Her blood boiled. She should have known he’d be the same as everyone else. Would think that she was incapable of taking care of herself. That she needed help—protection. She had prevented Vasso from killing him in the first place. She had made a bargain with a demon lord to save him a second time. And here he stood, self-righteous, thinking he needed to protect her.

  “This is my only chance. I won’t give up saving Nora because you’re uncomfortable. My sister needs to get out of the underworld, and if this is the only way for me to do it, then so be it. But you’re not going to stand in my way.”

  He pressed his fingers into his temples. “I’m going to bathe. We’ll have this conversation later.”

  “I mean it, Al!”

  All she was met with was a slammed bathing room door.

  Chapter thirty-six

  Seraphina

  Somehow—by Shadow’s intervention, probably—Alistair had agreed to search the manor for a doorway. It had taken all day to convince him, but he’d finally relented last night.

  She was grateful Vasso hadn’t invited them to dinner; she needed a break and some rest, though she got very little of that with Alistair hovering over her like a mother hen. Any alone time she had was within the confines of the bathing room. Sera had taken a peek at the brand Vasso had given her, and although the mirror wasn’t full length, she could make out its basic shape.

  A dagger.

  Sera had nearly fainted at the sight of it. It didn’t matter that it was intricate and strangely beautiful on her skin; it was still a symbol of a bargain with a demon. One she had to keep hidden from a warlock who seemed determined to undress her, and what a fucking shame it was.

  “Faster,” Al demanded.

  She ran back and forth across the training room they’d found while investigating the manor. Alistair had wanted her training immediately. Sera just hoped that Vasso had meant it when he said to make themselves at home.

  Black candles lined the room, and more chandeliers hung from the ceiling. If thick black mats hadn’t covered every inch of the floor, she would have thought this was just another opulent room. One thing she knew for certain was that Lord Vasso definitely had a thing for chandeliers.

  “One more there and back,” Alistair yelled out. The sprinting and stitch in her side had gotten rid of the tension between them. Al was feeling better; she measured it by the slight grab he made at her waist and the way he’d smelled her hair this morning. She wanted it, wanted him, but the realization that she had the same magic as Vasso…

  Sera pushed herself, her lungs desperate for air as she crossed the mat and collapsed to the floor.

  Alistair’s face blocked her view of the chandelier hanging above her. “You’re getting faster at least,” he said and held out his gloved hand. Sera took it and let him hoist her up. He had been wearing the gloves constantly. Not that she could blame him, since they were, quite literally, within the belly of the beast.

  Sera folded forward, continuing to pant, and flipped him off.

  He laughed for the first time since her incident at the tavern. That smile, those dimples, a crack in his armor.

  “How’s your side?” she asked.

  Al lifted his tunic, giving her a peek at his obliques, something she decided she’d never get sick of. But the wound at his side was still healing. This morning, they had discussed when he thought he’d be ready to bring Ophelia back to the Citadel. He didn’t give Sera a direct answer, but she could tell by the slash, still scabbed over, that he was a ways off.

  “Let’s do some enhancer work.” Al handed the cuff with two rings to her, and she strapped it to her palm.

  Releasing her magic in front of Vasso had done wonders to ease some of the tension in her veins, but her darkness was itching to play again. Thankfully, the enhancer didn’t call to it.

  Sera lifted her hand skyward and created a barrier bubble around her. It was getting easier, and she was using less of her magic than she’d initially needed.

  “Form it. Try to make it into a shield.”

  Visualizing the shield she remembered him holding in the woods, when he’d protected her from Vasso, she held out her hand. A shield took form, no larger than her palm, but then fizzled out.

  “I’m too tired.”

  “You’ll be tired when you’re fighting, and if you stop and take a break—”

  “I’ll die. I got it, big guy.” Sera rolled her eyes and tried again. She was pushing out that blue barrier with all her might when Alistair whispered in her ear.

  “That’s it.”

  Heat nuzzled her neck. His lips were so close.

