The drive home was quiet. They were all lost in their own thoughts. Layla stared out the window, simply processing the last few days. Now that they’d rescued everyone, the mad adrenaline rush of the past half day was fading, leaving her exhausted.

“You can sleep,” Hunter told her quietly, squeezing her shoulder. “I’ll wake you if anything happens.”

Damaris frowned from the driver’s seat, but didn’t say anything. Sitting beside her, Cord didn’t so much as blink. Layla twisted around once more to check that Sophie’s car was still behind them. She could see Lizeth at the wheel, looking as tired as she felt and not at all pleased to have Phoenix in the front seat next to her. The warlocks might have been dead, but the demons weren’t relaxing their guard just yet—there’d been no arguing with Hunter when he’d announced that the demons and the coven would split themselves between the cars.

Deciding it was safe enough, Layla snuggled into Hunter’s side and gave in to her drooping eyelids. It seemed like only seconds later when Hunter gently shook her awake. Her eyes flew open, searching at once for the threat. Instead, she saw Hunter smiling down at her.

“We’re here.”

Layla felt like she could have slept for another week. She stumbled as she got out of the car, and Hunter took her elbow to steady her. Everyone piled inside the house while Fisher and Cord quickly circled the property, checking for danger. Sophie waved an arm in the air, the house seemed to shimmer and then transform back from damaged and destroyed to clean and liveable.

By the time Layla and Hunter walked into the kitchen, Sophie was already handing out mugs of strong coffee. Layla’s heart sank. So, they couldn’t rest yet.

No one spoke as they all settled into the living room, sipping their coffee in silence. It was Sophie who broke it first.

“What happened to the warlock you were fighting, Layla?”

Layla grimaced. She didn’t want to think about that.

“You can interrogate her later,” Hunter snapped.

“It’s okay, Hunter. But to tell you the truth, Sophie, I don’t really know what happened. There was a dog, and it turned into that man. He started attacking me. He was casting spells.... He was so powerful. I knew any shield I could bring up wouldn’t be strong enough, but I had to try.

“So, I did, and I’m not really sure what happened from there. I was sure he was about to blast through my shield, but then his magic suddenly seemed to fizzle out. Then he started…melting. He died. I don’t understand it, and I wanted to ask you. I wasn’t trying to kill him.”

The others spent a few minutes digesting what she’d said, exchanging glances among each other; Layla looked down, trying to rid the image from her mind.

“It must have been your stipulation,” Sophie said after a while. “Your magic was looking for someone to drain, and it latched onto him. You were scared. I imagine your heightened emotional state affected your magic, and in conjunction with your stipulation, it turned a simple spell into a deadly one. Good thing, too, in the end. Hunter, Cord, and I barely managed to kill the other warlock. I don’t think any of us would have been up for round two.”

“What happened?” Layla gave Hunter another quick appraisal, but he didn’t seem to be badly hurt.

“He tried the same thing the other one did,” Sophie replied. “A distraction, though for us a cat instead of a dog. I have to admit, it would have worked on me. Hunter and Cord didn’t trust it, though, and pulled me back. I would have been hit by the first spell if they hadn’t.”

Sophie didn’t look too pleased to be admitting that Hunter had saved her life, but Layla felt encouraged that she was admitting it at all.

“The spell hit Cord instead. If it had hit me, I would have been killed, but it just knocked him out. Hunter attacked the warlock, who conjured blades. Hunter was too busy fighting the blades to get close to the warlock, but I used magic to pick up a slab of concrete and throw it at him. He tried to deflect it with a spell, and probably would have, but Hunter managed to get past his blades and try to cut him. The warlock was distracted and, a moment later, the concrete crushed him.”

“Why not just cast a fireball?” Layla asked. “It seems like a lot of effort to pick up and aim a great slab of concrete.”

Sophie nodded, smiling for the first time since they’d sat down. “Good, Layla,” she said approvingly. “You’re right, it is harder to aim and handle physical objects than your own magic. When fighting another magic user, though, it’s also harder for them to stop something physical with a shield. Magic shields are often more suited to defense against magical attacks than physical ones, even if the physical threat is propelled by magic. That’s another reason why tennis balls are so useful in training,” she added, offering Hunter a pointed look.

