Ian turned his back to the freezing wind while tightening his arms around me so his body took the brunt of it. I leaned into him, feeling his chin rest on top of my head. I expected him to ask why I’d had him bring us out here, but he didn’t. He only held me until tears stung my eyes, which I couldn’t blame on the icy wind because he blocked most of it.

There were many reasons why I shouldn’t feel the way I did about him. It was too soon, I was too old for him, the timing couldn’t be worse, he’d lost over half his memory, I’d lost my immortality, Dagon was determined to kill both of us . . . and it all washed away when he bent and his lips covered mine.

I no longer felt the cold or the wind or the snow. All I felt was how tightly he held me, how his power sparked against my skin, and how he kissed me with delicate savageness, as if he sensed my turmoil and sought to turn it into raw need instead.

He would have succeeded. Our icy surroundings wouldn’t have stopped me. My prior resolution to keep him at emotional arm’s length wouldn’t, either—I’d already failed at that. But there was one thing stronger than even my desire for him.

“Stop,” I murmured, ducking my face away. “I told you, I have something important to show you.”

The wind snatched away his groan. “What, my sad death from a terminal case of blue balls?”

I stifled my snort. “Being celibate won’t kill you, but I don’t trust Ashael not to send you into a trap. Yes, you can handle yourself, but I’m incurably paranoid, so humor me. Plus, a new memory could drop you at the wrong moment.”

He shrugged. “Have your ghost friend tail me, then, if it’ll make you fret less. For all I know, she’s here now.”

“Leah?” I called out, sighing when there was no response. “She probably couldn’t keep up with Ashael teleporting us. Something about demons throws off ghosts, but that’s off topic. If this relic retrieval is a trap, I, ah, wanted to show you how you can summon me.”

He stared at me until more than the cold and bracing wind made me squirm. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

I shrugged as if I wasn’t revealing my most dangerous secret. “Whatever my other nature is, it can be summoned the same way demons can. Good thing the ritual isn’t as complex and dangerous as summoning my father. That’s deadly, but to summon me, you just need my blood, my true name, and these symbols.”

So saying, I pierced the tip of my finger with a fang, then drew the symbols across Ian’s palm with my blood. The cold froze them into place and Ian’s gaze drank in every curve of the symbols. When I was done, I shifted self-consciously.

“You can take a picture with your mobile, if you want.”

“No need.” His voice was thick. “I’ve memorized them.”

Now, we both knew I couldn’t run from him again. If he summoned me, I’d be pulled to his side no matter where in the world I was. But I hadn’t been able to run before anyway. Not for long. What drew me to him was stronger than any ritual.

I wasn’t ready to say that out loud, so I dragged my palm across a fang, then surrounded the falling blood with ice and shaped it into a small cylinder that I covered with magic. Now, the blood-filled ice cylinder would take weeks to melt instead of minutes. I handed it to Ian, still not meeting his eyes.

“Keep this with you.”

He bent me backward with the force of his kiss. When I was burning on the inside despite the brutal cold, he released me.

“After I get back with that relic,” he said in a tight voice. “You will be in my bed.”

I hadn’t been able to look at him before. Now, I couldn’t look away. “Why? We never used a bed before.”

The sound he made was too rough to be a groan. “Then it’s high time that we broke one.”

Chapter 19

Ian borrowed weapons from Ashael when we returned. As he picked his deadly choices, Ashael told Ian that the horn was located inside an underwater structure off Japan’s westernmost island of Yonaguni. Since that was beyond Ian’s teleporting skills from our current location, Ashael teleported us to a condo in Taipei, putting Ian in range of the ruins.

As soon as we were there, Ian gave me a quick, hard kiss, then teleported away without another word. I was usually the one who led the charges, so I’d always assumed staying behind was the easy part. Wrong. I felt each tick of the clock as if it were an enemy’s blade slicing into my most vulnerable parts.

To distract myself, I looked out at the city. Ashael’s condo had a great view of the many high-rise buildings in Taipei. Here and there, glimpses of green peeked out from the urban landscape, but more natural formations like gardens or parks were few and far between.

I doubted I’d ever outgrow my dislike of high-rises. They still felt . . . wrong, probably because for most of my life, structures hadn’t been much higher than the ziggurats that used to dot ancient Mesopotamia when I was human.

I stopped before I allowed myself to lament the other changes the industrial age had wrought, but kept pretending to be interested in the city. It gave me an excuse to stay in the sun’s rays. Ashael sat on a sofa in the darkest corner of the condo, which was decorated all in marble, sleek metals, and wrought iron. The only nod to any formerly living organisms was the silk cushions and silk covering on the silvery-gray couches.

“Why would a group of vampires choose an underwater structure to hide a relic in?” I asked when I could no longer stand counting the minutes since Ian had left.

“For one, it’s demon proof,” Ashael replied, a smile curling his lips. “We can’t teleport through significant amounts of salt water. Did you know that?”

I didn’t, but I’d be sure to remember that. “What’s the other reason?”

A shrug. “It was forgotten by history for thousands of years. Divers stumbled upon it a few decades ago, but none of the humans can agree if it was a man-made structure or a natural formation, so it’s not being excavated. Its remote location, strong currents, and sharks also keep most humans away.”

No wonder a group of vampires had repurposed it as a vault. It now also made sense why Ashael was so eager to send Ian after the relic. Any other vampire would have to beat their way through the thick stone, alerting the guards. But Ian could teleport in, get the horn, and teleport out. A simple smash-and-grab, if Ashael was telling the truth.

I still didn’t trust that he was. Call me jaded, but the last time I’d trusted a demon, I’d ended up ritually murdered for two decades.

“Care for something to drink?” Ashael asked, pouring himself a glass of triple-malt Balvenie scotch.

“No thanks.”

A silver knife appeared in Ashael’s hand. I tensed, but all he did was press its tip to his wrist. “Something stronger?”

I gave him a level look. “No.”

Ashael leaned back, toying with the handle of his knife. “Your concern for Ian is wasted, you know.”

From his tone, that wasn’t an endorsement of Ian’s fighting skills. I let out a short laugh. “Won’t you be surprised when he shows up with that relic, then? If you don’t already have a spot picked out for it, might I suggest shoving it up your ass.”