Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay….

Praise for Jennifer L. Armentrout’s White Hot Kiss

“With this first title in her new Dark Elements series, powerhouse author Armentrout delivers another action-packed, believably narrated ride… Intense, well plotted, and very readable, this title should fly into the hands of every paranormal reader out there.”

—Booklist

“The narrative sizzles with as much tension as romance… Totally entertaining.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Well-paced and peppered with intriguing details that allow both Romeo-and-Juliet swoons and a zombie apocalypse to have their turns.”

—Publishers Weekly

“A must read for fans of…Armentrout’s and for those wanting an exciting book that leaves you wanting more.”

—San Francisco Book Review (5 stars)

“Armentrout…pairs a fast-moving plot with a colorful cast and a strong-willed heroine. Fans and newbies alike will definitely love this.”

—RT Book Reviews

Also available in the Dark Elements series from JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT and Mira Ink

Bitter Sweet Love (ebook prequel novella)

White Hot Kiss

Stone Cold Touch

Coming soon

Every Last Breath

Stone Cold Touch

Jennifer L. Armentrout

www.miraink.co.uk

For those who never stop believing, who never stop trying, and who never stop hoping.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Praise

Booklist

Title Page

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Acknowledgments

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

Ten seconds after Mrs. Cleo moseyed on into biology class, flipped on the projector and turned off the lights, Bambi decided she was no longer comfortable where she was currently curled around my waist.

Sliding along my stomach, the very active demonic snake tattoo was not a fan of sitting still for any length of time, especially not during a boring lecture on the food chain. I stiffened, resisting the urge to giggle like a hyena as she cruised up between my breasts and rested her diamond-shaped head on my shoulder.

Five more seconds passed while Stacey stared at me, her brows raised. I forced a tight smile, knowing Bambi wasn’t done yet. Nope. Her tongue flicked out, tickling the side of my neck.

I clamped my hand over my mouth, stifling a giggle as I squirmed in my seat.

“Are you on drugs?” Stacey asked in a low voice as she brushed thick bangs out of her dark eyes. “Or is my left boob hanging out and saying hello to the world? Because as my best friend, you’re obligated to tell me.”

Even though I knew her boob was in her shirt, or at least I hoped so since her V-neck sweater was pretty low cut, my gaze dipped as I lowered my hand. “Your boob is fine. I’m just...antsy.”

She wrinkled her nose at me before returning her attention to the front of the classroom. Drawing in a deep breath, I prayed that Bambi would remain where she was for the rest of the class. With her on my skin, it was like having a mad case of the tics. Twitching every five seconds wasn’t going to help my popularity, or lack thereof. Luckily, with the much cooler weather and Thanksgiving fast approaching, I could get away with wearing turtlenecks and long sleeves, which hid Bambi from sight.

Well, as long as she didn’t decide to crawl up on my face. Something she liked to do whenever Zayne was around. He was an absolutely gorgeous Warden—a member of the race of creatures who could look human at will, but whose true form was what humans called gargoyles. Wardens were tasked with protecting mankind, hunting what went bump in the night...and during the day. I’d grown up with Zayne and had nursed one heck of a puppy-dog crush on him for years.

Bambi shifted, her tail tickling the side of my stomach.

I had no idea how Roth had dealt with Bambi crawling all over him.

My breath caught as a deep, unforgiving pang hit me in the chest. Without thinking, I reached for the ring with the cracked stone—the ring that had once held the blood of my mother, the Lilith—dangling from my necklace. Feeling the cool metal between my fingers was calming. Not because of the familial bond, since I really didn’t claim a relationship with my mother, but because, along with Bambi, it was my last and only link to Astaroth, the Crown Prince of Hell, who had done the most undemonic thing.

I lost myself the moment I found you.

Roth had sacrificed himself by being the one to hold Paimon, the bastard responsible for wanting to unleash an especially nasty race of demons, in a devil’s trap meant to send its captive to Hell. Zayne had been doing the honors of keeping Paimon from escaping, but Roth...he’d taken Zayne’s place.

And now he was in the fiery pits.

Leaning forward, I propped my elbows on the cool table, completely unaware of what Mrs. Cleo was droning on about. Tears burned the back of my throat as I stared at the empty chair in front of me that used to belong to Roth. I closed my eyes.

Two weeks. Three hundred and thirty-six hours, give or take a few, had passed since that night in the old gymnasium and not a second had gotten easier. It hurt as if it had happened an hour ago and I wasn’t sure if a month or even a year from now would be any different.

One of the hardest parts was all the lies. Stacey and Sam had asked a hundred questions when Roth hadn’t returned after the night we had located the Lesser Key of Solomon (the ancient book that had the answers to everything we’d needed to know about my mother) and had been caught by Abbot (the leader of the Warden clan in D.C. who had adopted me as a young girl). They’d stopped eventually, but it was still another secret I was keeping from them, two of my closest friends.

Despite our friendship, neither of them knew what I was—half Warden, half demon. And neither of them realized that Roth hadn’t just been out with mono or changed schools. But sometimes it was easier to think of him that way—to tell myself he was just at another school instead of where he was.

The burn moved into my chest, much like the low simmer in my veins that was always present. The need to take a soul, the curse my mother had passed on to me, hadn’t diminished one bit over the past two weeks. If anything, it had seemed to increase. The ability to draw the soul out of any creature that had one was why I hadn’t ever gotten close to a boy before.

Not until Roth had come along.

Given that he was a demon, the pesky soul problem was a moot point. He didn’t have one. And unlike Abbot and almost all of the Warden clan, even Zayne, Roth hadn’t cared that I was a mixed breed. He had...he’d accepted me as I was.

Scrubbing my palms over my eyes, I bit the inside of my cheek. When I’d found my repaired and cleaned-up necklace—the one Petr, a Warden who turned out to be my half brother, had broken during his attack on me—at Roth’s apartment, I’d clung to the hope that Roth wasn’t in the pits after all. That he’d somehow escaped, but with each passing day, that hope flickered out like a candle in the middle of a hurricane.

I believed more than anything in this world that if Roth could’ve come back to me, he would have by now, and that meant...

When my chest squeezed painfully, I opened my eyes and slowly let out the breath I’d been holding. The room was a little blurry through the haze of unshed tears. I blinked a couple of times as I slumped back in my seat. Whatever was on the slide projector made no sense to me. Something to do with the circle of life? No, that was The Lion King. I was so going to fail this class. Figuring I should at least attempt to take notes, I picked up my pen and—

At the front of the class, the metal legs from a chair scraped across the floor, screeching loudly. A boy exploded out of his chair as if someone had lit a fire under his butt. A faint yellow glow surrounded him—his aura. I was the only one who could see it, but it sputtered erratically, blinking in and out. Seeing people’s auras—a reflection of their souls—was nothing new for me. They were all kinds of colors, sometimes a mixture of more than two, but I’d never seen one waver like that before. I glanced around the room and the mixture of auras glimmered faintly.

What the Hell?

Mrs. Cleo’s hand was frozen above the projector as she frowned. “Dean McDaniel, what in the world are you—”

Dean spun on his heel, facing the two guys sitting behind him. They were leaning back in their seats, their arms crossed and lips curved up in identical smirks. Dean’s mouth was pressed into a thin line and his face was flushed. My mouth dropped open as he planted one hand on the white tabletop and slammed his other fist into the jaw of the kid behind him. The fleshy smack echoed through the classroom, followed by several surprised gasps.

Holy granola bar!

I sat up straight as Stacey slapped her hands on our table. “Holy shit balls for Sunday dinner,” she whispered, gaping as the boy Dean had punched slumped to the left and hit the floor like a bag of potatoes.

I didn’t know Dean very well. Hell, I wasn’t sure if I’d spoken more than a handful of words to him during my four years in high school, but he was quiet and average, tall and slender, much like Sam.

Totally not the kind of kid who’d be voted most likely to knock another guy—a much bigger guy—into next week.

“Dean!” shouted Mrs. Cleo, her ample chest rising as she rushed to the wall, flipping the overhead lights on. “What are—?”

The other guy shot up like an arrow, hands clenching into meaty fists at his sides. “What the Hell is wrong with you?” He rounded the table, shrugging out of his zipped hoodie. “You want some of this?”

Stuff always got real when the clothes started to come off.

Dean snickered as he stalked to the aisle. Chairs screeched as students moved out of the way. “Oh, I’m about to get me some of that.”

“Boy fight!” Stacey exclaimed as she dug around in her bag, pulling out her cell phone. Several other students were doing the same thing. “I so have to get this on camera.”

“Boys! Stop it right now.” Mrs. Cleo smacked her hand against the wall, hitting the intercom wired directly to the front office. A beep sounded and she turned to it frantically. “I need the security guard in room two-oh-four immediately!”

Dean launched himself at his opponent, tackling him to the floor. Arms flew as they rolled into the legs of a nearby table. In the back of the classroom, we were safe, but Stacey and I stood up anyway. A shiver coursed over my skin as Bambi shifted without warning, flicking her tail across my stomach.

Stacey stretched up on the tips of her boots, apparently needing a better angle for her phone. “This is...”

“Bizarre?” I supplied, flinching as the boy got a good hit in, knocking Dean’s head back.

She arched a brow at me. “I was going to go with awesome.”

“But they’re—” I jumped as the classroom door swung open and banged into the wall.

Security officers swarmed the class, heading straight for the melee. One beefy guy wrapped his arms around Dean, dragging him off the other student as Mrs. Cleo buzzed around the room like a nervous hummingbird, clutching her tacky beaded necklace with both hands.

A middle-aged security guard knelt beside the boy Dean had punched. Only then did I realize the boy hadn’t stirred once since hitting the floor. A trickle of unease, having nothing to do with the way Bambi was moving again, formed in my belly as the guard leaned over the prone boy, placing his head near his chest.

The guard jerked back, reaching for the microphone on his shoulder. His face was white as the paper in my notebook. “I need an EMT immediately dispatched. I have a teenage male, approximately seventeen or eighteen years of age. Visible bruising along the skull. He’s not breathing.”

“Oh my God,” I whispered, clutching Stacey’s arm.

A hush descended over the room, quelling the excited chatter. Mrs. Cleo stopped by her desk, her jowls jiggling silently. Stacey sucked in a breath as she lowered her phone.

The silence following the urgent call was broken when Dean threw back his head and laughed as the other security guard dragged him from the classroom.

* * *

Stacey tucked her shoulder-length black hair back behind her ears. She hadn’t touched the slice of pizza on her plate or her can of soda. Neither had I. She was probably thinking along the same lines that I was. Principal Blunt and the guidance counselor I’d never really paid attention to had given all the students in the class the option to go home.

I didn’t have a ride. Morris, the clan’s chauffeur, handyman and all-around awesome guy, was still on the no-ride list with me since, the last time we’d been in a car together, a possessed cabdriver had tried to play chicken with our vehicles. And I didn’t want to wake up Zayne or Nicolai—for the most part, full-blooded Wardens slept deeply during the day, entombed in their hard shells. And Stacey didn’t want to be home with her baby brother. So here we were, in the cafeteria.

But neither of us had an appetite.

“I’m officially traumatized,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Seriously.”

“It’s not like the guy is dead,” Sam replied around a mouthful of pizza. His wire-frame glasses slipped to the tip of his nose. Curly brown hair flopped over his forehead. His soul, a faint mixture of yellow and blue, flickered just like everyone else’s had since this morning, winking in and out as if it was playing peekaboo with me. “I heard he was revived in the ambulance.”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that we saw someone get punched in the face so hard that they died right in front of us,” she insisted, eyes wide. “Or are you missing the point?”

Sam swallowed the bite of pizza. “How do you know he really died? Just because a wannabe police officer says that someone’s not breathing doesn’t mean that’s true.” He glanced over at my plate. “You gonna eat that?”

I shook my head at him, sort of dumbfounded. “It’s all yours.” A second later, he snatched the pizza with the little pepperoni cubes off my plate. His gaze flickered up to mine. “Are you okay?” I asked.

He nodded as he munched away. “Sorry. I know I don’t sound very sympathetic.”

“Ya think?” Stacey muttered drily.

A dull ache flared behind my eyes as I reached for my soda. I needed caffeine. I also needed to figure out what the Hell was up with everyone’s auras doing the wonky thing. The colorful shading around a human represented what kind of soul they were rocking: white for an utterly pure soul, pastels were the most common and usually indicated a good soul, and the darker the colors got, the more questionable the status of one’s soul became. And if a human didn’t have that telltale halo around him, that meant he was on Team No Soul.

I.e., he was a demon.

I wasn’t doing much tagging anymore—another nifty ability I had thanks to my mixed heritage. If I touched a demon, it was equivalent to sticking a neon sign on their body, which made it easier for Wardens to search them out.

Well, it didn’t work on Upper Level demons. Not much did.

I didn’t stop because of what had happened with Paimon and then being forbidden to tag. Abbot had ungrounded me for life after the night in the gymnasium, but it felt wrong to randomly tag demons, especially now that I knew many of them might be harmless. When I did tag, I went for the Posers, since they were dangerous and had a habit of biting people, and left the Fiends alone.

And truthfully, the change in my tagging routine was all thanks to Roth.

“It’s just that those two idiots were probably messing with Dean,” Sam continued as he finished off the pizza in a nanosecond. “People snap.”

“People usually don’t have fists that could be considered lethal weapons,” Stacey retorted.

My phone chirped, drawing my attention. Bending, I pulled it out of my bag. The corners of my lips tipped up when I saw it was from Zayne even though the pain behind my eyes steadily increased.

Nic is picking u up. Meet me in the training room when u get home.

Ah, training. My stomach did a funny little twist, a familiar reaction when it came to training with Zayne. Because at some point during the grappling and evasive techniques, he’d get sweaty, and inevitably his shirt would come off. And, well, even though I was hurting something fierce over the loss of Roth, seeing Zayne shirtless was something to look forward to.

And Zayne...he’d always meant the world and then some to me. That hadn’t changed. It never would. When I’d first been brought into the clan, I had been terrified and had promptly hidden in a closet. It had been Zayne who’d coaxed me out, holding in his hands a no-longer-pristine teddy bear that I had dubbed Mr. Snotty. I’d been attached to his hip since then. Well, until Roth had come along. Zayne had been my only ally—the only person who knew what I was, and...God, he’d been there for me, my rock these past couple of weeks.

“So...” Sam drew the word out as I sent Zayne a quick okay and dropped the phone back in my bag. “Did you know that when snakes are born with two heads, they fight each other for food?”

“What?” Stacey asked, brows furrowing together like two angry little lines.

He nodded, grinning a little. “Yep. Kind of like a death match...with yourself.”

For some reason, a bit of stiffness went out of my posture when Stacey choked out a laugh and said, “Your capacity for useless knowledge never ceases to amaze me.”

“It’s why you love me.”

Stacey blinked and heat infused her cheeks. She glanced over at me, as if I was somehow supposed to help her with her recently discovered crush on Sam. I was the last person on the face of the Earth to help when it came to the opposite sex.

I’d only kissed one boy in my entire life.

And he’d been a demon.

So...

She laughed loudly and brightly as she picked up her soda. “Whatever. I’m too cool for love.”

“Actually...” Sam looked as though he was about to explain some kind of random fact about love and temperatures when the pain in my head flared.

Sucking in a short breath, I pressed my palm above my eyes and squeezed them shut against the red-hot stabbing sensation. It was fierce and quick, over as soon as it started.

“Layla? Are you okay?” Sam asked.

I nodded slowly as I lowered my hand and opened my eyes. Sam stared back at me, but...

He cocked his head to the side. “You’re looking a little pale.”

Dizziness rose over me as I continued to stare at him. “You...”

“Me? Huh?” Frowning, he glanced at Stacey quickly. “I what?”

There was nothing surrounding Sam—not a single trace of robin’s-egg blue or the soft buttery yellow. My heart tripped as I twisted toward Stacey. The faint green of her aura was also gone. That meant that neither Sam nor Stacey had—no, they had souls. I knew they did.

“Layla?” Stacey said softly, touching my arm.

I twisted around, scanning the packed cafeteria. Everyone looked normal except there was no halo around any of them. No soft shade of color. My pulse picked up and I felt sweat dotting my brow. What was going on?

Searching out Eva Hasher, whose aura I was all too familiar with, I found her sitting a few tables back from ours, surrounded by what Stacey lovingly referred to as the bitch pack. Beside her was Gareth, her on-and-off-again boyfriend. He was leaning forward, arms folded on the table. Staring off at nothing, his eyes were red and glazed over. He liked to party, but I couldn’t remember a time when I’d seen him high at school. There was nothing around him.

I shifted my gaze back to Eva. Normally there was a halo of purple surrounding the überhot brunette, meaning she’d been slipping into questionable soul status for quite some time. The need to taste her soul was always great.

But the space around her was also empty.

“Oh my God,” I whispered.

Stacey’s hand tightened on my arm. “What’s going on?”

My gaze flitted back to her. Still no aura. And then to Sam. Nothing. I couldn’t see a single soul.

CHAPTER TWO

The rest of the afternoon went by in a daze. I hated to think that Stacey and Sam were used to my random mood shifts and disappearing acts, but they were. Neither of them pushed me about my odd behavior.

When I saw Nicolai waiting for me in front of the high school, I knew my superspecial-demon-sniffing abilities had gone to Hell. The Wardens all had pure souls—a beautiful white glow that I knew tasted like heaven. Even Petr had a pure soul in spite of the fact he was the worst sort of male and had tried to kill me.

But Nicolai, a Warden I knew was as good as Zayne, didn’t have his usual white glow today. I climbed into the black Escalade, eyes wide as I pulled the door shut behind me.

He passed me a quick look. Nicolai rarely smiled since he’d lost his wife and his only child during childbirth. I used to get more smiles than most, but not since the night the clan had caught me with Roth.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his blue eyes identical to Zayne’s. All Wardens had the most brilliant blue eyes that looked like the summer sky before a storm. Mine were the palest gray, as if they’d been leached of all color, a product of the demonic blood in me.

