I hung my head. “I’m officially the worst friend ever.”

  “You’re the best friend ever. Just promise to let us know you’re okay next time you feel like going off alone.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  Nikolas fixed me with a hard stare. “And if you ever pull that again, I’ll take you off patrols so fast your head will spin.”

  I gulped because he did not make idle threats. I’d be spending my nights doing paperwork and manning the control room. I shuddered at the thought.

  “You two are worse than parents,” I said to Sara.

  She grinned. “We’re practicing for the real thing.”

  I sank back into the cushion. “It’s a good thing that kid will have Auntie Jordan to bring all the fun.”

  Sara’s and Nikolas’s eyes met, and they smiled before he left us. Mated couples could communicate through their bond, and I had a feeling a whole conversation had taken place between them in that moment.

  “What did he just say to you?” I asked her.

  She chuckled. “He asked if we could live in Russia until our daughter is twenty.”

  “Hey!” I yelled after him, knowing he could hear me. “Would you rather have me or Eldeorin teaching her the facts of life?”

  Sara snorted. “He said to tell you our home is your home.”

  I nodded smugly. “That’s what I thought.”

  * * *

  Hamid was holed up in the conference room with the Council team that afternoon, and I made sure to keep my distance from all of them. I’d planned to go to the wrakk, but when I mentioned it to Nikolas, he suggested it might be a good idea for me to wait until tomorrow.

  “You scared him last night,” Nikolas said when I asked why I needed to wait. “I wish I could explain what it feels like when a bonded male doesn’t know where his mate is or if she’s safe. It’s gut-wrenching, and it can take our Mori a while to calm down even after we know our mate is okay. Hamid needs to feel you nearby today even if he doesn’t see you. Does that make sense?”

  “Yes.”

  It made all too much sense to me. Despite our intentions to stay away from each other, Hamid and I had done a poor job of following through on it. Some of it had been beyond our control, but the sparring sessions, the kissing and touching, and sharing a hotel bed had been our doing. Because of it, our bond had grown to the point where we could barely keep our hands off each other when we were alone. The thought of him touching another woman made me want to kill something, and he was so protective he needed my presence to calm his agitated Mori.

  I spent the rest of the day trying to keep busy, but I started to get stir-crazy as the hours passed. I had no idea how Sara could stay here day after day without going out of her mind with boredom. I was climbing the walls by dinnertime, and I cringed at the thought of the long night ahead. Nikolas had pulled me off patrol tonight as punishment for removing my trackers and turning off my phone last night. I knew I deserved it, but that didn’t make it any easier to bear.

  I hadn’t laid eyes on Hamid since he left my room, but I could sense him no matter where I went in the building. It was another indication of how much the bond had grown – not that I needed more proof.

  When he didn’t make an appearance around our usual sparring time, I figured he wasn’t going to. I went to my room and changed into workout clothes anyway. There would be no sleep for me tonight if I didn’t get in a good training session.

  The gym was empty when I entered, and my gaze immediately landed on a long, dark wooden box lying on the weight bench. I went over to it and ran my finger along the glossy wood. The size and shape of the box told me it held a sword, and I was dying to take a peek inside.

  I chewed my lip indecisively for a minute before curiosity got the better of me and I lifted the lid. “Oh,” I breathed at the sight of the beautiful katana laid on a bed of yellow satin. The blade was flawless, and it looked brand new, like it had never been used.

  My fingers itched to wrap around the handle and see how the sword felt in my hands. The last time I’d wanted to touch a sword so much was when I’d found my old one in that weapons room in Los Angeles.

  “Go ahead. Pick it up,” Hamid said from behind me.

  I spun to see him filling the doorway. I’d been so enraptured by the sword I hadn’t heard or sensed him approach.

  He tilted his head toward the box. “Tell me what you think.”

