Teeth gritted, I held my arm out, palm up so he could see the demon scar still on my wrist. “No,” I said flatly, shaking for showing it to him so plainly. “I’m sorry, Trent. He was going to give me to Al, and I fought back. I didn’t give him to Al. Lee did that to himself through his own mistaken beliefs. I didn’t gain anything but my freedom.”

Trent’s breath came out softly, the sound seeming to wash away all his tension. He believed me. How about that? “Freedom,” he said. “That’s all anyone wants, isn’t it?”

I looked at Quen to figure out what he felt about all of this, but his expression gave no clue as he drove through the city’s quiet residential area, eyes ranging over the small houses and tidy yards with blow-up pools in back and fallen bikes in front. Most humans were surprised at how normal an Inderland neighborhood was. Old habits of hiding die hard.

“I’m not judging you, Rachel,” Trent said, pulling my attention back to him. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping you could free Lee from the demon—”

“There isn’t enough money in the world for that,” I muttered.

“I want you to be in my wedding in case there’s an attack against me or my fiancée.”

I flopped back around, feeling the cushions enfold me.

“Rachel…” the elf started.

“Stop your car and let me off right here,” I said tightly. “I can walk the rest of the way.”

The car kept going. After a moment Trent said slyly, “It would really grill Ellasbeth’s tomatoes if she was forced to make you one of her bridesmaids.”

A smile flickered over me as I remembered the tall, icily beautiful professional woman seething when she found Trent treating me to breakfast in his robe after I had pulled his freaking elf-ass out of the frozen Ohio River. They didn’t even pretend to be in love, and their marriage was happening only because she was probably the purest-blooded elf out there for Trent to marry and have little baby elves with. I wondered if they’d been born with pointy ears and had them docked.

“It would cheese her off no end, wouldn’t it?” I said, my mood lightening.

“Five thousand for two evenings.”

I laughed, and beside me Quen’s grip on the wheel tightened. “Not even if it was ten thousand for one event,” I said. “And besides, it’s too late to get the dress.”

“They’re in the trunk,” Trent said quickly, and I cursed myself for even bringing it up as an excuse, since it implied that all he needed was to find my price.

Then I did a double take, turning to look at him. “‘They’?” I questioned.