ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

My heart pounds as I shoot through the front door. I'm panting heavily from running here, but I still seem to be running off adrenaline.

I'm immediately met by signs of a struggle—splinters of wood on the floor, chunks of plaster taken out of the walls, drops of blood leading to the stairs.

Blood?

Fuck.

My heart sinks as I breathe in, hoping desperately that I don't recognize Ava's scent in the blood.

"Someone needs to call Zane," Kieran says from the other room.

"I'll call him," a soft voice says and I sigh in relief. It's Ava.

"Baby?!" I call, my voice more strained and frantic than I expected.

I round the corner to see Ava and Kieran sitting on the couch. They both whip their heads in my direction and I see Ava's face and neck covered in blood spatter.

I think I'm going to be sick.

"It's okay, babe," she says, standing up and walking over to me. "I'm fine. We're all fine."

I try to move but my limbs seem to be frozen in place. She wraps her arms around me and rests her head on my chest.

I step back, looking over her body for injuries. She seems fine, but she's soaked in blood.

"You're covered in blood," I say. "How-"

"She stabbed the fucker in the neck," Finn says, entering the room with a black feather in hand. He hands me the feather and I quickly recognize it as my own, but its shaft is coated in blood.

"You stabbed the attacker with... my feather?"

"I... I did. I'm sorry, I didn't have any other options and the-" I interrupt her by pulling her in and lifting her off the ground.

"Baby, you can take every feather I have if it means you're safe."

I set her back on her feet and take a real breath—the first time I've truly been able to breathe in the last fifteen minutes.

"Where's Kami?" Ava asks.

"She took the tube, I ran."

"You ran here? How far was it?"

"It was only nine kilometers. That would be... what... five or six miles?"

I lift one of my black boots to inspect the damage. There's a solid half-inch of wear and the tread is mostly gone.

I guess I'll need new boots.

"So who was it then?" I ask. "Or what?"

"It was a Shaytan," Finn says.

Shit.

Shayatin are bad news. They creep into your mind and make you relive your worst memories. They're excellent interrogators—dangerously so—but they're evil. They delight in prying into the psyche and leaving their victims shattered.

If one got to Ava, I'll give this bastard a memory they won't forget.

"Where is it?"

"I cuffed him," Finn says, pointing to the broom closet. "He's in that cupboard over there."

I step back from Ava, but she gives me a scolding look.

"Zane," she says in a low voice, "you're not in the best mindset for this right now."

"For what?" I ask, feigning innocence.

"We need to be strategic," Finn says. "Use him for intel."

"We know everything we need to know. He's one of Leviathan's demons. You think that's a coincidence? I kill his brother, his demon comes for me. What else can we learn?"

The only thing left to learn is how to skin a Shaytan.

I smirk at the thought.

"Yep," Kieran says. "That's his evil smile. I'm out."

"He's unconscious anyway," Finn says. "Ava got his brain stem, so he's still healing."

"Fuck, really?" I look to Ava for confirmation and she nods. "Great aim, baby."

"Yeah, um... thanks" she mumbles.

"How did they even get to Ava?" I give Finn and Kieran a sharp glare. "You two were supposed to make sure that never happened."

"They caught us off guard, okay?" Kieran says.

I thought that Ava would be safe with an Immortal and a demon, but if there were more than just one Shaytan this could have gone much worse.

"I honestly didn't expect Shayatin to be involved. This is a whole new problem."

"How so?" Ava asks.

"Shayatin are incredibly strong and very dangerous."

"He's right," Finn says. "Kieran and I just aren't going to cut it."

"It's not like we have a lot of options."

"I may actually have one option... it's a friend of mine. He does bodyguard work. I've seen him take on eight Immortals at once and walk away unscathed."

"Holy shit, what is this guy?" Kieran asks.

"Sorry, that's his private business."

What could he possibly be that would be that strong?

I look at Ava and the deep red stains on her skin and clothing, then back to Finn.

"Set up a meeting."

𝔸𝕧𝕒

We follow Finn along the walkway of the college campus where we're meeting his mystery friend.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Zane curses. "Why me? What's the problem with me specifically?"

"You're just gonna have to trust me," Finn says, his eyes soft and wide.

"I don't know." He crosses his arms and looks at me. "How do you feel about this, love?"

"I keep telling you I'm fine by myself," I say. "I can handle it. Besides, Finn vouched for him."

Zane nods begrudgingly.

"Where are we headed anyway?"

"We're here," Finn says, gesturing to the impressive brick building to our left.

"The library?" I ask.

"He's a bit particular and he doesn't have a cell phone, so if you need to find him you come here."

Sounds like a creep, but okay.

