Serena breathed deeply as Shade released her arm. She’d passed out right after Josh left, but Shade had done the glowy-arm thing that always made her feel better. He backed away and stood near the door like a sentry, his shrewd, sharp eyes shifting between Val and David, who both sat in chairs near her bed
“You know,” Val said, taking her hand in his. “I really would rather take you home, where you’ll be more comfortable.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if I could make the plane trip.” She also didn’t want to go anywhere until she knew that the amulet had been retrieved.
And that Josh had survived.
She still wasn’t sure how she felt about him, because his betrayal had been so huge, so… awful. But she understood why he’d set out to seduce her, and how hard it had been not to go through with it when he knew he was dooming his brothers.
She wriggled into a sitting position, and Val fluffed the pillow behind her back. “Shade?”
He looked at her.
“Josh—Wraith—said you and Eidolon were dying. But you weren’t poisoned, right?”
Shade shook his head. “Long story. He didn’t even know about it until after the attack on Philae. He’d decided not to go through with the plan to seduce you. That’s when we told him that we were dying, too.”
God, he’d backed off his plan even earlier than she’d thought.
“What difference does it make?” David asked. “He’s a demon.”
“He saved me from Byzamoth.”
“So he could have you for himself, you idiot! You actually believe this… this creature?”
“David!” Val’s hand tightened on Serena’s almost painfully, though he didn’t seem to realize it. “That’s enough.”
Shame colored David’s face.
Serena coughed… and couldn’t stop. Immediately, Shade was at her side, his hand wrapped around her wrist, fingers to her pulse, tattoo glowing. In seconds, her lungs cleared, opened up so she could breathe better. Josh had said he was a paramedic, and no doubt, he was a good one. Attentive, efficient, and possessing an arrogant confidence that was justified. He knew what he was doing and he did it well. She’d bet he did everything well.
“You have a… mate, right?” she asked, and his incredibly long lashes flew up in surprise.
“Yes.”
“Did she know what you were when you met?”
He grunted. “Not until she caught me in bed with a vampire and a Trillah demon.”
Her jaw dropped. “And she still wanted you?”
“She wanted to kill me. Tell you what,” he said, giving her a sleepy, seductive grin that reminded her so much of Josh, “I’ll tell you the whole sordid story after Wraith defeats Byzamoth.”
She knew there were no guarantees that Wraith would survive the battle, but she appreciated Shade’s efforts to calm her. He moved back to the doorway, and she tapped Val’s hand to get his attention. He’d fixed his gaze out the window at the approaching dawn and had gone someplace far away.
“Val?” Her voice cracked as she spoke, and she couldn’t believe the effort it took just to say his name.
“What is it?”
Nerves fluttered in her belly. “Who all knew about my mission in Egypt?”
David spoke up. “Everyone in the Sigil.”
“But who knew about the specifics? Where I was staying, where I was going to be at what times… things like that.”
Val’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
She palmed the mattress to keep her hands from shaking. What if Josh was right about Val? “Because Byzamoth was always one step ahead of me. He knew things he shouldn’t know.”
David stiffened. “What are you saying? How dare you accuse my father of betraying you.”
“I’m not accusing Val of anything. But someone was tipping off the fallen angel and trying to get me killed. He couldn’t have known I was stopping by the Regent’s house, and there’s definitely no way he could have known what train I took from Aswan. Josh changed the reservations.”
“Well, there’s your answer,” David shot back. “And let’s call him by his real name, shall we? Since he pretty much stole Josh’s identity like he stole everything else.”
She slid a glance at Shade, who still watched in silence, but the way his chiseled jaw rolled gave her the impression that he was grinding his teeth.
“It wasn’t him,” she insisted. It wouldn’t have made sense for Josh to have been tipping off the competition.
David made a sound of disgust. “It’s so much easier for you to accuse us than to believe your demon lover could possibly have betrayed you, never mind the fact that it’s all he’s done since he met you.”
“You feeling a little guilty, human? Because she didn’t accuse you.” Shade looked at Serena and shrugged. “Just pointing that out.”
And he was right. “Val, tell me. Who all knew about the Regent’s house and the train?”