The Immortal (Rise of the Warlords 2)

He thought she’d served as beast bait? Guilt slithered through her, a snake with venomous fangs. “Oh. Um. There’s no reason for you to feel guilt.” Truth. “You aren’t responsible for me.”

“I am responsible. For now.”

Wrong. “I take care of myself.”

Beside them, two harpies launched into a quick back-and-forth conversation, cutting into theirs.

“It just appeared,” the first said. “What do you think it means?”

“Taliyah hired a better decorator? She has a secret admirer?”

“Check it! Some of the Astra are here.”

“No, you check it. I think Halo is boning the Flunk Out. Look! They’re holding hands!”

The discussion tapered, others following suit. Silence descended upon the crowd, and Ophelia’s cheeks flamed. If harpies didn’t turn to leer at the warlords, wag their brows and give suggestive winks, they gaped at her as if she’d sprouted a second head.

She would absolutely, probably give everyone lip about their rudeness just as soon as she finished her study of the other Astra. Before this, she’d only seen the members of the infamous nine at a distance. Up close and personal, they wowed.

Silver, the metalworker, possessed straight black hair, bronze skin and irises like mirrors; his intensity rivaled Halo’s while his ferocity equaled Roc’s.

Then came the one named Ian. He had black eyes and skin a shade lighter. His dark hair was styled in thick braids. Rumors suggested he had a warped sense of humor and a temper far more lethal than any of the other Astra.

Roux, the sexy tea-drinking brute with pale hair, golden skin, and molten eyes—whoa! He was glaring at Ophelia as if he’d locked on a target for elimination, a thin red circle backlighting his enlarged pupils. Aggression thrummed from him.

Threat! She wrenched from Halo at last, positioning for attack. Or she tried to. The Immortal held on tight and yanked her closer before slinging an arm around her hip, pinning her to his side.

Oh, no, no, no. This wouldn’t do. Fused with him, she felt naked all over again. Warmed from head to toe. Needy.

“Let me go,” she snapped, planning to fight her way free. But he smelled so good, and his muscles were so big... Mmm.

She melted into him, running her hands over his chest. Other parts of him were big, too, and they were only growing bigger. And what a heady development. He might have been the one to stop their kiss, but he still desired her. Greatly.

Ophelia dragged her gaze to his face—and flinched. Now Halo was glaring at her as if she were a target for elimination.

“What’d I do?” she demanded, un-melting. Had she committed a grave Astraian faux pas or something?

“Roux has informed me you are General Nissa’s sister.” He raised a brow. “That information wasn’t listed in your file.”

Oh. That. “Yeah? So?” Why deny it now?

The muscle twitched in his jaw once, then again. On any other man, a double twitch meant nothing more than increased irritation. With Halo...huge mad.

“So,” he grated. “You have a reason to sabotage my task.”

“Like Nissa is the only one I’ve got,” she quipped. “Exhibit A, your sparkling personality.”

Jump. “I want to know why you kept this detail from me.”

“First of all, you never specifically asked if I had a sister or who she might be. That’s on you. Second, I don’t need a reason not to tell a stranger I don’t like a personal detail about my family. That’s on me.” Let him stew over the real justification. He deserved it after that sabotage crack. As if she would ever endanger harpykind. On purpose.

A line of blue bulged between his eyes. “You compromised my task. Those who do so usually die screaming.”

“Well, thank goodness I’m covered then. Been there, done that.” Already bought my ticket for round three. “You remember my stabbing, right?” She buffed her fingers on her sweater, over the disk. “The night your bedroom bondage fetish prevented me from defending myself against your enemy? Ringing any bells or should I go on?”

The slightest vibration registered, as if he’d trembled. But that couldn’t be right. Halo the Machine did not tremble. Did he?

“We are supposedly allies.” He bent down, putting them nose to nose. “Tell me the real reason for your silence of your own volition, harpy.”

Was she sensing a pattern to his use of nicknames? Did he call her “nymph” when he wanted some O and “harpy” when she irritated him? “Or what?”

“Or I will be forced to extract the information another way.”

“In that case.” She smiled sweetly. “Extract the information another way.”

He inhaled, exhaled. “Have you aided Erebus in any way?”

Okay, so, she rethought Operation Let Him Stew in a hurry. They had just entered super dangerous territory for her, the truth both a danger and a shield to her cause. If Halo believed her to be an enemy, he would convince Roc of it, who could convince Taliyah, who could label Ophelia a traitor. Banishment might be the least of her worries.