by Linsey Hall
Roarke carried me all the way to the car. The whole way, I’d clutched the sword hilt to my chest. It’d been a little awkward when we’d walked through the festival, but the nice woman with the hot cocoa stand had given us a blanket and muttered something about the pixies stealing my clothes. We’d let her run with that theory.
By the time Roarke put me in the passenger seat, I’d warmed up a bit from the ride down the mountain. He walked around the front of the car, pulling his phone out of his pocket and punching in a number.
“We need a house. A nice one. With dinner and a healer,” he said as he climbed in and cranked the engine. “Text me an address.”
He hung up and pulled onto the road, making an eighty-seven-point turn to head back out of town.
“Who was that?” I fiddled with the heat, setting it to blasting.
“Same demon who got us a car. He’s arranging a house. After breaking through the blast house, I don’t have the strength to get us through the Underpath. I need to recharge.”
“How’s he going to find a house at this hour?” It was nearly seven at night according to the car’s dash clock.
“Holiday homes. You book them on the internet.” He glanced at me. “What, did you think we’d stay at his place?”
“No, I uh, didn’t think about it much at all. How can you get a house with so little notice?”
“Money.”
“So the demons are your travel agents and bankers and healers?”
“And chefs and drivers and messengers and whatever else you can think of.”
“Must be nice to be you.”
“It’s all right.” He smiled at me. His phone buzzed and he checked it, then punched an address into the GPS. The destination came up as a place about twenty minutes away. “How are you feeling? That was…an adventure.”
“Wasn’t it?” I laughed. “I’ve been on some crazy jobs with Cass and Nix, but this topped all of those!”
“Mercenary jobs?”
I stopped laughing.
Right.
Now was the moment of truth. Should I trust him and fess up? He’d had my back through that whole thing at the mountain and all the time before.
Yeah. I should trust him.
“No.” I turned in the seat to look at him. “I’m not just a mercenary. And Ancient Magic isn’t just a normal shop.”
“I could have guessed that.”
“It’s how we stock it that’s not normal.” My heart started to pound. Cass and Nix were okay with this. They were. Even Nix, the most suspicious person I’d ever met. I could do this. “I’m not a seeker, like I told you. We’re FireSouls. We use our dragon sense to find the treasure.”
The car slowed briefly. His hands tightened on the steering wheel, knuckles whitening, and he turned to look at me. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. But we don’t steal powers intentionally. I swear.” I swallowed hard, praying he’d believe me.
“Is that how you got the Ubilaz demon’s power, though?”
“No. When a FireSoul takes a power, it’s a conscious decision. I didn’t even realize I was taking the Ubilaz demon’s power. I never would have taken that!”
“You would have if you wanted a demon army.”
Holy fates. “I don’t want one of those.”
“I know.”
“And it’s not like I could control one, even if I had it. You’ve noticed, right, that they try to kill me? I swear, I didn’t do it on purpose. And we’re not bad people because we’re FireSouls.”
“I know that.” He glanced at me for a moment, holding my gaze. “You’re the best people I’ve ever met. I like you, Del. And I like your sisters. I’m not going to judge you for what you are. People don’t trust me because I’m half demon. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
He glanced back at the road. I flushed, remembering that I’d held that prejudice about him when I’d first met him.
“Thank you for telling me,” he said.
My shoulders relaxed. “You won’t turn us in?”
But I already knew the answer.
He scowled. “Of course not. But I can understand now why you might have been hesitant to tell me that. And why it seemed that you were hiding something. It’s your whole life.”
“Exactly. And I’ve been hiding it a long time. That’s a hard switch to turn off. It’s ingrained in me.” I adopted Gollum’s voice and hissed, “Keep it secret, keep it safe.”
He laughed as he slowed the car and turned onto a narrow drive.
“Are we here?” I asked.
“Just about.”
A moment later, a house appeared at the end of the drive. It was large and old, but very pretty. Just the kind of thing a family would want on holiday.
Two demons came out onto the porch as we pulled up—the one who’d dropped off the car and a plump, grandmotherly-looking one who wore a flowered apron and had small pink horns.
She was so different than the demons who were attracted to the Ubilaz’s power. She looked really nice, actually.
Roarke stopped the car in front of the steps and came around to my side, pulling me out of the seat as soon as I’d opened the door. He lifted me up against his chest as I clutched the sword hilt that the Phantom dragon had given me.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said.
He glanced at my feet. “No shoes, remember?”
Now that he’d pointed it out, my toes were cold. And the icy ground looked even colder. As a matter of fact, all I wanted to do right now was thaw my toes in a warm bath.
“You look dreadful,” the grandmotherly demon said as we approached.
I frowned.
“Not you, deary.” She clucked. “Him.”
I glanced up at Roarke, who did look pretty bad. His hair was matted with blood from his head wound, and his face was still pale.
“Thanks,” Roarke said. “Are you the healer?”
“Riorda, at your service.” She smiled. “And the cook.”
“Thank you for coming.” He turned to the male demon. “And thank you for setting this up, Florus.”
