Sal loved the human realm. He wasn’t sure why—some parts of it were as bad as Hell had been, and he’d spent all his time in his house on the lake until recently—but there was an energy to it, something that told him people could be happy there. There was no way to be happy in Hell. That was kind of the point. Hell was hot and dirty and blood and pain in the best of times. That was why he’d left, and why he was never going back.

He did want to go back to the lake eventually, though. He missed his little house and his books. But living in the city was fun, and Sal had been eating donuts. He loved donuts. What he didn’t like was the lack of privacy.

He’d been staying at the League’s headquarters because he was trying to find the demon who’d almost killed Ilyhas and Esi, and that was easier to do if he was there. He hated not having privacy, though. There was always someone around, talking and making noise. Even though Sal had a bedroom and a bathroom, they were both tiny, and the walls weren’t enough to cut off the noise.

Sal didn’t like noise. That was one of the reasons he lived alone in an isolated area.

He grumbled and pushed his eggs around his plate as he tried to ignore the group of demons talking and laughing at the back of the dining hall. He could have gone somewhere else to eat, but he didn’t want to leave the place, and taking food to his bedroom was out. It had taken two days to clear out the smell the last time he’d done that.

“What crawled up your ass and died there?” Cumar asked as he slid into the seat in front of Sal’s with a tray.

Sal wrinkled his nose at the lasagna in Cumar’s plate. “How old is that thing?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Cumar patted his stomach. “I can eat rocks and have no problem.”

Sal didn’t have a problem believing that.

“What’s up with you, then? Still nothing about that demon you’re looking for?” Cumar asked after shoveling a forkful of lasagna into his mouth.

“Nothing. Whoever it is is very good at shielding themselves from me.”

“But you’re better.”

Sal grinned. “Damn right I’m better. I'll find them, and I’ll make sure they can’t do the kind of shit they pulled again.”

Sal fluttered his wings. He was excited about this. The work he usually did wasn’t this exciting—healing, finding people who weren’t trying to hide very hard, creating spells. He earned a lot of money because he was one of the best, so much so that even humans came to him, but it wasn’t exciting.

This was, though. He almost felt like a League warrior, even though he probably wouldn’t be able to kick a fly’s ass. He looked badass, but he was anything but.

Cumar grinned. “That's what I’m talking about. You need help?”

“Not really, but you can come with me once you’re done. I’ll try to locate the demon again.”

“I don’t have anything else to do, so I’m in.”

“Where’s your better half?” Cumar and Thailor were usually together, at least at HQ. Sal knew both of them had partners—romantic partners—but they were as close as brothers in a way that made Sal’s heart ache with jealousy and envy.

His brother had tried to kill him. Twice.

“Hanging out with Chase. I knew I was going to lose him when Chase agreed to come work here. And hey, I have you now.”

“I’m not going to stay. As soon as I find that demon, I’m going home.”

Cumar pouted. “Why? Don’t you like it here?”

“I hate it. There’s too much noise, too many people. I can’t think with all that mess around me.”

“What about Harrison?” Cumar asked, pointing his fork at Sal.

Sal blinked. “Harrison?”

“You know, the cute human guy.”

“I know who Harrison is.” How could Sal not know him? He’d been the only one who’d taken care of Sal when Sal had managed to find out where Esi had been kidnapped to. Of course, that was because all the others had run to get Esi back, and Sal was used to taking care of himself after doing spells. He always did. It wasn’t like his clients were going to hang around to nurse him back to health once they had what they needed from him.

The fact that Harrison was an adorable little human also helped, of course. He was one of the few who wasn’t in the least intimidated by Sal and who didn’t treat him differently than he did everyone else, including his human friend Jordan. And of course, he was beautiful—and he didn’t seem to know it. Sal had been attracted to his messy brown hair, his hazel eyes, and his big heart since first meeting him, but he’d been too busy to try to lure him into his bed. Besides, his neighbors would probably have heard whatever they got up to, and that was the last thing Sal wanted.

“How are you two going to get it on if you leave?”

“We won’t.” Harrison was cute, but Sal wasn’t sticking around for anyone. He wanted his life back.

“I bet he’s going to be disappointed. He has a puppy crush on you.”

“Isn’t he too old to have puppy crushes?”

“Not in his case. He’s a bit like a puppy all the time. Eager, jumping around, you know. He’s slobbering all over you whenever he’s next to you.”

Sal rolled his eyes. “Are you done eating? I have to go try that spell again.”

Cumar pushed a few more forkfuls of lasagna into his mouth, until he looked like a squirrel with puffed-up cheeks, and got up. Sal followed him to drop off their trays, grinning at how Cumar was trying to chew without spitting lasagna all over.