trained too fast in the movies, going from unable to throw a punch to martial arts experts with katanas in the blink of an eye. Yeah, real life wasn’t like that. It was sore muscles, bruises, and torn ligaments. Over the past month, I’d had them all, and there were probably a whole lot more in my future, but there was no denying that it was getting easier. That my body was becoming more powerful. The scythe came easily now, the dagger fit snugly in my hand, and I didn’t need to think as hard before making a move. Instinct was kicking in. An instinct that came with being a Dominus, with being a demon.
“The Beyond.” Cora shuddered, pulling me back to the conversation. “Nope. Hard pass for me.”
Being here in the Underealm was good for her. She was able to take solid form more often just by siphoning energy from the air, and I knew how much that meant to her. It would never be the same as being alive, but it was better than being incorporeal all the time.
Still, this wasn’t a life. This wasn’t even the afterlife, and I wanted more for her. “Would it be so bad to move on?”
She looked up at me sharply. “Are you trying to get rid of me?” Her eyes narrowed. “Now that you have your Dominus gig and your new friends. Are you going to hang out with Dayna tonight?”
She wasn’t playing, there was real hurt and a little venom in her tone. For the first time since I’d known her, a frisson of fear shot through me. I’d heard of spirits that turned nasty when they didn’t get what they wanted, that grew bitter and angry for being earthbound, but this was Cora. She was a good person. My best friend. And being here was her choice.
“Cor, you know that’s not true. I fucking love you. I just want you to be happy. I want what’s best for you.”
“And being here with you is what’s best,” Cor said. She ducked her head, and her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know what happens if I leave.”
I didn’t have an answer because all we did was deliver the souls. The rest was conjecture. The Beyond was a mystery. Cor had never undertaken the assessment for placement at Soul Savers. I’d gotten her a job, and that had been that.
“Fine. I won’t bring it up again.” I tucked my braid into the back of my coat. “We’ll do something fun when I get back. Ooh, we can take a trip to the market to that tavern you’re always telling me about.”
“Really?” She perked up. “Oh, God, you’re going to love it. It’s like something out of one of those medieval shows.”
“We can take Cyril.”
“Will there be ratssss?” he asked. “I’m beginning to tire of Iza’s diet of dead mice. No fun if they’re not squirming.”
“They have rats!” Cora said with a grin. “Huge fucking rats.”
“Count me in,” Cyril said.
“Awesome. I’ll see you later. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” they echoed.
I headed out into the corridor, mind on the prize. Azazel would be waiting. The Dominus was punctual to a fault. My stomach trembled because I was going to meet my reapers—the demons who collected the souls I’d now take to the Beyond. But that wasn’t the only reason for my tummy flutters. The other reason was waiting for me at the pinnacle. He didn’t carry me like Mal. He cradled me to his chest like a gentle lover, although there was nothing lover-like about Azazel. The demon was a cold monolith of muscle.
“Fee?” Kiara called out from behind me.
Shitbags. I’d been so close to escaping. The steps to the pinnacle floor were a mere foot away.
“Fee, can I have a quick word?” Kiara asked.
I composed my features into polite inquiry and turned to face her. “What’s up?”
She stood a few feet away, hands clasped in front of her, expression worried. No, not worried, contrite. What the fuck?
“Kiara, is everything okay?”
She exhaled heavily. “Look at you, worrying about me after what I did.”
Huh?
“I ruined your birthday. I ran off like a child when Mal said those awful things. I allowed my emotions to get the better of me.”
“Kiara, you had every reason to be pissed off.”
“No. Mal loves to stir trouble and rile people up. I shouldn’t have allowed him to get to me. He wasn’t actually trying to upset me. He was needling at Conah about … about his attraction to you.”
Attraction … My