of a whole waiting to slot together, not in a sexual way, although that would probably happen at some point too, but in an I-have-found-my-other-half way.
And yes, I recognized how ironic that sounded considering I was poo-pooing my own mark, but this wasn’t about a mystical stamp. It was about real connection. These two had it. It was a shame they didn’t realize it.
“You staying the night?” Jen asked me.
“Yep. You two want to pop over once your shift ends?”
“Can’t,” Thomas answered with a grin. “Got a date.”
Finally. “I knew you’d hooked up.”
Jen froze, and her cheeks went red, but Thomas simply looked confused.
Oops. Talk about grabbing the wrong end of the shit stick. “I mean, I knew you’d hook up with someone soon. Hot guy like you.”
Jen shot me a relieved look.
Great save, Fee.
Thomas shrugged. “You know, if you’ve got it, you’ve got it.”
“I actually have a date, too,” Jen said.
Thomas looked surprised. “You never said.”
“You never asked,” Jen retorted with a hint of tartness.
Thomas merely blinked at her. I could almost hear the cogs whirring in his brain. Yes, Thomas, other people do find Jen attractive. Look at her. Can’t you see it? Aha, yes, you’re jealous. I wonder why that is?
It was time to exit this weird revelatory moment. “Where are the reapers?”
“Kitchen,” Thomas said, but his gaze remained fixed on Jen.
I slipped from the room. Sometimes, it took a nudge for you to realize your feelings. Maybe knowing that someone was interested in Jen would make Thomas realize how he felt about her.
I headed down the corridor, past the control room, and to the kitchen at the back of the building. Dayna, my second in command for Deadside, had an espresso machine in there. Lesser demons had a thing for caffeine, it seemed, and I was totally on board with that.
Voices drifted through the wood. Annoyed, raised voices.
“Does she think we have nothing better to do?” an irate female voice demanded.
Instinct had me pausing outside the office door and slipping into eavesdropping mode. Piss off, guilt. This was about me, I was sure of it, and my inquiring mind needed to know.
“She’s reliant on the other Dominus for travel,” Dayna explained. “She’ll be here. I’m sure of it.”
“Oh, yes. A Dominus without wings or teleportation powers, how could I forget,” a male voice said sarcastically. “Here to do the fucking easy work while we bust our asses out there every fucking week, keeping the streets clean.”
“Nox,” Dayna admonished. “You don’t get to speak about your Dominus that way. Not in front of me.”
“Peiter was a Dominus. Vale was a Dominus. This demon raised as a human is a dud,” he snapped back.
“A Dominus is supposed to lead their reaper team,” the unnamed woman said. “Freya is injured because we didn’t have a Dominus with us last night. We’re a reaper down because this new Dominus can’t be bothered to return our calls. We can’t work like this any longer. We shouldn’t have to. There’s a fucking code. A fucking process.”
“Sariah …” Dayna sounded fed up. “I’ve explained that Fee is in training. She isn’t ready to be out in the field yet. Azazel won’t allow it.”
“Allow it?” Nox said. “Is she a Dominus or not?”
“Enough,” Dayna snapped. “Cut the attitude before I cut you. You don’t know her. She’s not like the other Dominus, but that’s not a bad thing.”
My heart warmed toward the demon who was defending me, but there was no ignoring the hint of doubt in her tone. The weariness at having to stick up for me. I cracked my shields and bit back a gasp at the cocktail of emotions that hit me. Anger, anxiety, fear, and doubt mingled to create a toxic atmosphere that was almost choking.
Shame heated my cheeks because the reapers were right. I needed to be out there. I was a Dominus, and it was time to act like one. I slammed down my shields and stepped into the room.
All eyes zeroed in on me. Dayna was leaning against the sink, clutching a cup of coffee, and three other demons sat around the small, round table where the staff took their lunch.
The female had a crimson mohawk and horizontal pupils in her yellow eyes. Sariah, no doubt. The two guys had almost identical features, except one had obsidian horns that curled like a ram’s, and the other’s horns rose up like a stag’s. All three demons’ skin glowed with strange silver symbols, tiny symbols that covered their arms