When I did nothing but stare at him like a goober, his handsome face slipped into a slight frown. “Layla?”

I blinked as if coming out of a trance and fixed my gaze on the people crowding the sidewalk. The sky was overcast from the recent cold rain and the clouds looked fat with more, but there were no traces of a soul to be found. I shook my head. “I’m okay.”

We didn’t speak again during the unnecessarily long drive to the compound just over the bridge. Traffic was always a pain. When Morris drove me, he didn’t talk—he never talked—but I’d pretend to have a conversation with him. With Nicolai, it was just about seven kinds of awkward. I wondered if he still thought I’d betrayed the clan by assisting Roth in finding the Lesser Key of Solomon, if he’d ever smile at me again.

It seemed as if it took thirty minutes and ten years before the Escalade rolled to a smooth stop in front of the compound. As usual, I grabbed my bag and threw open the door. I’d done it so many times I didn’t look where I put my foot. I knew the curb of the sidewalk leading to the porch steps would be there.

Except as I hopped down, my booted foot met nothing but air. Caught off balance, I threw my hands out as I toppled forward. My backpack was flung to the side as I went down palms first. Bambi shifted without warning, curling along my waist as if she sought to somehow not end up squished if I went down.

Real helpful there.

I caught myself before I kissed the pavement, sliding on the slippery, broken stone. Skin tore across my hands, sparking little bites of pain.

Nicolai was out of the Escalade and by my side in record time, swearing loudly. “Are you all right, little one?”

“Ouch,” I moaned, rocking back on my knees as I lifted my battered hands. Other than feeling like a three-legged gazelle, I was okay. Cheeks red, I bit my lip to stop a flood of curse words from coming out. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?” He curled his hand around my upper arm, helping me stand. Bambi shifted positions the moment he came in contact with me, and I felt her crawl up the side of my neck, reaching my jaw. Nicolai saw it, too, jerking his hand back. He cleared his throat as he fixed his stare on my eyes. “Your palms are scratched.”

“They’ll heal.” And they’d heal within hours. Hopefully Bambi would slither back to somewhere less visible in that time. None of the Wardens liked to see her for a crap ton of reasons. “What happened to the curb?”

“No idea.” Nicolai frowned as he stared at the crumbled gray stone. “Must’ve been all the rain.”

“Odd,” I muttered, spying my bag in a puddle. I sighed as I stomped over to it and wrenched it out of the muckiness.

Nicolai followed me up the steps. “Are you sure you’re not hurt? I can get Jasmine to take a look at your hands.”

I had no idea why Jasmine, a member of the New York clan of Wardens, was still here. Not that I had any problems with her. Her younger sister Danika, the beautiful, full-blooded gargoyle who wanted to make babies with Zayne, was another story. Then again, considering all that Roth and I had shared, I really had no room to be jealous.

But the bitter burn was there every time I saw the dark-haired beauty. Double standards sucked, but oh wellsies.

“Really. I’m good,” I said as we waited for Geoff, hidden somewhere in the belly of the compound, to unlock the doors. “I’m just obviously not very graceful.”

Nicolai didn’t respond and—thank baby Jesus and cuddly angels—the front door opened. Careful not to step through an unexpected hole in the floor, I set my bag down just inside the door and hurried upstairs to my bedroom.

Good news. I didn’t fall down the stairs and Bambi had decided to get off my face and was now back to curling around my body.

Traffic and my impromptu face-plant outside had made me late to meet Zayne, but as I toed off my boots, I wasn’t sure how focused on training I’d be considering there seemed to be a wire suddenly missing in my brain.

Why couldn’t I see souls? And what did that mean?

I needed to tell someone—I would tell Zayne, but not his father. I didn’t trust Abbot so much anymore. Not since discovering that he’d known all along who my mother and father were. And I was pretty sure he didn’t 100 percent trust my rosy-red behind either.

I dragged a pair of sweats and a T-shirt out from my dresser and tossed them on the bed. Padding around my room in my socks, I unbuttoned my jeans and pulled my sweater off over my head. Static crackled in my loose hair, causing thin wisps to stand up around my head. Zayne would know what to do. Since Roth—

My bedroom door flew open and Zayne burst in. “Nicolai told me—holy Christ.”

I froze by the bed, my eyes increasing to the size of spaceships. Holy balls. My sweater was still wrapped around one arm, but I was wearing nothing else but my bra—my black bra—and my jeans, which were half-unbuttoned. Not sure why the color of my bra made a difference, but I stood there, my mouth gaping.

Zayne had come to a standstill, and like with Nicolai, I saw no pearly glow surrounding him. But at the moment I was more preoccupied with what Zayne did see: me, standing in front of him in my bra—my black bra.

His beautiful blue eyes were wide, the pupils slightly vertical. His wavy blond hair, which he’d chopped off recently, was still long enough to frame broad cheekbones. His full lips were parted.

For ten years, I’d grown up with Zayne by my side. He was four years older than me and I’d idolized him like any little sister would, but nothing I’d felt for Zayne, at least not in the past couple of years, had been sisterly. I’d wanted him ever since I was old enough to appreciate rock-hard abs on a dude.

But Zayne had been and would always be off-limits to me.

He was a full-blooded Warden and although I couldn’t see his soul right now, I knew he had one and it was pure. And while he’d had no problem getting überclose with me in the past, a relationship with anyone with a soul would be too dangerous considering I’d turn them into a soul-flavored Slurpee.

And his father expected him to mate with Danika.

Blech.

Right in that moment though, his potential baby-making future with Danika seemed far removed from this room. Zayne was staring at me as if he’d never truly seen me before, and I honestly couldn’t think of a time he’d seen me in even a bathing suit, let alone a bra. I tried not to think about the red polka-dot undies peeking out from behind the gap in my jeans.

And then I realized what he was staring at.

A flush raced across my cheeks and then followed his gaze down my neck and lower. I could feel Bambi’s tail twitching along my spine. She was curled around my waist, with her long neck stretched up between my breasts. Her head rested on the swell of my right breast as if it was her own personal pillow, right below where my necklace hung.

Zayne’s gaze tracked the length of the tattoo, and I cringed as the flush deepened. What must he be thinking at the sight of Bambi so blatantly on display, a blunt reminder of how different I was from him? I didn’t want to know.

He took a step forward and stopped again as his stare traveled up with enough intensity to feel like a physical caress. Something shifted in me, and the embarrassment faded into heady warmth. A heaviness settled in my chest, and muscles low in my stomach clenched.

I knew I needed to put my sweater back on or at least attempt to cover myself, but there was something in the way he stared at me that held me immobile and I...I wanted him to see me.

To see I wasn’t the little girl hiding in the closet anymore.

“God,” he said, speaking finally in a voice that was a deep, low rumble. “You’re beautiful, Layla. A gift.”

My heart did a backflip, but my ears had to also be on the fritz, because I know that wasn’t what he’d just said. In the past he’d called me pretty, but never beautiful—never a gift. Not with my hair so pale it could be considered white or the fact that I sort of looked like a demented Kewpie doll, my eyes and mouth way too big for my face. I mean, I wasn’t fugly or anything, but I wasn’t Danika. She was all glossy black hair, tall and graceful limbs. She was stunning.

I’d just fallen out of a car minutes ago and could seriously pass as an albino from a distance.

“What?” I whispered, folding my arms—sweater and all—over my stomach.

He shook his head side to side as he walked—no, stalked—toward me, each step full of purpose and with an inherent grace a dancer would be envious of. “You’re beautiful,” he said, eyes a brilliant, luminous shade of blue. “I don’t think I’ve ever told you that.”

“You haven’t, but I’m n—”

“Don’t say you’re not.” His gaze dipped once more to where Bambi’s head rested, and air leaked out between my parted lips. For once, the demonic familiar didn’t move. “Because you are, Layla. You’re beautiful.”

Thank you formed on the tip of my tongue, because it seemed like the right thing to say, but the words died when he lifted a hand. The strap of my bra had slipped down my upper arm and he scooped two fingers beneath it. His skin grazed mine, and a fine shiver coursed throughout my body.

A strange surge of possessiveness hit me. A need to claim him, so deep and so hard that it made my knees weak and my breath catch in my throat. As he slid the strap up my arm, his fingers brushed over my skin, and the yearning was so entrenched that I knew it was mine, but something about it was foreign. A hunger that I felt, but...

His gaze collided with mine, and now his pupils were completely vertical. My mouth dried and for a wild second, I thought he might kiss me. Every muscle in my body tensed, causing Bambi’s tail to flicker over my spine. A thousand fantasies, and I’d had many of them when it came to Zayne, couldn’t have prepared me for this moment. Zayne...he meant the world to me and before Roth—

Roth.

Air hitched in my throat at the thought of the golden-eyed demon. The image of him formed easily in my mind—hair as dark as obsidian, cheekbones high and angular, lips curved in a knowing smirk that had infuriated and excited me.

How could I be standing here with Zayne, wanting him to kiss me—because I did want that—when I’d just lost Roth?

But I never really had Roth and kissing Zayne was impossible.

With what appeared to be a great effort, he tore his gaze away and glanced over his shoulder. Dear Lordie Lord, the door was open. Anyone could’ve walked by and seen me standing there. In my bra—my black bra.

Heat swamped my face again as I stepped back and hurriedly dragged my sweater back over my head. I turned away, smoothing my hands over my static-filled hair. My face felt as though I’d been basking in the sun during a solar storm and I had no idea what to say as I fixed my jeans with shaky fingers.

Zayne cleared his throat, but when he spoke, his voice was still deeper and rougher than normal. “I guess I probably should’ve knocked, huh?”

Counting to ten, I turned around and forced a casual shrug. He was still staring at me as though I hadn’t put a sweater on. “I do that all the time to you.”

“Yeah, but...” His brows rose as he scrubbed his hand down his jaw. “Sorry about that and the...um, the staring.”

Now I felt as if I’d smushed my face against the sun. As I sat down on the edge of the bed, I bit my lip. “It’s okay. Just a bra, right? No big deal.”

He sat beside me and tilted his head toward me. Thick golden lashes shielded his eyes. “Yeah, no big deal.” He paused, and then I felt his gaze move away from me. “I came up here because Nicolai said you fell outside.”

Oh God. I’d forgotten about my humiliating spill.

“Are you okay?”

I lifted my hands. The palms were scratched and pink. “Yep. I’m fine. But the curb isn’t. You have any idea what happened to it?”

“No.” He reached over, taking my right hand. Gently, he smoothed his thumb over the blemish. “It wasn’t like that this morning when I came home from hunting.” His lashes swept up. “Did you get Jasmine to look at your hands?”

As nice as his holding my hand was, I pulled it free with a sigh. Jasmine had a natural talent when it came to working with healing herbs and all that jazz. “I’m fine. You know these marks will be gone by tomorrow.”

He watched me for a second and then leaned back on my bed, resting on one elbow. “That’s why I came up here. Thought you were more hurt than you were saying and that’s why you hadn’t made it down to the training room.”

I twisted toward him, watching as he reached up with his other arm and snagged Mr. Snotty. He plopped it between us, sitting it up, and I grinned.

“Nicolai also said you were acting strange in the car,” he added after a beat.

Wardens were like gossiping old biddies at their weekly bingo meet-up, but they did have reason to be suspicious of me. I tucked my hair back behind my ears. “Something happened today.”

His large hand stilled on the teddy bear and his eyes met mine. “What?”

Pushing the whole bra and half-naked thing to the side to obsess over later, I scooted closer to him and lowered my voice, mindful of the still-open door. “I don’t know how or why it happened, but in bio class, my vision started to get a little wonky.”

His brows knitted. “Details.”

“It’s the souls. In bio class, I noticed that the auras seemed to...blink in and out, then at lunch, they faded away completely.”

“Completely?”

I nodded.

Zayne sat up in one fluid motion. “You can’t see any souls?”

“No,” I whispered.

“Not even mine?”

“I can’t see any soul.” My pulse kicked up as it really settled in. “No one’s. It’s like with demons. Nothing around them.”

He curled his leg up as he leaned toward me, voice low. “And this just happened. They were blinking in and out and then nothing?”

I nodded again as my stomach twisted up in little knots. “At lunch, I got this really sharp pain behind my eyes and I closed them. When I reopened them, all the auras were gone. Just like that.”

“And nothing else happened?” When I shook my head, he rubbed a spot over his heart. “You didn’t come into contact with...with any demons?”

“No,” I said quickly. “I would’ve told you that right away.”

A tense look flickered across his face for a moment, and there was a twisty motion in my chest. Of course he wouldn’t expect me to tell him right away. I’d lied to him about Roth for two months.

“You don’t have reason to believe that and I...I’ve lied to you before.” I swallowed hard when he looked away. A muscle thrummed along his jaw. “And I am sorry for that, but I thought...”

“You thought what you were doing was right by not telling us about him and looking for the Lesser Key,” he said quietly, not saying his name. “And I get that. I’m trying not to hold it against you.”

Pulling my legs up, I tucked them against my chest. “I know.”

He glanced over at me, expression softening after a few moments. “Okay. So nothing else happened? Right.” He blew out a deep breath as he shook his head. “I don’t know. There really isn’t anyone to ask. There’s no other...”

“Demon?”

“Yeah, that. There are no other demons around that can do what you can, so that leaves us very little to work on.”

My mother could see souls, or at least that was what Roth had said. Wasn’t as if I could ask her, though, since she was currently chained in Hell.

“Maybe this is just temporary,” he said, reaching over and brushing back a lock of blond hair so light it was practically as white as my face. “So let’s not freak out until we know for sure. Okay?”

I found myself nodding, but I was already starting to freak out. “I won’t be able to tag.”

Zayne tilted his head to the side. “You haven’t really been tagging recently, so that’s the last thing to worry about, Layla-bug.”

“You won’t tell Abbot, right?”

“Not if you don’t want me to.” He paused. “But why don’t you want him to know?”

I shrugged, not really wanting to talk about his father. Zayne loved and trusted him.

Zayne watched me for a few moments and then stretched out on his side. Offering his hand, he smiled up at me. “Want to skip practice?”

Training was important. It kept me from getting my butt handed to me when I did run into demons, but I nodded. Taking his hand, I let him tug me down beside him. We lay there for a few moments, me on my back and Zayne on his side.

He held on to my hand, careful not to push against the torn skin. “How have the cravings been lately?”

I sighed. “The same.”

There was a pause. “Have you been eating normally?”

Brows furrowing, I tilted my head back to see him. “Why are you asking that?”

He didn’t answer immediately. “You’ve lost weight, Layla.”

I shrugged. “That’s probably a good thing.”

“You didn’t need to lose any weight.” A small smile appeared on his lips but didn’t reach his eyes. “I know these past two weeks have been hard on you.”

Pressure clamped down on my chest and a ball of emotion formed in my throat. The past two weeks had seconds of warmth and light, but endless hours of darkness and loss. I’d never lost someone I’d been close to before or remembered. I didn’t know how to grieve or move on. Missing Roth was like watching a door to a life you hadn’t dared dream of slam shut in your face.

What was happening to him right now? Was he being tortured? Was he in any way okay? I’d thought those questions so many times they were a constant echo in my mind.

“I know you cared about him,” Zayne said, threading his fingers through mine. “But don’t forget about me. I’m here for you. I always will be.”

My breath caught around a sob.

He lowered his head and, after a second, his lips brushed my cheek. Only Zayne, who knew what I could do to anyone with a soul, would dare to get that close. “Okay?”

“Okay,” I whispered, closing my eyes against the familiar burn. “I won’t.”

CHAPTER THREE

By lunch the following day, I still wasn’t seeing any souls, but an idea occurred to me as I pretended to pay attention in English class while the teacher lectured on the consequences of reckless love in Romeo and Juliet.

I hadn’t seen a demon in days and maybe something would be different about them, too. Made sense. Sort of. If humans were suddenly absent their souls, maybe I’d also see some difference in demons, who didn’t have souls to begin with.

While Stacey organized her broccoli into a demented smiley face, I sent Nicolai a quick text letting him know to pick me up at Dupont Circle. He’d get it when he woke up and since he wasn’t aware of what was going on with me, it wouldn’t seem strange to him. To Zayne, it would be a different story, but I’d fill him in when I got home.

“No excitement in bio class today?” Sam asked, spearing his broccoli with his plastic fork.

Stacey shook her head. “Nope, but Mrs. Cleo wasn’t there.”

“The poor woman probably had a stroke.” I pushed my veggies around the slop of mystery meat. “We had a sub today—a Mr. Tucker.”

She grinned at me. “And he was hot and young.”

“Really?” Sam asked. Before she could respond, he leaned across the table, smoothing his thumb along the top of her cheek.

Stacey stilled.

I froze.

Sam grinned as he brushed his finger along her cheekbone again. “Got it.” He sat back.

“Got it?” Stacey murmured.

I started to smile.

“Eyelash,” he explained, his gaze fixed on her. “Did you know lashes keep dust out of your eyes?”

“Uh-huh.” Stacey nodded.

He chuckled. “No, you didn’t.”

“Yeah,” she whispered.

Catching Sam’s look, I laughed. I loved that Sam was finally starting to show some confidence when it came to her. It was obvious that he’d been crushing on her hard for the past two years.

Which gave me another idea. Wonky demon abilities aside, it would be good to get out and do something...normal. “What are you guys doing this weekend?”

Stacey blinked as she pushed her thick bangs off her forehead. “Baby-brother duty both Saturday and Sunday. Why?”

“I thought we could catch a movie or something.”

“I’m free most of Thanksgiving break.” She slid Sam a surprisingly shy smile. “What about you?”

Sam toyed with the cap to his water. “I’m free whenever.” His dark eyes flicked to me. “Why don’t you invite Roth?”

