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Headlights lit up the dirt road that stretched before the bus stop, the low growl of an engine rippling toward the treeline. Loren slid her feet off the bench as Darien’s car lurched to a stop.

As soon as Darien’s door opened, his bass voice filled the night. “Are you hurt?” He was out of the car and kneeling before her in a flash, taking her cold hands into his, concerned eyes scanning her face.

Max got out of the car behind him, watching for anything lurking in the gloom of the field.

“I’m fine. I just lost track of time, and I didn’t realize…” Her filthy fingers swept across the empty space around her neck.

Darien frowned. “Another one.” When his thumb brushed across her palm, over the puckered wound that stung so badly she nearly pulled her hand away, he glanced down, that frown deepening. “Baby, your hand.”

“I had to get into the Chalk Door. I’m okay.”

Fear washed across Darien’s face. “The Chalk Door,” he repeated.

“It was the only place to hide. And…and I lost the knife you gave me.”

A muscle in his jaw fluttered. “You had to use it?”

She nodded again.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so.”

He stared down at the wound again, his hand cradling hers with extra care. “Do you want me to take care of this now or at home?” He looked up at her in search of an answer, the blue of his eyes accentuated by the streetlight illuminating his face. “I have an emergency kit in the trunk.”

“Home, please.” She couldn’t wait to get out of here.

“Okay.” Gently, he pulled her to her feet, being careful not to touch the knife wound. “Let’s get you home.” He led her to the passenger’s-side door and helped her get in the car while Max took the back. The watchful eyes of hungry creatures faded into the darkness with Darien and Max’s arrival. She couldn’t see the demons, but she could feel their presence, could sense them skulking near the treeline.

She didn’t want to know what any of them were.

Once they were in the car, Hooded Skullcap disappearing in the mirrors, she told them everything. When she was finished, they sat in silence for a while. She waited for Darien to process everything she had said. And then, finally, he spoke.

“Do you know who was following you?”

“I have no idea,” Loren said, chewing her lower lip. “I’ve never seen them before and they didn’t have any tattoos, at least not from what I could see.” While the people who’d hunted her down last year had been quite showy with the phoenix head tattoos, the whole organization had tapered off into an unsettling quiet.

Darien rubbed his chin. “I’m going to need to buy you a few talismans, so you can have a spare on you at all times.” When he glanced at her, his eyes were hard with determination. “I won’t let this happen again, Loren. I promise.”

“You say that like it was your fault.” Of course he would turn this situation into a mistake he could’ve avoided.

“I should’ve been keeping up on them more,” he muttered, the glow of the dashboard highlighting his strong features with a shade of cool blue, “after how quickly the magic has been used up.”

“Do you think I have anything to do with that?”

He glanced at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, up until Kalendae, the talismans were lasting a lot longer. And then my magic disappeared until tonight.”

Maximus, who was leaning between the fronts seats, an arm resting on the side of each one, said, “You believe you were responsible for that? For stopping the Pale Man from attacking you?”

“What else could it have been?”

The question stumped them all. Loren wished she could tell them about the tear into Spirit Terra, but when she opened her mouth, her voice got stuck in her throat, and her tongue turned heavy and awkward.

Darien shook his head. “I don’t know,” he sighed. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then he reached across the car and took her hand out from between her thighs, lacing his warm fingers with hers. “Don’t you worry about anything. The important thing is that you’re safe.” He seemed to think of something then, his brow furrowing. “What were you doing out here, anyway?”

She fidgeted. “My dad stopped by the apothecary and told me about an herb that might help you with your Surges.”