He strode forward into the cabin. A bed waited just a few feet away. For now, this place would be their temporary shelter.

Their time together would come to an end all too soon.

I don’t want to let her go.

Why couldn’t he keep something of his own, just this once? Would it be so wrong?

Her lashes began to flutter. Clenching his teeth, he lowered her onto the bed. His hands wanted to linger, but he forced himself to step back.

Her eyes opened and seemed to find his instantly. “Az?” She breathed his name, her voice the same husky purr that it was during sex.

His hands clenched. “You’re safe, Jade.”

She glanced around the cabin. “Where are we?”

“Where angels fear to tread.” The smart ones, anyway. Sam had been the one to tell him about this place. “Unhallowed ground.” At least that’s what his brother had called it. More like cursed ground. Ground that had once been soaked by the blood of vampires and demons in an epic battle. Sam had actually witnessed that battle as he’d gone to collect the dead.

The power had been great here. The whispers of magic still floated in the air. Magic . . . and evil.

Witches had used many spells here over the centuries. Spells to hurt. To kill. The taint of dark magic was in the air, and it pressed down on him like hands shoving upon his back.

As long as he could keep the darkness at bay, they’d be safe there.

As long . . .

He’s not the good guy. Bastion had taunted him, but . . . angels couldn’t lie.

“He was . . . following us.” A faint line appeared between her brows. “I saw him. Flying after us with those great, black wings.” She pushed up onto her elbows. Studied him. “Is that what your wings were like?”

“Yes.”

“That Bastion . . .” She licked her lips. “He’s an Angel of Death.”

Tell her. Az paced to the window. He wasn’t even sure who’d built this cabin, but Sam had used it when he needed to lick his wounds after battles. His brother had been through plenty of battles.

“Az?”

He forced himself to turn back to her. Jade was sitting up, and her hair was a wild tangle around her face. She looked tired. Pale.

Still beautiful.

Why were mortals so weak? So breakable?

He saw her gaze dart over his shoulder. Curious, he asked, “Can you still see my wings?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Then his blood was still fueling her. Perhaps she wasn’t as weak as he feared.

A lone howl echoed in the distance. Jade shivered. “This place kind of creeps me out.”

It was supposed to. Humans could feel the vestiges of magic in the air—magic that had been used to keep them away. Without his blood, she probably wouldn’t have been able to set foot on the land.

“You can’t leave my sight,” he told her, deliberately keeping his distance. Going to her then wasn’t a good idea. The magical power was pressing on him. Pushing against the darkness he’d kept chained inside for so long. “It’s far too dangerous now.”

“Because of Brandt?” She exhaled and rose. The jeans he’d conjured hung low on her hips and he caught a flash of her smooth belly. “So we’re out of bullets. We can come up with a backup plan.”

He was working on one. He could try ripping off the panther’s claws and using them to slice the bastard’s head from his shoulders. That would work. No, it should work. But he suspected that the hybrid had been using magic to amp up his power.

No wonder Brandt had taken the witch as a lover . . . what better way to get up-close access to magic?

In order to take Brandt down, to be certain that he’d have the strength to defeat that bastard, Az knew he would have to increase his own power.

Though a magnification of that sort brought risks.

“What is it?” The old hardwood creaked beneath Jade’s feet. “Something’s wrong.”

Everything was. He could kiss heaven good-bye now. There’d be no going back upstairs. No forgiving and forgetting for the things he’d done. Or for what he’d do.

The darkness shoved from inside his chest. He’d tried so hard to do the right thing. He’d chained the whispers inside, and done his best to defeat the dangerous needs that called to him. He’d fought them every moment that he’d been on earth.

Until her.

“Az?” The floor creaked again as she took a step toward him.

He held up his hand. “Stop.” She couldn’t touch him. Not now. “Bastion was right.”