“Beauty?” Zee glared at Ursula. “Her head is an aesthetic crime scene. I was hoping you could clean it up. I told her you were the best. And very discreet, of course.”

Luis brightened and waggled a finger. “I never tell Emerazel’s secrets.”

Ursula raised an eyebrow. Does everyone know about Emerazel but me?

“Of course you don’t tell our secrets. You wouldn’t want to land on the Headsman’s bad side.”

The Headsman. A shiver crawled up Ursula’s spine. She didn’t like the sound of that. Of course, life among the demons was bound to be unnerving.

Luis pursed his lips, studying Ursula. “The cut is all wrong, but her auburn hair is simply delicious.” He reached out, wrapping a tendril of her hair around his fingers. He stared at it, licking his lips in a way she could only describe as lascivious, as a glazed look overtook his eyes. What the hell? He took a shuddering breath before dropping the lock of her hair, his eyes becoming alert again. “A treatment with my Brazilian conditioner will really bring out the color.” He beckoned her to a room in the back, his gaze still lingering on her hair.

He seated Ursula in a soft leather chair, easing her head into a shampoo sink. Warm water trickled through her hair, and his fingers lathered her scalp with sensual swirls. “Red hair is my favorite.”

Ursula almost thought she heard Luis moan, but she shut out that disturbing thought.

Zee plopped into the chair next to her. “Oh, Luis. You and your redheads. As if you don’t get enough of them at Oberon’s.”

Ursula had no clue what they were talking about, but she breathed in the calming aroma of the pineapple-scented shampoo. Maybe she could get used to this life if she absolutely had to. As soon as she left the salon, she was going to buy paints to brighten up her new bedroom. She’d paint bluebells and aster, to make herself feel at home again.

Then again, there was that whole Headsman thing. Whoever that was, he sounded terrifying.

She opened her eyes, glancing at Zee. “Zee. Did you say something about a Headsman?”

Luis stopped lathering her hair.

Zee let out a long sigh. “Oh. That’s Kester’s nickname.”

Goose bumps raised over Ursula’s skin. “Why the Headsman?”

“It means executioner. He’s Emerazel’s most senior hellhound. Kester gets the most difficult cases, and his numbers are unparalleled. He has sent more souls into Emerazel’s flames than you can imagine. He’s lethal, and practically like a god himself.”

And she’d fought him last night. She was lucky to have survived her eighteenth birthday at all. No wonder he’d warned her that she wouldn’t win in a fight against him.

Luis’s fingers resumed their massage.