He arched a single eyebrow at me. “With logic?”

“Exactly.”

He gave me a funny look.

“What?”

“Harker was right about you,” he said. “You are different. Special. There’s an energy about you. I can’t explain it.”

There wasn’t anything to explain—or anything special about me, just my stubborn will to save my brother and to protect those I loved.

“What are you going to do?” I asked quietly. “About me?”

“You mean, am I going to report you and tell the Legion what your brother is?”

I nodded mutely.

“Obviously you don’t know me very well.”

I looked down at Harker. “I didn’t know him very well.”

“I am not Harker,” Nero said, setting his hands on my shoulders. “I told you everyone joins the Legion for a reason. His was power. And the need for order. He wanted to be an angel. And he couldn’t say no to a god’s command.”

“And you?”

Nero grunted. “I already am an angel. And I say no to commands far too often for my own good. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you.” I set my hands over his, squeezing them in appreciation. “I don’t know how long this will last. One of the gods already knows about Zane. How long before he tells the others?”

“He won’t. The gods play their power games with one another as much as they do with the demons. They are always trying to get the upper hand over the others. This god, whoever he is, obviously wants to use your brother as a weapon, to strengthen his position against the others.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Because if all the gods knew, they would already be looking for your brother. And you wouldn’t be standing here.”

“I’d be tied up, being tortured for information.”

“Yes.”

I laughed. It was a hard laugh, full of sorrow and desperation. Not that I was taken aback by his bluntness. I guess I’d gotten used to it. I’d even started to appreciate it. Not that I was going to admit that to Nero. There was no need to issue him an open invitation to torture me.

“If the gods don’t have Zane—and the demons don’t have him—then who does?” I asked Nero.

“I don’t know,” he said, frowning. “But we are going to find out.”

22

The Promise

While Nero brought Harker to wherever misbehaving soldiers of the Legion ended up, I went back to my dormitory to check on Ivy. She was sitting with Drake on her bed, but she jumped up as soon as I entered the room.

“I heard you nearly got killed. I’m so glad you’re all right.” She hugged me. “What happened?”

I sat down on her bed, patting the mattress to invite her to do the same. Then I told her and Drake about what had happened with Rose and the vampires tonight. Ivy cried, then fumed, then she cried some more. Finally, she threw her arms around me and hugged me like a sister.

“I’m sorry,” I said, my eyes wet, my mouth dry. “I shouldn’t have brought Harker there. This is my fault.”

“I don’t blame you for my mother’s death.” Her eyes narrowed. “I blame him. I know that’s stupid. She was spearheading a revolution against the gods. She did terrible things. And yet…”

“You still love her,” I said.

“Yeah. I do.” She hugged her knees and rocked back and forth. “Isn’t that crazy?”

“Love is crazy. It’s not rational at all.”

“Yeah.” She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. “Speaking of me being irrational, where is that Harker? I know he was just doing his job, but I really need to go kick his ass.”

“He says he killed her out of mercy. He says they would have tortured her.”

Ivy sniffled.

“And Harker isn’t here,” I said quietly.

Drake met my eyes. “What happened?”

“Nero is bringing him before the High Angels.”

“For killing my mother?” Ivy asked, blinking in confusion.

“No, for giving me a vial of pure Nectar.”

“The food of the gods,” Drake gasped. “Where did he get it?”

“And why did he give it to you?” Ivy asked.

“It’s a long story,” I said.

She took my hand. “I love long stories.”

“Especially with happy endings,” Drake added, taking my other hand.

“The ending remains to be seen,” I said, then looked toward the door.

A gentle tug at the periphery of my senses had told me Nero was standing in our open doorway, and there he was. If only that little trick could always work, then he’d never be able to sneak up on me.

“Leda,” he said.

“This must be serious if he’s not calling me Pandora,” I told my friends.

The statement clearly didn’t amuse Nero as much as it had them. His face remained inscrutable. “I wish to speak to you.”

I glanced at Ivy.

“Go,” she said, waving me away.

“Are you sure?”

Her eyes flickered to Drake, and I understood. She wanted to be alone with him, to let him comfort her. So I got up and followed Nero into the hall. We walked side-by-side in silence until we reached his apartment. Even larger than Harker’s, its white marble floors shone like ice. A large leather sofa sat opposite a television that covered most of the wall. It was all very nice, very posh even—but none of it felt lived in. This might have been where he slept, but it wasn’t his home. I wondered where that special place was for him.