Guinevere’s tomb was quieter without the demons.

All I remembered from the end of the battle at Richmond Castle was Roarke picking me up and carrying me out of there. I’d woken in my own bed, Cass and Nix at my side. They’d gotten the blood to Connor, who’d made the antidote.

So, yay! I wasn’t going to turn into a demon. In all seriousness, though, I was pretty thrilled about that.

Nix had handed me a letter from Roarke that had said only, “When you’re better, come to me. Or I will come to you.”

Well, that had been pretty clear.

At least he was giving me a chance to recover, which was good. I was going over to his place soon, but I had something to do before I faced the music. I didn’t know what Roarke thought about what he’d seen, but he seemed to be on slow burn mode and that made me nervous. I hoped helping him catch the Ubilaz demon was enough to get me off the hook, but I wasn’t sure.

So I’d come to Guinevere’s tomb to clean it up since I wasn’t sure if I’d have another chance. I didn’t like the idea of it being disturbed. Of any archaeological site being disturbed.

“What do you say we get started?” Cass asked from where she stood beside me.

I stared down into the pit that held Guinevere’s sarcophagus. The top was still shoved off, and her skeleton lay in its big stone box.

“Yeah.” As much as I’d wanted to talk to her before, I really didn’t want her to come back to life right now. I needed a break from the whole death-magic thing. Fortunately, the cathedral above hadn’t come to life, but it still might.

I set my backpack on the ground, then jumped down into the pit beside Nix and Cass. I pulled Guinevere’s charm out of my pocket and put it around her skeletal neck.

“Too bad the magic isn’t more decayed,” Cass said.

“Yeah.” I nodded. It would’ve been a nice addition to our shop. But it wasn’t decayed enough yet. Magic was like milk—it expired eventually. Once it went bad, it went bad. But instead of a foul smell, you got explosions and the like. So that was the magic that we took for our shop.

But Guinevere’s charm contained such strong magic that it still had a lot of life left in it. That meant we had to return it to her sarcophagus.

I took one last look at her, then turned to Cass and Nix. “Want to do this thing?”

Nix cracked her knuckles. “Can’t wait.”

It took some huffing and puffing, but we got the lid of the sarcophagus back onto the base.

“Now for the last bit.” I climbed out of the pit, followed by Cass and Nix.

We grabbed the shovels we’d brought and heaved the dirt back into the pit.

“Weird that she’s been buried down in the crypt. All the other sarcophagi are just sitting out,” Nix said.

“Extra protection, maybe,” I said. “And there might be more bodies down below.”

We sweated in silence as we filled the pit, then stomped the dirt down tight.

“Well, it’s not perfect,” Cass said. “But it’s pretty good.”

“Yep.” I put down my shovel and grabbed my backpack, then pulled out the mini box of wine and three coffee mugs. “Now time for a toast.”

“For real?” Cass asked.

“Hey, I didn’t see you bring any of that swill you drink,” I said. Cass preferred Pabst Blue Ribbon, the beer of hipsters and hillbillies, as she called it. “And anyway, red wine doesn’t need refrigeration. And the box is portable.”

I sat on the ground and pinched the little spout, pouring some into each coffee mug. Cass and Nix joined me, and I handed them each a half-full mug.

In unison, we raised our glasses and glanced at each other, then said, “To Guinevere.”

“The woman who changed her fate,” I added.

We drank, staring at the place where Guinevere’s body lay.

“Do you think we can change our fate?” I asked.

Cass looked at me. “Do we want to?”

“I don’t know.” I frowned. “It’s been quite a year though.”

“Yeah,” Nix said. “Defeating the Monster who kept us prisoner as kids, then you coming back from the dead. And I don’t think it’s over yet.”

“No, it’s not. Draka said more is coming.” Earlier, I’d told them about the Phantom dragon and what it had said. “But I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“You will be,” Cass said.

“You think?” Even as I asked, my chest felt empty and helpless. Draka had said someone called me the Demise. Wasn’t I just as likely to be that as to be the Guardian? “How could I be called something as important as the Guardian?”

