“But,” she added, and the light faded. “Let me clue you in to a little not-so-secret secret. I’m going to stay with the man who helps me find and save Vale. Nothing matters more, not even my health.”

“Your sister,” he said, his voice laced with concern. Looking as though he’d aged twenty years, he scoured a hand down his face.

Her stomach bottomed out. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Vale killed a combatant and joined the war.”

Horror crept down her spine, plucking at her nerve endings. Vale...forced to fight others to the death...forced to fight Bane and Zion... “No!”

“I am sorry, Nola, but her fate is sealed.”

Colder and shakier by the second, she shook her head.

“Now, combatants will come after you,” he continued, “hoping to use you as bait against her.”

“I don’t care about me.” She grabbed his hand and clung for dear life. “Vale is my everything, Bane. My reason to keep fighting, to keep living. We met in a foster home for troubled girls. She was the first person to love me. Please,” she beseeched. “Promise me you won’t harm her.”

At “please,” he flinched. “I can make no such promise,” he groused. “Nor can Zion.”

Not good enough. Maybe, if she ordered him to protect Vale, he would be forced to obey? There was only one way to find out, but the thought of making him do something—anything—against his will left her uneasy.

How many times had a foster parent forced her to eat foods she hated, or clean her plate when she was full to prevent waste? On the other hand, she needed to know what she could and couldn’t do.

“Bane,” she said, a slight tremor in her voice.

He sucked in a breath. “Do not issue a command, princess. I will hate you for it.”

“I’m not responsible for your emotions. Besides, you already hate me. And I don’t care!”

“You should. I’m willing to keep Vale safe until we are the final two.”

Not good enough. But maybe good enough for now?

Before she could render a verdict, he straightened and pulled her to her feet. “Come. We’re leaving.”

Considering she’d vomited everything she’d eaten for two days straight, her legs proved surprisingly steady.

Rather than opening a portal, her golden god eyed her like the last slice of cake in a baker’s display case and stalked a circle around her, unhurried. When her shoulder brushed his chest, a bolt of electricity shot through her. He must have felt it, too. He startled as he stopped directly in front of her.

Their gazes held, her senses heightening. Awareness of him magnified. His delectable heat engulfed her, bolstering his tantalizing scent, making her belly clench. The warmth of his exhalations fanned her face, teasing her skin, her lips.

Touch...