Page 2 of Knight’s Salvation

She invited them in, and ducking so they didn’t brain themselves on the doorframe, they followed.

Her place was sparsely furnished, and what she did have was worn out and old. She didn’t have any of that knickknacky crap Kryos’s and Lazarus’s mates had scattered all over their apartments either.

She stood in front of them, waiting expectantly. Zenon retreated a few steps. Better Rocco did the talking. Communication of any kind, dealing with humans—or any species for that matter—was not where his skills lay. If he tried, he’d just mess it up.

“We have a room all ready for you at our compound, and the plane to take us home will be touching down in an hour or so,” Rocco said.

He and Roc had flown the old-fashioned way. Wing power was still the quickest way to fly, but when they transported new demi-demons they used a plane. Not just because carrying someone while flying was an extremely intimate act, but because most new demi were freaking the fuck out, and holding onto someone fighting and screaming was just too dangerous. Something the knights used to do for a lot of years before humans got it together and came up with alternative options for transportation.

Demi-demons like Mia—half human, half demon hybrids—were a hot commodity among full-blooded demons, and were bought and sold as slaves for their unique abilities. A new demi’s powers reached a peak exactly one month after they developed, when all that unstable energy could no longer be contained and escaped in a rush. An inbuilt sense, kind of like an alarm going off, alerted the knights when that happened. It was their job to get there first before they could be captured by rogue demons or, worse, taken to Hell where suffering took on a whole new meaning.

But this morning Mia had called them, asking to be picked up, which had surprised the hell out of all of them. And for some fucked up reason, he stepped forward. Unsurprisingly, he’d received more than a few worried glances from his brothers.

Zenon kept all contact with the demi-demons they rescued to a minimum. He fought, he hunted…and he killed. He wasn’t good at putting people at ease, wasn’t good at small talk. Not like Rocco.

Rocco’s gaze softened, waiting for the meltdown that would come next. Not many handled leaving everything they knew behind and never looking back well. But Mia just nodded with a small lift of her lips. “I’m all packed and ready to go.”

Zenon didn’t usually pay much attention to the females he encountered, but this one was, well, she was different. He couldn’t work out how, there was just…something. She was short—five-six, maybe five-seven, but then most people seemed short to him. Being well over six feet that was a given. Her body was rounded, soft, and her skin—her skin looked pale and smooth. His fingers twitched at his side. What would it feel like?

He frowned at the uncharacteristic thought.

She wore jeans and a pale green sweater that highlighted a narrow waist. And her long red hair—shit, it glowed. Yeah, she was—lovely. There was no other way to describe her.

He couldn’t sense what type of demon had sired her, but whatever it was had resulted in delicate facial features and a pink heart-shaped mouth that Zenon thought might taste sweet, like cotton candy.

He tore his gaze from her.

What the hell? Cotton candy?

He studied the tiny apartment, looking anywhere but at the pixie-featured female smiling openly at Rocco. People didn’t like it when he looked at them, especially females, so he fought the unfamiliar impulse to do just that.

“I’ve heard so much about all of you from Chaya,” she said.

Rocco smiled back, charming as always. “Your sister did a good job teaching you to block that initial rush of power, Mia. None of us sensed you this morning.”

Zenon shot a glance at the other knight. What was he talking about? He’d woken up, gut in knots, skin tingling, more than aware of the new demi-demon throwing out enough energy to light up every apartment in Roxburgh. Whatever she was, he’d never felt anything like it before.

“I thought I’d be okay on my own. Chaya was going to see me through the transition, but I, well…I think I’m going to need more help than she can give me.” She lifted her hand, and Zenon sucked in a breath as delicate flames licked across the tips of her slender fingers. Her waist-length red hair lifted and flew around her face and shoulders like she was surrounded by a mini tornado.

“Jesus.” Rocco looked back at him. “You seen anything like that before?”

He shook his head, making sure to keep his gaze on Roc and not Mia. She’d been darting glances at him since they’d arrived, but he knew it was more morbid curiosity than genuine interest.

“Your and Chaya’s father, do you know what breed of demon he was?” Rocco asked.

The fact that this female had a sister was an oddity, one they’d never encountered before. Demi-demons were usually conceived through the most despicable act of violence, but from what Mia had told Chaos over the phone that morning, their mother had loved the male who’d sired them.

She dropped her hands, and the wind stopped. Her straight glossy hair drifted back into place, settling at her waist. “No, and our mother never told us.”

“Do you know where we can find him?”

She shook her head. “Sorry. He disappeared when I was a baby.”

Her phone started up, the ringtone “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves.”

Roc snorted, a grin spreading across his face.

She raced to the tatty old couch in the corner and rummaged through her bag. Face flushed, she answered. “Chay?”