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I trudged through the house, frowning as I headed to the backyard. I’d barely gotten outside before Orlin now in human form spoke to me.

“I came to warn you that Zara knows everything you’re doing.”

I shrugged as I stopped in front of him. “That would be very omniscient of Zara given how many things I have going on. I’m sure our face-to-face discussion yesterday made her even more conflicted about me.”

An other-worldly brilliance clung to Orlin’s human form causing his golden hair to glow. If there was a hierarchy of guardians, I had no doubts Orlin was somewhere near the top.

“Going to see Zara was a foolish thing to do, Aran. You’re lucky to be alive.”

“Yes, so everyone keeps telling me,” I said with a snarky glare. “The truth is that I don’t want to be doing this at all, Orlin, but yer female rogue has given me no choice.”

“What are you planning, Aran?”

I smirked at the worry in his eyes. “Calm yer feathers, Grandpa. I’m planning nothing that will bring on a potential apocalypse. I even freed Jack like ya asked. Before I did, though, I magickly bound him to look for his birth father. The rest of his fate will be up to yer kind because I still see Jack’s death every bloody time I get near him.”

Orlin narrowed his eyes at me. “Why did you free your ex-husband if you hate him so much? You were so adamant about never doing it that I gave up asking.”

I smiled at his admission. “I let Jack go because it was the only way to talk to the version of him I hated with my entire soul. Unfortunately for me, I needed answers fromthatversion of Jack. Don’t worry, though. Yer name never came up in our conversation. I also didn’t tell him what he was. I’m leaving all revelations of that sort to his birth father. Goddess knows, I have my hands full dealing with the pissed-off female version of yer kind. She’s even worse than Jack, and that’s saying something.”

“Why can’t you just leave Zara alone?”

I uncrossed my arms and threw up both hands. “Even asking me that question is ridiculous. Do ya truly support her plans to turn more humans into demon wolves so she can make a fortune from her efforts and find the human fame she seeks?She’s killing innocents, Orlin. I don’t care how naïve ya think I am. Yer rogue female guardianwas notmore valuable than the five dead humans the police dug up.”

“It doesn’t matter what I think of her actions. What matters to me is your survival. What will happen to Rasmus if Zara kills you? I can’t resurrect a dead human. It’s not allowed. Rasmus will be lost without you.”

“Yes, but ya already informed me that the moment I die ya’re going to collect him and restore him. What I feel for Rasmus—whatever form he’s in—is large enough to see that him becoming his true self again would be the best thing for him long term. It’s definitely better than him spending time here studying me. I’m not that interesting... nor unusual.”

“You need to think this through, Aran. Fighting Zara is foolish. She will win.”

I rolled my eyes. “Do ya think I’m not aware of my limited human abilities when every one of yer kind has pointed that failing out to me when they could? Well, here I am admitting ya’re all right about my single-mindedness. I’m not complicated nor conniving. Zara intends to come take demon wolves back and I intend not to let her have them. The situation is very simple.”

“She has a royal demon companion who aids her. She will use his loyalty against you.”

I grunted. “Yes, well, I have one too. Except I’m pretty sure my demon trumps hers since Connlander is the penultimate demon king. There are no higher ones.”

And The Dagda—the source of my power and Conn’s—was here as well. I wasn’t showing that card until I had to. If Orlin didn’t already know The Dagda was here, I wouldn’t be sharing the news.

Orlin held out both hands. “Please. Let me deal with Zara for you. Let me see if I can change her mind.”

I glared at him. “Ya’re too late, Orlin. I asked ya to free the other females and appease her with their rebirth. I begged ya to offer her yer precious compassion for her unresolved grief. But ya didn’t do anything of what I suggested, now did ya? No, ya turned yer back on Zara. Yet somehow found the bloody time to make a confused human male who doesn’t know who or what he really is.”

“We did what Rasmus asked us to do. You’re making it sound like we randomly decided to do something bad to him just to make you angry.”

“From my perspective, ya did what ya damn well pleased without thinking of me at all. Ya call yerselves our so-called ‘guardians’, but who are yer kind guarding us from except yerselves? I finally understand why Da wanted nothing to do with ya when ya showed up to bestow yer big news on him.”

“I promise you that humans are the reason we do everything.”

“Ya say that so sincerely, yet ya refuse to see us as yer intelligent equals. Yer commitment to maintaining absolute neutrality at any cost—including ignoring innocent human lives being ended by one of yer kind—will require world-wide destruction to clean up the mess ya’re allowing to be made. I can’t believe ya have the nerve to call me naive.”

I crossed my arms and stared at him again. I had little left to lose and this could be our last conversation. This could be my last chance to get Orlin to see that his kind wasn’t as perfect in as he believed.

“If Zara succeeds with her plans, her dark magick will spread until no non-magickal will be safe from it. I’m astounded it takes a lowly human like me to see how that horrible situation will play out. Powerful magickals will rule and non-magickals will become commodities. Is that yer idea of guarding humanity? Because it’s certainly not mine.”

“Zara might fail in her goals. If you wait, you will know for certain how things will work out. You’re anticipating something that might not come to pass.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “I’ve already waited too long and the two demon wolves would argue that point as well if they could return to their human forms and say it.”

“I understand why her actions seem evil to you.”