They stared at one another, ice versus fire. Finally, they both laughed.
Calli took a bite of her roll. “I like you.”
Nero dipped his chin. “I like you too.”
They’d apparently sized each other up and decided they didn’t need to go to war.
After dinner, Nero and I sat outside, gazing up at the stars—and at the complete lack of soldiers watching the house.
“I have to leave now for Los Angeles,” he told me.
“I’ll stay here tonight, then go back to New York.” I paused. “Will I ever see you again?”
“Of course. I made you a promise.” He leaned in and kissed me softly. “And I never go back on my word.”
With a final brush of his lips against mine, he pulled away. His wings spread out from him, and he shot into the air. A dark feather fell from the sky, landing in my lap.
“He does love a dramatic exit,” I commented as Calli sat down beside me.
Her gaze flickered to the feather I was holding between my fingers. “He’s an angel. Of course he loves a dramatic exit. And so do you.”
“Yeah. I guess we really are a lot alike,” I laughed.
“Are you being careful, Leda?” she asked seriously.
“You know me. What do you think?”
“That you jump into things headfirst with good intentions but not a whole lot else.”
I brushed my fingertip across Nero’s feather. It was as soft as silk. “Sounds about right.”
“I’m worried about you. You’ve thrown yourself into a dangerous world this time, kid. A world you don’t yet fully understand. A world of gods and demons. And angels.” She paused, then added, “That angel is determined.”
“To make me his lover, I know.”
“You don’t understand. The way he acts. The way he looks at you. He won’t let anyone else heal you or take care of you. He has to do it yourself. He is protective. Possessive. Downright murderous if you’re threatened.”
I snorted. “Typical angel behavior. They are so bossy.”
“Yes and no,” Calli said. “I won’t pretend that I understand everything about angels, but I did read through the book you had in your bag, Leda. The one about angels.”
“Hey!”
She gave me a sheepish look. “The book had a great cover. And I’m a sucker for a good cover. I couldn’t resist.”
“I will forgive you if you make me some cookies before I leave tomorrow.”
“Deal,” she said. “Back to the book. And angels. The way Nero acts is classic angel mating behavior. He doesn’t want just you to be his lover. He wants you to be his mate.”
Calli kissed my forehead and then went back inside the house, leaving me with the weight of her words. Was she right?
Nero had given me the book about angels. I’d thought it was research material so I could deal with Osiris Wardbreaker and understand how to survive Colonel Fireswift games. But had the gift been more personal? Was he trying to help me understand angels’ ways so that I could understand him, so that I would know what his actions meant?
I looked up at Nero so high above in the sky, almost to the train station now. So he had intentions. Well, I had intentions of my own.
“This is far from over, angel,” I promised him.