His gaze swept across me, chasing away the cool breeze that goose-pebbled my skin. The fire in his eyes burned so bright. “You gave up your chance at freedom to tell me this? Why would you do that? You almost got killed. The next time you go through that portal, you—”
“Because I love you.”
Yuto froze. And then, faster than seemed logically possible, he’d lifted me into his arms, crushing me against his chest. The room melted into a blur of colors as he spun me around. I closed my eyes and held on tight, breathing him in.
He pulled back and searched my eyes. There was a softness in him, a kind of raw hope, that he’d never shown me before. “You mean that?”
“Of course I do,” I whispered. “I wouldn’t tell that kind of lie.”
He grinned at me broadly. “I love you, too, Aradia Galatas.”
And then he leaned in close with a soul-splitting kiss that curled my toes.
* * *
“We need a way to kill Panos,” Yuto announced to the gathered crew. They were all clad in their various nightclothes. Orion only had a loose pair of trousers slung around his waist, barely hiding the end of the curved V in his abs.
“My lord,” Aleka said with a deep sigh that radiated through her entire body. “You know Panos is impossible to kill. Why rouse us from our sleep?” She turned and smiled my way. “It is good to see you awake though, my dear. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
I gave her a nod.
Eryx crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “What’s this about then?”
“Aradia has found some intriguing information in one of her books.” Every eye in the room swivelled my way. “It seems we might have a way out of here. But it involves killing Panos.”
“Forgive me for not leaping for joy, my lord,” Orion said. “But that does us no good at all sincehe cannot be killed.”
“I have an idea,” I suddenly said.
Those eyes stayed latched on me, all swirling with curiosity and doubt. Orion frowned. “I appreciate you wanting to help us. It will not go forgotten. But you have to understand. Some things are impossible, even with magic. This is one of those impossible things.”
“I understand that,” I said in a snap. “Stop interrupting me. Just listen.”
Orion’s eyebrows shot up, and he chuckled. “My, my. Someone is feeling feisty today.”
I waved his comments away. “If you were able to poison Panos with the same herbs he used on me, what would happen?”
Yuto edged closer, frowning. “Poison, Aradia? You know that won’t work. It will render him unconscious momentarily, but he will heal. That’s no better than a sword or arrow. Or even fire.”
“Yuto has burned him alive,” Eryx said matter-of-factly. “He always heals.”
I grimaced. That was disgusting but no need to focus on that. “But he’d be unconscious.”
“For a time.” Yuto curled a finger against my cheek. “What are you thinking?”
“You just need enough time to get close to him. If you shoot him with a poisoned arrow, you’d have that time. Have you ever noticed how he always keeps himself away from everyone?” I glanced from Yuto’s face to the others. “He always darts back when you try to engage him in a fight. Or he uses arrows. Or vanishes into shadows.”
“I’ve gotten close enough for a sword wound in the past.” Yuto glanced at Eryx. “Don’t you remember? It was the first time he tried attacking this place. He climbed the wall, and I cut him down. He tumbled to his death, or so I thought. It took less than an hour for him to heal.”
“Sure, I remember,” Eryx nodded. “Two hundred years ago. Has he ever gotten that close since then?”
“No. No, he hasn’t.” Yuto twisted back toward me. “What are you saying? You think a sword can kill him now?”
“I think, my question is, does he have a weakness he doesn’t want anyone to know? There’s something I read about in a book once. The only way to kill a creature called a zombie. It was fiction, but…worth a try?”
“What is it, Aradia?” Yuto asked.
“Have you ever tried to cut off his head?”
