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go.”
    Guntram’s jaw tightened. “I’ll be one of them.”
    The mage cleared his throat, drawing their gazes. “And I will accompany you.”
    Alex swung toward the mage. “It should be me,” he said heatedly.
    Simon shook his head, a small, sad smile easing his expression. “You have work to do here. You’re too important to risk.”
    “Then it should be me,” Nicolas said, stepping closer.
    “You’d desert Chessa when she’s about to give birth?” Again, Simon shook his head. “I’ve known this was coming. I’m prepared.”
    “You’ve done this before. Lived this before?” Alex asked.
    Guntram scowled, not following the conversation and wondering if they were speaking in some kind of code.
    Simon nodded. “I’ve lived this before.”
    “And how does it end?” Alex said, his eyes glittering.
    “In death. But I have hopes that this time, I will find a way to prevail.”
    Alex gave a violent shake of his head. “No. Someone else will go.”
    Simon gripped Alex’s shoulders and stared into his taut face.
    Guntram nearly snorted, wondering if the two were going to kiss.
    “We have a few hours to make arrangements,” Simon said.
    “To settle your affairs you mean,” Alex said bitterly.
    Simon let his hands drop and turned to Guntram. “Go to your men. You’ll have access to the house, the dining hall, baths. Don’t try to enter the gardens or make a run for the gates. You can tell them everything. We have nothing to hide.”
    “Madeleine?” Alex said softly behind Simon. “She’s not going to understand.”
    Simon didn’t turn. His gaze held Guntram’s as he spoke. “I have letters written, and something I will ask of you. For now, I would watch her fly.”
    Guntram waited until the mage had left, then turned to Nicolas. “I’ll need weapons.”
    Nicolas snorted. “I’ll take you to the arsenal, but I don’t know what you’ll find effective against demons.”
    “A sword,” Alex said, sounding distracted. His gaze was still on the door where Simon had disappeared. “Decapitation works best.”
    Guntram smiled, steel and muscle—his favorite sort of fight.
    As Gabriella drew closer to the Master, she slowed, surprised because the vegetation inside the pool was thicker than she’d first thought. His fingers curled again and she took a deep breath, descending the tiled steps and settling her hand inside his.
    His palm was hot, the surface hard. He helped her into the water, and her feet met a soft, sandy bottom. The water was warm, but no warmer than a natural pool. She lifted her gaze, feeling suddenly shy now that she stood so close and by her own choice.
    His expression didn’t invite, didn’t give a hint at his pleasure that she’d obeyed. Instead, he watched as though waiting for something, wanting to see the expressions slide across her face.
    The thought that he waited for something had only crossed her mind when she felt something slither around one ankle.
    Gabriella gasped and tried to jerk back her foot, but the thing beneath the water wrapped around her, anchoring her there. She shot him a glance filled with alarm. “Do something!”
    A smile pulled at one corner of his mouth, but he didn’t move. He let go of her hand.
    She pulled her foot again, and whatever surrounded it constricted. Then another thin tendril shot upward, sliding around her calf and wrapping around her knee. She peered into the water and caught sight of a dark green vine, the end shaped like a leaf, but thicker and rasping against her skin like a tongue. As she peered down, another vine shot out of the pale sand beneath her feet, and then another; winding quickly around her ankle as they tugged her legs apart.
    The demon laughed softly as her arms flailed to grasp his shoulders in panic. His arms closed around her, and he laid her back on the uppermost step.
    She let go of him and set her hands on the edge of a step, gasping for breath. At the sight of his mouth, one corner curling, rage shot