Alice Shaw, dedicated angel, had flagrantly thrown herself into a man's arms and loved every single minute of it.
Oy. She was becoming a wanton woman, and that was just not good for an angel of life who wasn't allowed to have any connections with anyone else.
She scratched her forearm, and realized her skin was burning hot. Quickly, she looked down and saw that her flesh was bright red. There was no brand, but there was no doubt that her skin was fighting it, that his influence was growing stronger. What if the brand appeared? Would that mean she'd transferred her loyalty from her angel duties to Ian? That couldn't be a good thing. That brand had to stay away. He couldn't claim her. He just couldn't. Nervously, she pressed her palm to her arm, as if she could will it away—
Then she frowned as she noticed new markings on her skin. A tangle of blue and green vines was tattooed all the way around each wrist. Almost five inches wide, they looked like gladiator wrist cuffs. Her stomach dropped in fear as she recalled Jada's comment about what would happen if she became the leader of the Mageaan. "Ian! Look!"
He looked up sharply, and his eyes became hooded when he saw what she was pointing to. "Yeah," he said, holding up his arm. "I have them, too."
Alice realized he had the same thing around each wrist. "What is it?" If Ian had them too, it couldn't be that she'd been conscripted by the Mageaan into being their leader.
Ian looked at her grimly. "You didn't hear it?"
Her heart started to pound. "Hear what?"
"When you were drowning, I made a deal with Jada so I could save you."
She sat up straighter. "What kind of deal?"
Ian fetched his shirt from the floor and pulled it over his muscular shoulders. "She wants us to get Cardiff to use his magic to save Chloe's life. Our passport out of here expires in three days. At that point..." He held up his arms. "I'm guessing these will magically haul us back here regardless of whether or not we're finished. If Chloe's life is saved by then, we get to go free. If not..." He shrugged. "I agreed that we would die here."
Alice leapt to her feet. "What? What kind of deal is that? How are we supposed to save Chloe? Isn't she dead already?"
"Apparently not." Ian fished her shorts out from under the bed and tossed them at her, but there was no mistaking the heat in his eyes as his gaze sizzled over her body. She responded instantly with need and desire that seemed to come alive inside her with only the slightest provocation from him. "So, that's good," he said. "One less death on your shoulders."
Hope rippled through her at his words. Was it possible she could change fate and save someone, at least once? She pulled the shorts on, her spirits falling when she realized the impossibility of what Jada was asking. "Warwick can't bring people back to life." That was why he'd wanted Alice, but he'd been sorely disappointed to discover the angel of life he'd kidnapped hadn't been able to bring his beloved back to life after a couple millennia of being dead.
She'd become expendable, and he'd immediately traded her life for more black magic from the demons. She had to give Cardiff credit. He was a pretty flexible guy, and the moment he'd realized that his former love wasn't going to be waltzing across his ballroom with him again, he'd recycled Alice to a more lucrative use and decided to keep Catherine for more nefarious purposes.
"I know he can't bring people back to life. That's not something that can be done by magic." Ian shoved his feet into his boots, giving her a thoughtful look.
Alice buttoned her shorts, her thighs still feeling sensitive from his attentions. "So, what does Jada think we're going to do?" she asked, trying not to think of all they had just done. Her arms were brand-free, and that was what mattered.
"I think," he said, as he stood up, meeting her gaze, "she believes that you will find a way to do it with your angel of life powers."
Alice's heart dropped. "But I can't save anyone. You know that."
"She doesn't believe you." Ian walked over to her and caught her chin. "And you know what, sweetheart?"
Her heart began to race at his nearness, hammering frantically. "What?" she whispered, her very breath taken away by his touch.