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It was only a stupid rhyme—no reason to break a sweat over a few birds. Contrary to what most people in Terra believed, she knew better than to think they were wise, all-seeing animals capable of predicting the future. Whoever had invented that silly superstition was full of it. The future could always change. Nothing was set in stone, and no feathered critter had the right to tell her that hell was coming.
A shadow caught Loren’s eye. A shadow with a tail that curled up over his back.
Singer was snuffling around the creosote and cacti near the gates, ears erect with curiosity. Like all Familiars, his eyes glowed like gemstones, the shade of them—white like diamonds—bright against his misty body.
Loren snapped her fingers. “Stay close, buddy,” she whispered. He raised his head to look at her, cocked it to one side, then promptly returned to snuffling, though he didn’t stray any farther.
As the minutes wore on, Loren found her feet drifting toward the gates. It might be a good idea to get back on campus—just in case. If she had known Darien was going to be later than usual, she never would’ve come out here, especially not by herself. By now, the demons that dwelled in the sewers would be stirring awake in their dens of bones, eager to hunt on this moonless night. They would be looking to feed, and the biggest and oldest ones wouldn’t settle for measly sewer rats.
“Singer,” she said quietly. Sensing the tension in her voice, the Familiar trotted to her side and looked up at her in question. “Let’s go back inside until Darien messages us.”
Together, they walked back to the gates. It took a couple seconds before they swung open, the magic spells tasting her aura as they prepared to let her back onto school property.
The pop of gravel under tires made her pause. As she looked over her shoulder, she was careful to keep her body inside the barrier of protective spells, the gates still open. No threats could touch her here.
Beams of white swept across the road, the wet pavement reflecting the headlights like a mirror. Loren held up a hand to block the glare as a moon-gray sportscar glided to a stop beside the curb, the deep engine giving off a vicious groan that screamed wealth and speed. The windows were tinted, fully concealing whoever drove it, and when the glass on the passenger’s side lowered, she recognized the husky voice before she could make out his face in the murky darkness of the car.
“What the hell are you doing outside the gates?” Travis Devlin demanded. Well, that explained why she didn’t recognize the car; she usually saw him on motorcycles.
She stifled a smile. “Technically, I’m in them.”
“Which means you were out of them a minute ago.” Travis’s watch glinted in the glow of a streetlight as he waved a hand, his lightly scarred skin tattooed with blue pigment in geometric designs. “Get in the car before I tell Darien to whoop your ass.”
The spells fluttered as Loren passed through the barrier and stepped off the sidewalk. She opened the passenger’s-side door, the warm air inside the car wrapping around her like a hug. Singer bounded into her shadow with a joyful yelp in Travis’s direction, as if to say hello, and disappeared, not a wisp of dark mist left behind.
Having Singer as her Familiar was an adjustment she was still getting used to. The dog accompanied her everywhere now, so she no longer had to feel bad about leaving him alone at the apothecary. Sometimes, he was so silent in her shadow that she would forget he was there until she heard him panting or yawning. Because Singer couldn’t talk, her connection to him wasn’t quite the same as the one Darien shared with Bandit. But sometimes she caught Bandit and Singer conversing, their words silent to her ears. Loren kept meaning to ask Darien how the Spirit Bonds worked, but she always forgot.
Just as she was about to get in Travis’s car, something made her pause. She looked over her shoulder at the academy as a damp breeze blew through the area, carrying tendrils of golden hair across her face.
She could’ve sworn she felt someone watching her, but when she scanned the twilit grounds, no one was there.
“Are you getting in?” Travis called through the open door. “Or are you hoping I’ll have to kill a few demons before supper?”
“Sorry,” Loren mumbled. Ducking her head, she eased herself down onto the low seat, the protective spellwork on the car raising a shiver on her skin, and closed the door. The interior smelled of spearmint and the woody aroma of leather cleaner. Now that the door was shut, she felt the last of the tension in her muscles subside, especially as she took in Travis flicking through the playlist on the touchscreen in the dash, not a hint of fear on his face. “Where’s Darien?” she asked, reaching over her shoulder to grab her seatbelt and buckle it. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.” Travis turned the music down a few notches and pulled out onto the road. The headlights drove away the shadows lurking between the jacaranda and palm trees, the darkness not nearly as frightening now that a Devil was with her. “Took him longer than he thought it would to gut a target, so he asked if I could pick you up.” The engine snarled as they zipped down the hill and into the city, tires splashing through puddles.
As if Darien heard their conversation, Loren’s phone buzzed in her hand. She unlocked it and read his message.
Hi, sweetheart. Sorry for not texting sooner, I got caught up with something. Travis there yet?
Yes, he just got here, she replied. Is everything okay?
A typing bubble popped up on the screen. Loren watched it, chewing on her pinky nail, ignoring the acrid taste of sparkly polish seeping across her tongue. The suspense of hearing what the law enforcement had wanted from him today was killing her, and she found her foot tapping out an anxious beat on the floormat.
Finally, his answer came through. Everything’s fine. I’ll see you at home in a couple hours, okay?
She didn’t believe that everything was as fine as he was making it out to be, but she supposed she could wait until she saw him in person before she dug deeper.
Okay. She added a heart symbol to the end of the message before hitting SEND. She clicked off the screen and set the phone on her thigh.
Travis stole a glance at her as he maneuvered the last of the day’s traffic. “That him?”
Loren nodded, pulling the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her numb fingers. “Yeah. He said he’ll be home in a couple hours.”
“See? Told you not to worry.”
They drove in silence for a while. Angelthene’s spotless northern districts were bright with streetlights, billboards, and rows of skyscrapers dotted with hundreds of glowing windows. In the heart of the North End was the Control Tower, the reflective cristala of Angelthene’s tallest building shining like silver. The sight of the blade-like finial that pierced the starry sky, projecting the forcefield over the city, threw Loren back in time—to the events of Kalendae and everything that had transpired on that tower. She forced herself not to think about it as they made their way to the Victoria Amazonica District, breezing through dimly lit tunnels, across overpasses, and down stretches of winding highways.
