There would be no hiding or escaping from the whisperers. I was being watched and followed. I could try to find a church like Jay, considering the spirits and Dukes wouldn’t go in. But they’d still know where I was, and they’d send their human lackeys in after me. All I could do was try to stay one step ahead.

Even on the open roads, surrounded by immense earthly beauty, I felt trapped.

Where are you, Dad? What am I supposed to do now? My brilliant plan to speak with Marek had been a whopping fail.

I wouldn’t cry, but my eyes burned and my breathing felt ragged.

The last thing Dad had advised, and all we Neph agreed to, was to pretend to work. Maybe that was what I should do. Instead of running and hiding, I could head to college. It was Dad’s plan for my life. My next “duty station,” where I’d put on a show of being a student while partying it up. Would it throw the Dukes off if I kept with the working charade instead of running and looking guilty? Anything was worth a try at this point.

I headed to Blacksburg, checking into a hotel since the dorms weren’t open.

Dorms. College. Ha. It was all in my grasp, and yet it wasn’t. I couldn’t even be excited by the cute town or fun atmosphere.

I tossed and turned all night, sweating despite the blasting air conditioner. My whole body hurt, and I fought the urge to go out and buy more painkillers, worried I’d take more than I should. I woke at six a.m. from a dream that was blurred and faint.

The sheets were still tangled around my hips when the knock at the door came, and my heart rate rocketed. I disengaged myself from the blankets, and grabbed the stun gun and knife from the nightstand. This hotel had no window or door through which to escape. My brain whirled.

Was it the sons of Thamuz? Kope had hurt one of them pretty badly—I couldn’t imagine they’d be on the go already. Hotel staff wouldn’t knock at the door this early. It had to be a Neph or Duke. Whisperers must have found me while I slept. Was it Marek and Caterina again? With great effort I forced my extended hearing outside the door and whispered, “Who is it?”

“Kaidan Rowe. Son of Pharzuph.”

My breath stuck and my internal organs somersaulted. It was his voice. But why did he sound so formal? And what the heck was he doing here? I sprinted to the entrance—no peephole!

I stood in front of the door, shaking. “What do you want?”

“I need to speak with you. Open up.”

Either it was really him, and something horrible was happening, or someone was doing a dang good impersonation.

“I’m not here to hurt you.” He spoke softly, but his tone sounded dangerous.

I didn’t want to be scared of Kaidan. My Kai. But instincts made me clutch the knife harder.

Swallowing down the moisture of emotion, I turned the doorknob. When I pulled the door open, my heart soared. It was definitely Kaidan, looking like he’d been up all night. His chin-length brown hair hung disheveled around a blast of bright blue eyes and a hardened face. Next to him, hovering with a malicious grin, was a whisperer.

I was confused, nervous, elated, sickened. He’d brought a whisperer straight to me . . . or perhaps the whisperer had led Kaidan. The human panty thief hadn’t worked. Neither had Marek or Caterina or the sons of Thamuz. So the Dukes sent Kaidan. That fact made me relieved in one major sense—they must not be suspicious of him. He was safe, for now.

So, what was Kaidan’s plan?

My pulse would not settle. Kaidan grabbed the edge of the door over my shoulder and stepped forward, moving us both into the room.

I realized I’d completely let down my guard when I felt his hand wrap around mine, successfully snapping my knife shut and slipping it into his own pocket. He gave the “flashlight” a funny look before pulling it from my grasp and dropping it to the floor. The door shut, and the whisperer pushed its way through it, watching as Kaidan backed me against the wall.

With the spirit watching, I had to pretend I didn’t love him, just as he was doing, even if it hurt. In normal life I couldn’t stomach lying. But where whisperers and Dukes were concerned, all bets were off.

I put my palms on Kaidan’s chest and straightened my arms, giving him my fiercest look. His red starburst pumped.

“Back off, son of Pharzuph,” I warned.

A predatory grin spread across his handsome face, and the repulsive whisperer sidled closer.

“I’m only here as a precaution,” Kaidan crooned. “To be sure our little daughter of Belial is behaving properly.” His voice sounded as it had during our first meetings—contemptuous and dark. It was so appropriate that they’d sent him, the son of Lust, to make sure I wasn’t a virgin. Letting my lust for him overcome me was something I could not do. If the heavenly hilt, the Sword of Righteousness, sensed any lack of purity of heart, it wouldn’t allow me to wield it. I had to be angelic to use an angel relic.

“I heard you don’t even like Neph girls,” I countered.

He laughed, swishing hair from his eyes with a flick of his head and stepping forward again. “I don’t. But I’m willing to make sacrifices for the greater evil.”

I swallowed hard. He was convincing. Too convincing.

He’s just putting on a show, I told myself.

“So, what are you saying?” I asked. “The Dukes don’t think I’m working? Is that why they’re sending every Neph to question me and fight me?”

His pause at my mention of other Neph was minuscule, but I knew him well enough to catch it.