“Oh.”
“Yeah. They might be here, but nothere,too. Which makes them really fucking hard to kill when they’re only astral projecting in a sense.”
“But they can be killed.”
“Of course. I’ve never come across anything that can’t be killed.”
Devon lifts his hands in question. “What are we waiting for then? Let’s go kill the motherfucker.”
“It’s not that easy,” I say. “In the Order, we had ways of doing things.”
“And that worked out well for you, didn’t it? Following their rules?”
I meet his eyes and make a face. “There are certain things that need to be done before we just rush out, looking for a demon to kill.”
“Like what?”
“Figure out who we’re up against for one. Know what kind of powers this demon has, how it kills, how I can kill it would be nice to know. Though, I do think we should head towardthe camp. Going about this as a hunter, I would start by asking around and investigating the surrounding area before just showing up to the campsite.”
“Again, what are we waiting for?” He looks at me and narrows his eyes. “You’re waiting for him, aren’t you?”
“I’m waiting until I’m prepared enough to head out and fight a demon,” I immediately counter, not wanting to ever admit that I’m waiting to do anything because of a man, even when said man is my husband and having him with me would probably make things ten times easier since he’s a seven hundred year old vampire.
“And for him.”
“So what if I am?”
Devon laughs, shaking his head in disgust. “What happened to the girl who couldn’t stop dreaming about getting out of here? The independent one who talked to me for hours about running away?”
“She realized that running isn’t brave.”
“Or maybe you’ve just accepted your fate. It’s easier, isn’t it?”
“No. I’m done hiding in the shadows and shrinking myself to make others comfortable. I did want to leave when I first got here, but could you blame me? I didn’t know anyone. I was ripped from the only life I knew and then found out my entire personal lore was nothing but a huge lie. And don’t act like you didn’t want to leave either.”
“Oh, I did,” he admits. “And it’s funny how the second I stopped being beneath you, you changed your mind really fucking fast.”
“What are you—” I cut off, remembering that I never was able to bring myself to tell him that I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay here, with Xavier.
Because being with Xavier made me feel like home.
“I get, Wren, you like being a hero. You’re the high-and-mighty hunter who is better than anyone in the Order because you have powers, but boo-hoo, you’re so sad because no one likes you because you’re a witch. What makes you better makes you different, and in the Order, anything different is less than.” He pauses, waiting to see if I’m going to jump in and start an argument. When I don’t, he continues. “You saw something in me that you recognized in yourself. That’s why you even entertained the idea of running away together. We were outcasts together, but you liked knowing you were better in some way. I was your ego boost, and now…now we’re on equal ground.”
“That’s ridiculous to even say out loud,” I tell him. “You really think that little of me? I only cared about you because I saw you as a lowly, undeserving human?” There’s no hiding the hurt that flashes across my face. “You were my friend because you cared. Because you listened. You were there for me and I thought I was there for you.”
“Wren, I didn’t mean?—”
“Just forget it,” I tell him and get up. Xavier and Theo are at another VC summit, and they won’t be back for hours. Pushing my hair back, I go through the butler’s pantry and into the kitchen so I can sneak upstairs the back way.
Bickering with Devon makes the biggest knot form in my stomach. I’ve been giving him grace, saying he just has to adjust. Maybe he’s dealing with subconscious anger over being turned. I was, presumably, the only person who knew he hadn’t wished to be turned that night.
“Hey,” Mabel calls softly, standing in the double doors that lead into Xavier’s large bedroom. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just a little frustrated. I’m so close to figuring out who this demon is. I don’t recognize the sigil and I don’t have access to all the books like I used to, and I can’t ask Antonio or Leo to dig into it because they’re not even supposed to know about it.”
“I meant are you okay after the things Devon said.”
“Oh.” I sink down onto the foot of the bed and shrug. “I miss him. Whoever that is…it’s not him. Only, it is. I never knew he felt that way about me when he was human.”
