As another shout erupted, Tori streaked out of the dining room. I ran after her, Amalia on my heels. We sped into the compact kitchen and through a door tucked in a nook near the fridge. A straight staircase led downstairs.

Tori barreled down the steps, then pulled up short. I almost crashed into her back as I skidded to a stop.

The basement had been converted into a gym, the floor space packed with exercise equipment, weights, a punching bag, and a sparring area. My gaze whipped across it until I found my demon—along with the three mages. All four of them were standing among the weightlifting equipment.

“No way. It’s impossible.”

“But he just deadlifted six hundred pounds like it was nothing.”

“He’s shorter than you. It just isn’t physically possible.”

As Aaron and Kai debated, I noticed the loaded barbell sitting on the floor in front of Zylas. I wasn’t sure how much weight was packed onto it, but the metal plates were huge.

“You have no idea what a demon can do,” Ezra told his friends with quiet amusement.

Zylas gave the barbell a look like it had just called him a liar. With an annoyed snap of his tail, he grabbed the bar and heaved it up to chest height with about the same amount of effort I expended lifting large bags of flour at the grocery store.

My stomach dropped at the sight.

“Holy shit,” Aaron muttered under his breath.

“What is the point of this?” Zylas asked grumpily, holding the barbell with no apparent strain. “Lifting heavy things?”

Ezra’s mouth twitched as he suppressed a smile. “Humans do it to make themselves stronger.”

“This makes hh’ainun stronger?”

Zylas didn’t need any help becoming stronger, I thought faintly, unable to tear my eyes away from the tight, hard muscles in his arms.

“Can you lift it over your head?” Aaron asked almost warily.

Widening his stance, Zylas pushed the bar upward. As it rose over his head, slow heat flushed through my body, climbing from my toes up to my face until my cheeks were throbbing with it.

Holding the weights above his head had engaged every muscle in Zylas’s body. Arms, shoulders, chest, abdominals, thighs, calves. Hard, lean, defined muscles beneath that beautiful, smooth, dusky-red skin. My mouth went dry, my head swirling, my thoughts fuzzy.

As he lowered the barbell, an elbow prodded my ribs, jarring me out of my trance. I darted a petrified glance at Tori.

“What did I tell you?” She arched an eyebrow. “Perfect abs.”

Had she noticed me gawking at him? My cheeks burned. “I dare you to say that to his face now that he can talk back.”

Not that she needed to repeat herself. Even whispering, she hadn’t spoken quietly enough for Zylas’s sensitive hearing to miss her observation.

A flicker of his irritation touched my mind, and I peeked at the demon again—just as he bared his teeth at Tori from across the room, a silent threat.

Maybe I should’ve warned her not to tease Zylas. Familiarity from humans he didn’t trust wasn’t something he wanted or tolerated. Plus, he didn’t like being stared at.

“Okay.”

Aaron’s decisive voice snapped me back to the present.

“Let’s find your limit, demon,” he said, sliding another huge plate off the weight rack. Kai moved to help him, while Ezra hung back, caught halfway between amusement and exasperation.

Flicking his tail, Zylas straightened a strap on his armor that had shifted during his last lift. “Why? It is stupid.”

“You can prove how much stronger you are than a human,” Ezra explained helpfully.

“I already know hh’ainun are weak.”

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cringe at his bluntness. “We, uh, should probably get going.”

Aaron flashed me a charming grin as he passed another plate to Kai. “Just one more. All males like to show off their strength. Whoever can lift the most wins.”

My nose scrunched.

“Ch,” Zylas huffed. “There is no victory in this. It is only strength. Hh’ainun are stupid.”

I coughed back a laugh. “Brawn over brains” psychology was the last thing that would work on Zylas. He owned his reputation as a cowardly fighter, satisfied with victories gained through wit and cunning instead of brute power.

Ignoring the demon’s lack of enthusiasm, Aaron and Kai stuffed as many plates onto the barbell as they could fit.

Zylas eyed the barbell as the two mages stepped back with an air of expectation. I could practically see the demon considering his options. He didn’t care what the humans thought of him, but he did care about the Dīnen of Dh’irath, who was watching him from behind Ezra’s pale iris.

Scowling, Zylas leaned down to grasp the bar. My heart climbed into my throat as he set his feet and lifted. This time, the weights came up slowly, the steel bar bowing from the pressure. Muscles bunched in his arms and his breath rushed through his clenched teeth. With a rough half-growl, he heaved it up to his chest.

My stomach did that dropping thing again.

The demon got one triumphant moment before a clip on the end of the bar gave way. The mages leaped forward as Zylas staggered and a plate slid off, crashing to the floor. Ezra grabbed the bar, taking a portion of the weight, while Aaron and Kai heaved up on each end of the barbell, stopping more plates from sliding off.

Together, they lowered the barbell to the floor. Zylas stepped back, puffing and rolling his shoulders as Kai began counting the weights. I bit my lip, hoping Zylas hadn’t hurt himself.

“Tired?” Aaron asked the demon, amused.

Crimson eyes swung to the mage. His fingers closed around the front of the taller man’s shirt and, with one arm, Zylas lifted Aaron off the floor. The mage grabbed his wrist, eyes wide with alarm.

“It would take more than that to make me tired,” Zylas growled.

He opened his hand and Aaron dropped to the mats. The mage took a quick step back, putting himself out of the demon’s immediate reach.

Ezra shook his head. “You just don’t know when to keep quiet, do you, Aaron?”

“What?” Aaron muttered. “I was just asking.”

“You’re lucky he even played along with the weightlifting thing. He could’ve just brained you with a hundred-pound plate.”

“I do not need a weapon to kill him,” Zylas corrected.

Amalia snorted in amusement and I sighed. Well, it wasn’t like demons were known for their friendliness or charm.

Turning to Tori, I found her worrying her lower lip, but I wasn’t sure if she was watching Ezra or Zylas.

“As soon as you have a location,” I told her, “we can begin.”

She dragged her attention off the men and focused on me. Her hazel eyes were tight with uncertainty but her jaw was set with determination.

“Give me twenty-four hours.”

Chapter Eight

Amalia blew on her hands, her breath fogging in the chill air. “What’s taking so long?”

Huddled in the bus stop shelter, I peered down at my phone. Ezra’s message from two hours ago glowed on the screen, instructing us to meet him at a downtown coffee shop in an hour. That hour had come and gone, and the coffee shop had closed for the night, leaving Amalia and me lingering on the dark street.