I have no idea how it’s possible or why it’s only happening now, but I cling to it like a lifeline. Her presence is a beacon in the darkness.

  “The vow has been taken.” Maricha pushes to her feet and makes her way down the steps toward me. Uziah follows, his confusion turning to concern. “There is no refusing me now,” she adds.

  I plant my feet, determined to stand as long as my free will lasts. “I have just done so, and there is no pain, no leash. No dark magic putting me in my place.”

  I watch her outrage build, her eyes widening as she stops before me. “Impossible,” she breathes. “There is nothing more powerful than the blood oath.”

  Uziah glances from her to me, thoughtful. “There may be one thing,” he says quietly.

  They exchange a look, and I see the moment the truth dawns on Maricha.

  “I will end her,” my mother screeches, whirling and heading for the door that leads to the dungeon where they’ve put Tori.

  Fear grips me.

  “You kill her and you will never have my cooperation,” I call out.

  Maricha looks back at me. “And if I allow her to live?”

  There’s no offer of mercy in her words. Only manipulation. And I’m not naïve enough to think she won’t still attempt to kill Tori in the end, no matter what we agree to in this moment.

  “You will take me to her now. Give me one night with her. In the morning, I will carry out all your plans willingly. That is my offer and, frankly, your only choice if you want to use me for this destruction.”

  Maricha is silent as she thinks it over.

  Uziah looks at her, and when she glances at him, he shrugs. “Works for me. It’s not like he can touch her anyway.”

  Maricha looks back at me, clearly unconvinced. “You expect me to rely on nothing but your honor?”

  I shake my head at her. “You can’t comprehend it because you have no honor of your own. But if that’s not enough, I will let you carve one of your symbols into my skin. Use it to command me whatever you wish from now until dawn.”

  Maricha’s eyes gleam. Her runes are powerful, but they are temporary thanks to supernatural healing. If they lasted, she might have preferred them over the blood vow as they are much more twisted in their compulsions. Offering her this is something she won’t refuse.

  “Whatever I wish?” Her lips curve, and I know she’s going to agree. “All right. One single night together with my mark.” She takes out her knife, its curved tip catching the light so it gleams with dark promises. “Come. Let us begin.”

  Chapter 39

  Tori

  Ihover between sleep and awake for what feels like hours though it could have been minutes or days. Time has no meaning in this place, not with my thoughts darkening toward defeat. I strain to hear some sign of life outside my cell, but the walls mute everything. Either that, or they’ve abandoned me, and I’m dying a slow, lonely death.

  The clang of the outer door opening jerks me fully awake. With shallow breaths, I stir, straining to make out the figures entering the cavern. The pain of Maricha’s marking has begun to ease some, so I sit straighter, leaning forward with a grunt.

  I see guards first. Crimson Roses if I had to guess, and sure enough, when they step closer to the iron bars, I see the tattoos marking them as such. Maricha comes next, the hatred burning in her gaze making my stomach clench. Unbidden, my eyes dart to her hands and then her clothes, searching for those twisted knives she likes so much.

  Maybe she’s back to carve into me some more. The thought has me tensing and bracing for a fight. But then Maricha moves aside, and I see a face so familiar and welcome that I ache at the sight of him.

  “Legion,” I say, disbelief mingling with relief.

  He watches me with a tight expression, a storm roiling in his eyes as he takes me in. My heart lurches, everything in me reaching for him.

  “Open the door,” Maricha orders, holding out a key she produces from her own pocket. One of the guards steps forward to unlock my cell.

  I have no idea what’s happening, but Legion’s calmness steadies me. Still, I manage to climb to my feet, gritting my teeth against the discomfort of my stiff limbs being forced to move again. The symbol carved into my middle protests, but I ignore it, eyes locked on my mate.

  As soon as the door swings open, he steps into my cell.

  My eyes widen as Maricha nods at the guard and he swings the door shut, locking it and handing the key back to Legion’s mother.

  “What’s going on?” I ask.

