Tied With a Bow

didn’t matter to him at all. Her body became rigid, her emotions brittle as glass.
    “You owe me an explanation,” she said.
    “I’m leaving this place right now. You can accompany me or not.”
    She glared at him. She was not going to be steamrolled. “We need to talk this out.”
    He scowled and pulled her forward, his fingers digging into her pocket to retrieve the car keys.
    She shoved him and backed away. “Don’t manhandle me.”
    “You accuse me of such a thing? Perhaps you should stay here, Kate, until you decide with whom you belong.”
    She frowned, her back stiffening. The thought of him leaving rattled her more than she wanted to admit, which only made her struggle harder not to cave.
    He opened the back of jeep and took out her bags.
    “What are you doing?” she asked.
    “You,” Nathaniel said, pointing at Grant. “You want her to stay, so be it. I leave her in your safekeeping. Let harm come to her, and you’ll answer for it.”
    “Nathaniel,” she snapped. “I’m still here.”
    “Obviously,” he agreed.
    “I meant don’t talk about me as if I were property or some weak little female that the big strong men need to protect.”
    “You do need protection sometimes. You’re foolish to claim otherwise,” he said. He clasped her hand and she felt his ring cool and hard in her palm. He closed her fingers around it, clenching her fist within his.
    “Wear my ring until I return.”
    “What, are we in high school? I’m not—”
    He caught her face in his hands and kissed her, hard and tender at the same time. At first she resisted but then couldn’t.
    Delicious, she thought as her body tightened in anticipation of what she wanted . . . more .
    She kissed him back, until normal consciousness melted, and an image burned her mind. She lay in her dorm room asleep. Nathaniel stood over her, his chiseled features rain-soaked as he opened her hand. Water dripped onto the ring transforming the flecks of dried blood into pink droplets in her palm. His harsh breath quickened, and his thumb rubbed the moisture along her hand creases. “We’re bound by blood,” he whispered, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t have touched the ring. Should never even have spotted it.” She stirred, her lips parting. “Who are you?” he asked, staring down at her face, and then he leaned forward and brushed his lips over her mouth. When he straightened, he licked his lips. “Bound,” he whispered, taking the ring. Then, with a rush of air, he escaped through the open window.
    The image blurred as Nathaniel stepped back.
    “What the hell was that?” she gasped, trying to catch her breath.
    “A good-bye kiss,” Nathaniel said, climbing into the driver’s seat. He shoved it all the way back to accommodate his height.
    “I saw you in my dorm room. I was asleep . . . It wasn’t my memory . . .” she stammered. “Did you see that just now?”
    He shook his head, starting the car.
    “Where are you going? The next four blocks are the Sliver, which is neutral territory, but the entire city beyond that is the Varden, which is controlled by the ventala.”
    “Maybe a visit there will help me figure out what they want from me.”
    “So you’re just going to do what? Drive around? See if something seems familiar while half the ventala in the Varden may be hunting you?”
    “If you wish to know, come with me.”
    She still felt slightly disoriented from the kiss and the dorm room vision. Had it been a memory? One of his? Or just a dream that felt real? “No, Nathaniel. Driving around randomly makes no sense. Come inside the Etherlin with me and tell me what you remember, so we can figure things out together.”
    “I don’t know where I belong, but it’s not inside those walls.”
    She glared at him.
    “I’ll return for you, Kate.”
    “Don’t you dare leave.”
    “I’m not yours to command,” Nathaniel said, scowling as he swung the wheel. He drove away. Feeling crestfallen, she stared after him until the jeep disappeared.
    Finally, she turned to Grant. “What do you think?” she asked, saying what they were all wondering. “Is he a fallen angel?”
    “He may be. According to legend, the angels who rose against God were cast out. Those who embraced the rebellion were damned to hell. Those who regretted their choice were doomed to walk the earth, always seeking God’s forgiveness, which would be withheld forever. They’re tortured souls without a seat at the table of the