He wasn’t going to think about the shadows, or what they were capable of doing. Not now. He had too much to do.

Where was Katarina?

He stalked through the home. A stronghold in a desert realm where no one else would ever dare venture. The only patch of grass was located in a gated oasis found in the backyard. When wheeling and dealing with Galen, he’d insisted on a place for the dogs to run and play. Because. Just because. Galen had delivered, in his own unique way. Other than the palace and the oasis, the realm offered mile after mile of glaring sun, burning rocks, and black sand dunes.

Welcome to the Realm of the Forgotten.

To enter, you needed a key. Only Baden and Galen had one.

The longer he stayed here, the more likely his memory was to fade from the minds of everyone he’d ever met. A calculated risk. He didn’t want Hades to forget him. More missions meant more points.

In return for the key, Baden had to arrange a date between Galen and Legion. Or Honey. Or whatever the demon-girl-turned-human called herself these days.

Aeron loved her like a daughter. After the terrible abuse she’d suffered in hell, the male had done everything in his power to heal her mind as well as her body. While he’d had no trouble with the latter, he’d had no luck with the former. She suffered still. Maybe Galen was the answer. He and the girl had history.

Muted voices drew Baden around a corner and into a spacious kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances and white quartz countertops. His woman—his sweetest torment—came into view, and his body hardened, readied for her.

Had my fingers inside her. Want them there again.

She’d taken a shower and changed her clothes. A pink tank top and faded jeans made her look feminine and delicate—but he wanted her naked.

She placed bowls of food and water in front of the dogs while talking to—

The name clicked, and he realized why he’d once forgotten it. Fox, the new keeper of Distrust. She’d been here all along.

Stay away from Fox.

Words William had once said to him. Why?

Galen’s right-hand woman—back when he’d led the Hunters—had black hair, blue-gold eyes and angular features. She was slender but obviously tough. The kind of woman Baden had always found most attractive, and yet she couldn’t compare to the delicate Katarina.

“—he like?” Fox asked. With Distrust as her companion, she must be in a state of mental anguish at all hours of the day and night.

“Stubborn,” Katarina said. “Aggravating. Distrustful—”

“That, I can understand.”

He—as in me?

Baden pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth.

But Katarina wasn’t done. “Infuriating. Annoying.” A heavy sigh. “Witty, sexy and protective. Too protective!”

She thinks I’m sexy.

Galen sat at the table in the corner, sharpening a blade. Their gazes met, and the male shrugged, all Women!

“You failed to mention someone else lived here,” Baden remarked.

The girls jolted, facing him in unison. Katarina’s jaw dropped.

“You’re covered in char,” she said.

“I am.” He looked away from her, his gaze colliding with Fox, a sense of effervescence between them.

Longing? For her? No. Never. Had to be for Distrust. But Baden wanted nothing to do with the fiend. He wouldn’t miss a cancer that had been cut from his body, or any other disease he’d shed.

Except, at times, the demon had been his only source of companionship. Even with the other warriors around him, he’d often felt isolated.

But feelings weren’t always accurate, were they?

Smoke began to waft from Fox’s dark hair, the strands becoming flames. The demon was enraged? Because of him?

“Whoa,” Katarina said to her. “What’s happening to you?”

Fox rubbed her temples, the flames dying. “Sorry. Still learning control.”

Galen smiled at Baden. “Would you believe I forgot about my dear Foxy Roxy?”

No, but he wasn’t going to bust a nut about it. “I need weapons. The best you have.”

Katarina glared at him. “Are you ignoring me?”

“No.” A short but accurate response.

She pursed her beautiful lips.

Fox waved at him. “Nice to meet you. I guess.”

His gaze returned to her, Destruction pawing at his mind.

She’ll turn on us the way you almost turned against your friends. Kill her now.

Cold-blooded murder will never be okay. Katarina’s voice echoed inside his head.

Galen stood, saying, “You want weapons, I have weapons. This way.”

Baden followed him down a long hallway.

Katarina raced to keep pace beside him. “Why do you look like you caught fire? And why do you need weapons?”

“I’m at war. And I’ve been given another task.”

“Is the new task super dangerous?”

“Of course. Why? Are you going to insist on accompanying me?” He opened his mouth to remind her of her weakness and his strength, how she needed him but he would never need anyone, only to recall her threat to leave him.

Perhaps I need...her?

“Uh—no,” she said, disappointing him. “You have a job, and I have a job. The care and feeding of my new pets.”

“Don’t you care whether I live or die? Shouldn’t you want to watch my back?”

With a snort, she patted his arm. The skin-to-skin contact was paired with a lance of pain. He sucked in a breath, and she jerked her hand away. And yet, without her touch, he only felt a keen sense of disappointment.

Galen stopped inside a bedroom he’d turned into a warrior’s wet dream. Shelves lined the walls, and guns of every caliber, swords, daggers, grenade launchers, flamethrowers, and so much more filled the shelves.

“You’ll want to change.” With the press of a button, a closet opened, revealing an array of garments. Galen selected a black T-shirt and tossed it at Baden. “There are slits in the back for wings. You can use them to hide a pair of swords.”

Baden made the exchange. “I’ll also need a phone.”

Galen dug one out of his pocket and tossed it, too. As he stomped from the room, he muttered, “The former leader of the Hunters is now reduced to babysitting. FYI, this wasn’t part of my life plan.”

Baden texted Torin: reached new place am fine you guys still good.