Chapter 5

"Feeling any better?" Marcus asked as I emerged from my room in yet another hotel, wrapped in a fluffy robe and towels. Making a non-committal noise, I joined him for breakfast.

Our foray into the Demon Realm had gone well. Camilla and Hunter had taken us at our word, contacting the main Matriarch, Charlotte, and immediately taking action.

The Demon rulers themselves were just about what I'd expected - attractive, powerful and aloof, spending most of our dinner asking about the current affairs in our world. I'd been eager to leave but had no chance to, pretending gratitude when they offered their hospitality for the night. It was with profound relief that Marcus and I left after breakfast the next morning, accepting their word that the situation was being sorted out and Talon would be left alone again.

Once back through the gate and settled into a hotel, exhaustion and nerves had overcome me and I'd spent the rest of that day and night sleeping. Upon waking this morning, I felt a ravenous hunger the likes of which I've never experienced, eating whatever I could find before jumping in the shower.

The great amount of food Marcus had ordered quickly diminished, my body ingesting everything I gave it and begging for more. The more I ate, the better I felt until I no longer sagged with exhaustion. I looked at Marcus, who looked normal again, as he sat drinking coffee, my head full of questions, though the foremost one concerned Talon.

"Do you think it worked?" I asked simply.

"It should have," he replied. "Charlotte is a very good, fair Matriarch who has been looking for just such and excuse to pay Anasia a visit." He took a long swallow and I nodded, hoping he was right. When I asked his about my exhaustion and appetite, he smiled. "You were probably too stressed out to notice, but you would have absorbed a bit more Life Essence than you're used to having," he explained, "giving you a larger energy reserve to use. Once back here, however, you're higher metabolism, which had adjusted already, burned through that store of energy very quickly, leaving you in a state of extreme fatigue and badly in need of refueling."

With a shake of my head, I put down my soda and said, "No wonder you've always come back so tired."

"It's not so bad for a Demon, provided you don't have to expend excessive amounts of power on either side." He did look better today. "Anyway, you should feel back to normal by tomorrow at the latest."

"Good."

"In the meantime," he said, getting to his feet and glancing at his watch, "we need to get going." I looked a question at him. "There are a few more things I want to get for the house. Plus, we're still two states away from home." He gave a little laugh when I groaned. "Don't be so glum. Besides," he continued slyly, "I want to hear what you thought of Camilla and Hunter."

"Why?" I asked, getting reluctantly to my feet and heading to my room.

"Do you really think I won't tell Talon about your first meeting with his parents?"

"His what?!"