and loved me unconditionally.
The words tumbled from me, each sentence a cathartic release, lifting a weight I hadn’t known I’d carried. Taylor listened, nodded, asked questions, made appropriate noises of disbelief or appreciation, and I wanted to hug her so badly for it.
“Thank you,” I said at last.
“For what?”
“Listening to my fantastical ramblings, being there for me.” I lowered my eyes. “I don’t have anyone else to tell this to. My mom...even when I go see her now, I can’t even show myself, let alone talk to her. She’ll never know what really happened.”
“I’m so sorry, Z. I can’t even imagine.” Her fingers flexed, and she curled them to a fist, as if resisting the urge to reach out and squeeze my hand. “I mean, it’s a blessing in disguise that you get along with that demon, but...losing your family like that…” She shook her head. “And here I was thinking that moving to Australia was hard, that I’d have to see if being that far away from my folks would work out in the long run. I can’t imagine never speaking to my mom or dad again, hugging my sister, or hanging out with old friends.”
I pressed my lips together. “I thought I’d come to terms with it,” I whispered. “But I’m not sure I ever will.”
“I get that.” She nodded slowly. “But hey—I’m here. You’ve got me. Anytime you need to talk, you just come right over, okay? No matter what, I’ll drop everything.”
“I want to tackle-hug you so hard.”
“Well, you can settle for another pillow slap if it makes you feel better.”
My smile was fragile. “Kinky.”
She shrugged, the hint of a grin on her face. “You know me.” Squinting at me, she added, “Speaking of kinky...you said your demon was here?”
“He’s waiting on your balcony holding a wake for your dying palm tree.”
“I want to see him.”
“Um…” I grimaced. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea…” I trailed off at the expression on Tay’s face. Crap. I knew that look. There was no reasoning with her.
She jumped up from the bed, marched over to her closet, pulled out a robe and put it on. Casting me a try-to-stop-me glance, she stomped over to the door, yanked it open...and stopped short, her gaze on the balcony.
“Didn’t you say he’s here?”
“Yeah, but he’s invisible,” I whispered behind her.
She fixed me with a stare over her shoulder. “Is this a case of ‘I totally have a hot boyfriend, but he lives in Canada’?”
I covered my face with my hand. “Tayyyyy…”
She advanced on the balcony, and I hurried after her in a near panic. I could see Azazel lounge in his chair still, his head tilted toward the commotion in the living room, but judging by Taylor’s roaming gaze as she stepped toward the door, he hadn’t made himself visible yet.
This was going to be a disaster.
“Wait,” I hissed, and tried to hold her back, but of course my hands slipped right through her. Ugh.
Tay stood in the open door to the balcony, peering outside.
I saw the precise moment Azazel locked on to her. His gaze flicked to mine over her shoulder.
“Really?” He raised a brow.
“Is he still here?” Taylor whispered at me.
I gestured wildly in all directions instead of speaking.
“This is exactly why you shouldn’t show yourself,” Azazel said.
“Why isn’t he showing himself?” Taylor asked.
Lord help me.
“I’m not a party trick.” His voice was a low snarl.
“He doesn’t want to,” I said to her under my breath, hoping my tone conveyed enough warning.
Of course, Taylor being Taylor, she totally ignored that warning. “Why not?” Her eyes sparkled. “Is he afraid?”
Oh, no. She didn’t.
Lightning flashed in Azazel’s eyes. He rose from the chair in one fluid, lethally graceful motion, his gaze fixed on Taylor, who still didn’t see him, given her lack of reaction.
I jumped right in front of her, my arms outstretched toward Azazel. “Don’t!”
Dark power pulsed from him as he closed the distance, his eyes glowing with an inner fire beyond the swirling quicksilver I’d come to know. Grasping me around the waist, he lifted me with effortless strength and deposited me behind him before I could so much as squeak.
Azazel loomed right in front of Taylor now, shadows writhing about his body. Her eyes darted back and forth—then stilled and focused on him. She sucked in a breath and stepped back.
“You wanted to see me?” he purred.
Slack-jawed, Tay stared at him.
I peered around him to glance at his face. Good God. He’d amped up the mesmerizing factor of