"Really?" I asked Asher, glaring at him through the dark, sticky, pudding-like blood that coated my face. "This was my favorite leather jacket, you asshole, and you knew it. Why the hell did you leap on top of me, you graceless, useless, lump of —"

He glared at me back, matching my snarl with a edged smile as sharp as the two swords in his hands, still dripping with the sludge from the demons. "It leapt at you, was going to tear a hole straight through you with those fangs, if I hadn't done something. You're welcome, by the way."

I scowled harder, wiping my own swords on the clothes of the human bodies the demons had worn. My curved blades gleamed before I replied. "I wouldn't have died. I can't. You know that." My voice was quieter, softer as I examined his murderous expression.

"No. But it would've hurt. For at least two days, as your power battled with the demon's poison. And besides, you would've done the same for me."

"Because you're not invulnerable. Immortal, yes, but not unkillable."

He crossed the room in a blur, faster than the mortal eye could follow, grabbing my chin and forcing my eyes up to meet his. "Rayne." When I wouldn't look at him, he hissed in frustration, but his fingers were still gentle, caressing my face. I didn't want to think about what that meant. "We're a Pair. So I look out for you. Even if you think you don't need it."

I moved his hand from my face, not liking the sudden coldness that seemed to descend upon my skin now that he was no longer touching me. "We should go back to the court." I glanced around the room of the elegant mansion, at the twelve carcasses that oozed slimy darkness. Any other hunter team would have never dared to take on so many at the same time, but Ash and I were the best. Perfect, powerful partners. Which was why we could never let our emotions cloud our partnership. Why it was dangerous for him to show how much he cared about me so openly. 

When Ash spoke again, his voice was cool, indifferent, so different from the heated tone he'd used earlier. I paced away from him, my silver combat boots sloshing in the dark, tainted blood. "The Queen won't be expecting us until tomorrow. We have time to clean up, heal." He paused, and I knew what he was going to say before he said it. I groaned. "To prepare to stand before the High Council meeting along with all the other Pairs." The Queen didn't care about how we looked unless she was parading us, her own personal bargaining chip, in front of the High Council. We all knew how valuable the Pairs were, after all, it was why the Queen had reigned for so long. 

I mumbled curses underneath my breath as I went around the room and decapitated all the monsters, making sure they turned to dust. But the dark blood still stained my jacket. And my skin.

I used their shower. I felt like I deserved that, even though I'd killed the owners. But I'd saved the world, right? Killed twelve monsters, twelve creatures of darkness. Now I needed to wash that dirt off of me, needed to scrub until my skin was pink and tender. Even though I knew nothing could wash the stain off of my soul. 

So I used their glorious, multi-spouted shower with fancy buttons and knobs. The monsters always seemed to take the skin of someone rich, or important, or famous, or all three. Sometimes, that worked out to our advantage. Such as the shower.

 I had no doubt that Ash was patrolling the house, probably taking all the cash and precious jewels he could find. After I was done, I'll help him. We got to keep the spoils of battle, as the Queen was generous. She knew she couldn't afford to lose us.

It was why Ash owned seven houses around the globe—he'd gotten the capital to start his business by selling the precious jewels of some famous movie star that'd been corrupted.

I stepped out, onto a plush mat that felt like I'd stepped on some clouds. If clouds felt like how they looked, all fluffy and white and pure. I watched as the water from my feet soaked into the material, clumping up the fine white hairs. 

I toweled my hair, then shamelessly rummaged around in their bathroom drawers—pulling out some very expensive lotion and makeup products that I slipped into my left jacket pocket. I shouldn't have been able to fit the large bottles of lotion in, but I did. It was the perk of being one of the students of one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Magic swords were cool, but magic leather jackets were way more convenient.

See, magic in the modern world isn't just a bunch of spells and potions and weird plants. It's more of a blend between raw talent, work and science, and I knew that Merlin spent ages in his laboratory to enchant the weapons used by the Pairs. I suppose the magic kept him sane, but only just. 

He'd been alive for centuries more than me, for maybe a millennium. He'd seen everything from the Byzantine Empire to the present, so I guess that gives him an excuse to be a little eccentric. Thought that was an understatement. 

Ash is just a couple centuries older than me, I think he was born around the 1600s when Spain was at the height of its power, when the New World had just been "discovered" by Columbus. That's where the Queen had her headquarters then, and that's why Ash had the proud eyes and haughty, noble look that Spanish conquistadors had worn in all those paintings I'd seen in museums. But I don't know a lot about his past, besides that. We weren't the type of Pair who painted each other's toenails and gossiped and watched movies when we weren't slaying monsters.