Demon Forged

that he wanted to continue what they had begun in her forge, she’d been certain too much damage had been done. Now, she had to accept that Olek’s pride had bound him as tightly as her shame. He wouldn’t have felt that he could fight for her, either.
    Yet where did that leave them now? She did not know. Seeing the effect of her shame and his pride in this new light did not make them—or the past—disappear. Though she hurt less now that she understood why he hadn’t fought for her, nothing had truly changed. Everything that had prevented them from moving forward still lay between them.
    And even if they could move forward, she did not know if Olek wanted to.
    These thoughts plagued her throughout the hunt; though she had sought to clear her mind, when she finished she was more uncertain than when she’d begun. Jake found her as she was cleaning the last carcass, then teleported her to three villages that could use the meat before they returned to SI.
    Though the air hummed, Irena didn’t even feel a spark as Jake teleported her into a conference room.
    Jake hefted the double-bladed staff before vanishing it. “That thing works.”
    Irena shook her head. It hadn’t just been the staff. Jake was getting his Gift under control. After he’d left her at Alejandro’s, she’d bet that he’d spent every minute practicing.
    “I do not know how you separate two Gifts.”
    “I’m starting to recognize the feel of it. They’re different. It’s a different push. The second Gift just needs a little more finesse.”
    She didn’t want to be in here while he finessed it. Irena turned toward the door. “Be safe.”
    “Yeah. Irena, hold on a second.” Jake shoved his hands into his pockets. “Becca’s worried that you’re thinking of slaying Lilith. I told her you wouldn’t, and if you said that to Alejandro then you were probably just trying to piss him off, but it might help if you tell her.”
    “It will help what?”
    “Well, she’s feeling like she has to decide between being loyal to a fellow Guardian, or to Lilith and SI.”
    What a stupid thing to worry about. “What makes you think that I will not kill Lilith?”
    Jake shrugged. “Because you’re hard, but fair. You hate that Lilith is in the position she’s in—and I can’t really say I blame you for that—but you also know she’s done a damn good job. And if you’d planned to kill her, you’d have already done it.”
    Irena stared at him. Why did it always surprise her that one so young saw so well?
    He shuffled his feet. “Unless I’m totally wrong and it wasn’t about your thing with Alejandro.”
    “What thing? We are friends.”
    “Yeah. Okay.”
    How easily he gave ground. Irena frowned. “What do you imagine we are?”
    “Well, you both have that smoldering thing going on, especially when you use your Gift. I just assume that after you’re done fighting, you find a closet and bang each other. So you’re whatever that’s called—the opposite of fuck buddies, I guess. Fuck fighters? That sounds like a bad rock band. Or porn-star wrestlers. Not that that’s bad. Maybe fuck enemies. Fuck nemesis . . . es. Nemeses?” He stopped to ponder the word, and glanced at her. His eyes widened. He took a step back. “Yeah, and now I’m going to find Alice before you kill me.”
    The hairs on Irena’s arms rose when he disappeared. In his hurry, he’d forgotten to use his electrical ground. If Alice bore the brunt of that mistake, he would not forget again.
    She turned toward the door again, but paused when it opened and Alejandro came into the room. She felt her eyes widen as she took in the black suit and tie he wore—and he’d bared his chin and upper lip.
    Her stomach performed a strange, hollow swoop. A shallow cleft divided his chin. She hadn’t known the dent was there. Every time he’d stroked his thumb over his goatee, the sensation must not have felt anything like she’d imagined it would.
    And her statues of him were all wrong.
    She felt unbalanced, unsettled. She knew this must be his law-enforcement appearance, and except for his clothing and his lack of facial hair, he looked the same. He moved the same. And he still only smiled with his eyes.
    He smiled now. Irena thought about finding a closet.
    “Good morning,” he said, and the world shifted beneath her feet again.
    He’d spoken in English, with an American accent. She didn’t know what that meant. Was it only because of the role they played today?