“She should be here by now,” Everyn sat on the cool dusty floor of the abandoned home as she picked coaldust from beneath her nails.

  Sterling stopped his pacing momentarily to look out the window for about the thousandth time this hour, “Maybe she couldn’t use the Dewsilver right away.” he reasoned

  “She only had one Demon with her, a lower rank,” Ryala’s disembodied voice called out like a ghost from somewhere to their left. “She should have been able to get away easily.”

  “Maybe Martin was wrong,” Everyn shrugged. “Maybe this mythical Saint demon really isn’t all that. Maybe she just had some fluke moment of conscience when she let him go.”

  “Or,” Valan stressed. “She is what he says, she’s looking for freedom, but had to take the long way to get to us. She’d know better than anyone where they’d think to look for her.”

  Sterling nodded, “We’ll give her another hour, after that, we have to get back before they begin to worry about us.”

  “She’s coming,” Ryala’s low voice came from near the window.

  Valan crossed to the window, peaking out around the corner, “She’s alone, but she has a lot of Runebinds for her rank,” He informed them. “But her dress is wet; she must have come up from the beach instead of taking the main road.”

  Everyn stood up, “Smart. Easier to cover her tracks. She either really wants freedom or she’s really committed to making us think she does.”

  She made a move toward the window, but Sterling held up a hand, voice low, “Everyone but Valan back up. We don't know what kind of Runebinds she has. She might not know where we are yet. Let’s hold back in case others are coming.”

  “I can’t see her Binds very clearly through her dress from here but I don’t think I see God’s eye,” Valan updated. “And she’s looking around. I don’t think she knows where we are.”

  Everyn craned her next to see around Valan’s shoulder. A white ranked Faedemon with too many Binds who suddenly decided to turn to good? This thing got more and more interesting and more and more confusing the more she learned about it.

  She could barely see the white form on the horizon, silver hair sparkling even in the low light of the stars. Still even from this distance she knew.

  She pulled her cross bow from her shoulder, grabbing a poisoned bolt from her thigh.

  “What are you doing?” Sterling hissed.

  “It’s a trap,” She growled as she pulled back the string to load it, as she glanced back up through the window.

  The Demon was close enough now to confirm. It was her.

  “What do you see?” Valan muttered urgently, eyes darting around the road.

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  “I know that Demon,” Everyn shoved her way past Sterling, moving toward the window. “That’s the one who broke into Firyna, attacked Vengürd and Bryla. She had another with her before. I doubt she’s alone.”

  Valan grabbed her wrist, forcing her hand, and crossbow down, “Ev, she’s alone. No one came with her from the beach, no one on the main road.”

  Everyn felt Ryala brush her shoulder and set a hand on her shoulder, “The grass isn’t moving,” Her voice was low. “There’s no new tracks that I can see.”

  Valan nodded, “There’s no tracks in any direction that aren’t ours.” He confirmed. “There’s no one else.”

  “She’s dangerous,” She hissed, trying to pull away from his grip.

  Sterling grabbed her hood, yanking her roughly away from the window, "They're all dangerous,” He forced her bow to point at the ground and he turned her to face him. “And I don’t trust them as much as you do. But she’s here. If Valan says she’s alone, then she’s alone. And look at her, she doesn’t exactly look battle ready.”

  “She’s not even wearing shoes,” Valan added.

  “You are all insane,” She pulled away from Sterling. “I’m telling you she’s dangerous. I’m telling you Martin was wrong.”

  “Did you ever think maybe someone could change in 5 years?" Valan snapped, finally tearing his gaze away from the window for a mere second to glare at her before returning to his watch. “Don’t trust her? Fine. Don’t believe Martin? Fine. But trust me. I’m looking at her and I don’t think she’s here to hurt us.”

  “You don’t know anything,” She growled, pushing him away to set her sights on the Demon once again. She should have never gone through with this. A Faedemon was a Fae demon.

  She should have trusted her instincts and known there was no such thing as a good Demon. Right now she might look like a refugee, but she’d seen this creature as a bloodied beast. Who knows who she’d killed? It was a monster whether they believed her or not. One good act didn’t change that.

  As the Demon stopped in front of the house, Everyn steadied her aim. The poison on this bolt wouldn’t do much against her, but it should at least slow her enough they could get a head start. She should have insisted they waited to do this until she could scrounge up better alchemical supplies.

  Her finger found the trigger as the Demon head turned away from them. If she managed to hit the back of her neck, with luck, hit between the bone and nick her spinal cord, they would have their best shot at getting away.

  But Everyn didn’t get a chance to shoot. Her body froze as Ryana appeared in the doorway across the street fully visible.

  What if she missed? Ryala…

  No. She steeled her mind. She wouldn't miss. She couldn’t miss. Now that Ryala had stupidly given up her position she had to stop the Faedemon before she got hurt.

  She steadied her aim, focusing at the nape of the neck surrounded by shiny silver wisps.

  But she was interrupted again as Valan’s arms pinned her own to her side, her bolt tip forced toward the ground once again.

  His hand covered her mouth as he sensed her imminent protest.

  What Ryala was saying finally made it to Everyn’s pounding ears as Valan gripped her tightly, “I am not alone. Do not be alarmed.”