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“I’m just so fucking thrilled that you and Luka took the plunge,” said Ella the following Friday as she slid clothes hangers back and forth on a metal rail, filling the air with clicks and clacks.

“I originally found it hard to envision him committing to anyone, but when I saw him with you . . . I don’t know, I just got a vibe that there was potential there. ”

Looking away from where Konstantin stood near the door—his manner awkward as two moms flirted with him while their kids tried climbing out of their strollers—Naomi said, “I see now that I was ignoring that potential so I wouldn’t be disappointed if nothing came of it.

” She paused, skipping a narrow aisle that was packed with people.

“I hadn’t let myself really acknowledge how much I wanted more from him. ”

“Well, now you have the ultimate more.”

She did indeed, and she couldn’t be happier about it.

As arranged, Naomi had met up with Ella and her sister at the pool hall last night. It was sweet how close the incantors were, being as much besties as they were siblings. But since Mia had needed to cancel her trip to the mall with Ella today, the girls had suggested that Naomi go in her place.

Ella’s lips hitched up. “It’s a big deal that he asked you to move in with him, you know. Luka’s not great at sharing his space, no matter how huge said space is.”

Naomi had spent the past several days transferring her possessions to his house little by little. There wasn’t much left to move at this point. “I sensed as much, so I worried he’d find it weird. That turned out to be a senseless worry. He seems rather self-satisfied about the whole thing.”

“Of course he is. Talking of self-satisfied . . . It’s cute how smug he is that your entity branded him. I mean, he isn’t obvious about it—you have to know him well to detect just how much it affects him.”

Smug was a mild word for it, in truth. But her demon loved that sign that its mate was so all in; that its brand meant that much to him.

Word of Naomi and Luka’s mating had traveled fast. News always did in the world of demons. That the demonic population understood he was off limits . . . well, Naomi could admit she liked it a whole lot.

“Don’t be surprised if he puts a black diamond on your finger sometime soon,” Ella threw out.

Naomi did a double-take. “Huh?”

“I know demons don’t give them to their mates unless they are super certain about them, but there’s zero chance that Luka doesn’t feel that way about you. He would never claim someone lightly.”

Very true. Naomi just hadn’t considered it before.

“Will you freak out if he produces a ring?”

Naomi inhaled deeply, searching within herself. “No. Because just as he wouldn’t claim a person lightly, neither would I. I’m super sure about him as well.” As was her demon. And since it liked shiny things, it would gladly wear his ring.

Ella nodded, satisfied. “Excellent. Because I’m pretty sure you’d find it literally impossible to ever leave him. He wouldn’t allow it. Not for anything,” she added, adjusting the position of the running pants she’d tossed over her shoulder.

A few T-shirts were draped over Naomi’s arm, her other arm supporting the weight of the plastic bags she held. They’d been at the mall a couple of hours now, so she was carrying several bags, though not as many as Ella—the redhead had splurged quite a bit when buying cute things for her daughter.

The mall here at the Underground was like most. The indoor building featured skylights, tiled flooring, lounge areas, retail stores, specialty kiosks, water fountains, coffee houses, smoothie bars, and a large food court.

You could buy practically anything—clothes, toys, electronics, houseware, skincare products, jewelry. You name it, some store within the mall sold it.

This particular store mostly sold casual wear and sporty gear, though there was a small racy lingerie section that seemed a little out of place. The inky scent of new clothing laced the air, along with those of perfumes and metal.

It was packed with lone shoppers, couples, clusters of giggling teen girls, and women pushing strollers. The echoes of voices, ringing of phones, whir of the air conditioning, and scraping of metal against metal mingled with the pop music playing over the store’s speakers.

The strong lighting and white walls were a contrast to the dark faux-wood flooring. Large posters of women in various clothing stood out against the bright paint. Tall mirrors were scattered around. Red SALE signs hung on some racks.

“How did your anchor take the news about you and Luka?” asked Ella.

“He isn’t thrilled about it.” In a telepathic conversation days ago, during which it had become clear that Tobe felt slightly threatened by her having such a deep bond with another male, she’d said, We’ve been over this; no mate could take your place in my life , to which he had petulantly replied, I know, but I don’t have to like that Luka’s made his own place in it, and you can’t make me.

But at the end of said conversation . . .

