“She is my sister and she is well. We are very happy here.”

“That’s good.” I glanced at the other demons that were still watching me like they were waiting for something to happen. “Hey, do you know why everyone is staring at me like that?”

“They cannot believe you are here. They have heard of the talael esledur, but none of them expected to ever see you in the flesh.”

My brows drew together. “The talael esledur?” I repeated, my tongue tripping over the demon words.

She nodded. “In demon tongue it means ‘kind warrior.’”

I looked from her to the other demon faces. “I’m sorry, but I think you guys have confused me with someone else.”

“We are not mistaken,” the mox demon replied, and the others shook their heads. “You saved my sister and me just as you have saved many others of our kind. Your deeds are known to all of us.”

“Those gulaks showed up here two months ago, hurting people and forcing us to pay them half our profits,” said a vrell male. “We are in your debt, warrior.”

“As am I. That is the second time you’ve saved my ass.”

Taking a deep breath, I turned slowly to face Chris who stood behind me wearing a smile. But not a hint of recognition. What the...? Eldeorin!

Chris held out a hand. “I don’t know who you are or why you keep coming to our aid, but thank you.”

I grasped his hand and squeezed it. “Anytime, Cousin.”

“Excuse me?”

“Show him,” I called to Eldeorin.

Chris’s eyes widened, and his mouth worked like a fish out of water. Behind him the injured warrior stared at me in shock, while Jordan smiled like the Cheshire cat.

“Jesus Christ! Sara?”

I smiled at Chris. “Hi.”

“How is this possible?” He blinked as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “It’s... it’s been you all along? How did you...? The faerie.”

I nodded and he muttered something under his breath. “All those vampire kills, the demons.” He paled. “Vancouver? That was you?”

“Yes.”

Chris let out a string of swear words, something I’d never heard him do. He looked at Jordan, who gave him an innocent smile. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”

“Yes, and I am behind it one hundred percent.”

“Of course you are.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I knew the two of you were trouble together.”

I laid a hand on his arm. “Jordan knew about this, but she wasn’t involved. It was all me.”

“Somehow, I’m not surprised. Do you want to tell me how you came up with this crazy scheme?”

I explained how it had started out as training, but after a while it became something more. “I couldn’t stand to see our people getting hurt, not when I could do something about it.”

“You shouldn’t have risked your life like that.”’

I folded my arms across my chest. “Now you sound just like Nikolas.”

“That’s because I...” He stared at me. “Nikolas. Jesus, he’s on his way here right now.”

“I know.”

Chris groaned like a man in pain. “He is going to flip. You know that, right? Are you sure this is the right place to tell him something like this?”

I didn’t think any place was the right one to tell Nikolas what I’d been up to, but it was time to come clean to him. I’d been trying for weeks to get up the nerve to tell him the truth, and I wasn’t going to stall anymore.

“Maybe you should wait until you –”

A door slammed open, and I gave Chris a small smile. “Too late.”

Chapter 19

Surrounded by demons, I couldn’t see Nikolas when he entered the building, but I felt his presence through the bond. If I could sense him, then he was sensing me too, and he was probably as confused as hell. That was going to end in about ten seconds.

A dark raw energy filled the air, and the crowd parted like the Red Sea as Nikolas stalked toward us. Chris suddenly moved in front of me, blocking me from Nikolas’s view before he reached us.

“Chris, what the hell is going on here? And why do I feel –?”

I stepped out from behind Chris. For one endless moment, Nikolas stared at me like I was an apparition. And then his eyes darkened and his nostrils flared dangerously. I could feel the fury rolling off him, and I wasn’t the only one. Every demon in the room began to put distance between them and us.

Chris put an arm in front of me. “Take it easy, Nikolas. She’s unharmed.”

I was about to ask my cousin if he had a death wish when Nikolas growled, “Move, Chris.”

“Shit,” Chris muttered as he faced his best friend, who was a few breaths away from going into a rage. The last thing I wanted was for either of them to get hurt, so I pushed Chris’s arm down and moved in front of him. I didn’t flinch as I met Nikolas’s thunderous stare. He might get loud and scary, but he would never hurt me.

“Nikolas.”

He held out a hand. “Come here.”

I blinked at him. “Listen, I know you’re upset, but you don’t get to order me around.”

“Sara, I’m trying very hard not to lose it,” he ground out. “I need to...”

Understanding filled me and wordlessly I went to him, finding myself enfolded in his tight embrace. He wasn’t shaking like the last time I’d seen him in a rage, so I knew he was in control of his Mori at least.