I tried to hit the cave floor in a roll, but I was all out of slick moves and I did a crazy tumbling thing instead. The knife fell from my hand and skidded across the stone floor, and for once, I didn’t have the energy to care.

  “Jordan,” said a deep voice I never thought I’d hear again. Warm hands touched my face, and I looked up into worried blue eyes.

  “I know you.” I smiled, or at least, I think I did. My body wasn’t exactly cooperating at the moment.

  Hamid brushed aside the hair that was sticking to my face. I must be quite the sight covered in demon guts.

  “Let me guess; I look like crap,” I joked as his face began to blur.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  My eyes were too heavy, so I let them close. “Liar.”

  He tapped my cheek. “Jordan, stay with me.”

  “Just going to take a quick nap,” I murmured. “It’s been a hell of a day.”

  * * *

  Voices and light filled the cave when I next awoke. I was sitting on Hamid’s lap with my head resting against his chest inside the cocoon of his arms. “Mmmm,” I said as I breathed in his comforting scent. I’d never been much of a cuddler, but I could get used to this.

  He lowered his head. “Are you awake?”

  “Yes,” I said through a yawn. “Sorry I fell asleep. Was I out long?”

  The muscles in his arms flexed. “Five hours.”

  “Five hours?” I tried to sit up straighter but fell back with a groan. My body felt like it had been run over by a large truck.

  “Easy. You’re still healing from your injuries.”

  I frowned as I tried to clear the cobwebs from my head. “How did you get free?”

  “When you killed Alaron, the magic on the shackles died with him.”

  “Oh.” I looked down at myself and was surprised to discover I was wearing different clothes. I put a hand to my hair, which felt grungy but not full of demon gore. My eyes met Hamid’s again. “Who cleaned me up?”

  He raised his eyebrows as if I’d asked a ridiculous question. “I did. The healers brought the clothes and cleaning supplies.”

  “Healers? Who else is here?” I craned my neck and found people everywhere I looked, but no one I knew.

  “Tristan and two of the other Council members, a few dozen warriors, and Ciro and Bastien.”

  “Council members?” I wasn’t surprised Tristan was here, but I’d never heard of the other Council members going out into the field.

  He smiled. “I don’t think you realize the magnitude of what happened here last night, of what you did. There are lot of people who want to talk to you.”

  I laid my head against his chest again, suddenly weary. “How did they find us?”

  “Tristan said they suspected Alaron had us when we didn’t check in, but they couldn’t pick up anything from our trackers. Alaron’s spell on us and on the cave blocked our signals, but when he died, our signals were visible again.”

  “Did they find Charlotte and Marie?” I asked, not wanting to hear the answer.

  “Yes. They didn’t make it.”

  My chest ached at the loss of the two women. I had gotten to know them in the last month, and I’d like to say we had been friends. We were different in our pursuits, but I’d respected their quest for knowledge and their complete dedication to their work. And though they’d been more at home in a library than in the field, I had seen their fighting prowess last night.

  I lifted my head again. “What about Orias?”

  “He’s a little banged up but okay. He’s upset because Alaron sent his demon home, and now he’ll have to summon a new one.”

  I frowned. “That should be easy for him.”

  Hamid chuckled. “Apparently, he was very attached to the one he had.”

  Footsteps approached us, and I looked up to see Tristan with a Latina female and a blonde male. The authoritative way the newcomers carried themselves said they had to be Council members.

  Tristan’s concerned gaze met mine. “Jordan, how are you feeling?”

  “Better than the other guy.”

  His face relaxed into a smile. “Hamid told us what you did. I’ve always known you would do great things, so I can’t say I’m surprised you would take on an archdemon. But crossing the barrier, knowing there was a good chance you wouldn’t come back, took incredible courage and selflessness. I can’t tell you how proud I am of you.”

  My eyes misted, and I blamed it on my weakened state. No way had I survived a trip to hell and back just to tear up over every little thing.