My heart dropped into my belly and my mouth opened, but there were no words. Well, that offer of fun times had bitch smacked me right back in the face.

He glanced at Stacey. “Um, I’m thinking I said something wrong. You guys aren’t hanging out anymore? I just assumed he was going to a new school or something.”

God, how I wished that was it. “I haven’t...talked to him in a while.”

Sam cringed. “Oh. Sorry.” He fixed his gaze on his empty plate.

Stacey quickly reverted conversation back to movie plans and after we left for our next class, she leaned against the locker beside mine, sympathy pinching her lips. “Sam really isn’t that great at social skills, you know?”

I snorted as I pulled out my history text. “He seems like he’s improving.”

“Baby steps.” She giggled, but it quickly faded. “I’ve been hoping you’d tell me what’s up, but I’ve waited as long as I can. What happened with you and Roth by the way? You guys were all hot and heavy. You were supposed to spend the night with him, got busted and—”

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” I said, closing my locker door. All around us, students milled about. It was odd seeing them without their shimmery souls. I smoothed my hands down my black tights. “I don’t mean to be whatever about it, it’s just...”

“Hard? Too soon? Got it.” She cocked her head to the side and took a deep breath. “So Sam...?”

On safer ground, I smiled. “Yes?”

“Okay.” She leaned toward me. A wave of hope crashed into me, coming out of nowhere. It was so strong that I stepped back. The anticipation faded as Stacey’s dark eyes lit up. “Okay. Is it just me or was Sam trying to hit on me?”

I shook my head, dispelling the weird feeling. “I think so.”

“Smooth call with the movie idea.” She fell in step beside me. “Proud of you on that one.”

“I don’t know why you don’t just ask him out.” I slowed down as I neared history. “You’ve never had a problem doing that before.”

“I know.” She kicked her head back and scowled. “But he’s different. He’s Sam. He’s interested in things like computers and books and nerdy stuff.”

I laughed. Sam was pretty nerdy—cute nerdy. “And you?”

She sighed and then smiled broadly. “I’m interested in him.”

“Then that’s all that matters, right?”

“I think so.” Glancing at herself, she tugged down the red tank top she wore under her long cardigan, exposing the swells of her breasts. “And in art class, he will discover that he’s interested in boobs. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck.” I eyed her cleavage. “Not that you need it.”

She winked. “I know.”

As Stacey bounced away, I turned on my heel to head into the class and stopped. My brows climbed up my forehead. By the bathrooms, a boy and girl were going at it. As in I couldn’t tell who they were or where one began and the other stopped. They were pressed against the wall. The girl had her leg curled around the boy’s waist and his hips were...whoa.

I think they were about to make a baby.

They were so going to get in trouble. PDA was totally off-limits. Even holding hands earned an evil eye from the staff.

But...but Coach Dinkerton, esteemed leader of our winless football team, strolled right past them. Didn’t bat an eye. Not even when the couple slipped into the girls’ bathroom.

What in the world was going on?

* * *

After class, I hunched deeper into my thin turtleneck as I hoofed it down the crowded sidewalks near Dupont Circle. A jacket would’ve been a smart idea. The denim skirt and tights really didn’t block the chill and damp wind, but I hadn’t planned on being out.

All around me, people meandered to and fro. None of them had visible souls. Two hours into my impromptu experiment and I’d declared it a giant fail. I thought I’d spotted a few Fiends hanging around a telephone pole—Fiends loved to mess with things; electronics, construction sites, fire—but it was tough to tell for sure. They hadn’t caused any active trouble and there was nothing setting them apart from the crowd. They could’ve just been humans waiting to cross the street.

Night was already creeping into the city, causing the streetlamps to flicker on, casting unfriendly shadows across the mixture of new and old buildings lining the roads.

Clutching my bag close to my hip, I hurried toward the park, keeping close to the storefronts. I hated to admit it, but paranoia was a friend walking beside me. Before, I could always rely on my soul-spotting ability to root out demons and I’d never honed the natural instinct other Wardens had when it came to sniffing them out. Every so often a weird shiver would dance across the nape of my neck, but I didn’t know if that signified the presence of a demon or not. It was more the sensation one got when being watched.

Everyone I passed could have been a potential Poser or Upper Level for all I knew. Maybe I simply couldn’t sense demons like other Wardens. God, it would suck if that was the case. I needed to figure out if that was an issue, stat, but where could I find a bunch of demons that hopefully wouldn’t try to kill me?

I tripped as another winner of an idea occurred to me.

Roth’s apartment building along the Palisades. The whole place was bursting at the seams with demonkind, but could I go back there? Could I face all the emotions being so close to where he’d lived would bring forth? I wasn’t sure, but I’d have to try. Maybe tomorrow after school I could get Zayne to go with me. He wouldn’t be thrilled, but he’d do it...for me.

Or maybe tomorrow I’d wake up seeing souls again.

God, how many times had I wished I were normal by Warden standards? And now that I was closer to being so, I was giving myself an ulcer and—

The form came out of nowhere, nothing more than a thick shadow snaking out from the alley, moving too fast for me even to get a scream out. One second I was walking down the street and the next, I was hauled sideways into a dark, narrow alley. A burst of aggression lit me up from the inside and then faded into stark, icy terror as the strong grip let go. I flew backward several feet. My backpack smacked into a garbage bin as I hit the cold ground on my butt.

Stunned, I looked up through a sheet of pale blond hair to see two vibrant blue eyes with vertical pupils staring down at me.

“Demon,” he hissed, raising a jagged knife in one hand. “Prepare to go back to Hell.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Holy mother of God.

For a moment, I couldn’t move. It was a Warden in human form—barely in human form—one I’d never seen before. I knew where he planned to put that knife. A stab to the heart was how Wardens sent demons back to Hell.

Knocking off the heads of demons worked, too.

The moment of paralyzing fear gave way to instinct. All the hours of evasive training kicked into gear. I sprung to my feet, ignoring the ache in my backside. The wicked sharp blade arced through the air as I darted to the side.

“Wait!” I said, jumping back as he swung at me. “I’m not a demon.”

The Warden sneered. He seemed young and his face was unfamiliar to me, which meant he wasn’t a part of the D.C. clan. “Do you think I’m stupid? You stink of their kind.”

I smelled? Resisting the urge to sniff myself, I edged around the green Dumpster, hoping I could reason with him. “I’m part demon. My name’s Layla Shaw. I live with—”

He shot forward, and I spun around. The knife swooped down, carving through the sweater and slicing open the skin of my upper arm. I cried out as fiery pain burst along my nerve endings.

It happened so fast there was no stopping it.

The inherent urge to shift took hold and my skin stretched tight as Bambi unfurled herself from her resting spot on my skin. She spilled into the air, a mass of tiny black dots that hung between the Warden and me.

Déjà vu smacked me in the face.

The dots dropped to the alley floor and spun together, forming a thick mass that rose into the air, taking the shape of a snake.

I’d never seen Bambi so big before.

Taller than me and as wide as the Warden, Bambi hissed like a steam engine as she drew back, preparing to strike.

The Warden cursed as he stepped to the side, dropping into a crouch. His body began to shift, splitting the shirt straight up his broad chest. “Part demon? You have a familiar.”

“Yes, but it’s not what you think.” Blood dripped down my arm as I stumbled toward Bambi. My heart pounded as she opened her mouth, revealing fangs the size of my hands. I glanced at the mouth of the alley. Any second someone could come back here and while the Warden wouldn’t be too hard to explain, the snake the size of a Humvee was another story. “Please. Let me explain. I’m not a bad guy.”

“This is hardly the first time a demon has said that.” The Warden circled Bambi as his skin darkened to a deep gray.

Bambi struck, and the Warden narrowly avoided a direct hit. “Bambi! Don’t!” I ordered.

The snake drew back once more, her powerful body curling and tensing. “Don’t eat the Warden!” I said, breathing heavily through the pain. “We all need—”

The Warden launched forward and spun out from under Bambi as she shot at him. He popped up, half in his human form and half gargoyle. I saw the knife swinging through the air. I pushed off the ground, lurching toward him. I ducked under his arm as he swung the knife down. I spun around, planting my foot in his back. The Warden went down on one knee.

“Please stop,” I gasped, still trying to put an end to this hot mess of a train wreck. “We’re on the same—”

The Warden wheeled around and went for me again.

He didn’t make it.

The snake shot at him like a bullet heading straight for the head. “Bambi!”

Too late.

Like a wimp, I squeezed my eyes shut at the first high-pitched yelp. My stomach turned as a sickening succession of crunching noises filled the alley. I pivoted around, facing the mouth of the alley. People strolled in both directions, having no idea what was going on in here.

There was a loud swallowing sound and there was a good chance I was going to hurl. Looking down, I wrapped my hand around my left arm and winced as pain shot through me. My sweater was dark, masking the blood, but it was dripping onto my hand. Biting my lip, I closed my eyes as a wave of dizziness washed over me.

Criminy, I had bad luck when it came to alleys.

Bambi nudged my hip with her nose. Taking a deep breath, I faced her. Her red, forked tongue wiggled in the air and she nudged me again. My gaze lifted to the shadows of the alley. Besides the rats, we were the only two things there.

“Oh my God,” I breathed, patting Bambi’s head awkwardly. “You seriously just ate a Warden.”

And my life seriously had just gotten a lot more complicated.

* * *

I managed to find an old silk scarf in the bottom of my bag. Using it to wipe the blood off my hand, I then balled it up and kept it handy just in case I started dripping all over Nicolai’s leather seats.

I didn’t say anything to him, because what could I say? A Warden tried to kill me. I might be bleeding to death over here. Oh, and by the way, Bambi ate said Warden for dinner. Yeah, that was going to go over like a ton of bricks laced with dynamite.

So I focused on not passing out from the moment Nicolai showed up. As soon as I got home, I’d find Zayne and...God knows what after that.

I needed KWWRP—Killing Wardens Witness Relocation Program.

Clenching my jaw hard to keep from moaning every time we hit a pothole, I felt a bit out of it by the time we reached the compound. The cut couldn’t have been that deep. At least I hoped it wasn’t, but damn if my entire left arm didn’t feel like a cold piece of meat.

I hurried inside and skidded to a stop in the foyer. Deep male voices rang out from every corner of the home it seemed. I looked into the living room, disoriented.

Jasmine stood there, her arms around a tall male Warden with thick, wavy auburn hair. He was holding their daughter, Izzy. The two-year-old was in her human form, but two dark-colored horns parted her red curls and her wings were poking out the back of her pink shirt. Drake, Izzy’s twin brother, was clambering at the male’s legs, grunting each time he jumped.

Dez was back.

Which meant Jasmine and Danika would be heading home soon since the members of their clan were back and it was no longer necessary for them to be kept here for safety reasons. Yay.

A strange look pinched his handsome features as his gaze scoured his surroundings. When his eyes landed on me, his shoulders relaxed a bit, but the odd tension on his face remained.

“Layla,” he said, smiling as he handed Izzy off to Jasmine and bent, picking up Drake, holding him close to a massive chest. “It’s good to see you.”

I blinked slowly as I dropped my bag beside the small table in the foyer. Still holding the scarf, I forced a smile. “Hey. How...how are you?”

“Good. You look...”

Voices neared and the doors to Abbot’s library swung open. As if moving through a fog, I turned. Another unfamiliar Warden stepped out, drawing to a halt when he saw me. Like the one in the alley and like Dez himself, he was young. Probably in his mid-twenties.

“What the...?” he said, reaching behind him.

Oh, for the love of God, if he pulled out a knife, I was going to give up on life in general.

“Maddox.” Dez stepped forward, clutching Drake as the toddler grabbed a handful of hair with chubby fingers. “This is Layla.”

There was a heavy layer of warning in Dez’s voice that caused Maddox to straighten as though steel had been poured down his spine. He nodded curtly and then stepped around me, giving me a wide enough berth that one would think I was carrying some kind of vicious disease.

“Have you seen Tomas?” Maddox asked, watching me from the corners of his eyes. “He went into the city. Has he come back?”

“No,” Dez said, hoisting Drake up. Behind him, Jasmine frowned as she eyed me. I was sure her “there’s a wounded bird nearby” senses were firing. She was a Hell of a healer. Something I was in desperate need of, but I needed to get out of here. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” he finished.

With a sinking feeling, I had a real bad idea about who Tomas was...or used to be. Oh dear. I started to shuffle toward the stairs, but Zayne’s deep, husky laugh drew my attention.

He was in the library with Geoff, our resident techie and gadget gargoyle, and his father. Some of our other clansmen were there. Abbot sat behind the desk, rolling a cigar between his fingers. It was unlit. He never smoked them, just seemed to like handling them.

Zayne was standing with his back to the door, next to a beautiful dark-haired female Warden—the kind of beauty that made me feel blah on a good day. Danika was leaning into him and smiling as one of the clansmen told a story.

I didn’t know what kind of story. I was never included in the tales. And the only times I’d been in Abbot’s library recently were when I was getting lectured about one thing or another.

My feet felt funny as I stood in the hallway. “Zayne?” My voice also sounded weird. The handkerchief seemed wetter.

Turning around, the smile on Zayne’s face froze. “Layla?”

I knew I probably looked like death chewed up and spit back out. I nervously glanced at Danika, not daring to look at Abbot. “C-can I talk to you for a second? Alone?”

“Yeah. Hold on just a sec.” He twisted back to Danika and then his father, who was most likely giving him that look. The look that said don’t you dare walk away from Danika, your future baby mama. “I’ll be back.”

She nodded, nibbling on her lip. “It’s okay. Are you?”

That question was directed at me, and I think I said something in the affirmative. I hobbled past where Dez and the new guy stood with Jasmine, not waiting on Zayne. If I didn’t sit down, I was going to fall down.

With my good hand, I clenched the banister as I started up the stairs. Zayne was right beside me, head bent low as he spoke. “Are you okay?”

“Uh...” A few more steps. A few more steps. “Not really.”

Moving closer to me, he sucked in a breath. “I smell blood. You’re bleeding.”

“Kind of,” I squeaked. As he started to turn back around, no doubt to sound the alarm, I said, “Don’t say anything yet. Please.”

“But—”

“Please.”

Zayne swore under his breath, but kept coming up the steps. “How bad?”

“Uh...”

We rounded the second landing, and once we were out of sight, Zayne bent and gathered me up in his arms. Any other time, I would’ve pitched a fit, but the whole “bleeding and being in pain” thing kept me quiet.

“I need a little detail,” he said, heading straight for his room—not mine—his. I was a little distracted by that as he shuffled me against his chest and opened the door. “Talk to me, Layla. I’m starting to freak out.”

When he toed the door shut behind him, I forced my tongue to work. “I think I might’ve been stabbed.”

“You think?” he shouted.

I flinched. “Okay. I was.”

“Jesus.” He sat me down on the edge of his bed. Over his shoulders, the wall-to-wall bookcase was overflowing with books. “Where? Where is it?” But he was already searching with his eyes and hands. When he reached my upper arm, I yelped. “Shit.” He pulled back his hand and his fingers were smeared in red. “Why didn’t you tell Nicolai?”

“It’s not that bad, right?” I looked down, but the black material hid the damage.

Zayne took the soaked scarf from me and dropped it on the wood floor. “I don’t know. I need to take your top off.”

I raised my brows at that.

He shot me a bland look as he brushed his hair back with his forearm. “And you need to tell me how this happened.”

“I was near Dupont Circle and—do you really need to take my top off?” I asked as he reached for the hem of my sweater.

Zayne looked up, his blue eyes bright with determination and his normally golden skin a shade or two paler. “Yes. It’s in the way.”

“But—”

“I saw you in your bra just yesterday. Remember?” When he pointed that out, it wasn’t as though my argument for modesty was valid. “You were around Dupont?”

I nodded, swallowing hard as he lifted my sweater. “I was out trying to spot a demon. You know, to figure out if I could see anything different around them.”

“Dammit, Layla, you could’ve asked me. I would’ve gone with you.”

The sweater being tugged over my head and off my good arm hid the face I’d made. “I wasn’t going to engage the demon.”

“Yeah, that’s a moot point when a demon obviously engaged you.” He didn’t even check out my lacy pink bra as he gently eased the sweater down my left arm.

I sucked in a breath when he reached the wound.

“Sorry,” he grunted.

“A demon didn’t engage me.” The wound was angry looking and bloody, and I forced myself to look away, focusing on Zayne’s bowed head. “I’m not even sure I saw one.”

He was quiet as he worked the sweater completely off. Reaching over, he grabbed a quilt, draping it over my front. “Then who did this to you?”

I reached up with my uninjured arm, wrapping my fingers around the necklace. “A Warden.”

His head swung toward me and his lips parted. “A Warden did this?”

“Yes. I’ve never seen him before,” I said, breathing in deeply as he gently inspected the wound. “He grabbed me as I was walking to meet up with Nicolai. I did nothing to instigate it. He just came out of nowhere and I tried to get him to understand I wasn’t a threat, but he came at me.”

“Shit. This was an iron blade.” Tension radiated off Zayne as he pulled back, fingers covered in my blood. “Did you shift?”

“I started to when he got me with the knife, but...Bambi came off me then and...oh God, Zayne, I tried to stop her, but the Warden—he wouldn’t listen.”

He stilled as his gaze flicked up, meeting mine. “What happened to the Warden?”

I shook my head slowly, not wanting to say it. My stomach roiled. “Bambi...she ate him.”

Zayne stared at me. “Ate him?”

“Whole. Like gobbled him right up.” A choked laugh escaped me as I ducked my chin. Strands of hair slipped forward over my shoulder. “Oh my God, this is so bad. I think it’s the Warden from the New York clan. Tomas? The one they were talking about downstairs. I mean, how many unfamiliar Wardens would just be roaming around D.C.? And that means Dez knows him and is probably his friend and I like Dez. He’s always been nice to me and now my pet demon snake ate his friend and I—”

“Whoa, slow down, Layla-bug. Okay? It might have been him, but there’s nothing we can do about that. He came at you and Bambi defended you. Enough said.”

