Page 32 of Monsters' Manor

Taking a couple shaky steps, I settle in one of the small wrought-iron chairs on the porch. I inhale the night air deeply, and Silas comes to stand just in front of me, leaning back against the porch railing.

“I… spoke to Ren.”

I swallow around the lump in my throat before replying. “You did?”

“Yes. And he’s not angry with you either. He understands accidents happen and all of this is a part of your training.”

I’m shaking my head before Silas even finishes speaking. “Accidents? Most people's accidents don’t involve giant, deadly fireballs.”

Silas chuckles. “And most people aren’t powerful witches with very durable demons to withstand their flames.”

Powerful. Not a word I would have ever used to describe my magick. Dangerous. Unstable. Abhorrent.

“Still,” I say, reaching for more excuses. “I don’t think I can keep training. Not with how poorly the first time went.”

“Poorly? Ren said you did wonderfully.”

“Then apparently he’s a better liar than I am.”

“It will take time,” Silas says gently. “Ren didn’t master his abilities in a single day, and neither did I. If you were around when I was a youth… Goddess, half the time when I meant to send myself somewhere I’d end up miles away, completely lost.”

I laugh a little at that, and file away the question of Ren’s abilities for later. Other than extraordinary durability, I’m still not sure what the demon can do, but also know it’s not Silas’s place to tell me.

“What I mean to say, Rose,” Silas goes on, “is that you can take the time you need, and make as many mistakes as you need. All of it is alright. Odelia understands that, and so does Ren.”

At the mention of Odelia, I fight a flinch and look down at my hands, color rising on my cheeks. “How pissed is she about me freaking out like that, and for missing my shift?”

“Odelia? As far as I know, she’s unaware of what happened.”

I snap my gaze up to meet his. “Really? Didn’t anyone notice when I wasn’t there in the ticket booth tonight?”

Silas shakes his head. “We let Lara know you wouldn’t be there and found someone to fill in for you.”

“So Odelia really doesn’t know?”

“If she does, she didn’t hear it from us.”

I scoff a little at that. “I thought Renwick was reporting to her.”

Silas pauses before he answers, studying me with soft contemplation on his face. “You really dislike the demon, don’t you?”

A fresh round of shame climbs up the back of my neck.

“I…” I start, then trail off.

Do I dislike Renwick?

I mean, yeah, the demoniskind of a lot. But what has he really done to me other than be a pain in my ass about training, and given me a stupid nickname?

And then taken my bad attitude in stride and forgiven me immediately for throwing a giant fireball in his face. Partnered up with Silas to cover me tonight and keep me out of trouble with my aunt.

“I… don’t think I dislike him,” I finally manage. “He’s probably not my biggest fan, though, with as much of an asshole as I’ve been to him.”

Silas chuckles. “You might be surprised. Sarcasm and bickering are Renwick’s idea of foreplay.”

The color on my cheeks isn’t all shame anymore, not with the hint of provocation in Silas’s tone, the knowing way he looks at me when he says it.

“Is it?” I can’t help but ask. “Then he probably thinks I’ve been ready to hop in the sack with him since the day I got here.”

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