“Aren’t you due at the palace right now?” Cerus asked with false interest. “Ingratiating yourself to the False Queen is a full-time job, after all.”
“That’s true,” Ajax agreed cheerfully, unaffected by Cerus’s taunts. “But I think Eva and I will stop by Nebrio’s Tavern first. I could go for a nice swig of sunwine, and Nebrio brews his own.”
Ajax pulled Logan into a brief, but tight, hug, before stepping back, keeping one hand on his shoulder.
“I bet you’re fun with a few drinks in you—and Nebrio’s is close by, right on the river. Join us sometime,” Ajax said, slapping Logan on the arm before linking elbows with Eva as he followed Cerus to the door.
“Come, dear, let’s see if Nebrio’s got those little twiggy snacks I love. I go there every day for them. I’m obsessed!” Ajax called over his shoulder to Logan as he walked to the door. I heard the unfamiliar words, the cadence similar to the phrases Logan used to open the front door, and a creeping darkness overtook the room. I put my hand on the doorknob, ready to leave, when I heard Rego’s voice, and my hand froze in place.
“I must say, I’m impressed,” Rego said once the room was awash in light, signaling that the demons had left.
“Praise, Rego? That’s new,” Logan replied sullenly, folding his arms. I was surprised at how familiar his petulant tone was—then I realized he sounded like I did when I argued with my dad.
“I know your attachment to this girl isn’t as casual as you’ve let them believe. You feel indebted to her for saving your life with the incindia, and I respect that,” Rego said. “But it is something of a relief that you hypnotized her and sent her to heal her wounds, regardless of her inane feelings about the spell. I’m gratified to see she’s not the all-consuming distraction I had feared she was becoming.”
“I know what my role is,” Logan replied in a clipped tone.
“I think the young lady is still under your influence, because she’s rather quiet in there. Get her healed and send her home. When you return, we need to put a stronger spell on the door. I don’t trust this Eva. I’m pleased you didn’t reveal that we’ve discovered a Traveler in front of her, but Ajax may have shared this information. I trust you’ll be here to assist in this spell? We need to ban both of them from entering.”
“What do you mean? We’ve known Ajax for years!” Logan argued. “He’s my friend.”
Rego stepped closer to Logan, nearly nose to nose with him.
“Need I remind you this is a war? There’s no need for friends or emotional entanglements. You’d do well to remember that.” Rego’s voice was emotionless and cold, and it chilled me from several feet away and through a door. The warlock stomped off, his footsteps fading, until they suddenly stopped.
“Just remember how well things worked out for your parents.”
I gripped the door handle in shock as Logan recoiled from Rego, a flash of white light flooding the apartment, obscuring Logan’s wounded face and nearly blinding me as I peered through the small crack in the door. I stepped back, blinking as spots danced across my vision.
I was still rubbing my eyes when there was a swift rapping on the bathroom door.
“Paige, it’s me.” He paused. “Logan.”
“I figured. I don’t think demons would knock,” I said, flinging open the door. Logan barged through it, surprising me by wrapping one arm around my waist and holding me close as he inspected my once-slashed face.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Are you okay?” he asked me at the same time.
“Me, first. Good, you’re all healed,” he murmured to himself before looking down at my appearance. “And...you’re all covered in blood.”
He released me, stepping back with alarm, his blue sweater now dotted with watered-down bloody splotches. “Why are you all wet and all covered in blood?”
“I used my shirt to clean off my face,” I explained, holding out the front of my shirt that was now tie-dyed with blood. “It was ruined anyway.”
He studied me with a grim look on his face, his lips pressed together.
“Hey,” I began gingerly. “What did Rego mean about your parents?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Not surprisingly, Logan dismissed the comment, his tone softening as he brushed the damp hair back from my face to inspect the now-smooth skin. “Tell me how you’re doing.”
“I’m as good as can be expected, I guess.” I shook my head as I leaned against the sink. “I was eavesdropping, you know.”
“I figured,” Logan said with a knowing smile—which faded quickly, as a worried look overtook his face. “Paige, I swear I’ve never hypnotized you. I promise. I would never use someone like that. You know I was lying, right?”
Well, I know now. “I figured,” I said quietly as I stared at the tiled floor, feeling a rush of guilt for having doubted him in the first place.
Logan tugged the stained hem of my shirt. “I’ll lend you another sweater. Stay here.”
He ran into his room, returning quickly with a black sweater and shutting the bathroom door so I could change. “I don’t know where Rego went,” he called, “but I want to get you out of here before he comes back.”
I slid on the sweater and stepped out of the bathroom to find Logan leaning against the wall, staring at his sneakers with a pensive look on his face.
“Let’s take you home,” he said, surprising me by holding out his hand. I hesitantly took it, and he gave me a quick once-over.
“You look nice in black,” he said quietly, tugging on my shoulder.
“Thanks. By the way, this is all just a plot to steal your clothes.”
“It’s a pretty elaborate plot. You could have just asked me,” Logan said with a laugh as he led me out of the apartment.
“You know me. Go big, or go home,” I said, reveling in the lighthearted—and short-lived—moment. As soon as we were a few blocks away in a Rego-free zone, Logan pulled me over to the side and leaned against an ATM outside of a bodega.
“I think you should cut school for a couple of days,” Logan said.
“How am I going to get away with that?”
“I mean, fake sick for a couple of days,” he explained. “You’ve probably got a temperature of about a hundred and two, thanks to the fire demon power. Look, Paige, you opened a portal to another world today. You got attacked. You’re running on adrenaline. You look exhausted.”
“I’m fine,” I insisted automatically, trying to stuff my hands in my coat pockets and missing the openings entirely. Logan arched an eyebrow at me, an indulgent smile on his face.
“Fine? Paige, you’re in a total fog and falling down on your feet,” Logan replied, taking my hands and guiding them into my pockets.
“Pockets are here,” he said, and I shot him a withering glance, removing my hands to give him the finger.
“Paige, come on,” Logan implored. “Think of it this way, don’t you want to be clear-headed in case you run into Aiden?”
“I do feel like I could sleep for a billion hours,” I admitted as I yawned again.
“Besides, it’ll be really helpful for me if, at least for a few days, I know you’re definitely safe,” Logan said, his eyes following a customer out of the bodega. “I have stuff to do with Rego—he and Ajax have clearly had some kind of misunderstanding. But Rego’s stubborn, so I’ll still have to put a new spell on the apartment.” A sad, reflective expression crossed his face, and he shut his eyes, shaking his head, before continuing. “I’m going to help him make some weapons, too. And I also want to do a little more research into who Aiden is, see if he’s got any other weaknesses.”
“And there’s no chance of him showing up at my front door?”
“The spell of protection around your apartment is something like a confusion spell. Even if he tried to find your home he’d never get there—he’d find himself walking in circles. Trust me, you’re safe at home.”