“Yeah,” I breathed, knowing the other Wardens wouldn’t see it like that.

“Stay here.”

Like I was going anywhere bleeding and shirtless?

Zayne disappeared into his bathroom and returned quickly with two damp towels. He soaked up the blood in silence and the act...ah, it reminded me of when Roth had cleaned me up in his apartment, which made my chest ache as badly as my arm and this whole situation about a thousand times worse.

“How badly does this hurt?”

“It stings.” I watched the array of muscles moving under his shirt.

“Where’s Bambi now?” he asked, glancing to where the quilt covered my chest and belly.

“On me.”

He arched a brow. “Is she invisible now?”

I cracked a smile. “She’s wrapped around my leg at the moment. I think she’s hiding.”

“Maybe she has an upset stomach.”

A partly hysterical laugh burst free and a small grin stretched his lips. None of this was funny, but if I didn’t laugh, I’d probably start screaming. “I tried to stop her. And I tried to get the Warden to understand. I swear, Zayne. He just wouldn’t. He said I smelled like a demon. Do I smell like a demon?”

His mouth opened and then he clamped it shut. Tossed the bloodied towel to where my sweater lay. “The cut’s not healing up and it’s not going to with an iron blade and that’s damn...”

“Dangerous to demons. Great. That’s perfect.” I stared up at him, holding the quilt to my chest with one hand. “Do I smell like a demon?”

“Let me get Jasmine—”

“No. She’ll tell Abbot and that Warden probably belongs to the New York clan. Abbot will blame me.”

“No he won’t.”

A ball of unease formed in my belly. “I came to you because I trust you. You can’t tell your father. Please.”

Zayne’s shoulders tensed. “Then let me get Danika. Don’t look at me like you just swallowed cat urine.”

“Ew,” I groaned.

“She won’t say anything and she’s as good as Jasmine when it comes to these kinds of things.” He leaned in, placing his hands on either side of my legs. “We can trust Danika.”

I bet my face looked as though I’d also swallowed hamster pee.

Zayne got really close, pressing his forehead against mine. I tried to edge away, but he followed and he was too close. I closed my eyes, clamping my mouth shut as the urge to—to feed rose above the pain and the icy feeling of panic.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he said, his hands curling around my knees. “I’m going to get your arm fixed up and then we’re going to figure this out. But if you trust me...”

I started to look away, but he placed his fingers on my cheeks, stopping me. “Zayne.”

“If you trust me, then you have to trust that this will be safe with Danika,” he continued. “I can’t do this—stitch your arm. Not by myself. Okay? I got you.”

Holding my breath, I nodded. I was unsure if I agreed just to get him to back away before I latched onto him or if I was actually willing to dump my trust in Danika’s—of all people’s—hands.

Zayne lifted his head and kissed my forehead, causing my heart to tumble over itself. “I’ll be right back.”

It took about two minutes for him to return with Danika. During that time, I’d convinced myself that Zayne had been waylaid by his father and forced to spill the truth. The sick sense of dread was like rotten food in my tummy.

Zayne stepped in, closing the door quietly behind Danika. She carried a small bag that looked like a sewing kit. Oh God. They were so going to sew my skin. I turned wild eyes on Zayne.

He sat beside me, drawing my wide stare. “I’ve told her everything.”

“I’m not going to say anything,” she said, placing the bag beside me and immediately starting to rummage through it. “Just that I’m glad you’re sitting here and Bambi got a good meal in.”

I gaped at her.

She shrugged one elegant shoulder. “I don’t like judgy people or judgy Wardens and if it was Tomas, then he’d be the kind to be judgy.”

“Y-you knew him?”

Nodding, she turned to my arm and made a clucking sound. “This was definitely iron,” she said to Zayne. “See how the edges are kind of burned?”

My skin was burned?

“Even if she had shifted, this wouldn’t heal. She’ll be fine once she’s stitched up,” she went on, and I saw something out of the corner of my eye that looked like thread. “If she was a full-blooded demon...”

“She’s not,” Zayne said, and I almost laughed at the needless reminder.

“I know,” she replied quietly. “I can understand why you don’t want Abbot to know. You must’ve been so scared.”

I couldn’t look at Danika and I wasn’t sure what to do with her sympathy at that moment. I knew she was threading a needle and I was about to lose my shit, but then she picked up a jar.

“This is a mixture of camphor and Spilanthes. It will help numb the skin, okay?”

Clenching my teeth, I nodded.

Danika spread some minty-smelling gunk all over my arm. I jerked a little when it stung, but within seconds, the mixture turned cold, seeping beyond the skin and into the muscle. Placing the jar back in the bag, she picked up her instruments of unimaginable pain and she looked up. Her striking face—perfect high cheekbones, straight pert nose and full lips—was leached of all color.

That wasn’t very reassuring.

“This is still going to hurt,” she said quietly to Zayne. “You should probably...um, hold her in place.”

I gulped.

Zayne wrapped an arm around my waist and guided me down onto my side and he curled up, throwing his leg over mine. My eyes widened and for a moment I was too stunned by how close he was to me. Roth and I had lain like this after...

He moved one hand to the back of my head, guiding my face to his chest, and wrapped his other around the hand attached to my injured arm. “I can feel your heart pounding,” he said, his voice muffled in my hair. “Try to take a couple of deep breaths.”

My heart felt as if it was going to come out of my chest, a mixture of our closeness and the jolt of fear that came with the touch of Danika’s cool fingers.

“I’ll make this quick,” she promised. “It will literally only take a couple of seconds.”

Closing my eyes, I took several deep breaths. “Okay. I can do this. I can deal.”

“You can.” Zayne’s cheek slid over the side of my head. “You’re so strong, Layla. You can do this.”

I almost believed him.

When the needle pierced my skin, my back straightened. Fire poured through the tiny hole she created, lighting up my body as though I was touching flames.

“It’s okay,” Zayne murmured, curling his fingers through my hair. “It’ll be over before—” He plastered my face to his chest, muffling the scream that erupted from my throat.

“I’m sorry,” Danika whispered, her hands trembling slightly. “I wish I had something stronger to give you, but Jasmine would notice it was missing.”

The fire had moved up my arm, and I tried to pull away, but Zayne locked me down, keeping my injured arm straight and still. A dizzying swarm of curses left my tongue, and Zayne chuckled hoarsely.

“I had no idea you had that kind of mouth on you,” he said.

“I don’t care. I want her to stop. Now.” I tried to pull back, but his grip tightened. “Stop. Please.”

“We can’t stop, baby. It’ll be over soon. She’s almost half done.” Zayne’s body was stiff, and Bambi started to slide up my hip. The last thing we needed was for her to come off and eat Danika. But the snake stilled. Maybe Zayne was right and she had an upset belly. “And then you’ll be perfect,” he added.

“I’m not perfect.” My entire body throbbed like one giant raw wound. God, I was a wimp. No pain tolerance whatsoever. Then again, my skin was being stitched back together with minimal numbing. “I s-smell like a demon.”

“You don’t smell like a demon.” He seemed to hold his breath as I screamed into his chest again. “You smell like...like freesia.”

“Freesia? I—I smell like blood and demon,” I whispered hoarsely, squeezing his hand until I felt his bones as she made another loop. “Sorry,” I gasped out.

“It’s okay.” Zayne managed to get closer, fitting his body against mine. “You don’t smell like blood.”

I moaned as Danika tugged on the thread. “You’re a really bad liar.”

“Finished,” she said, letting out a ragged breath. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“I-it’s okay.” I pressed my face against Zayne’s chest, inhaling that winter-mint scent of his. My fingers ached from clenching his hand and shirt. “T-thank you.”

She drew in a deep breath as she quickly bandaged the wound. “You should rest for a few minutes, let your body settle down, and it might be a good idea to take a deep sleep tonight, just so you’ll feel better quicker after the loss of blood.”

Deep sleep meant retreating into a shell-like form so we could rest on a cellular level, but I’d never slept like that before. Even though I probably would’ve shifted today if Bambi hadn’t made an appearance, I hadn’t shifted since the night in the gym and I didn’t think I could ever sleep that way.

I didn’t know how long we lay there with Danika sitting on the edge of the bed. Zayne smoothed a hand up and down my back until eventually the tremors subsided and the contents of my stomach settled a bit. He eased his leg off mine.

“You okay?” Zayne asked. When I nodded, he pulled back a little, smoothing a hand over my damp cheeks. “You want to try to sit up?”

Not trusting myself to speak yet, I nodded again. With Zayne’s help, I got the quilt readjusted and sat up. My head swam a bit and dark spots clouded my vision.

“I can get her some pain relievers,” Danika said, her voice slightly off as she stared at her elegant hands while wiping off my blood. “Jasmine won’t notice that.” Looking over her shoulder, her gaze landed on where Zayne’s arm rested over my shoulders. “I can get you something to wear.”

“There...there should be a hoodie on my bed.”

Danika left and returned quickly with the hoodie and while both of them turned away, I carefully eased it up over my bandage. When I was done zipping it up, they faced me.

“Thank you,” I said again.

“How do you feel?” Danika moved to sit beside me.

“I don’t think I’ll puke.” At her relieved look, I tried to hide my weak grin, but Zayne saw it, and his eyes lightened. “That...sucked.”

“You did good.” She glanced over at Zayne. He stood in front of me, arms crossed and features stark. “What do we do now?”

My brain felt like mush, I figured because I needed sugar. Lots of sugar. It helped with the cravings. And a nap. Maybe two naps. Just because. Then I was going to bed.

Zayne sighed heavily. “I don’t know. I don’t think this is the time.”

“She needs to know. Obviously.”

Ears perking right up, I lifted my head, my gaze bouncing between the two. “Know what?”

He looked as though he wanted to argue, but instead he took a step and sat beside me. “There has been something I’ve sensed about you over the past couple of days.”

“Okay.” My arm burned something fierce, but dread pushed away the pain. “I smell like a demon?”

“You don’t smell any different than usual. That...asshole never should’ve phrased it that way, but I do...” He exhaled deeply as he rubbed a hand along his jaw. “I have sensed the demonic side in you more.”

My already sensitive stomach dropped.

“It’s really no different than sensing another demon,” Danika said, twisting her hands together. “But it’s as though we’re sensing a certain kind of demon—an Upper Level one.”

Air whooshed right out of my lungs as I twisted toward Zayne and my voice came out in a pitiful whine. Upper Level demons were the most powerful, the most dangerous. “I’d rather smell like a normal demon.”

He didn’t say anything, but a tortured, pinched look crept across his face.

A second went by. Then a minute. I’m not even sure it had sunk in. The fact that I felt like an Upper Level demon to them was moldy icing on the cake. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“How could I? You would have thought the worst and I didn’t want to bring that down on you. And it doesn’t matter, because you’re part Warden. You’re inherently—”

A low hum reverberated through the house and steel shields slammed down over the windows, causing Danika and me to jump. Similar thumps sounded as Zayne shot to his feet. I’d never seen the windows do that before, but I knew what it meant.

Zayne whirled as Danika paled. “Demons,” he said, hands curling into fists. “There are demons here. Stay here. Both of you.”

He was already out the bedroom door.

Danika and I exchanged looks and, rising in mutual agreement, we followed him downstairs. What they had told me could wait. For the shields to go down on our home, we had to be under attack.

Two of the clansmen stood guard in front of the sitting room, where I knew Jasmine must’ve been cloistered away with the babies. The front door was open, which caught me off guard. There was steel reinforcement there, too, but for the door to be open, as if there was nothing to fear? The night air seeped in, bringing with it a certain scent.

My pulse kicked up and my mouth dried.

Maddox blocked the entrance and he turned, eyes narrowing on us. “Danika, you need to stay back.”

“What’s going on?” she demanded as her pupils stretched vertically. “There are demons out there. I sense them.”

“We’re well aware. Abbot is with them,” he replied. “So are the men. This is none of your concern.”

Danika stiffened beside me.

I didn’t sense jack, which solved the question about that, but that smell—oh my God, that smell. Tiny hairs rose all over my body as I stumbled forward blindly.

“Layla.” Danika rushed after me. “You shouldn’t go out there.”

Maddox didn’t try to stop me as I dodged around him. The scent grew stronger as I stepped out into the chilly air. Goose bumps raced across my flesh. The sweet and musky aroma invaded my nostrils. My overworked heart kicked into overdrive and too much—too much—emotion rose swiftly through me.

I saw Zayne standing in the driveway and beside him was his father and Geoff and Dez and others, but it was the darker forms beyond them, near the lawn leading to the woods, that drew me closer. My legs shook as I picked up speed and raced down the steps.

Zayne turned halfway, holding up a hand as if he wished to stop or catch me. His jaw was set in a hard, forbidding line. “Layla—”

I didn’t stop. Nothing in this world could’ve made me stop. Exhaustion and pain were forgotten in a rush. Zayne stepped just a few inches to the side, completely facing me.

Then I saw him.

Tears pricked the back of my eyes as my heart stopped in my chest and then sped up. Everything messed up about the past two weeks vanished the moment my eyes locked with that golden-colored gaze.

“Roth,” I whispered.

CHAPTER FIVE

He was as tall and striking as any prince topside could ever be.

And he looked like he had the first time I’d seen him.

Lazy locks of raven-black hair fell over his forehead, brushing against equally dark, arched brows. His cheekbones were broad and high; eyes slightly tilted at the outer corners were a dazzling blend of gold and amber, giving his face a near inhuman quality. Those lips, with their fuller bottom one, were currently parted. A black T-shirt stretched across a chest that I knew was unbelievably well-defined and a toned stomach—the kind of stomach that put six-packs to shame. His jeans hung low on his hips, held up by a studded belt.

Only thing missing was Bambi and she was currently wigging out on my skin, slithering up and down, but Roth was alive and he was here.

His eyes widened slightly. Might’ve been my imagination, but I swore I could see the glint of the metal bolt in his tongue as he wet his lips. The muscles in his jaw tensed as an unreadable look flickered across his striking face, and I forgot about everyone else. My heart was swelling so big I felt as if I could float right up to the stars.

Someone said something, but it was lost in the pounding of my heart and the blood rushing through me.

Roth took a step toward me as his gaze swung sharply to my right. He stopped, his eyes flashing an intense amber. A hand clamped down on my upper arm, just below the bandage.

My step faltered as I swallowed a cry. Zayne moved forward at the same time Roth did, but Abbot bent his head to mine. “Mind yourself, girl. No matter what he did for us, don’t forget he’s still a demon.”

“Actually, I’m a prince,” Roth corrected him in that deep, rich-as-dark-chocolate voice that sent a wake of shivers down my spine—the voice I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear again. “It’s best you don’t forget that.”

Abbot stiffened and his hand tightened a fraction as I tried to pull free.

“And it would also serve you well to let go of her,” he continued, raising his chin a notch. “So we can start waving our little white flag of friendship without spilling blood.”

“Not that spilling blood would be such a bad thing.” Beside Roth, a demon I recognized as an infernal ruler smiled broadly, displaying straight, white teeth. Cayman was sort of like demon middle management. I had no idea who the third demon was that remained behind the other two.

“And you will do well to remember you’re on my property.” Abbot did release his hold, and I would’ve raced forward, but the look Roth sent me warned me not to.

Confused, I drew in a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. I wanted to ignore his look and throw myself at him. Just so I could touch him and make sure he was real and he was okay, but I couldn’t forget where I was. Half my clan was outside and although Roth had sacrificed himself—well, it had appeared that way—for the greater good, no one would be happy if I started climbing all over him like a deranged spider monkey.

But as I stared at him and it really began to sink in that Roth was here and he was okay, I couldn’t understand how this was the first time I was seeing him. Better yet, how had he gotten out of the fiery pits? They were supposedly inescapable.

Or why he was here.

Abbot seemed to rise to a fuller height. “And there will never be a ‘white flag of friendship’ between our kinds.”

Roth placed a hand to his chest. “Ouch, there went all my hopes and dreams of our kinds dancing together under rainbows.”

A vein started to protrude from Abbot’s forehead. He turned to me. “You need to go inside, Layla.”

Like holy Hell I was, but before I could say that, Roth inclined his head and said, “No, she needs to be here. I came for a reason, although we got a little off track.”

A little off track with what? How long had Roth been here? Pushing my hair back from my face, I felt as though my brain was running in slow motion. I glanced at Zayne, but he was focused on Roth as if he wanted to punt kick him back to Hell. The corners of my lips slipped down. I got that Zayne and Roth could never be BFFs, but had Zayne forgotten what Roth had done for him?

Maddox had made his way outside and stood beside a silent Dez. At some point, Maddox must’ve shifted, because he was in his true form. His skin was the color of granite and his wings reached out to an impressive eight feet. Nostrils flat and yellow eyes glowing fiercely, he showed his fangs. “There can be no reason why we’re allowing them to stand here.” He turned to Abbot, clawed hands forming fists. “Tomas is missing and I’m wagering they have something to do with it.”

Uh...

Bambi curled around my stomach and then stretched, as if she were happy with the reminder of her early-evening meal.

“I have no idea who Tomas is,” Roth replied, his lips—lips that had burned themselves into my memory—curled into a smirk. “Then again, you Wardens do all look alike.”

Maddox hissed. “You think you’re cute?”

“Nah, I think I’m sexy.” The smirk spread, but it didn’t reach his cool ocher eyes. “And I also think I’m hilarious.”

Dez and the rest of the Wardens tensed. I guessed they thought Roth should be intimated by so many of them, but Roth...well, the more sticky the situation, the more of a smart- ass he became.

Cayman winked at me as he swaggered forward. My brows rose. All of this seemed surreal. Maybe I’d lost too much blood, passed out, and all of this was just some kind of bizarre dream.

