Page 41 of Enchanted

I grunted. He wasn’t wrong. Problem was, I suspected Benji thought he’d react differently when he found his mate.

Somehow, I doubted that would be the case.

“Stand back,” Benji warned. “I’m going to hit it with everything I have.”

I retreated a few paces, throwing up a shield just in case his power rebounded the same way mine had.

Seconds later, I was very glad I had. Lightning flew in every direction, hitting my shield with an enormous crack.

“Interesting.” Benji lowered his hands. “Okay, now I’m curious. We need to find out who set these.”

I rolled my eyes. “Obviously. Who do we call?”

“Harlow or Ferry.” Benji rocked up on his toes as he considered it. “Depends who you’re in the mood to deal with.”

“Ferry,” I said immediately. While Harlow had his uses, he also knew which buttons to press to piss off every single person he met. I liked to think he’d be helpful, given it was my mate inside that house, but you never knew with him. But his…inconsistency wasn’t the main reason behind my choice. “Ferry’s the one who taught Harlow in the first place.”

I shot into the air as Benji made the call. The wards stretched fifty feet above the house. I checked them for weak spots, anywhere my power might be able to slip through.

But there were none.

I didn’t give up until I spotted black wings on the horizon. Relief hummed in my chest. If anyone could lift these wards, it was Ferry.

I landed at the same time he did and shook the demon’s hand. “Thank you for coming so fast.”

“Of course.” Ferry inclined his head. “Benji said your mate is inside.”

My mate. I had a mate now. Okay, he wasn’t mine, not really, but he was mine to protect. To make happy.

Right now, thanks to the mystery wards, I couldn’t do either of those things.

“We’ve both tried to lift them and break through,” Benji said, “but nothing has worked.”

“I’ll be able to lift them,” Ferry said, flames already flickering around his fingers. “First though, I think it’s important to figure out who set them. Can I?”

“Please,” I said fervently, gesturing at where I’d located the signature. “Neither of us recognise them, but I need to know. If my mate’s in danger of some kind…”

Ferry gave me a reassuring smile. “I understand. If this was Leo, I’d want to know every detail about the fucker and their intentions.”

It occurred to me suddenly that Ferry knew Ethan, or at least, his brother-in-law did. I had to stop myself from asking about their connection. Without knowing why Ethan didn’t appear to be in contact with them, I wasn’t about to risk anything.

My loyalty lay with Ethan above everyone else.

“Yes.” I cracked my knuckles. “Exactly that.”

As the former Grim Reaper dropped to a crouch, Benji came to stand beside me. He leaned against my shoulder, offering me his silent support.

Ferry cursed under his breath before straightening. “I don’t know them.”

“Fuck.” I gripped the back of my neck. “Okay, just lift the wards. Being able to get to Ethan is what’s most important.”

But Ferry hesitated, chewing on his lower lip. “While I agree, there’s a chance that lifting them will alert whoever set them that it’s been done.”

I stiffened. “Is that even possible?”

Ferry nodded. “It’s difficult to do, but yes. These wards are more complex than most. I’m happy to lift them, but…”

“But it might be better to know who we’re dealing with first,” I finished for him. “For fuck’s sake.”