I was so tired I was almost shaking when I left Selina’s an hour later. We’d started simple, and she’d had me raise and lower my shields over and over again. When I’d asked why we were doing something she’d specifically warned me not to do, she’d told me she was hoping I would learn exactly how exhausting it was to do something so unnatural.

“Your shields should rarely be lowered. You need to learn how to make them almost translucent. Your power should be able to flow through your shields when necessary.”

I’d shrugged and complied, raising and lowering my shields what felt like a thousand times. Finally, Selina had made me reach for my power while raising and lowering my shields. By the end of our lesson, I’d felt the tiniest spark of power while my shield was still up.

My phone vibrated in my back pocket, and I pulled it out as I got into my car. I kept the door open and turned the key in the hope that the air conditioning would get to work. A trickle of sweat ran down my back, beneath my t-shirt.

“Danica Amana,” a voice said.

I frowned. The voice was familiar. “Who is this?”

“Mariam. We met a few weeks ago when you were looking into the demon murders.”

Mariam. The light fae representative. “How can I help you?”

“You may be able to help us,” her tone was wry. “I saw the video.”

I was so tired that it took me a moment to understand what video she meant. When I did, I clenched my teeth. “You and the rest of the world.”

She laughed. It sounded like tinkling bells. Tinkling bells I wanted to punch.

“It seems that you are currently unemployed.”

There was no point lying. “Yup.” I popped the p and she chuckled. Glad my current circumstances were so amusing to her.

“We may have an opportunity for you.”

“An opportunity?”

“Yes. Can you meet with me to discuss it?”

“When?”

“Does now work?”

Typical fae. There was only one schedule, and it was their own.

I chewed on my lower lip. It was getting close to dinner time. I needed to question anyone who’d been around when Gary was attacked before their stores closed. But I also needed to earn enough to pay my rent.

“Give me an hour.”

I drove back to Gary’s store and went from door to door along the street, displaying the useless picture of the man in the cloak and generally making a nuisance of myself. No one could give me anything even remotely helpful. The bar on the corner had been hosting a private party, which had gotten loud. Any sounds Gary may have made, or any smashing of his store, had been lost to the bad pop music that night.