So I just faked it. “I hope my progress is satisfactory.”

“That remains to be seen when I test you.”

“I knew there would be a test,” I grumbled.

He continued on. “I’m thinking essay questions. Ten of them. Two pages per question. And you’ll have to draw diagrams of course.”

“Essay questions…” I stopped, the brief flash of delight in his eyes giving him away. I laughed. “You’re messing with me.”

“I would never do such a thing,” he said seriously.

I grinned at him. “You would and you are.”

“I’m afraid you are mistaken, Pandora. But, unfortunately, your test will have to wait for another time.”

“Oh?” I asked, trying not to sound too excited.

“The First Angel would like an audience with you.”

6

The First Angel

Nero and I walked down the hall in silence. I didn’t bring up our dinner and duel last night. Since I’d already decided that nothing could happen between us, there was really no point. I had a long list of reasons why we could never be together, the top one being that I wouldn’t be able to do what I had to do to find Zane if I was mending the inevitable broken heart that a relationship with Nero would end in.

I had reasons—good reasons. Unfortunately, those reasons went right out the window the moment I was alone with him. So I’d just have to make sure to never be alone with him. Our early morning training sessions made that impractical, but I could stay focused for that one hour each morning, right? Other than that, no alone time with Nero. Definitely no visits to his apartment. And when I had to go to his office, I’d remember to leave the door open. Yeah, that was a good plan. What could possibly go wrong?

The skeptic inside of me began to prattle off all the things that would make my brilliant plan crash and burn. I silenced that nasty little voice. I had to think positively. Against all odds, I’d survived the initiation into the Legion and the gods’ first gift. That meant I had a strong will. Compared to the trials the Legion threw at me every day, not thinking about Nero should be easy.

“You’re unsettled.”

I nearly jumped at his words. I covered my unease with a shrug. “Who me? No, I’m fine.”

He gave me a hard look, that special one that told me he knew I was full of shit. “You need to learn to lie better. Every breath, every scent, every beat of your heart—it’s all a dead giveaway.”

“Good to know,” I said with a smile that hurt my jaw. “I’ll work on it.”

“I make you uncomfortable.” It wasn’t a statement; it was a fact. There was no pity in his words, no triumph, no emotion whatsoever. I couldn’t decide if that made me feel better or worse.

“I’m just nervous about the First Angel summoning me,” I said. “Do you know what this is about?”

He looked at me, his cold eyes betraying nothing. Ok, fine. He wasn’t going to tell me. Not that I was surprised. Angels loved their secrets as much as they loved intimidating people.

Nero led me to an office room I’d never been in before. It was twice as large as his own office. A gargantuan desk stood opposite the door, but besides the antique lamp and glass jar of pens in the corner, there was nothing on it. In fact, the whole room had a feeling of disuse about it. It was just too clean and orderly. It must be the First Angel’s office for those times she visited.

Nyx herself stood in the center of the room in all her angelic glory, a beautiful carpet under her feet. Her stance was strong and regal. She wore a glossy black leather suit that accentuated every curve in her body. She was more slender than voluptuous, but that didn’t make her presence any less imposing. High-heeled boots added to her already impressive height.

Her eyes, as blue as the ocean, tracked me across the room. She was wearing her glossy black hair long and braided today. The last time I’d seen her, her hair had been chin-length. Either it had grown twenty inches overnight, or she had some seriously powerful magic to be able to shift her appearance like that. That kind of magic was a shifter skill, but most shifters—and Legion soldiers who’d gained the ability—just changed into an animal or maybe two. I’d never seen someone shift only their hair to make it grow.

Nyx was powerful, more powerful than even Nero. I could feel her magic crackling the air, popping against my skin like an electric storm. It was no surprise that she was the First Angel. She felt like a god. Not that I’d ever been in the presence of a god, but this was exactly how I’d always imagined they would feel like. The sheer power inside of Nyx was making the hair on my arms stand up like I’d been zapped by lightning. She’d been holding back her magic before, but not this time. This time, she was letting it all out.

Nero dropped to his knees in recognition of her power, and I did the same. If you were in the presence of the First Angel when she let out her magic, you didn’t salute; you bowed. Nyx watched us, her face almost curious as her eyes fell on me. I dropped my gaze quickly from her eyes.

“Rise, Colonel Windstriker.”

Nero did as she bade him, but his gaze darted to me, as though afraid I’d offend the First Angel by rising before I was commanded to do so. He needn’t have worried. I knew better than to provoke an angel. Well, at least most of the time.

Nyx looked down at me. “You have very unusual hair.”

I’d heard that so many times before. Too many times. Vampires especially liked my hair. It was a magnet for them, a beacon that invited them to abandon reason and try to take a nip at me. And I had no idea why. Besides my hair being so pale it was nearly white, there wasn’t anything unusual about it that I could see.