“I’m…,” I begin, and pause with my mouth open like a fish. Do I say my real name? Or Ramona’s? Should I bring out the ID to be convincing, or will that make it worse?

Valec senses my internal debate. “Truth only…,” he murmurs bemusedly.

Sel snorts. “Good luck with that.”

I glare at him before turning back to Valec. “Briana Matthews.”

Valec takes my name in with some consideration and hums. “Well, Briana Matthews and Selwyn Kane, you’ve violated the rules of this establishment, and so you must come with me. Both of you.”

He snaps his fingers, and Louis appears between us, his large hands already wrapped around both of our wrists. I see Sel’s other hand grasp at Louis’s fingers, pulling—and then the bar goes black.

We pop back into the world in the same exact positions, but instead of being downstairs near the bar, we’re upstairs in what looks like a large office with a desk, a filing cabinet, and two rickety chairs.

The bass of the music is muffled through the floor and a closed door. Sel’s fingers are still curled around Louis’s massive hand, but the snarl falls from his face as we both take in our surroundings. Then Louis blinks out of existence, leaving me alone with Sel.

With a deep sigh, I fall back down to my knees, still recovering from the burst of power that big. I don’t think I’ve used flames like that since the Rite. I’m out of practice. Drained.

Sel rushes to the door and jerks on the handle, clearly assuming it would open beneath his strength—but drops his hand immediately, hissing. “Shit!”

“Are you okay?” I ask from the floor.

“Yes, of course I’m okay!” He snaps and raises his hand, palm out. There’s a deep burn in the palm, red and round like the doorknob. “Totally fine, Briana. Obviously.”

“You’ll heal. Anyway,” I mutter, “serves you right.”

His eyes narrow. “Excuse me?”

“You started a fight when we were supposed to be leaving!” I stand.

“Well”—he inspects his burnt palm, prodding gently at the raw skin before hissing again—“from what I’d heard, warlocks are rather disgusting, and it turns out they are. I admit I lost focus—” He flinches, glares at me. “Or maybe I got distracted by the smell, is that better? I might have started a fight with him regardless. On principle.”

“What principle?”

“Warlocks are humans who bargain for their powers.” Sel walks to the window at a normal pace, pressing against the sill. “They’ve made a deal with the devil. Sell a few years off their lives, their firstborn, their soul, etcetera. And in exchange, they gain some of the demon’s abilities.” The sill singes his finger, but this time he pulls away before it does much damage, cursing under his breath. “It’s tasteless. Abhorrent.”