Quution twitched in his sleep. A tickling sensation ran down his neck. He brushed at his ear and winced when his claw shredded the sensitive skin of his lobe.

He blinked his eyes open. What had woken him?

An inhale sent alarms through him. He sat up and twisted around. Why wasn’t Xan’s scent stronger?

He searched for her prone form. Her corner was empty.

Jumping up, he ran around the library as if he couldn’t see it in its entirety by standing in one spot.

Xan was nowhere to be found.

How had she snuck out? His energy and Stryke’s together should’ve trapped any being.

He lurched out of the room. Where could she have gone? He charged down the corridor before coming to a halt.

What was he doing? He could follow her anywhere.

He dragged in a slow breath to force his heart rate to calm. Vibrations trailed over his skin. Her energy pattern was fading.

Spinning on his heel, he stormed in the other direction. She couldn’t have gotten that far ahead of him. Her passing through his wards had to be what had woken him.

A familiar presence appeared behind him. He didn’t bother turning around. “I have her trail.”

“How’d she get out?” Stryke growled, pulling even with him in the passageway.

Quution glanced over and did a double take. Stryke’s tight shirt had a cartoon cat with hearts for eyes. The blue plaid flannel pajama pants were more his style, at least.

Stryke shot him a glare. “It’s Zoey’s shirt. It was dark.”

“Why wear clothing at all?”

“It’s become a habit. Besides, the shirt is already on. I’m not tossing it and risking her wrath.”

Xan’s scent called to him, her energy a fine, glittery filigree in the air. Quution powered around corner after corner. She’d made good use of her short time of freedom.

Stryke stopped. “We’ve circled around this spot three times. I can’t smell her.”

Quution didn’t stop. “She’s close.” Two more turns. Three, tops.

Stryke’s footsteps raced closer. He yanked on Quution’s elbow.

Quution wrenched his arm out of Stryke’s grasp. “What are you doing, Brother? She’s close.”

Stryke grabbed him again. “Is she? Or is she messing with you again?”

She wouldn’t do that… But the words died on his lips. He studied his surroundings. Stryke was right. He had taken lefts over and over again and circled back. The library was around the corner.

He fisted his hands and hissed at the sharp points of his claws. He kept his voice low. “She can’t be far away. Her powers must require proximity.” They had to, because then it’d mean he could still find her.

“Let me try.” Stryke slid him a sidelong glance. “She doesn’t hold quite the influence over me.”

Stryke scanned the corridor as he turned right and left, swiveling backward and forward. He stared back where they’d come from, where Quution had originally run.

The crafty vixen.

He picked up speed until they were jogging. His uneven platforms sent shocks through his spine. He brushed away the discomfort and ignored the strong urge to trot in the opposite direction.

She wasn’t fooling him again.

As they pursued Xan, he couldn’t help but wonder why, during all her time tricking him, she hadn’t tried to assassinate him. Surely her master would consider a dead Quution a good Quution.

Was it the risk of failure?

No, she had to know he couldn’t hurt her. She’d duped him into revealing his real self, cooking for her, and then making love to her in his bed, where he would’ve given everything to her. And after that deception was revealed, he’d still offered her his sandwich and given her one of his favorite books.

She’d first bargained with him to read in exchange for not spilling the secret of how he’d been raised and his relationship to Stryke. Could she be spying on him because her master had a hold on her?

The sister. And the niece.

Xan wasn’t one of the typical evil demons roaming the underworld. She’d killed her mama for her sister’s safety. What was a little seduction and espionage compared to that if she needed to save her family again?

Her scent curled around him like a finger crooking him in her direction.

“Xan!” he roared and picked up his speed. Stryke called his name, but Quution spotted a slinky, purple-tinted shadow skirting the wall of the passage.

He flailed for all the energy he could gather and tossed it out in the form of a net. Xan stopped, her body rigid, a strangled noise escaping her.

He’d unintentionally given her an electrical shock. Backing off on the energy, he rushed the rest of the way to her.

“I’m sorry” were the first words out of his mouth.

A pinch of anger drained from her gaze. “That hurt.”

“I didn’t mean—you were getting away.”

Stryke huffed up next to him. “Sweet brimstone, she’s the escapee. Don’t fucking apologize.”

Instead of snarling at Stryke, Xan lifted her chin, her face haughty. “That’s why Quution’s the sexy brother.”

“Your game’s off,” Stryke replied. “Who’s sexier isn’t one of my concerns.”

She slid her gaze away. “I wasn’t appealing to your fear.”

“It isn’t mine,” Quution sputtered.

Xan lifted a dark brow.

He shook his head. She had them twisted around less than thirty seconds after they’d captured her. “You really are good.”

“Apparently not,” she muttered. “Or you wouldn’t keep trapping me.”

“We muck up a bit when our loved ones are in trouble. Don’t we?” He hoped she’d talk to him this time. Between him and Stryke, even Melody, they could help her. They could help her family.

“What are you talking about?” Xan couldn’t meet his gaze.

“Xera. Xoda. Who’s using them to get you to work for them?”

Xan was at a crossroads, but it wasn’t which corridor to sprint down to lose the demon brothers. She wanted to trust Quution so badly. He knew she had a sister and a niece and she should’ve kept that info to herself. Quution was nothing like Spaeth, but in reality, how well did she know him?

