Page 135 of The Devil's Trials

I frown, fighting the urge to cross my arms over my chest and refuse him, but something in his eyes stops me from doing that. Instead, I say, “Fine. Lead the way.”

I follow Blake through the building into what appears to be a private library. It’s all warm tones with dark wood and soft lighting. The faint scent of paper fills the room, reminding me of a bookstore I could roam around for hours. It would typically put me at ease, but this situation really doesn’t leave any space for that.

Xander stands in front of a massive floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the property’s large pond as rain falls from the dark sky. His back is to us, and he turns when the library door closes behind us. We cross the room toward him as his eyes shift from Blake to me.

“What’s going on?” I demand, my pulse ticking faster. Tonight has already been a lot. I’m really not sure how much more I can handle before it triggers a panic attack. Anxiety simmers just below the surface in my chest, threatening shallow breaths and a sharp sense of doom if I can’t rein it in.

“I think you should sit down,” Xander offers in a level, gentle tone.

I wrinkle my nose at that. I’m sick of the back and forth, questioning if he gives a damn or feels nothing at all. “I’m fine standing.”

A muscle feathers along his jaw, and he exhales a short breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment before meeting my gaze. “Your sister is in hell.”

I stare at him.

He stares back at me.

And then—

Everything.

Just.

Stops.

I grit my teeth, shaking my head as tears fill my eyes. “I don’t know what kind of tactic this is. I just…” My voice cracks. “Why are you doing this?” My watery gaze slides to Blake. “Is this some twisted joke?”

The regret in Blake’s eyes as he shakes his head is the only thing that keeps me from fleeing the room. It cements my feet in place—I couldn’t leave if I tried.

“I’m telling you the truth,” Xander says in a low voice, pulling my attention back to him.

My heart pounds against my rib cage as bile rises in my throat. “This…this doesn’t make any sense,” I shout, and when Xander tries to reach for me, I recoil. “No.”

Blake slips out of the room without a sound, save for the door softly clicking shut behind him.

“I understand it’s confusing. The demon who killed Danielle trapped her in hell while she was in the veil between life and death, and she’s been there since. I saw her while I was there for the final trial.”

I choke on a sob. “My sister isdead. There’s been a mistake. I don’t know what you think you saw—”

“I saw her tattoo, Camille. The one that matches yours. There was something so familiar about her when I saw her in hell, and I couldn’t place why. When I saw her tattoo, it all made sense, and I spoke to her, confirming who she was.”

I press my hands to my face as my head spins, then slide them up to grip my scalp, trying to anchor myself with the pain, but I feel the world slipping away. My ears ring and my vision blurs a little. Xander grasps my shoulders, pulling me back. I blink quickly, trying to focus on him.

“You say you saw her…and then you left her there?” Anger weaves through the confusion in my heart, and the warring emotions make me feel as if I’m losing control of myself. The longer I stand here, the less stable I feel, and the alcohol churning in my stomach isn’t helping.

“I couldn’t bring her back in that state.”

That state?

“Is my sister a demon?” I whisper, the mounting pressure in my ribs begging me to scream. To let out everything I’ve kept trapped inside.

“No,” he says hesitantly before adding, “but her soul is trapped in the underworld.”

Barbed wire lassoes my heart, piercing it with every beat. “Trapped?” I choke out. “Can she be brought back?”

A conflicted look passes over his face, darkening his features. “It’s not that simple.”

“Explain it to me, then.” I can’t mask the desperation in my voice. Danielle is living in hell as we speak.She has been since she died.

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