Page 135 of A House of Gold
The mention of Luna makes my chest tight. "We need to protect her. If Heaven's watching me, if they know about the bloodlines..."
"Already done." Croesus's voice is firm. "While you were sleeping, I sent Nat to place wards around her campus. Nothing that will alert her or disrupt her life, but strong enough to keep collectors out. And I've arranged for one of my people to watch her. Discreetly."
I stare at him. "You did that?"
"I know what she means to you." He says it simply, like it's obvious. "Which means keeping her safe keeps you functional. It's practical."
But through the binding, I feel the lie beneath the words. He did it because he knows I'm terrified for her. Because protecting Luna is protecting me. Because somewhere in the last few weeks, my pain has become his pain.
"Thank you," I whisper.
"Don't thank me yet. We still have to survive the meeting." He steps back, straightens his jacket. "Get dressed. Something that makes you look dangerous. The angels respect power, and right now, you need to look like someone worth protecting instead of a victim worth pitying."
"I'm not good at looking dangerous."
"You survived three days in a coma after absorbing a void. You're standing here planning strategy instead of hiding in your room." His smile is sharp. "Trust me. You're more dangerous than you think."
An hour later, I'm dressed in clothes that don't feel like mine. Black pants that fit like a second skin, a deep green shirt that makes my bourbon eyes darker, and a leather jacket that probably costs more than my car. Croesus insisted on the gold jewelry again, subtle but unmistakable. Claiming me without words.
I look at myself in the mirror and barely recognize the woman staring back. She looks capable. Dangerous. Like someone who could walk into a room full of fallen angels and walk out alive.
I hope that's true.
"Ready?" Croesus appears behind me, dressed in black and gold, every inch the lord of his house.
"No."
"Good. Fear will keep you sharp." He offers his arm. "Remember: you're mine. Let them see that. Let them understand that touching you means going through me."
"And after?" The question slips out. "After my year with you is up? When I have to serve the others?"
His jaw tightens. Through the binding, I feel the war inside him, possessiveness versus reality, desire versus duty.
"Then you'll serve them," he says finally. "Because the contracts are binding. Because you made a choice to protect Luna, and that choice has consequences." His gold eyes meet mine. "But that doesn't mean I'm letting you go. It just means I have to share."
"The others won't want to share."
"Then they'll learn to." His voice is steel. "Because you're not just a sin eater anymore, Raven. You're the key to somethingbigger than all of us. And whether we like it or not, we're bound together now."
"That doesn't sound ominous at all."
He almost smiles. "Welcome to supernatural politics. Everything is ominous."
He leads me through the house, down corridors I haven't seen before, until we reach a door that definitely wasn't there yesterday. It's old, made of dark wood, covered in symbols that hurt to look at directly.
"This portal leads to the cathedral," Croesus explains. "Neutral ground maintained by a treaty. Once we step through, my power is diminished. I can't protect you the way I can here."
"So if something goes wrong?"
"Run. Don't fight. Don't try to be brave. Just run, and I'll find you." He cups my face, forehead against mine. "Promise me."
"I promise."
Through the binding, I feel his fear. His absolute terror that this meeting will go wrong, that one of the other angels will decide I'm too dangerous to live, that he'll lose me before he's had the chance to…
To what? Keep me? Love me? Save me?
I don't know. And right now, there's no time to figure it out.
