“Is that a box in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” she asked, a smirk curling her lips. She was so happy to be with him again that she just couldn’t contain it.

“I am certainly very happy to see you.” Kai pulled out the ring box his mother had given him. “And yes, it’s a box.”

Sera’s heart thumped.

Kai laughed. “You wear your emotions on the surface.”

“Apparently, you like that. You find it intriguing.”

“Yes, I do.” He leaned over to kiss her softly, then pulled back to meet her eyes.

“All of that… I’m sorry I broke into your mind.”

“Don’t be,” he said. “You freed me. And I’m not embarrassed, not even a bit. I have nothing to hide. You already know I’m an arrogant asshole.”

She snorted. “No, you’re not. Well, ok, maybe a little. But only in a completely endearing and really sexy way.”

He traced her lips with his finger. “I love your mouth.”

“But I just meant, I got to see your thoughts,” she said. “But you didn’t see mine. It’s a bit unfair.”

“Not really. I can read what you’re thinking right on your face. You’re a horrible liar.”

“I take issue with that statement. I hid my magic for twenty-four years.”

“And then you met me. Most people can’t smell a lie to save their life. But I have been sniffing them out since I could talk. Your face gives everything away and your magic just seals the deal. Right now, for instance, you’re weighing the consequences of having sex with me right now, the thrill of sex in Death Valley with the inconvenience of getting all that salt and sand in your hair.”

Sera’s hand froze mid-twirl through her hair. “That is not what I was thinking.”

Except she was now. Damn him.

“You are a wicked man, Kai Drachenburg,” she told him.

He smiled, not looking the least bit contrite. He wrapped his arm around her.

“And you’re right,” she added. “You really are an arrogant asshole.”

He kissed her. “Then it’s a good thing you find that endearing and sexy.”

She leaned against him. “I don’t ever want to leave this place. It’s so quiet. So peaceful. Just the two of us, away from all the insanity of the world.”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming on.”

She sighed. “But we have to go back. We can’t stay here forever. We can’t let Alden win.”

He looked at her, then glanced down at the ring box.

Sera grinned at him. “Oh, don’t think you’re off the hook, mister. I’m just giving you some time. I expect a proper proposal, you know.”

His brows lifted. “Oh?”

She nodded. “Yes. Nice and romantic. Perfect atmosphere. Lots of praise. No blood and no I’m-going-to-take-over-the-world mages in sight. If it’s good, I might even say yes.”

He snorted. “How can I refuse a challenge like that?”

She grinned at him, standing. “You can’t, of course.” She extended her hand down to him. “Now, come on. Let’s go show the Grim Reaper that he messed with the wrong team.”

Kai took her hand. The desert melted away, and they were once again in Alden’s throne room. As they reappeared, holding hands, magic burst out from Sera. Strengthened and healed by the love she shared with Kai, Sera met Alden’s menacing scowl. Kai looked better now. Together, they were stronger. It was like the two-way bond Alden shared with his people, except this was a bond forged in love, not greed. It was a bond formed from a desire to be larger together than alone, not a desire for power. Sera spread her magic across the room, and she felt that same love from her friends and family. They were all connected through their love. No barriers could stop that love; they could only break before it.

At that thought, the barriers blocking the doors ruptured, allowing Riley, Naomi, and the commandos inside. Alden’s followers streamed in from a different doorway, and the man himself rose from his throne. Sera glared up at him, her hand still locked with Kai’s.

“Your plan backfired,” she told him. “You told me the secret of my power. And now I will defeat you with it.”

As her friends fought the newly arrived soldiers, she ran toward Alden, more power than she’d ever felt flooding her. She was fast, her magic strong. Her spells slid off of her so naturally, so fluidly.

And it wasn’t enough.

Alden cast a shield, consuming her spells. She hit him again, but nothing got through. He was too powerful. He had too many followers to draw from.

“You are not strong enough,” he said. “I warned you. You cannot handle all the power flowing to you.”

As Sera’s initial high started to wear off, she slowed, growing tired. She struggled to hold onto the magic her loved ones were feeding her. It was slipping out, being wasted. She kept pressing on.

“You could have joined me,” he told her. “We could have made a better world.”

“The problem is we have very different ideas of what that means.”

Alden sighed, shaking his head slowly. “Such a waste.”

Bright green magic shot out of his hands, blasting her back. It ripped through her body, breaking and burning. She fell to the floor, spasming from the pain. She could see her friends, but they were cut off by Alden’s minions. They couldn’t help her.