“How is he?” Soraya asked when she returned to the back office at The Naughty Minx. Passing through the crowded square on her own had been somewhat terrifying, the marketplace back to its full level of activity now that shadows of the night had been well and truly chased away by the daylight, but at least no one had fallen from the sky this time.

She immediately noticed that Seela wasn’t around, but Sunny was, cleaning sweat from Shim’s forehead. There was a tenderness to the way she performed the task that was completely at odds with her size and strength. She avoided directly wiping any of the golden leaves that adorned his skin, as though she instinctively understood what they meant.

“His fever has spiked. That rare medicine you gave him? It’s not working.”

Soraya closed her eyes. She wasn’t surprised given what she’d found in the forest—the root leaking godsblood—but she’d hoped her instincts would be proven wrong.

“What are you not telling me?” Sunny asked.

Soraya opened her eyes and met the woman’s staunch gaze. “We all have secrets,” she said.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Soraya sighed. “I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you everything, but I am sworn to secrecy.”

“Hmm, then do you care to explain this?” Sunny reached for something on the floor and then dragged Shim’s pack into view, opening the mouth wide enough so Soraya could see the bear’s glowing heart, thumping away.

“You went through his things?”

“Kind of hard not to. It was moving. I thought there might be another giant spider in there, but this is worse. Much worse.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

“Then maybe you should tell me.”

“I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

Soraya wasn’t comfortable with this line of questioning, so she decided to ask a question of her own. “Why are you so interested?”

“Because you know why the nightdemon is here, don’t you?”

Soraya froze. “I—I don’t know what you mean.”

“You do.”

Soraya bit her lip, searching the woman’s face. Seeing a truth her mind had been closing in on for a while now, ever since she witnessed last night’s attack. She didn’t need her Ability to tell her what this woman was hiding behind those eyes. “You didn’t tackle Shim to save him, did you?”

Sunny lowered her gaze to her feet and shook her head. There was shame in the hunch of her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think, just acted. I couldn’t let him hurt her. No matter what she is. No matter what she’s become. Still, I think if I had the chance to do it all over again, I’d have made the same choice.”

“Because you love her.”

“Have you ever loved someone so deeply you would kill for them?”

Soraya considered the question. “My father, maybe? But I don’t know if I could even kill for him.”

Sunny nodded. “Every time another villager is found dead, I hate myself a little more.”