“Can we get to the point?” Cayman asked gamely. “Time truly is of the essence.”

Abbot exhaled deeply, nostrils flaring, but he nodded.

“We have a huge problem,” Roth said, focusing on the clan leader. The smirk slowly slipped from his face, and a chill slithered down my spine. “A Lilin has been born.”

All the Wardens stared at him as though he’d dropped his pants and done a little dance. I gaped at him, mind rapidly replaying what Roth had said. We couldn’t have heard him right. There was no way a Lilin—a race of demons that could strip souls with just a touch—could have been created. They were so vile that stripping the souls didn’t just kill the human or Warden in question, but turned them into vengeful wraiths—spirits hell-bent on causing destruction. The Wardens had been created to wipe the Lilin off the Earth back during the times of Eve and that damn apple.

“That’s impossible,” Zayne snarled. “What kind of crap are you trying to pull?”

Roth shifted his gaze to him, his expression a hard mask. “I’m not trying to pull anything and trust me, there’re more interesting lies to be told.”

“It can’t be true,” Abbot stated, folding his massive arms across his broad chest. “We know what it takes to raise the Lilin and those things didn’t happen. Not to mention, Paimon was stopped before the ritual could be completed.”

“A demon trying to lie to us?” Dez snorted as a cold breeze stirred his hair. “Such a surprise.”

Mischief, the kind that would bring down entire cities, flared in Roth’s eyes. He opened his mouth, but I stepped forward. “How is this possible? You—we know that it’s not.”

Roth kept his gaze trained on Zayne. “It is.”

“How do you know?” I demanded.

A Warden snorted and muttered, “Can’t wait to hear this story.”

His lips curled up on one side. “As all of you should know, if you’ve read your ‘when the shit hits the fan’ manual, there are four chains securing Lilith in Hell.”

I nodded. I knew that Lilith, my estranged mother, was chained in Hell, but didn’t see how that had anything to do with this.

“Two of the chains broke when Paimon tried to perform the ritual, leaving only two chains secured,” he continued. “A third—”

“Wait.” Abbot raised a hand. “How exactly did two chains break? Paimon was stopped and Layla’s innocence—the key to the ritual—remains in place. So this cannot be true.”

Oh my God...

The whole innocence thing again. I bit back a groan as I folded my hand around my necklace. For the Lilin-raising ritual to have been completed, several things had to have taken place. The blood of Lilith had to have been spilled and that had come from the ring I still wore around my neck. My blood had to have been drawn and that also had happened, but the last two were the biggies.

I’d had to have taken a soul and would have had to have lost my innocence, like in the biblical sense. Only Zayne and Roth knew I’d taken a soul and Abbot could never know or he’d put me down. The other part? I was still a virgin, so it couldn’t—

“Paimon had the blood parts down,” Roth said, following my train of thought. He didn’t look at me as he spoke, but there was a razor-sharp edge to his words. Knots formed in my belly. “She was cut. I saw it.”

How in the world he’d seen the tiny prick during the fight was beyond me. “Yes. Paimon drew my blood and it spilled, but...” That night came back to me in a rush. After Roth and Paimon had been trapped and sent to the fiery pits, the floor had been scorched where they’d stood and there’d been a hole in the ground, right where I’d been tied down.

Abbot’s brows slammed together. He opened his mouth and then turned a piercing stare on me. I shrank back from the accusation in his glare. Did he know about Petr? That I’d taken the Warden’s soul in self-defense? I could already feel the noose circling my neck. Zayne shifted closer to me, and the air leaked out of my lungs.

“Your innocence,” Abbot said in a low, deceptively calm voice. “You claimed that you were still innocent, Layla.”

Claimed? “I didn’t lie to you.”

“Then how did the chains break?” he demanded.

“Now he believes us,” Cayman said, shaking his head. “How quickly he doubts Layla.”

Even though that accurate observation stung, I ignored the infernal ruler as my gaze tracked over the demons and Wardens. Nicolai looked away when my gaze met his. Dez and Maddox stared at me with a look of dawning understanding. I couldn’t even look at Zayne to see if he was also jumping to conclusions.

The only good thing I could see right now was that no one assumed I’d taken a soul. Instead, they believed I dropped my undies. My lips pursed. I was torn between denying what they were assuming, thereby revealing what I’d actually done, and keeping my mouth shut.

Zayne let out a deep breath. “Layla told us that she’s...well, you know what she said. We have no reason to doubt her, but we have every reason not to trust them.”

The relief that coursed through me was short-lived when Roth arched a graceful brow. “Considering I threw your ass out of that trap and took your place, I’d think you’d have a tad bit more faith in me.”

I closed my eyes. This conversation was about to go downhill fast.

“And I thank you for that,” Zayne responded in clipped tones. “But that doesn’t change what you are or the fact that Layla is still—”

Heat swamped my cheeks. “Okay. Stop. All of you. This gossipfest about my virginity is not something I want to continue.”

“You and me both,” muttered Dez.

“But I was still rocking a hymen the last time I checked, which means I’m a virgin.” My hands formed ineffective fists when Roth’s brows climbed up his forehead. “So can we not talk about this anymore?”

“Then if what you’re saying is true, the demon is lying,” Abbot spat.

“The demon?” Roth scoffed. “That’s ‘Your Highness’ to you.”

“Okay.” Cayman glided forward, raising his hands in mock surrender as the Wardens bared fangs in warning. “Nobody is lying—not our Crown Prince or our wittle, precious, virginal Layla.”

I shot him a dirty look.

He grinned. “As always, the text in which the ritual was written does not go into detail explaining how or what it takes for Layla to lose her innocence.”

“I wish you would stop saying that,” I muttered, rubbing my brow. I was starting to get a headache. “It’s not like you can just ‘lose’ your innocence or accidentally misplace it somewhere and forget about it.”

Abbot’s eyes narrowed.

“Good point.” Cayman shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he rocked back on the heels of his boots, and by the glee in his expression, I had this horrible feeling that I’d just talked my way into a corner. “The loss of innocence refers to carnal sin and it’s not like you have to do the deed to experience the pleasure of sin. Correct?”

Blood drained from my face as my mouth dropped open. Oh, I had experienced pleasure with Roth. That blood rushed right back to my face as the hours before we’d gone for the Lesser Key played out in my thoughts. Roth and I...we hadn’t done it, but we’d done other things. Well, he’d done things with his hand that I had only—oh God, I really needed to stop thinking about that right now.

Roth’s impossibly long lashes lowered as what Cayman had said sank into the minds and imaginations of all those present. One by one, they looked at me like...like I’d murdered a nursery of babies and then bathed gleefully in their blood.

“What?” I said, shifting my weight from one foot to the next. I glanced at Zayne. A muscle throbbed along his jaw.

Cayman dipped his chin. “In other words, all she needed to do was have an orgasm.”

“Oh my God,” I moaned, smacking my hands over my burning face. I’d rather be back in the alley, about to be sliced and diced by the Warden, than where I was.

“And most likely not by herself,” Cayman added. “Besides, that is the only explanation.”

Someone kill me now.

Zayne swore under his breath and I thought I heard the word whore muttered from someone in the peanut gallery behind me, but I couldn’t be sure because no one reacted to the low murmur. It didn’t take a genius for anyone to figure out whom I’d experienced “the pleasure of sin” with. Wasn’t like I had a lot of options considering the whole “getting too close to anyone with a soul” thing.

“Well...” Roth drew the word out. “This is awkward.”

I slowly lowered my hands. “You think?”

He didn’t look at me. “So now that we have this covered—”

“But what about the taking of the soul?” Nicolai demanded.

Hair rose on the back of my neck. The change of subject should’ve given me happy feet, but Hell, it just got worse.

Roth shrugged. “The Lesser Key is an ancient text, remember? That means it’s not the easiest thing in the world to interpret. Clearly we all got something wrong, despite my superior intelligence. You have the Lesser Key. See if you can figure out what.”

The Wardens seemed to believe that for the moment, but Abbot shot me a look that said we’d talk later and that was so not a conversation I was looking forward to.

“But back to the issue at hand—three of the chains broke, meaning there is a Lilin.”

That again. “Wait,” I said, drawing in a deep breath. “I didn’t know her chains would break if the Lilin was created.” Unease curled in my belly as I glanced at Abbot, Zayne and then back to Roth. “None...none of you have told me this. You all just said that if the Lilin were created, everyone would be too busy rounding them up to worry about Lilith.”

“It wasn’t necessary to tell you,” Abbot responded in a clipped voice.

A hot and ugly emotion replaced my anxiety as I twisted toward the man I once looked upon as the closest thing to a father I’d known. I was so sick of the lies—about the fact that Lilith was my mom, that Elijah, a Warden who acted as if he loathed my very existence was actually my father. Abbot had kept all of that from me. “Really? Considering who she is to me, how isn’t it necessary?”

“Good point,” Roth acknowledged.

“You didn’t tell me either,” I shot back. His lips formed a hard line, and I willed him to look at me, to explain why he’d kept that major detail to himself. When he didn’t, apprehension took root deep inside me. “And if the fourth chain breaks, then Lilith is freed?”

The third demon, who’d been silent up until that point, shook his head. “Lilith won’t be freed. The Boss has her locked down now and I’m pretty sure Hell would freeze over before she gets out.” He laughed at himself, and I arched an eyebrow.

Abbot’s shoulders jacked up. “Even if Lilith is still in captivity, if there’s a Lilin, we have a huge problem on our hands.”

“Right now, there must be only one, because if there were more, you all would know. You’d have an overpopulation of wraiths. But even one Lilin can turn this city into its own personal soul-sucking playground,” Roth said. “They can take a soul with a single brush of their hand or they can mess with people—slowly stripping away who they are, changing their entire internal moral code. The Lilin could turn a Warden if they got their hands on one.”

Oh, that would be bad. Very bad.

“And they’re the only ones that can control wraiths,” Cayman added. “If they take a soul completely, that vengeful thing they create will answer to the Lilin. It’s like...double the suck.”

Wraiths were what became of any creature who once had a soul and then lost it. They didn’t go to Hell. There was no in-between for them. They lingered on Earth, stuck, and bitter hatred festered within them. They quickly became dangerous and they were powerful, able to interact with humans on a not-so-friendly level. Sometimes they targeted people they’d known while alive. Other times they didn’t discriminate, going after anyone who crossed their path.

“You know, with the rules and all, the Alphas—your big, bad guys in the big, bad sky—aren’t going to be happy.” Roth folded his arms across his chest. “So we need to find the Lilin before the Alphas decide to step in. Otherwise, we all will be at risk, including the Wardens.”

Alphas were the ones in charge. Angels. My half-demon butt had obviously never seen one. “Why would the Wardens be at risk?” I asked, confused.

It was Cayman who answered. “The Alphas aren’t the biggest fan of the Wardens, even though they created them. Isn’t that right, fearless leader?” When Abbot didn’t respond, the infernal ruler grinned. “The Alphas will see the existence of a Lilin as a sign of the Wardens’ inability to handle things, making them useless. They’ll wipe them out as punishment, right along with the rest of us.”

Oh my God, Alphas didn’t mess around.

“So we need to work together,” Roth stated.

Maddox laughed harshly. “Work with demons. Are you on crack?”

“Like I’ve said before, the Boss frowns on drug use while on the job.” Roth’s expression slipped into his bland look. “And you’ll have to get over your bigotry. We’re in a city that has over a half a million people in it, and that’s not counting the suburbs. The kind of damage even one Lilin can create is astronomical.”

“So we’re back to where we were two months ago?” Zayne said. “Except instead of a lovesick demon, we have a Lilin—a Lilin that can strip a soul from a human—”

“Wait.” Maddox turned sideways, finally taking his eyes off the demons. “If the ritual succeeded in birthing a Lilin, then wouldn’t Layla actually be the mother? The demon was born from her blood.”

“Ew.” I swallowed the sudden taste of blood. “I am so not referring to the Lilin as my kid. So none of you even attempt to put that on me.”

“The Lilin was born from Lilith’s blood, too, so...” Roth sighed, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter, you heavenly reject.”

Maddox snarled. “Excuse me?”

He ignored the Warden.

“Just what we need to contend with—a Lilin or something similar,” Abbot murmured mostly to himself, and I frowned. What the Hell did that mean? He shook his head. “We have to find and stop this Lilin.”

“We’re sure that Lilith can’t be freed?” I asked, still unsure of how I felt when it came to the fact that my mother was bound to Hell.

“The Boss isn’t going to let that happen.” Roth watched Abbot, smiling tightly.

The tension was palpable between them, and instinct told me it ran deeper than the fact they were enemies. “The thing is, we don’t know a lot about the Lilin.”

I felt like I needed to sit down. “You don’t?”

“No. There might be info in the Lesser Key, but—” Roth inclined his head at Abbot “—you have the Lesser Key.”

“And it will remain safe with us,” he replied.

“Safety is subjective,” Roth murmured.

“We already know what the Lesser Key has to say about the Lilin,” Nicolai said.

“Care to share?” Roth grinned. “Because sharing is fun.”

Abbot shifted his weight. “There’s nothing new. Only vague references to the time they ruled the Earth. Nothing that we don’t already know. This is serious,” Abbot said after a few moments. “Serious enough that we won’t hinder your investigation into the matter.”

Meaning the Wardens wouldn’t go after Roth and his crew, which was huge. Maddox and the other Wardens got their undies in a bunch over that, but Abbot silenced them with a wave of his hand.

“As the leader of the D.C. clan, this is my decision,” he said, casting a fierce look at all of them. “The possibility that we have a Lilin topside is not something we can allow.” He turned that deadly look on the demons. “But if I even begin to suspect that this is some sort of trickery, I will personally hunt each of you down.”

Roth shrugged. “All we need is for you all to be extra vigilant while you’re out on your...hunts.”

“I can’t believe we’re entering into an agreement with demons,” Maddox said, taking several steps back.

Neither could I, but a Lilin was a big deal.

“It’s the way it is,” Abbot said, dragging in a deep, heavy breath. “We will keep an eye out for any suspicious reports. Our contacts within the police departments and hospitals should prove helpful in this case.”

Cayman nodded in agreement, and the fact we all were having a pretty civil conversation was monumental. “We will also keep our ears to the ground. A Lilin will most likely seek out other demons. You know, to bond and make friends. Hopefully, there will be one that it trusts.”

“Good,” Abbot said, shoulders squaring. “But for now, get the Hell off my property.”

A misty cloud of air puffed out from between my lips as my stomach dropped. They couldn’t leave yet. No way. I stepped forward, ignoring the piercing stares of the Wardens. I didn’t care. They could take their bigoted ideals and shove them so far up their—

“We’re on our way, but...” Roth finally turned to me. Our gazes collided, and it was like a punch to the chest. “We need to talk.”

CHAPTER SIX

I almost rushed Roth right then and threw my arms around him, but a low growl rumbled from behind me. At first I thought it was Abbot’s response, but when I realized it was coming from Zayne, I couldn’t move.

Roth tilted his head to the side, watching me as a slow, roguish smile graced his lips. “Are you...seriously growling at me, Stony?”

“I’m about to do a lot more than growl.”

He chuckled. “That’s not very appreciative.”

I turned to Zayne and my heart leaped into my throat, stopping whatever I was going to say. He glared at Roth in a way I couldn’t understand, especially not after what Roth had done for him, as if it... I shook my head.

“It’s all right,” Abbot interrupted, surprising me. “Let them talk.”

Wait. What? He was okay with me talking to Roth? Abbot’s appeasement knocked me into motion. My heart did another leap.

Zayne opened his mouth and then clamped it shut. Our gazes held for a moment and then he nodded stiffly, resigned. “I’ll wait for you.”

I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t necessary, but the oddity of the statement stole my words. Taking a deep breath, I turned to Roth.

“Let’s walk?” he suggested.

There was a coldness laced through his words that left me unsettled. I told myself it was only because we were around so many Wardens, but my knees felt weak as I walked toward him. His unique scent invaded my senses, causing my skin to flush in spite of the chilled air. He turned as I reached his side and started toward the faint path Zayne and I had worn into the ground over the many years we’d traveled to the tree house in the nearby woods.

Skin tingling along the back of my neck, I glanced over my shoulder and drew in a tiny breath. The Wardens were still standing guard in front of the compound, but I didn’t see Abbot anymore. Zayne was sitting at the bottom of the wide steps, leaning against one of the large white marble columns. Cayman and the other demon were gone. It was obvious they didn’t fear for Roth’s safety. Or they didn’t care.

My head swung back around and my breath caught when I saw Roth’s profile. A dizzying amount of relief crashed into me as it struck me once more that he was alive and he was here.

So many things bubbled up the moment we stepped past the crumbled stone retaining wall that surrounded the manicured lawn and under the thick, bare branches that rattled like dry bones in the breeze. But I couldn’t speak. The clog was back, centered right in my throat.

Coherent thought clicked off, and I found myself moving around him. Roth stopped midstep as I did what I’d wanted to do since he’d shown up tonight. Like a mini rocket, I threw myself at him.

Roth stumbled back a step as my arms went around his neck. The moment my body came into contact with his, pressure clamped down on my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut against the violent tide of emotions. They were so tangled together—relief and fear, desperation and resolution, a deep craving that rivaled the need I struggled with every day, and anxiety—that I couldn’t make sense of them, or understand how I was feeling so much.

As I nestled into his chest, I could feel his heart pounding fast and realized then that his arms were at his sides. A cloud of nervousness passed over me as I lifted my head, searching out his eyes in the darkness, but they were closed and thick lashes fanned the tips of his cheekbones. His face was pale in the thin slivers of moonlight breaking through the branches, lips pulled in a taut line.

