Des snorted. Just as he thought.
Daisy flashed her easy, reassuring smile, and patted the girl’s shoulder. “That’s all right. We know the way.”
Her lack of fear wasn’t just odd; it was unnerving. Des doubted a single person in that café would choose to walk home alone after what they’d witnessed. Commander Yew had told him not to pull on this thread, but his intuition was telling him to pay attention. He’d already made a mistake once by ignoring it.
If she led him to the tall man with the thrall, all the better. No one had captured a demon alive before. If Des managed it, he’d not only be guaranteed a promotion; he’d be one step closer to eradicatingverita.
When they stopped at an intersection to wait for a passing carriage, Aurelie turned to him, mouth open as though about to say something. Her inquisitive green eyes skimmed his body, top to bottom, sizing him up. He widened his stance and folded his arms across his chest, inviting her to take all the time she needed.
He stared back, smirking at the ink stains on her fingers, which she hid behind her back when she realized he had noticed. His gaze snagged on her mouth, incongruously lush compared to her primappearance. She bit her lip, her brow furrowing, and Des felt an unexpected stab of desire. He glanced away.
When he finally dragged his eyes back to hers, she was scowling.
Fair enough, he thought as they resumed their walk. He wore the same expression.
“Do you see many demons at the university?” Daisy asked. He wished she wouldn’t be so damned obvious. She was going to spook the girl with all her questions.
“No,” she responded. “Only a few in all the years I’ve been there.”
“Oh. Interesting. I would have thought with so many intelligent people congregating in one place...”
The girl paused to remove a pebble from her slipper, and Des, who’d gained ground on her to eavesdrop, nearly trampled her.
She shot him a withering look when she rose. “The universityisfull of intelligent people. They know better than to risk creating anything that might produce a demon. It’s difficult with so many students, but we’re all very cautious.”
“What do you study?” Daisy asked.
“Science. Chemistry and physics, mostly. I have a keen interest in understanding how things work.”
Des scoffed, unable to imagine someone devoting their life to the things that interested them, rather than their duty.
She stopped, probably to glare at him again. He realized belatedly that they’d reached the university.
“Well, it looks like we survived,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“You would still be spinning in circles if it weren’t for Daisy.”
The Blake girl raised her chin to meet his gaze, her mouthtwisted in an impudent little smirk. “You’re right. There was clearly no alternative, such as, say,asking someone for directions.” He glared as she turned to Daisy. “It was nice meeting you.”
Daisy smiled, so big all her teeth showed. “You as well, Aurelie. If you needanything, you can send word to the Iron Guard.”
She cast Des a sidelong glance. “Well, goodbye then,” she said, inching toward the street. “Good luck with... everything.”
A clatter echoed from down the street, and by the time Aurelie had stepped off the curb, a carriage was careening around the corner, the driver wrestling with a broken rein while the horses panicked. Without thinking, Des reached for her, tearing her away from the street a moment before the horses’ hooves struck what would have been her head.
The next thing he knew, he was holding her tight to his chest, one hand curled around her wrist and the other wrapping almost fully around her waist, his breathing ragged. Her cheek was pressed against his iron-studded breastplate, her eyelashes fanned against her pale skin.
He didn’t hear Daisy over the sound of blood pounding in his head until she tapped his arm.
“Des, let her go,” she hissed.
He dropped his arms instantly, but it took a moment for the girl to unfurl herself and step back. “Are you all right?” he asked, afraid to touch her again. He hadn’t meant to—
“I’m fine,” she said, voice aquiver, and he was relieved to see it was true. She was in one piece, no obvious bruises or scrapes. The wild look in her eyes was the only sign that anything had happened.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, taking a step back. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You weren’t thinking,” Des began, anger replacing the fear he’d felt only a moment before. She had no idea how fortunate she was to be in one piece.