“I’d guessed at first that you would be in shock, but that didn’t quite fit. High blood pressure, increased oxygen levels, shallow breaths, dilated pupils. Typical signs of an adrenaline rush after a demon fight. I see ’em all the time. Fight-or-flight responses are inherently draining, and after an hour or so, vitals return to standard ranges. But your numbers were subnormal: pupils constricted, slow breaths, sluggish heart rate, low body temp.”

I chew on my bottom lip, remembering the shining red flames around my fingers and what Sel said about generating my own aether. “Is that bad?”

“ ‘Bad’ is a subjective term around here.” William hovers over a particularly painful spot on my lower back. “But it’s not typical. It was like your system had fired so intensely that instead of simply leveling out, it put you into hibernation.”

Firing intensely seems like the right way to put it. The very first time in the shower after the Oath, I’d been… terrified, overwhelmed, sad, but I’d been able to put it all behind a wall. Tonight I’d been angry in the graveyard, and terrified for my life with the hound, and the flames had faded away on their own. Sel’s right, I truly have no idea how this works, and I don’t have a lot of options for help. Sel has no interest in trying to help me understand, nor would I want to experiment with him to figure it out. I could tell Nick, but… he was pissed beyond belief tonight. And scared, after Tor’s Awakening. He and everyone else in the building are on edge. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to spring another surprise on him. Maybe Patricia—

The door opens, and Nick walks in. “Hey, Will, is—”

I screech and twist into a ball, pulling the thin blanket up over my entire body. It’s not fast enough. Nick’s face has gone summer-strawberry red. He definitely saw my butt. And my back. And my bra straps. And maybe some side boob.

He chokes out a strangled, “Um, sorry!” and disappears into the hall, slamming the door behind him.

“Ugh!” I pull the sheet up higher so my face can hide too.

William taps on the fabric like it’s a door. “Pardon me?”

I yank it down so that only my eyes are visible. “What?”

His eyes twinkle. “In past centuries, some courtiers wanted nothing more than for an eligible king to ‘accidentally’ see them naked.”

“Shut up, William!”

When I’m fully healed, all I feel is tired. I just want my own bed. I thank William, and he walks me to the elevator. Nick greets us upstairs. His cheeks are still flushed, but they’re less summer strawberry, more peach.