“Yes. They would have to be extremely powerful, or the demon would have to be young and unshielded. They would also usually require the demon’s cooperation.” He studied my face.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

He looked displeased and I changed the subject. “Do you have somewhere I can put Misty?”

“Misty?”

I held up the Mistilteinn Dagger and Samael’s lips twitched. “It needed a nickname,” I explained.

Actually, while I had the dagger in my hand…

“Why were you seen near my mom’s body?”

Surprise flashed over his face. “You want to talk about this now?”

“The last time we were supposed to have this conversation, it was derailed by a demon under a compulsion spell. Every other time we’ve been interrupted.”

He took a step closer. “And now you have your dagger in your hand.” He smiled, but not like it was funny. “You don’t think I killed her.”

“No.” I’d already used Misty to question him when I found out he was close enough to the body to leave a magical imprint behind. Only the most powerful creatures left an imprint that could be picked up by magical investigators. Power leaked from them constantly.

“Tell me you didn’t have anything to do with her death, Samael.” My throat tightened and I stared at him. “You lost everything as a kid. Can you imagine wondering if I was responsible? I need to know, without a doubt, that you didn’t get my mom killed.”

His face softened, and he raised one hand, cupping my cheek. “I had nothing to do with her death,” he vowed. “I was in the area because my enemies had begun targeting those I cared for.” The dagger didn’t glow. He cleared his throat and if I didn’t know him better, I would’ve thought he looked… awkward. “I had been seeing a witch. When I learned that a body had been found…”

“You thought it was your lover.”

He nodded. Something uncomfortable twisted in my chest. “Did you love her?”

I clamped a hand over my mouth and took a step back. What was wrong with me? Next, I’d probably ask Samael if she was prettier than me.

Surprise flashed across his face, followed by a feral delight. I closed my eyes, cheeks burning. “Don’t say a fucking word.”

“I don’t need to, witchling,” he purred. “Your reaction tells me everything I need to know.”

I took a deep breath, opened my eyes, and attempted to ignore the satisfaction glittering in his silver eyes. “Can you… tell me anything about my mom?”

His expression softened. He knew what it was to lose a mother.

“I forwarded everything I found on to the investigators. However… she was a witch, so the humans were uninterested in solving her murder. The covens were at war with one another, and there were too few resources to cover the surge of murders.”