“I know. And I can’t explain it.” Her mind reeled. She adored Michael, but she knew she’d never feel about him the way she felt about Darien. And even that was too convoluted an association to sift through and make heads or tails of. “I think it’s best if we remain friends. No more.”
She moved past him and reached for the doorknob. He halted her in her tracks as he said, “You’re infatuated with him, aren’t you?”
“Don’t be absurd,” she scoffed. But her hand shook on the brass knob.
“You challenged him at the meeting and it seemed to intrigue him. But clearly, he was interested in you before that. He was the one watching us on the sidewalk, wasn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“And he kept us from kissing.”
“Yes.”
“Because he wants you for himself?”
“No,” she lied, though it hurt her to do so. They were friends. Yet he wouldn’t understand the attraction between her and Darien. Nor did she want to throw it in his face. “There is a degree of fascination on both our parts, I’ll confess, but that’s it. Nothing more, Michael.”
His jaw clenched as he mulled this over and likely tried to choose his next words judiciously. Finally, he said one more time, “Be careful, Jade.” He stalked toward her. Her hand fell from the knob. His replaced it and twisted. “Your eyes give you away when you talk about the Demon King.” He yanked on the door and marched past her.
* * * * *
Darien was in his study a week later when Morgan reported to him.
“The renegades that had set up camp on the Canadian border have disbanded,” the general told him. “No trace of the fire wraith. They’ve either retreated and have given up on assassinating you, or they’re out searching for reinforcements.”
“Likely the latter,” he said. “But there aren’t enough rogue demons on the continent to take on my army. Not even if he were to import them. The fire wraith needed me in the village to get to me. He knows he’ll never make it past the woods on our side of the river without being detected and captured. He can’t penetrate our patrols around the castle or scale our walls.”
“We should do a large-radius sweep,” Morgan suggested. “In all directions. Try to find out if they’ve regrouped somewhere else.”
“Yes. And I want reports from the regional stewards on any activity outside their own boundaries, in human villages as well as in uninhabited, remote areas.”
“Of course.”
Darien was quiet a moment, his brain churning with a disconcerting, yet highly tempting thought. “If I’m to go into Ryleigh, now would be the time to do it.”
He wasn’t worried about his own safety. He’d already challenged the fire wraith and proved he had more skill with a sword. But if he was going to keep Jade safe, he needed to disassociate himself from her so the renegade demon wouldn’t have a reason to return to the village. But before he completely severed the ties, he needed to see her one more time.
“Darien.”
His gaze fell upon his friend. “Yes?”
Morgan shifted from one booted foot to the other. “Forgive me for saying so, but I don’t think it would be wise for you to visit Jade.”
He massaged the nape of his neck where a knot of tension seemed to have taken up permanent residency since he’d met her. “I don’t disagree with you. But there is something that’s come up, which I’d like to investigate further.”
Morgan crooked a brow.
Darien said, “I saw a marking on her skin that is familiar to me. I couldn’t pinpoint where I’d seen it before, until last night, when I was thinking about her father.”
“Liam?”
With a nod, Darien said, “He established the village thirty-five years ago, at the end of the war. We both selected a similar location around the same time. I staked my claim atop the cliff, he chose his at the base, with the river dividing us. I’d been fascinated by his nerve when he didn’t move on once he’d learned where I intended to build my castle.”
“I recall he had quite a stubborn streak.”
“One he passed on to Jade. Along with a few other traits.”
He reached for a book on his desk and flipped it open where he’d flagged a section. In the center of the right-hand page was a sketch of three dots in an inverted triangle, though set slightly at an angle.