“I never thought about how hard that was for you,” he admitted. “I’ve spent my whole life being a warrior and not much else. Before you, I didn’t have someone waiting for me when the job was done or worrying about my safety.”

“This is new for both of us, and we’re going to have to learn to deal with it.”

“Something tells me you’re going to cope with this a lot better than I will,” he grumbled.

I reached up and touched his jaw, and when he looked down, I smiled at him. “We’ll figure it out together. Knowing us, it won’t be easy, but I’ll try if you will.”

“I’ll try, but I can’t promise to have any civil words for the faerie.”

I’d forgotten all about Eldeorin, and I had a feeling he’d left with the others.

“I’ve had a few choice words for him myself. At first I didn’t like his idea of training because he pushed me out of my comfort zone. He always had more faith in my abilities than I had, and he kept pushing until I believed in myself too. He’s been a good mentor and a friend to me, and he always has my back.”

“You like spending time with him.”

I smiled at the note of jealousy in his voice. “Sometimes, but I like being with you more.”

He tilted my face up and kissed me again. “Good answer.”

I glanced around the market, my eyes landing on the dead demons and the empty stalls. As much as I wanted to stay there in Nikolas’s arms, we needed to let the vendors get back to their businesses. “I guess we should get this mess cleaned up.”

He set me on my feet. “I’m sure Chris has already called for a cleanup crew. We should probably put one on speed dial for you.”

Before I could make a retort, Jordan’s voice rang through the building. “Hey, is it safe to come in now? We’re freezing our butts off out here.”

“All good,” I called back.

“Thank God!” She sauntered into the building and grinned at us. “Well, you two look disgustingly happy. And it’s about damn time.”

“Amen.” Chris came up behind her, smiling. “I called in a crew to help with this mess.” His gaze flicked to me. “I told them they might need extra guys.”

Nikolas chuckled, and I rolled my eyes as I left him to check out the damage. There were eleven dead demons, plus the two ranc demons I’d knocked out. There was also a lot of water, broken glass, and six of the black creatures that had been in the tank. Surprisingly, the creatures were still flopping around on the wet concrete. Resilient little buggers, whatever they were. I was going to have to reimburse the owner for destroying his tank. I hoped he wasn’t too ticked off by the mess I’d made.

Demons began to trickle back into the building, most of them vendors who had to see to their businesses. I went around and talked to some of them, assuring them we were going to take care of the damage we’d done to their market. I found the fish vendor, a droopy-eyed sheroc demon, who was only a little put out by the loss of his tank. He said it was worth it to get rid of the gulaks.

“Maybe we’ll get a few months of peace before the next ones come along,” said the apothecary, a short demon with pale skin, a long furred face, and large orange eyes. He gave a sigh of resignation. “There are always more gulak thugs waiting to move in.”

“Just tell them your talael... or whatever… is keeping an eye on things here,” Jordan said as she walked up and laid an arm across my shoulders. “She is one fricking badass warrior.”

The vendors nodded fervently.

I asked the apothecary for a piece of paper on which I wrote a number. “Call this if you guys have any more trouble with gulaks. The Mohiri will gladly help you with them.”

He held up his hands when I tried to give him the paper. “The Mohiri do not help our kind.”

“Have you ever asked them for help?”

His orange eyes blinked in confusion. “No.”

I smiled and shoved the paper into his hand. “Maybe you should.”

His furred hand gripped mine. “Thank you, talael esledur.”

“You can just call me Sara. I...” I stared down at our clasped hands. “Hey, you’re touching me!”

He yanked his hand away. “I am sorry. I did not know it was forbidden.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that I can’t touch demons without hurting them.” I studied his face. “Are you a demon?” I whispered.

He drew me away from the others. “I am a quellar demon, and my people are not affected by your magic.”

“You know what I am?”

He shook his head. “I am not sure. I can sense the Mori demon in you, but I saw you use Fae magic to kill those other demons. And you came here with another Fae.”

I glanced around at the other demons who were watching us curiously. “Um, do you think we could keep that between us for now?”

He smiled. “My people are also known for our discretion.”

Chris raised an eyebrow at me when Jordan and I joined him and Nikolas near the loading bay. “Giving out your number, Sara? He doesn’t seem like your type.”

“He’s not.” I looked at Nikolas, and the warmth in his eyes made my pulse quicken.

“You ready to get out of here?” he asked.

“Yes.” I glanced at the spot where Eldeorin had been standing when Nikolas arrived. “It looks like my ride left, so you’re stuck with me.”