Slade looked down at Katie, still clinging to his legs, and then back at me. A stricken look crossed his face. He leaned toward me and whispered, “Um. To be clear, are you asking me to kill her and dump her body?”

“What? no! Why on earth would you think that?”

Brent cleared his throat. “To a Shadow King, ‘taking care of someone’ has a very different connotation.”

“Oh … oh!” I was going to have to be more careful with my vocabulary choices in the future. “No, I mean, make sure she gets back home okay. Keep trying to convince her that everything she saw was the result of special party Kool-Aid so she doesn’t go spilling all of our secrets. You know, that kind of taking care of someone. Take Brent with you.”

Slade nodded. He and Brent pulled Katie up and hitched their arms around her back to help her walk.

“You saved me, didn’t you?” Katie asked, patting her hand limply against Slade’s cheek. She giggled and waved her hands like someone who’d enjoyed a good joint. “Did you see all the pretty green ooze?”

“Yeah, it was pretty,” Slade said. Brent snorted. Slade glanced back at me with the look of someone being punished.

I watched them walk away, leaving me with Daniel and Talbot. Not the three best people to be left alone together.

Especially with weapons.

We were all quiet for a moment, tension building thick between us. Finally, Daniel approached Talbot with the sword in his hand. Daniel stood in front of him, their eyes locked, like they were trying to read each other’s thoughts. I was reminded as to how much bigger Daniel’s stature was now than before. Talbot, who had never seemed small to me, suddenly did, compared to Daniel. Or maybe it was just the way Daniel carried himself now—like an alpha. One whose pack had just defeated a rival’s attack.

Daniel extended the blade of the sword toward Talbot, and then he flipped it upside down and offered him the handle. “Thanks,” Daniel said. “You really saved us back there. We might not have gotten out of that without you.”

Talbot blinked. “You’re welcome,” he said slowly, cautiously. “So … truce?”

Daniel glanced at me, as if looking for my verdict. I didn’t know what to say. Talbot had helped us, but he’d also done so much to destroy my trust, I didn’t know how I could just forgive him and call it good.

“I just want to help,” Talbot said. “What happened here tonight was just a test. Caleb is eventually going to come at you with everything he’s got. You need all the help you can get.”

“He has a point,” Daniel said. “Talbot knows Caleb’s operations better than anyone. And he’s a good fighter.”

I was surprised Daniel was the one arguing on Talbot’s behalf. He knew what Talbot had tried to do to keep him from coming back. Talbot owed Daniel big-time for what he did. How could Daniel be so forgiving?

I thought about what Gabriel had said to me about forgiving people their debts. Could I really move on and let Talbot back into my inner circle again?

“I don’t know.”

Talbot pulled off his eye mask and stared at me. “Please, Gracie? Forgive me.”

I’d always been too trusting. Always tried to see the good in people. Was that a fault or a blessing? A weakness, answered the wolf. I didn’t know if I could trust myself to make the right choice at this moment.…

“It’s up to you,” I said to Daniel. “You’re the one he really crossed.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Truce, then.” Daniel offered the sword to Talbot again. “I gotta get me one of these.”

“Take it,” Talbot said, still staring at me. Why was he looking at me like that? Was he angry that I hadn’t been the one to forgive him? “I’ve got more than one.”

Daniel nodded in acceptance. He grabbed his now hole-ridden black coat and used it to wipe traces of Gelal acid from the blade, with a loving look on his face.

Talbot finally broke his gaze with me, but I could still feel the tension between us.

“Well, hey, how come you never gave me a sword?” I asked, trying to lighten things up. “I get stuck with a lousy stick with sparkles, and the boys get the fancy swords?” I held up the gooey nubbin, all that was left of my BeDazzled wooden stake. “Not. Fair.”

“I can get you one, too, kid.” Talbot smirked. “I just always thought you preferred the feel of wood in your hand.”

Daniel slammed his fist into Talbot’s stomach. Talbot doubled over, coughing.

“Just ’cause we have a truce doesn’t mean you can talk to my girlfriend that way,” Daniel said, but he had one of his devious smiles on his face.

I dropped my stake and took Daniel’s free hand in mine. I walked him to the exit before the two of them could get into a pissing contest or something—because I wouldn’t put it past either of them at the moment.

Daniel turned back to Talbot, who still rubbed at his abs. “Come by the house tomorrow. I want to know everything you know about Caleb and the Shadow Kings.”

Talbot nodded. That strange look passed over his eyes again. Perhaps it was just gratitude at the idea of being included in my life again?

OUTSIDE THE MAZE

Daniel and I made our way back to the farmhouse. To my surprise, the party had all but emptied out. Just a few dazed and confused teens milling about, experiencing the effects of coming out of a trance.

“Are the rest of the Akhs gone?” I asked.

“They must have smelled the dust in the air. That’s as good as yelling ‘police’ at a normal rave.”

“Good,” I said. I wouldn’t have felt like I could leave, knowing people like Katie were still being fed off of by demons. “I’m worried about Zach and Ryan. Do you think we should have gone after them?”

“No, I doubt they’re doing much more than running around that maze, swinging their stakes. Let them have some fun.”

I gave Daniel a wry smile.

“What?” he asked.

“I feel like we’re their parents or something.” I laughed. “I guess in a way we are. Us being their alphas and all. Just our boys are headed off to kill demons instead of their first day of school.”

“Hmm. That’s kind of the problem, isn’t it?” Daniel said under his breath, and looked down at the sword he’d tucked into his belt. A solemn quiet I didn’t expect after all that excitement seemed to fill the air around him. We walked in silence until we reached the Corolla. “I was impressed by the way you handled yourself out there,” Daniel said as he opened the passenger door for me. “You seemed so balanced. I didn’t have to worry once about you losing control.”