Page 30 of The Devil's Trials

My chest constricts as I fight the urge to look away, to hide the burn of tears in my eyes at the thought of Xander being in that position. I swallow past the lump in my throat and force out, “I can’t see him.”

Blake pushes away from the car, stepping into my personal space, and grabbing my wrist when I go to move away. “No?”

My pulse spikes with panic at the way Blake’s eyes darken. They don’t go black like I’m waiting for them to, but the grimness in his expression is still unsettling. “People will immediately wonder where I am and look for me. I can’t leave the city,” I insist.

And I’m definitely not ready to see Xander. Our last encounter is still too fresh. Too painful.

“Right. Because you’re so busy with hunter training,” he taunts in a low voice. “What happened to never going back to that life?”

Xander must’ve told him about my past. It shouldn’t surprise me, and to be honest, it doesn’t. Not really. I don’t love the idea of Blake having any information about me, but I suppose there are more consequential things to worry about right now.

“Whathappened?” I echo incredulously, pulling my wrist free from his grasp. “My boyfriend turned out to be a royal demon and literally became the king of hell in front of me!”

“He did that to saveyourlife.”

“You think I don’t know that? That I don’t think about it every day since it happened?”

His eyes narrow. “And your first instinct was to rejoin the hunters?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” I snap, resenting the tremble in my chin. “Now, if that’s all—”

“What should I tell him?” he asks, raking a hand through his hair. His tone is back to casual, any trace of a serious expression gone from his face.Talk about emotional whiplash.

I open my mouth to say, what? I have no idea. I wasn’t prepared to see Blake, much less send a message to Xander.

“Nothing,” I finally say, my heart beating so hard I feel it in my throat. “Just…take care of him.”

He nods. “I’ll be in the city for a couple of days, so if you change your mind, you know how to reach me.”

“Go to a cemetery and draw a pentagram in the dirt?”

Blake lets loose a surprised chuckle. To be fair, the dry remark came out of nowhere. I have his number saved in my phone, so I don’t bother changing my response.

Without another word, Blake walks in the opposite direction, and I continue toward the gym. When I steal a glance over my shoulder, the demon is gone.

Exhaling a steadying breath, I use my building fob to unlock the door to the gym, slipping inside and stopping dead in my tracks when my eyes land on a shirtless Noah doing bicep curls across the room.

Fuck.

What if he heard me talking to Blake?

What if he’d caught us in the garage?

My mind spins with what-if scenarios that make my anxiety spike, but then he glances up, catching my gaze in the mirror and looking shocked to see me.

“What are you doing here?” The words tumble from my lips before I can stop them.

“I could easily respond to that with some hilarious quip, but then you’d call me an asshole.” He sets the weights down and turns to face me. “I want it on the record that I took the high road in this instance.”

I fold my arms over my chest as he approaches and deadpan, “How big of you.”

The corner of his mouth kicks up. “I didn’t expect to have a late-night workout partner.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” I offer, uncrossing my arms and pocketing my keys.

Noah nods, his eyes roaming over my face as if he’s searching for something there.

“What?” I ask, suddenly feeling squirmy under the weight of his gaze, especially when I’m fighting to keep mine from dropping to his bare chest.

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