  I didn’t need any further urging. My hand grasped the handle, and I lifted the sword reverently from the box. It was lighter than it looked and felt like it had been made for me. I sliced it through the air and did a pattern of strikes to get a feel for it.

  “Perfect,” I murmured as I examined the blade, almost forgetting I wasn’t alone.

  “It was given to me by a little-known swordsmith named Hiroko Tao when I lived in Japan.”

  I tore my gaze from the sword to look at Hamid. “This is yours?”

  He walked over to me. “It was. Now, it’s yours, if you will accept it. It’s not a Muramasa, but it is a fine sword and worthy of you.”

  I ran a finger along the flat side of the blade. “It’s beautiful.” His words registered, and I stared at him. “Why would you give this to me?”

  His hand came up to caress my cheek, sending a familiar heat through me. “You need to ask?”

  “I…” I faltered, unsure how to respond. I looked down at the sword, because the tenderness in his gaze made it hard to form words. “This is the most incredible gift anyone’s ever given me.”

  Hamid dropped his hand but didn’t move away from me. “I’ve had this sword at my home in Egypt ever since Hiroko gave it to me. Ammon asked why I never used it, and I told him it didn’t feel right in my hand, like it belonged to someone else. After you lost your sword protecting me from Alaron, I knew this one was meant to be yours.”

  My hand went to my chest. “I…don’t know what to say.”

  “That is a first,” he teased. “I should give you weapons more often.”

  I scowled at him, but there was no anger in it. He smiled back, looking all too pleased with himself.

  “Do you want to try out your new sword?” he asked.

  “On patrol?” I suggested hopefully.

  He chuckled as he walked to the other side of the room to get a sword for himself. “Nice try. You’ll have to settle for training with me tonight.”

  “Fine,” I grumbled as a thrill shot through me. I could pretend to be put out, but there was nothing I enjoyed more than sparring with him.

  I smiled to myself. Well, maybe there was one thing. And based on my hot make out sessions with him, I knew he would be an insatiable and skilled lover. My belly quivered in anticipation.

  I knew another truth as well, something I’d been living in denial about for days. Hamid and I were past the point of no return. There was no going back for us. No breaking this bond. He knew it, too, and he’d said as much in my room this morning. I’d just been too afraid to admit it.

  My heart gave a little flutter, either from excitement or fear, I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t quite ready to take that final step. I needed a little more time to get used to the idea of me with a mate. With Hamid. Forever.

  I inhaled deeply and forced myself to focus on sparring, because I couldn’t think of any of that other stuff now, or my head would explode.

  But later? Yeah, later, I was totally going to freak out.

  Chapter 16

  The next three days were quiet compared to all that had happened in the previous week. I went back to patrols and my self-defense classes at the wrakk, and Hamid spent most of his time with the Council team and in conference calls. There hadn’t been a sign of Alaron since our run-in with him in Tallahassee, and everyone was on alert, waiting for him to strike again.

  Hamid and I still made time to train together every night, and those sessions were the highlight of my day. We kept our hands and mouths to ourselves, but there was a current of anticipation that seemed to grow between us as the days passed. Though neither of us spoke about our relationship, we both knew where this was headed, and I think he was giving me the time I needed to be ready for it.

  Beth and I had been taking turns giving the class at the wrakk, but today we were pairing up to demonstrate some fencing techniques. It was a special treat for our students, who were progressing nicely in their training, and I was looking forward to it as well. I had a bag of wooden training swords strapped to my bike, and I couldn’t wait to see Lem’s and Jal’s faces when I gave them their swords.

  We parked our bikes beside each other in the parking lot, and I frowned as I put down my stand. The wrakk was usually bustling with activity this time of day, but there were only two cars in the lot and not a person in sight. I’d never seen it this quiet here.

  “Do you think it’s closed?” Beth asked, coming to stand beside me.

  I stared at the building. “Wrakks never close.” Wrakks were like the demon version of Walmart and open twenty-four-seven all year long. It would take something pretty serious for one of them to close.