Florus and Riorda nodded, then turned and went into the house. We followed, Roarke carrying me into the lovely old foyer. The wood was warm and gleaming, and the light sparkled from a crystal chandelier.
“You can take a bath if you like,” Roarke said as he set me down. “I’m going to let the healer take care of my wings, then we can eat.”
“Sounds genius. Thanks.” I started up the stairs, which were carpeted in a soft crimson runner that felt divine under my toes. Near the top, I felt the surge of Roarke’s magic as he shifted to his demon form. I turned, taking a peek, and winced at the sight of his torn-up wings.
Damn, they looked bad. I hoped the healer could get them back to normal. He didn’t deserve that for helping me.
I found a pretty bedroom at the top of the stairs and went inside. It was a large space, done up in many shades of blue, with a four-poster bed and picture windows. Two big armchairs sat in front of a massive fireplace, and a door on the other side gave a glimpse of the bathroom.
I hurried toward my destination, avoiding the mirrors like the plague. No way I looked even halfway decent after what I’d just been through. The sight of the massive, claw footed tub made me grin. It sat at the back of the large bathroom, which was done entirely in cream marble. Whoever had renovated the space had tried to retain the charm and details of the old house, but had given it all of the modern conveniences.
Fancy, fancy.
I set the sword hilt on the ground near the tub and fiddled with the taps, letting the water flow. I stripped off Roarke’s coat and my underwear and jumped in as soon as the water was a few inches deep. It was too hot, but I didn’t care. Slowly, the tub filled, thawing my muscles.
I stared at the ceiling, replaying the meeting with the Phantom dragons. Curious, I picked up the sword hilt that I’d set on the ground and studied it. The metal was something unique. At one glance, it looked like sil
ver. At another, it looked like gold.
And the carvings… They were so ornate, and their swirls and loops looked almost like words.
The thing felt natural in my hands, and even my chest felt calmer. It was a strange feeling. Almost like my magic felt more tranquil. As if it weren’t ricocheting around inside of me, waiting for me to get a handle on it. I still had to find the blade if I wanted to control my Ubilaz power, but I was getting closer.
I could feel it.
I was definitely getting closer with Roarke, too. I was going to get answers to my questions tonight, I hoped. Though I was a bit nervous about it, I felt so much better after laying it all out there.
But what would he reveal? The bombshell about his magic being stronger when he touched me was crazy. Like we were a weird, deathly pair or something.
I shook the thought away. It was more than I wanted to process right now.
Once the water went cold, I climbed out. There were fluffy white towels on the vanity and an even fluffier robe hanging from the hook on the door. I dried off and put on the robe, then picked up the sword hilt, unwilling to let it go from my side. By the time I got out to the bedroom, I was seriously dragging.
The last few days had been exhausting.
The cozy armchairs by the fire called to me. Just one little sit. For a moment.
I sank into the one nearest the window, sighing at how amazing it felt.
Though it was a little chilly, the idea of getting up to build a fire in the hearth was out of the question. Even getting up to hunt down the thermostat wasn’t going to happen.
I snuggled deeper into my robe and fiddled with the sword hilt, gazing at the dead hearth.
This fireplace had once had a fire in it. What if I just brought it back?
I gripped the sword hilt and called on my magic. Before I’d even fully envisioned the fireplace roaring with orange flame, it had flickered to life.
Well, that was easy.
The warmth was lovely, glowing and bright. I could even feel that part of my magic inside of me like a distinct part of myself. It glowed like a bright light. As for the Ubilaz demon’s power, I could feel that too. It felt cold and dark, sitting right behind my ribcage on the lower left side. And I couldn’t control it. Not like I could control my gift over the past.
The thought bummed me out.
I wallowed for a moment, then became annoyed.
I had so much more control than I’d had before! After a good night’s sleep, I would find the blade to this sword, and everything would be fine.
To prove that I was getting better with my magic, I tried turning back the clock to a time when a cat might have been in this room. After a moment, a chubby tabby appeared, sleeping on a cushion in front of the fire.
I grinned and sat up straight, making kissy noises.
The cat looked up, and after a brief moment of confusion, stood and stretched, then jumped into my lap. I pet its warm fur, immediately comforted by the little body.
“Maybe I should keep you,” I said. “Name you Fang, or something.”
The cat just purred.
But of course I couldn’t keep him. If I didn’t send him back to the past where he belonged, I’d be catnapping him from whatever family he lived with. He clearly had a good life.
I sighed as a knock sounded on the door.
“You better go home,” I whispered to the cat, then sent him back to whatever year he’d come from. The cushion disappeared from in front of the fire as well.
The knock sounded again.
“Yes?” I said.
“Can I come in?” Roarke asked.
“Sure.”
The door opened and he entered, carrying a tray laden with sandwiches and a box of red wine. He looked much better—clean and healed.
“My favorite,” I said. “Thanks.”
“I thought you might be too tired to come downstairs.” He sat in the chair next to me and handed me a plate. “Cheese and onion.”
My stomach growled. “How are you? Are your wings healed?”
“Yes. Riorda is talented.” He bit into his sandwich, so I did the same, finally satisfying my growling stomach.
