“I made my own choice and I would do it again. I will always do what is best for Keely,” he says and his voice is almost scary.”

“I would run until the end of time for you, Keely. I would run until my feet couldn’t carry me any longer and then I would crawl.”

“Asmoday slides a finger down Keely’s spine, exposed from the backless nightgown. “I did not do this.”Keely shivers at his unexpected touch. His fingers are like ice and feel good against the painful gashes. “No, you didn’t. This is courtesy of our brother.”“I am not a fan of his art, though he did have a beautiful canvas.”

“I thought there was supposed to be signs or something,” Keely says. “Little clues that point you in the right direction?”He smirks at her. “You have to be looking.”

“Why would you do that? I was scared to death. Why wouldn’t you just answer her questions?”“I kept us together.”Keely stares at him in shock. “You really are an idiot. What if they would have sent you to one of the other Academies to imprison you there?”“A chance I had to take.”“Asmoday, you put yourself in jail just to be able to see me. I can’t believe you did that.”

“I pledged my allegiance to Apophis, but I am only allied with Keely. Whatever she needs of me, I will offer her.”

“May I sleep with you?”Keely goes very still. Feels as if she is made of stone. Her stomach dips like she took the plunge on a roller coaster. That came out of nowhere. “Ugh, what?”“May I sleep here tonight? I slept so well this morning and I believe you will sleep better with me here as well.” He glances at her and smiles devilishly. “You thought I was asking to have sex.” He laughs. It’s such a wonderful noise to Keely’s ears. “I thought we were not allowed to do that?”