  The blond warrior stepped forward. “Jordan, my name is Friedrich Voigt,” he said in a German accent. “The Council is deeply grateful for what you did here. On a personal note, I am in awe that one so young as you not only went up against an archdemon but defeated him.”

  Before I could respond, the woman spoke. “I am Camila Pérez, and I am honored to meet such a brave, young warrior. Tristan speaks very highly of you, and I now see the reason for his praise.”

  My gaze darted to Tristan, who smiled encouragingly. I’d never sought the Council’s approval, but his faith in me meant more than he’d ever know.

  “Thank you,” I said to all of them. “I’d like to be able to say I did it all on my own, but without the angel blade, last night would have ended a lot differently.”

  Hamid shook his head. “Don’t try to diminish what you did. The blade did not wield itself.”

  “He’s right,” Tristan said. “It’s the warrior, not the weapon, who wins the battle.”

  “Where is the knife now?” I asked, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the praise. I liked being the center of attention as much as the next person, but this was a bit much. I’d done what I had to do to save the people I loved.

  Tristan pointed to some spot off to our left. “It’s over there. We decided it should go back to the Fae for safekeeping. Sara is contacting Eldeorin to ask him to come retrieve it.”

  The two other Council members nodded, but the unhappy set of Friedrich’s mouth told me not everyone agreed with that decision. I was with Tristan on this one. The angel blade was a weapon of immense power, but it belonged with the Fae.

  “Jordan, can you tell us your side of what happened?” Camila asked. “Hamid told us some of it, but he had a limited view of the fight.”

  Hamid rubbed my back. “Can’t this wait until she is fully recovered?”

  “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” I took his hand and threaded my fingers through his. Then I related the events that had taken place, from the moment I’d crossed the barrier to when I’d returned.

  Friedrich and Camila peppered me with questions about the other dimension and the demons I’d seen there. Even Tristan asked a few questions. They were all particularly interested in the archdemon and how I’d killed him. It wasn’t hard to remember every detail of the experience. I doubted I’d ever forget a second of my time in hell.

  “Incredible,” Friedrich said after I’d described my fight with Alaron’s body for the second time. “Our scholars will want to talk to you at length as soon as you’re up to it. You are the only person to ever enter the demon dimension, and everything you saw and experienced must be recorded.”

  Camila smiled. “And the tissue samples you brought back on your clothes will be invaluable to our scientists and scholars. They are already clamoring for the chance to study actual archdemon DNA. There is so much we can learn from it.”

  I thought about Charlotte and Marie and how much they would have loved this. Sadness pricked at me again. The whole team had worked so hard on this job, and it wasn’t right that they weren’t here to celebrate our victory.

  “The Council is always looking for people to join our investigative teams,” Camila told me. “Normally, we wouldn’t try to recruit a young warrior, but you have proven to be more than up to the job. I hope you’ll consider working for us – partnering with Hamid, of course.”

  “Hamid’s already told me about some of the perks of the job.” I shared a smile with him. “But we’ll need to discuss hazard pay.”

  Everyone laughed, and Hamid squeezed my hand. I think you could ask for anything, and they’d agree to it.

  Good to know. But right now, there is only one thing I want.

  I smiled at Tristan and the others. “Would you guys mind if we continued this later? I’m a little tired, and I’d really like to spend some time alone with my mate.”

  Friedrich looked like he was about to object, but Camila cut him off. “Of course. There will be plenty of time to talk later.” She took his arm and led him away.

  “Take all the time you need,” Tristan said before he followed them.

  Hamid unclasped our hands so he could put both arms around me again. “Sleep. We’ll be here a while longer.”

  I leaned back to look at him. “I’m not really tired. I just wanted them to go away.”

  He chuckled softly. “You still don’t have much tolerance for the Council.”

  “That’s not it. I really want to kiss you, and I thought it would be rude to make out in front of them.”