  She strained, focusing her magic through the amethyst secured to her palm, but the slightest touch of his fingertips against her side awoke a very different sensation, and the barrier fell. Her gaze crashed into his. His smile was long gone.

  Sera wondered if he longed for the brush of her mouth against his. If the kiss they’d shared had only been a desperate moment of sweet euphoria before the promise of death. One they’d both been willing to lose themselves in for a few precious seconds.

  He was inching closer when a clearing throat interrupted them. Vasso watched intently from the doorway, seemingly unbothered by the moment he’d just crashed.

  “Lord Vasso! I’m sorry for intruding on your practice space.” Sera’s cheeks burned.

  The demon smiled, hands in his pockets. “That’s all right. I said you were free to use the manor. That included training rooms. And I thought we’d agreed on Vasso?” Vasso winked at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alistair standing so stiff he looked ready to snap. “Could I steal you for a few minutes, Seraphina?”

  “Sure, I’ll just be a moment.” Subtlety didn’t seem to be the lord’s strong suit. How would she get away with training with Vasso when Al was standing right behind her, ready to pounce? Pure rage lined Al’s face, and Vasso answered it with an amused smirk. The demon retreated into the hall, easing some of the vitriol in the room.

  “What do you mean you agreed on Vasso?” Alistair fumed at her.

  This was going to be far more challenging than she thought. “Relax. It was after he helped me with your wound,” she huffed, then removed her enhancer and swiped her sleeve across her damp brow.

  “You’re not going anywhere alone with him.”

  “I won’t know what he wants until I speak with him, will I?” She handed the cuff back to Alistair.

  “I’m going with you.”

  “And what happens when he bursts your skull open with the snap of his finger?” she hissed, hoping Vasso wouldn’t overhear. “I need you alive. Let me handle this and see if I can get some information about the doorways.”

  “If he touches one hair on your head…”

  “You’ll do what? Ruin this entire quest because a demon lord wants to talk to me? You’d prevent me from saving my sister because you’re jealous?”

  He reared back as if she’d slapped him. Maybe she’d gone too far, but they needed a bit of distance. She also needed to learn how to wield so she’d stop burning down entire villages.

  “I’m not jealous. I’m trying to keep you safe!”

  Sera sighed. “I’ve been with enough warlocks to see the signs.” She marched out the door as Al stumbled over his words. She refused to entertain the conversation any longer. Breaking her and Vasso’s bargain would make her indebted to the demon, and that was the last thing she needed.

  Farther up the hall, Vasso leaned on the carved stone wall, biting his lip like he was preventing a grin. “Trouble in paradise?”

  “You’re not helping. You couldn’t have come and gotten me when he wasn’t around? It’s like you want him to find out.” She looked up at him. Moons, he was tall, a creature designed for pure destruction. She was used to warlocks meeting her eye; she’d always been considered tall for a witch. But between Vasso and Alistair, she felt petite.

  “My apologies,” he said with a sneer, turning down the dark hallway, his hands clasped behind his back. “Are you too out of breath for some real training?”

  “I’m fine.” She lowered her voice, making sure Al wasn’t spying on them from the doorway.

  “What about him?”

  “He has every right to be concerned. He’s been trained to fight demons his entire life, and he doesn’t know why you’re asking to speak to me.”

  “Honestly, I wonder if I should be…”

  She grabbed his wrist. He turned and raised a brow at her. “We made a bargain.” After a moment of silence, she realized her error and snatched her hand back. “Please don’t maim me…”

  His eyes flashed red for a second. “I won’t… this time.”

  Sera followed him down the dark hallways, unsure if she should believe him or not, but at this point, she didn’t have a choice. She had his brand on her back, after all.

  As in the rest of the underground manor, the walls were made of stone. Sera wondered how they’d been carved and manipulated this deep underground. It must have taken centuries. The grooves of the rock skidded across her palm while she trailed her hand down the wall. This place was old. She couldn’t describe it, but belowground, the rock pulsed with life.

