With a building as tall as some major corporations’ skyscrapers in the city, the demon’s office contained a boatload of swat-clothed men with machine guns. Cameras watched her from every angle of the room, moving with her if she took a step.

The floor was shined to a glossy sheen and there were so many fluorescent lights that it hurt to even look at the floor. This place looked how she imagined CIA secret headquarters would look. She could easily see guards having to do retinal scans and fingerprint identification just to use the bathroom.

A guard wearing a Kevlar vest and a belt filled with mace, a Tazer, a knife, and guns talked into an ear piece low enough so she couldn’t make out his words. Tyrian had introduced himself and requested, well demanded, to see Telal Demuzi. Now everyone was watching them with hard, alert eyes, fingers ready on the triggers of their guns.

Telal was infamous to, well, everyone. He was often on the news or radio trying to rally support for his cause: allowing the demons on earth, opening the rift forever. He was also a powerful businessman dealing in weapons manufacturing. And judging by the amount of weapons his guards were carrying, she wasn’t surprised.

“He’ll see you. Follow me.” Nerves fluttered in Chloe’s stomach. She and Tyrian

followed the guard into an elevator that took them up forty flights. She was going to meet the only full-blooded demon allowed on earth in the entire world. She was probably making too much of it, but she couldn’t help thinking that she was also about to meet her new brother-in-law. She’d have to be sure to warn him. Not about Lily, of course, but about hurting her. Besides, if he did anything to hurt her little sister, then Chloe’d have her vampire boyfriend kick his ass.

The elevator pinged and they got off, led this time by a new set of guards. They escorted them down a long hall to a set of wide doors with gold handles. Nothing else was in the entire hallway.

“Put your hands up against the wall and spread your feet.” Chloe barely had time to obey before the guard pushed her into the wall. Just as soon as he did it, Tyrian grabbed the man. A strangled shout then he was on the ground, holding his throat.

“What did you do?” she said.

The second guard cocked his machine gun and aimed it at them while speaking

something fast into his earpiece.

“He had no right to touch you like that.” Almost too fast to see, Tyrian grabbed the gun from the guard’s hands, flung it to the other end of the hall, and had him laid out on the ground with a hard jab to the jaw. Chloe rushed to him.

“Oh my God, did you kill him? He’s just doing his job, you know.”

“No, I didn’t kill him. Let’s go.”

His voice was cold as ice and she knew that something she’d said bothered him. He

opened the doors himself and brought them into the biggest office she’d ever seen.

The room was a big circle and even though they were on the fortieth floor, she realized there were strangely no windows in the room. It was empty aside from one man. One demon, she corrected. He was not an idummi demon, but your typical one—if there was such a thing.

Though he wasn’t really typical because he was a successful demon that lived above the rift. She briefly wondered what his old demon friends thought about that.

He didn’t lift his eyes from what he was writing until they reached his desk. “I take it you, at least, left my guards alive, Tyrian?”

“Barely.” Chloe heard a tinge of humor in Tyrian’s voice.

Telal Demuzi lifted his gaze from his work and stood to shake hands with Tyrian.

Chloe’s eyes rounded as she got the first good look at the demon. She had never met one before, though she’d seen pictures of them on the news before, usually being cuffed and escorted back to the rift. Those were usually rogue demons trying to break through the rift. People died when that happened, one way or the other.

Chloe tried to picture her spunky, goofy sister Lily with the demon and nope, couldn’t happen. Her sister wore bright clothes that never matched, which she thought looked fabulous.

Her hair was a messy set of curls that came from their mother’s side and she often said the wrong thing at the wrong time—on purpose.

He looked right at her and it was like the wind was knocked out of her. His eyes were pure gold, brighter than normal with only a tiny pinprick of a pupil. His skin was golden like he was coated in dark honey, and his hair was blue. Chloe shook her head, stared at his thick mane, and tried to figure out if it was a dye job or real. She blinked several times, thinking maybe she was just seeing wrong. His hair wasn’t just any blue but a beautiful cerulean that reminded her of rich tropical oceans and fresh glacial water.

“Yes, my hair is blue.”

She jumped, startled at the strangeness of his voice. He pronounced his letters heavy, as if they were difficult to say, and it reminded her of a heavy Russian accent.

“Why?” she asked dumbly. He didn’t laugh at her or look at her like she was stupid, which she appreciated. He only shrugged.

“My kind comes in many different colors and forms. My brother Alrik has pure auburn hair. The women loved it.”

Chloe nodded. But she kept her mouth shut and took a seat the demon indicated opposite his desk. Tyrian didn’t sit. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Didn’t the man ever relax?

“Tell me what has brought you here.” The demon took a seat, drumming his long fingers on the desk.

“Francis Bellum brought me here.”

The demon stiffened, his body going alert.

“I heard he died in a raid along the Morrocan rift.”

Tyrian nodded. “He left specific provisions in his will. I’m sure you’ve heard about it.”

The demon looked down at his desk drawer and Chloe wondered if that’s where her father’s letter was. His strange golden eyes met hers with stunning force.

“This isn’t Lily Bellum, is it?”

“No, this is her eldest sister, Chloe.” The demon’s chest sagged and she realized he’d been holding his breath. He buried his face in his hands, shaking his head.

Chloe glared. “Hey, you don’t have to act that relieved. You’d be lucky to get someone as great as me. You’re even luckier if you get my sister. You don’t deserve her. She is the most talented, funniest, and clever person I know. She can’t dress worth a da—”

“Chloe.” Tyrian’s voice cut through her with its chill. Chloe scoffed and took to glaring at the demon.

“What do you want?” the demon asked, a scowl at his lips.

“The Bellum sisters have summoned something I have never seen before. It now stalks her and is trying to kill her. I need your opinion on the matter.”

The demon steepled his long fingers. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Chloe sighed then told him about the entire “accidental summoning” thing. She happily mentioned what the spell’s purpose was—to get the men to leave them alone. She smiled brightly as Tyrian cut her a cold look, but her body didn’t freeze at his cold glare, it did the exact opposite.

It had to be her new moon, because who in their right mind would want someone to look at them like that? Like they had no care for what you were about to say. But Chloe knew that when she talked, she was his sole focus, even if other things were going on in his head. She also knew he liked her. Whether he realized that or not. Okay, maybe like was a strong word. But he didn’t hate her.

The demon contemplated what she told him about the spell she and her sisters had done.

Finally he said, “I’ll have to check into it but I can get back to you. Each sister said a different line of the spell, but the demon goes only after you? That is interesting news. I’ll see what I can dig up with my contacts.”