Page 36 of Insatiable

I sink down onto the bed, my hands clenching into fists. I don’t know whether to be angry at her for leaving or at myself for letting her go. Probably both. Either which way, getting away from her to the next circle will be the best fucking thing for all of us.

17

EARTH TO JULIETTE

QUINN

“He’s fine. He can go back to his room now,” the doctor says, her voice curt and dismissive.

I glance down at Dade, who looks paler than ever, though at least he's conscious. I don't know if he ate more of the poisoned food than everyone else or if they gave him a stronger dose, but he's the only one left in the hospital wing. Rowena and Juliette were both released earlier, one by one, and I had to watch as the others left. Now, it’s just Dade and me.

“Can’t he stay the night?” I ask, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.

“It’s fine, Valentine. You heard the doctor,” Dade mutters, his voice hoarse but laced with that familiar stubbornness.

I want to argue, but I know how this goes. Last time, when a demon practically twisted his leg off, he shrugged it off and acted like it was nothing. Always hiding the pain, always pretending he’s invincible.

“You’re a stubborn ass,” I say, exasperation leaking into my tone as he drags himself out of bed.

He smirks faintly, but his eyes still carry the weight of exhaustion. It doesn’t escape my notice that he’s putting enough of his weight on me that he can’t stand up fully by himself.

I half walk, half drag him back up to his room, where he collapses onto the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight. Dade settles in with a barely concealed wince, his face pale as death, the dark circles under his eyes making him look like he hasn’t slept in weeks. He looks awful, and the sight of him sends a pang of guilt through me.

“You could’ve died… again!” I snap, the fear and frustration boiling over. “And again, you did it to save my life.”

Dade gives a weak chuckle, his voice raspy. “And I’d do it again, Valentine.” He pauses, his expression softening before he continues. “But you’re forgetting something.” His eyes meet mine. “I didn’t know eating all that food would save your life. I only ate because you demanded I eat up.”

“Semantics. You’d have eaten the food anyway.”

“I would, but so would you had you known it was poisoned.”

I slip onto the bed next to him and he rests his head on my chest. He’s not wrong. We’d both do anything for each other but that wouldn’t change the fact that after the final trial, we won’t see each other again.

“Don’t even think about it, Quinn,” he murmurs, even though his eyes are closed.

“Think about what?”

“Going down into the lower levels to kill that beast.”

I sigh and stroke his long dark hair from his face. “I did think about it, but Twila says that it’s impossible to pass. Only an Angel can pass it. Apparently Satan himself is the only person that can tame it because he used to be a fallen angel.”

A small snore erupts from his throat as my Hell Cell beeps. Extracting my arm from under him, I read the message.

BABE, COME HANG OUT WITH US IN THE CANTEEN

I’d planned to spend the night with Dade, but he needs to sleep and I need to figure a way to get us both out of this. After spending most of the day at the hospital I’m desperate for some time with friends.

I type back a reply to Juliette that I’ll be there in a minute and leave Dade to sleep.

Juliette barely glances at me as I take a seat opposite her in the canteen. She’s glaring at someone or something over my shoulder. Probably Tomas. I turn and find my suspicions confirmed. He’s sat with Tate and they both seem deep in conversation.

I wave my hand in front of Juliette’s eyes to catch her attention.

"Earth to Juliette!"

She blinks, her eyes sliding over to meet mine. "Sorry," she mutters distractedly. "Why is he talking to her? Why?"

I glance over at the scene she's obsessing over. I’ve never seen Juliette like this—so fixated on someone. Normally, she's detached, cool with the people she’s sleeping with. In the last circle, she didn’t even bother to mention who she was hooking up with. I shrug my shoulders. "I don’t know. Maybe they’re friends?"

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