  “You’re quite trusting,” Vasso said.

  “We made a bargain. Pretty sure the indebtedness works both ways. You can’t train me if I’m dead.”

  Up ahead, boulders scratched, sliding against each other, and gave way to a beam of sunlight.

  Vasso shrugged. “There is no bargain if you’re dead. But still, you seem almost at ease…” His sensuous tone wrapped around her with the smell of sandalwood and ash.

  She didn’t know what he was implying, too tired to care; all she needed was to save Nora, and being around him got her one step closer to that. Maybe she should be more concerned. Perhaps she should have begged him to reverse their bargain. Should have figured out a way to suppress the darkness for the rest of her sorry life, tucked away in her Jedan boarding house, until it sprang free and burned the Citadel to the ground.

  Her magic laughed at her then. Sera squinted against the sun beams entering the dark hall.

  “Do you require that I spill all my secrets?” she asked.

  “Of course not. But I do have an incredible knack for uncovering them.”

  “You’re arrogant.”

  He chuckled then. “When you’re as powerful as I am… you get to be.”

  Sera bit back a huff at the smirk in his voice.

  Each step she took toward the exit, her heart ticked up a notch. Those beasts had almost torn her and Al apart the last time she’d been outside.

  Vasso must have sensed her hesitancy. “I’m not letting you play with vatra magic in my home. And nothing out there is as deadly as I am, Seraphina.”

  The way he said her name tingled at the base of her skull, and either he was casting a spell or her subconscious idiocy was overruling her once again. Either way, she started to believe she was safe with him.

  Sera shielded her eyes and blinked a few times before she stepped into a field. The tall grass was shaped into a perfect circle. Not a tree or shrub disturbed the clumps of wildflowers swaying in the slight breeze. The air was sweet. She breathed it in.

  Beyond the massive ironoak trees that surrounded the training circle were the white-capped Lanac mountain peaks reaching for the sun. At this distance, they were stunning.

  Vasso snapped his fingers. His tailored clothes morphed into an all-black leather ensemble that fit his frame perfectly. The tunic, tied at his throat, was reinforced at the elbows and chest and around his long torso, accentuating his tapered waist.

  “No,” he said. “That won’t do.” He snapped his fingers again, and her Legion uniform shifted to buttery-soft black leather, clinging to her like a second skin. It smelled glorious.

  “How did you do that?” she asked, stroking her arms.

  He gave her a deadpan stare. “Magic.”

  “Very funny,” she bit back. Vasso’s smile lit up his face. Her heart beat so hard at the sight of it, she wondered if he could hear it. “What’s with the leather?”

  “Harder to burn.” Vasso flicked something off his finger, and an ember of black flame fizzled on her thigh.

  “They’re ruined now!”

  “I’ll make you a new pair, Subdina.” He smiled again, and it felt like a lightning bolt slammed into her chest. “Stand in the center of the circle.”

  Sera waded through the tall grass and swore to look up what that word meant if she ever set foot in the keeper wing again. It was the fourth time he’d called her that. At this point, she wanted to know if she should be offended or not.

  The blades and petals of the wildflowers tickled her palm with every step toward the center. Her hesitation lessened with each second the sun warmed her face.

  “You sure like touching things.”

  Sera sighed. Taking a moment to engage with one of the senses, like touch, grounded her, especially if what she touched was organic. Something about the way Eraphon’s life felt between her fingers… But he didn’t need to know that.

  “Can we get on with it?” she asked, brushing the tall grass against the hollow of her palm.

  “So prickly… Burn the field.”

  Her mouth went dry. “I don’t want to set the forest on fire.”

  “I didn’t say the forest, I said the field. You think you can handle that?”

  Sera glanced back at the tunnel they’d just come from. She hoped Alistair hadn’t followed them. Moons, if he had seen anything, he’d flay her alive.

  Vasso waved his hand, and the stone door scraped closed. “There, now go.”

