Page 42 of The Devil's Waltz

I swallow the lump in my throat, squeezing my eyes shut, then whisper, “I think I’m falling for a demon.”

The line is silent for several beats. “What are you talking about?” Her voice is low, laced with a gut-wrenching mix of concern and confusion.

Biting the inside of my cheek until I cringe at the coppery taste of blood, I let out a shaky exhale and blink my eyes open. “I’m in a relationship with Xander Kane.” My gaze lifts from the floor, landing on my unmade bed…where we slept together last night. Dread coils tight in my stomach as tears pool in my eyes.How could I be so stupid?

“Isn’t he the hunter who killed a demon outside Hallowed Grounds?”

“He’s not a hunter,” I force out in a low voice because I don’t think I can bring myself to say,Xander is a demon. Nausea rolls over me like a dark wave, and I grit my teeth, willing it to recede so I don’t vomit on the floor.

“Wait, what? Didhetell you he’s a demon?”

“No,” I rush to say. “I was leaving HQ after seeing my mom and stumbled upon a hunter meeting.” I pull in another uneven breath. “I saw the report and his photo.”

“I have so many questions.”

You and me both.

“I don’t have any answers.” My voice is low, broken.

“Whatever report you saw hasn’t been sent out yet, but I’m sure it’s coming. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t…Harper, I don’t know. I feel like I can’t breathe right now and I—” I choke on my next shaky inhale. “I’ve never been this scared before.” I’m shaking uncontrollably, my entire body chilled to the marrow of my bones.

“Stay there. I’ll be home in half an hour.”

After we hang up, I leave my room and walk into the kitchen, turning on the kettle to make tea. I need to try to warm up and keep myself busy. I can’t let my thoughts wander, otherwise I’m going to spiral out of control, and Harper will walk in to find me a mess on the floor.

I try to distract myself by doing the dishes but I’m fighting back tears the whole time, questioning every moment I’ve spent with Xander since we met two weeks ago.

It’s only been two weeks.

A demon made me fall for him in twofuckingweeks.

A painful mix of shame and embarrassment fills my face with heat, and I suddenly get the urge to throw the mug in my hand across the room.

My phone rings again, and I frown at Harper’s name before I answer.

“I’m on my way, but traffic is a goddamn nightmare. I’ll be there as soon as I can, but Cami, there’s more you need to know. Noah just sent out the profile you saw to the entire organization. They’ve put out a seize and detain order on Xander.”

I bite my bottom lip to stop it from trembling, but my chin continues to quiver. “Not a kill order?” I force out, gripping the edge of the counter until my knuckles are white. There are very rare instances where hunters are tasked with bringing in a particular demon instead of hunting them on sight.

“He’s believed to have information on the queen.”

I grit my teeth against the bile rising in my throat. “Why?”

“Because,” she says in a grim tone, “Xander is her son.”

I nearly drop the phone. “What?”

“She must’ve kept his existence hidden for some reason, because this is the first we’re hearing of an heir to the throne. It’s why we never learned about any royals aside from the queen in the first year of training. There wasn’t any information about Xander until recently.”

“Okay, but—” I suck in a sharp breath at the sound of knocking at the door. “Harper, someone’s here.”

She curses. “I forgot the maintenance guy was coming to look at the dryer exhaust. I told him to let himself in if we weren’t home. Just tell him he’ll have to come another time.”

“Um, okay,” I say, walking toward the door. “How close are you?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

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