The resulting explosion was a dull affair. It went poof like two chalkboard dusters being slapped together and sent out a shockwave that rattled the surrounding stalls.

  Human heads turned towards the commotion, but the scene was met with confused stares. We’d just fought a demon and performed an exorcism in the middle of Camden Markets while invisible. Clearly, it was going to take some time to get used to the whole cloaked thing.

  “There was no way they didn’t hear that thing screaming,” Jackson stated.

  “Don’t patronise me,” Wilder drawled, sheathing his arondight blade.

  “How didn’t you set anything on fire with that thing?” my best friend went on, his mouth running off as I climbed to my feet. “And you stabbed him in the chest!”

  “If you took the time to notice rather than piss your pants, you would’ve seen that there was no blood.” Wilder rolled his eyes and pulled an auto syringe from his inside jacket pocket. He pulled down the front of the man’s T-shirt and stabbed the needle into his chest.

  “And now you’re drugging him!” Jackson exclaimed. “Scarlett, you can’t be serious!”

  “He knows what he’s doing,” I said, placing my hand on his shoulder.

  “It ate part of his soul,” Wilder said. “Show a little sympathy for your fellow possessed.”

  “It ate his soul? But—”

  “He’ll be fine.” Wilder glared at him. “He’ll wander out of here and reappear farther down the street, none the wiser about where he’s been, with his soul fully intact.”

  “What if it was one of the DNA-altering kind?”

  “You were different.” Wilder stood and hauled the man up and dusted him off. The human teetered on his feet like he was drunk and blinked a few times.

  “Where am I?” he asked with a groan.

  “I think you’ve had a bit too much to drink,” the Natural said. “You passed out, you poor sod. You better head home and sleep it off.”

  I could feel the tinge of Light weaving around the mortal’s head and I glanced at Wilder. He was planting a suggestion into the guy’s mind to get him home safe. Wilder could be grumpy and the biggest arsehole out there, but at least he cared about his duties as a Natural.

  The man rubbed his eyes, then blinked. Turning around, he looked confused for a moment, then wandered off past the stands of clothing, became tangled in a maxi dress, then disappeared into the crowd.

  Wilder handed me back my cold iron dagger and gestured for us to follow him. “We better get back to the Sanctum before his mates come looking for him.”

  “It’s going to be an extended stay, isn’t it?” Jackson asked, raking his hand through his curly mop of hair.

  “Let’s face it, there isn’t any room service, but at least you aren’t going to be charged a premium rate per night.” The demon hunter stalked off, leaving us to jog to catch up with his long stride.

  “You can learn more about your abilities and how to spot demons,” I said as we melted through the city towards the tube station. “At least there’s that.”

  “And how to fight them.” Jackson gestured back to the market. “I was useless back there.”

  “It’d be good to have some company training. Maybe—”

  “No,” Wilder snarled, glaring at us.

  “That guy’s got issues,” Jackson whispered into my ear. I knew Wilder heard him when I saw his shoulders tense.

  We rode the tube back to Vauxhall in silence.

  I didn’t know what to focus on at first—my first exorcism, my best friend’s transformation, or all the things that went wrong with our mission. It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. No doubt I’d get a thorough debriefing when we got back to the Sanctum.

  It was almost midnight by the time we resurfaced on the south side of the Thames.

  As we walked down the darkened street, Jackson glanced nervously between me and Wilder’s hulking back in front of us. He as clearly at a loss for what to say to me, which broke my heart.

  As we approached the Sanctum, I began to stew over all the regrets I’d amassed since finding my true heritage. It would’ve been easier on all of us if I’d felt the same way about Jackson as he had me, but I couldn’t choose who I loved. I was pretty sure it didn’t work that way.

  Now things would never be the same between us and I longed for the easy friendship we’d had. I could tell Jackson anything, but it wasn’t only that—he was the first person to actually listen to me…and stick around afterwards. He was my only family.

  I tugged on my best friend’s sleeve. “I’m sorry, Jackson.”

  He turned. “For?”

  I shrugged, my cheeks heating. “For not returning your feelings.”

  Wilder glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. Then he moved farther down the street, giving us some space to talk. I stared at his broad shoulders and sighed as he melted into the shadows.

  “He kiss you again?” Jackson asked, following my gaze.

  “No.” My thoughts went back to that night outside my room and the brief, yet shattering kiss Wilder and I had shared. “Honestly, I don’t even know what happened for it to be a thing the first time.”

  “So you’re not—”

  “He’s got a thing for Greer,” I said, scraping my hair behind my ear, “besides, he’s my mentor.”

  “Wow, lucky you. How did you get lumped with that?”

  “It’s a mystery for the ages,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. “I think it has something to do with his surly rigidness dampening my reckless need to rush into danger and cut down demons with my sharp wit.”

  “It looks like a lot of things have happened,” he said awkwardly. “You look…stronger.”

  “So do you,” I replied. “You’ve got game.”

  His lips quirked, and the air began to warm a little between us.

  “Jackson—”

  “I know what you’re going to say,” he said before I could formulate my chaotic thoughts. “You can’t choose these things, and you can’t control what comes back.”

