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over to Heaven or Hell, angel. I will scorch you from existence myself, if I discover any treachery.”
    When Ezra said nothing, only stared at Le Medcin, the demi-god seemed pleased. He turned, filling the room with the soft clink of rattling bones.
    Le Medcin strode out of the room, presumably leaving the bolt-hole to conduct more midnight business in New Orleans. The second he was gone, Ezra scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed.
    He moved over to sit on the ledge of the open living room window, looking out over the desert. The sand was washed white under the moonlight, lying before him shimmering and vast.
    Protector. Guardian.
    Heavy words, entrenched in obligation. Nothing new to him, of course; allegiance and obedience had been expected of him from the moment he’d begun to exist. Honor drove him to the very edge, from Heaven to Hell, and then to this very moment on the mortal plane.
    Heavier still for the commandment to guard Aurora, who’d already proven to be stubbornly independent. Though Ezra had easily predicted that she’d try to escape her apartment, he still found her mysterious.
    Her claims about the death of her mother and brother were no doubt disturbing, but Ezra had trouble believing the part about an angel killing her mother. Not that angels weren’t deadly, but… they were usually so far above something like killing a single human.
    Null or not, no angel would murder someone in cold blood just to win their war against Hell… would they?
    With his innate sense of truth and lie, he could tell that Aurora believed her words. Believed them deeply and irrefutably, down to her very soul.
    Still, there was no evidence except Aurora’s version of the events. He didn’t know Aurora well, but he understood the inner workings of Heaven intimately…
    If only he could get the story straight from Aurora, without any of the angry tension that had already started to build between them. She hated him simply for being an angel, which would necessarily complicate any intentions he had about guarding her from harm.
    But how to change it? One look at Aurora’s fiercely shining blue eyes, the stubborn set of her lush, curved lips…
    She would challenge him every step of the way, no matter what. He would have to challenge himself, force himself to resist the temptation to get closer, find out what made her tick. Find out what made her so… magnetic.
    Brooding, Ezra leaned back and closed his eyes.
    Tomorrow, he’d seek a solution to the issues between them.
    Tonight, he needed rest.
    Aurora woke in the morning, infinitely more refreshed than she’d expected. She didn’t know if it was the fact that the place was so heavily warded by a powerful witch, or Ezra’s promise of a night’s safety, but… she’d drifted right off and slept straight through.
    Sitting up, she remembered that she’d barricaded both doors with chairs and pulled a face.
    Okay, so maybe she had a few trust issues. When Vesper implied that Aurora was carrying around a heavy weight…
    Well, she hadn’t been so far off base. Paranoia was Aurora’s new normal, the way she made herself feel safe.
    Paranoia makes you feel safe? she thought to herself.
    Flipping back the covers and rolling her eyes, she crawled out of bed. The bed was enormous and oh so comfy, thick white linens. All smelling like sunshine, as if they’d just come in off the laundry line.
    “Why would anyone ever leave here?” she wondered as she pulled the chair from under the bathroom doorknob.
    She opened the door, blinking in surprise when she came almost face-to-face with Ezra. Shirtless, still-dripping-from-the-shower Ezra, wearing nothing but a low-slung white towel that clung to his muscular hips.
    Her mouth formed a surprised O. Her eyes went from his damp hair, down to his sculpted chest, bulging biceps. His chest and shoulders were covered with tattoos, intricate and heavy swirls of black and color. A flaming sword on one collarbone, a nest of thorny roses on