“That one is more duty-bound than Cole and more hard-headed than Jacob,” says Noah as they watch her drive off, his eyesight allowing him to see better than any set of binoculars until she turns the corner two blocks up.

“Stubborn, sure, but nowhere near as hard as me,” Jacob retorts after plopping down into a seat. “I swear I haven’t been this aroused in centuries. You’d think I was a fucking horny teenager again. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“You are a fucking horny teenager,” Noah grunts, his nose twitching as he takes a seat himself.

“Do you think she believes what we’ve told her?” Tyler asks Cole, stringing his bow. “About Lunaria and the demons? And how humans are the layer between us?”

“I think she’s coming around,” Cole says thoughtfully. He hadn’t always been a soldier and had learned the quiet thoughtfulness and patience that comes with other professions first. He’s long pondered the bond between realms and wondered . . . if the Fae and humans once shared a common ancestor, what about demons and humans? And if so, what did that say about the Fae?

“How much time are we going to give her to think?” Jacob, always the impulsive one, asks. “I know we agreed that we would make sure any threat is neutralized first, but you know Cassina will become restless if we don’t show back up with her in court soon.”

“The demon influence will be getting stronger back home,” Tyler says worriedly. “We shouldn’t tarry here long, regardless of whatever’s going on with this town. Even if it could use some . . .” he growls, battle lust filling his eyes, “cleaning.”

“Our compatriots in the queen’s Guard and army are well-prepared,” Jacob says, smirking as he watches the normally calm and distant Tyler get excited. Cool nerves might be helpful for an archer, but Jacob had always been a Fae of near-manic energy, a constant whirling dervish of sarcasm, playfulness, and speed. “They can handle a few demon hounds coming through any new rifts. A few extra days are not going to hurt.”

Cole shivers, his mind going back to his youth. He’d been a true youth then, but already haunted by mistakes. Then, when he was barely seventy and just starting on a redeeming path, a pack of demon hounds had somehow gotten into his village. Fire, screams, and blood reigned for hours until the Imperial Guard showed up, Cole being one of only a dozen survivors. “Sometimes, Jacob, a few days can be all the difference.”

Jacob, who knows the tale, stiffens. “Apologies, Cole. You know I don’t mock the danger.”

Cole blinks, then chuckles. “You always mock danger, my friend. That is why your knives are so deadly.”

Jacob gets up and stretches, his long arms seemingly touching the ceiling before stretching wide and taking up massive amounts of space. He needs to have fresh air, and Cole is sure by the end of the night, Jacob will be outdoors, either on the roof or patrolling the streets. “She says a vampire menace is taking over the town. What do we make of it?”

Noah growls. “I think they should all be staked. The fewer vampires, the better. Hell’s final gift to humanity, and a constant thorn in the side of both realms.”

They all nod, knowing what Noah is talking about. For millennia, shifters and vampires had warred in the dark after demons were either banished or had chosen Hell as their realm.

But while shifters fought with the weakened powers of light at their disposal with an attempt at honor and unwavering loyalty to their clans, vampires used their own penchant for the powers of darkness to confuse, to enrage, to encourage chaos and strife. It was a harsh system, only seeking to sow chaos among others in order to put their own despotic power structure in place. Over a dozen times in human history, vampires and their thralls had assassinated potential peacemakers. And now, at this vital juncture, they seem to be more dangerous than ever.

Wherever vampires are concerned, you can expect chaos and evil to follow.

Even the Fae don’t know what the end goal of the demonic forces is. They can only guess that their leader, the Lightbringer, the Hell King, whatever his preferred term, wants to rule over all and used the power of darkness and chaos to strengthen his own powers. Either way, the Fae felt there was no other recourse than to meet his darkness with their light.

“We don’t have the time to kill them all,” Cole says, trying to find the best path forward. “Just the group that matters. We know how vampires work. Their covens always have a hierarchy. And some vampire lord probably has their sights on Eve. I would suspect he’s in contact with Hell somehow, with orders to take her out or set her up. It would take at least a vampire lord to prepare that mansion for the level of demonic possession we saw today.”

“So we—” Jacob says, Cole grinning as he cuts him off.

“We follow her and then take the demonic influence behind the group out.”

It’s only a hunch, Cole admits to himself privately. But all the evidence points in that direction, especially after encountering the spirit of the demon that possessed the mansion. While the dark forces were chaotic, the Faes’ strict hierarchy meant that they could often manipulate from the shadows more effectively than the Fae could.

So it’s feasible that a demonic force is directing the vampire group behind what’s going on in the city. The Fae had only been able to gather the details from listening to the agitated townsfolk talk about bodies piling up, a tactic that would ensure the police department’s, and hence Eve’s, attention. That attention, if played right, would bring her right to a vampire lord’s doorstep.

“And after that?” Noah asks. “If she continues to deny that she’s part faerie? If she insists she’s not the cause of the disturbance between our realms and refuses to return with us to our home world?”

Cole shrugs, standing up. “She’ll have no choice. Come, let’s follow her just in case.”

Cole gets his sword, and as they get ready to leave, Jacob chuckles. “Does that mean I’ll get to tie her up?”

Cole finally smirks. “If she’ll let you. I suspect Eve might be more of a . . . challenge than you might think.”