“Anyway, while I made sure the warlock was dead, Hunter revived Cord. Then Cord and I went into the warehouse while Hunter went to help you. Turns out you didn’t need his help. We found everyone drugged in the warehouse. You know the story from there.”

“I don’t understand. Warlocks…they’re like male witches, right? They’re like us. Why would they want to kill us?”

It was Damaris who answered this time. “Warlocks aren’t like witches. Witches aren’t common, but our rarity is nothing compared to warlocks. They’re the smallest group of immortals—so small that most of us don’t even consider them. Meeting a warlock is an uncommon event in itself, even for those of us who live forever.

“There’s always been a lot of tension between different immortals. There have been many wars with one group seeking to rule over the others. Witches have commonly been targeted because, for the most part, we’re a lot more powerful than the others, and we’ve got a larger population than warlocks.

“About a hundred years ago, one particular warlock named Rue became fanatical in his quest for power. He started killing any immortal who wouldn’t join him, but he targeted witches most of all. Though he was killed, his ideas survived. There have been stories of isolated warlocks trying to follow the same path, though never as successfully as Rue.

“This is the first time we’ve encountered rogue warlocks in person. Hopefully, it’ll also be the last.”

It all seemed mad to Layla, all the killing over who would rule. “Why don’t you just do what humans do and have elections? Then there wouldn’t need to be any of this nonsense of killing people so you could rule.”

“Some of us do that within our races,” Hunter explained. “It’s different between groups, though. That would be like people in Europe voting for America’s President. Each group wants to remain independent from the others, even if there’s a certain level of cooperation.”

Layla nodded, though she wasn’t sure she fully understood. Perhaps it took being in the supernatural world a while longer than she had to truly understand it.

Meanwhile, Rose put her arm around Sophie, who looked like she might cry.

“It was probably them who killed my mother,” Sophie explained. “I thought I’d feel happy or relieved when I found out and stopped them. I don’t. I just feel empty.”

Layla didn’t know what to say, but Sophie didn’t seem to need a response. The old wound had clearly been reopened; Layla only hoped it was also the beginning of closure. Only time would tell.

“I want your decision, Sophie,” Layla spoke up after another moment—the group’s discussion had drifted into tired silence, and she didn’t want everyone going their separate ways without Hunter and her knowing what came next. Bad as the timing might be, she had to know. “Hunter and I need to know if we can stay here or if we need to start making other plans.”

Hunter squeezed Layla’s hand, and Sophie looked hopelessly between the pair of them. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You’d really leave if I told you that you couldn’t stay and be with Hunter?”

Layla simply nodded.

“I thought you were just being emotional. That when you thought better of it…” Sophie shook her head, clearly at a loss for words.

Damaris looked like she might be about to jump in to help Sophie make an argument against Hunter, with Rose and Lizeth not far behind her; tellingly, the demons remained silent.

“Arguments aren’t going to help anything, except perhaps make us all frustrated,” Hunter said firmly, eyeing Damaris. “We’ll know your decision now.”

Sophie looked utterly defeated. Layla hated to force this choice now, but she couldn’t keep waiting. She just couldn’t.

“There’s no choice to make,” Sophie said eventually. “You’re one of us, Layla. You always will be. There’s never been any rule saying that a high priestess gets a say in the love lives of her coven. Perhaps, in light of what has happened, there should be, but the fact remains that I have no say over this. Don’t ever expect me to approve of Hunter, but I won’t kick you out for being with him.”

Layla breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a weight of fear lift from her heart. “You won’t regret it,” she said fervently. “I’ll be a great coven member, you’ll see.”

“You already are. The rescue was a group effort, and you did your part. We’re already glad to have you.”

“Though we’d be even gladder if—”

“Don’t push it, Rose,” Layla said, knowing what Rose was going to say. “Just leave it at that?”

Rose wisely took her advice.

“I’ll take first watch,” Phoenix said, getting up. “The rest of you get some sleep. I had plenty when I was drugged. I don’t think I’m going to want to lie down for a while.” His face had a slightly haunted look to it, and Layla realized that despite his usually cool exterior, the capture had perhaps shaken him more than the others.

