“Who do you know with knowledge, who has an understanding of the veil?” he asked.

She took several breaths before answering. “Doran and the other shamans might but it’s a long shot, and Berget, I suppose, if she could access the memories easier.”

“No one else?” Shit, there had to be someone, something they hadn’t tried.

Her eyes flicked up to his. “Maybe there is someone who would know, but I might have to kick his ass to get him to help.” She stepped back from him, a spark lighting her up. She had an idea that likely involved some level of danger; he saw it written all over her face.

He stifled a groan. Rylee and her ideas or hunches were usually right on, but that didn’t mean they were easy—ever.

Nor did it mean he would let her go on her own.

Alex let out a yip and pushed his way between them, so he could face Rylee. “Alex too. Rylee not leaving Alex.” He let out a low growl to punctuate.

Rylee let out a small laugh. “Yeah, of course you can come too.” She looked at Liam, put a hand on his cheek, resting it lightly. “Thank you.”

He smiled, leaned in and took her mouth in a kiss that he’d been waiting on a chance for all day. These moments were too few, but it made them all the more sweet.

“I’m going to find us something to eat in your barn stash.”

Her eyelids fluttered back open. “You know, you trained pretty good for a stuffy FBI agent.”

Laughing, she walked away and he watched her go, the sway of her body, the tumble of auburn hair down her back, her weapons so much a part of her he barely noticed them anymore. There was never a moment he regretted this life, even knowing it was coming to an end sooner than he liked.

“Come on, Alex. Let’s get the boss lady something to eat.”

Alex took off with a mad scramble, nearly breaking down the barn door in his excitement.

Shaking his head, he followed Alex into the barn. No, he would never regret the way his life turned out, no matter how it might end.

I knew it was a long shot, what I was planning, but I didn’t have much choice but to at least try. I couldn’t recall the symbols on the steel reinforced door in the castle, but if they were close enough to the ones Erik knew, I’d bet every last dollar I had that the doorway led into the deeper veils.

Getting to the doorway and getting in would be a matter of navigating the castle, finding the captain of the red caps, and then convincing him we should be allowed to use it. Simple, right?

Yeah, probably not so much.

I found Erik standing apart from the two dragons, who seemed to be having a heated conversation if their snaking heads and snapping teeth were any indication. I ignored them and headed for my uncle. Damn, that sounded weird, even inside my head. “What symbol would you put on something to keep a demon locked inside?”

He turned to face me, his eyebrows near his hairline. “And you want to know this why?”

“Don’t answer me with a question, just tell me what it looks like.” Damn it, I had to bite my tongue to keep from cussing him out.

“You aren’t a Slayer yet, Rylee. You don’t get all the tools until you’ve earned them.” His voice was even, but his eyes flashed and I swore there was a spark of fear in there.

“Oh fuck off.” So much for not cussing him out. “I don’t want to have all the tools, I don’t want the title, I don’t even want to be a freaking Slayer. I want to know what the symbol to keep a demon trapped would look like. Is that too fucking much to ask?”

His jaw twitched, but I couldn’t tell if he was angry or trying not to laugh at me.

He pulled a short dagger from his waist and the breath in my chest seized. There was no way he’d challenge me to a fight … was there?

He dropped to one knee and with the dagger drew a symbol in the mud. “Here, it looks like this.” He drew two squares, one inside the other, and inside the smaller square was a starburst. Simple, clean. Now it was a matter of matching it to what was on the doorway in the castle.

“What are you thinking?” Erik stood and wiped his dagger on his pants before putting it away.

“I have to see if that,” I pointed to the dirt at our feet, “matches what I think it does. Are you in?”

A snort escaped him, followed closely by a laugh. “I knew you were going to be difficult, hell, I even expected it. But I had no idea what I was getting into when I set off to find you.”

I didn’t know whether or not to take offense so I ignored him. Hell, I knew I was a pain in the ass, knew it was only a matter of time before I pissed off every person in my circle. Didn’t make me any less right though when I followed my gut.

I put my hands on my hips. “You in or not, old man?”

The two dragons behind us went absolutely still and silent, their snarls cut off in mid snap.

“Old man?”

“That’s what I called you. Seeing as you’re old.” Okay, so I was pushing, but I still wasn’t a hundred percent in when it came to him. He showed up out of nowhere, and while Blaz vouched for him, my uncle hadn’t been exactly forthcoming with how to deal with demons until it had been essentially forced on him.

“Well, since I’m so gods be damned old, I guess I’ll stay here and tend the fire.”

I shrugged. “Fine.” Hell, it wasn’t fine, but I wondered if he‘d be any real help anyway. Or if he would let us get hurt and then try to fix it.

I walked away, paused and turned back. “If that’s all you’ve got in the way of being helpful maybe you and Ophelia should leave.”

The air grew heavy and Erik kept his back to me for a split second before spinning, anger etched on his face. “You think you can do this alone? You think you’ve got it in you to finish this without anyone else? You’re as blind as your idiotic parents.”

I faced him, all the years of anger and hurt, all the betrayal and loss I’d dealt with on my own finally getting a voice. “Where were you when I needed you, uncle? Where were you when my parents died, when I needed my family? Where were you? Oh, that’s right, you were a drunk who couldn’t be relied on when they needed you the most. You think my parents were idiotic? Well, maybe to you they seemed like it, but how would you have known when you were always sauced to the gills? Ophelia isn’t even your dragon, is she?”

He flushed and Ophelia sucked in a sharp breath, purple in her eyes flooding the iris.