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“That’s because you’re immortal,” Harker pointed out.

The three of them laughed.

“You guys arehilarious.” I rolled my eyes to let them know what I really thought.

Nero wrapped his arm around me. “Seriously, though, Leda cooks quite well now.”

“Really?” Bella looked like she still didn’t believe it.

“It’s true.” I nodded. “I was really motivated. Sierra is a very picky eater.”

“Let us bring this charming conversation back to business, shall we?” Nyx said with arched brows. “I will prepare the paperwork for the transfer of power and send it over right away.”

The former First Angel left, and we turned to less serious matters.

“Anyone up for watching a movie?” I asked. “I have two tubs of ice cream in the freezer.”

A scream cut through the building, shaking the walls. A moment later, our twelve-year-old daughter burst out of her bedroom. Sierra’s auburn hair was a mess. Her pajamas were drenched in sweat.

I rushed to her, wrapping my arms around her, holding her trembling body against mine. “What is it? Did you have a nightmare?”

“It’s more…” Her voice shook. “…than a nightmare.”

Her nightmares always were.

She pulled back to meet my eyes. “It’s real. It happened.”

“What happened?” Nero asked, coming up to us slowly.

“I saw someone attack the Legion of Angels,” she said. “I saw an explosion…debris…and…” She swallowed hard. “And death.”

CHAPTER 2

VISIONS

It took nearly half an hour to get all the details of the attack from Sierra. Someone—or something—had broken into the Legion’s research lab and stolen a magic artifact. And they’d blown a sizable hole in the facility in the process.

“Is the thief still there?” I asked Sierra as Nero pulled out his phone to call the facility.

“I don’t know. It all went by so fast,” she replied, her lower lip trembling. “They were just flashes in my mind, like lightning. All those fragmented images spinning by.” She gripped my hands tightly. “Bodies falling…” Pressing her lips together, she shook her head and said no more.

“The commander of the facility knows nothing about any attack,” Nero said, returning to us.

“Maybe it was a stealth attack?” I suggested.

“An explosion is not very stealthy, Pandora.” He looked at Sierra.

“It happened,” our daughter insisted with an air of stubborn resolve that could only be genetic. “I know what I saw.”

“I believe you,” Nero told her.

She gave him a tired smile.

“Perhaps someone was impersonating the facility commander,” I suggested. “Or he was under duress.”

“I know Major Ashmore’s voice. Just as I know the man. No amount of ‘duress’ would compel him to lie to me.”

“Magic can do many things, Nero.”