Page 104 of Fool Me Twice

“I can certainly try,” Ez says magnanimously, and she flips the book open to the first page. “‘Once upon a time, there was a good dragon’‍—big shocker there‍—‘who wanted to have a slumber party’…”

Ez loyally attempts the aforementioned voices as Desi pokes at the pictures and occasionally “helps” with the words she recognizes. By the time Ez finishes reading, Desi looks no less awake than she was before, but Ez knows she’ll settle down soon enough. “‘And they all lived happily ever after,’” she announces, snapping the book shut. “The end.”

Desi hugs her arm. “That was great! It’s one of my favorites!”

“I like it a lot, too,” Ez agrees, and she touches a kiss to Desi’s hair. “Good night, sweetie. Get some rest, okay?”

“Nighty-night, Auntie Ez!”

Ez makes sure Desi’s night light is plugged in before switching off the lamp and tiptoeing into the hall. When she arrives in the living room, it’s to find JJ curled up on the armchair, absorbed in his own reading materials‍—although, since said reading materials come from a manila folder, Ez thinks they’re probably a lot less fun than slumber-partying dragons. “Hey, JJ,” she says, sprawling across the couch opposite him. “Is Cass already in bed?”

“Yeah. I just want to finish this first, though.” JJ rubs his temples tiredly, wincing.

Ez frowns. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s just a headache.” The words are barely out of JJ’s mouth before he immediately stiffens, like he said more than he should have.

A prickle of unease runs down Ez’s spine. “Oh. You… get headaches?”

JJ busily stares down at the open folder, his eyes not moving across the pages. “Occasionally. Yeah.”

“Demons don’t get headaches.”

“Well, I’m not a demon.”

“You’re half of one,” Ez says, and she pushes herself up to sitting, leaning forward. “Talk to me, Jackson.”

JJ wavers briefly before relenting. “Yeah, I’ve been getting headaches,” he confesses softly. “And I’ll spare you the gory details, but my stomach has been pretty funky lately, too. But I hardly ever got sick even when I was fully human, so the fact that it’s starting to happen regularly now that I’m half-demon is…”

Ez finishes the thought. “Concerning.”

“Yeah. That.” JJ’s voice lowers even further, like he’s afraid Desi‍—or Cass‍—might hear him. “I’m worried that it’s related to the soul exchange. Is it possible that my body might be rejecting my piece of Cass’s soul? Or that my piece of Cass’s soul might be rejectingme?”

Ez lets out her breath in a hiss. “Maybe? There’s a reason why most spellcasters avoid soul magic‍—it’s volatile and unpredictable. Let me just…” She fixes her gaze on JJ’s chest, letting her eyes go unfocused.

Letting the dual pieces of JJ’s soul come into view.

“How does it look?” His voice is quiet. “My soul. Or souls, I guess.”

“Not bad. There might be a bit of damage forming where your human soul is in direct contact with your demon soul, but that’s probably normal.” Ez grimaces. “Or as normal as any of this can be, anyway.”

“So, basically,” JJ says, “we have no idea.”

Ez’s chest twinges at his dejected expression. “Once we end the mega-rift epidemic,” she says, “I’m going to dive into researching soul magic again. We’ll figure this out, okay? I promise.” She nods at the papers on JJ’s lap. “In the meantime, though, what’s in the scary folder? Anything interesting?”

JJ’s eyes go distant. “Well. Yes. But not in a good way. It’s, uh.” He clears his throat. “It’s one of the files from Sawyer and Naomi’s research. About the conspiracy.”

Ez’s pulse stutters. “Ah,” she says evenly, and she rests her forearms on her knees, considering him. “How are you doing with that, by the way? I know it was a shock when Naomi and Sawyer first dropped that bombshell, but…”

JJ smiles ruefully. “You mean that I nearly went catatonic for half a week?”

Ez winces. “Yeah. That.”

“I’m doing better now,” he says, and he tentatively meets her eyes. “It almost helps to know that there’s an explanation, you know? That my pastwasn’tjust random chance and bad luck. Everything in my life from the murders onward was calculated, and that makes it easier to unpack some of what the Sanctum did to me.”

Ez’s heart twists. “But?”

“But some of it is worse, too. Like‍—like thinking I’m the reason why my family was killed. I know they weren’tspecificallytargeting me‍—I was nothing special, and they just needed two ten-year-old boys‍—but part of me feels like my family might still be alive if I didn’t exist. My parents might still be alive.” JJ looks away. “My little sister would’ve turned eighteen in April. That was a rough birthday to get through.”

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