  “We’re roommates,” Legion says as if we’re not both being locked in a dungeon. As if we’re sharing an apartment rather than a prison cell.

  “Remember your vow,” Maricha warns him.

  “Remember yours,” he growls at her.

  “What vow?” I ask.

  “We’re spending the night together,” Legion tells me.

  “And tomorrow, you will conquer the realm in my name,” Maricha reminds him.

  “Our name,” Uziah adds.

  “Conquer which realm?” I ask warily. And why was she giving Legion a gift like this?

  “Yours,” Legion says after a beat.

  I stare at him, realizing he’s serious. The entire Earth realm? Is that possible?

  “In the meantime, enjoy your evening,” Maricha says, clearly not interested in catching me up on her plans. Her eyes gleam with a sick enjoyment. “If you can.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Maricha utters words I don’t understand. My body tenses, and I wait for the symbol carved into my body to reignite. But the pain never comes.

  Legion grunts, gritting his teeth, and I realize he’s the one being affected by her words.

  “What did you do to him?” I demand, taking a step toward him.

  That’s when I notice his shirt is plastered to his chest with a wetness that sticks to his skin and stains the fabric from the inside out. Dark, almost black wetness.

  Blood.

  She’s carved into him too.

  “Only what he agreed to,” Maricha says with obvious glee. She waits until Legion raises his tortured gaze to hers. Then she says, “Here is my command, death dragon. Kill her.”

  I gasp, but the sound is drowned out by Legion’s snarl. He takes a step toward the bars, and Maricha flinches before catching herself.

  “We had an agreement,” he roars.

  “I agreed to let you spend the night with her,” Maricha says. “I never agreed that she’d be alive while you do it.” She flashes a smug smile. “You are so sure you’re able to defy my orders, prove it.”

  “Legion,” I say as his gaze swings to me with a jerky motion. His gaze is darkening by the second, his eyes swirling with the storm that always comes before he attacks something.

  “I am part of you,” I tell him softly. “Remember who I am to you. Your mate. Your heart.” I nearly choke on the last word, hoping like hell that it’s true. “You can’t kill your own heart.”

  “Stop wasting time.” Maricha’s words are cold and cruel, but it’s the blank, obedient look in Legion’s eyes that sucks the air from my lungs. He comes toward me, and I back away, shrinking into the shadows of my cell. For all the good it will do.

  If Legion carries out her vicious order, there’s nothing I can do to stop him.

  “You kill her and you lose your leverage tomorrow.” Uziah’s voice comes from behind the wall that is Legion. I can’t see him or Maricha around the broad shoulders and large body of my mate, but Maricha makes a sound of frustration, followed by a long pause where all I hear is my own erratic heartbeat as Legion closes the distance with death in his eyes.

  “On second thought,” Maricha says thoughtfully. “Don’t kill her yet.” Her command stops Legion in his tracks, and I exhale so heavily that my head swims.

  I step aside, no longer cornered by him.

  Maricha comes into view again in time for her to say, “Treat her as your enemy from now until dawn.” The smile she aims my way is full of victory.

  Legion glares at me with hands clenched into fists. Every muscle in him remains coiled and ready to fight me, but he doesn’t move closer. Maricha’s words are a blow to my heart. She has preserved my life but only so she can dangle Legion in front of me without ever letting me have him.

  “And rest,” Maricha adds, the word ringing out as a clear command. “Tomorrow, you fulfill your birthright.”

  Satisfied, Maricha nods at the guards, and they retreat along with Uziah, who trails behind them. I listen as their footsteps disappear down the hall and the cavern doors clank closed. Then there is only silence. And Legion, assessing me as if I’m the snake coiled to strike.

  “Legion,” I say quietly.

  “Stop.” He pauses, ears trained and listening.

  A beat passes then two.

  The silence stretches between us.

  Finally, he lets out a breath and says, “Come here, little assassin. I need to hold you.”

