Page 5 of The Devil's Trials
She nods without a word.
I toss the used gauze into the trash and the towel into the hamper across the room. Exhaling softly, I say, “Harper?”
She turns her head to look at me.
“What do you think is going to happen now?” My bottom lip tremors, and I press my mouth shut as my throat clogs with emotion.
“I have no idea,” she admits. “What happened today is unprecedented. Lucia has been the reigning monarch for over a century. No one expected Xander to take the throne from her.” She stands, placing her hand on my shoulder reassuringly. “That said, you don’t need to rejoin the organization. As much as I would love to train with you again, being a demon hunter has never been what you pictured for your life. Don’t let this shit storm force you into something you don’t want.”
I try but fail to smile through the bursts of pain with every beat of my heart. “I need the training. If for no other reason than to protect myself.” I look away.
Maybe if I’d been capable of fighting, Xander wouldn’t have been in a position where he needed to save me from his mother. Maybe we would’ve sent her back to hell like we’d planned and my heart wouldn’t feel like it’s being shredded to ribbons inside my chest.
Harper nods. “I understand, and I think that’s a smart move. None of us knows what to expect now.”
Her words trigger the pressure in my chest to intensify, and I pull in a shaky breath, trying to calm the storm. The more I think about training again, the deeper fear’s claws embed themselves in me. I’ve never had the blissful ignorance of the demon world that most do, but returning to the organization is accepting that my life will constantly be in danger for the sake of protecting those who are unaware of the supernatural. Call me selfish, but that is absolutely terrifying.
Harper drops her hand and crosses the room to grab a fresh set of clothes, quickly changing into them as I turn to the sink and splash my face with cool water. Catching my reflection in the mirror, I pull in a sharp breath at the bruises blossoming across my throat. Startling evidence of just how close I came to death at the hands of the devil.
“They’ll heal,” Harper says in a soft voice, coming to stand behind me and patting my back. “Do you want to change?”
I glance down at my clothes. Honestly, I’d love a long, hot shower, but we don’t have time for that right now. “I’m okay,” I tell her.
We walk back out to Mom’s office, where she’s on the phone again, while Noah perches on the corner of her desk.
Dad’s voice comes through on speaker, and my chin quivers. Fuck, I could use one of his squeeze-the-life-out-of-you hugs right now. “I can get on a flight first thing tomorrow morning.”
Noah and Mom glance over when Harper and I approach, and my mom says, “I don’t think that’s necessary, Scott. You need to be there to keep things calm at Ballard and the surrounding facilities.”
There’s a stretch of silence before Dad sighs. “I suppose. Please have Cami give me call as soon as—”
“Hey, Dad,” I chime in. “I’m here.”
His voice softens immediately. “Camille, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
Okayis relative, but I’m alive and figure that’s all I can ask for at this point so I don’t correct him.
“Me too.”
“I’ll let you speak with your mother, and we’ll talk soon. Sound good?”
“Sure,” I say, feeling weird having this back and forth with an audience. “I’ll call you later.”
“Okay, kiddo. I love you.”
“Love you, Dad.”
Mom ends the call without adding anything, then glances from Noah to where I’m standing next to Harper. “I’d like to speak with my daughter alone for a moment, please.”
“Of course,” Harper says before she gives my arm a quick squeeze and follows Noah out of the office.
I drop back into the chair on the other side of her desk, pressing a hand to my stomach as if that’ll ease the nausea there. It’s ebbing away, but still bad enough it has me worried I’m going to vomit. “I know I’m in a lot of trouble.”
My mom frowns, exhaling through her nose. “Camille, I could sit here and list all the organization’s rules you broke with your off-the-books mission. However, that isn’t going to change what happened. I’m deeply disappointed with everyone involved, but we need to move forward. There are far more pressing matters that need to be dealt with.”
I nod, the tiny flicker of relief easing a fraction of the tension in my chest. At least I don’t have to endure a lecture from my mother on top of everything else today. “What happens now?”
She leans back in her chair. “The organization-wide hunt for Xander Kane is still active. We suspect he’ll be keeping a low profile with this change in power.”
