Page 39 of Princess Avenged

“Ana.” Crusher’s deep voice draws my attention.

I turn toward him, and the compassion I see in his expression hits me straight in the belly—not to mention lower. As much as I know I can never forgive Crusher, I can’t deny how he affects me.

“The demon’s new host?—”

“No!” Phil shouts.

Crusher touches my shoulder. “The demon’s new host is Phil.”

Chapter

Seventeen

Flame

“No!” Ana shakes her head and staggers back from the screen.

Her legs strike the edge of the sofa, knocking her off balance, and I guide her down before she falls back. She looks into my eyes with questions in hers. I’ve never wanted to lie to someone more in my entire life. Every part of me screams that I should tell her what she wants to hear. Tell her that Crusher is lying about Phil hosting this demon.

Sitting beside her, I cup her face in my hands. “It’s true, darling. Phil told us himself.”

Anguish consumes her. As much anguish as I saw, when she learned Phil was dead. And it reminds me why I so badly want to lie to her.

But she shakes her head, releasing her face from my hold. Straightening her posture, she turns back toward the camera and screen.

“Phil,” she says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the new host. I need to see you.”

Phil shakes his head. “I’m not going to risk your life. The demon wants—” He cuts himself off.

Her chin rises. “Phil, you are the strongest, most willful person I have ever known. If anyone can fight against a demon, it’s you. No one tells you what to do.”

Phil’s shoulders shudder.

“And on top of that,” Ana says confidently. “You would never hurt me. I don’t care how much power this demon might have held over its prior hosts, the demon could never, ever make you hurt me.”

“Hurt you again, you mean.” Phil’s jaw is quivering. I’ve never seen him like this.

“When did you fucking hurt her?” Crusher growls, drawing my attention.

“That doesn’t matter.” Ana gets up off the sofa. “Plus, Phil never really hurt me. No more than any of you have.” Tiny fists form at her sides, the only outward indication that she’s not fully in control of her emotions right now. In fact, she seems far too cool and collected for the situation.

Phil keeps his gaze down, refusing to look into the camera.

“Princess,” Zuben pops in. “This is not just about your life. Based on the research Blade and I have completed, if the demon…” He stops himself for a moment, as if trying to find the right words. “If the demon gains enough power, it will mean the end of the world as we know it.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Ana says as if it’s a fact. “We won’t let it happen. We are a group of strong vampires, one of whom is a witch.” She nods toward Ember, then back to Zuben. “You and Blade will learn how to get the demon out of Phil’s head, and then we’ll kill it. Or if it can’t be killed, Ember will figure out how to get it out of this realm and back to where it belongs.”

Her strength continues to astound me. In the past day she’s gone through so much. Hell, even before today. And still, she’s calm. Under the weight of this terrible news, Ana is the one coming up with a plan.

“Both Ember and I have contacts at the Council of Magic Keepers,” she continues, her voice even more strong and clear now. “Our diplomatic status with them is solid. They were pleased by how we helped when Ember was first discovered as the Illuminant, and how we cooperated in the capture of the witches controlling Octavia. Relations between vampires and magic keepers are better now than they’ve been for thousands of years.”

On the screen, Ember and Zuben are nodding in agreement, looking more hopeful. All this talk about magic and witch stuff is interesting, but I have zero idea what they’re talking about. In what way was Ana’s friend Ember “discovered”? And what the hell is an Illuminant?

“Now that I have given the matter further consideration,” Ana says, her voice strong and formal, “perhaps it would not be wise for Phil to come here to the palace immediately.”

On the screen, Phil exhales heavily, but his expression shows both relief and disappointment.

“That is wise, Princess,” Zuben says. “You two should stay apart until this is fully resolved.”

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