“Of life and death,” Nix repeated Draka’s words, which I’d told her. They just made the task ahead of me seem more impossible.

“Exactly!” I cried. “How can I live up to that?”

I wasn’t half as good a FireSoul as Cass or Nix. I was just a book loving, boxed wine drinking mercenary, prophecy or no prophecy. I wasn’t ready for this. Maybe I never would be.

“You can do it,” Cass said.

“Seconded,” Nix added. “You’ve got some crazy powers that’ll help. I mean, you tore the soul out of that demon. Pretty scary.”

“Yeah.” It made me vaguely sick just to remember. I could always count on Nix for the truth, though. Between bringing back the dead, if only for a short time, and tearing souls from demons—I had some scary freaking powers. Someone with powers like that would be called the Demise.

“You’re going to have to learn to control your powers,” Cass said. “This newest power, the soul-snatching one—it’s important. You’re going to need it, I think. But no way you can let the Order discover that you have it.”

“I know.” She sounded like a broken record, repeating it all the time, but she was right. So right. My new power was the scariest one I’d ever heard of. No way the Order would let me live if they knew I could do that. “If Roarke lets me stay out of the Underworld and keeps my secret.”

“We’ll take care of him if he doesn’t,” Nix said.

Could we? Probably, between the three of us and Aidan. But I didn’t want to risk Cass or Nix getting hurt. And I didn’t want to hurt Roarke.

“You’re important,” Nix said. “The Guardian, whatever that means. Roarke will understand that we need your gifts. I don’t know for what—but for something.”

“But I don’t understand my gifts! I don’t know why I sometimes trigger historical sites, and why I don’t. I have no control!” There was no way I could handle this responsibility.

“You will,” Cass said. “You can handle this.”

It was like she read my mind. “As long as it doesn’t handle me. I mean, I could be evil. I liked the Phantoms when they turned me. It felt great. And I tear out souls. That’s scary shit. I’m scary. And what if I can’t harness my power?” That felt impossible.

“I have faith in you,” Nix said. “Even if you’re scary.”

“Me too,” Cass added. “And I think you can handle this. You’re strong enough. Whatever is coming at you—you’re strong enough.”

Warmth filled my chest, though doubt still tugged. “Thanks, guys.”

We clinked our plastic coffee mugs together. I hoped this wouldn’t be the last time I hung out with them. But I couldn’t say it wouldn’t be, not for sure. Because break time was over, and the reckoning with Roarke was about to begin.

* * *

I pulled Scooter onto the narrow road that led to Roarke’s house, my heart lodged somewhere in my throat.

He must have heard the roar of Scooter’s engine, because when I pulled up to the house, he was waiting for me on the porch. He looked better, though it was impossible to really tell without being able to see beneath the dark green sweater he wore. Some of his wounds had been deep, and his wings and back had been a mess.

I got off and removed my helmet, then climbed the steps, trying to subtly knock on my head. For good measure, I touched the lucky pendant I wore around my neck.

“How are your wings?” I asked as I approached.

“Fine.” His gaze was indecipherable. “How are you? All symptoms gone?”

“Yeah.” I held out my arms. “Human again.” Mostly. “I guess you have some questions.”

“Some.” He gestured to a porch swing to the right of the door. “Sit?”

“Yeah.”

The autumn air was crisp and orange leaves tumbled off branches as we sat on the gently rocking swing, exactly like two old people would after a life of fifty years together. Somehow, I didn’t see that in our future.

“You going to take me back to the Underworld?” I asked.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Yeah, those questions. Right.” My fingers drummed uncontrollably on my leg. I was an absolute wreck about this. If he insisted on taking me back, I didn’t know what I’d do.

“It’s no coincidence that those places came alive,” he said. “That the dead came back, even for a short time. You’re a Phantom, but that is impossible.”

“Apparently not.”

He grinned, as if unable to help himself, and my heart sped up.

I hurried to explain what I knew about the prophecy and what Aethelred had told me, putting emphasis on how I was necessary. “And believe me, I wouldn’t make this up. I don’t exactly like having some big prophecy sitting on my shoulders. I’m not even qualified to be the Guardian, whatever that is. Honestly, I’ve got some serious doubts I can even do whatever I’m supposed to do.”