We ate in comfortable silence, starving after our adventures. The cheese and onion sandwiches were excellent, though they sounded like a slightly odd combo.
After Roarke polished off the last of three sandwiches in record time, he poured two mugs of wine and handed one over.
I accepted it gratefully, sipping in delight.
“I suppose I owe you some answers.” His tone was uncomfortable but determined.
“That’d be nice,” I said.
“And you want to know about my brother.”
“That was something I was particularly interested in. But also why you’ve been so damned distant the last few days. After I killed the Ubilaz demon last week, you said you liked me and you kissed me. Then…nothing. Radio silence. But you never left my side.”
He scrubbed a hand through his hair and gazed into the fire. “They’re related, in a way.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He sat back and met my eyes. “My brother and I didn’t know our parents. For a long time, I didn’t even know that he existed. We had a couple good years before I figured out anything was wrong. But Caden was involved in dark magic. Really dark.”
I winced. That wasn’t good.
“I tried to cover it up, thinking that it couldn’t possibly be my brother who was doing such terrible things.”
“What kind of things?”
“Blood magic. The deadly kind. Not just the unwilling, steal-your-memory kind that was performed on Orson Reyes. But the kind that takes all of the victim’s blood to perform a terrible ritual.”
I swallowed hard. “Shit.”
“Yeah. And it turned out that it was him performing the rituals. If I’d stopped him sooner—if I’d just followed the standards and the morals that I held everyone else to—he wouldn’t have killed so many people.” He shook his head, his pained gaze somewhere far in the past. “I don’t even know what kind of magic he was trying to perform. Only that half a dozen people died because I didn’t follow my own rules.”
“But he was your brother. You were trying to protect him.”
“It doesn’t make it right. I tried to get Horatio from Cambridge to help, but he could do nothing. By the time I handed my brother over to people who could control him, it was too late. Too many people had died.” He met my gaze. “So you can understand why I might have been reticent to share this.”
“Yeah. But you tried your best.”
A sad smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “That doesn’t really help in this circumstance. I still failed.”
I could understand that. Hating that you failed even though you’d tried your best. “So what does this have to do with being so weird around me?”
“I don’t want to fuck up with you the way I fucked up with my brother—not that I believe I’ll need to turn you in for something. But my love for my brother blinded me. I didn’t see warning signs because I was too preoccupied.”
He took a sip of wine and I waited, knowing he wasn’t done yet. “I was alone a long time before Caden and I found each other. It’s not easy for half-bloods to make friends, so I spent a lot of time on my own. But there was a benefit. I mastered my powers. Became good at my work. I was focused, compartmentalized. But emotion—even just love for my brother—that distracted me. I made mistakes.” His pained gaze met mine. “I don’t want to make mistakes with you. I need to protect you.”
My heart twisted. “I can protect myself.”
“I know you can. It’s one of the things I like about you. But whatever is coming for you—whatever you are supposed to guard against—that may be more than one person can handle. Hell, it probably is. So I tried to compartmentalize again. Focus just on the goal—helping you learn your magic and survive whatever is coming. I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.”
My heart
thumped in my chest, painfully hard. Any doubts I’d ever had about him fled in that moment. I set my mug on the floor, then rose and went to him, sitting in his lap.
He looped his arms around my waist, and the sense of rightness that I felt was comparable only to when I was with my deirfiúr.
“Why do you think your magic is stronger when you touch me?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I wish I did. It’s easier to break through to the Underpath when I hold your hand. That’s how I realized it. At first I thought it was coincidence, but then I realized it was you. It’s one of the smaller reasons I’ve been…distant, I guess you’d say. I was trying to figure it out. You’re special somehow. Your magic. You.”
Yeah, but how? I wish I knew.
“But we’re starting a new chapter,” he said. “Total honesty.”
I smiled. “You’re a good guy, Roarke Fallon.”
He met my gaze. “Not sure about that. But I try.”
“I know.” I leaned in and kissed him, pressing my lips to his. This time, he didn’t pull way. Instead, he sank deeper into the kiss, clutching the back of my head as his lips moved expertly on mine.
I sank my hands into his soft hair. His lips felt divine, soft and warm and so skilled that the kiss stole all my thoughts. I was floating in a dream world that smelled, tasted, and felt like Roarke. I never wanted to leave.
After a moment, he pulled away.
“We need to rest,” he said. “As much as I’d like to take this farther, I’ve called Cass and Nix, and they’ll be here soon.”
I tried to catch my breath. “You did?”
“Yes. It’s vital that we get the blade to your sword, and they may be able to help. I thought you would want them here.”
“I do.” He was right about that. And he was also right about the fact that I needed to rest. The day was finally catching up with me, and my muscles felt like lead.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s take a nap. Together.”
He grinned, so sexy that my blood heated despite the exhaustion.
“I could be okay with that,” he said.
“Good. Me too.”
He stood, carrying me to the bed, and yanked back the covers before putting me in the middle. He then climbed in after me, tucking me in against his side. I curled into him, exhaustion pulling me deep.