  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The darkness twirled in her gut. She coaxed it to the surface, heat spreading through her veins, down her arms, and under her fingertips. She pointed her palms to the ground, let her head fall back, and released.

  The tension she’d carried for months vanished from the planes of her back, released from her shoulders and hips. Even her ribs felt less restrained as she took in a deep breath.

  So long she had kept this power caged.

  The grass crackled, and the scent of smoke scorched her lungs. Sera winced. She was safe. There wasn’t anyone there to hurt. But still, the sounds of people’s screams, the feel of flesh burning… She stopped.

  Peering out at the field, she yelped.

  Half the field was alight with black flame, which sped rapidly toward the trees. Smoke billowed so thick she couldn’t make out the entrance to the cave, and Vasso was gone. Panic clawed at her.

  “Vasso!”

  He stepped to her side. “I wish I could say I wasn’t impressed, but…”

  “Shit.” She clutched her chest. “You scared me.”

  He kept his hands in his pockets. “How did it feel? I bet it felt good.”

  It did. Shadow, it did. “Are you going to put it out?” she asked.

  He arched a single dark brow at her, held out his hand, and released a stream of black flame. It trickled into the darkness, ripping its way across the field.

  The sensation of his magic mixing with hers vibrated deep inside her. It was strange, the flip of her stomach and the flutter in her chest. Sera glanced at Vasso to see if he felt it too. His jaw was as sharp as a knife, his eyes focused on the flames, and a soft curve pulled at his lips. He didn’t seem affected at all.

  The buzzing in her body intensified as he took longer to contain her mess. She crossed her arms tight on her chest as she watched Vasso work.

  The reverberation drummed to her stomach, then lower. Sera clenched her thighs tight.

  Vasso closed his eyes, the muscle in his jaw ticking before he made a fist and extinguished every flame. Once they were out, the vibrations stopped.

  When he opened his eyes again, they were bright red. The heat of his gaze raked over every inch of her body. She couldn’t contain the blush rising to her cheeks.

  “Again,” he growled.

  Planting her feet, Sera pulled at the abomination’s well. She could do this for days without burning out. It was so much easier to play with this vatra magic. This was what it was like to be powerful. To feel like you could make a difference in the world. That your life had significance, that you had the ability to stand your ground and be heard. No wonder her mother was so entitled, and Al, and Nora.

  Once the other half of the field was alight, Vasso let loose his magic again. Sera bit her knuckle so hard it left marks as his magic raked over hers.

  Vasso didn’t take his time. Instead, they absorbed and extinguished almost immediately.

  “That’s enough for today,” he said. Vasso ran his hand through his white hair and stalked toward the manor’s secret entrance. The lord’s shoulders were tense under his leather tunic.

  “That’s your lesson? Burn a field?”

  Vasso hovered over her, his eyes flashing from gray to red again. “I said we are done.” There was the promise of death in that glare. Sera shivered.

  A harrowing screech came from the forest; only then did Vasso break his stare.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  Vasso sighed. “Looks like you just got your second lesson. Follow me.”

  Chapter thirty-seven

  Seraphina

  Burned grass crunched under her boots as she followed the demon lord to the perimeter of Ironoak Forest. The howling was louder, and Sera couldn’t help the pit opening in her stomach. All she could think of was the agbris chasing them, their snarling, the claws swiping for Alistair’s middle. Whatever beast was screaming in pain, the agbris had probably gotten them too.

  “Our power”—Vasso paused for a moment, cleared his throat, and began again—“is destructive. It kills, burning almost everything to ash.”

  “I’m fully aware of the type of destruction it can do,” she said, stepping over a fallen log. “It seems like that’s the only thing it’s good for.”

  Vasso wove between the thick trunks of the ironoak trees. It was cool in the shadows of the canopy, and besides the painful shrieks of the creature they were walking toward, the forest was silent. No rustling nor chirping. Even the rays of sunlight that dared to touch the forest floor seemed to shy away from him.