1

Harper

Murder, that’s why I’ve come here—to commit mass murder. I’ve been accused of insanity before, and I believed it—until that day so long ago when I finally understood I have never been crazy. Everything I remember is true. Another world exists, one parallel to ours but completely alien and separate from everything most humans believe can exist. Craven beings inhabit that world, dangerous and powerful creatures capable of the worst acts imaginable and some acts no human could ever conceive of in the most horrific nightmares.

I don’t need to imagine it. I experienced it all.

And today, I’ve come to their doorstep with one goal: Destroy the Unseen realm.

I sneak around the perimeter of the gravel parking lot, staying low so nobody will notice me. Tourists don’t pay much attention to the woods, anyway. They focus on the corrugated-metal building with the barn-red paint job. A vibrant sign affixed to the side of the building declares it “Rock the Keweenaw, Upper Michigan’s Premier Geology Superstore.”

Rocks and copper flakes? Leave them to the tourists. Knickknacks hold zero interest for me.

The temperate weather has encouraged some of those sightseers to wander into the rock garden behind the building so they can admire the concrete statues of fantastical creatures. I steer away from the garden, away from the well-worn dirt path that winds its way through the woods. I’d scoped this place out online. The website for the shop offered three-sixty views of its interior, but also of the sights outside. Those photos showed me the path that leads to the modest-size waterfall hidden among the trees as well as to the healing vortex.

Sweat dribbles down the back of my neck, though the day isn’t hot. Wearing black leather pants and a black leather jacket makes me heat up faster, but it’s the stealthiest shield against attacks. Leather hides my weapons too.

I slip into the woods, skirting the public trail but keeping a discreet distance from it. The last thing I need is lookie-loos tailing me. I’d hunkered behind a large boulder on the edge of the parking lot for two hours until I saw my opening. The proprietors of the rock shop were giving a presentation about the geology of this area, known as the Keweenaw Peninsula. It’s part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and it does have an interesting history, but none of that matters to me. The fact that the presentation drew most of the tourists into the shop and away from the woods does matter.

I have my opening. My chance to reach the portal to the Unseen.

But first I need a supernatural taxi service—aka an elemental being who will take me through the portal. Piece of cake, right? I mean, so what if I have no idea how to find one of those creatures in these woods.

A woman’s voice shouts, “The show’s about to start! Get inside if you want to see it.”

The last stragglers exit the rock garden and head for the shop’s back door.

I rise a few inches from my half-crouch, spotting a brunette woman at the shop’s back door. She holds the door open for the people rushing down the gentle slope from the rock garden. After everyone walks into the shop, the woman starts to go inside and shut the door but hesitates.

She scans the woods, her gaze sharp, her mouth tight. She rests a hand on her swollen belly as if protecting her unborn child.

I duck down again.

After a moment, the woman shakes her head like she’s wondering what she thought she saw, then she disappears into the shop. The door clanks shut.

No one is outside, at least not in the vicinity of the shop. A visual survey of the woods reveals no obvious activity. I seem to be alone out here.

Perfect.

I skulk deeper into the woods, careful not to step on twigs or anything else that might result in a noise. Since nobody is around, I veer onto the groomed dirt path. It takes me further into the deepening gloom under the canopy of evergreens and hardwoods. The scent of caramel teases my senses. Certain bushes can smell that way, I know. The desert sometimes smells that way too. Here, the culprit is most likely wild blackberry bushes like the ones I’d noticed near the shop.

Up ahead, boulders vaguely shaped like benches form a semicircle around a patch of bare earth. That’s the healing vortex.

A familiar burning sensation creeps across my skin on the back of my shoulder like pins and needles dipped in acid pricking my flesh.

I resist the urge to scratch it and stop beside the vortex, eying the naked ground with curiosity. Yes, I believe empty air can hold the magical power to heal injuries and maybe even resurrect the dead. Sometimes myths are true. I haven’t experienced the healing power myself. If I’d known what a vortex could do thirteen years ago…

Nothing would’ve changed. Kelsey would still have died.

