His all-white eyes gleamed. “I’ve seen it all in battle. There is the way the body curls into itself when it wants death. There is the silent scream for release. There are the eyes, and they speak even when the tongue no longer works. And then there is the soul that rots so poorly when death is wanted but withheld that it carries a certain stench.” Ice shot through my veins, turning my blood to slush. At that moment I knew no matter how much I fought, this… this was going to suck.

Daemon pulled back, brows raised. “Kitten…” “Okay.” I scooted back and he followed, climbing over me, his arms huge and powerful. God, I was in way over my head with him sometimes. “You might be right, but you’re wasting time.” “I’m always right.” I opened my mouth to disagree, but his lips took control of mine, and his kiss reached deep down inside me, melted muscle and bone. His tongue swept over mine, and at that moment, he could have been right all he wanted as long as he kept kissing me like that.

My feet touched the ground and I took a step forward—one, and then another. And Aiden didn’t move. He waited. It was in those eyes of his, the finality of this. He wouldn’t win, he couldn’t and he knew it. Aiden accepted it. As I reached him, the rain stopped and the clouds parted. The sun followed my footsteps. “Alex.” Aiden’s voice was broken. Like a cobra striking, I took Aiden’s legs out from under him and he was on his back before another breath could be taken. Straddling him, I placed my hands on his shoulders. The marks of the Apollyon glowed a vibrant blue and raced over my skin. I leaned in, placing my lips above his and the words that came out of my mouth were mine… but weren’t. “All moments end, Saint Delphi. And now yours has.” I pressed my lips to the corner of his and he flinched. “You are weak because you love.” Aiden stared up at me, unblinking. “To love is not weak. Love is the strongest thing there is.” My lips curved into a smile. Idiot.

Dawson raised his arm and two DVDs shot into his hand. “Uh, we have Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead.” “Great,” Daemon muttered. I rolled my eyes. “Wussy.” “Whatever.” He elbowed me, knocking a kernel of popcorn between my chest and notebook. I sighed. “Want me to get that for you?” he asked. Shooting him a look, I dug it out and then tossed it in his face. “You’re going to be grateful when the zombie apocalypse occurs and I know what to do because of my zombie fetish.” He looked doubtful. “There are better fetishes out there, Kitten. I could show you a few.” “Uh, no, thank you.” But I did flush. And there were a lot of images that suddenly polluted my brain. “Aren’t you supposed to go to the nearest Costco or something?” Dawson asked, letting the DVDs float back to the coffee table. Daemon turned to his twin slowly, face incredulous. “And how would you know that?” He shrugged. “It’s in the Zombie Survival Guide.” “It is.” I nodded eagerly. “Costco has everything—thick walls, food, and supplies. They even sell guns and ammunition. You could hole up there for years while the zombies are getting their nom nom on.” Daemon’s mouth dropped open. “What?” I grinned. “Zombies got to eat, too, you know.”