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“Both tasks require a serious, disciplined mind.”

I watched him closely. Something wasn’t right here.

“You haven’t made a list of two-hundred-and-sixty-one historical baby names, have you?”

“No, I have not.” He snorted. “But it was really funny when you thought that I had.”

“This is payback for my joking about angel fiction baby names,” I sighed.

He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer. “Yes, it is.”

“Gods, I love you, Nero,” I laughed.

“And I love you, Leda.”

“Just out of curiosity, do you even have a baby name list?” I asked him.

“I do. But it is considerably shorter. And carefully curated.”

“Curated, of course. I should have known you wouldn’t make a list that included the name of every female soldier the Legion has ever had.”

“No.” He looked around the yard. “I’ve finished setting up the defenses.”

“We’re lucky Bella wasn’t more seriously hurt earlier,” I said as we headed back to the house. “With your defenses up, that should keep those assailants out, no matter how ninja-like they might be.”

“Indeed. No one will get past my spells,” Nero declared.

* * *

We decidedto stay the night to keep watch over the house, just in case the ninjas were crazy enough to try to break through Nero’s defenses. We were taking the night watch, so the rest of my family could get some sleep. They’d need to look after Bella tomorrow, when Nero and I had to return to work.

I laughed as I spread the blanket over us on the sofa.

“What’s so funny?” Nero asked me.

“I’m just thinking about how much this totally goes against all those angel rules I learned about. For us to sleep on the sofa rather than be given the place of honor in the house…oh, how Colonel Fireswift would cringe if he could see us now!” I rubbed my hands together in delight.

“You extract enjoyment from the most curious things, Pandora.”

“That’s what makes life fun.” I frowned. “Of course, if Colonel Fireswift does find out about this, he will probably use it to fail me in my remedial angel studies. Though I already took the written exam. Gods, could he be planning a practical exam too?”

I shuddered to think of what that might include.

“Worrying about what Fireswift might or might not do is a complete waste of time and sanity,” Nero said. “I would know.”

I looked fondly at him. “Yeah, you would, wouldn’t you?”

As Nero told it, he and Xerxes Fireswift had been arch enemies since the day they’d met as boys.

“I will take the first watch,” Nero said. “You try to get some rest. Being well-rested and calm in the face of Fireswift’s tyranny is the best way you can annoy him. And unlike your usual antics, Pandora, he can’t even fail you for that.”

I draped my arms over his shoulders and moved in, kissing him lightly. “I like the way your wicked mind works, Windstriker.”