She stumbled and shook her head, her mishmashed face seeming to frown. But still she charged forward...
“That’s our Lady O?” someone shouted. “So jealous!”
Halo tuned out everyone but his harpy. Closing in...
He lifted his sword, intending to strike himself after the first contact. Quick and easy. Halo would turn to stone and crumble for the last time.
She dove, soaring the distance between them. Her momentum slammed her into Halo with such incredible force, he flew across the field. Bones broke, the sword falling from his grip. He hit and skidded a good stretch, enveloped by a sand cloud.
The second he stopped, she was there, slamming a paw into his chest, thick claws embedding throughout his torso. Her massive bulk snapped numerous ribs. Just as soon as he healed, the pressure ravaged him once again. Pain ebbed and flowed in ceaseless waves.
He could have thrown her off—maybe. He glared up at her instead. When he’d originally branded her, he’d thought to use the bridge between them to calm her in battle. Now...
—Do it!—
But she didn’t. She heaved her breaths, her visage once again changing from one creature to another. Her eyes darted. Throwing back her heads, she roared. The roar tapered into a howl, the howl into a grunt.
“Why do you hesitate?” He wrapped his hands around her paw, holding them together.
—Do it.—The burn he’d experienced earlier. It reignited, his palms so hot he expected to see flames. —Tear into me, harpy. I’m the male who abandoned you at the end.—
She wrenched backward, severing contact. As she huffed and puffed, spittle sprayed from the corners of her snouts.
Each set of eyes continued to dart. What did she search for?
A stream of her thoughts suddenly trickled into his head. —Kill...won’t kill...think, think.—
His entire body jerked with a massive spike of emotion—her emotion. Something she felt so strongly, she had pushed it across their link. Nigh mindless rage. But she was fighting the all-consuming drive to attack him...and she was winning.
He stayed on his back, splayed before her. An all-you-can-eat buffet, with his hands lifted in a sign of innocence. Perhaps he’d handled her wrongly, by issuing commands. He’d thought he battled the harpy beneath those monsters. But he now suspected he contended with the nymph. The lover. The one who empowered the harpy, the two forever intertwined.
The nymph didn’t respond well to cold, only warmth. And in that moment, he knew what he must do. Halo let go of the cold wholly, once and for all, embracing his love for this female. Letting himself feel everything without reservation.
Slowly he reached for her. Though stiff and leery, she didn’t bite him. He lightly pinched one of her chins. All three sets of eyes flared wide.
“Do the right thing, love. Please.” He smiled sadly. “Win. Pad your résumé.”
She shook her head, dislodging his fingers. He frowned. He couldn’t be seeing what he thought he was seeing. But...he was.
There, in the middle of her chin, on the hide of the lioness, was a glittering thumbprint.
Stardust. Of Halo’s creation.
His eyes widened, and he examined his hands. Yes! Stardust coated his skin, dazzling in the light.
Primitive satisfaction warred with crushing sadness. Finally, he had provided his female with what she’d craved most. A reason to celebrate. And yet, he must convince her to kill him.
—Elia, I know you can hear me. I know you’re fighting your instinct, love, and I need you to stop. All right? Yes? Bite me and don’t let go. Do it because you love me. This is the only way to save everyone.—
* * *
Kill. Won’t kill. Kill. Kill! THINK! Ophelia breathed in. Out. With a plethora of eyes, she saw So. Many. Things. Each set viewed the world from a different angle, sending streams of information to the various minds vying for dominion.
There was Halo, her love. A crowd of cheering harpies. The stoic Commander. A grinning Erebus. A bored stranger.
Think. Halo had spoken words to her. He’d commanded. No, he’d explained. Save everyone...but not him? For Halo to win and rescue his brothers, Ophelia had to kill him?
Make it make sense! Halo was part of everyone, and she was supposed to save everyone.
The beasts understood him perfectly, however, and demanded she do it, sink her teeth deep. Devour him! There, there and there. Such tender meat. But a light of sanity refused to dim as white-hot heat spread over her skin. Ophelia clung to it, fighting the instinct as she fought everything—with everything she had.
The strangest thing happened. The beasts began to bow to her will. To surrender to the queen of the jungle.
Without their interference, her greatest desire crystalized, growing, strengthening. A life with Halo. And I can have it.
She couldn’t kill him. The first victim to grace her résumé would not be her consort.
He’d tried to warn her; the mental anguish would be unbearable. Because she loved him and he loved her. She wouldn’t give up her family.