Page 39 of Shadow & Stars
The spider demon grunted as he yanked, the blade not budging an inch.
Oh. Interesting.
“Slippery witch,” he mumbled, pulling again.
Ha! You wish it was slippery.
“What is happening, Xavier?” Ismael demanded.
“I don’t know. It won’t come out.”
“Leave it.”
“It might kill him if I can just?—”
“He might kill us if you do. I think we should listen to Butterfly.”
Xavier stopped, his face close to mine. For a moment, I held his stare, longing for my version of him to break through and kiss me. Tell me everything was okay, that he didn’t hate me for killing him because he wasn’t really dead. Just a silly blip, all better now.
Instead, he snarled, “I hate what you did to me.”
“Are you in there?” I whispered, fresh tears rising.
He blinked, releasing a shuddering breath into my face. “What did?—”
“Please tell me you’re in there.” Maybe his present soul would connect with his past one. Merge, make him the Xavier I’d fallen in love with.
He blinked again, his meanness melting away. “I?—”
“Get away from him!” Ismael barked.
The mean vibes returned. He growled. “Disgusting witch.” He spat in my face.
The blob of saliva didn’t hit, landing behind me.
Huh?
“I will discover a way to kill him, Your Majesty,” Butterfly said.
Bingo! Traitor status confirmed.
“Safely,” he added. “Without consequence.”
Mean Xavier backed away, joining his king. Ismael kissed his cheek.
I want to kiss your cheek…
The demons holding Butterfly released him. “Thank you.” He fixed his vile eyes on me. “You are the worst conduit, Roman. If only the original target had survived.”
A young witch girl died before the device chose me.
“I hate you,” I countered.
“I know. But I am sure you hate yourself more after killing two people you love.”
I wanted to vomit then tear his head off his shoulders. “You?—”
“Save your retorts, Roman.” He shook his head. “I had planned on wooing the intriguing rat. A true beauty indeed. Alas, he is gone. Because of you.”