Another shiver of apprehension slipped over my skin. When I started to pull back, to give voice to the near fear growing like a weed in the pit of my stomach, his arms finally—finally—encircled me. He pulled me tight against him, our bodies flush and pressed together in a way that reminded me of the night we’d found the Lesser Key. The muscles low in my stomach tightened as his hand smoothed up my spine, tangling in my hair. Bambi followed the caress, as if she sought to get closer to her true owner.

There was so much warmth in the embrace that it pushed the shadows away. I squeezed my eyes shut and soaked him up. I didn’t know what his return meant, what it signified for us, but it didn’t matter in that moment.

He dropped his head to mine and murmured something in a deep, guttural voice that I was positive wasn’t anywhere close to the English language.

“You’re hurt,” he said, his voice rough.

All I could do was shake my head as I balled my hands into the back of his shirt. I was feeling too many conflicting emotions. Some of them were mine, but there was also a distant quality to them I couldn’t quite understand.

He slid his other hand to my arm. When his fingers slipped under the sleeve of my hoodie, I bit my lip. “Your arm,” he said, managing to curve his fingers just below my elbow. “How did it happen?”

“A Warden did it,” I said, rubbing my cheek against his chest like a cat with a full belly, ready for a nap. A sigh escaped me. “He said I smelled like a demon.”

Roth drew back and his chin tipped down. Dark eyebrows slashed together. “A Warden did this? Was it iron?”

I nodded, but this wasn’t what I wanted to talk about. “Roth—”

“What about Bambi?” he demanded, withdrawing his hand from my hair. “She would’ve protected you.”

“Bambi’s fine.” I forced a smile, but nothing about his features softened. “She ate the Warden.”

His brows shot up. “Well...”

“Yeah.” I drew the word out slowly. I knew I should ask him about why I suddenly felt like an Upper Level demon to the Wardens, but as bad as it was, that wasn’t at the top of my priority list. “I don’t know where to begin. How are you even here?”

Roth’s golden eyes held mine for a moment and then he pulled away. I mourned the loss of warmth immediately. “Well, there’s these things called portals and I popped into—”

“That’s not what I meant.” Before, his smart-ass responses had grated on my every last nerve, but now there was a relief in being irritated with him. “You were in the devil’s trap with Paimon. You went to the pits.”

“I did.” He folded his arms and took another step back from me. “It wasn’t fun, in case you were wondering.”

I winced. “I didn’t think it was, but I don’t understand. The pits are permanent.”

One shoulder rose gracefully. “They are, but I am the Boss’s favorite and I’d done what the Boss had wanted—stopped a Lilin from being created. Or at least we thought I had.”

“So you were let out for good behavior?”

“After a day or two. The Boss wasn’t in a big hurry. No surprise there.”

My heart squeezed. “But the pits had to be...” My voice cracked as I shook my head.

“It wasn’t a vacation, shortie. Imagine your skin being flayed and burned off for a forty-eight hour period.” He shrugged again, as though it was no big deal to be virtually burned alive, and brushed the dark hair off his forehead. “But it could have been worse. Paimon’s dumb ass is still in there.”

Meaning Roth could still be there. Two days had to be Hell, literally, but if he’d been let out that fast... “Where have you been?”

His gaze flicked up to the bare branches. “Around.”

“Around?” The word rang with disbelief.

“Here and there, up and down.” One side of his lips curled up but it lacked sincerity. “Hanging out.”

I stared at him. “Why didn’t you come see me?” That question came out like the anthem of every pissed-off girlfriend out there but the problem with that—I wasn’t his girlfriend.

Roth arched a brow and opened his mouth, but then he didn’t say anything. I reached out to touch him, but he drew back. A muscle flickered along his jaw. The unease and coldness from earlier returned.

“I’ve been so worried,” I said, pulling my hand back to my chest. “I’ve missed you. I’ve mourned you. But I hoped that you were okay. This...” I pulled out the necklace. The cracked stone was a sad statement. “I found this at your apartment, on the roof. You did put it there, didn’t you? After you left the pits. You—”

“I did. So?”

“So?” I whispered, feeling about as empty as an echo. “Why would you do that and then not come see me?”

He said nothing.

Ice trickled into my veins. “Do you know how upset I was? I felt lost without—”

“You were not lost without me,” he cut in, his gaze suddenly fixed on me once more. “You had Zayne.”

“Yes, but that’s not—”

“You had him,” he repeated, drawing in a deep breath. “Why do you think I took his place in that trap? So you could have him.”

Maybe I was slower than normal, but I wasn’t following where this was heading. “I know you did that for me and I can never express how truly grateful I am for it, but I didn’t want to lose you. I never wanted to.” The words kept spilling out in the worst case of verbal diarrhea known to humankind, angels or demons. “I don’t know what we had, but we had something—something that meant a lot to me.”

He stared at me a moment and an array of emotions played over his striking face before he shook his head. “You’ve been through a lot recently. I get that you’re upset, but like I said, you don’t need me.”

Frustration burned like acid in my blood. “Roth, I—”

“Don’t say it.” He held up a hand. “Don’t say it.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!” Hell, I didn’t know what was going to come out of my mouth.

“I don’t want to know.” Roth thrust his fingers through his hair in a quick, jerky manner. “This is why we needed to talk. I’m back. I’m going to be around because of the Lilin, but that’s the only reason I’m here. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

A part of my brain totally got what he was saying, but my heart was another story. His words didn’t make sense to the stupid muscle. Things didn’t add up. “No. I don’t.”

His lashes lowered as he muttered a curse. “Look, when I was topside before, with you? It was...” He gave a little shake of his head and then seemed to force out the rest. “It was fun, shortie.”

“Fun?” I repeated dumbly.

He nodded stiffly. “And that was all. It was just fun while it was happening.”

I jerked back as if I’d been slapped in the face. “It wasn’t just fun to me.”

“Of course it wasn’t.” Roth turned away, appearing to inspect a tree trunk as though it held the answers to life. “You had no experience in any of that. You’d never even kissed anyone before. It was only natural for you to catch feelings.”

A lick of pain lit up my chest. “But not natural for you?”

“No. Not at all. For several reasons. Many of them boring, but logical. I’m the Crown Prince of Hell, not like your Stony.”

“You’re not just the next Crown Prince! You’re more than that. So let’s not start that crap again.” Roth had never seen himself as anything but another prince out of the hundreds of princes that had come before him. He was even a little insecure about it, and I wanted to be more careful with those feelings, but I was losing control, anger and hurt giving way to a level of needy desperation that was embarrassing. I held out the ring. “This proves it was more than just fun to you. You fixed the necklace and you left it there for me to find.”

“And that proves something?” he queried softly.

“Yes!” The cool metal bit into my palm. “Why would you do that if you didn’t care?”

His shoulders stiffened. “I didn’t say I didn’t care, shortie.”

“Then what the Hell are you saying?”

“I’m saying that what we did isn’t going to happen again. That’s what I’m saying.”

I sucked in a breath, but it got stuck. “But the necklace—”

He twisted around so quickly I stumbled back. There was something dark about his face, the way his skin thinned over his bones. “Does it matter why, Layla? It’s just a stupid necklace.”

“That’s bullshit! You knew how much this necklace meant to me.” It was the only thing that linked me to my mother—to who I really was, and he knew that.

“It doesn’t matter.” He stalked forward, and I had to force myself not to move away. His pupils started to dilate. “I’m not interested in rekindling a pointless infatuation. Does that break it down enough for you? Do you understand now? I’m a demon, Layla. A full-blooded one who isn’t ashamed of what my kind does. And you are only half demon. You want to be like your precious Wardens and Stony. Being in my presence should fill you with disgust. Why would you want to be standing here, let alone be with me?”

The pain spread from my chest, settling in my bones. “So this has been, what—a game to you? I don’t believe that!” I held my ground, hand shaking around the ring. “You want me to believe that you’re nothing more than a demon, but the way you kissed me, what you said to me before you were taken in that trap, proves otherwise.”

“You’re so naive. A kiss? A few sentimental words uttered before I thought I’d spend eternity being tortured? You can’t judge me for a couple of momentary lapses, Layla. It’s who I am that matters.” He was an inch from me, his hands curling into fists at his sides. “I am the Crown Prince, whether you want to hear it or not.”

“That means nothing,” I cried, squeezing the ring—the proof that there was something in him. Evidence he had a conscience...and a heart. “You’re lying and there has to be a reason.”

He turned his head, dragging both his hands through his hair this time. “You know what I am. I told you. I covet pretty things. I like to take things that aren’t mine to have.” Then he looked at me and smiled. The chill of it sent shivers dancing over my skin. “You really thought I cared for you, didn’t you? I wanted you, Layla. You eased my boredom. That’s all.”

I staggered back, wanting to stop his words from meaning anything to me, from hurting, but there was no stopping it. In an instant, I realized I should’ve known better. This whole time, I should’ve known better. After all, he was right. I had no experience with these things—with guys and relationships. If I...if I had meant something to him, he would’ve come to me before tonight: because if it was the other way around, his would’ve been the first place I went.

And that was just sad.

“I really don’t know what I was thinking. I usually don’t go for virgins. They are so very messy. Someone like your classmate Eva is far more entertaining and skilled in that department. Is she still around?” He sighed, shrugging casually, but a muscle ticked along his jaw. “Like I said, I should’ve realized you’d catch feelings, shortie. My bad.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. His endearment seemed unnecessarily cruel, paired with what he was saying. “Don’t call me that.”

“Whatever you say.” Roth spun away. The line of his spine was unnaturally stiff. “Bambi will remain with you.”

I blinked back the tears, refusing to let them fall. “I don’t—”

“I don’t care if that’s not what you want. She stays with you.”

I stared at his back, feeling choked from the inside out. “You’re a bastard.”

He glanced over his shoulder at me, expression stark in the moonlight. “Goodbye, Layla.”

And then he was gone.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I didn’t remember much of the short walk back to the house. There was an ache in my chest that rivaled what I’d felt when I’d seen Roth in the devil’s trap. It was cold and hot at the same time, burning and icing over my insides. A knot had formed in the back of my throat and the dampness behind my eyes increased with every step.

What Roth had said did more than just sting, and the horrible weight of the pressure settling between my breasts warned that something might have been broken in there, even if I hadn’t acknowledged how deep my feelings for him had run.

I usually don’t go for virgins.

God, had I been that foolish, that wrong about him? My cheeks felt scalded as his words replayed themselves. Each one had been barb-tipped, spoken with the intent to maim, and they had. My hands trembled as I folded my arms across my chest, ignoring the pain of my stitches pulling. But that hug...the way he’d held me close? It had meant nothing to him? I couldn’t easily accept that. Or the fact that those tortured words he’d cast at me before the trap had taken him—words I’d held on to—had been spoken so carelessly. But maybe I was just that naive. Catch feelings? He’d been right. I’d caught them and I had hugged them close. And now look.

Under the pain, a different kind of anguish formed in the back of my throat—a scorching thirst took root. I could feel it in every cell, even in the ends of my teeth. The need to feed rose swiftly and without hesitation. My emotions were all over the place, fueling the illicit desire.

I wiped at my cheeks angrily as I reached the driveway. Wardens were milling around the entrance, in their true forms with their wings tucked close to their backs, but none paid me any attention as I hurried past them. I couldn’t see their souls, but I could taste their pureness on the tip of my tongue. For a moment, I let myself imagine what it would be like to feel that warmth slipping down my throat, easing the coldness and ache Roth had left behind. It wouldn’t be hard either. They didn’t trust me, but they didn’t expect me to outright attack one of them. And once I had a hold of a soul, there would be no stopping—

I cut the thought off, horrified to find that I’d stopped walking. I was just standing there, staring at Zayne’s bowed, golden head, and my mouth was watering. The voracious need to follow through with the fantasy caused my stomach to cramp.

Elbows propped on his knees, he lifted his chin, and in a second, he was standing, hands open at his sides. “Layla?”

“I’m tired.” My voice didn’t sound right to me. It was too strained, too tight. I couldn’t be near him, near anyone right now. “I’m going...going to bed.”

The brilliance to his skin tone faded as he turned. He followed me through the door, closing it quietly behind us. The overhead foyer light was off and the small wall sconces cast a soft glow across the floor. Jasmine’s voice floated out from the sitting room, and I picked up my pace. Each step up the staircase sucked the energy right out of me. By the time I reached the landing on the second floor, I wanted to turn and latch myself to Zayne in the worst possible way.

Zayne edged around me, blocking the bedroom door. “Talk to me.”

Slowly, I lifted my gaze, and I didn’t know what he saw in my expression, but he reached out a hand. I stepped back, avoiding his touch, too close to breaking down and doing something I could never forgive myself for. Heart pounding, I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk.”

He cocked his head to the side. “You’re not okay.”

I held my breath.

His jaw locked down. “He hurt you?”

“No,” I forced out, exhaling through my nose.

“I don’t mean physically. He’s hurt—”

“I can’t do this right now. Please,” I whispered, and his eyes widened in understanding. “I need to be alone.”

Zayne’s nostrils flared as he stepped aside. His chest rose sharply. “Do you need anything?”

My stomach was sick from how fast my pulse was pounding. “Orange juice?”

He nodded and quickly slipped down the hall. I went into my bedroom, leaving the light off. Not that I needed it. I spent so much time in here that I could navigate it blind. I walked to the large windows, wishing I could open them to let the cool night air in, but they’d been nailed shut during my “grounded for life” phase. I guess Abbot thought I’d sprout wings and fly off to rendezvous with my demon horde.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I realized that was what I wanted to do. Not the hanging out with a demon horde part, but Hell yeah to the flying-off part. I’d almost shifted earlier tonight. Maybe I could do it again. A rush of tingles spread across my flesh. The skin along my back tightened. I opened my eyes, letting out a slow, low breath. I could almost feel the night air caressing my skin. I wondered how high I could go and if it would feel as good as taking a soul did.

Abbot would freak if I left the compound tonight, and it wouldn’t be safe for me to do so. Not because there was any danger posed to me, but because of the danger I posed to other people right now—innocent people.

Zayne’s presence filled the room. I turned and for the first time since I’d lost the ability to see auras, I was glad I couldn’t see his right now. He placed a large glass of OJ on my desk, between the notebooks and printer paper. He glanced over at me, concern etched into his handsome face. “If you need anything, call or text me.”

I nodded.

“Promise me.” He didn’t come closer, but his stare never left mine.

“I promise,” I swore, swallowing the even bigger lump in my throat. Sometimes—no, all the times—I didn’t think I deserved him. “Thank you.”

His lashes fluttered shut briefly. “Don’t thank me, Layla-bug. Not for this.” His eyes were a deep shade of blue as they locked on to mine again. “You know...you know I’d do anything for you.”

Tears raced to my eyes as I nodded blindly. His lips curved up at the corners, into a tiny smile, and then he left the room. I headed straight for the OJ, downing the contents as I held the cool glass. The acidic burn eased the cravings and when I set the glass down, movement out of the corners of my eyes snagged my attention. I turned, wiping my damp hands along the thighs of my denim skirt.

The white curtains billowed out from the closed window, trailing softly in the empty air.

My brows rose.

There was no wind in the room. The central air hadn’t kicked on. I’d have heard that mammoth beast cranking up, and besides, it was too cold outside for air-conditioning.

As I started toward the window, the curtains drifted back down, settling slowly against the wall. Okay. That was strange. An odd chill raced down my spine. All right. It was actually kind of creepy, but Bambi stirred to life, distracting me as she wound her way up my left leg. Her movement was still a painful reminder, but it served a different purpose now.

You eased my boredom.

I sucked in a sharp breath as the blow hit me below the knees. Turning away from the window, I unzipped my hoodie and carefully slid it off. I let it drop to the floor. Glancing down at my arm, I winced when I saw the dark splotch on the white bandage. What a terrible night.

Biting my lip, I stripped off my clothes and changed into a pair of sleep shorts. Before I could pull on a long-sleeve shirt, Bambi drifted off my skin. In the darkness, she was nothing more than a shadow as she pieced herself together. Instead of leaving to hunt or running back to Roth like a forgotten pet, she slithered up to the dollhouse Abbot had built for me when I was a child.

I’d gone all badass on the poor thing while I’d been grounded and Roth had disappeared. About a week ago, it had reappeared in my bedroom, the roof and sides reassembled. I assumed it had been Zayne, and I didn’t know why he did it or why I’d been relieved to see it. Obviously, I had problems with letting go of things.

Bambi managed to get all six feet of her coiled into the top floor, her head resting on the miniature bed. She looked...comfy. And it looked weird.

Minutes passed as I stared at the demonic familiar. A chill formed in my chest, replacing the god-awful burn. Why had Roth given her up to me? Bambi was his familiar, not mine, and he’d always seemed fond of the snake. It didn’t make sense, but it probably also didn’t matter. Long ago, he’d admitted there were things he did without any reason.

And as it turned out, I was just one of those many things.

It hurt something bad as I climbed into bed, lying on my uninjured arm. It wasn’t even late as I squeezed my eyes shut, but it felt like forever since this morning. Everything seemed to have changed in the span of a few hours.

I smelled like an Upper Level demon. Roth was back and he was relatively unharmed. A Lilin had been born. Apparently an orgasm was apocalyptic. And Roth...he’d never cared about me.

I’d just been a job to him.

And nothing more.

* * *

My head ached as though I’d spent the night banging it against the wall, which would’ve been more fun and fruitful than staring at the ceiling, replaying all the moments Roth and I had shared. I’d been looking for a fatal flaw in our wannabe relationship and that had been as productive as drilling holes in a bucket and trying to carry water in it.

Roth was a demon.

A male demon.

A male demon who liked to covet pretty things.

And I was as inexperienced as a nun, so of course, I’d attributed a lot to what he’d said to me, to the way he’d looked at me, to every touch and kiss. I’d thought it all meant something and the hurt was intense, tasting like bitter grapes in the back of my mouth. Strangely, as much as my throat and eyes burned and for all the tears that built in my eyes, those tears didn’t fall. I wished they would. It felt as though there’d be something cleansing in the act.

