It would never be night again.

Daylight had taken permanent residence in Lord Theodore Grantaire’s flesh. It scorched his skin, penetrating through layers of muscle to drill into the marrow of his bones. His body burned from the inside, turning once-vital organs to gritty ash.

He could feel the sun’s rays claiming him with every harsh caress of their potent fingertips across his flesh. Daylight demanded more than he could give—more than any vampire could give.

It wanted it all—his skin, his body, his soul. His very existence. And for the first time in over six hundred years, Theo was powerless to stop it.

He kept his eyes closed. Not because he feared having them roasted away, but because in the darkness, he could conjure the ethereal image of a man. An image that would see him through his last moments on Earth.

The human burst through the shadows enveloping Theo’s thoughts and bloomed, his figure fully-formed against an explosion of cool light. A breeze fluttered lightly over Theo’s skin, as though the mere fantasy of the man had the power to heal broken flesh.

In his pain-filled stupor, Theo could do no more than stare at the angel before him. Tight brown curls cupped a perfect scalp. Light glinted off the gold collar that marked him as Theo’s property and reflected in his gray eyes, bringing out green sparkling flecks. A wide mouth set against caramel skin turned down in a knowing frown. Worry lines appeared over the bridge of a straight nose.

Though he stood perfectly still, the man’s muscles seemed to shimmer and flex, luring Theo, teasing him, taunting him with what he could never have. His gaze flew over the broad shoulders, bare chest, and rippling abdomen to settle on the thick cock jutting out from a dark nest of springy curls. The shaft curved slightly along the planes of the man’s lower stomach, the bulbous head of his cock almost—but not quite—reaching his navel.

“Reed.”

“Shhh… don’t speak.”