I touched my throat where Magoth had almost succeeded in throttling me. ‘‘He attacked me when he realized what the phylactery was. I was on the verge of passing out-’’

Gabriel, distracted as I had hoped he would be, was instantly at my side, probing my neck with gentle fingers. ‘‘You were bruised here. Your flesh still remembers the trauma. I will ease its memory.’’

His lips caressed my neck, building the banked fire within me until I moaned at the sensation of his skin against mine.

I tossed aside the clothing I was still holding, falling into his arms, kissing a line along his jaw.

‘‘I cannot seem to get enough of you, little bird,’’ he murmured as his tongue swept broad strokes across my neck. I’d never been licked before by a man, but the sensation wasn’t even remotely repugnant. Gabriel positively hummed with pleasure as I slid my hands down his silky skin, tracing out the hills and valleys that made up the planes of his back. ‘‘You are so good, Mayling. You taste so good.’’

I let my forehead drop to his shoulder, guilt spiking through my desire until the latter all but evaporated. ‘‘I’m not good. I’m not good at all, Gabriel. Even assuming we have nothing to worry about with Porter and whomever he’s working for, Magoth will move mountains to get that phylactery.’’

‘‘Then we shall simply have to get to it before he does,’’ he answered, lifting my chin until my lips brushed his. ‘‘We must get you into the vault before Magoth can summon you and give you a direct order. We will have to share this news with Drake and Aisling-I do not wish to involve them, but without Maata and Tipene to help us, we are in a weak position.’’

I said nothing, just snuggled into him, savoring the scent and feel of him pressed so closely against me, thinking with irony of the many times I’d comforted Cyrene when one of her romantic relationships had failed. I’d always been somewhat skeptical about heartache, but now I knew the full extent of how a person could feel they were dying inside. Worse, I had no one but myself to blame for my present circumstance-I knew it was folly to become involved with Gabriel so long as I was bound to Magoth. I knew it, and yet I’d ignored the reality of the situation. And now the true price was uncovered as I acknowledged that over the span of just a few days, my emotions had deepened significantly.

I was falling in love. It was an odd sensation, a sort of prickly excitement that alternated with the absolute depths of despair. I’d never felt love before-other than affection for Cyrene-but even that was tinged with a sense of duty because I owed my very existence to her. But Gabriel was different… which would make it all that much more agonizing if I did not find a way out of obeying Magoth’s order.

‘‘It is almost morning,’’ Gabriel said, glancing at the clock. He scooped me up and stood, carrying me to the bed. ‘‘Magoth cannot assault the L’au-delà vaults himself, can he?’’

I shook my head. ‘‘He doesn’t have the means to leave Abaddon. Even if he did, the Otherworld officials sealed their offices and vaults from the demon lords long ago. Magoth can’t get to them himself- he’ll need an agent to do that.’’ I almost choked on the last few words, but managed to keep my voice steady.

‘‘As I thought. Then we shall rest. You need sleep, and I must think. We will consult with Drake and Aisling in a few hours.’’

He lay on his side, pulling me up tight against him, tucking my leg between his as he rested his chin on the top of my head.

I allowed myself to relax into him, seduced by the warmth of his body and the comfort he brought me just by holding me. He was becoming infinitely dear to me, more precious even than my own life. I must find a way out of the situation I was in-Aisling was a demon lord. Rumor said she was once a prince of Abaddon, but had been removed. She would know of a way to get around Magoth’s command. She would help me… she had to. The alternative was not to be thought of.

I awoke confused, the echoes of an alarm followed by a man’s voice piercing my uneasy slumber.

The door was just closing as I sat up and shook the hair from my face. ‘‘Gabriel?’’

Our room was empty, but judging by the shouts filtering up from the floor below, I gathered others were up and about.

A woman’s scream drifted up. I leaped out of bed, jerked on a pair of pants and a shirt, and went racing barefoot down the hall to the stairs.

Cyrene stood midway down the stairs, holding a blanket around her much as I had a few hours before. Behind her, with his back to me, Kostya stood, clutching her tightly to him. I suspected that from the way everyone else present stood as still as statues on the floor below, he held some sort of a weapon on Cy.

‘‘I’m in deadly earnest, Gabriel. Your mate may be immortal, but even she won’t be able to long survive a neck slit from ear to ear.’’

I shadowed, not waiting to find out why Kostya believed Cyrene was me, creeping down the stairs until I was within a hairsbreadth of him. It was morning, but a dull, overcast morning, and the chandelier that hung from the ceiling above the stairs hadn’t been turned on. No one saw me until I was just behind Kostya.

‘‘Mayling, no!’’ Gabriel yelled, leaping toward me.

Kostya realized his mistake too late, half spinning around toward me as Cyrene lunged forward, tripped over her blanket, and hurtled down the stairs to the floor below.

I threw myself on Kostya, my thumbs digging into the pulse points on his neck. Cyrene screamed as Gabriel caught her. I didn’t get to see more than him setting her abruptly aside before Kostya swore and swung around, slamming me into the wall and knocking the breath out of me.

Gabriel’s roar of fury rattled the windows. I’m just about completely certain that if he had made it to Kostya, he would have ripped the latter’s head off, but fortunately for us all, Drake’s two bodyguards grabbed Gabriel before he could enact his rage.

Drake himself jerked me from Kostya’s grip, pinning his brother to the wall, ably assisted by a snarling Jim.

‘‘This will cease now!’’ Drake bellowed, sharing his glare between his brother and Gabriel.

‘‘Do not interfere in matters concerning my mate,’’ Gabriel growled, his normally lovely voice pitched low with warning as he struggled with the two green dragons.

‘‘I would not dream of doing anything of the kind, but this attack was not prompted by May. Kostya, if you do not behave in a civilized manner, I will allow Aisling to perform as many wards upon you as she can think of, and she has become quite inventive the last few months.’’

Kostya spat out what I assumed were some nasty oaths, but ceased fighting his brother’s hold. I shook the stars from my eyes and ran down the steps to Gabriel, wrapping my arms around him both for comfort and to keep him from attacking Kostya.

‘‘If I said this was getting old, would anyone pay attention to me?’’ Aisling asked as most of the occupants in the room-the dragon occupants-stood seething and glaring at one another.

‘‘No,’’ Gabriel answered at the same time Drake did.

‘‘Well,’’ she said with an injured sniff, ‘‘it is. I’m certainly getting tired of the dragon brand of testosterone, and I imagine May and Cyrene are as well.’’

Gabriel’s muscles relaxed slightly, enough that he slid his arms around me. ‘‘Your brother-in-law seems to make a habit of assaulting my mate, Aisling. I will not tolerate that.’’

‘‘You began this when you stole my phylactery!’’ Kostya yelled, shoving his brother aside. ‘‘The black dragons will regain that-’’

‘‘Oh, no,’’ Jim moaned, shaking its head. ‘‘He’s gone off on his Braveheart speech again.’’

‘‘-which we once held but was taken from us.’’ Both green dragons instantly leaped in front of him as Gabriel tried to move me out of the way.

‘‘Aisling’s right,’’ I said, digging in my heels to keep him standing still. ‘‘This is getting old.’’