Page 27 of The Devil's Trials

She doesn’t miss a beat. “I don’t give a fuck.”

I immediately challenge her. “Your emotions are running high for someone who claims to be indifferent.”

“Stay away from my emotions,” she seethes, and her fingers shift closer to her dagger once more.

I hold up my hands, lowering my voice as I shake my head. “Please don’t. I didn’t bring you here to fight.”

Harper pauses, her heartbeat kicking up as her icy facade slips just a little. “Why do you care?” she demands. “Why do you want to know things about me? Whatever twisted idea you have about us bonding or having some kind of relationship isn’t going to happen.” Her voice cracks and her cheeks go pink, as if she’s embarrassed to show anything that could be interpreted as weak. “It can’t,” she adds quieter.

Everything she said makes sense. Harper is one of the highest skilled demon hunter trainees the organization has seen in a long time. The notion that she could have a relationship with her demon half-brother is laughable. Granted, that doesn’t stop me from pursuing it. Perhaps I’mclinging to anything from the newly found—and lost—human part of my life. I can’t say for sure what makes me willing to risk whatever comes along with getting to know my sister, but the desire to have her in my life is something I can’t ignore.

“What would it take for you to drop this pretense of hatred and give me a chance?”

“What pretense?” she shoots back, then presses her lips together for a moment before exhaling a heavy sigh. There’s a stretch of silence before she finally says, “If I agree to abriefconversation, will you agree to let me leave?”

I consider mentioning that I could just as easily force her to stay, but I don’t see that encouraging the civility I’m after, so I nod instead of voicing a response.

“Fine.” She huffs out a breath and crosses the room, dropping onto the couch. I follow, sitting a comfortable distance from her so she isn’t tempted to bolt. “What do you want to know?” she asks, an air of reluctance in her words.

“Everything,” I offer, then amend my answer when she rolls her eyes to, “Okay, anything you’re willing to share, then.”

After pursing her lips in thought for a moment, she says, “I grew up in Seattle. My parents moved there to be closer to my grandparents when they found out my mom was pregnant with me. They took care of me a lot when I was younger, while my parents were on missions with the organization.”

“Were your grandparents hunters as well?”

Harper surprises me when she laughs. “No. They’ve always been anti-government to an obnoxious degree. They also don’t trust any sort of big establishment. You should have seen my grandad the day I showed him online banking.”

My lips curl into a faint grin as an odd sensation spreads through my chest. “I can imagine.”

“It has to be a generational thing. They’d rather keep their money in coffee tins at the back of their closets and pay every bill with cash.”

“But they were supportive of your parents being hunters? Of you?”

“For the most part,” she comments with a shrug. “They appreciated that the organization exists to protect people.” She pauses, her brows pinching closer. “To protect humans.”

“Hmm.” I scratch my jaw. “And when did you meet Camille?”

“Our paths didn’t cross until we were fifteen and hunter training started. We instantly became inseparable—we were meant to be hunting partners before her sister was killed and she left the organization.” She swallows visibly. “But you knew that part already.”

I nod. “And your parents were killed a couple of years later.”

Harper presses her lips together, dropping her gaze, and murmurs, “Yeah.” The unevenness of her voice makes me think I’ve made progress with her, even if it’s marginal.

Perhaps that is why I say, “I’m sorry.”

Harper looks at me again, arching a brow, but doesn’t reply.

“For not being there,” I continue. “For not being your brother when you needed one most.”

“What the fuck do you expect me to do with that?”

I shrug at her defensive tone. “I have no expectations here, Harper. I’m figuring this out alongside you.”

She glances toward the kitchen as Blake struts toward the fridge, then frowns before she says, “I need to go.”

“Not on my account, I hope,” Blake purrs.

Harper barks out a laugh. “Please.” Her eyes cut back to me. “The hunters have been watching me closely since…” She trails off, clearing her throat. “Are you going to stop me from leaving?”

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