Page 39 of Demon Apathy: Sunderverse
Before I wascleansedof my pride, it used to bother me that everyone in my family either called me kiddo, little girl, or baby sister. I thought they did it to remind me that they were older and, by default, entitled to tell me what to do. Now, I saw it for what it truly was: their big, protective love for me.
“Hey, I have news, and I don’t think you’re going to like it.” I prepared myself for a scolding. It wouldn’t be shrill like Mom’s but still no fun.
“O-kay, give me a moment to walk back into my office.” I sensed her walking and heard a door shut. “All right, tell me what you got?”
“I’m in New York, and I’m back at the league.” I let the words pour out of me in one quick breath.
There was a stretched-out moment of silence that I filled with mental, panicked screams. Toni had some powerful allies. If she got it in her head that I needed to be back in St. Louis, she could probably get Damien Ward, a powerful Copper Mage, to snatch me back through some magical porthole or something.
“How exactly did you end up in New York?” Toni asked.
“It’s a long story.”
“Does it involve… you know who?”
“It… does.”
Another moment of long silence.
“Lucia…” She stopped, and I braced myself for the reprimand. Next, she cleared her throat, and what she said surprised me. “My first instinct is to tell you to get your ass back here right now. I don’t like the idea of you being involved with… residents of hell. But I know better, and I realize it’s not my decision. You’re an adult now, and the captain of your own ship. So really, my job here is to make sure this is whatyouwant.”
My entire body seemed to become unhinged with relief. I slumped on the bed, too relieved to answer.
“Well, is it?” Toni pressed.
“It is.”
“Are you sure no one’s… putting the moves on you?”
Oh, someone was putting the moves on me all right! And it wasn’t just who my sister was thinking. Grant was involved too. Jenna. And Phenog. I couldn’t forget it had all started with that little imp.
“They do want me here,” I said cautiously. “I can’t deny that, but itiswhat I want. These past six weeks haven’t been easy. There’s been a lot of regret and second-guessing. I knew that if I stayed in St. Louis, I would be all right. But to be honest, I don’t think I would be completely happy. It would feel like I’m settling for something that’s not my destiny.”
Destiny was a big word and two closely related to the wordprophecy, but it felt right to use it.
Toni hummed as if in understanding. “Then all I can say is good luck and be careful.”
“I will be. And thank you… for understanding.”
“As much as I want you to be safe, I also want you to be happy. We all do. I know Mom will be disappointed, but in the end, she’ll understand. I’ll go see her to explain.”
When I hung up, I kind of felt like a coward for leaving the task to Toni, but it eased my guilt by thinking that it would be best for Mom to receive the news face-to-face and not over the phone. She was getting up in years and anger couldn’t be good for her heart.
Yeah, you tell yourself that, you big coward.
I glanced toward my empty desk, half expecting Drevan to be sitting on top of it like he used to do, but he couldn’t come inside the league anymore, not without being someone’s resident parasite. At least I would have somewhere to hide from him when I needed to. Though that might not turn out to be true if I kept remembering him roosting on my desk, sitting across from me in the cafeteria, lying on top of me on this bed…
Shaking myself, I jumped to my feet and decided it was time to face my classmates and teachers. Grant said I could wait until tomorrow to get started, but there was no use in putting off the inevitable.
I waited until I knew the cafeteria was open to leave my room. The halls in the dormitory area were empty, as everyone was either in class or eating lunch. I ran into a few people as I passed the common room. I didn’t know them personally, but I recognized them, and from the double-takes they did, they seemed to recognize me too.
Hurrying my step, I made it to the cafeteria, quickly spotted Jenna, and made a beeline in her direction. The wave of conversation paused for a moment, then resumed in the form of whispers as people pointed at me. I stared at the floor as I went, then plopped on the chair next to my roommate’s. Too late, I realized one of the people sitting with her was Sage Donnelley. The other one was Benjamin Acosta, a nice guy who’d had a crush on Jenna since the beginning of the semester. It seemed his efforts to befriend her had finally paid off. But Sage Donnelley? Since when did he and Jenna eat lunch together? He normally sat by all the popular students. True, both Sage and Jenna came from families with long demon hunter traditions, but that had never seemed to matter before.
Jenna wore a bright orange sweater that was offset by her black lipstick and nail polish. On her right, Sage wore faded gray jeans, a pair of light brown captain boots, and a muscle T-shirt layered with a denim button-up. His honey blond hair was short on the sides and long on top, and his hazel eyes were as piercing as ever. And on her left, Benjamin was the picture of a studious boy, wearing dark slacks, and a knit sweater over a white shirt.
All three of them stared at me, open-mouthed.
“Hey!” I waved and tried to look as if I’d never left.
