Page 206 of The Demon's Pet

I whirled to face him, shoving him back. “I don’t trust you yet.”

Sam looked ready to boot him, but Os jumped back, his purple angel wings flying out to carry him back.

“Go free my friends,” Sam said. “Then you can spend some time in the dungeon, thinking about what you’ve done.”

“You have a dungeon?” Griffin said, walking with us as we headed around the side of the cathedral and through the graveyard to help our friends.

I winced as I saw Mor and Simon frozen in giant blocks of ice with a layer between them and the ice, their chests moving shallowly.

Os raised his hand, made a fist, and twisted it, and the ice broke apart.

Simon fell out, then Mor, and Simon’s huge iridescent-black bat wings shot out, and he flew straight at Os like a homing missile, knocking him back and into the cement wall to his side.

Os slumped down against it, and Griffin walked over to pick him up and put him over his shoulder.

I looked over at him. “Be careful, Griffin.”

“It’s not that I trust him. I’m still furious with him for what he did,” Griffin said, standing tall and looking remarkably okay for everything that had happened. “It’s just that both you and I got a second chance, and I think he deserves one.”

Sam still looked ready to swallow his own teeth in rage.

Simon looked between us, breaths heaving. “Is everyone okay, then?”

I nodded.

Mor heaved a breath, leaning on her knees. “That was terrifying. Not knowing if you were hurt, not being able to help.”

I dropped my sword and ran over to hug her too, glad to see she was all right. She held me tight, and then Simon came in, and Griffin watched with fond eyes, still holding Os.

Sam watched us like we were doing something disgusting. “Okay, okay, that’s enough,” he said, coming to break us up. “I have to talk to Cleo.”

Simon looked at my sword where it lay on the ground. “Is that an Evernight sword?” He walked over to it. “Great hell, what is it?”

I picked it up. “I don’t know. It just came out of me.”

Simon cocked his head. “Interesting. So it’s forged like a slayer sword.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, looking at Sam, who just shrugged, motioning for me to listen to Simon.

“According to what Cayne told me, a slayer sword is forged in the heart of a demon when they have their first true desire to kill to protect. It’s forged from the will to kill,” Simon said.

I blinked, looking back at Sam. “Did you know this?”

Sam nodded. “I knew you weren’t ready to kill yet. Telling you would have only put more pressure on you.”

I sighed. “You’re probably right.”

Sam folded his arms, and a light flush colored his perfect cheekbones. “I never thought your sword would come out because of me.” He turned away, as if too embarrassed to face us. “Who would forge their sword for a murdering demon?”

I met his eyes, wishing he could see that he was so much more to me than that.

“I’m taking Os inside,” Griffin said.

“I’ll show you to the dungeon,” Simon said, looking more pissed than I’d ever seen him. He wasn’t easily ruffled, but right now, he still looked ready to raise hell. He looked at Sam. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect her like I promised.”

“It’s okay,” Sam said, turning back to face me. “I should have stayed by her side. I realized it almost as soon as I had gone.” His eyes were hollow as they met mine. “I thought you would be better off with some space from me. If I’d known you would suffer, I wouldn’t have left, even for a day.”

Mor signaled to Griffin and Simon to leave, putting a finger over her mouth as they gave us privacy and went back inside.

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