When it came time to rise for class, I snuggled down under the heavy, warm comforter. I waited for someone to come and tell me to get out of bed, but all that came were the footsteps of Nicolai around the time he’d leave to take me to school. He didn’t open the door to check in. After a few seconds, his steps faded down the hall.

I closed my eyes, unsure if I should be grateful that no one seemed to care or if I should be hurt by that. Before Roth...before the clan knew of him and our relationship, Abbot or someone would’ve been in here, dragging me out of the bed or at least making sure Freddy Krueger hadn’t snatched me. Now? Not so much. More than ever before, I was a permanent guest in their home, one that had outstayed her welcome.

As I drifted back off, my brain wandered in every direction. An old plan resurfaced, one I hadn’t given much thought to in a while. My sleepy gaze drifted to my desk. The empty OJ glass rested on top of the stack of college applications. Those papers were nearly forgotten and it was probably too late to seriously consider enrolling for next fall, but maybe that was what I’d do.

Screw all of this—the Lilin, Roth and all the Wardens. I could go to college far away from here and pretend to be...pretend to be what? Normal? I could do it. I’d been doing it for so long. Blend in among the humans and make this all into a distant memory. It was a selfish decision, but I didn’t care. I wanted to be selfish and I didn’t want to be here, in this body any longer or stuck with these problems.

One good thing was I wouldn’t see him at school. There was no reason for Roth to return there.

At some point I drifted off again, awakening when I felt the bed shift under sudden, unexpected weight and the stirring of the covers. Disoriented, I blinked open my eyes. Heart kicking in my chest, I glanced over my shoulder.

Two cerulean eyes met mine.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Zayne stared back at me, momentarily obscured by a length of blond hair. I held my breath as he eased down on his side and tugged the covers up to his waist. My gaze dipped. He was wearing a gray cotton shirt and it stretched taut over his shoulders as he reached under the comforter, finding me in the bundle of blankets. With his arm around my waist, he snagged me back against his chest. Every muscle in my body tensed as he settled in behind me, curving his body around mine with a natural ease that scattered my senses. There was virtually nothing between us but our thin sleep clothes, which were no shield from the heat he radiated.

And that warmth...oh. It seeped into my muscles, easing out the knots and all the sore spots. Within seconds, the rigidness flowed out of my spine and my cheek returned to the pillow. The bed turned into a cloud and I felt as if I was in one of those cheesy mattress commercials Stacey and Sam always made fun of, but Zayne had the power to change an ordinary mattress into something wonderful. I closed my eyes, letting my body sink down. In the moments that followed, I wasn’t thinking about anything and that was great.

He lifted his hand from my waist long enough to brush strands of my hair out of his face and then I felt his warm breath against the back of my neck. A series of shivers danced over my skin. A different kind of tightness formed in my lower stomach as I focused on breathing normally and not as though I’d just attempted to run up and down bleachers.

It had been a long, long time since Zayne had done this—climbed into my bed to rest instead of taking a deep sleep. Not since we were much, much younger, when sharing a bed was harmless and innocent, and no one could get the wrong idea about it. Shock flickered through me. Especially after last night, I didn’t expect this from him. He’d sensed that I’d been close to caving to the need. Truthfully, he was in constant danger when he was around me. At any moment, I could roll over and our mouths would be centimeters apart. And it would be so easy to take his soul.

“How’s your arm?” he asked.

When he spoke, his voice rumbled through me. I cleared my throat and then winced at how abrasive it sounded. “It’s okay.”

“We should check it out later.” He shifted his arm and his hand ended up on my belly, just below my navel. I jerked back in surprise, but he didn’t pull away or move his hand. “It’s not why you didn’t go to school, then?”

Swallowing a sigh, I pried my eyes open. On the nightstand, the neon green lights showed 9:01 a.m. I should be on my way to bio at this point. “No.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Talking about Roth while lying in bed with Zayne was the last possible thing I ever wanted to do. “No.”

Silence fell between us as his chest rose and fell against my back in an even, deep rhythm. As relaxed as I was, my body was still hyperaware of his, of every breath he took and every tiny spasm of muscle. In the quiet, an ugly thought crept in. Had he lain like this with Danika? I had no right to the caustic burn of jealousy that invaded my blood, but it was there and it was wrong, because they were able to share more than I’d ever be able to share with him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, speaking the words so quietly I wasn’t sure he’d said them at first.

I closed my eyes. “Why?”

There was another long stretch of silence and then he said, “I know you’re hurting and I want to kill the son of a bitch for that.”

My heart turned over heavily. There was no hiding anything from him. Zayne knew me better than I liked to acknowledge. I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to strangle Roth and spin kick him in his junk, but I also had a sneaking suspicion that Zayne really, really wanted to act on his desire, and because I was a girl, I’d cry if Zayne did manage to kill him.

“He’s a demon,” Zayne said. “It doesn’t matter that there are moments when he’ll pull off acts of great compassion, because underneath it, he is what he is.”

I sucked my bottom lip in. “But that’s what I am.”

“No.” Zayne rose slightly, causing his hand to drag across my stomach to my hip. “You’re not just a demon, Layla. You’re also a Warden. It’s not like you can’t be both things and...”

“And?” I turned onto my back, resting on my elbows, and his hand ended up on my belly again, his long fingers reaching the band on my sleep shorts. Our gazes met. “And what?”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead his gaze drifted over my face and then down, beyond the collar of my shirt. The blanket had slipped below my chest. He swallowed hard as he returned to lying on his side. His voice was thicker than normal when he spoke. “And why can’t you have the best of both worlds? Like the best qualities, you know?”

“Best qualities of both?” I murmured slowly. “You’re saying there are good qualities in demons?”

“In you.” The hollows of his cheeks flushed, and I blinked a couple of times, but the blush was slow to fade. “You’re part demon. Like I said that night at the ice-cream shop, we shouldn’t have made you hate that part of you.”

I remember him saying that. Those words had been lost in what else had happened that night—Paimon and the devil’s trap—but I remembered.

“Every part of you is good—even the demon side.” He paused. “And I saw you that night.”

Lying back, I drew in a deep breath. “What do you mean?”

He leaned over me and several locks of hair glided over his cheeks. “You didn’t look like us when you shifted, but you didn’t look like a demon either. You were a mixture of both.”

“So I looked like a freak?”

“No.” His hand moved and his fingers curved around my waist. “Your skin was black and gray, like mottled marble. It was beautiful. Best of both.”

A pleasant heat crept into my cheeks and I fought not to lower my gaze from the intensity in his. “You’ve been saying that a lot lately.”

“What?”

“The ‘beautiful’ thing.”

His lips curled up at the corners in a small smile. “I have been.”

“You need your head checked?”

He rolled his eyes. “Anyway...” His thumb moved in slow, idle circles along my lower stomach. He seemed unaware of it, but then he chuckled softly. “I have no idea what we were talking about.”

I smiled. “We were talking about how awesome I am.”

“Sounds about right.” He settled back down and he seemed to be closer than before. The tops of his legs were pressed to the sides of my thighs. And his thumb was still tracing that unseen circle under my belly button, creating a languid warmth that was familiar.

“I was thinking,” I said finally, watching him. His eyes were closed and in that moment, he looked much younger than twenty-one.

There was a beat of silence. “About what?”

“About filling out those college applications and trying to see if I could get in for late admission.”

One eye opened and his thumb stilled. Several seconds passed. “Is it because of him?”

I opened my mouth.

“You know I’ve always supported you when it comes to going to college.” Both eyes were open now. “I think it would be great for you, but don’t make a huge decision like that because of what you’re feeling right now.”

I wanted to deny the assumption that my sudden interest in college had anything to do with Roth, but it would be a pitiful lie. Who was I kidding? Wasn’t like I hadn’t seriously considered leaving here and attending college before, but right now the idea was circling in my head for all the wrong reasons.

Zayne was staring at me now, eyes as bright as midday during the summer. Unrest made me twitchy. “Do you...?” He took a deep breath, and I held mine. “Did you love him, Layla?”

Oh God. My eyes widened and I could feel the heat in my cheeks grow. The question totally knocked me right off the planet.

He looked away and shook his head. “Shit, Layla-bug.”

“No!” I blurted out, and when his head swung back at me, my heart jumped in my throat. “I don’t know how I feel,” I rushed on, speaking the brutal truth. “I don’t know, Zayne. I care about him a lot and he...” I ached at the sudden knot in my throat. “I don’t know.”

And I really didn’t.

Love is a strange creature one thinks one has a grasp on and understanding of, only to discover later that it was only the barest taste of the real thing. And there were so many different kinds of love—that much I knew—and I didn’t know where Roth fell in all of that.

Zayne held my gaze for a moment longer before nodding. “Okay. I get that.” His hand left my stomach and before I could feel the pang of confused disappointment, he found my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. “I really do.”

He squeezed my hand and I returned the gesture obediently, but I wasn’t sure how he could get any of this when I didn’t.

* * *

Zayne had slept the day away with me, leaving my bed as the other Wardens began to stir in the house. I’d watched him leave, cheeks flushed for no good reason other than it seemed wholly intimate watching him sneak out of my room as if we...as if we’d done something naughty.

I’d remained in bed after that, trying to sort through the odd tingling in my chest. There was a slight smile on my lips, because Zayne...well, he’d made my day, but then I’d remember what Roth had said to me the night before and the smile would wash away as if it had never been there.

I probably needed to get used to the whiplash mood swings.

It wasn’t until after dinner that I decided to scrub a day’s worth of gunk off myself. Gingerly, I peeled the bandage off, happy to find that the cut in my arm was healing as expected. I didn’t need to cover it anymore. The arm was still tender, but the Warden blood in me was quickly undoing the damage from the iron.

After changing into fresh pj’s, like a total hermit, I padded over to my desk, where I’d left my cell phone. It had been on silent all day and when I tapped the screen, I wasn’t surprised to see a slew of texts from Stacey.

Where r u?

R u skipping, u ho?

A minute later: Your locker misses u. Guess u sick with the herp?

Oh my God. I laughed out loud, grinning as I thumbed through her texts.

Our bio sub is still hot. U r missing this.

Bio is lonely.

My boobs miss u. How weird is that?

That was notably weird and yet not surprising.

If I get my cell taken from me, it’s ur fault.

Holy shit, Layla, where r u?!?

Air punched out of my lungs as I read the next text and the several following them.

U have no idea who just walked into bio!!!

Roth is here!

Holy canola oil, why aren’t u here to witness this?

Ok. He says he had mono. Srlsy? Do people still get mono? And who in the duck was he kissing?

A second later: Duck? I didn’t mean duck. That’s SO not what I meant, autocorrect.

Another text had come in about fifteen minutes after the last one.

He asked where u were. I told him u joined a cult. I laughed. He didn’t.

Finally, the last text was to call her if I wasn’t dead.

“What in the Hell?” I tossed my cell onto the bed, mouth hanging open.

Anger blasted through me like a door being kicked open and I welcomed it because it was so much better than the damn hurt and the confusion and that...that lost feeling.

Roth was back in school? That...that was unacceptable. He had no reason to be there. None whatsoever even though he easily passed for an eighteen-year-old. It wasn’t as if school seriously interested him or like he’d get a lot of Lilin hunting done there.

What if he wasn’t there for the Lilin? Hadn’t he asked about Eva?

The moment that question entered my thoughts, a curse burst out of me and I spun, leaving my bedroom. I had no idea where I was going, but I had to go somewhere. Maybe hit something.

Hitting something sounded good.

Because him being there was just unkind.

I reached the lower level, stalking past the library and I would’ve kept on going to God knows where in my polka-dot pajamas when I heard his name.

My little feet stopped on a dime and I turned, inclining my head toward the cracked-open door.

“What about Roth?” That was Dez.

“Needless to say, we cannot fully trust him,” Abbot responded, and I could practically see him in my head, sitting behind the desk, rolling a cigar between his fingers. “We need to keep an eye on him.”

“Done,” replied Nicolai.

There was a pause and then Abbot said, “We also need to keep an eye on Layla.”

I snapped my mouth shut as my hands curled in. Keep an eye on me?

His voice had dropped low and then picked back up. “You know what we could be dealing with. All of you. We have to be careful because if it’s what I suspect, we have to de—”

A rush of icy wind blew down the hall, stirring my damp hair and sending it flying around my face. Sucking in a startled breath, I spun as a loud crack reverberated through the compound. The boom echoed like thunder, rattling the pictures of angels.

Directly across from me, the large picture-frame windows in the atrium cracked right down the middle. I took a step back as the glass splintered and then exploded.

CHAPTER NINE

Shrieking, I whipped around and covered my head before I was pelted with glass. Tiny shards bounced off me harmlessly, clanging off the floor like wind chimes.

“Holy crap,” I whispered, jumping as the library door slammed off the wall and Wardens poured out in the hall.

Abbot was first. “What the Hell happened out here?”

“I don’t know.” I straightened and turned. Three large panes of windows had been obliterated. “Wow.”

“Are you okay?” Dez asked, coming to my side. Not too close, but enough that I could see that his pupils had dilated.

I glanced down. In my bare feet, walking would prove tricky. Glass covered the floor, twinkling like little diamonds in the foyer light. “Yeah. Not even a scratch.”

Nicolai and Geoff approached the blown-out windows. Being our resident security expert, Geoff looked disturbed as he leaned out the window and with good reason. “These windows are reinforced glass. It would take damn near a rocket to break them and nothing or no one is down there. None of the motion detectors have gone off or any of the charms.”

“Or in here.” Nicolai turned around, frowning. “There’s no bricks or anything.”

Abbot turned to me and the taut line his jaw formed told me he was not happy. My gaze dipped to his hands. In one he held a small vial of milky-white liquid. “What happened in here, Layla?” he asked before I could question what he held.

“I don’t know. I was walking down the hall and the windows—they just cracked and then exploded.” I shook my head and pieces of glass wiggled free from my hair, clinking off the hardwood floors. Great. It would take forever to get all the glass out. I carefully stepped to the side.

Abbot arched a brow. “So you did nothing?”

My head jerked up. “Of course not! I didn’t do anything.”

“Then how did the windows get broken if there’s nothing here that could have done it?”

I forgot about the glass as I stared up at Abbot. Cold air rushed in through the windows, but that wasn’t the cause of the sudden chill skidding down my spine. “I don’t know, but I’m telling the truth. I didn’t do anything.”

Geoff faced us, crossing his arms. The dimple in his chin was all but gone. “Layla, there’s nothing in here that would’ve broken the windows.”

“It wasn’t me, though.” My gaze darted among the men. None of them, not even Dez or Nicolai, wore expressions that said they believed me. “Why would I break out the windows?”

Abbot raised his chin. “Why were you in the hallway?”

“I don’t know.” Irritation pricked at my skin. “Maybe I was walking to the kitchen or the living room. Or one of the many rooms down here?”

His eyes narrowed. “Do not take that tone with me, Layla.”

“I’m not taking a tone!” My voice rose a notch. “You’re blaming me for something I didn’t do!”

“The windows didn’t break themselves.” The hue of his eyes burned a brilliant blue. “If it was an accident, I’d rather you tell me the truth. No more lies.”

“No more lies? That’s real nice coming from you,” I shot back. The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and well, it was like having one foot in the grave already. “Especially when you’re telling them to keep an eye on me.”

His chest rose in a deep breath as he stepped forward, towering over me. “So you were out here eavesdropping when the windows were broken?”

“No!” Not really. At least that’s not why I was originally down here, but that wasn’t the point. “I was just walking by and heard my name. The door was cracked open. It wasn’t like you all were trying to be quiet about it.”

Dez stepped toward us. “Layla—”

Holding up a hand, Abbot silenced the younger Warden. “What did you hear?”

I folded my arms, silent. Unexpected stubbornness filled me. I didn’t say anything even though I’d only heard the one part.

He lowered his head and the act seemed to symbolize how unafraid of me he was, and for some reason, that relieved me. When he spoke, his voice was low and frighteningly calm. “What did you hear, Layla?”

Summoning courage, I kept my mouth shut and forced myself to meet his stare. “Why? What do you think I heard?”

His nostrils flared with a heavy exhale. “Girl, I raised you as one of my own. You will speak to me with respect and you will answer my question.”

A quiver of fear shot through my muscles. There was a huge part of me that wanted to tell him that I hadn’t heard much, wanted to make him happy, because he was the closest thing I had to a father. His approval was something I constantly sought, but this—this wasn’t fair and I wasn’t going to be a doormat for him.

Or for anyone.

Tension filled the atrium and the rest of the Wardens shifted uneasily. “Just tell him,” Nicolai said softly.

Resolve built steel around my spine as I continued to hold Abbot’s stare.

“What’s going on?” Zayne came down the steps, three at a time. Drops of water clung to his wet hair and patches of his black shirt stuck to his body. Fresh from the shower, his winter-mint scent filled the air. His gaze was trained on us and then moved to the windows. His brows rose. “Father?”

Abbot held my gaze a moment longer and then straightened, addressing his son. “The windows magically exploded, according to Layla.”

“I didn’t do it,” I said, resisting the urge to stomp my feet and end up with glass as shoes. “The windows did explode. I don’t know how it happened, but it wasn’t me.”

“If she says she didn’t do it, she didn’t.” It was that simple to Zayne. He believed what I said, and for the love of all things holy in the world, he was my hero in that moment. His gaze flickered to the floor. “Jesus, be careful. You don’t have shoes on.”

I started to smile or launch myself at him, but Abbot moved. He stalked past us. “Go to your room, Layla.” Glass crunched under his boots. When I didn’t move, he stopped and his angry glare pierced straight through me. “Now.”

“I didn’t do anything!” I exclaimed. “Why do I have to go—”

“Now!” he shouted, and I jumped again.

Zayne caught my arm, keeping me from stepping on glass. He shot his father a look.