  I’m too stunned to comply, but he closes the distance and pulls me into his arms. His warm breath is on my neck, my cheek—then his mouth finds mine, and I let out a sound of relief. Of need.

  His tongue crashes against mine. His grip on my body tightens. There’s nothing gentle or reassuring about the way he touches me, but I don’t need either one.

  I need Legion, exactly as he is. Exactly as he’s always been.

  Fierce, deliberate, mine.

  I kiss him back like I’m drowning, and for a long moment, that’s how I feel, sucked under by a current pulling us both along toward some end I can’t see coming.

  When he finally eases back enough to let me breathe, I gasp, clinging to him, staring at him as if I could memorize this moment. “How?” I whisper. “She said⁠—”

  “She said to treat you like my enemy.” His grin is deliciously deviant. “And this is how I’ve treated you as my enemy since the moment we met.”

  I laugh, my relief turning to joy and escaping my body into the cold, dampness surrounding us. “Hells, you’re right. She has no idea what she just said.”

  “None.” His grin dims, and his gaze cools. “If her first order had stood, I might have killed you.”

  “No, you wouldn’t,” I assure him.

  But we both know he’s probably right.

  “How are you doing with all this? With her? And…him?”

  “I am better now,” he says quietly. “I needed to see that you’re safe.”

  “I’m okay,” I assure him. “But this symbol blocks my magic. Otherwise, I would have used whatever roots lie outside these stone walls to tear this place to the ground.”

  “Hmm, maybe dial that back until we’re both out of here.”

  I grin. “I’ll do my best.” My smile fades quickly as I say, “I’m sorry your parents are assholes.”

  He grunts, amusement flashing across his face before being replaced by somber shadows. “I should have killed her on that mountain.” He looks at me, his palm cupping my cheek. “I’ll fix that problem soon if it’s the last thing I do.”

  “Don’t talk like that,” I tell him.

  “I resisted her order for me to fight for her tonight,” he says. “The blood vow didn’t work. It’s why she made the bargain to let me see you.”

  My eyes widen. “Does that mean the vow is broken?”

  “Not broken. But… the call toward you was strong enough to let me resist.”

  “That’s great news. Right?”

  He sighs. “It wouldn’t have lasted. I could feel the blood calling to me. My resolve would have crumbled eventually. I managed to get down here before that happened, but… it’s not exactly a long-term solution. Besides, it ended with her carving into me, and I wouldn’t have resisted that order.”

  I bite my lip, knowing he’s right. We have the stolen moments she’s given us, and that’s all. For a fleeting moment, I wonder if she knows about the loophole in her words or that the curse is broken between us. I wonder if she did this on purpose, knowing one night in Legion’s arms is going to make watching him go that much more painful.

  “Do you think she knows I can touch you?” I ask.

  “No.” He sounds certain. “She would kill you if she knew.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it would mean we would be free to do this.”

  He strokes my cheek again, and the answer slams into me. My chest expands with my sharp inhale of breath. I study Legion, my heart pounding, as I consider it. As I consider whether he’d ever agree to giving himself over yet again.

  “What is it?” he asks, studying me intently.

  “Claim me.”

  “What?”

  “Claim me as your mate. Bind yourself to me. It’s the only way to break their hold over you.”

  “Tori.”

  The sting of rejection burns my eyes and squeezes my heart. “If you want me to, I’ll release you,” I whisper. “When it’s over, I’ll reject you. You can be free.”

  “Tori,” he says again, his voice rough. “If I claim you, that will no longer make you my enemy.”

  I frown, realizing what he means, what he’s afraid of. “You think her first order will return. That you’ll try to kill me.”

  He snorts, a wry smile quirking his mouth. “Not just try.”

  I smirk back, enjoying the banter even if it only lightens the mood for a moment. “You underestimate me, death dragon. As usual.”

  He grins, but it fades quickly. “I don’t want to risk you.”

  “Tomorrow, you will be forced to carry out her orders. And there will be no stopping them. You will never be free. We have to risk it.”