  We walked up to the main door, and I tried the handle. Locked. Something was definitely up here, and my spidey sense was tingling.

  It could be more Gulaks seeking retribution for the death of the group that had attacked me. I wouldn’t put it past them to take it out on the innocent patrons of the wrakk.

  “Come on.” I started around the building to the hidden door in the back. The secret entrance wasn’t generally known to anyone other than the demons who worked in the wrakk, but Beth and I had been taken into their confidence since we’d started giving lessons here.

  Beth caught up to me and grasped my arm. “I don’t think we should go in there alone.”

  “You’re right.” I’d promised Hamid and my friends that I would be more careful and less reckless from now on. Pulling out my phone, I called the command center for backup. Nikolas and Chris were out, but Hamid was there. He said to wait by our bikes and he’d be there soon.

  Twenty minutes later, he arrived with Orias and Ciro. I didn’t ask why he’d felt the need to bring the warlocks. Secretly, I was glad they were there.

  Orias walked up to the building and came back shaking his head. “The demon wards are too strong. I can’t see through them.”

  “We’ll have to go in then,” Hamid said.

  “There is a secret door in the back,” I told them. “We can use that.”

  Beth and I led the way to a tall stack of pallets at the back corner of the building. There was just enough space between the pallets and the building for Hamid’s large body as he followed me to the door cleverly disguised as a patched section of the wall. I eased the door open and stepped aside so he and the warlocks could go ahead of Beth and me.

  “Stay behind us until we know what we’re dealing with,” Hamid said to me. I nodded, and he entered the building.

  As soon as I passed through the demon ward, I knew something was very wrong. It was always noisy inside the wrakk, but silence greeted us today.

  Hamid looked back and motioned for us to be quiet, and the five of us moved stealthily down the small, dark hallway to the main area.

  I gripped my sword while hoping for the first time that I wouldn’t need to use it. I’d gotten to know many of the demons who worked and shopped here, and I’d hate for any of them to be hurt.

  Orias, who was beside Hamid, stopped suddenly. “He’s here,” he whispered. No one needed to ask who he was.

  Hamid stiffened and spun to face me. “You and Beth leave now,” he ordered in a low voice.

  “You’re not going in there without me,” I argued. He was no more a match for Alaron than I was, and he knew it. Together, we stood a chance, if Orias was right about the spell protecting us.

  Hamid opened his mouth to say something, but a child’s terrified scream cut him off. The sound turned my blood to ice.

  I grabbed Hamid’s hand with my free one, praying the contact was enough to protect us from the archdemon’s magic. “Together,” I whispered urgently.

  He nodded, and we quietly followed Orias and Ciro into the open area that made up the marketplace. Stopping behind a baker’s stall, we took in the scene before us.

  At the center of the building, stalls had been destroyed and pushed back to form a wide circle of debris. In the cleared area, a familiar summoning circle was painted in blood on the concrete floor, with the smaller circle inside of it.

  Alaron stood just inside the inner circle with his arms raised as if he was prepared to start the ceremony. Everything looked exactly as it had in the gym except for one thing – the dozen or more demon children huddled together at his feet.

  Bile burned its way up my throat. He was going to use the children as blood sacrifices to open the barrier.

  My gaze moved over the tearstained faces, and I sucked in a breath when I found Jal holding a little Vrell female, who couldn’t be more than five. The girl clung to his neck as he rubbed her back and whispered to her. I could see no sign of Lem, and I sent up a silent prayer that he was safe.

  Tearing my eyes from the children, I looked around for the adults and found them standing against the far wall, hitting and pushing against some kind of force field. Their faces were masks of horror, and their screams were silenced by the magic that held them prisoner.

  I started forward, but Hamid held me back.

  “Wait,” he mouthed. He inclined his head toward the two warlocks, who were moving away from us, positioning themselves on either side of Alaron. The demon seemed to be so focused on his work he didn’t notice our presence.