We head in through large double doors. The library is massive, at least four floors high with a large opening in the center. There are books on every wall, filling every nook.

If there is such a thing as a sexy library, this would be it.

"Alright, mate," Finn says to Zane.

"Fine," he huffs. He kisses me on the cheek then waves to Finn. "I'll be nearby."

I walk with Finn to the center area and he instructs me to sit at the end of a long wood table beside the Autobiographies shelf.

"I'm gonna look for him, you sit tight."

I nod, looking over to the bookshelf for something to entertain me while I wait. Most of these are about obscure historical figures I've never heard of.

I stand up and step into the aisle to see more choices and I find a chef's biography that has recipes in it. My interest probably has nothing to do with the fact that I'm really hungry right now.

A man down the aisle looks up at me and smiles slightly, revealing subtle dimples. He has short, curly, light-brown hair styled and a bit of a beard. He's wearing a dark grey, long-sleeve henley and dark-wash skinny jeans.

So far, my experience of British people is that they're all super attractive, like—obnoxiously so.

Is this what all of them look like?

I wander back to the table and sit down with my book, paging through and mostly focusing on the pictures.

Is that a tomato cake? Eww.

"Hello, gorgeous," a low, smooth voice says from over my shoulder.

I turn to see the handsome man from earlier, leaning on the table and giving me a knock-out smile.

Is this the Siren pheromones again? I mean, I'm cute and all, but this is getting a little ridiculous.

Jen did say there may still be some residual effects.

"Hi," I say quickly, trying to shut down the conversation. My eyes drop to my book and I pretend to read.

"Do you usually read cookbooks in the library?"

"I... uh..." I mutter, "only on reading cookbooks day."

He chuckles quietly before gesturing to the seat next to me.

"May I?"

I nod, unsure what else to do.

As I look around, I catch Zane's silhouette. He's on the mezzanine above us, leaning against the railing with his arms crossed. Our eyes meet and he raises an eyebrow at me.

My best response is a shrug in which I attempt to convey the message 'Sorry, I'm dealing with it. It will be fine. I'm not interested.'

His green eyes narrow slightly but he remains stationary.

"You American?" the man asks, not getting the hint.

"Yep."

"I love your accent." He smiles, his dimples showing through.

"Thanks," I say.

"I'm Morgan."

"Ava."

He leans an elbow on the table and leans slightly toward me.

"Can I take you out some time?"

Of all the things I expected him to say next, I really didn't expect that one.

"I don't mean to be forward, but I... I feel this incredible connection with you and you're absolutely beautiful and I just... This is coming off really stalker-like, isn't it?"

I nod awkwardly, giving him a polite smile.

"I never do this," he says. "I guess I'm making a fool of myself, I just..."

His expression morphs into one of sadness or maybe anger.

"Piss off, mate," another voice says.

Uh oh. Zane didn't stay upstairs.

"I don't believe I was talking to you," Morgan says.

"No, but you're talking to my girl," he says, his eyes getting greener by the second.

"That's my girl," he growls. My eyes go wide with shock and Zane jerks, as if the words physically knocked him back.

Why does this guy think I'm his?

"Excuse me??" Zane's voice is dark and gritty. He puffs up his chest and his eyes glow with fury.

"What are you?" Morgan asks, shaking his head and hitting it with his fist, like he's trying to shake something out.

"I could ask you the same."

"Morgan!" Finn says, hurrying over to us.

"Finn? What are you doing here?" He looks between a concerned Finn and an enraged Zane. "You brought a Siren into my library??"

Morgan begins to shake, taking multiple steps away from us.

"I'm sorry, he was supposed to stay away," Finn said. "Zane, please go!"

"He was trying it on with Ava," Zane says, clenching his fists.

"Please, Ava. This is going to get bad. You have to convince him to go, now," Finn pleads in my head.

I walk up to Zane and place my hands on his chest.

"He's threatened. He needs to know you're not going to leave him."

"I'm yours," I say, looking into his eyes. "Nobody can take me from you and I can handle this guy. I promise."

He sighs before snapping back and rushing out the front door.

"Okay, somebody tell me what the fuck is going on."

"I'm sorry," Morgan says, taking in a deep breath. "It was a mistake. Finn should know better than to have brought him around here."

Oh, thanks. That explains nothing at all.

"So you're like... anti-Siren? Why?"

"I'm not anti- anyone."

I look back and forth between them, hoping someone has a better explanation for me.

"Sod it, Finnegan," he huffs, stepping around a bookshelf to shield our conversation. He begins to whisper. "I don't fancy you, your boyfriend does. I got caught up in his ruddy feelings because... I'm an empath."

Oh.

Wait—what does that mean?