“I want to help,” I insisted. “Cowering behind you when you’re fighting is pretty much the opposite of that.”
“And if you get caught up in the fight, I’ll be too distracted to focus on what I’m doing.”
He had a point, but still. I had wings now. Not that using them went particularly well the last time I tried to fly. And I had a dagger. But I also knew he’d only given it to me for emergency situations. It was for a last-ditch effort, just in case everything went horribly wrong. Just in case he was no longer around to save me.
And I wouldn’t be the reason Caim Stone, the best man I’d ever met, died.
“Okay,” I finally said, relenting.
He rubbed his thumb along my jaw and smiled. “And don’t look so worried. Everything is going to be fine.”
29
Eva
We moved into the Legion’s meeting room in the back of the club to listen to the ham radio for any word from the police about another demon attack. The guys lounged around the table piled with open pizza boxes, playing a game of poker, while Anya and Sarah were gathering alcohol-free drinks from the bar. No more booze. Not when a fight loomed. But it still almost felt like we weren’t waiting on pins and needles, ready to go to battle at any given moment.
Phenex let out a roar of victory as he threw his cards onto the table. Full house. Stolas and Bael grumbled and pushed their chips over to Phenex’s side of the table. I nibbled on a slice of veggie pizza and glanced at the open door.
When we’d relocated from the main part of the club, Caim had said he’d be right behind us. He just had to take care of something first. That had been well over an hour ago. Where the hell was he?
Valac, who quietly sat by my side, not playing cards, caught me staring at the hallway. He leaned close. “Don’t worry. He’ll be back soon.”
I frowned. “So, he actually leftInfernal?”
At first, I’d just assumed he was taking care of club business. Maybe he’d gone to his office to process some paperwork or something. After our conversation about the dagger and the impending fight, it seemed odd he’d vanish right when he was likely needed most. If we heard news of an attack, we’d have to move fast.
“He just had some business to attend to before this evening’s fight,” he replied, his voice so soft that I could barely make out the words.
“Attend to what?” I asked, turning toward him. “He didn’t mention anything to me earlier.”
His luminous eyes raked across me, and I braced myself. But the scraping didn’t come. Instead, he pressed his thin lips together and eyed the table where the guys had started up a new game. Distantly, the radio crackled. Every now and then, a few words were shouted over the line, but nothing about an attack.
“I couldn’t say,” he replied with a shrug. “He said he needed to look into something, but he didn’t elaborate.”
Valac was a terrible liar. His jaw had tensed, and he refused to meet my gaze. Even his voice sounded a little off. Funny that. You’d think demons would be better than most at deceit.
I considered pressing the issue, but my thoughts were interrupted by another roar coming from the trio of poker players. With a wicked grin, Phenex jumped up from his chair. It toppled to the ground as he danced around it, waving his aces high in the air.
“Got you again,” he crowed. “Pay up!”
Stolas narrowed his eyes as he pushed another stack of chips across the table. “I’m starting to suspect you might not be playing by the rules.”
Phenex chuckled, throwing down his cards. “Just accept it, Stolas. You suck at poker. You always have.”
“Or maybe I only suck because you’ve been cheating this entire time.” He glanced over at Bael, who was merely rolling his eyes. “You always seem to win. Not me. Not Bael. Not Caim.”
Phenex whirled my way and gave me a little finger wag. “You know how to play poker, Eva?”
“Um, yeah?”
“Good.” He turned back to the others, still grinning. “Deal her in. See if she can beat me. Then, maybe you two will stop crying about being so shit at cards.”
“If you’re cheating, you’ll probably find a way for her to win just to prove your point.” Stolas leaned back in his chair, arms folded. “You’re messing with the cards.”
Bael rubbed his chin. “I mean, Stolas does have a point. You never lose a game.”
As they bickered amongst themselves, I leaned in close to Valac to whisper into his ear. “I’m guessing you can tell whether or not Phenex is cheating.”
