Kyros paced his dark office, which was lit only by candles, as thoughts drifted through his mind. It was three hours and ticking. The great showdown was coming.
And it was unavoidable.
Every time he thought about it, the hairs on the back of his neck rose in warning. Something wasn't right about tonight and it wasn't just that Ias was here.
There was something else. Something he couldn't see but he could feel it with every fiber of his being. Tonight was going to be unlike anything he'd ever seen before.
"You need anything before I leave?" his Squire, Rob, asked.
Kyros turned to see the young man in the doorway. The man was only five feet seven and dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. By his appearance, the dark-haired boy didn't look any older than Kyros, but at twenty-nine, he was just a baby compared to the centuries that marked Kyros's time on this earth.
"No. You can go on."
In case things went bad, he didn't want his Squire anywhere near this area. At his behest, Rob was heading to Nashville to visit his family.
Rob nodded. "Okay, I'll see you next week."
"I hope so," Kyros breathed as the boy left. He was about to make a betrayal tonight that would most likely get him killed. But he'd known what he was doing from the beginning.
At least he hoped he had.
Danger lay naked in bed, wrapped in Alexion's arms. She had her head resting on his chest while he played with her hair. Time was slipping away for them. Speeding by so fast that it left her bereft and dizzy.
She wanted to scream for it to stop. She wanted to hold on to Alexion through this night and through the next day and every day that followed after it.
But it wasn't meant to be.
I won't cry. I won't.
It wouldn't be fair to him or to her. But inside she was sobbing uncontrollably. She was torn to pieces. How could she get through this night?
How could she say good-bye to the best thing she'd ever found?
How did people leave their loved ones behind?
But she knew. She'd been forced against her will to leave hers so many times in the past that it made her wonder how she had ever allowed herself to care for someone else.
Then again, not loving a man like Alexion would be an impossibility.
She heard the grandfather clock down the hall striking ten o'clock.
"We have to go," Alexion said, his voice deep and husky.
"I know."
Reluctantly, she pulled away and forced herself to concentrate on anything and everything other than Alexion.
Neither of them spoke as they showered and dressed.
What was there to say? Even worse, she was afraid one of them would say something to set off her tears. It was much easier to keep herself together if she were silent.
She couldn't even tell him that she wouldn't forget him. And that hurt most of all.
"I don't want to forget…" ,
She didn't realize she'd spoken aloud until Alexion gathered her into his arms. "It's better if you do. I couldn't leave you if I knew you were in pain because of me. The only thing that makes this bearable to me is knowing that tomorrow your life will be back to normal."
A tear fled past her control. "I'm sorry," she said, brushing it quickly away. But it was too late. That one tear started an avalanche of sobbing.
Her mind and heart shattered at the thought of the days to come, when she would never even know he existed. She'd no longer know his touch… his scent…
God, how she loved the smell of his skin. The caress of his hand on her face. The feel of his body under and over hers…
How could she live without him?
"Don't leave me," she said, her voice breaking.
Alexion closed his eyes as he felt his own tears swelling. If he could have one wish…
But all the wishes in the world couldn't make him human and they couldn't keep them together.
"I won't leave you, Danger. I will be here for you anytime you need me."
She looked up at him with pain in her eyes that made him ache all the way through his being. "But I won't see you."
"No. But I won't ever leave you alone. I swear it."
Danger tightened her hold on him. She didn't know who had it worse. The one who had no memory at all or the one who knew and couldn't speak of it.
She didn't want the night to end. Unable to stand it, she captured his lips to taste him one last time. To inhale his warm, masculine scent and to let it carry her away from this moment of pain.
Not even love could save them. Nothing could.
"I love you, Alexion. I love you, Ias. With all that is within me and more."
"Je t'aime pour toujours."
"Moi aussi."
And then she did the hardest thing she'd ever done in her life…
She let go of him and stepped back even though every fiber of her being screamed at her to hold on regardless.
Unable to look at him without falling apart again, she turned, took a deep breath as she wiped away her tears, and headed for the garage.
Alexion cursed as he watched her leave. I'm stronger than this. But the problem was, he wasn't. Not even his powers and Acheron's combined could alleviate the ragged misery that engulfed him.
Danger had unleashed something inside him and set it free. He would never be the same again.