Some stranger. His words echoed through her mind as she trudged wearily alongside him. As if the man to her left wasn’t a stranger. A shiver slipped like ice through her. And she was going to work in his home. Yet, her stranger danger alarm didn’t blare a warning, so she took another step forward.

“What’s your wife like?” Another woman might lend a feeling of safety, if nothing else.

“I don’t share my home.”

The contract crinkled as she slid her hand into her pocket. “But you plan to share it with me?” Her tentative words emerged quietly and she gave herself a mental shake. She knew better than to show weakness. Blaze Fairies didn’t let anyone intimidate them. Standing straighter, she snapped her wings to lie flat against her back before stumbling and crying out as shards of pain radiated though her.

Lorn took her elbow in his hand, steadying her and drawing her to a stop against him. “Are you all right? What happened?”

“My wings…” She closed her eyes as another wave of pain dulled her ability to think.

Lorn stepped behind her and sucked in a breath. “I can see why.”

“Does it look very bad? I mean, from what I saw earlier, it’s not good, but what do you think?” She didn’t care about weakness, this time. She existed because of her wings. If the damage was irreparable, she’d never fight another battle again, and she might as well just find a hole in the ground to crawl into. Like the one she’d found earlier. Maybe she should’ve slept.

“It doesn’t look irreparable…but healing will take time.” His low murmur at her ear startled her, and she whipped her head around, then shied back as they almost touched noses. His green eyes narrowed slightly as if in deep thought, then he waved his hand, the slight flutter drawing her attention. “There. I’ve amended the contract.”

“You’ve what?”

“A minor alteration. Nothing to concern yourself with.”

“What have you changed?” She gritted her teeth and clenched her jaw as she stared at him.

“It’s a small change in your favour, actually.” He smiled a lazy grin and gestured to her pocket. “See for yourself.”

She yanked the contract out and smushed it flat against her chest to smooth away the creases. “You’d better not have made any changes.”

But he had. Still glowing, as if inscribed with ink made of pure flame, fresh words adorned the white page.

“What’s this?” She held the paper closer to inspect the spidery scrawl. “You’ve added that you be allowed to personally heal my wings?” She scanned further down. “If I disagree, I’m free to leave at any time.”

“That’s what it says.”

“So I could leave right now?”

He inclined his head. “Yes, but then your wings could remain—” He screwed up his mouth before he spoke again. “Unhealed. Torn. Tattered. Cobwebs.”

“Cobwebs?” Her shriek echoed across the fields, and she twisted to try to see her wings, ignoring the pain shooting across her back.

“Stop. You’ll increase the damage if you move too much.”

At Lorn’s commanding voice, she froze before glancing up to meet his eyes. They were creased in kindness, and he placed gentle hands on her shoulders, warming her. A lazy flicker of interest caught light deep inside her.

“We can fix this. I can mend them. You can be whole again, I promise.”

“Oh.” She barked a sudden short laugh. “Just because you added a line to a contract, you think you can suddenly heal?” She backed away from his touch to focus on her thoughts.

He allowed her to go and shrugged. “A deal is a deal.”

“And if you can’t fix them?”

“I can.” His tone invited no argument, and he nodded as if to confirm his statement. “I’d never be so foolish as to commit to a clause that I can’t keep.”

“And you adding that extra clause doesn’t null and void the whole thing, anyway?”

He shrugged again. “Granted, it’s a grey area. But I added it in such a way that you can leave at any time, remember? You don’t have to stay. You get to choose if it’s all void. You get to take a chance on me.” He looked away. “That is, on my healing ability.”

“True.” She paused then stuck out her hand. “I accept your deal. Again.”

“And that is the bravery of a Blaze Fairy—feeling the fear and doing it anyway.” His eyes crinkled at the corners, and irritation at his amusement of her prickled under her skin.

“I’ll Blaze Fairy your backside when my wings are healed.”

“Careful.” His gaze turned dark and brooding. “That sounds too much like something I might enjoy.”

A shiver that reminded her of anticipation skittered through her, and she turned from him, staring at the ground. “Is it much further?”

He cleared his throat, the awkward sound at odds with his recent confidence. “We’re here, actually.”

She raised her head and glanced at the barren landscape. Trees dotted the flat, grass-covered land that stretched as far as she could see in every direction. Even the closest town wasn’t visible from where they stood. The moon, long since risen, lit the track they’d been following with an unearthly, muted glow.

“Right.” She nodded slowly. “Which rock would you like me to sweep behind, first?” Nutter. “Or perhaps I should make your flowerbed?” Scam artist. Maybe he was no better than the ghouls…although, despite his crazy ways, he managed to make her feel safe.

Lorn laughed, the sound easy, although sudden tension darkened his eyes and straightened his shoulders.

Despite his laugh filling her with warmth, she stilled at his first indication of a lack of confidence, watching. Something had made him uneasy. But before she could ask, he spoke again, his sudden note of booming jollity false to her ears.

“This empty area of countryside isn’t my house.” He swept his arms wide. “This is.” As he spoke, the ground rumbled beneath their feet before it tore open to reveal a set of stone steps leading down into the darkness. “Well, almost. One step closer, anyway.”

“What?” Ash had never imagined horror had a taste, but it did. Entirely different to anything she’d experienced during battle, she reeled as the last vestige of perceived control slipped from her grasp, the new emotion coating the inside of her mouth with acid and bile.

“Oh, yes.” Lorn grinned again, the charming expression it lent his face at odds with his arm gesturing to descend the staircase first. “Welcome to hell.”