“You are best friends,” I reminded them. “You do not want to kill each other. And especially not over who drugged me first or more or whatever. I am a big girl, and I can take care of myself. And I will take care of the two of you if you don’t stand down this instant.”

Nero snorted. “She actually believes she could take us both on,” he told Harker.

“Of course she does.” Harker grinned. “She’s optimistic.”

“Delusional rather.”

“That too.”

They chuckled at my expense, but at least they were lowering their fists. I watched them exchange a silent glance, then walk off together toward the exit.

“You two aren’t going off to kill each other, are you?” I called out after them.

“Go home, Pandora,” Nero called back, a hint of amusement touching his tone. “Tomorrow morning training starts anew.”

Oh goody.

15

The Wicked Wilds

When I woke up the next morning, Ivy was just coming into the dormitory, still dressed in her minidress.

“Did you stay up all night?” I asked her, noting her tired eyes and the slightly ruffled state of her dress.

“Well, not all night.” She tossed her purse onto the dresser. “But close enough. After that little show at Heaven, I went with a few guys to another club.”

The look she gave me invited me to expand on the incident with Harker and Nero, but I wasn’t up to the invitation today.

Ivy sighed. “Today is going to be hell,” she declared as she changed into her sports clothes.

“Like all days here.”

Dressed for another day of torture, we headed down to the canteen. Demeter was packed this morning, and the sun hadn’t even risen yet. We piled carbohydrates onto our food trays, then went to sit down.

For the first five minutes, Ivy watched me show my stack of pancakes who was boss. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she always caught herself at the last second. Finally, she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“I saw what happened at Heaven last night,” she told me.

Her eyes flickered to Nero and Harker, who were sitting at their special table with all the other special snowflakes of the Legion. From the way that they weren’t trying to kill each other, I figured they were back on friendly terms.

Ivy grinned at me. “Nero and Harker fought over you.”

“That is not what happened.”

Ivy lifted her fork, pointing it at me. “Darling, that is exactly what happened.”

“They were drugged.”

She snorted. “Mr. Regulation was high?”

“I saw it in his eyes. And Harker was too.” I poked my fruit salad so I wouldn’t have to meet her knowing smile.

“You know, the drugs just brought out their baser instincts,” Ivy told me. “Harker isn’t hiding his intentions, but Nero tries to, though anyone can see he has the hots for you.”

“He left me at the bar to talk to Captain Somerset.”

“Yeah, to talk about mission reports, I hear. How romantic.” She twirled her fork around in the air. “Besides, she prefers ladies to men.”

“How can you possibly know this?”

“I talk to people. Peoples’ tongues get real loose under the influence of Nectar.”

“How many tongues did you loosen last night?” I asked her.

“More than a few.”

“You got pretty loose yourself,” I teased her.

“I needed to unwind too,” she said, winking. “All the Legion soldiers are drinking Nectar during their off time.”

“I see. So the Legion of Angels is a legion of drug addicts.”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with their job, the gods don’t care. In fact, they encourage it. They know their soldiers need to unwind. Someone needs to tell your boy Nero that. He is always so tense. Except last night. I wonder how many drops he had to take before he loosened up enough to punch Harker.”

I sighed.

“Those drops were heaven,” Ivy said, a dreamy expression washing over her face.

Not as heavenly as Nero’s blood. No, I couldn’t think about that, about that knee-melting, ecstasy-inducing experience that was drinking his blood. I dug my fingernails into my palms and clung to denial for dear life.

“So, which one do you like?” Ivy asked me.

“I’m trying not to think.”

Ivy nodded. “Going with your heart then.”

That’s not what I’d meant. I was just trying not to think about the whole situation. I couldn’t be with either one of them anyway. I was pretty sure the Legion had rules about dating your superiors. They had rules for everything. And besides, I had bigger things to worry about. Like Zane. I had to focus on Zane. Not on playing footsie with the major and the colonel.

We finished our breakfast, then headed to the gym. When we got there, Nero was standing with Harker and Captain Somerset. All three were wearing their leather suits. That meant trouble.

“Field trip today,” Harker declared cheerfully.

Nero was more subdued. “We’re breaking you into three teams. Each team will infiltrate a hideout at a different location we believe rogue vampires to be hiding. It’s day, so they should be sleeping and weaker. This mission shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

Nero’s reality meter was way out of whack if he thought bursting into a fortress of angry, self-deprived vampires was ‘no problem’. I didn’t say anything, though. Trying to reason with Nero was like talking to a wall—except the wall was less stubborn.