“I’m not leaving you alone with that monster.”
She wasn’t sure if he meant Kobal or Everard, and she felt a strange surge of warmth even as she wanted to throttle him for not listening to her. When the demon turned back toward them, she turned and shoved him into the shadow of the doorway. He must not have been expecting it, because he grabbed her as he stumbled back.
Once again, she found herself pressed against him. She looked up. The confusion on his face was bizarrely endearing. “Just stay here.”
Aurelie didn’t wait for a response before she made her way into the alley behind the pub. Kobal turned instantly, scenting the air, and began to trot toward her. She walked out to meet it, anything to get it away from where Des was hiding.
She knew it wasn’t going to kill her, but Des didn’t. She could practically feel him tensing behind her, preparing to follow. But Everard must have been alerted the moment Kobal scented her, because he came around the side of the building just seconds later.
“What are you doing here?” Everard demanded. Aurelie fought the urge to look toward Des, to make sure he was properly hidden.
“I came for dinner,” she said, taking a few more steps down the alley away from Des.
“Dinner? Does that mean you’ve finished your work?”
“Not yet,” she said. “But I still need to eat. My uncle’s staff left for Yule. There’s nothing edible at his cottage.”
“If you’re not finished, how did you summon the demon?”
Aurelie’s brain scrambled to understand. “You know about the demon?”
Everard, perhaps realizing that he’d said too much, grabbed her by the injured shoulder. Aurelie cried out in pain, earning a strange look from Everard.
“It wounded you?” he asked.
Why was this surprising to him? What link could Everard have to these creatures, that he knew when they were summoned? “Not on purpose,” Aurelie said. “I don’t think so, anyhow. I was trying to stop it from going after the guard.”
Everard swore under his breath. “All right. You’ll need to come with me.”
“What? Why?” This time, Aurelie couldn’t keep her eyes from darting to the pub. Everard followed her gaze, but he must have assumed she was only searching for the safety of other people, because he didn’t pursue it.
“Demons often have low levels of venom in their teeth and claws, and only I have the antivenom to treat it.”
Perhaps that explained why the wound was throbbing so badly. It hadn’t been that deep, though she’d noticed angry red streaks radiating from it when she changed earlier. “Can’t you bring it to me?” she asked, thinking that Des was never going to allow her to leave with Everard. Not when he was planning to turn her in.
“There’s no time for that. You’re small. The venom will workquickly on you.” Without waiting for her response, he placed his hand on the small of her back and began pressing her away from the pub. Away from Des.
Aurelie had no choice but to go with him. Kobal had moved past them toward the pub, still sniffing the air, and Aurelie was afraid it had picked up Des’s scent. Without thought, she pitched herself forward as though she’d stumbled and collapsed into the snow, landing on her bad shoulder and sending shooting pains throughout her chest.
“Foolish girl,” Everard muttered. He scooped her up, and despite the fact that she was dizzy from the pain in her shoulder, Aurelie couldn’t help noticing how rough he was compared to Des, despite not being as strong. Which meant Des must have taken extra care with her.
The thought warmed her, even as her vision faded to black.
Chapter 26
Aurelie
Before even opening her eyes, Aurelie knew she wasn’t at home. The room smelled of burnt feathers and spicy incense, a strange and utterly revolting combination. She sat up, then immediately regretted it. Her head ached and her shoulder was still throbbing, though the pain had dulled somewhat.
“Ah. You’re awake.”
Aurelie collapsed back at the sound of Everard’s voice, as the past few hours came rushing back in. A part of her wished she had died earlier, or that it had been a bad dream at the very least.
“I’m awake,” she said to the ceiling, which, along with the rest of the room, was painted a shade of green so dark it was nearly black.
“Good. That means the antivenom did the trick. That wound was rather nasty.”
Aurelie’s hand flew to her chest, which was bandaged in thick linen. She glanced down and recoiled in horror when she realized she was clad in only her shift.