My throat constricts. My eyes burn, but I won’t cry. I haven’t cried since I was fifteen, and I refuse to start again today. I reach down to lay my hand over the dagger sheathed on my thigh, held in place by a scabbard strapped on with leather ties. My other hand drifts to the shoulder holster concealed under my leather jacket, my fingers seeking the cool metal of the handgun. Various pockets and holders conceal the knives I’ve brought with me.

Though I wanted to bring my sword, they kind of frown on bringing swords onto airliners, and it wouldn’t fit in a reasonable size box either. So I’d mailed my smaller weapons and left the rest back home. Since I couldn’t ship a handgun here, I’d bought it after I arrived. The expense was worth it for the extra layer of protection.

Whatever it takes, however many weapons I need to acquire, this time all the monsters will die.

I straighten and march down the path to the waterfall. Its flow cascades over a cliff twenty feet high to splash down in a small pool. It may be small in diameter, but the darkness of its waters hints at its hidden depths. A wooden bridge spans the nearest end of the pool. A natural stone ledge carves a line across the cliff, six feet above the churning, foaming waters.

The dull rumble of the falls drums in my ears.

And those hot needles prick at my back again. I’m close to the portal. The burning sensation proves it.

Rustling originates from behind me.

With my hands on my gun and the dagger, I whirl toward the sound. Knees bent, I survey the woods.

Nothing.

Rustling. Close by. To my right.

I turn slowly in that direction, peering into the shadows between the trees, tiptoeing closer to a large pine.

Behind you.

The instinct warns me too late. I spin around.

And a huge, naked, manlike beast seizes my shoulders.

He licks his lips, then they slide into a lustful smile. “Well, isn’t this interesting? A succulent morsel served up right when I need it most.”

The stranger speaks with a British accent, but he’s not from England. Nope, no way in hell.

Heat radiates off his body. His tanned skin sports a coppery sheen that almost shimmers in the sunlight filtering down through the trees. Tiny flecks of gold, reminiscent of glitter, glisten on his skin. He towers a foot taller than I am, and my five-six isn’t exactly short—in the mortal world. His hair, so dark brown it seems almost black, tumbles down to his shoulders in shiny, lush waves. Maroon streaks shoot through the locks.

But it’s not his hair or his Roman nose that commands my attention.

He is buck naked, and his long, thick penis dangles between his thighs.

Yep, that’s the part of him I can’t stop staring at even while his hot fingers massage my shoulders, and the strangely alluring scent of him envelops me. Maybe I would be more shocked if I were an average human, but I’m nothing close to normal.

“That’s right,” he purrs. “Look your fill, love. You’ll have this inside you soon enough.”

He cups his dick with one hand.

Is he seriously hitting me up for sex? Here in the woods?

Jerking out of his grasp, I stumble backward into the pine tree. I trip over a large root but catch myself and move sideways to get away from the tree. The last thing I need is an impenetrable object barring my path.

The creature follows me, stopping a few feet away.

My gaze roves over him of its own volition. Damn, his body is impressive. Acres and acres of large, defined muscles ripple beneath his coppery skin. I can’t stop my body from getting warm and tingly in places I don’t want to feel this way, even though the sensation is much more pleasurable than the burning prickle I’d felt in my shoulder a moment ago. He might resemble a man in many ways, but he is not human.

I let my focus slide lower, past his outrageously taut abs, and lower still to his groin.

Oh great. He’s getting an erection.

I jerk my gaze up to his face.

He smirks. “Like what you see? Of course you do. Every woman wants what I’ve got.”

This beast is arrogant, aroused, and oversize in every way. Maybe I made a slight error in judgment when I marched out here alone. It’s not like anybody would’ve come with me. I don’t have friends, and my family wrote me off a long time ago.

