“Thank you.” I took the cup gratefully and sipped, sighing at the familiar taste of Connor’s perfect concoction.
I reached for Roarke’s hand, then pulled him to the couch. He sat and I curled up next to him, close enough that my side was pressed against his. The contact made awareness prickle across my skin.
“Did you just finish up in the Underworld?” I asked. “All demon uprisings repressed?”
Wearily, he dragged a hand through his hair. “It may have been a false alarm. I couldn’t find anything when I reached the supposed location of the troubles.”
“Hmmm. That can’t be good.”
“It’s unusual, to say the least.” He took a big sip of his coffee, then looked at me. “Are you sure you’re all right? That must have been a terrible dream.”
“It was.” I polished off the last of my espresso, then reached for his hand. His strength gave me strength. And I wanted to talk about this. I had to.
“Do you remember how I told you about being held prisoner as a kid by a guy we called the Monster?” I asked.
“I do. Did you dream of it?”
“Yeah. I’ve never actually remembered what went on in that cell while we were held prisoner. It’s lost with all my other memories of the time before I woke in that field ten years ago. Cass has remembered some stuff, though. Like how he wanted us for our FireSoul powers and that we attacked a guard and eventually escaped. But last night, I dreamt of it for the first time. Draka tried to save me.”
“She did?”
I nodded, worrying my lip. “But I wouldn’t let her take me without Nix and Cass. When the guards came, they drove her away. The weird thing was—when she told me she was taking me home, I was afraid.”
“Of her?”
“No. She always makes me feel loved. It was the idea of home that was bad.” I frowned. “But then, all my memories of home haven’t been great.”
Roarke tugged me to his side and squeezed. I leaned my head against his shoulder and tried to absorb his warmth.
When Cass had recovered her memory, she’d learned that she’d had loving parents who’d died trying to save us from the Monster. But everything I was learning about my past made my heart feel like it was full of lead.
Suck it up. Plenty of people had crappy childhoods. I was here, wasn’t I? Happy and healthy, with friends and a great life.
I wasn’t going to let this crap drag me down. Draka needed me.
Which meant I needed to get back to trying to find her. However I could.
I patted Roarke’s thigh. “Thanks for listening. I’m going to go get changed.”
I stood and headed for the bedroom. As soon as I stepped over the threshold, pain tore into my mind, followed by a flash of blue light that was so bright I went immediately blind. My legs turned to jello and I fell, crashing to the ground on my hands and knees. But even they wouldn’t hold me. I collapsed to my front.
The pain receded almost immediately, leaving behind the most familiar feeling of comfort and warmth. And that memorable sweet smell.
Draka.
My dragon sense roared, latching on to her.
“Del!” Roarke’s voice echoed through my mind, like he was yelling from the other side of a football field.
I blinked, trying to push myself up off the floor. But I couldn’t budge. I was a noodle once again, and this time, I was about as lifeless as one. I felt Roarke’s strong hands as he rolled me over gently, then picked me up. He cradled me against his chest as my vision began to clear. He was walking. Taking me to the bedroom.
“I’m okay,” I croaked. I rubbed my forehead, which now only ached slightly.
“You don’t look okay.” He reached the bed and was about to set me on it.
I pushed at his chest. “No, set me on my feet. I’m not an invalid. I’m fine.”
Better than fine. I was great.
Roarke put me on my feet, and I clung to him, waiting for my legs to remember their job. The blue light had shocked my system, sending it into a tailspin.
“Draka contacted me,” I said. “I know where she is.”
“What? Just now?”
I nodded, grinning. “Yeah. The last couple of days, I’ve been seeing this flash of blue light. I didn’t know what it was. But it was her. It happened again just now, but this one was a real doozy. It’s like she finally succeeded in reaching me.”
To his credit, he didn’t look at me like I was nuts. He also didn’t let go of my arms, clearly afraid I would face-plant. I probably would.
“What did she say?” he asked.
“Nothing. She didn’t have to. We have a connection.” A memory from my dream flashed in my mind. I’d thought the same thing when she’d come to save me from the Monster’s dungeon. Now it was my turn to save her.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, really. I think the connection was broken when I lost my memory. But it’s back, and she gave me a clue about her location. A place for my dragon sense to find.”
“That’s great. Where is she?”
“Close. Surprisingly close. Only a couple hours away.” I pushed away from him and wobbled over to my dresser, gaining strength with every step. I turned back to him and made a shooing motion. “Scram. I need to change. We have to leave immediately.”
“You’re not well enough. You’re walking like you just spent a year at sea.”
I turned. “I don’t care. She’s my family. I’m going to get her. Now.” I tested out a few small jumps, keeping my jello-legged wobbling to a minimum. “See? I’m almost back to normal. You can’t stop me, Roarke. Not when it comes to saving someone I love.”
Resignation sliced across his face. He nodded, his gaze solemn. “I get it. We just need to play it safe. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, but my mind was totally preoccupied with what it might take to save Draka. I couldn’t fail. I just couldn’t.
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Author’s Note
Thanks for reading Demon Magic! As with all of my books, I included historical and mythological elements. If you’re interested in reading more about these parts of the book, read on. At the end, I’ll talk a bit about why Del and her deirfiúr are treasure hunters and how I try to make that fit with archaeology’s ethics (which don’t condone treasure hunting, as I’m sure you might have guessed). I spoke about this in the Author’s Note in Magic Undying, so a lot of it is the same as in that Author’s Note. But it’s important stuff, so I wanted to include it here for anyone who might have missed it in Magic Undying.