“Ludo, Gods, Ludo…I love you more than you can even imagine,” I whisper back. “Never leave me again.”
—Never, Nymph—
Again, his mouth moves towards mine. Our tongues touch, caress, dance together.
—How have I been blessed like this, Nymph?—
A moan escapes my throat and I find myself grinding against Ludo’s hardness.
—Want—everything—
Eventually, our frenzied kissing draws to a close.
—Your safety above my desires, always, Nymph—
He looks over my head, keeping me shielded in the circle of his arms.
—The gryphon is arriving. He will want to plan—
With a heavy sigh, I lean my head on Ludo’s shoulder. “I wish we could stay longer in this moment. Make time stop for us.”
—Our time is coming, but for now we make a future where children can live without fear—
???
Alexis hands me a slice of oily cheese pizza, followed by a paper napkin.
The normalcy of the small action allows my brain and body to kick it down a notch. The past hour has gone from fright, to fight, to fuck, with barely a pause.
“Mmmm.” A small satisfied noise escapes from the girl.
Ludo meets my eye.
—She’s eating. That is good—
—Very—
“So, did Cosmo get back to Electus OK?” I ask Alexis.
“Yes, just as all the mayhem Max made took place.”
That makes me grin. “So put us out of our misery, Lex. What did our hound do to get all the guards rushing out of here?”
Alexis smirks. “The guards got a report that Ludo had been spotted around Electus.” He takes a slow bite of his pizza, eyes dancing with amusement. “Apparently, there’s an Elite kid on the second floor who is into anime and cosplay. Max broke down his door and liberated a long, flowing white wig from the student’s costume collection. Then he went sprinting through the Tower gardens, smashing a few urns and planters as he went.”
Willow snorts into her soda. “Maximus went full ‘Pale Beast’ mode.”
Alexis nods. “He ran through the shadows near the North gate, letting that white hair stream behind him like a ghost. The whole unit of guards charged after him.”
I smile, imagining a Benny Hill scene.
“They spent twenty minutes tactically surrounding part of the holly hedge, because Max had stuck the wig on a statue of Pan,then placed it behind some bushes. By the time they realized what was up, Max was back in the penthouse drinking whisky.”
“Oh my Gods.” Hilarious. And clever.
And brave.
Ludo lets out a huff of breath beside me.