The creature’s smirk deepens. He tips his head to the side. “You’ve been looking for me.”

I start to deny it but stop. He must be an elemental, one of the beings that live in the Unseen. He looks nothing like the ones I’ve seen before, but nobody of this world looks like he does either. I have been looking for him, kind of. Not him specifically, but his kind.

“Here I am,” he says, spreading his arms wide. “Devour me.”

My brows squish together, tightening the skin above my nose. Devour him? Is this guy serious? He’s not a guy, Harper, remember that. This kind of talk can’t seriously work for him.

I curl my fingers around the grip of my gun. My jacket hides it from this creature’s view.

“Thanks for the offer,” I say, “but I had a big lunch. Too full to devour anything.”

Certainly not his big, stiffening—

I yank my gaze away from his manly parts. Get a grip, woman.

My attention wanders to the waterfall, visible behind him. It must be a portal. The burning sensation has come back, stronger than before, which confirms I am within a stone’s throw of a doorway to the Unseen.

“You can do something for me,” I tell him.

He perks up, his smirk widening into a sensual smile. “What’s your pleasure, dulcissime?”

Though I have no idea what dulcissime means, it doesn’t matter. “Take me to your world.”

“I can take you to another world without leaving this spot.”

“No thanks. Take me to the world you live in.”

He cants his head, studying me. “What other world do you think I come from?”

“The Unseen.”

His full lips flatten into a line. “What do you think you know of my world? Mortals aren’t supposed to notice it exists.”

“I noticed,” I snap. “Take me there right now.”

The creature raises his brows. “Demanding, aren’t you? And what will you do, pretty little mortal, if I decline your request?”

“Bring the pain, that’s what.” I yank my gun out and train it on his chest, where I assume his heart lies. If he has a heart. “I’ll shoot you point blank with jacketed hollow point ammo. You’ll be a big red smear on the grass.”

He glances down at the weapon nudging his chest. One side of his mouth curls up. Keeping his head down, he peeks up at me through his thick, dark lashes. “Do all mortal women like to fire tiny explosive projectiles? I thought it was only Lin—only some of you.”

I whip my dagger out of its sheath and raise it between us. “I’ve got more weapons than you know about. Take me to—”

“No, dulcissime.” He closes his fist around the gun’s barrel. “I don’t appreciate threats of violence, even empty ones.”

“It’s fully loaded, not empty.”

The gun vanishes.

Poof, it’s gone. One second, I’m gripping it. The next, I hold air in my hand. Stunned, I stare at the space where the handgun had been. Sure, I knew beings from the other world could teleport, but I hadn’t realized they could vanish objects too.

They are far more dangerous than I’d ever known.

I thrust the knife at the creature.

He waves his hand. The knife disappears.

“What did you with my weapons?” I demand. “Those cost money, you know.”

“Your concern, not mine.”

“Give me back my gun and knife.”

He fists his hands, then loosens them, gritting his teeth. “Enough of this. I’m taking you nowhere, unless you want to come to my lair for a night of erotic pleasure.”

“I am not having sex with you. And it’s daytime, anyway.”

His lips slide into a dangerously seductive smile. “You’ll be in my bed for the rest of today and all night, well into tomorrow and possibly the next day. No woman ever gets enough of me.”

I snort. “Full of yourself, aren’t you?”

“You’ll be full of me soon enough.”

To hell with this. I’ll go back to the rock shop and wait an hour or so, then come back out here to find someone else who can take me into the Unseen. This creature is insanely obsessed with sex.

I back away from him inch by inch, glancing sideways to make sure I get lined up with the path to the shop. On the count of three, I’ll run for it. One, two—

The beast flies at me. No joke, he flies at me. His hands close around my upper arms, and without slowing his speed one iota, he flies us both into the pine tree.

A belated gasp bursts out of me.

