"Well, this mother has always had problems with efficiency."
"I know." He raised my chin with one gentle finger and dropped a kiss on my nose. "It is one of the reasons I find you fascinating."
I raised my eyebrows. "I'm not entirely sure I'm happy to be called ‘fascinating.' Especially when there are lots of other adjectives I'd much rather hear."
His warm smile crinkled the corners of his eyes, and made my heart do happy little tumbles. "Would ‘enthralling' be better? Or ‘captivating'?"
"They're a start," I said primly. Then I waved a hand at the creatures. "What were they?"
"Some form of lower demon, though not one I've come across before." His smile faded, and the room seemed cooler for its loss. "The fact they were here and waiting suggests our sorceress has fled. It is doubtful we will find anything of use."
"Probably, but we should still look."
"I wasn't suggesting otherwise." He paused and sheathed Valdis. "Perhaps we should start upstairs, in her bedroom. That is where she kept her tools of trade."
I pushed away from the bench and led the way to the stairs. "Which she'll undoubtedly have taken if she has fled."
"Undoubtedly. But she might have left in a rush, so it is always possible she has forgotten something."
"She had a three-day head start, thanks to the fact I was drowning my sorrows rather than doing what I should have been." My voice was heavy with annoyance – at myself, at my stupidity for acting without thinking. It's what had allowed Hunter to get her claws in me, and it's the reason Azriel had been scarred —
"Risa, enough." He caught my hand and tugged me toward him. "Neither of us can change what has already happened. We can only affect the future. As for acting without thinking —" He paused, and his sudden smile just about melted my heart. "It is one of the things I adore about you. Please never lose it, because there has been far too little spontaneity in my life until you came along."
Tears stung my eyes. I blinked them away and hugged him fiercely. "Thank you," I whispered, my breath stirring his dark hair.
He gently kissed the nape of my neck. "For what?"
"For just being you. And for coming back."