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“Did you just spank me?” I toss over my shoulder then continue over to my suitcase, an added sway in my hips as I go.

“Comes with the territory.”

“Spanking?” I arch an eyebrow as I turn to face him while I dress. Nix’s eyes appear hungry as he traces the long, black lace sleeves of my fitted top. His black hair is rumpled from a night of exploring each other’s bodies, and his bare torso is the picture of sin as he rests back against the white sheets. His honed muscles, black ink snaking up one arm and stretching just past his collarbone where his chain rests, and the silver ring through his nose all command my attention.

“Issuing punishment.” He smirks.

“You think after last night I deserve punishment?” I didn’t know it was possible to have the kind of orgasm he gave me from being eaten out. Three times. I’ve had them with past lovers, but Goddess, that was otherworldly. I wonder what sex is like with him and those shadows.

“No.” He shakes his head as I sit on the edge of the bed and pull on a pair of socks, followed by my boots. “But for leaving this bed you do.”

I chuckle. “Sorry, a witch has duties other than her own pleasure. We can’t all live in lust and greed.”

Two arms hug my middle and pull me back to the mattress. Nix hovers over me and draws a finger up my sternum to my chin, tilting it up until I meet his eyes, and the gold halo surrounding us.

I don’t know how the bond was affected after giving in to it like we did, but I don’t feel any more strongly toward him, not how Rowan described the wolf bonds. The magic between us flared hot and bright, more than any other time we’ve touched, but there wasn’t some cataclysmic shift in the universe… just between my thighs.

“Are you sure I can’t persuade you to join my side?” His shadows creep under the hem of my long skirt and circle up my calf.

I push back at his chest, flipping us until I’m straddling his lap.

“Sorry, I’m a good witch.”

“Yeah.” My body shivers at the soft acknowledgment. “You are.” His hands rub over my hips through the fabric. “So you had another vision?”

I nod. “It sounded like someone needing help. I used to have these kinds of dreams or premonitions multiple times a week, but since I started seeing Hemlock they stopped.”

“So, what do you do now?”

“Go find my sister and Celeste. Tell them what I saw. See if we can narrow down where to go and who to help.”

“Is this your job?”

“It’s my duty as a witch,” I say. “My moral honor to my powers to help those in need, but my actual job is working in my mother’s apothecary. We sell things like botanical remedies, wellness products, herbs, and crystals.”

“You really are the good guys.” Nix chuckles, but it’s laced with heaviness. I push my powers forward, trying to get a read on his emotions. In all the times I’ve done this, I’ve never felt the hatred and evil that I’m accustomed to with a demon. It’s not a poisonous sludge, but more of a murky elixir: a lightness that’s riddled with resentment and obligation. If he hasn’t been a demon long, it could be his humanity still clinging to his mind. Even though I have an innocent to save, that’s all I can think about for the rest of the day.

Streetlamps light up the path as Sloane and I make our way to Wild Moon, a vintage fashion store twenty minutes from Hemlock in another small town named Oakmoss Falls.

Since my vision took place at night, we spent most of the day continuing our research on Theodora Solomon and the owner of this store, trying to connect lines to any covens in the area. We couldn’t find much beyond the store’s social media account. The owner was pictured, but she didn’t match the woman from my vision.

Bright orange leaves dust the brown brick path of the old merchant square with color. The crisp air picks up the leaves, making them dance in little flurries at our feet.

“You’re sure this vision has nothing to do with the dagger?” Sloane asks, walking slower than usual. Maybe it was a bad idea to bring her along. Celeste was meeting an old friend nearby who could tell her more about mate bonds. Sloane knew she’d change her plans to accompany me here and make Sloane stay in bed if we told her what we were up to.

“Pretty sure,” I say, matching the buildings we pass with the landmarks against the map on my phone. “This one was more like the visions I normally get, a complete picture, for starters. Plus, it felt different.”

“Is there anything you can do to trigger more visions? It’s not my favorite idea, but maybe you should try physical contact with the demon.”

My cheeks grow hot.

I can’t tell Sloane what happened between me and Nix last night. She’ll lose her shit. It’s strange, though—I didn’t get any clarity on us, but our intimacy summoned a new vision when my powers have otherwise been blocked. Is that a coincidence?

“Maybe.” I try for nonchalance. “I’ve been denying it before now, but perhaps it’s time to embrace it and see what happens.”

Sloane stops me with a hand across my chest and a pinch in her brow. “Embrace might be the wrong word. He’s still a demon.”

Any excuse is caught on the tip of my tongue. I hate lying to my sister. Before Sloane can push the matter, a muffled scream pierces the quiet night.