Demon Bound

his hands. Eventually, she called in her sword—only one, and she used a smooth, two-handed technique that was as efficient as everything else she did.
    More than an hour passed before Irena finally brought them to a halt. She took his swords, carried them to Alejandro. Her voice sharpened. “You will set them now.”
    Alejandro’s jaw clenched, but he obediently clasped the hilt of each sword. His Gift wasn’t like most—an outward punch, a burst of power—but seemed to suck energy toward him. The swords didn’t catch fire, as Jake had seen other objects do with Alejandro, but heated until the steel glowed dull orange.
    Alejandro and Irena didn’t look away from each other, and the crackle of antagonism almost drowned out the scent of Alejandro’s burning skin, the curl of smoke from his palms.
    Jake glanced at Alice. Friends? he signed quickly.
    She sighed. Strands of dark hair had escaped her braid, some curling softly, others standing up wildly. He wished he’d cut the ribbon at the tail of it, so that the braid would slowly unwind.
    I suppose they try to convince themselves, she signed, then dropped her hand to her side when Irena turned. She’d taken the swords from Alejandro, but hadn’t waited for the metal to cool; Jake heard the sizzle from her hands, even as her Gift ran a final caress down the length of the blades.
    Yeah. All of the older Guardians were mostly just crazy.
    When Irena presented the swords to him, they were only warm. “These are temporary. There is not quite enough metal in these, but to introduce any foreign steel would weaken them. I will make two that are heavier, stronger. Until then, these will serve you well.”
    His thank-you was probably not enough, but when Irena rocked back on her heels, an expectant look in her eyes, he realized that wasn’t why she’d done it.
    “I promised her a few minutes with Zakril’s sword,” Alice said. Jake smiled wryly, brought it out of his hammerspace. Irena’s Gift was sliding over it even before he placed the sword in her hands.
    “It is so old, I expected it would be crudely formed,” Irena murmured. “But the folding is incredible. It accounts for the length. Bronze should not be so strong.”
    “Yet it has been scarred.” Alejandro joined her, and they appraised it together. Without, Jake noted, a trace of their earlier hostility.
    “Yes. But not easily. It is time that has done it.” Her green eyes were bright as she looked to Alice, then to Jake. “May I restore it?”
    Alice lifted her brows. “I have no objection. There is nothing it can tell us now that it cannot if it is polished.”
    Jake shrugged. “Go for it.”
    Irena’s Gift was a slow, sensuous glide as she pinched the edge of the wide blade between her thumb and forefinger, drew them up to the point, then back down the opposite edge. Alejandro stood utterly still.
    Yeah. Just friends, my ass. Jake bit back a laugh and averted his gaze until it landed on something he’d rather see. Alice’s mouth softened as she watched. Her lashes fell, and she looked away, her lips in a subtle curve.
    Not embarrassed, he thought. Amused. She slanted a quick glance at him, caught his gaze on her, and her smile widened. He grinned in response, shook his head.
    Friends, he mouthed.
    Alice smashed her lips together as if to stop her laughter, but her expression changed to wide-eyed innocence when Irena said, “There. It is finished.” She and Alejandro admired it for another minute, and then she passed it to Jake again. “Thank you.”
    Jake almost made a smart-ass remark, thought of Irena’s polar-bear parka, of Alejandro’s rapiers, and reconsidered.
    Alice waited until Irena had returned to her quarters, until Alejandro had walked out of sight, and they’d flown almost to Odin’s Courtyard, before remarking, “You displayed extraordinary control.”
    “With my swords?” He knew that wasn’t it, but he still wanted her to say it.
    “Your tongue.” She blinked, then hastily said, “Your filter. You lost neither your money nor your life.”
    “Yeah,” he said. “Thank you for the swords.”
    “Yes, well. Once, the number of Guardians made it impossible for Irena to customize a weapon for each of us. Now, there is no reason she cannot. And Ethan already revealed the surprise we’d planned for the gathering, so there was no reason to wait.”
    “Nope.” No reason to wait at all. “When we land, I’m going to kiss you again.”
    She listed to the