I’m pinned to the tree by his huge, hard body. His head is above mine, and the bulk of him surrounds every inch of me. The strange scent of him overpowers my senses, awakening me in very inappropriate ways. I detect whiffs of mysterious spices and a hint of ash, but it’s the indefinable essence of him that sends a deliciously hot shiver through me and makes my breaths quicken. I can’t place the scent, but it makes me yearn for…him.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no. I cannot be ensorcelled.

He grasps my waist and lifts until my face is level with his. My feet hang suspended several inches above the ground. He sniffs my hair, my cheek, my hair again. Then he dives his face down to my throat and sucks in a deep breath through his nostrils.

“By the gods,” he hisses, “you smell like…everything.”

My lady parts tingle. I want him to—No, I will not finish that thought.

Oh shit, this is bad. So very, very bad. Bespelled by a lunatic? Really girl, is that what you’ve come down to?

After all these years of searching for a way into the Unseen, of encountering various creatures from that world, I’ve succumbed at last. I’ve been ensorcelled, made a slave to this wicked beast who stumbled onto me in these desolate woods.

No, he’d been searching for me.

Which is totally insane. Nobody knew I was coming here.

He growls low in his throat and drags his tongue up my neck, inch by inch, with a leisure that implies he enjoys it way too much. He groans deep in his throat, the sound resonating in his massive chest, an expression of unadulterated hunger.

The heat of his tongue, the dampness of it, makes my breath hitch. But the sensation of his scorching-hot skin plastered to my body sends my pulse into overdrive.

He raises his head.

If I had any breath left, I would gasp. His eyes burn bright red, the rims of his irises shimmering with pure silver. Little red sparks burst inside his pupils like fireworks.

His nostrils flare. His chest heaves.

And his erection is jammed into my belly.

“Calm down,” I say breathlessly. Me, breathless? Never, not for any man. But this creature is not a man, and he’s done something to me. “Set me down, okay? I won’t run.”

“Yes, you will.” His voice has gone rough, and his body is strung as taut as a cable on a suspension bridge.

“No,” I tell him, striving for a calmness my body refuses to grant me. “I will not run. Please put me down.”

He stares at me for several seconds, not blinking, while his eyes begin to churn with shades of red and yellow like a malevolent maelstrom in the ocean. Beyond the brilliant colors lies a dark, fathomless abyss.

“Futuo,” he hisses, and he sets me on my feet, his eyes flaring wide.

I don’t know what that word means, but his tone suggests it’s a nasty curse word.

He stumbles backward a few paces, shakes his head, and jams his hands into his hair. “What the—No, I won’t do it.”

“Do what?”

He straightens and spears me with his swirling gaze. “Stay out of these woods if you know what’s good for you. There are worse things than me lurking out here.”

“But—”

He’s gone before I can finish my sentence. Gone as in poof.

2

Max

I snarl a litany of curses in every language I know—Latin, Greek, Spanish, Italian, French, every variety of English from Old to Middle to the modern version, plus a few tongues known only to denizens of the Unseen realm. I’d said “futuo” in front of that vexing female, though I doubt she knows the Latin word means “fuck.” I had been about to do whatever it took, even force myself on that pretty little mortal, to gorge on her sexual energy. A rapist? Is that what I’ve become? Have I really sunk to the lowest level of filth known to the multiverse?

The delectable little mortal has no idea how close I came to defiling her, with or without her permission.

Bloody hell, I’ve turned into a demon. A monster. The thing humans check under their beds for at night.

I slam my fist into the nearest tree, punching a hole straight through it.

The aspen teeters for a moment and then crashes to the ground. Its weight takes down three smaller, surrounding trees.

“Not one for being surreptitious, are you?”

I groan as I turn toward the being who spoke. “Bugger off, Janus. I’m not in the mood for your high-and-mighty banter.”

