Page 8 of Illusory

“Can you two be any more dramatic? Everything is fine,” I said and then pushed the untouched bowl of noodles away. Okay, sofinewas definitely a stretch, but there was no need to throw everyone into a panic.

“Bullshit,” said Tessa, still not moving from the spot she’d paved herself into. “Where are the guys? Why are you sitting here alone if everything is fine?”

“How exactly does one cancel out the other?” I asked, taking offense. She was making it sound like I needed chaperones to walk and talk at the same time. “I doplentyof things by myself. It’s really not that big of a deal.”

Tessa stared back at me, blank-faced, as though she were waiting for the punchline.

Fuck. That. I didn’t evenalmosthave the energy to dealwith my sister’s third-degree right now, nor did I have the wherewithal to go toe-to-toe with her over the state of my mutually dependent relationships with the guys.

“Trace woke up,” I informed instead.

“Holy shit,” hissed Tessa, her eyes rounding out like two oversized gray marbles. “That was fast.”

Personally, it had felt like a lifetime tome, but sure, we could go with fast.

“Is he okay? Is everything…in working order?”

“Well, I didn’t count his fingers and toes or give him a physical, but yeah, he looked pretty together to me. Despite the bloodlust.”

“Sure. That’s to be expected.” She eyed me more closely. “Well, okay then…I mean, this is good news,right?” she verified, probably because I looked like someone had just tossed a handful of sand into my bowl of ramen.

“Right. I mean, yeah, of course, it is,” I answered as evenly as my voice would allow. Because itwasgood news, despite the fallout that came after, especially when the alternative was him laying six feet under.

But it still didn’t make the currentsituationbetween us any less difficult to swallow. I mean, heliterallycouldn’t have gotten out of the room and away from me fast enough.

“Alright. Good. Just checking,” The tension in her face eased some. “So, does he remember what happened?”

“Not exactly,” I said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “The last thing he remembers was sitting in his car at All Saints. It does seem like most of his memories have come back though, so that’s good.”

Jaqueline’s gaze zeroed in on my neck. “Is that his handy work there?”

My hand instinctively moved to the bandages. “That was my fault. I didn’t realize thehungerwould kick in so fast. Ikind of figured he’d say ‘hi’ first,” I added, only semi-joking.

Tessa’s forehead lined with confusion. “I thought Descendants were supposed to handle the whole transformation thing better than that?” Her question was directed at our mother.

“We do, but it’s not instantaneous. Especially not during thefirst wake. A Revenant’s natural instincts will kick in long before anything else does. It takes some time to slowly come back together.”

I nodded in agreement, having witnessed it firsthand with Trace. “Luckily Gabriel and Dominic were there to stop him before, you know…” I trailed off, not even wanting to finish that thought.

“Where are they anyways?” asked Tessa as she dropped the books onto the kitchen table and then slumped onto the chair beside me, pulling the bowl of uneaten ramen over to herself. It was just as well. I couldn’t find my appetite to save my life anyway. “It’s kind of weird seeing you sitting here all by yourself,” she added, sloshing the noodles around.

“This again?” I wrinkled my nose at her. “You’re making it sound like I’m some codependent twit that can’t put her socks on without their help.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t gothatfar.” Tessa laughed as she shoveled a forkful into her mouth. “But the four of you have definitely been pretty sticky lately,” she noted through a packed mouth as Jaqueline dropped her own stack of books on the table next to Tessa’s and then began dividing them up into neat little piles.

“Lately, as in while the world is going to shit and I’m dodging targets on my back about as often as I change my underwear?” I shot back sarcastically. “Gosh, how dare we stick together and try to keep each other alive.”

“The world isalwaysgoing to shit, Jemma, and the samegoes for the other thing too. It’s called being a Slayer.”

“Yeah, well try being the Daughter of Fucking Hades while you’re at it,” I grumbled out and then nodded smugly when she couldn’t argue that one.

No doubt being a Slayer meant putting yourself in harm’s way day in and day out, but even Tessa couldn’t deny thatalsobeing Lucifer’s daughter made that hard-knock way of life just a tad bitdicey-er.

“Speaking of theotherthing,” I went on, segueing into the main reason I’d called them back to the house in the first place. “I may have just hit the motherload.”

“The motherload of what?” she asked, distracted as she jammed another bite into her mouth. “Targets?”

“Yeah, like the biggest, baddest, most glaring bullseyeever. Right there on my back.”

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