I grimaced. I did almost die and we still had a long way to go before we could call this expedition a success. All the same, my optimism was coming back with considerable force.

***

We found Fergus slumped against a wall. It was the first time I’d ever seen the canny Bauchan look dejected. I knew I should probably keep my mouth shut but knowing it and doing it were different things. ‘Why do spies avoid capitalisation?’ I asked. He lifted doleful eyes to me. ‘Because they like to keep things low key.’

A muscle jerked in his cheek. Other than that, there was no sign that he’d heard me. ‘Too soon?’ I sighed. ‘You really shouldn’t be upset about May. It’s not the first time someone’s lied and it won’t be the last. Besides, did she really ever lie? I didn’t ask her why she followed me across the Veil.’

‘Well,’ Bob piped up, ‘that’s because she didn’t have a tongue so she couldn’t tell you.’

I ignored him. ‘She was doing what she thought was right. She’s probably a hero to the Fomori demons. She thought she was risking her life to spy on someone who was supposedly the greatest threat to the existence of her race. We shouldn’t be upset that she wasn’t a helpless victim, we should admire her. In her position, I might well have done the same.’ I watched him. ‘And so far everything’s turned out alright. She helped us, Fergus. She weighed up all the evidence and decided that we weren’t monsters after all. She even fell in love.’

He blinked. I smiled and knelt beside him. ‘Are you sure you’re not annoyed because she fooled you and you’re not used to that?’ His eyes narrowed but I ploughed ahead regardless. ‘Maybe,’ I told him softly, ‘you’ve met your match.’ Fergus wasn’t a fool and I could see him absorb my words.

There was a sharp knock on the door. We all stiffened and exchanged wary glances. Bob zipped over, burrowing into my collar to stay out of sight. Byron took a deep breath, walked over and opened it. As soon as he did, he was all but bowled over by a demon bustling in and shoving past him. My stomach tensed when I realised it was the furious female demon who’d been my guard down by the arena.

I put up my hands to ward her off but it was to no avail ‒ she wasn’t going to be stopped. She threw her thin arms around me and squeezed. ‘Thank you! Thank you! What you did for May was more than I could have asked. If you need anything, you ask for me.’

‘What is she saying?’

I translated for the others who seemed as taken aback as I was. I met Fergus’s eyes meaningfully and he nodded, getting to his feet and picking up his bag. I pulled back from the demon. ‘We would like to meet with your leaders now,’ I told her in Fomori. Probably the sooner the better. The language Gift I’d acquired was only a tiny dose and it wouldn’t last for long.