Abbot turned to the Wardens. They started toward him, but he stopped them. “Just Geoff. The rest of you are excused.”

Geoff exchanged looks with the others, but followed Abbot into the library. The door slammed shut behind them, and my shenanigans sensor went off. I looked at Nicolai and Dez. “I didn’t do it,” I said yet again.

Both of them looked away, and the unease inside of me spread like wildfire as Nicolai left the atrium.

Dez sighed. “I’ll find Morris and get him to help me with this mess. And the windows.” Then he was gone, too, leaving me alone with Zayne.

“He’s in a bad mood,” Zayne reasoned quietly as he helped me navigate the path of destruction. “He has been ever since Ro—the demons showed up last night.”

Maybe that was why he was acting as if he’d sat on a nail, but it was more than that. At the bottom of the stairs, I spoke. “He was in the library with the other Wardens. I overheard him saying something.”

Zayne was staring at the floor. “Are you sure you didn’t get cut with all this glass?”

“No. Pay attention to me,” I said, tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. He looked at me, brows raised. “He was telling the other Wardens to keep an eye on me.”

“Okay,” he said slowly.

“Okay? Hello. He told them to watch me.”

Zayne took my hand, leading me up the stairs. “With...well, you-know-who being back, of course he’s going to want to make sure you’re safe.”

That hadn’t even crossed my mind. “It wasn’t like that, Zayne. He said something else, but it was too low for me to hear. And then he was talking about something being what he suspected.”

“What?”

“I don’t know.” Frustrated, I pulled my hand free. “I couldn’t hear all of it and then the stupid windows blew up.” I glanced down the stairs. Glass shone like rain on the floor. “I really didn’t do it.”

“I believe you.”

My gaze found his. “And I don’t trust your father.”

“Layla,” he sighed, stepping back. “There’re obvious issues between you two, and I totally get it. He’s kept a lot of stuff from you.”

“No shit,” I muttered.

He shifted his weight. “But if he’s asking any of the guys to watch over you, it’s because he’s worried about you.”

“And because he doesn’t trust me.”

“That, too,” he admitted. “Hey, you have to understand that. You—”

“Lied. I know. But he’s told more lies.”

Zayne stared at me as if he was about to explain how two wrongs don’t make a right, but then he sighed again. “Come on. I snagged some fried chicken from dinner. It’s cold, just the way you like it.”

“I’m supposed to go to my room,” I said peevishly.

He rolled his eyes and then made a grab for me. I jumped back, and he grinned impishly. “Walk or I’m carrying you.”

“Geez, you’re getting bossy as you get older.”

Zayne winked. “You haven’t seen anything yet. I’m giving you two seconds.”

“Two seconds? What happened to the standard— Hey!” I squealed as he grabbed for me again. “All right. I’ll walk.”

His grin spread. “Knew you’d see it my way.”

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he laughed, but I did follow him down the hall to his bedroom. My stomach rumbled at the thought of cold fried chicken, but my mind was still in the atrium downstairs, and for some reason, I thought of the vial of the milky-white substance.

I wanted to know what it was.

* * *

Parasitic butterflies had formed a prickly nest in my stomach and were currently trying to eat their way out. I’d never been more nervous about school in my life.

“You sure you’re feeling better?” Stacey asked as she paced back and forth while I dragged my textbooks out of my locker. “You look like you’re about to fall over.”

“Yeah, I feel great.” I forced a smile that probably came off creepy as I slung my bag over my shoulder. There was barely any pain from where the Warden had sliced me, which reminded me that, as of this morning, Tomas was still missing.

Bambi stretched around my stomach.

Bad snake.

“So are you excited?” Stacey asked, looping her arm through mine.

My throat felt as if I’d swallowed a hairball. “Excited about what?”

“About Roth,” she said in a high-pitched squeal that made my ears ache. “About him being back.”

The deadly butterflies started chomping away. Between the prospect of returning to school and what had happened the past two nights, I’d barely gotten a wink of sleep. I’d secretly hoped Zayne would skip demon duties and stay with me, but he hadn’t and it would’ve been überwrong to ask.

“And please don’t get mad at me, because I don’t really know what went down between you two, but he looked hella hot yesterday.”

My heart spasmed. Great. I guess hoping for him to get a mad case of facial herpes was asking for too much. “Not that excited,” I said finally.

She was quiet as we made our way down the hall. The oddness of not seeing shimmery souls trailing after students distracted me from my impending face-off with Roth.

“Do you want me to take out a hit on him?” she asked finally. “I don’t know people, but I bet Sam would be able to find us hit men on the internet.”

I laughed loudly. “He probably would, but no. That’s okay.”

“Well, if you change your mind...” She slipped around me, opening the door to bio. I already knew, even before I walked in, that he wasn’t in the room yet. “Sisters before the misters and all that jazz.”

Smiling in spite of my nerves, I took my seat in the back of the class. Mrs. Cleo was still a no-show, and at the front of the class, Mr. Tucker was doing his best to ignore the adoring gazes of the girls sitting in the front row.

Stacey sat beside me as I pulled my textbook out and the class filled up. I busied myself picking out a pen from my horde, settling on a purple one that looked as though it had taken a bath in glitter...or with Ke$ha.

The scent was the first thing I noticed. That sinfully dark, slightly sweet aroma teased my senses. My fingers tightened around the pen as the entire atmosphere shifted in the class. Not with tension; I’d never noticed it before, but it was like the last day before break whenever Roth was near—that lackadaisical feeling of who cares followed him everywhere.

Tiny hairs on the back of my neck rose, and I knew he was near. Not just because Stacey had stiffened beside me. It was a sixth sense that was aware of him on a deep, intimate level.

I didn’t look up as I heard the chair legs drag across the floor in front of our desk, but he was so close and that damn poignant ache took hold again, seizing up my throat and chest. I didn’t want to hurt over him, and I wished I could fast-forward to the part when the piercing ache was just a minor annoyance.

“Good to see you didn’t join a cult.”

At the sound of his deep, velvety-rich voice, a series of shivers spread across my skin. I took a deep breath and immediately regretted it. His scent was everywhere, and I could practically taste him. Against my will, my head lifted and my brain jumped out the nearby window.

Roth stared down at me with those amber-colored eyes surrounded by thick, black lashes. His hair was an artful mess, caressing the arches of his brows. His full lips weren’t curved in the smirk I thought would’ve accompanied that statement.

I didn’t say anything and after a few seconds, his lips pursed and he turned, sitting down. A pang lit up my chest as I stared at his back. Under the faded blue shirt he wore, his shoulders were unnaturally stiff, and it should’ve given me an indecent amount of satisfaction to know he was uncomfortable. And who knew a Crown Prince of Hell could be uncomfortable in the first place? But realizing he was didn’t make me feel better.

Stacey stretched over and scribbled “hit man?” on my notebook.

I smiled and shook my head. She shrugged and turned her attention to the Hottie McHotters sub. I tried to focus on how good-looking he was with his brown hair and boyish grin as he fiddled with the overhead projector, but all I could think about was that Roth was sitting in front of me as if he hadn’t been sent to Hell two weeks ago or shared anything of any importance with me.

Thank God and the McDonald’s down the street from the high school that today was Friday. At least I wouldn’t be forced to endure two more days of seeing Roth and I’d have a break, because bio was the longest class of my life, even worse than history.

When the bell rang, I shot out of my seat like a mini rocket, shoving my books back into my bag as I walked out of class. Stacey was right behind me, and I liked to think that she wouldn’t hold my hasty departure against me. Spying Sam at the end of the hall, getting a drink of water from one of the fountains, I breathed a sigh of relief as he looked up, smiling as he waved at me. I was kind of surprised that he didn’t have tiny drops of water all over his hoodie like he normally would after attempting to drink from one of the fountains, but I made a beeline for him.

I only made it halfway.

The door to the chemistry classroom swung open, nearly smacking me in the face. I stumbled back a step, eyes welling up as the pungent odor of rotten eggs spilled out in the hallways.

“Not again!” another kid exclaimed, smacking his hands over his mouth.

I wasn’t sure if he was referencing the horrible stench of the zombie we’d had in the boiler room a month or so ago, or from what happened to the demon Raum after Roth had turned him to a cloud of stinky smoke that night in the gym, but it didn’t matter.

A teacher raced out into the hall, gagging as he waved his hands across his face. Seconds later, another teacher stormed out of the classroom. The ends of her blond hair were fried—literally scorched and blackened. Worse yet, her eyebrows were totally gone. Gray smudges covered half her ruddy face.

“Nice,” murmured Roth, who had somehow, and probably as a result of the laws of the universe, ended up next to me. Dammit. “That’s what we’d call a hot mess.”

I shot him a scathing glare and then stepped around him, willing to inhale whatever carcinogens could possibly be in the smoke wafting out of the room. But he snagged my sweater, hauling me back. I bounced off his rock-hard chest and started to turn, seconds from slamming my fist into his stomach because it would’ve felt really good to do so when the no-eyebrows teacher zipped through the smoke.

Roth’s hand slid up my back. “Careful, shortie, she’s on a mission.”

“Don’t touch me.” Yanking away from him, I ignored the flicker of emotion that tightened his lips. “And don’t call me that.” I turned just in time to see her take a flying leap at someone. “What the...?”

She tackled the other teacher.

Like jumped on his back and brought him down to his knees. Right there. In the middle of the hall, full of gaping students and faculty. Brought him down, cocked back an arm and punched the dude right between the legs.

CHAPTER TEN

“I’m beginning to think we’re attending the most cray-cray school in North America,” Stacey said at lunch, holding her chicken nugget between two black-painted nails. “I mean, we have teachers taking nut shots at each other in the hallways.”

Sam winced as he dropped his crinkle fry back onto his tray. “Yeah, that was pretty crazy.”

It was more than just crazy. Between the fight in our bio class and now this, in the span of less than a few days, something else had to be going on. And the couple I’d seen making out in the hallway without interruption? I nibbled on my nugget, hoping my suspicions weren’t true, but a Lilin had supposedly been born and one of the signs of a Lilin’s presence was strange behavior, right? But if it was a Lilin behind Dean’s anger, the couple in the hallway and the teacher today, then that was four people that were close to becoming wraiths. The weight of that possible disaster killed my appetite.

I glanced over my shoulder, wishing once again I could see the auras. Those affected by the Lilin would have to have appeared different, what was left of their souls tainted somehow. But I saw nothing and that meant I was virtually useless.

My stomach dipped as I placed the half-eaten nugget on my plate. Could my sudden loss of ability have anything to do with the Lilin? That would mean I’d been in its vicinity.

No. There was no way. I would know if I was around something that shared the blood of my mother and me. There had to be another reason, but as I poked the nugget around my plate, my stomach soured.

“What are you guys doing after school?” Sam asked, and when I looked up, he’d scarfed down everything on his plate. The boy and his appetite had to be legendary. “I was thinking we could grab something to eat. The three of us.”

I smiled.

Stacey glanced at me with hopeful eyes. “I’m not on baby-brother duty until tomorrow, so I know I can. Layla?”

Considering how Abbot had acted last night, he probably wanted me to come straight home. Which meant it was the last thing I wanted. “Yeah, just let me text Zayne and let him know.” I was so not texting Nicolai. “I don’t think it should be a problem.”

“You should invite him!” She clapped her hands like a seal on crack.

A brow rose above Sam’s glasses and I almost pooh-poohed the idea, but I grabbed my cell and decided what the Hell. The worst Zayne could say was no. Wouldn’t be the first time. “I’ll ask.”

Stacey shot Sam a look of surprise as I sent my text.

Stacey & Sam want to grab food after school. U want 2 join us?

I placed the cell on the table near my plate, not expecting a quick response. Zayne should be asleep now. Some days he wasn’t, but who knew?

“You think he’ll come?” Sam asked, fiddling with his fork.

I shrugged. “Probably not.”

“Well, if he does, you can’t ask him for an interview.” Stacey pointed her bottle of water at him. “Or act like a fan boy. It will scare him off and he’ll never come out and play with us again.”

Sam chuckled. “I won’t act like a fan boy.”

That was doubtful. The couple of times Sam had been around Zayne in the past, he’d gawked at him in open wonder. I couldn’t blame him. The Wardens didn’t mingle with humans a lot. Most didn’t even know that some of the very ordinary people they saw on the streets, in shops or restaurants were Wardens.

Stacey grinned. “Any idea of where—”

“I am?” came a deep voice that caused my heart to skip and my stomach to drop at the same time. “I’m right here.”

No way—no way in Hell was Roth at our table. A wicked sense of déjà vu smacked me upside the head. It was like the first time Roth had appeared in my life, and I couldn’t believe he’d had the audacity to seek us out at lunch. And here we were again.

My lips thinned as he sat down beside me without an invite or response. Instead of having one of the orange plastic trays in his hand, he carried a McDonald’s bag. His mouth curled up at the corner as he pulled out a small white bag. “Fry?”

I took a deep breath. “No.”

“I’ll take one.” Sam reached across the table and snatched up a couple of the offered fries. “Glad you’re back. Mono sucks. I had it when I— Ow!” His eyes widened as he faced Stacey.

She gave him a pointed glare.

Not bothered at all by the exchange, Roth placed the bag of fries between us, near my phone, and then pulled out a cheeseburger. “Yeah, mono was Hell. Like being chained to a bed.”

I almost choked.

My cell phone vibrated and Zayne’s response popped up on the screen. Before I could grab it, Roth had it in his nimble fingers. “I’ll pick you up and we’ll head over there.” He arched a brow. “Together?”

Stringing together a chorus of mental curses, I yanked the cell out of his hands. “It’s rude to read someone’s messages.”

“Is it?”

“Yes,” Stacey replied. “But I’m glad to hear that Zayne is joining us for dinner.”

Roth’s lip curled and a second passed. “Me, too.”

Unable to help myself, I snorted.

His eyes narrowed on me.

“Dinner?” Sam frowned. “I thought we were going straight after school? And I was thinking of the Italian place down the street. Not really dinner—”

“Sam,” Stacey sighed.

Roth grinned then. “Anyway, back to me. I’m all better and I am back.” He slid me a sly look that made me want to punch him instead of cry into my pillow like a baby. “I’m sure I was missed.” He took a big bite of the hamburger and grinned around the mouthful. “A lot.”

I didn’t know what happened that switched my emotions so fast. The hurt his rejection had left behind exploded into rage—like the head-spinning, spraying-green-vomit kind of rage. My brain clicked off. I wasn’t thinking as I reached over and plucked the hamburger right out of his hand. Twisting at the waist, I threw the hamburger on the floor behind Roth as hard as I could. The satisfactory splat it made as ketchup and mayo splattered like a gruesome burger massacre brought a wide smile to my face.

Stacey let out a burst of shocked laughter.

Roth glanced down at the hamburger and then his gaze slowly tracked back to mine. His eyes were wide. “But I really wanted that hamburger.”

“Too bad.” I swallowed a crazy sounding giggle. “Your fries are next if you don’t remove your ass from my presence.”

“Daaammmn,” Stacey murmured, her body shaking with now-silent laughter.

We were locked in an epic stare-down for a couple of moments and then his lips twitched as if he was trying not to laugh. And, well, that just caused my anger to ratchet up several degrees. Then he picked up his bag of fries. “I think we need to talk.”

“No, we don’t.”

His jaw clenched. “Yes, we do.”

I shook my head.

Roth stared at me, and something...something about the way he looked at me shifted. Some of the hardness faded from his expression. “Layla.”

“Fine,” I replied, snatching up my bag as a really stupid idea formed. Maybe he wanted to apologize for being an ass. Unlikely. I turned to a greatly amused Stacey and Sam. “Text me the place we’re meeting after school.”

“Will do.” She paused. “Don’t hurt the fries. That would be sacrilegious.”

“No promises.” I started walking, not waiting on Roth, and I felt ridiculously proud of myself. The Layla from two months ago wouldn’t have dared to make a scene, but I was a different person these days.

I was beginning to see that now.

As I passed the bathrooms outside of the cafeteria, the boys’ door swung open and Gareth stumbled out, followed by a pack of giggling football players. Giggling. They reeked of pot smoke as they headed into the cafeteria.

“I’d kill for a bag of Cheetos right now,” said Gareth.

One of his buds laughed. “I’d throw a baby in front of a bus for cinnamon buns.”

Wow. That was some hard-core munchies. All of the guys with Gareth partied, but they weren’t stoners. Their behavior was definitely off. Could they be...infected, too?

Roth caught up with me. No book bag. Just him and his stupid fries. “I’m surprised. I’ll admit it. You surprised me.”

“Really?” I let out a harsh laugh, irritated that he was shocked. “Did you think after what you said to me that I’d be happy to see you? Seriously?”

He popped a fry in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully, as if he really had to think about it. “Yes. I know so.”

I stopped midstep at the end of the hallway, and stared at him. “You’re delusional.”

“Wouldn’t go that far.” In went another fry.

“You have an overinflated sense of self-worth.”

He grinned. “I am very valuable, actually. Being the Crown—”

I yanked the bag out of his hand, spun around and tossed the remaining fries in the garbage. Turning back to him, I smiled widely. “That’s what I think about your valuable Crown Prince shit.”

Roth heaved a huge sigh. “I’m a growing boy and need my sustenance. I’m going to starve now and it’ll be all your fault.”

“Whatever.” I folded my arms.

He stared at me and then tipped back his head and laughed. I shivered, unprepared for the sound. I’d forgotten how deep and rich his laughter was—how contagious. The laugh quickly faded, replaced by a surprisingly morose look. “Oh, shortie, you’re already making this hard.”

“Making what hard? And don’t call me shortie.”

He shook his head. “Come on, we need to talk for real. Where we won’t be interrupted.” He started toward the faded double doors and I knew where he was heading—our stairwell. The place where we students weren’t supposed to be, where no one ever went. It led to the old gymnasium and smelled like mold, but it had been our place before.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.