We reached the end and turned into a wider corridor lined with glass cabinets. I peeked outside as we passed in front of a large arched window—and something dropped off the top of a cabinet.
Landing without a sound, Zylas shoved us both to the floor. I yelped as the demon’s hand pressed between my shoulder blades, mashing me into the musty carpet.
“Zh’ūltis,” the demon growled. “Walking into the sight of hunters? I taught you to be smarter, vayanin.”
Spitting the taste of dust from my mouth, I craned my head. Zylas had merely rammed me into the floor, but he’d landed directly on Robin. She was sprawled on her stomach, the demon on top of her as he hunkered below the window.
“Zylas, get off me,” she grumbled. “And what hunters?”
He raised his head enough to peer out the window. “They are watching.”
“Someone is spying on us?” I started to sit up and the demon shoved me back down. “Who?”
“Humans. Three. They try to hide among the others, but they stay in one spot and watch, watch, watch. Hunting. Planning. They will ambush us.”
Again, I raised my head, but more slowly this time. Zylas allowed it. With my nose practically resting on the sill, I peered into the street. People bustled about on the sidewalk, and it took me almost a minute to spot them: one man sitting at the bus stop, another leaning against a wall looking at his phone, and a third loitering near a boutique clothing store.
Shivers rippled over me. They had to be cultists. The Court must’ve noticed us using this building, and they were waiting for their chance to strike again.
Planning their ambush, as Zylas had said.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered. “Finding a new location and starting again now, when we’re so close …”
Robin squirmed out from under her demon and crouched between us. “You haven’t seen anyone watching us before this, have you?”
“No,” Zylas answered. “They came today only.”
She straightened her glasses. “The ritual is ready. It’ll all be over tonight. We should stick to the plan, and if they’re here when we return at midnight—”
“—I will hunt them,” he finished, his husky voice layered with eager ruthlessness, his crimson eyes glowing.
If those cultists thought “Servi” existed to protect them, tonight they would get a very rude awakening as to what this particular demon thought of their ideology.
“No, no, nooo!” I howled, waving my game controller as though that would somehow prevent my neon-green racecar from careening off the road and crashing into a building.
“Watch it!” Aaron laughed as he blocked my flailing controller with his elbow, hands glued to his own controller. “You’re going to—shit!”
I cackled as his cherry-red car smashed nose-first into a light post. Ezra’s and Kai’s cars zoomed past his crumpled wreck.
“Thanks a lot, Tori,” he grumbled.
“Go Ezra!” I cheered, steering my smashed car back onto the road, even though I had no chance in hell of catching up. “Show ’em who’s boss!”
“He always wins anyway,” Kai complained, his thumbs steady on his controller. “He doesn’t need a cheerleader.”
I turned, sticking my tongue out at the electramage, and Ezra made a pfff noise as I accidentally dug my elbow into his ribs. “Whoops! Sorry.”
The sofa was more cramped than usual. We normally spread ourselves across all available furniture for game night, but somehow, we’d all ended up crammed on the sofa together. I was squashed between Ezra and Aaron, and I didn’t mind one bit.
Aaron and I raced our steaming wrecks, half a lap behind Ezra and Kai as they battled for first place. Ezra won by a car length, and Aaron beat me easily. Oh well.
“Why do I always lose at my own games?” Aaron complained. “When you’re undemonized, we’ll see who wins all the time.”
“Will he lose his enhanced reflexes?” Kai mused. “And his increased strength? Or are those permanent changes?”
“Who knows?” Ezra glanced at them, his expression grave. “The real question is whether I’ll lose my demonic telepathy that allows me to hear all your thoughts.”
The three of us stared at him uncertainly.
He cracked a grin. “Just kidding.”
I blew out a breath, slightly panicked by the idea of Ezra having telepathy. I’d indulged in way too many naughty daydreams for that to be anything but an embarrassing nightmare.
He lifted his controller. “One more round?”
Aaron glanced at the clock beneath the television. “Let’s call it a night. We only have a couple more hours.”
“And Aaron and I have a job to do,” Kai added, pushing to his feet.
“Yeah.” Standing, Aaron stretched his arms over his head. “Let’s go, Kai.”
“Huh? A job?” I followed him and Kai toward the back door. “What job?”
Ezra followed us, stopping in the kitchen doorway, his expression the same blend of confusion and surprise I felt.
“Robin’s demon spotted those guys scoping out the museum,” Aaron explained. “We’re going to sweep the entire neighborhood to ensure it’s safe to go ahead with the ritual.”
“Oh.” I hesitated as the two mages pulled on their shoes. “Do you need any help?”
“Nope. You stay here with Ezra.” Aaron grabbed his keys off the counter. “Make good use of the time while we’re gone.”
Good use? Huh?
Kai followed him out, saying over his shoulder, “We’ll be back in an hour and a half.”
I caught the door as it swung shut and hopped out onto the back step, cold from the concrete seeping through my socked feet. “Guys, is it really safe to—”
They stood a few feet away as though they’d known I’d rush out after them. The laughter of our game from a few minutes ago had faded, replaced by quiet worry and banked grief.
I drew up short, staring at them.
“We’ll handle it, Tori,” Kai murmured. “Go back to Ezra and don’t worry about anything until we’re home.”
“But …”
“We have six years of great memories with Ezra.” Aaron’s voice