“I’ll watch, too and also call Penny to give her the update and ask for clean-up,” Sophie volunteered. “We should have a witch and a demon keeping guard for now, at least until we’ve confirmed that there were only two warlocks.”

Hunter clapped Phoenix on the back before holding out a hand for Layla. She took it and let him lead her upstairs. Layla’s bed had never looked so inviting. She dove into it with relish, and moments later, Hunter lay beside her, wrapping his arms around her as they settled.

“Is it really over?” she asked.

“We’ll go back tomorrow to check the area, just to be sure, but I think it is. Even if everything is okay, though, I think we should stay here for a while, for safety’s sake. We’re stronger with a group of us than just the two of us on our own.”

“I don’t want to leave just yet anyway,” Layla admitted. “I’ve still got so much to learn. I’d like to stay for at least a bit longer. I know it takes decades to get any kind of meaningful control over a limitation, but I’d like to start as soon as possible. If I could find a way to control who my power drains, it wouldn’t be a drawback at all—more like an extra weapon.”

“That would be useful, but don’t get too optimistic. From what I’ve heard, even the oldest witches have only managed to get a smidgen of control over their stipulations.”

“I’ve heard the same. Still, maybe it’ll be different for me. I’m half demon, right? Perhaps I can use some of the talents from my demon side to affect my magic.”

“Perhaps,” Hunter mused. “It would be best if we could talk to other halflings like you, other mixes between witches and demons. Halflings aren’t common, so it might be difficult tracking anyone down, but we could give it a try.”

“Well, we do have forever. I still haven’t gotten used to the idea that I’m immortal. I mean, everyone throws the word around all the time, but the actual thought of living forever…it’s scary.”

“You’ll get used to it. All demons are born knowing who they are, but for someone like you, who’s new to this, of course it’ll be overwhelming at first.”

“Then living forever may be overly optimistic,” Layla said, not really listening. “The immortal world seems to have even more criminals than the human world, and that’s saying something. Look what happened to Sophie’s mom.”

Fiercely, Hunter drew her in tighter. “Nothing like that will ever happen to you. Do you understand? I’ll keep you safe. You’re going to live a very, very long life.”

“As long as you’re beside me, I’m down for that.”

Hunter kissed her, and Layla melted into him, only now realizing just how grimy and dirty she was from the battle. She really wanted a shower, but felt too tired to move. Hunter pulled her close to his chest and tucked her head under his chin.

Exhaustion from the events of the last day kicked in then, and Layla was asleep in seconds.

In the nightmare, the warlock was standing tall before her, a menacing light flickering from between his fingers. He smiled at Layla. She knew she was going to die. She tried to cast a spell, but her voice wouldn’t work. She threw her arms in front of her face in a futile effort to defend herself, but it wasn’t enough. She screamed as the fireball hit her. It felt like being hit by a truck. A moment later, she felt the intense heat searing her flesh right off. She screamed in pain, thrashing, trying to get away.

“Layla! Layla! Wake up, you’re just dreaming!”

The room was dark and the fire was gone. The pain had faded to a tingling in her arms. Hunter had his hands on Layla’s shoulders, shaking her.

“Hunter?” she whispered. She couldn’t help looking around, sure she’d see the warlock in the shadows. She hadn’t even known his name, and now he was haunting her.

“You’re safe. You’re here with me. Everything is going to be okay.”

Layla opened her mouth to say something and burst into tears instead.

Hunter pulled her tighter into his arms. “Shhh, it was just a dream. It can’t hurt you.”

“I was burning,” Layla choked.

“I know. It’ll fade, Layla, I promise. Dreams are always worse in the beginning. I’m sure some of the others will be dealing with them also. None of us are likely going to get much peaceful sleep for the next few weeks.”

Layla stared at him in the darkness. “This has happened to you?”

“It always does, when a job gets rough. It’s just your mind’s way of processing. You just need to realize that it’s a memory, nothing more.”

“I was so scared,” Layla whispered. “It felt like it was happening again.”

“I know. It will, for a long time. I’ll always be here to wake you, though, to tell you everything is okay.”

She nodded, her throat too tight to speak. Hunter stroked her hair until gradually she relaxed. But she was afraid to go to sleep, afraid the warlock would be waiting for her. Hunter’s arms provided her one sense of safety, though—she could be grateful for that much.