Kris Starr used to be famous. Rock and roll. Sold-out shows. Literal magic. Empathic talents and screaming fans. But he has a problem or two. He's having a hard time writing new music. It’s Midwinter, which means he’s surrounded by depressing holiday cheer. And he's in love with Justin, his manager, who has a talent for rescuing almost- or once-famous bands ... and who’s hiding secrets of his own. Justin Moore, on the other hand, is very good at keeping those secrets -- he's had to be for years. One secret involves a demonic inheritance that would make him a target of suspicion. Another involves his past. And the third involves Justin’s feelings for Kris Starr, rock and roll icon and now his client ... and a powerful empath of his own.

A Demon for Midwinter

You’re the kind of person who would be a hero, he thought. Human. Frayed edges. Afraid. Young and braver than I ever could be. A prince in a story, not a tidy sanitized tale but a full tangled tapestry of hurt and grief and love and compassion. Yes, a hero.


He wanted to write another song. A banner. A waving flag.


He said, “This’s why I can’t push you, right? Empathy?”


“What?” Justin didn’t look up. “Yeah. Most demons’re immune; I’m resistant, you could probably get it through if you tried long enough and hard enough, but it’d take a massive amount of effort.”


“But you can feel it. If I’m projecting.” Justin had said as much, outside the recording studio. “You know what I’m trying to get you to feel, what I’m feeling, it’s just that it doesn’t register as a suggestion?”


Chapter 19