Page 83 of The Girl Who Only Died Once

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Chloe’s phone yanks her to awareness, blasting loud, and she jerks upright, flailing. Her heart pounds, her blood thrums, and for a split second, her eyes see nothing.

Until she blinks, and the world slams into focus.

Daylight streams in through the curtains, casting soft shadows onto the camo patterned walls, and Killian’s asleep, both the human and the demon face slack on the pillows next to her.

And her phone is ringing.

Chloe scrambles to cram her glasses on her face, then picks up the phone, blearily recognizing it as Alette calling.

“Yeah?” She croaks out, and her mouth is dry, far drier than it should be after just a night’s sleep.

A night’s sleep.

She eyes Killian, unsure if he knocked her out or not.

“I’m in the parking lot,” Alette chirps through the phone, because she is always a morning person. “Which room are you in?”

“I’m…” Chloe swings her legs over to the side of the bed, standing up, and Killian jolts awake. “I’ll come down and get you.”

He blinks owlishly at her, the demon face just as uncomprehending as the human.

“No,” he orders, bleary, “don’t leave the room.”

“Or I won’t,” Chloe says with a sigh, flicking the light on in the room. “Why not?”

Killian rubs his face, a startlingly human reaction. “Make sure it’s someone you trust before you leave,” he replies, still sounding half asleep. “Someone could impersonate voices.”

“Okay,” Chloe says, then back to the phone. “Confirm you’re you?”

Alette scoffs through the phone.

“Security, you know, confirm you’re you and not someone trying to pretend they’re you?” Chloe says, then makes a face at the word salad she just said.

“How would I…” Alette trails off, her sigh audible through the phone. “You made me buy that book when you first moved into my house.”

“Good enough for me,” Chloe replies, forcing her feet into her shoes and giving Killian a quelling glare. “Go into the lobby, I’ll meet you there.”

“You shouldn’t,” Killian grumbles, before he rolls to his feet, bouncing slightly.

It’s a little amusing to see a demon so clearly sleep logged.

Chloe clicks off her phone, then runs a hand through her black hair, quickly throwing it into a messy bun. “We know someone was coming, she knew about the book, we’re fine.”

“What book?” Killian asks idly, as Chloe grabs her keycard and stomps her way out of the room.

He follows, of course he does, a step too close in the hallway, but she ignores that.

“Book on cult recovery,” Chloe snips. “I recommend it to everyone who gets away from them, it’s way more useful than any psychology textbook or religious tract.”

She also bullied Alette and Axel into reading it when she first showed up, out of hope they’d accept Gurlien afterwards.

Killian evaluates it, then shrugs contemplatively. “I guess I could see that.”

Another person passes them in the hall, giving Chloe an odd look at talking to herself, and Chloe gives her a thin-lipped smile.

“But wouldn’t it be more analogous to getting out of the drafted American military?” he continues. “Forced conscription, near brainwashing, us versus them combat training and uncontrollable deployment?”

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