“Of course.” Kester arched an eyebrow, pulling out his cell phone. “Gods know you’ll need some help.” He tapped on his phone, then took a sip of his coffee.

“Seriously, though. You need to knock. I could have been in my underwear.”

For the first time in two days, he flashed a smile. “That’s hardly going to put me off.”

“Do you want me busting into your apartment?”

“Fine. I’ll knock next time.” His phone buzzed, and he flicked open a text. “Zee says she’d love to go to the opera. She’ll meet you at seven p.m.” Kester put his phone back in his pocket. “Right. Now that that’s settled, I believe we have some training to do.”

* * *

Barefoot, Kester stood in the armory, inspecting the blades. “Choose your weapon.”

She picked up Honjo from the rack. Ursula’s gazed flicked to his powerful arms, tattooed with the same glyphs and astrological signs that covered the walls in the sleeper’s room. “Why are we training with blades? Am I supposed to force Hugo to sign at knifepoint?”

“If that’s what it takes,” said Kester. “But this isn’t for Hugo. He’s not the only thing you need to worry about.”

“What do you mean?”

He leveled his green eyes on her. “We’re not the only monsters out there, Ursula. There are legions of demons who want us dead, and if they ever scent your fear, they will tear you to shreds. For whatever reason, Emerazel won’t allow me to accompany you on your mission, but I’m going to make sure you don’t die. And that means you need to know how to protect yourself. Understood?”

Ursula raised her eyebrows. “That sounds comforting and ominous at the same time.”

“I’m your mentor. Whatever Emerazel’s problem is, you’re my responsibility, and I’ll keep you alive. I’ve seen you use a sword, and you look like you’ve had some serious training already. It’s a good place to start.”

Maybe he was on her side, even if he was the Headsman. She really had no clue at this point. “When you said there are other monsters out there… ” Do you mean monsters like the bleeding guy across from my room? She was desperate to ask about the sleeping stranger, but she bit her tongue. “What types of monsters do you mean?”

A muscle tightened in his jaw. “I forget how little you know.”

“The only things I know about this world, I’ve learned from you. Which is basically fuck-all.”

“We don’t have time to go into the whole history, but I can tell you this. Light demons have been warring with the dark ones for a hundred thousand years. Our gods are in a race to collect souls, and that means you’re a prime target for the shadow demons.”