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“Then why?” I asked, trying again to turn, and again finding myself trapped by his damn arm.

“Because,” he growled, leaning close to my ear again, “I had been thinking about it since the first time I saw you in the Bloodwood arguing with Artemis like a crazed lunatic.”

“You have such a way with words,” I breathed, trying to sound scathing despite the increased beating of my heart.

Carnon chuckled darkly. “I’m usually significantly more coherent,” he said, still holding me tightly to him. “Something about you makes me lose all capacity for rational thought.”

“Because I make you so angry?” I pressed, leaning into him a little.

“Because you make me want things I shouldn’t be wanting, Red,” he growled, sending a shiver up my spine.

“Oh,” I said, not sure what else to say to this proclamation. My heart was beating a tattoo against my ribs, and I wished very much that we were not on a horse right now.

“Oh,” he agreed.

We were silent for a long time after this pronouncement, both of us clearly wrapped up in thoughts. I very much hoped that Carnon’s thoughts were as impure as mine, but he was all business when he next spoke.

“We should arrive in the city tomorrow night,” he said. “I have some friends we can stay with while we figure out the best way to approach the Demon King with your little problem.”

“Youhave friends?” I asked in mock surprise. Carnon pinched my hip gently, and I swatted his hand.

“You will be polite to my friends, Red, or so help me,” he said, leaving the threat unfinished.

“I’m always polite,” I replied, earning a snort.

A sudden screech told me that Artemis had found us, which meant Akela was probably somewhere nearby too. Artemis landed on the horse’s head with a feathery hoot, flapping her bat-like wings once to find her balance. The horse whinnied in protest, clearly not pleased that a large creature had taken up residence between its ears.

“No mice tonight?” I asked, feigning disappointment. Artemis gave me a scathing look, and I laughed at how disgruntled she could make herself seem.

“It’s odd, how much they like you,” Carnon said, reaching around me to scratch under Artemis’ beak.

“Maybe animals just sense that I’m a kindred spirit,” I said, offering Artemis a scratch under her wing. She rejected me soundly, flapping past me to land on Carnon’s shoulder. “Clearly she’s not that fond of me right now.”

“That’s because she’s a little show off,” Carnon replied, obliging the strix with the wing scratch she had rejected from me. “She doesn’t like sharing my attention with another woman.” I snorted, and Akela whined below us as if reminding us that he, too, was present and wanted attention.

“Needy beasts,” Carnon mumbled.

“How did Artemis come to you?” I asked, trying and failing once again to turn in Carnon’s arms. “You told me that Akela was part of your rite. What about her?”

“Artemis has always been with me,” Carnon said, thoughtfully. “From the earliest of my memories, she favored me with her protection.”

“Is that normal?” I asked. “For a strix to choose a human master?” Carnon laughed again.

“She is more the master and I the servant,” he said. “But no. No one really knows why certain people are favored by the strix. Like I told you, they guard the gates of the Darklands. Maybe Artemis decided I needed guarding.” I frowned.

“There were no gates,” I argued.

“What?” Carnon asked. Artemis hooted softly and flapped off, probably to hunt for more presents.

“When we entered the Darklands,” I continued. “I expected there to be gates or protections or a wall or something,” I said. “But there was nothing. How can they guard gates that don’t exist?”

“There are protections,” Carnon said slowly, as if considering how much to tell me. “Most can’t see them, or pass through them without a guide. That’s the benefit of having a strix at one's calling.”

“So I could pass through because I was with her?” I asked, still not sure I understood. Demon magic seemed foreign and unnatural to me still, and I couldn’t wrap my head around the lack of balance it seemed to entail.

“And with me,” Carnon said.

“Do you have special royal permission or something?” I asked, snorting as I turned my head.