Page 17 of Leda's Log

Killing Timeis set directly followingCalamity at Storm Castle, between Phoenix’s Refrain (Book 10) and Demon’s Mark (Book 11) in the Legion of Angels series.

CHAPTER 1

THE GIFT

It was a pen. And not just any pen. It wasthepen. The one I’d been holding in my hand at the very moment Nero and I had met all those years ago, the day I’d joined the Legion of Angels. As soon as he’d stepped into that office, something about him—his presence, his aura, his soul—had captured a piece of me and never let it go.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d recognize it,” Nero said.

“Of course I recognize it.” I brushed my fingertip across the familiar pen’s smooth, blue-and-beige marbled surface. “How could I forget a single detail from the first time you ever scolded me?”

I loved the tingle of magic in Nero’s chuckle. It rumbled in the air in deep, delightful, measured ripples, buzzing against my skin like a beloved melody. I would never grow tired of Nero’s song.

“What’s this?” I said, turning the pen in my hand. “You had it engraved?”

It was one word, written in bright gold letters: Conformist.

“It seemed appropriate,” Nero replied, his face completely serious.

And that made me laugh. “It’s amazing!” I hugged him.

That’s me. Conformist, obedient, toeing the straight and narrow line.

I’d spoken those words to Nero that day when he’d grilled me on my reasons for wanting to join the Legion. I’d tried to convince him that I was a conformist. Of course I’d been totally lying.

“It’s way better than simply ‘appropriate’. This is the perfect pen for the Angel of Chaos,” I told him.

His lip twitched. “You do have an interesting relationship with irony, Pandora.”

“Oh, you really had no idea what you were in for when you marched into that office to confront me,” I chuckled.

“No.” He twined his fingers with mine. “You certainly were not what I expected.”

“Good. I hate being predictable. It’s much more fun to…” I squeezed my eyes shut.

“What’s wrong?” Nero’s voice sliced through the migraine that had come upon me without warning.

“I’m not sure.” I swayed. “A sudden wave of dizziness.”

“I feel...” Nero’s hands caught me. “I feel it too.”

We tumbled off the sofa and hit the floor. I tried to stand, but I couldn’t even open my eyes. My head was spinning, my eyes watering, my ears ringing. My body twitched, muscles misfiring at random.

But then, slowly, the pounding and spinning and spasming stopped. I opened my eyes.

“Nero, are you all right?”

He wasn’t there. I flipped over, searching for him. But he was gone. I drew in slow, deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart, trying to silence all the wild, frightened fears flashing through my head.

“He’s fine,” I assured myself. “He can take care of himself.”

But what if Nero was unconscious? What if he was all alone out there, hurt and needing my help?

“Pull yourself together, Leda,” I chided myself. “Don’t panic.”

Easier said than done. The Legion had really honed my ability to function under pressure, but this wasn’t some monster horde or enemy army I was facing. The love of my life had disappeared, and I was totally falling to pieces.

Somehow, I managed to peel myself off my living room floor. Except I wasn’t in my living room anymore. I was somewhere…else. I looked around, struggling to get my bearings.

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