Page 90 of The Devil's Trials

Her lips twitch. “Spill what, exactly?”

“All of the things,” I say in a light tone, trying to keep the stress of the conversation to a minimum for as long as possible.

She blows out a breath, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. Her cobalt nail polish is chipped, which is normal considering the training she does on a daily basis. “Shit, I don’t even know where to start.” Casting me a quick glance, she adds, “Maybe you should talk first, then I can after we’ve had many,manydrinks.”

“And you think I know where to start?” Between the demon kill, that wild dream with Xander, and my monumental failure this morning, there’s no shortage of drama.

“Okay,” she says. “Any developments on the Xander front?”

I chew my bottom lip, pulling my legs onto the seat and tucking them under myself to get comfortable. “I, uh…sort of had dream sex with him a couple of nights ago.”

Her eyes pop wide. “You didwhat?”

“It wasn’t real,” I say in a desperate voice, as if that’ll make it better. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. It felt soreal.

And so fucking good.

“I don’t even—How did that happen?” she demands, shaking her head in disbelief.

I shrug. “Same way it does in the conscious world?”

“Right.” Her tone sounds distracted, like she’s still doing mental gymnastics to figure it out. “Are you back together then?”

“No,” I answer too quickly.

“Are you sure about that?”

I groan. “I’m not sure of anything, Harper. That’s part of the problem.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’m right there with you these days.” She reaches to turn the heat on. “I didn’t think I wanted any kind of relationship with Xander. But then…I don’t know. It feels like I’d be losing a brother all over again if I toss away the opportunity to at least try with him, you know?”

“I understand.” Her words pull at my heart, making my chest tighten. All I want to do is hug her, assure her everything is going to work out even though I have no idea if it’s true.

“If I do that, though, I’m forced to face a lot of things I’ve never considered before, like if it’s possible Xander could be a decent person and someone Iwantto know despite being a demon.”

I nod. “Which, of course, goes against everything we’re taught by the organization.”

“Right.” The unease in her voice makes me frown, because there’s not a thing I can do about what she’s struggling with. Hell, I’m struggling with the same thing. “So, that’s where I’m at,” she continues. “But we’ll chat about that and everything else later, once you’ve had a chance to visit with your mom.”

Harper drops me off with the promise that she’ll pick me up when I’m ready to leave. I leave my suitcase in the car and walk up the driveway to the house I grew up in. I haven’t seen my mom in almost a month and haven’t been back here in far longer so I climb the front steps and ring the doorbell.

My eyes widen at the deep sound of a bark.

When did Mom get a dog?

Thirty seconds later, footsteps approach from the other side of the door, and I adjust my purse strap on my shoulder as I wait.

Mom opens the door with a smile, using her knee to keep what looks to be a fluffy golden retriever from bolting outside. “Come in, come in.” She ushers me inside while keeping the dog back, then closes the door.

“Who’s this?” I ask, bending to pet the dog so it’ll settle down.

She steps back, smiling at the dog as I scratch behind its ears. “I rescued him last week when the shelter put out an urgent call to rehome him.”

“What’s his name?”

“Hawkeye.”

His ears perk up at the sound of his name, his tail wagging back and forth across the floor where he sits.

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