  “Good call.” His gaze fell to my lips, and then he lowered his head to claim my mouth in a slow, sensual kiss that made me wish we really were alone. Once we got out of here, the two of us were taking a well-earned vacation to some secluded location where all there was to do was eat, sleep, and make love.

  “I like this plan,” Hamid said against my lips, letting me know I’d been projecting my thoughts again. “How about a private oasis in the Kalahari where there is nothing else but desert for hundreds of miles?”

  “Can we go now?”

  “I don’t think you’re going to get out of talking to the scholars first,” he said, bursting my bubble.

  My mouth turned down. “Oh, God. They’re going to make me write up a huge report on this, aren’t they?”

  Hamid’s laugh rumbled in his chest. “I think we can convince them to wait a few days for it. You did just save the world.”

  I perked up. “That’s true. There needs to be a rule that people who save the world are exempt from writing reports.”

  “Sounds reasonable.” He nibbled on my bottom lip. “Didn’t you say something about making out?"

  “I did.” Grinning, I moved off his lap and straddled him. “How’s this?”

  “Much better,” he said huskily before he kissed me again.

  All too soon, the world intruded on us again.

  “Hamid,” Friedrich called. “We received a tip about a large heffion drug ring in India. Vivian said she’ll go unless you want this one.”

  Hamid looked at me. “It’s up to you.”

  I’d always wanted to see India, but I had a feeling I was going to get plenty of chances to go there. Hamid had promised to show me the world, and he was a man of his word. Plus, my mind was too full of images of that oasis in the Kalahari to think about anything else.

  I pulled his head down to mine. “We’ll get the next one.”

  Epilogue

  3 months later

  I lifted my head and peered down at the narrow road from my position atop the rumbling old truck. The headlights cut through the darkness, showing nothing but trees and more trees. According to the GPS on my phone, this road didn’t even have a name. Where the hell were we going?

  A muffled cry came from inside the truck, and it was immediately cut off by a slap and a shout. I pressed my lips together and forced myself not to react. There were at least two Gulaks in the back with the dozen or so human girls they were transporting. I could take the Gulaks, but I couldn’t risk harming the girls by fighting in such close quarters. As soon as this truck stopped and those scaly bastards showed their faces, it was game on.

  My phone vibrated, and I saw Hamid’s name on the screen. Holding it to my ear, I whispered, “Hey.”

  “Hey. I wanted to let you know I got a lead on a shipment for that slaving operation. I know you wanted to be there to take them down, but I had to act on it.”

  “I’d do the same,” I replied, keeping my voice low.

  “You sound off,” he said. “Why are you whispering? I thought you and Ana were having dinner together.”

  I bit my lip. “It’s kind of a funny story, but you have to promise not to yell.”

  “Why would a funny story make me yell?” he asked warily.

  “Well,” I drawled. “I was on my way to meet up with Ana, and there was this truck parked in an alley that didn’t look right. So, I left my bike on the street and went to check it out.”

  “Jordan.” I didn’t need to see him to know he was pinching the bridge of his nose, something he’d been doing a lot in the last few months.

  “Don’t worry. They didn’t see me.”

  His tone sharpened. “Who didn’t see you?”

  “The Gulaks. They were too busy loading the girls into the back.” I paused as the truck slowed going around a curve. “I slipped on without them having a clue I was there.”

  Hamid swore. “Do not tell me you climbed into a truck with a bunch of Gulak slavers.”

  I scoffed softly. “Of course not. Give me some credit. I’m on the roof of the truck.”

  He growled something, and I heard another male laughing. It sounded like Mario, one of the warriors we were working with on this job, along with his mate, Ana. We’d been in Panama for two weeks, at the request of the government, to locate and shut down a human trafficking ring. But this one was a lot more sophisticated than any other Gulak operation we’d encountered, and they’d managed to evade us completely. Until now.

  “This is not a funny story,” he said in an exasperated voice. “Where are you now?”

