His words were . . . right.
I hated that, but I stilled and stopped fighting as much as it killed me.
“Do you know what caused the explosion?” I asked, forcing myself to shut down all emotion and think logically. His bare hands clutching my back made that difficult.
“Magic,” he said, confirming my suspicion. “I can smell it in the air. That wasn’t a natural fire. Ships don’t explode without warning.”
Footsteps pounded against concrete about twenty yards from us. I glanced up at the pier right as Nat came to a stop at the edge where the boat had been docked. She bent at the waist, hands braced on her hips, breathing heavily.
“What happened? I saw the explosion and your mic cut out . . .” she said, her eyes moving to the wreckage that surrounded us before zeroing back in.
“I’m not sure, exactly. Did you see anyone up there? Anyone try to run?”
She shook her head, and I cursed. The thumb rubbing my lower back in slow, rhythmic circles made me hyper aware of how close me and Ronan were.
“Come on,” he said, cutting through the water toward the dock with a few strong kicks. “Your lips are turning blue.”
“If someone let me swim away when I tried to, maybe they wouldn’t be,” I said stiffly.
He hoisted me out of the water and halfway up the ladder without comment. My arms shook from exertion as I clutched the slippery metal bars with numb fingers. Water poured from me in a torrent as I hauled one leg up after the other onto the dock. Tiny hairs clung to my arms and my ponytail splayed over my back, sticking to my bare skin.
The cold hit me as I stood there in jeans and a bra. My brands were completely on display for anyone to see, including Ronan.
I started walking, and Nathalie met me halfway, a baggy sweatshirt in hand. She extended it silently, shrugging when I flashed her a look.
“You have a tendency of catching on fire. I figured having extra clothes on hand was smart. That said, I didn’t bring a towel because I wasn’t expecting you to go for a swim.”
I snorted, shoving my arms through the sleeves. It clung to me uncomfortably but took the edge off the cold.
“Were you the target?” I asked Ronan without turning. I sensed his eyes on my back, making me uncomfortable. He’d just saved me from drowning, though, so I had to face the fact he wouldn’t kill me. While I didn’t like magic and certainly didn’t want to bond with him, it would be stupid to constantly watch my guard, expecting him to kill me when he’d never given me any indication he would.
“Unknown. I haven’t been here long enough to make many enemies, but it’s possible . . .” He trailed off as if there were more. I turned around, crossing my arms over my chest.
“What’s possible?”
“Lucifer wasn’t the only demon to cross over through the ages. It’s possible others have heard of my arrival and thought to test my power. They might have thought I’d be weakened by the crossing and attempting their coup now before I learned of their presence was worth the risk.” He ran a hand through his slick black locks, silver eyes flashing with the promise of vengeance.
“Why would other demons want to kill you?”
“Because of what I am. Who I am.”
“Who are you?” I asked pointedly.
“It’s not important,” he said dismissively. “What’s important is finding out if it was another demon, and if so, who. If I was the target, then it’s only a matter of time until you’re in danger as well.” I narrowed my eyes, not missing the way he danced around my question. Whatever he was, he didn’t want me to know.
“I’d say she’s already in danger given the whole exploding boat,” Nathalie said.
“Yes, but it’s the difference between actively being the target and simply being here with me this time,” Ronan said without looking at her. A slow smirk spread across his wicked lips, like he knew why I was glaring.
“If they do know who she is, is it possible this attack was actually meant for her? Not you?” Nathalie asked, astute as ever. Ronan tilted his head, considering that.
“We shouldn’t rule it out. This explosion couldn’t have killed me, even if the crossing had weakened me. I wouldn’t be surprised if another demon tried it anyway, but if they knew Piper is my atma, then hurting her to get to me isn’t unlikely either.”
“Who are you?” I repeated.
He grinned openly, almost taunting.
“Does it matter?” he asked me, an echo of the question I often found myself asking him.
“Maybe. Depends.” I shrugged.
“Liar. You’d hate me either way just because I’m a demon,” he said. I couldn’t tell if that bothered him or not.
“Then why won’t you tell me?”
Ronan took a step toward me and leaned in. “Because some truths you have to earn.”
“Even if I’m your atma?”
“Especially because you’re my atma,” he uttered.
Seemingly oblivious to the tension between us, though I knew that wasn’t the case, Nathalie paced. “Not even Lucifer knew she was your atma until last week. I think it’s unlikely this is a demon. He practically owns New Chicago. Very little gets past him. And from what I know of your kind, they can be territorial—”
“We are,” Ronan said, looking at me.
“Exactly. For another demon to know where you would be and coordinate an attack, they’d have to have a lot of spies that are close to you. I don’t think that’s likely.”
“It could be Lucifer himself,” I pointed out.
“Also not likely,” Nathalie said. “He wouldn’t endanger you this way.”
I wanted to disagree, except I knew she had a point. There was also the obvious fact that I hadn’t seen or heard from him since the night in the alley.
“As much as I hate to give him this, I also find it unlikely to be my brother. Besides, I haven’t sensed him or his power in long enough I'm beginning to wonder if he died that night or simply entered stasis.”
“Stasis?”
“The crash,” he said. “All of us experience it in some form. None like you, however.”
He didn’t know me, and yet he knew all my secrets. It was an odd feeling, uncomfortable at best.
“Getting back to the point at hand,” I said, taking a step back from Ronan. “If it wasn’t Lucifer, then who? You can feel magic. Did you feel anything strong enough to be a demon nearby?”
“No,” Ronan sighed, the tension easing if not leaving entirely. “It’s possible they were working through someone, just as it’s possible that it’s not a demon at all. Although, I wouldn’t have any idea who if not a demon. As I said, I haven’t been around long enough to make enemies.”
“No,” Nathalie agreed. “But this definitely has to do with you. Piper didn’t know you were taking her there. Whoever caused it did. Either that or they’ve been tailing you and got out before any of us knew . . .” Nathalie’s lips twisted in a displeased grimace. “Honestly, that doesn’t seem all that likely either. Piper is paranoid, and I’ve been watching the perimeter.”
“I know,” he said in a way that made me confident he did. “I can sense you both. There were only four other people on the boat at the time, and none of them had the power to actually blow up a ship.”