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midnight. The troop was assembled; the orders had been given. High alert. Tenn was back on the roof of the hotel, and this time he had even more company.
    It was terrifying to think just how quickly Jarrett had taken the news of Tomás’s appearance in stride. Tenn had barely spoken the words before Jarrett was out the door, calling for the guards to ready the rest of the troop. Tenn had waited there, dumbfounded, watching the shadows of the study for any sign of movement. But Tomás hadn’t reappeared. He may as well have been a hallucination.
    Only, hallucinations didn’t leave bruises on your throat.
    Devon and Dreya stood farther back. The rain pounded down harder now, but the twins still wore their light jeans and thin cotton sweaters. Like Tenn, the cold and the rain never seemed to bother them. It was a perk of being attuned to Water, though it didn’t necessarily make up for the emotional backlash. You took what you could get.
    He’d been positioned up here out of necessity, though the thought still made him clench his teeth. With Michael gone, he was one of two Earth mages left, and the other had been out in the field since yesterday. Tenn was now their only healer. So there he was, safely above the battle with strict orders not to leave the roof or the twins’ watch unless it was to flee for safety. It made him want to scream. Half of the troop was positioned out in the field as a buffer, the other half was stationed here. He had no clue which chunk of land Jarrett had given himself to guard, and that made waiting worse. Especially because he knew he was responsible for catching the army’s attention.
    Neither of the twins spoke as they stood there, waiting. He hadn’t expected anything else, and he hadn’t tried to broach any subject. The silence was far from comfortable, but at least the twins weren’t accusing him of anything. Their stares had been bad enough.
    He stiffened when Dreya walked up next to him. For the longest time she stood by his shoulder, staring out at the abandoned town. She was almost a head shorter than him, though she always seemed much taller.
    â€œI hear you have encountered Tomás,” she said. Her voice was sharp, her words absolutely precise. Just like the rest of her.
    â€œYes,” he said. He didn’t even bother asking her how she’d found out.
    In truth, Tomás was all he could think about—the glint in his eyes, the way his hands had felt when they gripped Tenn’s skin. Just the thought made his pulse race with fear and desire. He tried to keep Jarrett’s face firmly in mind, a ward against this new demon—blue eyes, blond hair, golden skin, the antithesis of Tomás’s dark, Mediterranean features. But somehow, his thoughts always returned to Tomás. Tomás, who seemed to stare at him more intently than anyone ever had before. He knew it was just the effects of the incubus’s charm, but it still made him feel like a traitor.
    â€œThat is very odd,” she said.
    No shit , he wanted to say.
    â€œI know,” he said instead.
    â€œDo you not think it strange,” she asked, “that we have been brought all the way out here just to stop an army?”
    Tenn shrugged. The fact that they were having a true conversation unnerved him almost as much as Tomás’s presence. Everything was flipping on its head today.
    â€œI try not to question the Prophets,” he said. “It’s safer that way.”
    She laughed. It was light, almost girlish, but there was a note of something darker.
    â€œThen you are most wise. Still, I must wonder… why have we been brought out here? There are other strongholds, much closer than ours. Surely they could have sent a team.”
    The thought had occurred to him in the early days of the assignment. Their home base in Outer Chicago was a good hundred miles from this small Michigan town, and there were other bases near Grand Rapids and