“And lack any proof aside from unreliable witness accounts,” Darius interjected smoothly. “As we determined already, the charges against my guildeds stemmed entirely from the Court of the Red Queen’s attempt to discredit and destroy my guild before I could uncover their secret operations.”
“Exactly so,” Sweater Woman agreed, as though nothing in Darius’s statement was at all alarming. Not that we hadn’t been over it already in this meeting, but it was still shocking to me, so why not her?
The center council member hesitated over his papers.
A slight cough from the far corner of the room.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Agent Lienna Shen stepped forward. “I’d like to add that our investigation into the attack on the Crow and Hammer so far indicates that Robin was present, but no one reported seeing her demon.”
Nope. And no one would report seeing her demon, because all anyone had seen was a mysterious “demon mage” running around in all black clothing and a hood. Who even knew which side the unknown demon mage had been on?
“Thank you, Agent Shen.” Ponytail Man nodded firmly. “Charges dismissed, and we’ll leave the rest to you, Captain Blythe. We expect a full report on this week’s events, and if further investigation is required, notify us immediately.”
“Of course.” Blythe cast a flinty look across Darius. “You’re free to go … for now.”
Darius’s smile was faint, but judging by Blythe’s suddenly clenched jaw, she hadn’t missed it.
Stifling a victorious grin, I hustled after Darius and the guys as they headed for the exit. As we filed through the door, I caught a pair of mischievous blue eyes—Agent Kit Morris, standing in the corner with his partner, Lienna. He smiled crookedly as I passed him.
Darius knew where he was going and led us unerringly to the staircase. As he started down, the guys following eagerly on his heels, the strangest thing happened.
The word “WAIT” appeared in front of my face, glowing like a neon sign.
I jerked to a halt, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. Was I hallucinating? Did I need medical attention?
The commanding vision vanished and a voice called my name.
I turned around to find Kit striding down the hall toward me.
He grinned. “Don’t look so freaked out. That was me, not you.”
Him? He was the reason I’d just seen a disembodied word?
My eyes narrowed. “What sort of mythic are you?”
“I’ve been told I’m quite charming.”
“Huh?”
“I’m a charming sort of mythic, obviously.” He held out his hand, fingers curled loosely around a small object. “You should take this.”
Brow furrowing, I held up my palm. He dropped a grape-sized white crystal into my hand—the gem that had proved Ezra was Demonica-free.
“I convinced the gremlins that, after all he went through, Ezra should get a souvenir for his trouble. Since they’d already witnessed the test results, they agreed.”
Gremlins? Oh, he meant the Judiciary Council. I peered at the crystal. “So why’re you giving it to me?”
His humor faded. “Take a closer look.”
I pushed the crystal with my thumb, rolling it across my palm. The fluorescent lights overhead shone across the glossy white surface. I flipped the gem over.
On the bottom, a crimson starburst marred the white surface.
“Lienna noticed a similar marking after the first test, too,” Kit explained quietly. “She said if Ezra were a demon mage, the crystal would be solid red. If he were a demon contractor, it’d be marbled with red. She can only guess what the starburst means.”
My pulse fluttered in my throat. It could only mean there was still a little bit of Eterran in Ezra.
My fingers closed tightly over the crystal. “You hid that mark from the Council, didn’t you? Why would you do that?”
“Petty revenge.”
“Huh? Seriously?”
“Yep.” He pressed a finger to his lips. “So don’t tell on me, ’kay?”
Snorting, I pocketed the crystal and turned toward the stairwell. “Later, Agent Morris.”
“Later, barkeep.”
I hurried through the door and down the stairs. Darius and the guys were waiting for me, and I merely shrugged my good shoulder when Kai asked what had kept me. On another day, they would’ve pestered me until I answered, but we were all way too tired for that.
As Darius guided us through the precinct’s main level toward the exit, I slipped my hand into my pocket and touched the crystal. That crimson starburst …
Whether it was a remnant lingering in Ezra’s body or in his soul, a tiny piece of Eterran had survived. His strength lived on in Ezra, and I knew the aeromage wouldn’t waste whatever the demon had, knowingly or unknowingly, passed on to him.
Pulling my hand from my pocket, I rushed to catch up as Darius threw open the precinct’s front door. Early morning sunlight blazed over us in a wash of amber and gold, the sky a beautiful, clear blue.
As we stepped across the threshold, I caught Ezra’s hand and entwined our fingers. He looked down at me, a soft smile on his lips, one eye as warm and sweet as melted chocolate, the other pale as snow and a touch icy.
Would that hint of steely, ruthless power someday fade? Or was it as much a part of him as his aero magic, his scars, and the violent past that had shaped him into who he was?
Only time would tell—and I was more than ready for that journey to begin.
Epilogue
Four Months Later
I sleepily ran my hand across warm, smooth skin. Bare, delicious skin enveloping the second-most beautiful abs I’d ever laid eyes on. The most beautiful set belonged to a demon and I wasn’t touching them with a ten-foot pole, so I was one hundred percent content with these most beautiful human abs.
My fingertips ran across hard-edged scars as I caressed my way across firm pectorals and the inexplicably mouthwatering lines of his collarbones. Why did I want to chew on his collarbones? It made no sense … but the world was full of nonsensical things. Why fight it?
Following that thought, I pushed up on one elbow, leaned