  “I’m not quite sure. We were on Route One, but we took a right turn off the main road after…” I brought up the map on my phone. “What was that town called?”

  “Chepo?” Hamid asked.

  “That’s it. How’d you know that?”

  He sighed heavily. “Because we are about five minutes behind you.”

  I grinned at the starry sky. “What do you know? We are so in sync it’s downright scary sometimes.”

  “Terrifying,” he muttered.

  The truck slowed and took a sharp left turn onto a dirt road. Up ahead, I could see lights and the outline of what looked like a house.

  “Looks like we’ve reached our destination,” I whispered urgently into the phone. “You boys better hurry, or you’re going to miss all the fun.”

  “Stay out of sight, and do not engage them until we get there,” Hamid ordered.

  “Oops. Gotta go,” I said when the truck lurched to a stop in front of the two-story house. “Love you.”

  I hung up and stuck the phone in my back pocket. Keeping my head low, I peered around the bare dirt yard, which was dimly lit by a single light over the front door of the house. There were lights on in the downstairs windows, but the second floor was dark. I hoped that meant there was no one upstairs to look down and see me on top of the truck.

  The truck doors opened, and two Gulaks got out of the cab. The driver walked around the front of the truck to the passenger side and handed the second Gulak a set of keys.

  “Unlock the cellar, and get the cages ready,” he ordered in a deep voice that grated on my eardrums. “I’ll help Brok and Gand unload the cargo.”

  “When do we meet up with the buyer?” the second Gulak asked.

  “Tomorrow night.”

  I clenched my jaw at hearing them refer to the girls as cargo. God only knew how many humans they’d brought here and where those people had ended up. I was going to take great pleasure in shutting this operation down and burning this place to the ground.

  The second Gulak hesitated. “The buyer asked for ten girls. What will we do with the other two?”

  A nasty laugh rumbled from the driver. “Those are for us.”

  Fury blinded me for several seconds. In the next instant, I was on my feet and leaping off the truck.

  I landed silently behind the driver, and before his friend could shout out a warning, my sword sliced through his thick neck. The other Gulak could only watch as the driver’s head landed on the hood and rolled off the other side.

  His shocked gaze swung back to me, and he fumbled for the short sword at his waist. I let him slide the sword free of its sheath, and then I struck.

  He bellowed when my blade severed his sword arm at the elbow. He stared in disbelief at his hand and weapon lying on the ground at his feet. Clamping his remaining hand over the stump, he turned to flee, his leathery wings unfurling from his back.

  I caught him before he’d made it past the front bumper of the truck. A single hard thrust between his wings was enough to pierce his heart. He made a choked sound and fell facedown into the dirt.

  Banging came from the back of the truck. I found the keys on the ground and ran to the double doors that were padlocked together. I inserted the key into the lock and tossed the padlock on the ground. Then I swung one of the doors open, making sure to stay behind it and out of sight.

  “It’s about time.” A Gulak jumped out of the truck. “What the hell took you so long?”

  I stepped around the door. “They were a little busy dying.”

  “Who…?” he sputtered, his reptilian eyes wide.

  Any other time, I might have played with him a bit, but I had a truck full of human girls to protect and another Gulak to deal with. I drove my blade through his chest, and he collapsed without another word.

  I looked at the open door of the truck, but there was no sign of the last Gulak. From inside, I could hear whimpers and the sounds of bodies shifting.

  “You have nowhere to go,” I called as I wiped my blade on the pants of the dead Gulak at my feet. “If you make me come in there, it’s not going to end well for you.”

  “If I come out, you’ll kill me like you did Brok,” the Gulak shouted.

  “No, I won’t.” I wasn’t lying. I needed to keep at least one of them alive to tell us about the rest of the operation. It was too big to be limited to this one location. “But if you don’t come out before my team arrives in the next minute or so, I promise you they will not be as nice as I am.”