Page 68 of The Devil's Trials

“I have to confess something,” she says in a near-whisper as Noah walks around the perimeter of the room while the rest of the class finishes their warm-ups.

My brows shoot up my forehead. “Oh?”

“After we spoke the other day, I asked around about your family.”

I stare at her, my stomach sinking, then repeat, “Oh.”

Sierra’s expression falls. “I’m sorry! I didn’t think anything of it, but when you told me who your parents are, I couldn’t help myself.”

I nod slowly.

“Can I ask you something?”

I blow out a breath. “Sure, I guess.”

“What brought you back to the organization?” she asks in a gentle, almost hesitant voice.

“She was fucking the prince of hell,” a deep voice cuts in before I have a chance to respond, snagging my attention as a black-haired guy who can’t be much older than twenty squares up with me. “Sorry, I should have said, thekingof hell.”

My eyes narrow as my muscles lock up. “Excuse me?”Who is this guy?He clearly knows who I am…I resent the tears burning my eyes and threatening to spill over. I want to fight back, but my fight or flight has kicked in and rendered me useless in the fight department. My lack of skills would likely be a detriment.

“You shouldn’t be here,” the guy sneers, his hazel eyes blazing with a wild mix of distrust and anger that has my gut twisting uncomfortably.

“What’s Cody talking about?” Sierra asks, concern etched into her previously soft features.

I turn my attention to her, hesitating before I say, “Iwasin a relationship with Xander KanebeforeI knew who he was.”And somewhat after—but they don’t need to know that.

She blinks in surprise, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as her gaze shifts between me and Cody. “Oh, um, that’s—”

“Irrelevant to today’s exercise,” Noah cuts in, and I stiffen at the sound of his voice at my back. “You’re with me,” he snaps at Cody. “Let’s go.”

The smugness drops from the trainee’s face, replaced by a nervousness that makes my lips twitch. He walks away with Noah, and I exhale a low breath, waiting for Sierra to bail.

“He’s such a dick,” she says, readjusting her ponytail.

“Cody or Noah?” I ask with a faint grin.

Sierra chuckles, bumping her shoulder with mine.

With the class paired up, Noah uses Cody to demonstrate each drill, and I find likely too much enjoyment in watching the guy get his ass handed to him over and over in front of his peers.

I expected some of the trainees to be less than thrilled to share a class with me, but I can’t say I was prepared to handle a direct attack like Cody’s. That was probably naive of me.

I’m glad the rest of the session is uneventful. I focus on each drill, practicing my footwork and blocking as Sierra goes on the offensive, and then we switch positions.

By the time we wrap up, my limbs are noodles, and I feel as if my entire body is covered in a layer of sweat. While I’ve never looked forward to a shower more in my life, I also feel a sense of accomplishment. I caught Noah watching us a few times, and the pride in his expression spurred me on, making me feel as though I’ve made genuine progress despite the setback of getting sick.

“What are you doing later?” Sierra asks as we head out of the training room.

I swallow a mouthful of water from my bottle. “Not sure. What’s up?”

“A few of us are going to grab pizza at Two Boots in the East Village.” She shrugs on her jacket, zipping it up. “You should come.”

I chew the inside of my cheek, glancing sideways at her as we make our way to the entrance of the training facility. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” She shoots me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Cody isn’t invited.”

Nodding, I say, “I don’t want to cause any issues.” I wasn’t expecting any social invites. I’m not here to make friends. Though if we’re going to keep doing group exercises, it might be a good idea to at least be friendly with the rest of the trainees.

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