“You’ve changed,” he told her, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

“I had to. To find you.”

“Never change. Always stay that same smart-mouthed mercenary who showed up to my office, prattling away like she had no regard for her own life.”

She draped her arms over his shoulders and smiled up at him. “Someone had to knock you off your high horse.”

It was so easy to drink up every word that he spoke, so easy to fall into their usual banter.

“And you did. You knocked me down, Sera.” He dropped to his knees.

She lowered with him, her eyes stinging.

“You told me you knew what you wanted now,” he said.

She set her hands on his face, smiling through the tears. “Yes, I really do.”

“Do you want me?”

“Always.”

“You won’t change your mind?”

“Never,” she promised. “No matter what Alden does to you, I will fight for you.”

She looked through the facade, speaking past it to the real Kai buried deep within. She knew he was down there, still fighting.

Kai brushed his hand down her face. “Sera, Alden has not driven out my love for you. Can you feel it?”

A hint of it slipped past the facade, melting into her magic, filling her with a special happiness that only he could give her. But the magic holding Kai quickly closed, and she was cut off from his magic, from his love. She felt cold now. As a shiver rippled through her body, Kai set his hands on her arms, rubbing warmth into her skin. He smiled at her. But it was not his real smile. It was a smile controlled by Alden. Every move Kai made was controlled by Alden.

Still, even knowing that, she couldn’t help but set her head against his chest. She’d missed him so much. She’d sworn she would do anything to get him back. And now Alden was making her an offer, an offer she knew was wrong but still she had to fight her bleeding heart not to accept it. She’d fought her whole life. She just wanted to be at peace, to be with those she loved, to be surrounded by their love.

Kai set his hand under her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his. He pulled something out of his pocket, a small black box. He opened it, unveiling a beautiful platinum ring with a diamond set between two rubies.

Sera shook her head. “No. Not now.” Her voice croaked with emotion.

“Sera.” He brushed his finger across her hand. “Will you marry me?”

A gurgled sob broke her lips. She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. “Not like this. Not while he’s controlling you. Please. Don’t ruin it.”

He took her hand, smiling at her.

“This is Alden talking, not you.”

“No, it’s not,” he said. “I’ve been carrying this ring for weeks, ever since Munich. It’s a family heirloom. I had it sent to me when we were in Munich. I wanted to talk to you so many times, Sera. But it was never the right time.”

Sera laughed sadly. “And this is?”

“It will never be the right time. So it is always the right time.”

She swallowed hard. That was just what Kai would have said. She felt like she was being torn up inside, being shredded apart. She shut the box.

He looked at her. “You’re freaking out again.”

Sera set her head against his forehead. “I love you, Kai,” she said, kissing his cheek.

She slammed her fists into his chest, pushing out with her magic, trying to shatter Alden’s spell. But the spell just snapped back at her, hitting her so hard that it hurled her across the room. She scrambled to her feet, blood dripping out of her mouth.

Alden sighed. “You make things so difficult for yourself, Sera.” He waved Kai forward.

Kai stalked toward her. He was so large, so imposing. And—now that the life in his eyes had gone out—so threatening. He swept his hands through the air, casting such a rapid string of elemental spells together that Sera was surprised the building didn’t come down on top of them. She evaded the bombardment, putting up barriers to cover her retreat.

Kai moved quickly, cornering her. He punched magic through her elemental barriers, shattering them all at once. Sera gaped in shock. She reached for her sword, but he knocked it from her hand. His arms closed around her, trapping her. She pushed and punched and kicked, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t break free. She hadn’t realized until this moment just how much he’d always been holding back when fighting her.

She slammed her magic into him, trying to punch through. But his hold didn’t loosen; it tightened. She tried again, stringing spells together as fast as she could cast them at him. When he froze for a moment, she kicked free. She hit the ground hard, but she scrambled to her feet, holding her hand to her throbbing side. Some of her ribs were bruised.

He was already moving forward to her, his temporary daze lifted. She threw up a wall of ice, but it dissolved to steam in front of him. Alden had made him stronger too. Normal Kai was scary. Kai juiced up on Alden magic was downright terrifying.

Kai’s fist slammed around toward her, and she ducked to the side. She was too slow. Her head exploded in agony as his fist smashed into her. He twisted her arms behind her and pulled back. A cry simmered on her lips, but she held it in, kicking and struggling as he carried her toward Alden. She’d lost her sword, her elemental magic wasn’t doing squat, and she couldn’t use magic breaker because it would just bounce back at her again.

“Please, Kai. You are stronger than this,” she said, trying to get through to Kai.