  I nodded. “I wish…”

  “So do I,” he murmured. “So do I.”

  5

  Jackson’s arrival at the Sanctum this time was more welcoming than the last. Though he set off the alarms again, our arrival was expected, and Romy was there to throw the switch when we crossed the threshold.

  “Oh, you’ve changed,” she’d declared as she laid eyes on my best friend.

  “Thanks for noticing,” he’d replied with a wink.

  Greer had assigned Jackson his own room, so I went to find him the next morning, but found it empty.

  Swinging by the kitchen, he wasn’t there either. When I got to the infirmary, I saw him inside, a team of Naturals flocking around him like hungry seagulls fighting over a hot chip.

  I caught his gaze and lifted my hand in a wave. He grimaced, drawing the ire of Ramona, who shooed me away.

  Wilder was waiting for me when I got to the gym.

  I wondered if Jackson was okay, and what tests Ramona was going to do. At least he had his own room this time and wasn’t locked up in the vaults like a prisoner. Though even I wasn’t naïve enough to believe he wasn’t being watched at all times.

  “You’re doing that overthinking thing again,” Wilder stated while he kicked off his boots.

  “I’m worried.” I followed suit, taking off my boots and stuffing my socks inside. “I know I’m just a soldier and I’m not supposed to ask questions, but why now?”

  “Why go pick up your man-friend?”

  “Yeah.”

  Choosing his words carefully, Wilder replied, “Demon activity has been increasing.”

  I lowered my gaze and nodded. “Because of me?”

  “You’re the only thing that’s changed.”

  After a lifetime of being unimportant, I wasn’t really comfortable with being the centre of attention. Though, being in the spotlight with the Naturals meant they gave me side-eye while plotting secret meetings I wasn’t invited to.

  “If I’m so important then why can’t I know what’s going on?”

  “There’s a hierarchy, Purples. I’m not immune to it, and neither are you.”

  I stared at my toes and scowled. “I don’t like it.”

  “Neither do I, but you already know about my dislike for authority.”

  I looked up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Exactly what you think it means,” he replied with a shrug.

  I was getting the feeling he wanted me to bypass the chain of command and do things Wilder-style, but I wasn’t about to do anything to screw up my chances of getting my probation lifted. Maybe in time, when I knew how far I could stretch the limits of the higher up’s orders, I would tap into my inner-Wilder.

  “If I’m cleared for duty, then we can do our own digging.” I sat on the mat and began to stretch and loosen my muscles.

  “It’s likely Brax will ask me to keep an eye on you,” Wilder said, joining me.

  I snorted, not bothering to cover up my dislike for the only other man in the entire Sanctum who was more abrasive than Wilder. Unfortunately, he was in a power position as one of the three heads of the whole operation in London, so at some point, I had to answer to him.

  “So, if I go out on patrol, I’ll be doing that whole bait thing again?”

  “Not necessarily, but they have to lure out that Balan demon somehow.” The demon who killed my parents…

  “There’s still no leads?”

  “Everyone’s on the lookout, but there’s not enough of us,” Wilder said. “We’re spread far too thin to be able to cover all that ground. Even if there wasn’t an increased threat level, we still can’t protect the entirety of London.”

  It seemed to frustrate him, and I offered him a weak smile.

  “We do what we can.” Gesturing to myself, I added, “Then there’s lavender bait.”

  He grunted and pressed his bare feet against mine. Reaching out, he grasped my wrists, and I wrapped my fingers around his, and he helped me stretch.

  “You did good last night, Purples,” he said, pulling back.

  “Is that a compliment I hear?” I declared with a smirk.

  His lips quirked. “Don’t get used to it.”

  I wanted to ask him if he’d heard anything about Jackson, but now didn’t seem like the right time. Not while Wilder had a direct view down my cleavage.

  “That exorcism…” I began, following another train of thought, “that was Latin, wasn’t it?”

  He nodded.

  “What does it mean in English?”

  I pulled back against his grasp as he translated, “I prise you from this mortal flesh, you have no dominion on Ear, let Light prevail over this mortal soul. Begone, begone, begone.” He grunted. “It’s sounds a bit too much like religious dogma, but it works.”

  “I felt my Light stir.”

  “It’s not so much the words as the Light,” he confirmed.

  “Then why say them at all?”

  “It pisses off the demons.”

  I frowned. “Really?”

  “Latin seems to be something close to their native language,” he explained. “That’s what people think anyway. The words are a conduit for our Light to travel and do what it’s told.”

  “Like a lightning rod?”

  “Words have their own kind of power,” he replied mysteriously.

  “I’m so far behind,” I said with a moan. I’d missed out on so many things, and I wondered if I would always be playing catch up.

  “You’re doing okay, Purples. You pick up things quickly.”

  “Really?”

  “You made it quite clear last night.” He gave me a pointed look before he said, “You didn’t hesitate.”

  “I did when it came time for the exorcism.”

  “No, I mean with the dagger. You were right to hold back during the exorcism. You don’t have the training to use your Light on your own yet.”

