Page 24

I looked around the circle of faces—angels, demons, witches, shifters, hunters—all united by a common purpose. It was humbling, the trust they were placing in me, in this plan.

“Get some rest,” I urged them. “Tomorrow will test all of us. We meet back here at five AM, two hours before dawn in Elysium.”

The group dispersed slowly, breaking into smaller conversations as they made final preparations. I found myself drawn to the window, staring out at the darkening sky as the enormity of what we were about to attempt settled over me.

Levi joined me after a while, his presence a comforting warmth at my side. “Penny for your thoughts, sweetheart?”

“They're worth less than that right now,” I admitted with a small smile. “I'm just hoping we're doing the right thing. Putting all these people at risk.”

“They're here because they choose to be,” he reminded me. “Because they believe in you. In what we're fighting for.”

I turned to face him, taking in the strong lines of his face, the depth in his dark eyes. Despite everything—the trauma of my trial in the Reflecting Pool, his transformation in the forest, the looming danger of tomorrow's mission—I found myself drawing strength from his unwavering presence.

“And you?” I asked softly. “After what happened yesterday, are you sure you want to be part of this? No one would blame you if you wanted to sit this one out.”

His expression hardened. “I'm not leaving your side, Ariella. Not tomorrow, not ever. Whatever happens in Elysium, we face it together.”

The fierce conviction in his voice scattered my doubts, at least for the moment. “Together,” I echoed, the word feeling like a promise, a vow.

* * *

The apartment was quiet when we returned, the silence heavy with anticipation for the morning to come. I moved around the kitchen, going through the motions of preparing a simple meal neither of us would probably eat, my mind racing with thoughts of tomorrow.

Levi watched me from the doorway, his gaze thoughtful. “You should try to get some sleep,” he suggested. “Dawn comes early.”

“I don't think I could sleep if I tried,” I admitted, abandoning the pretense of cooking. “Every time I close my eyes, I see…”

I didn't need to finish the sentence. He knew—the Reflecting Pool, the trap at the eastern gate, my family in Rhodes's hands. The nightmares waiting to claim me.

“Come here,” he said softly, holding out his hand.

I went to him without hesitation, letting him pull me against his chest, his arms encircling me with careful strength. We stood like that for a long moment, drawing comfort from each other's warmth, from the steady rhythm of our heartbeats.

“This might be our last night,” I whispered against his shirt, giving voice to the fear that had been haunting me since we'd made our plans. “If something goes wrong tomorrow…”

“Don't,” he murmured, his lips brushing against my hair. “Don't think about that.”

“I can't help it.” I pulled back just enough to look up at him, to see the emotion in his eyes that he so rarely allowed to show. “There's so much at stake, so many ways this could go wrong. And I can't stop thinking about how I might never get the chance to?—”

He cut me off with a kiss, his lips capturing mine with gentle insistence. I melted into him, my arms sliding up to wrap around his neck as the kiss deepened, became something hungrier, more desperate.

“Then let's make tonight count,” he breathed against my mouth. “Let's forget about tomorrow, about Rhodes, about everything but us. Just for a little while.”

His hands moved to my waist, drawing me closer, and I went willingly, craving the solid reality of him against me. Whatever tomorrow brought—victory or defeat, life or death—tonight we had this. Each other. This moment stolen from the chaos swirling around us.

Levi lifted me easily, my legs wrapping around his waist as he carried me through the apartment toward the bedroom. His lips never left mine, the kiss growing more heated, more urgent with each step.

He dropped me on the bed, his body still tangled with mine as I pulled off his shirt, barely breaking our frantic kisses.

As my shirt and bra came off, our bodies pressed together, I didn’t know where I began and he ended, I just knew I needed him.

His lips trailed down to the hollow of my breast and then my stomach as he scooted to the end of the bed, tugging my jeans and underwear off in one fell swoop so I lay naked, vulnerable beneath him.

He dipped his head down, his tongue flattening against my center as he kept his gaze locked on mine.

So many thoughts ran through my mind.

How I wanted to tell him how I felt.

We both knew we might not have much time, and this could be the last time to say it.