The god Janus aims his gold eyes at me—genuine gold, not a golden color. His eyes are bizarre even to a long-time resident of the Unseen like me. They glimmer like solid, polished gold even while they spin like molten metal. On top of that, he wears a white toga with a shiny gold belt around his waist and gold torques around his biceps.

He is a freak.

Not a half-bad bloke, but a freak. And bloody annoying at times.

Janus glances at the tree I demolished. “Are you practicing for a fight with a gnome? Or do you simply revile trees?”

“Even I’m not daft enough to fight a gnome for the fun of it.”

Despite their fanciful depictions in mortal popular culture, gnomes are neither small nor harmless. They’re enormous beasts who can cause earthquakes by stamping their feet. I battled them once, but not for pleasure. I did it for the only mortal who has ever made me feel like I’m not a monster.

I flap my hand at Janus. “Didn’t I say bugger off? Haunt another portal and leave this one to me.”

The god folds his arms over his chest. “You may have free rein to come and go from the mortal realm as you please, but that does not give you leave to destroy this world.”

“Not destroying it.” Not on purpose. I punch a hand into my hair instead of into another tree. “I’ve had a strange experience, that’s all. Nothing I can’t handle on my own.”

“Your urges are growing stronger, aren’t they? You knew this would happen if you continued refusing to feed.”

“I’m not discussing this with you.”

Or anyone. I’m an incubus, but that doesn’t mean I have to like talking about what that entails. Feeding on sexual energy? Not the sort of thing a gent wants to discuss with anyone except his lovers. Since I have no lovers, not lately, that means I am not talking about my sexual needs.

Certainly not with Janus.

“Piss off,” I tell him. “And stop acting like you know everything about everything. You might be a god, but until a few months ago, you were powerless and stuck in limbo. Your godly friends hated you so much they destroyed you, remember? So I don’t think I’ll be taking advice from you.”

Janus has regained his powers, and maybe I should fear what he might do if I annoy him too much, but I don’t. Let him destroy me or smite me or whatever gods do to lesser beings. I deserve it.

“As you wish,” Janus says with a sigh. “We will not discuss your problem, even though you nearly ravaged a mortal today.”

I grind my teeth. “What are you talking about?”

“What else? I refer to what transpired moments ago between you and that lovely human female.”

“Are you spying on me?”

“No, but you were near a portal when it happened and thus within my domain. I sensed a disturbance and employed my vast powers to check on it.”

So that’s why he tracked me down. To make sure I’m not losing my mind.

Maybe I am. A little bit. Nothing I can’t handle.

Bloody liar.

Naturally, the god-arse has made sure to remind me of his “vast powers.”

“The mortal has left the vicinity,” he says. “But you have another problem.”

I groan. “What now?”

“She is looking for you again.”

His words strike me like a physical blow. I don’t need to ask of whom he’s speaking. Only one “she” would bother to hunt me down.

“She’s a goddess,” Janus says. “You cannot avoid her forever. And this time, she seems to be far more determined to find you.” He shakes his head. “You are her favorite toy. What did you do to engender such infatuation?”

“Nothing. The bird is insane.”

Janus surveys the woods. “I do not understand why so many elementals choose to inhabit the forests of the mortal world.”

“Because we can.”

I’ve had enough of this conversation. Amid a burst of flames, I shift into my alternate form. The god becomes a giant from my viewpoint nearer to the ground.

Janus bends over to peer at me. “Yes, tiny salamander, scamper off to your former mistress. It is where you always go when you are avoiding the goddess.”

Lindsey is my friend, you tosser. I can’t speak the words since I have no vocal cords in this form. Salamanders in either world can’t talk.

“I will be watching you,” Janus says.

He vanishes.

And I… Well, I do scamper away. With tiny salamander legs, it’s all I can do. Teleporting in this form is much more difficult, and it gave me a pounding headache every time I’ve tried. Being tiny and adorable has its perks, though. Women love it. They pick me up and pet me, murmuring sweet words to me, not realizing I’m as randy as a demonic goat and looking for a chance to seduce them.

