I have a new friend.

She’s a demon healer. She came with her older brother, the highest demon healer in Relaklonos, to assist him with what happened to me.

She’ll be twenty-five tomorrow (age of adulthood for demon females, apparently) and is so sweet. She reminds me of Julea. But very naïve.

She needs protected here. People are very nervous about demons in their midst. But Pin (that’s her name) is so naïve and open that I am uncertain she would even see a threat coming for her until it was far too late.

She and Jayi have hit it off very well, along with the Lycurgus Equan and Jayi’s sister-in-law, Tennig. They are all so very young…

Someone needs to watch out for them. Help them navigate the world here at Hotel Dread, even though they are all young, wealthy, and well-protected by their older brothers.

Still, the things male warriors would think to teach such young females differs from what a female would actually need to know. There are places in this hotel no young female should dare to venture. I made certain to tell Jayi of those places, too.

We are going to my home today. I have Tol with me. He is now the head guard assigned to me exclusively.

He demanded it so, after that other guard betrayed me.

He, I do not know what happened to him. Nor do I care. He… what he did to me is far worse than what Boldek and his brothers did. I had counted on him to protect me. He had chosen not to.

Derrol Jareth abandoned me when I needed him most. That is hard to forget.

Kellis found him, though. I think they have known each other for a long time. From what I heard from Tol, the things my sister said to that guard are enough to burn the male’s ears for a very long time.

I just hope Kellis hasn’t made trouble for herself at work.

She, as the only female on the force, already faces so many obstacles just to be there. They make her deal with the humans, mostly.

I have four strong guards now, all of them Thurgis and Trianu House, who will accompany me back to my home.

They were volunteers. Tol told me that what happened to me has been shared within the ranks of Kierce’s warriors.

Many support what those males did to me—up to a point, Tol said. Others are furious that someone who had been assigned to protect me betrayed my trust like that. Protecting a female is an honor in our society, after all.

Warriors now know my name.

This is not exactly how I wanted to become visible, you know.