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Rasmus turned his head and stared down at me. “I have a different reaction to you.”

“Oh, I’m quite aware of that. Mulan has all the attention tonight, but that was my agreement with her,” I said with a laugh.

“No, you don’t get it,” Rasmus said, tugging us to a stop. He stared down at me. “I’m attracted to you.”

“Okay. Well, I guess I’m flattered,” I said, pulling gently away.

“That’s not good enough,” Rasmus said. “I want to make you aware of me. I want to make you lose sleep.”

I glanced ahead where Conn and Mulan looked back. I held up a hand to signal for them to wait for us.

Rasmus put both his hands on my arms. “I dreamed I flew away from you last night. The moment that happened, I had a massive panic attack. It was worse than the one I had when I woke up in the hospital and couldn’t remember anything. I don’t want to fly away from you, Aran. I don’t want to forget.”

I studied his face. “Is this why ya were so grouchy this morning?”

“Yes,” he said. “The idea of never seeing you again scares me.”

I reached up and stroked his jaw. That was as far as I could reach.

“The magick holding ya captive has weakened. On some level, ya probably credit me with being the reason, but that’s not necessarily true. The process will not be pleasant when the rest of yer compulsions get removed. Our bodies adapt to everything, even bad things. I can’t spare ya the trauma, Rasmus. I truly wish I could. Ya’re going to have to tough it out to get to the other side.”

Rasmus tightened his grip, heard me hiss, and then softened his hold. I kept hold of his arm. I couldn’t let him run away.

He turned until he could stare down at me. “Don’t let me hurt anyone when it happens.”

“Oh, I won’t,” I promised.

“Good,” he said, bending his head until his lips grazed mine.

I stumbled away from his grip in shock. Before I could recover, Rasmus linked our hands and dragged me along with him.

When the four of us were standing inches apart, I was still blinking like someone slapped me into a stupor. I hadn’t been kissed by a man in over seven years, which explained my surprise, but that didn’t explain all the magick streaking through me when his lips met mine.

There was something else happening between us.

I glanced down at my new rings while the others were talking. Grandmother O’Malley’s ring shimmered on my left hand, warm and comforting. The twin of King Solomon’s Seal on my right had turned the color of deep green jade. The energy in it thumped against my finger like a heartbeat. Had it recognized Rasmus? That would be extremely odd. But then so was that kiss out of nowhere.

Maybe the ring had been reacting to my reaction, which was definitely one of surprise.

We traipsed to a building with a sign that read “Sanctuary of Salem” on the front. Next door was a converted building that had been turned into residences. At the front door of the second building, two armed doormen stood guard.

Mulan’s chocolate eyes turned golden. She turned to look at me. “There are many demons inside the building.”

I nodded to show her I’d both heard and agreed. “How many more tricks do ya have up yer sleeve, Wu Shaman?”

She looked at her bare arms. “What do you mean? This dress has no sleeves. Do not confuse me with your misleading observations.”

Conn covered his mouth to hide his smile. I looked at him. “Are ya doing okay there, Mr. High Demon?”

“Better than I imagined. Thank you for asking, Aran.”

I smirked at his gratitude. “Shall we ask to see the queen?”

Conn held out his hand. “Mantle first,” he suggested.

I nodded and took several steps away. I bowed my head as the familiar energy spread over me. It coated me in a translucent armor that could be seen through, except for the outline of a small golden shield resting over my mid-section. Any magick thrown at me would be returned to the thrower three-fold.

The doormen felt me change and looked in our direction. Everyone was in human form, but wearing the mantle of The Dagda, I could see all demons in their natural state. The two posing as human doormen were a dull red color with black horns curving back over their heads.