“I have to go, Ely,” Aba said, heading for the door.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, you cannot. You will draw the demons. Your aura will be a magnet for them.”
“I’ll block it!”
He cast her a wry smile. “It’s ingrained in you, child. Unlike humans, demons would see you coming from miles. Your angelic essence is not solely in the core of you.” His gaze settled on her head. “But it reflects in your hair, too. Your light color makes it more noticeable.”
What the heck?
She couldn’t go because of her damn hair!
I’ll see about that!“Wait for me.” She swept past him into the workshop.
“Ely—”
She spun back. “Aba, if you don’t wait, I will follow. I won’t—I can’t fail him again.”
He stared at her, and after an endless second, he nodded at whatever he saw on her face. “All right. Perhaps, it would be better if he sees you. He cares for you.”
Or, she’d killed off whatever he felt for her.
Gods, she prayed it wasn’t so. “I’ll be back.”
* * *
Back at the castle and in her room, Ely changed out of her leathers into jeans and swapped her boots for a lower-heeled, studier pair. She grabbed a few more things from her closet, along with her obsidian dagger, and shoved them all in a small knapsack. Her bag hooked over one shoulder, denim jacket in hand, she left her room and ran down the back stairs, tracking Kira to the TV lounge.
Shadow was with her.
“Hey?” Kira smiled, slouching on the armchair and playing with the diamond eternity ring on her finger, one Týr had gifted her recently. “You’re not on patrol?”
“No.” Ely shut the door behind her.
Shadow sprang to her feet, the red specks in her eyes bright with concern. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure.” Darn, she didn’t want to drag them into what she was about to do. “Kira, I need a favor.”
“Sure.” She leaped up. “As long as it’s not fighting or something.”
“No, no. Nothing so strenuous.” She grimaced, unable to force even a smile, not when her nerves were strangling her to get moving. “My hair—” She pulled her braided ponytail to her front. “Will you change the color? I’d tint it, but I don’t have the time.”
“What?” Kira’s hazel eyes widened with disbelief. “Why would you want to do that? The color’s gorgeous.”
“And too noticeable.” She sighed. “It seems my angelic glow is still visible to demons through my hair.” She had to work on her damn shields.
“Ah, okay. All right. Sit.” She waved to the armchair. “I can totally understand why, especially in your line of work. I do the same thing not to draw notice.” She touched her curly, auburn locks.
Aware that Shadow watched and waited, Ely dropped her thing on the seat and lowered to the armrest. Man, sitting made her feel like a colony of ants were burrowing under her skin.
“So, what color?” Kira asked, coiling Ely’s yard-long braid around her palm.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Dark. Yes, go black like Shadow’s hair. I like it. No white streaks.”
Shadow laughed, a little color flushing her pale cheeks. She swept back the white lock at the front of her brow. “You should try it. Skunk highlight will make anyone run,” she teased, then her features sobered. “You know this streak has a story to tell, huh?”
“I know,” Ely said, aware of the dangerous life Shadow had led after her rebirth with the symbionts, until she met Nik. “Life will hand us raw deals, and we might falter under their weight, but it doesn’t mean it should keep us down forever.”
