Nate sighed. “I know, but I had to ask. Tell me again that you’re safe there.”

“I’m surrounded by warriors and faeries and this place is under Fae protections. And I’ve learned a lot in the last few months.”

“Desmund told us you’ve come a long way.”

“I have.” My lips curved, and I wasn’t sure if it was a grimace or a smile. Desmund had stayed for almost three weeks to help with my training. After the day I’d thrown him across the gym he hadn’t tried to trick me again. He said he had newfound respect for my Fae powers, but I could tell he felt bad he’d upset me that day. That didn’t mean he had gone easy on me. He’d spent every minute of our training pushing me to work with my Mori and to join with it for longer periods of time. It worked. I could stay connected with my demon for over two hours at a stretch now. And when I wasn’t using my Fae power I often left the wall down between us, something that made us both happier. I no longer felt my demon’s loneliness. It wanted nothing more than to join with me permanently, but it seemed content for now to be free from its cage and to be with me.

Nate chuckled. “To think I used to scold you about fighting, and here you are now, training with warriors.”

“God. those days seem like so long ago, don’t they?”

“A lifetime.”

“Do you miss home?”

He was quiet for a moment. “Some days I do. I know I can’t go back with things the way they are, but someday I’d like to visit again.”

“Me too. I never knew how much I loved it until I had to leave.” I closed my eyes and tried to imagine that the ocean I heard was the Atlantic instead of the Pacific and that instead of standing on a balcony, I was on the roof of our building back home.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the apartment,” he said, interrupting my daydream.

“What about it? You’re not planning to sell it, are you?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like I need the money, but it seems like such a waste letting it sit there empty.”

“But...” The thought of strangers living in our home made my chest squeeze a little, but it was unfair to ask Nate to hold onto it, especially after what had happened to him there. “You’re right.”

“I’m not going to make any decisions right now,” he replied as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. “Judith is going to look after it until I decide what to do with it. I asked her to pack up the last of my books and have them shipped to me here since it’ll probably be a while until I can go back.”

Judith had been so good to Nate and me, watching over our place and taking in our dog, Daisy. According to Roland, Daisy was living on his Uncle Brendan’s farm now and the Beagle loved it there. I had planned to bring Daisy to Westhorne, but I knew she’d be happier at the farm. Brendan had a soft spot for dogs and he’d take good care of her.

Judith had tried to catch my cat, Oscar, too, but he refused to be rescued, and had gone back to his life as a stray on the waterfront. She left food outside our door for him, and she said she caught a glimpse of him every now and then.

Nate spoke to someone in the background then came back to me. “Listen, I have to go. I promised Desmund I’d play a game of chess with him.”

“Chess with Desmund?” I let out a small laugh. “Well, it was nice knowing you.”

“I happen to be a good chess player,” he said with mock chagrin. “And he is an interesting fellow. Do you know how many wars he’s lived through?”

Maybe I should have said “Poor Desmund.” Nate loved anything that had to do with wars and military, and he’d grill the warrior until Desmund went back into hiding.

“All right, I’ll talk to you later.” I hung up the phone and checked the clock by my bed. It was three o’clock, and I expected Eldeorin any minute for our daily training. Aine had returned to Faerie last week, saying that my training with her was complete. I’d been sad to see her go because we’d grown close the last few months. And because now that I had more free time, Eldeorin had stepped up his training. I’d lost count of the number of vampires and other nasty things I’d taken out in the last three weeks.

One of the worst was the incubus who had been stalking women in New York. Incubi could choose not to kill the women they fed off, but this one had relished draining the life from his victims. He’d been a real piece of work, and I shuddered every time I remembered the way he’d practically devoured me with his eyes as I lured him outside of that night club. I’d showered for thirty minutes after I got home and swore I’d never go within ten feet of another incubus. Next time I had to go after one of those bastards, I was taking him out with a crossbow.

“Why the sour expression?”

I spun to face Eldeorin who stood in the doorway to my bedroom. I should have been used to him sneaking up on me by now. “Thinking about New York.”

He nodded and walked over to join me at the railing. “Ah, the incubus. That was a clean kill, Cousin. You should be proud of it.”

I made a face. “Well, I didn’t feel very clean after. Please tell me we aren’t going after another one of those.”

“Actually, I was thinking we would do something different today.” His blue eyes sparkled, and I wasn’t sure whether to be nervous or excited. “Are you ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”