Once I get well away from the irritating god, I revert to humanoid form and whisk myself straight to the shop, though I hang back just inside the rear door in the shadows.

Lindsey stands behind the sales counter chatting with a customer.

I still haven’t gotten used to thinking of her as Lindsey O’Roarke instead of Lindsey Porter. Her husband is a former elemental, the onetime king of the sylphs, who adopted a full name and fabricated personal history when he became a mundane human. Lindsey was the Janusite and sort of babysat Janus’s powers for a while until the Four Winds decided he’d earned a second chance. These days, Lindsey is a mere mortal again and very pregnant.

The summer heat swelters, making the mortals sweat, but I notice it as nothing more than an annoyance.

A mosquito whines near my ear.

I swat it away, throwing out a minuscule burst of flame to roast that little beggar. Insects are one of the most irritating things about this world. The most bothersome aspect of popping into the mortal realm is, without doubt, the need to wear clothing. I glance down at the ensemble I’ve selected, charcoal slacks and a green T-shirt. But gods, the shoes. They’re torture devices for certain. I chose gray socks and a pair of loafers. Why in the hell do humans call things that constrain their feet “loafers” as if they’re relaxing and enjoyable to wear?

Lindsey’s customer departs. She turns her attention to a stack of mail, tossing most of it in the rubbish bin. When she comes across a catalog, she starts flipping through it but pauses to scrutinize one page.

Resisting the urge to rip the blasted loafers off my feet, I amble up to the counter. “Good morning, mistress.”

Her head pops up, and a brilliant smile lights up her face. “Maxie, where have you been? We haven’t seen you in over a week.” She wags a finger at me. “You missed family dinner night.”

I resist the urge to grimace. If any other elemental finds out I attend a thing called “family dinner night” here in the mortal realm, if they realize I consort with puny mortals at all, I’ll never hear the end of it. Everyone knows Janus visits Lindsey and her family, but no one dares to criticize a god, especially one who was destroyed and resurrected at the whim of the Four Winds.

I lean against the tall counter, one arm braced on it. “You’re not the Janusite anymore, and I’m not your familiar, but you still order me about like your salamander slave.”

“And you still call me ‘mistress’ even though I never liked being called that.” She blows out a breath that flutters her chestnut bangs, then flaps her hand in her face. “Damn bugs.”

“Don’t curse in front of the baby.” I glance at her swollen belly and wonder what childbirth is like these days. When I’d been a mortal in the Roman empire, childbirth was not safe or pleasant for the woman.

Lindsey rolls her pale-blue eyes at me. “Honestly, Max, the baby doesn’t know I’m swearing. But it’s cute that you care about his well-being.”

“His? How do you know it’s a boy?”

“A new-fangled invention known as ultrasound. I’ll show you the picture later.” She points her finger at me again. “You are coming to dinner tonight.”

“Yes, oh wise mistress, I shall attend.” I study her for a moment, and something occurs to me. “Didn’t you sense me approaching? You have that—what did Janus call it?—an innate instinct that alerts you to the presence of elementals.”

“I think pregnancy hormones are messing with my mojo.”

Mentioning Janus makes me remember what he said earlier. He warned me the goddess herself is after me. Hathor always gets what she wants in the end. I evaded her for a long time, thanks to the fact a sorcerer had enslaved me and hidden me from everyone else’s detection. The Janusite-familiar bond protected me after that, but not anymore. I no longer have any sort of protection against Hathor. If she wants me, she will get me.

But I don’t have to make it easy for her.

Lindsey picks up the catalog, biting her upper lip while she examines the pictures on the page that had captured her attention earlier.

Slanting over the counter, I peer at the page. “What’s so fascinating about rocks? They’re pieces of compacted dirt.”

