Page 38 of The Devil's Trials

Camille is standing at the window like she was in the hallucination, except I don’t have a chance to speak her name before she turns to find me walking toward her.

“What are you doing here?” she says in a breathy voice, her heart racing, and looks around the room with a calculating gaze. She shakes her head, her brows pinched. “This isn’t real.”

I cock my head to the side, regarding her curiously. I expect her to bolt at any moment. That, or take a swing at me. Considering the way we left things, neither would be surprising—or unwarranted. “You’re asleep,” I tell her, “but this is real.”

Camille hesitates, crossing her arms over her chest. “How?”

“We’re sharing a dreamscape.”

She squeezes her eyes shut. Rubs them. Blinks them open. She continues staring at me without a word.

“Still here,” I offer wryly.

She shakes her head, her expression shrouded in disbelief. “Are…are you in New York?”

“No.” I shake my head for extra measure.

Her back stiffens, and she takes a step away from me. “I don’t understand. You’re over two thousand miles away. How are you in my dream?”

“With the power I have now, there are fewer limitations on my abilities, meaning I can dreamwalk from a distance.”

“Okay, that explains thehow. Sort of. What about thewhy? To flaunt your newfound power? Because you can?” Her pulse ticks faster with each pointed question.

It’s impossible to ignore and offers a challenge to move closer.I wonder how close she’ll let me.

“What if it’s because I wanted to see you?” The question leaves my lips before I can clamp my damn mouth shut. Being this close to her, even in the realm of unconsciousness, is a test…in a lot of ways.

Camille clenches her jaw, her gaze hardening. “You—”

“I had my first trial tonight,” I cut in smoothly before she can attempt to throw me out.

Her posture doesn’t relax when her eyes leave mine. She glances down at her feet, then past me to the doorway. “What does that have to do with me?”

“You were there. At least, a hallucination of you was.”

Her eyes snap back to me. “Me? Why?”

“I had to face my weakness—my humanity.”You. If the thumping in my chest and the deep-rooted sensation of longing are any indications. I’ve done a halfway decent job of blocking out these feelings, but being so close to the focal point of them is proving to be something I’m not sure I’m strong enough for.

“Your humanity,” she says in a low voice, her eyes dancing over my face as if she’s searching for it there. Slowly, she shakes her head. “I watched you abandon your humanity when you drove that dagger through your mother’s heart.”

I ignore the barbed wire weaving through my rib cage. “We’ve all made choices.” Closing the remaining distance between us, I lower my voice and speak into her ear. “I’d face any consequence if it meant keeping you safe. Take my queen. Take my soul. As long as you’re breathing, nothing else matters.”

Her chin quivers, and she blinks quickly. The look of disbelief that splashes across her features makes me go utterly still. There’s a short intake of breath and then, “You lost your soul?”

She didn’t know.

“I thought…” My voice trails off. It doesn’t matter now.

“Is that why you’re doing this?” Her voice is small, growing more detached with every sentence. I can feel her slipping away from me. “Is that why you’re fighting for the throne? Because you want it now that you don’t have a moral compass to tell you right from wrong?” Her heart beats like the wings of a hummingbird just trying to survive.

I wet my lips, knowing whatever response I offer isn’t going to please her. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“The truth!” She exhales a heavy breath. “Did you know killing Lucia would kill the human part of you, too? Was it all part of your plan to become king?”

My brows lift. “Is that what you think?”

“I don’t know what to think.” Desperation creeps into her tone, and I can tell by the way her jaw tightens that she loathes it. “I’m fucking lost, Xander.”

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