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He gave this some thought, then ventured, “Are you pregnant?” His tone suggested he didn’t find the idea the least bit offensive or troublesome. An interesting tidbit, but one she didn’t have the mental capacity to dwell on at the moment.
Shaking her head, she said, “No. I killed a chicken.”
His head cocked to the side. “Your first?”
“I’m not into maiming animals.”
“But you do eat poultry?”
With a sigh and a small whimper, she said, “I understand the concept, Davian. It’s the manner in which I killed it that revolts me.”
“Must’ve been a violent death. You do have some blood on your sweater.”
“I’m sure the murder scene in my kitchen is much worse.”
He got to his feet and helped her to hers. “Why don’t you freshen up? I’ll deal with the other room.”
“Thank you.” She didn’t think she could face the carnage. What sane person would have done such a thing?
Then again, she knew Toran had been right to force her hand. Now she had a better understanding of what it would be like to kill a shifter. Only that scenario would be markedly more challenging. At least she had some semblance of an idea as to what she’d be up against, particularly if they found the beasts that had wounded Walker.
After cleaning herself up and brushing her teeth and hair, she changed clothes and met Davian in the living room.
He wore a perplexed expression. “There was no chicken in your kitchen. No blood. Nothing.”
Her brows knitted. “Toran must have taken care of it.”
“Toran?”
Jade’s heart plummeted. Her day of reckoning had come and explaining everything to Davian would not make for civil conversation.
“Mind telling me what’s going on?” he asked as he folded his arms over his chest, tension suddenly rolling off him in waves. “You’re not wearing my ring.”
“I had to take it off for the slaughter.”
“Not for any other reason?”
She couldn’t bite back the smile. The Demon King was jealous. “You were gone for a while, but I didn’t turn my affection elsewhere, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“You’ve been forced to spend a lot of time with Toran because of the incidents with the fire wraith.”
“You think he grew on me?” She laughed. “Trust me, Toran and I have the push-pull relationship of an older brother and younger sister and nothing more. In fact, I have half a mind to kick him in the shin the next time I see him, but it wouldn’t do any good. He enjoys testing me.”
“Why?”
Here came the moment of truth.
“You haven’t been to the castle yet, have you? You came straight here?”
“I left the patrol when I heard of the attack on Walker. I returned to assemble another garrison to search for the shifters responsible. And to offer additional protection for Ryleigh.”
“The shifters have vanished, like our fire wraith.”
“Yes, that’s a problem.” He moved away from her and stoked the fire, which had nearly died since she hadn’t tended to it all day. After tossing a log into the hearth, Davian turned back to Jade. “You were right about the caves. We found evidence the army had been there not long before we’d arrived. We discovered multiple tracks leading in various directions, and I’ve divided our forces to follow them.”
“Any more settlements destroyed or humans murdered?”
“Not that we’re aware of. Although…” He winced. She wasn’t the only one ill at ease. “My suspicion is they’re on a campaign to band together all the renegade demons on the continent. And head north.”
