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“Stella, look at me.”
She obediently peered deep into his eyes. “Yes?”
“It’s time to go home and forget you were here.”
She reached up to touch his face. “Now?”
“Now.”
Valen stepped back as she reluctantly lowered her hand and turned to head back to her car. Once she was through the trees, he gestured toward the waiting demons. They scurried forward and Valen hid a smile. They’d clearly been well trained.
“Follow Stella home,” he ordered. “And keep a guard at her house in case anyone has been watching her. It’s possible we weren’t the only ones interested in her brother and where he stashed his merchandise.”
The taller demon, who had a shaved head and stoic expression, nodded. “Do you want backup?”
“No, but inform Micha where we are.”
The demons melted into the darkness to retrieve their vehicle and return to town. Standing next to him, Peri heaved a sigh.
“I suppose we should look around.”
Valen started to nod when a tingle of awareness brushed over his skin. He stiffened, his fangs lengthening in a lethal warning.
“Peri.”
“What’s wrong?”
His gaze scanned the darkness. “I feel a presence.”
Her hands lifted, as if she was preparing a spell. “Where?”
“Watching us from the trees.”
There was no fear on her beautiful features as she squared her shoulders. Like a warrior preparing for battle. “Do you want to…” Her words abruptly faltered, her brow furrowing as she glanced toward the nearby shack. “Oh.”
“What do you sense?” he demanded.
She held her hand toward the ramshackle house. “The miasma is inside.”
Valen ground his fangs together as Peri moved forward. He didn’t know if the greater danger was the lurker in the woods, or whatever was hidden inside the cabin. But he did know that he wasn’t going to be separated from Peri. Whatever happened, they would face it together.
Moving to protect her back, he grimaced as they stepped onto the sketchy porch. The warped boards squeaked with the promise of total collapse as they struggled to hold his impressive weight.
“Be careful,” he murmured, a strange premonition snaking down his spine as she pushed open the door. “This feels like a trap.”
She glanced over her shoulder to send him a wry smile. “A familiar sensation.”
The earth shifted as he gazed into her stunning blue eyes. He’d never experienced such a connection to another creature. As if he was being pulled deep into her soul. A place he never wanted to leave.
“Too familiar,” he said, his voice oddly gruff. The always smooth and sophisticated Valen had been shattered and reformed by this woman.
For a glorious moment they simply stared at one another, lost in the voracious emotions that bound them together. Then, with a faint shake of her head, Peri stepped through the doorway.
Valen followed close behind her, glancing around the open space. There was nothing left inside beyond a rotting set of cabinets against one wall and several wooden crates stacked in the far corner.
He frowned. He didn’t know what Peri was sensing, but there was no visible enemy.
“Those must be the crates from the auction house,” Peri murmured, crossing the squeaking floorboards to stand next to the boxes marked FRAGILE.
