Two words, yet he heard absolute and utter command in her voice. In an instant, pain consumed him, bullets popping out, flesh weaving back together, until only the shoulder wound remained, as raw and angry as ever.

All the while, Bane’s thoughts swung from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Nola was concerned for his well-being. Concern often heralded caring. If she came to care for him, she would want to stay with him. Better, she would do as he wished. But it was clear she understood the worst of her talents, which created a major complication for him. He couldn’t share too much about his past, his goals or his motivation, for fear she would order him to relinquish his vendetta and lose the war. He’d have to win her over another way.

“Why did you come to me, princess? Mere hours ago, you chose to stay with Zion.”

She sighed, the warmth of her breath tickling the base of his neck. “We were ambushed. I thought if you and Zion worked together—”

“No. Not happening. Not now, not ever.” Tension knotted his muscles. “Why do you continue to aid him?”

“Why do you hate me?” she countered.

He needed her aid, and didn’t want to scare her off, but he couldn’t blunt the truth. “In your quest to save Vale, you will ruin my life.”

“Maybe, but you hated me before Vale joined the war.”

A pause. Then, “Do you know what you are, Nola?”

“Yes.” She flattened her dainty little hand against his pec and sank her nails into his skin. It was the touch of a lover...or a woman who expected a terrible emotional blow and needed a shield. “I’m a girl, a baker, a writer, a worried sister and an...other-worlder?”

He bit out, “You are so much more than an other-worlder.”

“It’s true, then.” Her breath hitched. “I suspected it, so I shouldn’t be freaking out on the inside. But I’m totally freaking out on the inside, Bane.”

Why did he suddenly want to smile?

Sensing he’d lost the army at last, Bane pictured his lair, and stroked his thumb over the Rifters. Roughly a hundred yards ahead, a portal opened, layers of air separating, revealing inky blackness.

He rushed through the opening and spun, facing the forest in case anyone attempted to follow. Portals couldn’t be closed manually, so he had to wait until this one shut on its own.

As soon as he and Nola were sealed inside the cave, his satisfaction returned. Long ago, he’d built this one-room shelter in the heart of a mountain, and refortified its walls with stone pillars. Now, limestone scented the cool, musty air.

“So dark,” Nola cried.

Bane excelled in darkness. Nola should, too. The fact that she didn’t... Is she more human than Adwaewethian?

Could a human survive the Blood Rite?