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I leaned over to peek inside. “Any snacks?”

All three of them stared at me.

“What? We’re going to an isolated murder cabin in the dark while a Demonic leash plays fetch with Knox’s aura. This feels like a snack situation.”

Guy looked at Knox. “Good luck with that.”

Knox took the satchel. “I’ve survived worse.”

I smiled sweetly. “Not me. You haven’t.”

For half a second, something warm flickered in his eyes. Then the Hellmark pulsed. The porch boards trembled under our feet. The Wards in the distance answered with one slow throb of purple light.

Every bit of humor vanished.

Knox’s hand shot out– not grabbing me this time, not hauling me around like luggage with opinions. He simply held his palm open between us.

A choice. Damn him.

My throat went tight for absolutely no reason I planned to examine. I put my hand in his. The second our palms touched, my Alicorn Magic sparked.

Not big. Not explosive. Not enough to redecorate the porch with glitter and emotional damage.

Just a clean shimmer of gold and sky-blue light sliding over Knox’s skin, wrapping gently around the Hellmark’s outer frequency. The black and red tether blurred.

Knox inhaled sharply.

I felt it too. That split-second shift. Like the thing on the other end had turned its head, confused by a sudden burst of static.

“Still think I should stay behind?” I asked quietly.

His fingers curled around mine.

“No,” he said, voice rough. “I think you should stay close.”

Oh. Well. That was a problem.

Neysa, who had been suspiciously quiet for too long, hummed in the back of my mind. “That was a good answer.”

“Do not encourage him.”

“I encourage everyone who makes sense.”

“Since when?”

She ignored me with regal precision, the heinous beast.

Knox stepped off the porch, keeping my hand in his. I followed, because again, choice. Also, because if he let go, the tether sharpened, and I was not about to let Hell get better reception.

Behind us, Guy’s voice stopped us at the edge of the steps. “Knox.”

Knox turned.

Guy was standing in the doorway, Bernie at his side. The porch light carved harsh shadows across his face, making him look exactly like what he was: a Warden, a brother, and a man who had already lost too much to tolerate the Universe getting grabby again.

“Stay inside the Wards,” Guy said.

Knox’s mouth tightened. “Wasn’t planning a field trip to Hell.”