  Whenever that was. Light was a huge part of who I was, and not knowing how to draw on it frustrated me more than I cared to admit. I bet Wilder didn’t have this problem. He grew up knowing what he was—to a certain degree—and had all the associated training and experience. Suddenly, I felt envious.

  “You’ve got that look again,” Wilder drawled.

  “What was it like…you know, growing up a Natural?” I asked, carefully gauging his reaction. I knew he didn’t like to talk about himself, but he knew pretty much everything about me. Well, all the important bits anyway.

  He shrugged and let me go. Drawing his knees back, he sat cross-legged and scowled.

  “That good, huh?”

  “I don’t like talking about it.”

  “I know. I can tell you an embarrassing story about my past, if it makes you feel more comfortable.”

  “Knowing you, I think I’ll pass.”

  “Pfft.” I rolled my eyes but was kind of glad he didn’t follow up on it. Otherwise, he’d have fodder to tease me with later. “What about your family? Do you keep in touch?”

  “I don’t have any family.”

  I hesitated. “What? None at all?”

  He shook his head, a haunted look passed across his features.

  “What about your parents?” I prodded.

  “I never had any.”

  It was in that moment that I realised I knew exactly zero about the man who was my mentor, trainer, and most trusted confidant inside the strange world of the Naturals. There’d always be this wall between us—the wall that kept any romance from blooming—but he was the guy who was shaping me into the warrior I was destined to be. It felt important to return the favour.

  Shocked by his admission, I whispered, “Never?”

  “For as long as I remember, I was the kid who grew up at the academy,” he said, his eyes flashing silver. “I don’t know where I came from. I had nobody to go home to on holidays, so when the academy emptied out, I trained.”

  “I’m so sorry—”

  “It’s not important. I can’t miss what I never had.” Clearly, it was, but I knew better than to push, especially when he was the boss and I was the trainee.

  “I was always bouncing around foster homes,” I said. “Some were better than others, but better wasn’t necessarily a cakewalk, either.”

  “How did you not realise your Light was manifesting?”

  “How was I supposed to know?” I asked. “I didn’t even know what it felt like. I was angry a lot, got into fights… I was put on medication for my ‘illness’ in my early teens, and I struggled with pretty much everything. I ran away from a family or two, and I got arrested once. That scared me enough to straighten out.”

  “You were a real troublemaker, Purples,” Wilder said. “That explains a lot.”

  “I always thought I was acting out because of my parents. There were times I hated them for leaving me, but mostly, I hated myself for being so screwed up. I just couldn’t get it together.”

  Wilder eyed me. “So what changed?”

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I grew up, I suppose. I met Jackson and he gave a shit. Even when I fought with him, he stuck around. No one had ever done that for me, you know? He helped me get a job at 8-bit, let me rent a room at his place… After a few years, things shifted.” I laughed and shook my head. “Then I met you.”

  Wilder was silent a long time and I wondered if I should stay still in case I spooked him. This was another facet of him I’d never seen, and I found myself wanting to dig deeper.

  “Come here.” He gestured for me to sit directly in front of him and I hesitated. “I’m not going to bite, Purples. Though I can call down to Ramona and see if your hybrid man-friend is free.”

  It didn’t take long for the surly Wilder to come back and I screwed up my face. The moment had passed and who knew when or if another would roll around.

  I slid my arse across the floor and sat in front of him, but apparently, I wasn’t close enough. He edged forward until our knees touched, then he held out his hands.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, my voice breaking slightly.

  He turned his hands so his palms were facing up. “Showing you the right way to reach for your Light.”

  Oh… I slid my hands into his, the gesture feeling a little too close for comfort. We kept having these moments and after everything that’d happened between us, I was entirely sure they were one-sided.

  “Are you sure we aren’t moving too fast?” I whispered.

  He leaned closer and I sucked in a sharp breath.

  “Why are you whispering?” He smirked, and I jerked my hands away and slapped him on the arm.

  “Wilder.”

  “It’s like I said, Purples, we’re out of time. The demons won’t wait, and neither will we. You need to be ready to fight.”

  I slumped my shoulders. “Way to pile on the pressure.”

  Wilder grabbed my hands and pulled my focus back to him. “You’re doing fine. Believe it, Purples. You’ve been fighting all your life, so this comes natural to you. Now,” his grip tightened, “focus and listen.”

  I did as he said, but all I could hear was the sounds of the other Naturals training in the gym outside our private room. The whirr of machines, the clash of arondight blades, the cries of fighters colliding. I shook my head, trying to clear the distractions.

  “Close your eyes,” Wilder murmured.

  Light played through my eyelids and I searched for the spark of power inside me. I’d used it before, but those times had been instinctual—and I’d been in life or death situations. Now I was attempting to call on it in a controlled environment, and it didn’t want to stir.

  “This is impossible.” I let out a frustrated cry and Wilder tightened his hold on me.

  “It’s in you, Purples. The way isn’t always easy, but there is always a way.”

  Closing my eyes again, I evened out my breathing and focused on shutting out the sounds around me. Then my thoughts began to kick into overdrive, but I shut them out, too. After a while, my head began to loll.