“They’re organising themselves,” I said, glaring at the arsehole brother. “They’re coming together and creating a community. I saw it. The creatures who escaped Camelot are being led by a greater demon—a Balan. They’re moving away from their need to consume…it’s like they’re evolving into a new species to survive.”
The men stared at me for a moment, not knowing what to say. Trent coughed, looking worried.
“This is bad,” Aiden said quietly after a moment of internal deliberation. “If the Dark is congregating and evolving without the One, then another war could erupt.”
The last gasp. I’d told Trent about it, and no one else seem concerned. Without a master, the Naturals had believed the demons would scatter and eventually die out, but I’d seen otherwise.
“But why Madeline?” Thompson mused. “Why take her and not Trent?”
I coughed, almost choking on my spit. “Camelot,” I blurted. “They’re interested in Camelot.”
“What on Earth could they want here?” Aiden mused. “There are no energy signatures or hidden pockets of time, and the rift is sealed. That entire area is dead.”
I shrugged. “I suggest you keep digging, then.”
An awkward silence fell on the tent. After a long moment, Aiden coughed and gestured at me. “Let’s get you to the infirmary. Ramona will want to check you out herself.”
My heart leapt. “Ramona’s here?”
“She arrived yesterday,” Aiden explained, then to Trent, he said, “Can you escort Madeleine?”
They most likely wanted to talk about my revelations. I bristled, not enjoying being left out.
“C’mon,” Trent said, urging me towards the door, “you kinda stink.”
“Wow,” I drawled. “Welcome home.”
He chuckled and held open the tent flap for me. The moment it fell back into place, I could hear the Thompsons start to argue. They really needed to check their volume.
* * *
The infirmary was empty when we arrived. Given the late hour, and it was past dinnertime, everyone was elsewhere doing whatever archaeology nerds did for fun.
Ramona was bent over a workstation, her auburn hair pulled back into a severe braid. She was in her late thirties, intelligent, bordering on six foot tall, and had been the head of the medical and science team at the London Sanctum for almost ten years. She was a notorious raging workaholic, so it didn’t surprise me to see her taking over for the poor soul who had been rostered on for emergency duty that night.
Ramona was also the only person who could successfully pull me up on my bullshit, which made my current situation kind of awkward.
She looked up upon our entrance. “Madeline!” She dropped what she was doing and crossed the tent, drawing me in for a hug despite Trent’s earlier stench assessment. “When did you—”
“She just burst in out of nowhere,” Trent told her. “Handling shite on her own, just like she always does.”
I sighed, inhaling the lemony fresh scent of her oversized black sweater. “I don’t know whether to be insulted or not.”
Ramona drew back and clucked her tongue at him before shooing him away. “Off with you, Trent. Leave us women in peace.”
I gave him a look and all he could do was shrug as he scurried away. He knew what was good for him.
“So, I gather you don’t want to talk about it?” Ramona asked as she forced me to sit on the end of an empty bed.
“You gather right.” I looked around the tent. It was immaculate, having only seen the odd bump and bruise from Naturals on the dig site. “What are you doing at Camelot? It doesn’t seem like the hive of activity you’d be interested in.”
She snorted and began her examination, checking my eyes before moving to make sure I had no gaping wounds or broken bones my Light should’ve healed. Thankfully, I’d been right about the last bruises healing before Elijah dropped me off.
“Things are quiet,” she replied. “Esme has things handled, and Jackson is busy in his laboratory these days. I figured I’d come see the famous Camelot myself.”
“And what’s the verdict?”
She clucked her tongue. “I didn’t think it’d be this chaotic.”
I smirked. “You’re welcome.”
I fell silent, letting Ramona go through the motions. It was more for her benefit than mine—I felt completely fine, though my mind was pulled in all kinds of directions. I already felt a change inside me. I didn’t know what it was—a chemical imbalance, a revelation, a spiritual alignment—but something was going on and I was convinced it had to do with a certain arsehole.
Within five minutes of being bound, Elijah had challenged me like no one else had. He forced me to think, to push my boundaries, and—dare I say it—to grow up.
I also knew nothing about him. Where he’d come from, what he’d done, who he was working for, what his motives were, and how long he’d been a demon-hybrid…but despite all the alarm bells, I wanted to help him. Not because he’d bound himself to me, but because when I looked at him, I saw myself.
I shook my head, ridding myself of my irrational thoughts. Maybe I was a stupid little girl.
“Well, your Light seems to have returned and done my job for me,” Ramona said. I felt her power brush against mine as she checked for other symptoms and jerked away. “Madeleine?”
“Sorry,” I replied.
She frowned but didn’t probe any further. “You’re not tired?”
I shook my head. “I feel fine.”
“Physically, you appear to be completely healthy…”
I narrowed my eyes. “But?”
“Are you sure nothing else happened out there?” she asked quietly as she looked me over. “Because you know you can tell me, Madeleine. We’ve been through worse than this.”
I couldn’t tell her about the mutation. If I did, I’d be sent to a lab and put under quarantine. After losing my post at the London Sanctum, I wasn’t about to jeopardise my last
