of pliable was laughable. And anyway, I preferred the challenge. Life had become boring. Difficult, but boring.
I won the next round and carefully mulled over my questions. I had plenty of them, but it was hard to choose. Finally, I settled on what I really wanted. “Why do you live in Guild City?”
“It was safe space when my grandmother realized that I had magic that needed to be hidden.”
“She knew what you were, then?”
“I don’t know. But she knew I needed to be taken from Greece and protected from you.”
Protected from me.
Once, that statement wouldn’t have bothered me. I would have considered it entirely normal and acceptable. Now, it tugged uncomfortably at something in my soul.
A conscience? I’d read of such things, but didn’t expect to have one.
“You loved her,” I said.
“Of course. And she loved me.”
I couldn’t imagine having someone like that, but I kept it to myself.
“Another round?” she asked, clearly wanting to move the topic onward.
I nodded.
We played again, and I was so distracted by her lips that I missed a vital move. She won, and I leaned back, crossing my arms over my chest. “What will it be this time?”
She studied me. “I don’t think you’re all bad.”
“You’ve told me that before.” Screamed it at me, in fact, when she’d been on the verge of leaving my realm. She’d wanted me to choose the light. How little she knew if she thought that was an option. “But it’s not a question.”
“I suppose not.” She studied me. “Why do you do this, really? There’s got to be a reason.”
“I was made for it.”
“Made.” She nodded. “Hard to imagine.”
She had no idea.
“What about your scars?” she asked, and I nearly flinched.
She’d seen them, of course. While I’d been in the bath. Previously, I’d concealed them with magic. Not as a matter of vanity—I had none. It was a waste of time and none of my concern. I hid them because they revealed a weakness I didn’t want anyone to know.
The fact that I was dragged back to Tartarus every millennium to be reminded of my purpose via torture was something I didn’t care to share.
Yet she’d seen.
“You’ve already had your question,” I said. “And we’ve time for only one more game, so let’s play.”
“For more questions?”
Last time we’d played, it’d ended in the most mind-altering experience of my life. That kiss on the windowsill had been the first of its kind for me, something I would remember until I drew my last breath, many thousands of years into the future.
I wanted it again. The memories might be all I would have of her, and I wanted them.
“For a kiss,” I said.
Her eyes widened, pupils going dark. “What?”
“You heard me.” And I wanted it. More than that, I wanted her to want it as well.
“What do I get if I win?” she asked.
“Whatever you want?”
“Anything?”
“Anything at all.” But she wouldn’t be winning.
“All right.” She put the pieces back in place, then made the first move.
I countered, and the game was on. It was fiercer than the previous two had been, both of us determined to win. But I’d stop at nothing. I’d cheat, if necessary. The prize was too great to lose.
Finally, the game ended.
Her eyes met mine. “You won.”
“I won.” I stood, stepping around the table to stand by her chair.
I’d wanted this since the moment she’d returned to the underworld. Hell, from the moment she’d left.
She swallowed hard and stood.
I pulled her forward, my hands around her waist. Her scent wrapped around me, so bright and fresh that it made my head spin. She looked up at me, wide-eyed and beautiful, her skin luminous and her dark hair cascading down her back.
She looked like light and life and salvation, and I’d never wanted anything as badly as I wanted her.
With my breath caught in my throat, I bent my head to press my lips to hers. She was soft as silk, warm as fire. Everywhere her body touched mine felt like an inferno that stole my soul. For the briefest, most glorious moment, she leaned into me, pressing her body against mine. Heat exploded within me, light and pleasure.
This.
I would die for this. For her.
The mere thought shocked me so much that I pulled back.
No, that couldn’t be true. How had I thought such a thing? It was the light, polluting me. It had to be. I felt it whenever I was with her like that, and it was unacceptable. Dangerous.
I retreated, my breathing uneven. I was