“He told me that he sort of gives his blessing, though.”

Amusement bled into the incantor’s eyes. “Sort of?”

Naomi shrugged. “Tobe’s a diva at times.”

“And his nose feels a little pushed out, I’m guessing.”

“A little.”

“That’s only to be expected, really. Demons often react that way to their anchors taking a mate.

” Ella nabbed a tester perfume from a rack and sprayed the air.

Inhaling through her nose, she hummed. “Nice.” She spritzed her neck and then grabbed an unopened bottle while returning the tester. “How has your family taken the news?”

“My mother’s pleased—she was rooting for us. My stepfather said he’s happy so long as I’m happy.”

“I guess, what with the activities your lair gets up to, your family’s not all that fazed by Luka’s . . . position, shall we say.”

“No, they’re not. Nor is the rest of the lair, so all is good on that front.”

Ella skimmed her fingers over the sleeve of a jacket.

“I suppose they also like knowing that if those weird clerics strike again, he’ll be able to help.

” She checked the price tag, frowned, and moved on.

“Not that you’ll need much help against a bunch of humans ordinarily.

But those who can channel divine power and are prepared to work with explosives? That’s a whole other matter.”

Yeah, due to the public nature of the attack, there had been no way to keep it quiet.

All Naomi could do was control the narrative.

She’d been unable to leave out the detail of the monkhood, since two of them had been caught on CCTV hovering near her and Konstantin’s vehicles outside the entrance to the Underground.

She’d played it off as an idiotic bunch of religious fanatics insisting that she would birth the Antichrist by quoting some “apparent human prophecy that may or may not exist”.

Everyone thought it dumb and pitiful, since Satan lived deep in the bowels of hell, so there was no chance of the Antichrist being born here on earth.

Of course, if anyone got curious enough about the prophecy to go searching for it and translated it correctly, they’d realize that there was no use of the word “Antichrist”; that it had instead stated “the progeny of the devil”.

Such people might find it a little too coincidental that the prophecy also mentioned a legion, so they might wonder if Lou was in fact her father.

As such, she could only hope that no one tried digging it up. Given how hard it had been for Khloe to find it, though, Naomi didn’t suppose she needed to be too concerned.

Dodging an oddly angled hanger, she refocused on the conversation at hand. “Konstantin checks both our cars for explosives every time we intend to drive anywhere now.”

“The clerics probably won’t make such a move again,” Ella hedged. “It would be too predictable. But it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Naomi inwardly grimaced, feeling a little shitty about misleading her mate’s anchor. She couldn’t tell her the truth, though. She had initially worried that it would upset Luka to have to lie to Ella, but he’d insisted that no exceptions could be made; that Naomi’s safety took priority.

While it didn’t surprise her that he’d be resolute about keeping her secrets, it did surprise her that he would so easily lie for her—even by omission—to his own psi-mate. What surprised her even more was that he hadn’t again brought up her “dietary quirk”. As if it just wasn’t anything important.

He’d asked about the whole ghost-artistry situation, though. While he had admitted that the risks it presented to her bothered him, he hadn’t tried telling her to give up her job. And when she’d showed him one of her paintings, he’d said, “Exquisite. Like you.”

He so got lucky later on.

Wincing at the loud screech of a metal hanger grinding along a rack, Naomi looked over at Ella. “So, since you clearly feel I pass muster, when do I get to meet Lilibeth?”

The redhead grinned. “Any time you want. But beware, she’s very advanced mentally and psychically.

So no cooing or baby babble—she finds it condescending and tends to then dish out telekinetic slaps.

Which I think is why Lou does it to her so much.

He finds it amusing.” Pausing, Ella moved aside so that a salesperson sporting a headset could squeeze past her.

“Have you ever met him, Naomi? The devil, I mean?”

Naomi hid a smile. “Yes, I have. He gatecrashes a lot of our lair’s parties. Much as he complains about imps, he likes that they’re as shrewd and conniving as he is.”

Ella chuckled. “I can imagine. He finds Lily fascinating.”

Naomi knew that, because her father liked to talk about both Lilibeth and Asher—Harper and Knox’s son. They amused him something fierce. He insisted on viewing himself as their honorary uncle.

Ella let out a small oof as her bulkiest plastic bag was knocked by a passing shopper and banged into her knee.