Page 164 of The Demon's Pet

Sam was standing beside the willow, staring at the ground, saying nothing. His curls lifted slightly in the wind, and with his back to me, the world silent around us, he was the very picture of loneliness.

“Sam?” I asked, startling him slightly. I figured he must have been lost in his thoughts.

When he faced me, his face was slightly paler than usual, the color high on his elegant cheekbones.

This was the man who’d fought for me. Saved me. Teased and tortured me.

And maybe, at this point, my best friend.

Or maybe he just saw me as a weapon, as Griffin had said.

Either way, I owed him.

“I’m not letting you go,” he said, folding his arms and glaring at me. “I told you from the beginning that leaving me wasn’t an option.” His jaw ticked. “But I didn’t trick you with the bruises. I never had such intentions at all.”

“Griffin is overprotective,” I said. “We know that.”

Sam seemed to calm slightly at those words. But his sharp dark eyes held a slight vulnerability. “Do you hate me, Cleo? For lying to you about what I suspect you might be?”

I shook my head slowly. “No. I think everyone lies in this world. You lied to protect me, I think.”

“I did,” he said. “You’re the most important thing in the world to me.” My heart almost leaped at his statement, but he wasn’t done. “But it’s because of what you might be. What my brother and I spent our lives searching for.” His eyes were dark like wells. “So I can’t give up. I can’t let you go. Not until you’ve achieved your purpose.”

“You mean your purpose?” I asked.

“The purpose of the Morningstar,” he said.

“Which is?”

“To bring balance to the world,” he said. “To kill even the highest corruption.” His eyes met mine. “You’re the most powerful slayer in the world.” His eyes dipped to my collar. “Or you will be once you’re trained.”

I thought about that for a moment and couldn’t help being a little bit excited. Power had been taken from me all my life, and now I was realizing I had more of it than I’d ever imagined.

It was an odd feeling. But I still didn’t want to kill.

“That’s why I called you an idiot when I met you,” he said, facing me. “I felt power radiating off you. You were either the Morningstar or some other very powerful hybrid. Yet you cowered before bullies because you accepted their view of what you were. You attacked with only a fraction of the power you could have used.” He shook his head. “I called you an idiot for not listening to the demon inside you. For not seeing how powerful, and how beautiful, you are. And for ever letting anyone mistreat you.”

My heart clenched at his words, and I wondered if he even knew how sweet they were.

Based on the stubborn jut of his jaw, I didn’t think so.

But this all lined up with the Sam I knew. Sometimes withholding information but usually telling me the truth when he could.

“I saw the void walker at the smith,” I said. “Nic.”

His lips lifted in the faintest of grins, but there was still pain in his eyes. “Ah. Yes. I lied about that too. But when you were desperate to stop me, there was no way to tell you with all the fae watching. And I wanted to get out of there before Zadis could get any closer to figuring out what you were.”

“I get it,” I said. “I don’t like being lied to, but I get it. As I said, everyone lies. It’s just about why. Do you lie to get ahead? Do you lie to take advantage?”

“I’ll lie whenever I need to, Cleo,” he said solemnly. “I have a mission. As I mentioned back in your haven, I am seeking revenge. The need to achieve it has burned inside me from a very young age, and I won’t stop until I’ve gotten it. You should remember that.”

I nodded. “I get it. So what is it you need from me? What do you want?”

He blinked, then shook his head. “I can tell you more once you’ve trained. Once we know for sure that you’re the Morningstar. You don’t even know how the abyssal realms work, so there is a lot you wouldn’t understand yet. But I won’t ask anything of you until you’re ready.”

“So this is all part of this mission you have?” I asked.

Sam nodded. “And understand, Cleo, I won’t stop until this is done. This is what means everything in the world to me. The reason I went to work with the celestials this year at all.”

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