  “Four thousand years,” I say.

  She nearly spits out her drink but manages to keep it down. “Seriously?”

  I nearly smile. “Is that shocking?”

  “I mean, it’s a long time.”

  “Are you trying to say I’m old?”

  “Well, you’re not young,” she says, and I chuckle.

  “Some of the residents of this realm are much older than I am.”

  “Is it normal for the people of your realm to live so long?”

  “Tartarus molds its creatures in many ways,” I tell her. “One of them being immortality.”

  “What about me and Tori? If we stay here long enough, will we become immortal too?”

  “It’s likely, yes.” I hesitate, wondering if I should warn her further. “The magic here will change you, though. You should be aware of the choice you’re making by staying.”

  She looks away, her expression flashing with worry I don’t understand. When she looks back at me, I note there’s a forced cheer. “Yeah, I’m aware.”

  “I’m sure word has traveled back in your realm,” I say, thinking about the time the portal magic changed a boy into a Corgi.

  “No, it’s not that.” She lowers her gaze to her plate. “I’ve seen it. Seen myself here in the future. I’ve seen all of us.”

  I almost miss her meaning. But then I remember her gift. The Sight.

  Interesting.

  “What have you seen exactly?”

  “Possible outcomes. Probably futures.”

  “You make it sound like nothing is certain.”

  “Of course not. Free will changes the outcome constantly. I see possibilities.” She glances around the room and adds, “This is one of them.”

  I get the distinct impression that, for everything she’s telling me, there’s a lot more she’s leaving unsaid. “Is it a safe future?” I ask. “For you and your sister.”

  “It’s safer than if we’d stayed in the Crossroads.”

  I don’t need sight to tell me that.

  “And my part in your sister’s curse?”

  She shrugs. “I told you everything I know about it, sorry.”

  I’m not quite sure that’s true, but I decide to save my questions.

  We eat in silence.

  My thoughts drift immediately to my mate again. I can feel her one level above us—hurting. She’s been hurting all afternoon. I can do nothing to stop it. I remind myself I don’t want to stop it, but it’s a useless effort. Not mating her is one thing. But feeling her in pain is like a knife slowly twisting inside me.

  At least, when she was on the other side of the portal, there was a distance to this awareness. Now, she’s here, and I can’t turn it off. My mood darkens as I try to imagine enduring this for the foreseeable future.

  “You’re friendlier when my sister isn’t around.”

  Kendall’s words startle me out of my brooding thoughts. “Is that a compliment or a challenge?”

  She shrugs. “An observation.”

  Her openness prompts an observation of my own. “She doesn’t trust me.”

  “She doesn’t trust anyone.”

  “She trusts you.”

  She snorts. “Yeah, right.”

  Her expression clouds, so I clamp my mouth shut, unsure what I’ve said wrong. Finally, I can’t take it anymore. Setting my fork aside, I push my chair back and stand.

  Kendall looks up. “Are you leaving?”

  She looks stricken, and I glance around for some consolation.

  “I need to check on … something. Chaya will stay until you’re finished.”

  I don’t wait for her answer before heading upstairs.

  Outside of Tori’s room, I force myself to pause and knock.

  “Who is it?” I hear from inside.

  Rather than give her the chance to refuse me, I push the door open and step inside.

  Tori freezes mid-stride, her eyes widening. “What the hell are you doing in here?” she demands.

  She’s wearing a satin robe that ends at mid-thigh, revealing more of her body than I’ve ever seen.

  “What the fuck are you wearing?” I demand.

  “A robe,” she says like I’m the one being ridiculous.

  I stare at the hemline. At the skin it reveals. The soft, touchable, delicious-looking flesh I desperately want to touch⁠—

  “Hello?”

  Her harsh voice snaps me out of my fantasies. I meet her gaze evenly despite every fiber of my being wanting to strip her out of the thing and bury myself inside her.

  “If you didn’t want me to wear it, you shouldn’t have put it in here,” she snaps.

  “I didn’t.”

  Chaya stocks the rooms. I’ve never asked to see the pieces she chooses. I’ve never visited guests in this…state.

  “Hey, asshole.” She snaps her fingers, and I blink, realizing I’m staring again. “This is my room,” she snarls. “You have no right to barge in like this.”

  “I think the words you are looking for are ‘thank you.’”

  “Excuse me?” Her eyes flash with temper. And though she’s infuriating me, I can’t help the thought of taking her like this. Furious, arguing. Watching her come beneath me with fire burning in her gaze.

  “For saving you. And your sister,” I add. If she wants a fight, I’ll give it to her. “You’re welcome.”

  “Actually,” she says sweetly, “you’re close, but I think the words I’m looking for are fuck you.”

  I take a step toward her, vibrating with barely controlled need and temper. “Your mouth is going to get you in trouble.”

  “What are you going to do, kick me out? Please do.”

  I stride toward her, but she backs away, leaning against the balcony doors with wide eyes.

  “You can’t touch me,” she blurts. “I’ll hurt you.”

  Very carefully, I reach around her and click the latch open so that the doors spill outward. She stumbles back a step before catching her balance. Straightening, she glares at me.

  My lips curve in a smile that, judging from her flaring nostrils, only makes her angrier. I don’t move, happy to take all her ire. She wants games, fine. But I will have her in the end.