When his back was to the wall, how did she know he wouldn’t use her?

He’d pointed out how astonishing her ability was, and she’d learned the hard way what demons would do to secure her cooperation. Her dilemma wasn’t only about Quution. Stryke’s perplexed gaze darted between her and Quution.

“Let me rephrase. Who has your sister and niece?”

“There’s more of her?” Stryke asked.

Yes, there were, though her kind didn’t hang out and have family reunions, and births were few and far between. Their coloring was part of their camouflage, and they stayed hidden. A low-key lifestyle was necessary to prevent abduction, forced breeding, or—she repressed a shudder—their addition to the pile of bones in the sacrificial cave.

She’d done a good job for herself, until Spaeth had found her somehow. Now, she was on the freaking Circle. It was the complete opposite of lying low. And that was despite missing every gathering possible and not mingling with the others.

“We can help them,” Quution said.

She still hadn’t spoken. Understanding was dawning on Stryke. He didn’t look happy his brother was caving, but it’d lead to the answer they were seeking.

But Quution didn’t follow up his offer with an ultimatum. He wasn’t coercing her, bargaining with her, or blackmailing her. Yes, they would lock her back into the empty half of the library, probably in chains this time, but she couldn’t fault them. Their lives were in danger too. Spaeth would whip the entire underworld into a frenzy until each and every demon down here was hunting the brothers.

And their troubles weren’t isolated to this realm. Stryke’s mate and everyone she cared about would be threatened as well.

Yet, Quution genuinely wanted to help her. He gave no indication otherwise.

She glanced around the dim caves. No one was close, but one could never be sure. “Let’s go back to the library.”

Quution nodded and stepped to the side to allow her to pass first.

Xan kept her shoulders back as she walked, but she really wanted to hunch over and drag her feet. Spaeth was harmless in that he was predictably evil. If Quution got her to trust him, then let her down? That seemed so much worse.

But her mission wasn’t as cut and dried as she’d thought. Bug Quution, collect information, tattle on him, and then find Xera and get her to safety. Now she’d have to bank on Spaeth not finding any of them, or she’d have to test her skills to the maximum and fight him. Things just got more complicated.

Back in the library, she deliberately traipsed over to Quution’s side and sat in his chair. She crossed her legs. Stryke leaned against the entrance and crossed his arms. It was her first good look at him today.

“Nice shirt,” she said.

His stolid expression didn’t flicker. “Thanks.”

It was becoming clearer why she liked him despite his attitude toward her. He wasn’t unnecessarily cruel, a rare trait in this realm. His care for Quution was obvious too. How did they hide that they were related? Most minions were openly hostile and full of resentment over their circumstances, but Stryke had never acted like that. And he didn’t ogle or leer at her, even behind her back. She could be wandering around in snow pants and a parka and he wouldn’t look at her any differently.

Quution shuffled to the desk. The more she thought about what he was planning, the more she wondered why the getup. Sure, full-bloods would scorn him, but they’d be even less concerned that he posed a serious threat if they thought he was half as strong. His reasoning didn’t make any sense.

They waited for her to start talking. Mellow, unhurried, no sense of belligerence. Perhaps that was the reason she finally told them what they wanted to hear.

“Spaeth.”

No rage roiled out of them. Quution exchanged a charged lilac glance with Stryke’s violet one. The name came as no surprise to them, but would any full-breed have really been a shocker?

“I don’t know where he’s keeping them. The deal was that I find out what you’re up to and he’d release my family. I have three days left.”

Quution’s brow dropped as he thought through her predicament. Stryke gave her a do you really think Spaeth will keep his word? look.

“I’m not a rookie,” she said defensively. “I know Spaeth will either refuse to release them and keep me under his power or find some other way to control me. Prolonging the situation was my first goal, but recently, he’s been putting a lot of pressure on me and I haven’t gotten a vibe of where they are.”

“We can work together,” Quution offered. “We’ll help you find them.”

“And then what? It’s not as if I back your stupid idea to trap us all down here.”

Stryke pushed off the doorframe. “You two argue that out. I’m going to search the underworld and see if I can pinpoint where Spaeth’s chamber is and where he’s keeping your family prisoner.”

“Finding them isn’t going to make me so grateful I’ll keep quiet about your wards.”

Quution’s expression remained placid. “Maybe finding them will convince you why we need to take extreme measures to keep a demon like Spaeth in this realm.”

“Or,” Stryke cut in, “maybe I’m a decent guy and won’t let a female and her child suffer.”

Quution’s steady gaze didn’t leave hers. “That too.”

“Meanwhile, I’m still a prisoner.” They were helping free her family while she was their captive.

Quution’s mouth tightened. “No, but I ask that we join teams, at least temporarily.”

It was her only out—for now. “Temporarily.” When Xera and Xoda were free, she’d take off with them, head deep into unexplored caverns.

Xoda would love…

What would she love?

Stryke interrupted her thoughts. “I’ll stop in tomorrow. Buzz me if you need anything, Q.”

In other words, call him if she caused trouble. She almost rolled her eyes, but she was alone in a room with Quution, a room she supposedly could leave at any time.