I was pouring out my guts to him, but I couldn’t help it. Maybe I could tell him that I was a FireSoul as well. Get it all out on the table. But it wasn’t only my secret. It was Cass and Nix’s. I couldn’t put them at risk.

“I believe you.” He turned so that his gaze met mine. “Though I do think you’re qualified.”

That made one of us, at least.

“But you’ve put me in a tough situation.” He scrubbed his hand through his hair. “The rules are clear. Your magic is dangerous. Forbidden.”

“So how is this a tough situation for you? Mr. Rule Follower should know what he needs to do.” Even though I hated it.

“Because I like you, Del. A lot.”

“Yeah?”

“Worse, I think you’re special.”

“Special?”

“Yeah. I know you’re special. I’ve known it from the beginning. I didn’t track you by your blood when you escaped. Or by that bracelet I put on you.” He gestured to the metal band around my wrist. “I could sense that you were special as soon as you arrived in the Underworld and I could track you. I can’t do that with anyone else, but I could do it with you.”

I had no idea what to say, so I kept my mouth shut, staring out at the brilliant fall foliage of the forest around his house and occasionally peeking at him. The rushing river roared in my ears, or maybe it was my heartbeat.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I tracked you to Ancient Magic, but it wasn’t someone like you. I like you.” He looked away, as if this was more emotion that he was used to feeling, and he needed a breath of air to keep going. “Especially after getting to know you. I couldn’t take you back to the Underworld or turn you in to the Order. Not for anything in the world.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“I don’t know. I know that you make me willing to break the rules.” His gaze met mine, fierce, and he pulled me toward him.

He hesitated for a second, just long enough to let me pull away. His intentions were clear. My escape would be easy. But no way in magic was I doing that. It might be a bad idea, but at this point, I didn’t care.

His dark gaze burned into me as he lowered his head. When his firm lips pressed to mine, I swear my heart jumped out of my chest. He smelled like sandalwood and tasted like wine, but also like himself. Something that wasn’t his magic. It made goosebumps prickle over my skin.

A weird little noise escaped my throat as his lips moved skillfully on mine. I kissed him back with everything I had, reaching up to grip his sweater in my hands. I was growing so lightheaded that I had to hold on for balance. I couldn’t get enough of this.

He pulled away abruptly. “I’m sorry. Now isn’t the time.”

“Um.” My heart fluttered in my chest, a frantic beat of wings as I tried to recover. “So, you ah, like like me?”

“How could I not like the woman who saves the day with her books and her sword?”

My heart just about exploded at his words. He got me. My books were a crutch because my dragon sense wasn’t super strong, but they were still me. And my sword was definitely me.

I struggled to find something to say. “You’ve kept it pretty much on the down-low. I wasn’t exactly expecting that kiss.”

“Really? I felt the tension in the woods in Scotland. You did, too.”

“Yeah. Why didn’t you kiss me then?”

“At that point, I was still threatening to take you back to the Underworld. I didn’t want to ask for a date at the same time. And a kiss was out of the question. I’m not interested in compelling a woman’s affections.”

Oh, so he was super honorable. I’d been told to expect it, but just knowing that he hadn’t used his position of power to get in my pants was pretty awesome. I’d really been wrong to doubt him because he was half demon. “So, no trading dates for time out of the Underworld, then?”

“No. I’m not making you return there. You’re special, Del. You have a role to play in whatever is coming, and I’m going to help you accomplish it. I don’t know what makes you so special, but you are.”

“I don’t know either.” Just the idea of what might be within me scared the crap out of me. And the idea of fulfilling the role of Guardian? Yeah right. How was I going to do that?

“We’ll figure it out together.” He reached for my hand and squeezed, then met my gaze. Sincere, determined.

We could figure it out together. With Roarke and my deirfiúr, I wasn’t alone in this. But wherever this was leading, it was becoming clear that it was something only I could handle. Which meant I had to try. Even if I failed, that was all I could do. Keep trying, until I succeeded. Or it killed me.

I knew which outcome I was hoping for.