“I haven’t seen him since, no.”
Des rose. “Very well. We have to report tonight’s incident to Commander Yew, of course. But since you’ve shown us that you have nothing to hide, you shouldn’t expect to hear from us again.”
“Oh.” Aurelie followed Des and Daisy to the door. Did he detect a hint of disappointment in her voice, or was she simply surprised they were leaving so abruptly? “Would you like me to see you out?”
“There’s no need,” Daisy said, placing her hand on Aurelie’s shoulder for a moment. Physical touch came so easily to her, something Des had never understood. Then again, she was small and gentle, not a giant like him. A destroyer, as Aurelie had called him. “You should get some rest.”
“I will,” Aurelie said. “Thank you again for the hot chocolate.”
Des managed a tight smile. “You’re welcome.”
Aurelie shut the door behind them. He heard the scrape of the key in the lock a moment later, and he wondered if she always locked herself inside. Some part of him hoped she did.
His eyes met Daisy’s. They knew each other well enough now that they could communicate volumes with a single glance.
The guard was waiting for them at the gates. “Thank you for taking care of our Miss Blake,” the man said as he opened the gate for them. “Her uncle has been gone longer than expected, and he’s all she has in this world. If anything were to happen to her...”
“She’s fine,” Daisy assured him. “She’s stronger than she looks.”
Des waited until they were halfway down the block before he turned to Daisy. “You saw it too, didn’t you?”
Daisy nodded. “I did.”
“You know we have to turn her in.”
Daisy sighed, a look of genuine sorrow passing over her features. It pained Des to see her so sad. Even on her darkest days, Daisy could find something to smile about. She genuinely cared about Aurelie. “I do.”
Des clenched his jaw and looked away. “I was right about her, Daisy. You know I was.”
After a long moment, Daisy said, “I know.”
They were silent for the remainder of the walk back to the Iron Fortress. His stomach was in knots, his mind racing with the knowledge that if Daisy hadn’t also seen it, he might have actually let the whole matter go. Just as he had done with her sketch, perhaps even knowing on some level that Daisy wouldn’t have the heart to turn the girl in.
Before he met Aurelie, he would never have considered such deception. All he had was his honor, his vows. Before last week, he believed with his entire being that the only thing worse than a demon was a person who chose to create them.
But that was before he’d held someone in his arms for the first time, had felt their heartbeat against his own. Before he’d watcheda person, the very kind he was sworn to protect, step between him and danger. Before he’d known that a demon summoner could also be curious and thoughtful and brave. Before he’d stared at a girl’s mouth and wondered how it would feel against his. If it was as soft as he feared and hoped it might be. If it would taste as good as it looked.
He curled his hands into fists, his entire body burning with self-loathing.
Whatever Aurelie was up to, he simply couldn’t bring himself to believe she was evil. But sheknewwho Des and Daisy were. Sheknewhow they’d ended up in the guard. Aciano’s beard, a demon had killed a man only feet from her, in broad daylight!
His body knew what he had to do, even if his mind wouldn’t allow himself to accept it. It had known since the moment he saw the “mouse” in Aurelie’s laboratory, the one she had tried to gloss over with a nervous laugh.
The one with the pair of glowing red eyes.
Chapter 20
Aurelie
“Damn. Damn, damn, damn!” Aurelie paced up and down the room, her hands fisted in her hair, her mind racing at a million miles a minute. Why had Mephisto chosen that moment to come out from hiding? As soon as she’d entered her lab, she’d hidden the few pieces of incriminating evidence, including her sketchbooks, in the Load Lightener, but Mephisto had been nowhere to be found. She’d even scattered salt near its hidey-holes, hoping that would prevent it from making an unwanted appearance. She had been almost certain she was going to put Des and Daisy off her scent for good, to draw a close to this wretched evening and go to sleep. Almost certain she had actually gotten away with everything.
Until she’d heard Mephisto’s telltale scuttle on the floorboards.
She couldn’t be sure Des had seen its eyes in the dark, but she strongly suspected he had. The change had been subtle, but the tone of his voice had shifted, and his hands had clenched in his lap. Mephisto had left again immediately, clearly sensing that it was in danger, but the damage was likely done. Aurelie would either have to get rid of Mephisto or leave the university, which was impossible. It wasn’t as if she had somewhere else to go. But Des and Daisy would be back. Soon. Likely with Commander Yew.
When she’d exhausted every possible scenario, she sat down on her sofa, put her head in her hands, and cried. She knew it wasfoolish, that she never should have let herself get so attached to a demon, but it had been a part of her life for eleven years. She’d been a child when she conjured it, a lonely, orphaned girl with no friends. She’d never deliberately killed anything in her life up to that point. Not even a fly, thanks to her mother, who had explained the necessity of pollinating insects to Aurelie at an early age. There had never been any possibility of her harming Mephisto.
And now what? If she released it off the university grounds, she had no idea if it would survive. How could she have been so stupid, allowing any of this to happen? She didn’t understand why demons were following her any more than Des did, but she couldn’t deny that he was right. And now she’d as good as killed her friend.