Page 75 of Illusory

I scoffed, gawking at him. “Well, it sure felt that way.”

He tensed his jaw but didn’t say anything else.Figures. I shook my head at him and then turned on my heel and left the room without bothering to look back to see if it even mattered.

I had every intention of finishing the conversation we’d started in my bedroom earlier, one way or another, but I knew this wasn’t the right time. For one, Carly and Caleb were still here, and two, I was fairly certain that Jaqueline was already waiting for me in the dining room to start my training for the day.

What I had to say to Dominic, that was going to need a hell of a lot more time than the five minutes I currently had. But this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

I turned the corner for the kitchen, hoping to miraculously find Isa there with some kind of snack in hand. Instead, I spotted Carly standing at the kitchen island by herself, seemingly staring out the bay window.

“Hey, Carly,” I greeted and then frowned as she nearly jumped ten feet out of her skin and then spun around to faceme. “Shit. I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s my fault,” she said, waving off my apology. “I totally didn’t hear you walking up.”

I looked around the empty kitchen. “What are you doing in here anyway? Did you get lost on the way to the bathroom?” I asked teasingly.

“Yeah, I guess I must’ve taken a right instead of a left,” she said, laughing nervously. “Is my brother ready to go?”

“I think so,” I said, eyeing her for a moment and then glancing over my shoulder. “Pretty sure I heard his Camero turning over like two minutes ago.”

“That would be my cue.” She smiled and then started across the kitchen, her eyes all shifty and dodgy and mostly focused on the floor. She paused as she reached me and briefly met my eyes. “Good luck with everything, Jemma. I hope it all, you know, works out for you.”

“Yeah. Thanks. I really hope so too,” I said and then watched her back as she skittered down the corridor, walking right past the bathroom and then disappearing out the front door.

Well, that was…weird.

24. HAPPY HOUR

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The sound of my mother’s voice triggered an instant cold sweat down my back.

“You have combat training with me in the dining room,” she reminded sternly as I slowly turned away from the basement door and faced her.

“About that.” I fidgeted uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze. “I was actually thinking it might be best to take a small break from that and focus on Trace instead, at least until he’s fully, uh, acclimated.” It wasn’t a lie per se, but it also wasn’t the entire truth. The entire truth would have included the part about how I’d rather descend into the depths of Hades on the pointy end of Lucifer’s pitchfork than continue training with Jaqueline Morningstar.

“You can do both,” she stated emphatically.

I definitelycould. If I’d wanted to. Which I didn’t.

“Right, but don’t you think getting the Sang Noir should be top priority right now? We both know the only chance I have of getting that book is by sneaking into Temple and stealing it back, and the only way I can do that is if Trace teaches me how to port.” I jutted out my chin, trying to make myself look taller. “And he can’t do that until he gets used to being around me again. Right?”

She crossed her arms but didn’t say anything. Even Jackie couldn’t deny that logic.

“The way I see it, the more time I spend with him now, the quicker we can get him out of the basement and back to the realm of the living.”

She appeared to be considering it and then finallynodded. “I suppose I could continue translating Elspeth’s grimoire in the meantime.”

“Yes! You absolutely could,” I encouraged, rocking back and forth on my heels excitedly.Score one for me. “Well, let me know how that goes,” I said and started to turn back for the basement door.

“Jemma?”

Dammit, I paused again. I knew that had been way too easy. Plastering on a fake smile, I turned back and met her eyes again. “Yes?”

“I wonder, is Gabriel going to be joining the three of you?”

“Yeah. I mean, probably. Why?” I asked, my brows banking together in curiosity. “Did you need him to work on something else?”

“No.” Her lips were squeezed together in a tight line as she studied my face. “I’m just making sure there’s proper supervision.”

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