  Alaron began speaking in demon tongue, and the crystals around the outer circle started to glow. I craned my neck to see where Orias and Ciro were. If they didn’t do something soon, it might be too late. I was not going to stand here and watch children be slaughtered.

  My grip on Hamid’s hand tightened when Alaron lowered his hands and looked down at the children as if deciding which one to kill first. What was taking Orias so long?

  I felt Orias’s magic a few seconds before his deep voice began to chant in what I now knew was Navajo. Farther away, Ciro’s voice rang out as his own chant filled the air.

  Alaron straightened and threw off his hood with a growl to reveal a face that was starting to resemble that of a demon mummy. As Orias had said, Kai’s body was deteriorating from the stress of being possessed by an archdemon. Alaron was running out of time.

  The demon flung out his arms, and a wave of magic hit us. I felt the pressure, but it didn’t burn like it had that night at the school. Behind us, Beth gasped in pain because she wasn’t immune to the magic.

  Hamid half turned to look back and motioned for her to go outside. I heard her softly retreating footsteps as she followed his order, and I exhaled in relief. Hamid and I were protected by the spell, but Beth was vulnerable. I should have thought of that when Orias told us Alaron was here.

  I couldn’t see Ciro, but Orias was in my line of vision. I watched him standing strong, seemingly unaffected by Alaron’s magic as he countered with his own spell. He began to walk around the outer circle, keeping plenty of space between him and Alaron. He moved farther away from us, and Ciro came toward us, his voice growing louder as he mimicked Orias’s. I couldn’t tell if they were chanting the same spell or doing their own thing, but whatever it was, the demon was not happy.

  Alaron roared and threw more magic, this time focusing on the two warlocks. Ciro wavered for a few seconds under the force of the magic, but his chanting never faltered. Instead, it grew louder and more insistent.

  The light in the crystals flickered and dimmed. Whatever the warlocks were doing, it was working.

  The demon was fully enraged now and flinging spells at Orias and Ciro like he was throwing knives. Each time the magic hit them, they flinched, but they never stopped their chant.

  Movement behind Alaron drew my gaze to the children. Jal was on his feet with the little girl in his arms as he quietly herded the other children out of the inner circle.

  I held my breath as they stepped over the pattern of symbols drawn in blood, but whatever magic had held them there was gone. Alaron was using it in his battle against the warlocks.

  As soon as the children were free of the first circle, they ran in all directions. Alaron spun and bellowed when he saw his captives escaping. His murderous eyes locked on Jal, who had fallen behind, carrying the little girl.

  “Jal,” I choked out, already moving toward them.

  Hamid released my hand, but before I could take another step, he was gone in a blur and a small gust of air. My heart lodged in my throat when I saw him appear next to Jal and scoop the boy and girl up in his arms.

  Alaron roared, turning his rage on Hamid. He threw a spell, but Hamid was already speeding back to me.

  I felt the pulse of magic in the air just as Hamid reached me. He threw his arm around me and bent over me and the children to protect us from the blast.

  Just as it had before, Alaron’s magic bounced harmlessly off us. I refused to think of what might have happened to Hamid if he hadn’t gotten back to me in time.

  Hamid set Jal and the little girl on the floor, and the children scampered behind the stall. Standing together, Hamid and I faced Alaron, who was once again battling the warlocks and looking like he was about to explode with rage. He had to be getting desperate, and we’d just foiled another attempt to open the barrier.

  Alaron hit Orias with another spell as the warlock walked in front of us. The attack was strong enough to make Orias stagger, but he stayed on his feet.

  Even though Kai’s body was weak, Alaron was still very powerful. I shuddered to think what he would be like if he ever succeeded in bringing his own body across the barrier.

  The demon looked past the warlock, and his black eyes met mine. “You!” He snarled like a rabid beast, and spittle flew from his mouth. Lifting a hand, he shouted something unintelligible.