However, I did know a certain demon who wasn’t returning my calls who had showed up at the hotel to break the contract that freed Bambi.

Realizing I’d left my phone in the kitchen, I rose and went to the door, opening it.

The explosion of tingles along the base of my skull was sudden and sharp. My hand went to my thigh, only to discover that I didn’t have my iron daggers with me. They were on the dresser? Nope. The bathroom counter. Dammit.

But I had my grace. It pulsed in my chest, not as intensely as usual. I needed rest and time, but neither thing was going to happen.

The open space in the narrow hallway warped. Really hoping this wasn’t another creepy Ghoul and trying not to be freaked out by the implications that a demon was about to pop itself into the apartment, I tapped into the grace.

A second later, a dark-haired demon stood in front of me. Relief swept through me as I recognized Cayman.

I pulled the grace back in. “I was this close to killing you. How did you get in here?”

“Since I’ve been invited in, I can come here whenever I please.” He dropped the bomb of information like it was nothing, knocking windswept hair back from his face. “And yes, before you ask, that’s where the vampire mythos came from. Needing to be allowed in to enter. And no, vampires aren’t real. Demons are.”

I hadn’t been planning to ask about the whole vampire thing, and I also didn’t remember either Zayne or me inviting him in here at any point. I also superdoubted Zayne would be pleased to learn this, but at the moment, it didn’t matter. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you.”

“Have you? Well, you see, I’ve been busy running around the entire damn city, getting all the Fiends out while trying to stay alive,” he told me, and come to mention it, he did look a little frazzled. He was normally quite polished, but the black shirt featuring the band BTS was wrinkled and torn at the collar, and I had no idea if the hole in the knee of his jeans was a fashion statement or not.

“That’s why I didn’t sense any demons tonight. Why?” I asked, wondering what else could possibly be going wrong. “What’s happening?”

“What’s happening?” His dark brows climbed up his forehead. “Are you serious right now? As if you don’t know?” He stepped closer, and I caught the scent of...burned wood? And his eyes, normally a golden hue, were now like heated coal. “What did you do, Trinity?”

I frowned. “Uh, yeah, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t do anything, and yet, here you are, in my personal space. Do I need to remind you that you’re afraid of me?”