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"A friend? What friend?"

"The kind that will stab you in the chest just to hear you screaed on the chair Koldo had abandoned There were two glowing pallitter the exact shade of his eyes Prints that hadn’t been there before Whathowodd, she finished

Standing by her side, he reached out, settled two fingers under her chin and forced her to face him "Stay here And remember what I told you about the tattoos" With that, he stor the door behind him

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

KOLDO WOULD NEVER FORGET the exquisite feel of Nicola’s lips against his or the softness of her body pressed against his that had set his blood on fire, causing hie of desperation

The entire tiotten the horror of his earlier actions His inner brokenness had been eased, and he’d felt whole Happy At peace for the first tiht Probleer, no dread, no sense of hopelessness He’d beennormal

But he’d done so to upset her, no matter what she’d claimed First, she had melted Then, after she’d co to bolt

Had she regretted what had happened?

Probably He’d mauled her, and she’d been prepared to leave him Had she succeeded, he would have chased her andwhat? Demanded she still desire him?

He wouldn’t be so pathetic Would he?

Maybe her desertion was for the best He wouldn’t always have her, and so he couldn’t allow himself to come to rely on her He had himself, and only himself, and that’s the way it had to be That was safe That’s what he knew

Stalking into the kitchen, he su in front of him What he expected to find, he wasn’t sure Zacharel didn’t know this place existed, nor did any other Sent Ones His father didn’t, either, but thehi at his kitchen table, eating the food Koldo had bought for Nicola and her sister

Anger ignited "How did you find me?"

With cheese dust on his chin, the warrior said, "I can find anyone, anywhere, anyti of chips The only source of junk food in the entire house "Do you have these in Tabasco?"

The anger instantly subsided If Axel could find anyone, he could find Koldo’s father before Nox found Koldo

The battle could be over before it ever began

"You shouldn’t have cole drink and Koldo’s Nefas side would coate His nails would curl into claws His temper would overtake him Yeah Alcohol is all that’s needed for that "But since you’re here, I’ll put you to work Whatever your price, I need you to hunt down aNefas" He waited for a reaction Most people shuddered at theanother chip in hisher drinky drink with guests--especially when said drinky drink belongs to the guest! It ay impolite to threaten to bash me in the head with the vodka bottle when I tried to steal it back And by the way, did you know your hands are glowing?"

"What are you--" Koldo’s gaze locked on his palun to seep from his pores

He’d wanted Nicola thatto h she wanted so he’d never bond with her

But he wasn’t

"How did you bypass my cloud?" The warrior should have encountered a solid barrier

"If I told you, blah, blah, blah"

He arched a brow "You’d have to kill ue to keep you fro or signing" Axel dusted his hands together and stood "I’d love to help you with your little Nefas proble in the heavens And what do you ith the Nefas, anyway? Those suckers are hard-core"

"So are we" Was thethe one Zacharel had mentioned when Koldo had visited his cloud? When the warrior had been covered in blood and injuries? "Where does he want us?"

"Deity’s temple in the heavens"

Deity Gerain They hadn’t spoken since Koldo had been told he belonged to Zacharel And that was all Koldo’s doing He’d been so irate to learn of his fate, he’d kept his distance rather than yell However, Germanus would have welcomed him at any time

"I’ll meet you there," he said pointedly

"Like I really want to stick around and carry you again Did I ?" Axel stood, flared his wings and leaped into the air,

Koldo stalked down the hall and into Nicola’s roo her breath

"--so, you love ether"

Nicola lounged on the couch, a blanket strewn across her legs One of his books about heavenly battle strategies rested in her lap