Page 77 of The Devil's Trials
“I’ll give you three days.”
“You’ll give me whatever I need,” she snaps back. “Including a plan so we can make sure no one finds outifI decide to join your council. Also, contingencies in the event someone does.” She shakes her head, as if she can’t believe she’s saying the words, much less considering it.
“Of course. Should you come under suspicion with the hunters, I won’t hesitate to take the heat. You can blame me, the evil demon half-brother, who preyed upon and manipulated you to act against your will to do my bidding.”
Her eyes narrow. “I’ll try not to take offense to you thinking I’m soweakyou could manipulate me.”
“I don’t think that,” I say without missing a beat. “But your organization has no idea what I’m capable of, and we can use that to our advantage if needed.”
“Right,” she says hesitantly. “If I agree to this—and that’s a hugeif—we need to prevent that from happening at all costs.”
I nod in agreement. “And it’s probably best you don’t attend council meetings unless absolutely necessary.”
She arches her brow at me. “I don’t see why you’d need a hunter at your meetings, so let’s just go ahead and put that under the ‘not going to happen’ column.” With that, she slides out of the booth.
My lips twitch as I follow her. “Very well.” I won’t call on Harper to fulfill her side of our arrangement until I take the throne, so we have time to hammer out the rest of the details she doesn’t appear to be in the mood to discuss right now. “I’ll see you soon.”
Harper rolls her eyes, muttering under her breath about the insanity of our conversation as she leaves.
TWENTYCAMILLE
I’ve slept like shit since I killed that demon a few nights ago. Training has felt more real—not that I wasn’t taking it seriously before, but getting a taste of what we’re learningoutsidethe classroom has fundamentally shifted my outlook on the whole thing.
For every one demon that doesn’t immediately pose a threat to humankind—like Blake, and I’m sure some of Xander’s other friends—there are at least a dozen that do. That’s what I keep reminding myself each day as I get ready for training. Taking that life saved countless others.
Yet the pit in my stomach always feels heavier as I stand in the middle of the training room surrounded by other trainees, including the group from Two Boots.
Noah has us practicing with obsidian daggers, much to the delight of most of the class. Target dummies are set up around the room, and I step closer to the one I’m sharing with Sierra, wrapping my fingers around the dagger.
Before I can take a shot, Noah pops up seemingly out of nowhere, shaking his head. “You’re not gripping it firmly enough.” He moves closer, his combat boots scuffing against the linoleum floor as he comes behind me. “You need to lift your arm higher, unless you’re trying to slice through the demon’s gut, which won’t kill it but will piss it off. Don’t mess around—take the kill shot immediately.”
I bite back a scowl at his tone that grinds my gears, and adjust my grip, making sure my stance is correct, with my feet spaced shoulder-width apart to keep me steady.
“Are you waiting for something?”
What is his deal?
I thought since he was with me to hunt that demon things were better, but clearly he’s still pissed about what happened while I was sick. I knewhe wasn’t happy I didn’t send Xander away, but he’s seriously holding resentment over it? It could be something else, but his attitude toward me in particular feels intentionally cold and he’s never acted like this in class before now.
“Noah—”
“Do not hesitate,” he cuts in. “You do that, and you’re dead. I know you know that, sofocus.”
My cheeks burn. After the demon attack, I thought I’d proven to him that I’ve improved since he started training me, but he’s treating me like…like he did Cody the other day. I’m not prepared to explore why, but that notion lights a fire in me, filling my veins with a scorching determination.
I focus my attention on the dummy in front of me, turning out the rest of the class as they continue practicing on their targets. Sierra shoots me a thumbs-up from my peripheral, and I move, shifting into the offensive stance Noah drilled into me yesterday. I lunge forward, striking out with the dagger and slamming it into the marker on the dummy’s chest where the heart would be.
Sierra cheers, sending a grin in my direction, but before I can return it, Noah shoves the dummy out of the way and steps toward me.
“What the hell?” I mutter.
Noah glances between me and Sierra. “This isn’t a game.”
“We know that,” I snap back, feeling oddly defensive over him yelling at Sierra. I can take his crap, but she shouldn’t have to just for being nice to me.
His gaze focuses on me. “Really?” He briefly shifts away, yanking my dagger from the dummy’s chest.
“What are you doing?” I demand.