  His expression tightens, and I can see a refusal in his eyes. Instead of letting him utter it, I grab him and kiss him, pouring everything into it. Every drop of emotion and feeling I’ve held back. Every ounce of my want and my need. All of my trust, finally freely given.

  “Legion,” I whisper against his mouth. “I love you.”

  His answering growl sends a shiver of pleasure through me. His hands grip my hips as he lifts me against him. I wrap my legs around his waist as he crashes his mouth to mine, walking us back until I hit the wall. His hard length presses against my core. I grind myself against it, already breathless and desperate for him.

  The symbol etched into my skin burns with each movement, but I don’t care. The mate bond has never felt this strong before, nor has my desire for the dragon standing before me.

  When we met, this kind of vulnerability would have terrified me. But for once, I don’t try to hide how badly I need him.

  I let him see—and feel—it all.

  In answer, Legion’s desire is an awareness that blots out everything else. Suddenly, his hands are everywhere at once. Cupping my cheek, tangling in my hair, gripping my throat as he tips my head back and trails kisses down to my collarbone. I let my eyes flutter closed in pleasure, but he grabs my face, pulling my gaze down until we’re eye to eye.

  “Keep your eyes open, little assassin. I don’t want to miss a single moment of your pleasure.”

  I obey, holding his gaze as his hand drops to the hem of my shirt. He peels it off me then does the same with my bra. He reaches for me, cupping one of my breasts with his rough hand and sucking the other into his mouth.

  A wave of pleasure rises, and I grip his shirt, needing to feel his skin against mine. He winces, and I suddenly remember the bloody carving on his chest.

  “Sorry,” I breathe.

  He grunts, and I release his shirt, resolving to be gentler. Before I can tell him to leave it on, he leans away and peels the fabric over his head, tossing it aside.

  “Don’t apologize for touching me,” he says.

  Then, he reclaims me with his mouth, sucking one of my nipples between his lips until I gasp. His hands are at my hips then wrapping around to palm my ass.

  I am lost to the sensations of him touching me. Whatever I imagined, the reality is so, so much better. My nerves are sensitive, my body aching and craving more even while he sends me higher.

  “Legion,” I whisper.

  “Feeling impatient, little assassin?”

  “Yes.” The word is a plea, and he answers by slipping his hand into the waist of my pants and sliding his fingers into my already wet panties.

  I rock my hips to meet him, and he leans in, chuckling darkly against my ear. “I’m here to please you, but that doesn’t mean I plan to give in to your demands. You’re my enemy, remember?”

  His words are a challenge that makes me want to fight with him almost as much as I want to come for him. Clearly, he wants to do both—and for some reason, it only turns me on more.

  I open my mouth to blast him with a snarky response when he slides a finger deep inside me. My words are stolen as he pushes his finger slowly in and out of me. Then two fingers. His thumb brushes over my clit, drawing a sound of approval from my lips.

  I wrap my arms around his neck, holding tight as he sets an excruciating pace of delicious pleasure.

  “Yes, just like that, little assassin. Don’t let go of me.” He presses his forehead to mine, increasing the rhythm ever so slightly as I rock my hips to meet him.

  My pleasure builds, and his mouth finds mine as I come apart.

  When my shuddering cries quiet, he pulls away from me, and I hate how much of a loss it is. But then he’s lowering me to the floor and pulling my pants off. Then he reaches for my panties. There’s a ripping sound as he loses patience and tears them free.

  I look up at him looming over me in the dimness, his broad shoulders and muscled torso blotting out everything else in this cold cell. My eyes catch on the bloodied symbol Maricha carved into his skin.

  I reach for it with tender, careful hands, tracing lightly near the slash marks. Legion hisses, and I stop.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “Nothing about this moment hurts, love.”

  He stands, shucking off his pants, and I drink in the sight of him naked and erect. Even wounded, he’s breathtakingly beautiful. His dark eyes glitter as he lowers himself over me.