“Not all of them. Some are created in other ways, like volcanic glass.” She squints at the catalog page. “This is some kind of black rock with pretty, iridescent colors in it. It’s expensive, but I might buy one anyway to use as a display item only, for the tourists.” She skims her thumb over the picture. “Feel like I should buy it. What do you think?”

“Yes, whatever.” Who cares about a pretty rock? Lindsey does, naturally. It’s her job to care about chunks of hardened dirt and volcanic glass.

She puts down the catalog and settles her hand on my arm. “What’s wrong, Maxie?”

I groan. “Don’t call me that. It’s embarrassing.”

“Don’t be grumpy, and that’s an order.” She squeezes my arm. “Are you still worried you don’t deserve love? You do, sweetie, trust me. Your fated mate is out there somewhere.”

“Lindsey, for pity’s sake.” I groan again. How am I meant to refrain from groaning when she insists on calling me emasculating pet names? And she brought up the subject I dearly wish I had never mentioned to her. I push away from the counter, shoving my hands into the pockets of these awful trousers. “That bollocks about fated mates is…well, bollocks. It must be. Why in the name of Jupiter would the Oversoul want to force a female to love me?”

She clasps her hands on the counter and gives me a motherly smile. “Oh Maxie, any woman would be lucky to be your mate. You’re the sweetest, kindest, bravest, most loyal companion anyone could have. I’m grateful to have you as my friend.”

“Kind? Sweet?” I growl, which makes her snicker. “Why don’t you slice off my genitals and have done with it?”

She laughs a bit more, her blue eyes sparkling. “Your girl is out there somewhere. I know you’re going to find her, and maybe she’s the one who can convince you that you’re not a depraved monster.”

“Of course I am.” I lean in, giving her my wickedest incubus grin. “I’m a sex demon, remember?”

Her brows raise gradually. Her eyes widen a hair.

Then she bursts out laughing. “Max, you are so silly.”

Why do I spend time with this woman? She makes me feel like an errant child. But it’s no mystery why I love her—as a friend. She saved me from the sorcerer’s enslavement and gave me a purpose in life. Best of all, or maybe worst of all, she showed me what the term humanity truly means. Lindsey risked everything to save both worlds, not once, but three times. Her husband Nevan died during the last battle, and despite having the power to rewind time and change it, she let his death stand because altering the past posed too dire a risk to the greater good. The Four Winds sent Nevan back to her, but she hadn’t known they would. She made the most gut-wrenching sacrifice out of a pure, unselfish desire to save two worlds.

Can I ever hope to be as good a person as Lindsey?

No, I can’t. I’ve done terrible things for which I had no excuse and certainly no altruistic motives.

I say goodbye to Lindsey—she hugs me, naturally, and kisses me on the cheek—then I return to the falls. Normally, I leap over the wooden railing and onto the rock ledge to exit this world via the portal behind the rumbling cascade. But now, I stand motionless at the railing. My gaze becomes fixated on the tumbling, swirling waters below me. Through the foam that drifts across the pool’s surface, I imagine I see a familiar face. Golden-red hair. Eyes as blue as lapis lazuli. Silky-soft skin as pale as porcelain but with a faint, natural blush on her cheeks.

Aurelia.

I squeeze my eyes shut. My fingers clench the railing. She isn’t in the water. She isn’t anywhere. Aurelia no longer exists. Because of me.

Thwack.

A sharp object slams into my back. Pain ricochets through me, hot and sharp and fierce. The force of the impact propels me forward. I stumble into the railing, shattering it, and tumble headfirst into the churning waters.

Stunned, I stare up at the face of the person who has sprinted to the broken section of railing. Golden-red hair. Lapis-blue eyes. Pale skin. The face glaring down at me, I recognize it.

No, it’s not Aurelia. It’s the well-armed mortal who wielded a gun and a dagger at me, and who made my lust flare up like never before. When I recover from the pain, she will suffer for this.

A ribbon of blood-red unfurls from my body as I sink down, down, down.

Fortunately, I’m not that easy to kill.