We kept an eye out for red garnet lenses, as there were plenty of daemons throughout the city who could be using them. We stayed in the shadows, waiting for larger groups to pass by before we went back into the streets, on our way to Shaytan’s palace.

The rowdy crowds that we’d seen earlier, during the general assembly, had scattered, with just soldiers left patrolling the alleys, and the occasional civilian. Amber fires burned at junction corners and in wall-mounted iron sconces, casting an orange light over the black stone and obsidian structures.

Half an hour later, we reached the main square. On the right side, facing the wide-open space, was a large rectangular building made entirely from black bricks, with a six-story tower that had been painted in deep shades of red.

Jax and I waited outside, by the northeastern corner, the closest to the entrance. I scanned the area around us, looking for signs of air rippling, movements that could suggest that Harper and Caspian were close by. I caught a brief glimpse of jade eyes, and I knew that they, too, had made it. I gave out a low triple whistle.

I felt Harper bump into me, making me sigh with relief.

“Good to see we all made it,” Caspian whispered.

“We need to make our way up there, into the red tower,” I said slowly, keeping an eye out. Several daemons passed by, a combination of males and females in elegant leather attire, with plenty of gold and precious gemstones adorning their necks, chests, and shoulders. They were some kind of nobility, I figured.

There were also soldiers moving up and down the stretches of road framing the main square. I could see red lenses hanging from slim gold chains, and mounted on their belts. At least they didn’t have them on at all times.

“We can go through the main entrance,” Harper breathed. “I checked—there are barely any daemons for us to worry about. Mostly common workers, and just two guards on the ground floor. We can go all the way to the top.”

“Okay then, I’ll sort of see you upstairs,” I quipped, then made haste toward the main entrance, without letting go of Jax’s hand.

We rushed through the wide-open double doors, darting past the two guards that Harper had mentioned, then up the six flights of stairs to the top. I nearly bumped into one of the workers coming down. He was carrying a burlap sack on his shoulder, filled with what I assumed was rubble, judging by the crumbling sound. Jax swiftly pulled me back to the side, holding me as the daemon went about his business.

“Thank you,” I whispered, and Jax responded with a tight squeeze of his arms around my waist, his hot breath tickling my face.

“I’ll never pass up an opportunity to hold you, no matter what the excuse,” he replied, murmuring softly in my ear. He always had this way of setting me on fire with a handful of words, but it was all the more intense now that we were actually together and openly flirting. It warmed me up on the inside, as I knew that he was there for me. Jax was my fuel to keep moving and fighting, slashing my way through an entire city of daemons if it meant emerging alive, with his arms around me.

“And I’ll never deny you such an opportunity.” I whispered, as we continued our race up the stairs.

I could almost feel him smiling. We took two steps at a time, until we made it to the top. I let out another triple whistle, and Harper responded.

This level was empty, just the smooth floor and several small, round windows carved into the stone, with no glass. I saw the air rippling near one as Harper moved closer so she could use her True Sight and scan the entire palace. She needed a high vantage point to get a better spatial assessment of the building, as seeing through layers of stone and marble from the ground floor didn’t do much in the absence of a high angle.

I kept quiet for a few minutes, listening to the noises below. The daemons were hard at work, lugging sacks of rubble from one level farther down to the next, while their foreman barked orders from the first floor. From what I’d seen on my way up, they were renovating two of the upper floors, breaking down several walls in the process.

Had it not been an urgent situation of rescuing Caia and Blaze, I would’ve taken the time to further observe the daemons at work. They had their customs, their routines and processes, an interesting hierarchy, and a rule of law. If not for their eagerness to eat our souls, they would have been a joy to study, as a foreign people from another world.

Unfortunately, they had decided to snatch two of my people. My diplomacy had flown out the window a long time ago as far as the daemons were concerned. All I could think of were ways of making them pay, of making them suffer for what they had done to us—not to mention the thousands of innocent Maras and Imen.