Page 150 of The Devil's Trials

Scott and Rachel sit across the table from Camille and me. I can feel their hatred for me like plumes of dark clouds, but I’m more concerned about the waves of anxiety rolling off their daughter.

I can tell Camille’s nerves are shot by the way she can’t stop her knee from bouncing under the table. I reach for her, resting my hand on her thigh, brushing my thumb back and forth in an attempt to calm her.

“You’re lucky I didn’t gut you the second you stepped onto my property,” Rachel says, her gaze sharp and focused on me, then adds in a grave tone, “I still might.”

“Mom,” Camille says with a deep frown, shaking her head, as if begging her mother to ease off the threats.

“No,” I interject smoothly. “It’s okay.”

“The hell it is,” Scott chimes in with a deep snarl.

“We’re not going to get anywhere if you guys just sit here threatening him all night,” Camille points out. “This is important.Please.”

Scott exhales a heavy sigh. “Fine. Say your piece, Kane, and then we’ll decide if you get to walk out of here with your life.”

I exchange a look with Camille, hopefully reassuring her before I focus my gaze on her parents. “Camille told you that Danielle is in my world, yes?”

They both nod without a word. A flare of concern ripples through the hatred I feel from them, though I can’t decipher which hunter it comes from. Their expressions are blank. Guarded.

“When she died, the demon who took her life brought her to hell, trapping her soul there. While excruciating at the beginning, by the time I saw her not very long ago, she had adapted to the realm. It still isn’t pleasant, but her being there is what’s going to allow us to bring her topside again.”

“And you just expect us to go along with all of this?” Rachel asks, her gaze flicking toward Camille.

“I understand why that is difficult, but I ask you to at least consider that you don’t know everything about me. I have no ideas about gaining your approval, but what you need to know is that I love your daughter.” I look between Camille’s parents. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

“And yet you’d take her to hell?” Rachel offers in a sharp tone, reaching for the bottle of wine in the center of the table and pouring herself a generous glass.

“I never wanted that. I tried to talk her out of it, in fact, but she wouldn’t let it go. I think you know as well as I do how stubborn she is, especially when it comes to important matters like family. If I could bring Danielle back from hell myself, please believe that I would.”

“And why can’t you?” Scott demands, gripping his water glass so tightly his knuckles go white. “Why do you have to put one of my daughters in danger to save the other?”

“She was taken there by the demon who killed her,” I say, and Camille’s mother makes a sound akin to a whimper and presses her fist to her mouth. “The rules of the underworld are fickle in that it can’t be another demon who brings her back to the human world. Because I don’t know who it was, the only other option is someone with a blood connection to Danielle. Someone with a pure soul.”

As desperately as I wanted to keep Camille from experiencing hell, making this work to bring Danielle back without her would’ve taken far more time to figure out. It wasn’t an option Camille would accept, and this…this is her choice. I don’t like it by a long shot, but I do respect it.

The sound of Camille’s heartbeat quickens, and I turn my attention to her, murmuring, “You’re okay. Just breathe.” I’m overcome with the urge to make everything okay for Camille, no matter the cost to myself. And it’s impossible to ignore as it claws at my chest.

I meet Scott’s gaze. “As I sit here now, I vow to you that I will do everything in my power to keep Camille safe in hell and bring both of your daughters back to you.” I turn my attention to Rachel. “You have every right to hate me. I’m not asking you to change your opinion of me, nor do I have any ideas of a truce between us, but I hope you can find it in yourselves to accept what I’ve told you tonight is the truth. I have nothing to gain from lying. In fact, I have everything to lose.” Finally, I focus on Camille as our gazes lock. “And I can’t lose you,mo shíorghrá.”

Her throat bobs as she swallows, blinking back tears as her heart continues pounding in her chest. “You won’t,” she murmurs.

Rachel pulls back, her posture straightening as she glances toward her ex-husband. Something passes between them—resignation perhaps, because what other option do they have?—before she says, “When do you plan to do this?”

Camille answers before I can. “Tomorrow. I wanted to have a proper holiday with both of you before we leave.”

She nods curtly. “What portal do you intend to use?”

“Why?” Camille asks hesitantly.

“So we can ensure it’s not guarded by hunters.”

I school my features so Rachel and Scott don’t witness my shock. I hadn’t expected them to help. “Olympic National Forest,” I tell her.

“Fine. It will be clear tomorrow.”

“We’ll also ensure it’s monitored by trusted hunters until you return so you don’t run into any problems coming back.” Scott adds.

“Thank you,” Camille says in a small voice.

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