And yet when my body bent to his will, letting him taste me, all I could do was moan his name, my eyes sliding closed as I pressed my head to the pillow, relishing in the feel of his mouth on my sensitive nub.

With his hands pressed to my thighs, pinning me down, I should have felt constricted. My body going into fight mode.

But instead, I melted into his touch, feeling safe for the first time in a long time. This was where I belonged. With him. Together in his arms.

All the things I wanted to say, I knew I couldn’t say out loud, so I poured them into my body, letting myself feel all of him as my body shuddered and I whimpered, riding out my orgasm on his awaiting tongue.

I could barely breathe as he finished, then pressed his mouth to mine so I tasted my own salty sweetness on him.

I usually hated that sort of thing, but with Levi, everything felt perfect. So alive. So real.

As our bodies pressed together, I willed him to slide into me, to feel his familiar fullness.

But he just stayed against me, our bodies moving together as he continued kissing me, his fingers going down my sides and my waist, then back up again as if he was trying to memorize every curve.

But I needed him, my whole body pulsing and begging for more.

Putting my hands on his chest, I pushed him gently, and he flinched before I rolled him onto his back, thighs still braced on either side of him as I straddled his naked body.

Sitting up, I smirked, running my fingers down the hard lines of his abs.

“You’re beautiful, Sweetheart,” he murmured, his fingers going to my cheek and rubbing softly.

I wanted to memorize that moment. Keep it ingrained in my brain forever as his eyes widened while I slid his erection inside of me.

Each inch by exquisite inch was better than the last, and I moaned, relishing in the feel of him.

Normally, I would slam my eyes shut, just focusing on our bodies and the pleasure.

But this time, I kept my gaze locked on his, my fingers grasped firmly on his chest as I rocked our bodies together.

He gripped the back of my legs, pulling me closer.

“You feel incredible, Ariella,” he rasped with each thrust.

“You do,” I managed to breathe as my body pulsed, so close to the brink that I could feel stars pulsing throughout my body.

But before I could reach the top, Levi suddenly flipped me to my back, never breaking out contact as he slid his body against mine over and over again, his breathing heavy against mine.

I gripped onto his back, letting the magic and pleasure flow through me as I breathed him in.

He rasped against my ear, something I couldn’t quite make out.

I wanted to ask.

Wanted to know if he was finally going to say what I’d desperately been holding back, but then his eyes locked on mine, and all the will to speak left my body.

His hands went between us again as he rubbed my sensitive nub, continuing to thrust his hard body against mine.

As I stayed connected with him, our eyes locked, I silently said the words I knew I couldn’t say out loud, hoping it was enough before I cried out his name, letting my orgasm take over.

He followed soon after, his body shuddering against mine before he collapsed on my chest, our bodies tangled together.

I wanted to stay in that moment forever. To just breathe him in.

We both knew what was going to happen soon, and I had to hold back the tears threatening to escape as I ran my fingers through his hair.

“We should probably clean up,” he whispered before placing a light kiss on my shoulder.

I blinked hard, trying to control my emotions.

Usually, we’d lie together until we fell asleep after sex.

Maybe he was just ready to get it over with.

But I gasped when instead of heading to the bathroom, he pulled me with him to the edge of the bed, then slid his arms under my thighs, lifting me and carrying me forward to the bathroom before lightly placing me on the edge of the tub.

With his back to me, he turned on the water, letting it fall in a steady stream as he checked the temperature before adding in some bath salts.

“A bubble bath, Levi?” I asked, raising a brow.

He laughed, standing up to his full height, before he stepped behind me, easing my body into the warm water. “I can do things like bubble baths.”

I gasped as I felt his chest slide against my back, then his legs against my side as he slid into the tub behind me.

Sighing, I leaned my head back against his sweaty shoulder, letting my eyes drift closed.

“I don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring,” he said quietly, his fingers lazily trailing down my chest where my heart beat rapidly.

“We don’t need to talk about tomorrow, okay? Let’s just stay in this moment for as long as we can.”

He stayed silent for a moment before I finally felt him breathe again. “Okay.”