Page 96 of Deck of Scarlets

The music stopped, and Josh hopped off the treadmill, grabbing two dark blue towels off one of the benches and handing one over. “I think we should do cardio at least three times a week.”

I groaned, taking the towel and wiping the sweat off. “Great. What’s next? Hike a mountain?”

He laughed, rubbing the towel over his abdomen. I swear if I had zero self-control, there was no doubt in my mind I would have been on my knees.

“Nah, although, never say never.” Chugging back water from a black bottle, he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “Time to lift weights.”

Smirking, I got an idea. “Lift weights, but you answer any question I have?”

Patting the empty seat by the mirror, he grabbed two five-pound weights. “Sit, do a few reps, then we talk?”

“Deal.”

Josh stood behind my head, arms crossed, instructing the workout I would perform. He had me start with a chest press, correcting my form several times until he approved of my movement. Little did he know the reason for my shit formation was his choice of continuing to instruct shirtless, right above me.

After finishing another rep, I took a little break, my arms like noodles. “I want you to explain how you found me the other night.”

He groaned, looking at the ceiling. “Right.” Taking one sixty-pound dumbbell, he sat at the end of the bench, curling. “A strand of your hair dipped in my blood was given to Father Benedict, who then placed it on a map. A prayer is performed, and then he drags the strand over the map. The blood only stains where that person is.”

Flabbergasted, I half-chuckled. “Wait, what? That’s—”

“Impossible?” He switched the dumbbell to his left. “Yet we just battled one of the biggest Magidoz I’d ever seen.”

Sitting back, hugging my knees, I watched his muscles expand with each rep. even his shoulder blades moved, the sight delectable. But I had to focus. “Yes, demons are real. I have a sense ghosts are as well, but what you’re claiming is… magic.”

“Magic, prayers, it’s all the same. Father Benedict is a gifted priest, equipped to help us survive another day.” He moved to stand, lifting a brow at me. Taking the hint, I carried my weights over, creating some space between us. “Reverse fly.”

I watched him first, bending halfway and lifting his arms at a ninety-degree angle, feet spread evenly apart. Sighing, I mimicked his stance, right down to the lift, my back screaming in agony.

Damn, I was out of shape. “What is a Drarkoth demon?” Speaking in between reps was a workout on its own.

“The most human-looking abomination to walk the planet. Think of a vampire. They can drain someone dry but are short on beauty.”

I thought of my sick obsession with vampire romance books at the ripe age of thirteen. “Damn, and here I thought my dream man, Edward Cullen, lived.”

Josh howled, almost losing his balance. “Nowhere near that disco ball.”

“Oh, so you’ve seen it?” I teased.

“I got a sister, so yeah, I’ve seen it, one too many times,” he replied, returning the dumbbell.

I followed suit, lying on the mat. “Funny, I pictured you as an only child.”

Josh joined, only to kick me in the shins to start a round of sit-ups. “Our age gap is nine years.” He counted backward from thirty.

Getting to twenty-five, I paused to rest. “Wow, uh, that’s wild.”

He kept going with the sit-ups. “Not really. Some in the Order have bigger ones.”

“Aiden and I are exactly one year apart.”

Josh stopped mid-sit-up. “You have a brother? How is he not in the Order?”

I shrugged. “Honestly, nothing surprises me anymore.”

“But there’s no record—”

Glass shattered from the dining room, a loud groan coming soon after. “Father!”

---