I sat back with a huff. “Okay. But first, I can’t seem to make the arrow thing happen, and second, I don’t know where a demon’s heart is.”
Baccio leaned against the overstuffed chair and tugged at the collar of his dark gray sweater, obviously not happy with the neckline. “A demon has no…mind, no brain, I think would be the correct word. He moves in accordance with his dark spirit, his heart, and that organ resides in his head.”
Hekla’s entire face bunched. “Ugh.”
Aurelio went to the kitchen and began searching through my cabinets.
Leaning forward, I set my forehead on Lucus’s knee. “Nancy’s nephews will be back. And next time, we’ll have to get rough. The police will come. And we’ll be stuck unless we’re ready to kill a bunch of fairly innocent folks.”
“We must work quickly, then.” Lucus’s deep voice rolled over me. “Titus, I can’t replace the blood you lost, so you’ll need to rest here for a few days. I wonder…Coren says you operate a facility meant for physical training.”
“Yeah.” Titus grunted as he sat up. I turned my head to watch him. I hoped he wouldn’t pass out. “You’re welcome to use the place to work on whatever Coren needs to work on.”
Hekla raised a hand briefly. “I told him about magic.”
I wiggled my eyebrows at Titus. “Crazy, huh?”
“Completely.”
Baccio’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t appear shocked.”
Aurelio walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water, which he handed to me. “You look fatigued, my brother’s mate.”
I gave him a weak smile, accepted the water, then set it beside my tea. I guessed giving tired people drinks was a thing we all did no matter what type of creature we were. “Thanks.”
Titus cracked his knuckles, took a sip of his tea, then looked up. “Okay. Well, I saw something once that helped me swallow this magic thing Hekla told me about.”
“Please tell me you’re just a regular, wonderful human,” Hekla said. “I cannot deal with more supernatural beings in my life. There just isn’t enough dough and sugar and butter.”
Lucus’s lips twitched, and Aurelio huffed a laugh.
“When I was nine and my parents took me to Paris, we got lost,” Titus said. “We ended up on a side street at three in the morning, and I swear I saw a dog stand up and become a man.”
“A shapeshifter,” Baccio murmured.
“Yeah, I suppose so.” Titus sipped his tea. “So anyway. No one ever believed me.”
“Lucus, I thought you said there weren’t really any shifters anymore?”
He lifted a shoulder and rubbed his thumb over my knee. The simple touch was enough to send delicious shivers over my leg, making my toes curl inside my boots as I remembered what that thumb had been doing earlier today.
“Shifters were rare when I was last active in the world,” Lucus said. “They may have increased in number in the last centuries.” He ran a hand through his tousled hair. Now that I knew horns hid there, I could see how he moved around them.
“Certainly, Paris has always been a dynamic magical center,” Baccio said.
“Titus, if you don’t mind,” I said, “I’m going to take you up on the offer to use the gym tonight. You stay here and rest up.”
He dug the keys from his pocket and tossed them to me. “I’d ask you to remember to keep your shoes off the mats, but I’m going to bet magic is harder on the flooring than your boots.”
I stood and leaned over to drop a kiss on top of his head. “Thanks, friend.”
“No worries. But please tell me I’m good here. That the vampire won’t come back.” He laughed off his comment, but the fear lancing through his eyes was real.
“I can’t promise anyone is safe right now.”
“But Baccio and Aurelio will remain here and keep an eye on you, won’t you, brothers?” Lucus asked.
Even though Baccio had sworn his allegiance, this still wasn’t my favorite set up, but it would have to do. At least Baccio could take Kaippa if it came down to a fight, and Aurelio might keep him honest.
Hekla, Lucus, and I gathered some snacks and water and headed out, leaving one of my dearest friends with one of my greatest enemies.
10 Coren
Titus’s gym reeked of eucalyptus.
Lucus inhaled as Hekla, the Binder, Oliver, Corliss, and I led him inside.
“I would’ve thought a place of training would smell more earthy,” Lucus said.
“Titus is obsessed with essential oils.” I pointed to each corner of the room where diffusers sat, now quiet.
The Binder gently pushed a heavy bag and lifted Oliver up so the boy could grab it like a koala and take a swing. I smiled, glad he wasn’t brooding at Hekla’s and had agreed to join us and help me figure out this Yew Bow and my power. “Your warrior friend does indeed understand more about magic than I would’ve believed. You said he once saw a shifter?”
Hekla drank from the water fountain while Corliss walked across the mats barefoot, her eyes wide with wonder.
“Yeah, in Paris.”
The Binder nodded. “Interesting.” He helped Oliver down from the heavy bag, and the kid ran at Corliss.
Hekla grabbed for him and missed as Oliver shouted, “Princess!”
Corliss whirled and dropped her glamour. Her wings unfurled with a snap and her horns shimmered into view amidst her blonde braids.
The Binder had gone very still.
Oliver reached his hands toward Corliss, who crouched, then gathered him up. “Greetings, little one.” Her eyes reddened, not with unseelie light but with the struggle of unshed tears. She touched the tip of his nose. “We are to be friends, then?”
Oliver hugged her neck. “Yes, please. But you must buy me a chocolate croissant from Mistress Coren.”
“Well, that kid has life figured out.” I grinned, releasing a breath.
Hekla walked over and gave the kid a fist bump. “Want to play a game while the boring adults train?”
The corners of Corliss’s mouth lifted
