Again, he kissed her palm.

She looked down at the warrior head bent over her hand. She loved him with all of her heart, her mind, her soul.

She was his breh.

She would forever be his breh.

* * *

Later, when Kerrick had fallen asleep, Alison left the beautiful warmth of her warrior’s bed, now her bed, picked up her new iPhone, then moved onto the balcony, which overlooked a vast rolling lawn. At the far end, beneath the shade of dozens of trees, enormous mounds of honeysuckle were alive with sparrows flitting everywhere and chattering like mad. Dawn had broken over the Valley of the Sun.

Her heart beat in little irregular bursts as she punched in the number that dialed her sister.

Joy’s melodic voice demanded to know if she was still in Mexico.

Mexico?

Not exactly.

Alison wrapped her arm around her stomach as tears flooded her eyes. She turned slightly to look in the direction of the bed.

Kerrick was on his back, one massive arm, bunched with muscle, thrown over his head, his thick torso bared to the waist. His neck was raw where she had taken him at the vein the day before. She definitely needed more practice but he wasn’t complaining.

“Joy,” she whispered, not wanting to wake him. “I had to call to let you know…”

“What?” Joy breathed, her voice low as well. “Tell me, tell me.”

“I’ve met someone.”

Squeals erupted from the other end of the phone. “And … and you’ve done it? I mean you’ve had sex and it was okay? Nobody got hurt?”

“No one got hurt,” she echoed. “And you were so right. He’s strong, very strong, and he can handle all my weird power and abilities.”

Joy squealed again. Ryan’s muffled voice sounded in the background. “Everything okay?”

“Lissy met a man.”

“That’s good but oh, thank God. I thought the pipe broke in the bathroom again.”

“Hush. Go back to sleep.” Returning to the phone, Joy once more spoke in a quiet voice. “So is he a bodybuilder or what?”

Or what, was the answer.

“Not exactly a bodybuilder.”

Now … now to explain about vampires, wings, and the dimensional world of ascension.