Free Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2) by Airicka Phoenix, Morgana Phoenix Page A

done. They had made their pact. The meeting was over and everyone rose to greet one another. While they mingled, Gideon made his escape. His gaze swung to the spot Valkyrie had stood and found it empty. His heart plummeted even as he told himself she couldn’t have gone far.
    “She went outside,” Magnus mumbled just for his ears. He jerked his chin towards the terrace doors across the room.
    Gideon smacked him on the shoulder in gratitude before sprinting after her.
    The night was crisp, still sharp with the fading winter months. The snow had melted, leaving tufts of grass shining with dew. Naked trees shivered like pale souls in the darkness. The terrace doors opened to a stone landing that cut down to two winding stairways that met at the bottom and disappeared into the garden in a path of white marble. Below, seemingly glowing, a white lily lay discarded as though cast carelessly aside and he knew she’d been there.
    “My sister will be very upset if I am caught speaking to you.”
    Like a dream, she peeled out of the shadows. With her alabaster complexion and white dress, she appeared almost ethereal. Her dark hair was void of the flowers someone had woven into the thick strands and they tumbled around her shoulders in a wild mess that made his hands ache to fist into it.
    “Well, your sister is not here.”
    Her soft, pink mouth turned up in that secretive grin of hers. “No, I suppose she is not.” She wandered closer and stopped when they were too close ... or not close enough. He couldn’t think. Her scent was incapacitating all thought from processing. “Should I be concerned for my virtue?”
    God, her virtue ... his gaze slid down the length of her, drinking in the way the soft, white fabric cinched at her waist and flared over lush hips. Yes. Her virtue was definitely in danger.
    His heart rocketed off the walls of his chest, making him oddly breathless when he spoke. “Would you be appalled if I said yes?”
    Her laugh exploded through him. She swung around and started for the stairs. It took every ounce of his resistance to remember it was impolite to touch a woman without permission. But that was all he wanted to do. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to brace her against the shadow kissed wall and devour her. The almost animalistic hunger was frightening and undeniable.
    “Where are you going?” he called after her.
    She peeked over her shoulder. “How badly would you like to know?”
    Her teasing spurred him down after her. Her tinkling laughter followed them to the path. Her hair swung like a dark cape as she pivoted on her slippered feet and faced him. The light from the terrace above shone over the soft lines of her face.
    “I was certain I would not see you again,” she declared.
    “Neither did I,” he confessed. “You left so quickly the last time.”
    “I had to get home.” Mischief glinted in her eyes. “My father was unaware I had left.”
    Enchanted, Gideon studied her, mind already set that he would marry this woman come hell or high water.
    “Do you usually prowl the night alone looking for trouble?”
    Her face broke into the most breathtaking smile. “When I can. My sisters think I am mad.”
    “I think you are brave,” he said truthfully. “I suppose we are comrades now so we will be seeing more of each other.”
    Valkyrie nodded. “It does seem that way. Should be interesting.”
    He shifted his weight closer, drawn by the pull propelling him forward. “You will have no more need to sneak out.”
    She laughed weakly, but it was the sadness in her eyes that cut at him. “Oh, I am sure I will. My father believes me incapable of protecting myself. I am the youngest, you see, and the smallest, but I am fast!” she insisted quickly, like she was afraid he might agree with her father.
    “I think you are very good at protecting yourself,” he soothed quietly.
    “You think so?” But as quickly as the hope had sparked, it dimmed just as quickly in her eyes. “You are