Which was why I wouldn’t be taking her directly to her new quarters like the others. She’d caused quite a headache, and this seemed to be a suitable punishment for her efforts.
Returning my wand to my inner pocket, I folded my arms and observed the girl through my magical portal as she bent to pick up my coin.
The air around her blurred with heat, and an enticing bead of sweat rolled down the arch of her neck. She wouldn’t last long if she couldn’t find a way inside, but this was the consequence for wasting my time.
Her lips pursed, her stormy gray eyes studying the object thoroughly. She blew out a breath, then flicked the item into the air to catch it, and lifted her gaze skyward to admire both suns. Or maybe she was trying to search for a teleportation portal in the sky. Either way, she appeared lost in her thoughts.
Her long dirty-blonde hair reminded me of burnt ash beneath the reddish-orange haze, her exposed skin already pinkening from the harsh elements. If she noticed, she didn’t show it. Instead, she started looking around, her expression calculative.
A subtle breeze drew my gaze to the sky of the paradigm just as a stunning obsidian-feathered Phoenix blacked out the moon. The Hellhounds near me all took several steps back, not wanting to deal with the approaching being.
I didn’t share their concern. “Show-off,” I muttered as the majestic animal landed beside me. “You could use two legs like a normal fae.”
Energy hummed beside me as Az engaged his ability to shift, his pale skin replacing the feathers. But his hair remained dark brown, the thick strands somewhat shorter than mine. And his chiseled jaw was decorated with inky fibers, his perpetual five o’clock shadow always in full effect no matter how many times he shaved.
“I’m anything but normal,” he replied, his deep voice boasting his usual seriousness.
“Most Hell Fae could claim the same,” I pointed out.
“Most Hell Fae are not me,” he countered.
I lifted a shoulder. He wasn’t wrong. Hell Fae were all abominations in their own right, coming from some mix of fae heritages. But Az, short for Azazel, was half Shifter Fae, his ancestry that of the rare Black Phoenix line. His father was a Paradox Fae, giving him quite a unique genetic makeup. The second half was also why Az usually carried around a sword, but having just shifted back into his human form, he was without clothes and his magical conduit.
Retrieving my wand again, I waved it over him with a muttered spell, gifting him with a pair of pants.
He glanced down as they appeared around his thick, muscular legs, then he cocked a brow at me. “You usually like me naked.”
“Yes, but we’re expecting company,” I told him. “We don’t want to frighten her with that monster between your legs.”
His blazing eyes met mine. “Compliments outside of the bedroom? I’m flattered.”
“You’re welcome to display that flattery when we’re done here.”
“I just might do that.” He flexed his hand before him, stirring an enchantment that was entirely his own. His sword appeared half a beat later, the purple magnetism swirling around the blade matching the violet embers of his irises.
The moment passed, and his focus shifted to the gates. “This is the girl?” he asked, studying the female in my magical window. “She’s about to burn herself alive doing that. And Lucifer won’t like losing a prospect.”
I followed his gaze to find her kneeling beside a pool of black liquid, her curious expression reminding me of a cat. “She took down several Hellhounds, including Payan. I give her good odds on surviving.”
Payan grunted, still aggravated by her assault. “She cheated with silver magic.”
“It’s not cheating if it works,” Az replied, his attention still on the girl.
Payan growled before he hobbled off. He’d probably been hanging around expecting some sort of recompense for his injuries—he was lucky I didn’t take him to Lucifer for being so inept.
With the two of us alone to watch the girl, Az cocked his head a little, the stance somewhat rivaling the black phoenix tattoo sprawled across his bare chest. It was all very birdlike, which made sense given his heritage. “Well, she’s clever.”
She turned over the coin I’d left for her before tossing it into the black liquid. The pit sucked the enchanted metal into its inky depths, then spat it back at her, detesting the wrongness of the magic.
My lips quirked. “Very clever,” I agreed.
Camillia bent to retrieve the coin once more and flipped it between her fingers while evaluating the landscape.
She couldn’t see us or the gate, the paradigm invisible unless appropriately approached. From her point of view, the surroundings would resemble a land of lava and fire and death. But if she passed through the rocks correctly, she’d see the obsidian arch, and then she’d find the gates.
Her gaze went right through us as she glanced toward our window and back again. Then she held up the coin and twirled it once more.
“Does she like the shiny quality of the metal?” Az wondered out loud. “Because if that’s the case, she’ll positively melt for my sword.”
