Sweet Temptation

A hair-raising cackle sounds in my mind, cutting off my extended hearing, and I nearly flinch. A whisperer is on us.

“Oh, God, yes,” says Tasha as the demon whispers in her ear, shoving away her guardian angel, who fights against it.

Time to work.

I kiss her back now for real, taking control of the show and putting that sloppy mess to rest as I push her back against the wall. She moans and lets her head fall back into my hand. She grabs my lower back and pulls my hips flush against hers. After a minute I think the whisperer leaves, but I can’t stop to look.

Tasha hikes her leg, and I grab it, feeling the dress rise. Her hands are pulling out my shirt and finding their way to my bare back, where her nails dig in. My hand slides higher until it’s under her dress and she’s going wild.

My body works, but my mind is not in this hall. I go still at the sounds of familiar voices nearby. My head jerks around. No whisperers in sight, but I see the back of Ginger.

“What’s wrong?” slurs Tasha.

“I think I hear my cousin,” I whisper, still not moving.

She groans with disappointment.

Their voices are clear.

“Stop. That’s not fair,” says A

“Fair,” snorts Gin. “You’re no better than the rest of us.”

“I never thought I was.”

My heart goes still. Of course Ginger would be a complete cow to A

“I’m so sorry,” I say, tucking in my shirt. “I’ve got to take care of something.” Oh no, I think A

“Wait . . . you’re leaving?”

“I have to go.” I don’t feel too bad leaving her, since she’s staying in the hotel. I’m sure she’ll find her way. But just in case I pull her mobile from her small purse and put it directly in her hand. “Call your friends.”

She nods. Then hollers at my back, “Wait, what’s your number? We can hang out later!” But I don’t turn back.

In the hall I shove past Ginger and she shouts, “Hey! You can’t go in there.”

I turn on her. “Stop trying to police the lot of us!”

She glowers. “What the hell’s gotten into you, Kai?”

If she only knew.

I turn away and march straight into the ladies’ loo. “A

“I’m fine, Kai,” she says, but she doesn’t sound it. I need to see her. Help her.

I go to her stall and touch the handle. “You’re sick. Let me in.”

“No. I’m fine now.”

“Shall I send Marna, then?”

“No. I just want to be alone. Go away in case the spirits come back.”

I feel a burst of pride, followed by sadness, to hear the caution in her voice. She will forever be aware and more careful now. I didn’t want her to have to learn this way, but it is what it is. I’m certain she’s feeling shame and regret, but in my mind she did nothing wrong. It’s the life of a Neph. It’s all muddled and gray for us. Whether we enjoy it or not is neither here nor there.

“You did . . . well tonight.”

“Go,” she says. I think she might be on the verge of tears, and I want to demand that she let me in so I can hold her. “I want to be alone. Please just go away!”

The pain in her voice guts me. I lean my head against her stall door as sounds of the countdown to midnight ring through the hotel.

“Happy New Year,” I whisper, and I leave.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

New Year’s Day in the Big Apple

“The fragile, the broken, sit in circles and stay unspoken . . .

Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.”

—“Hospital for Souls” by Bring Me The Horizon

At some point I will learn to stop feeling relieved. When one thorny situation passes, something worse inevitably rises in its place. Hours after A

A

I can only assume A

I am twisted up inside like a rope in intricate, nonsensical knots, so full of anger and hatred I can scarcely hold it in. I don’t know how I’ll make it through this night. I don’t know how I’ll be able to watch what torture the Dukes have in store for A

All day I’ve tried to put on my straight face and close off my heart to any feelings, but this is too big. I can’t numb myself. I can’t block it out. I don’t even know how she feels for me anymore, but it doesn’t matter. I know how I feel, and watching her suffer will kill me.

On the way to the hotel I stop at a spirits shop and use my fake ID to buy bourbon. I have to keep a tolerant buzz tonight in order to hide any possible bond that might show between me and A

“Pick up A

“Yes, Duke Belial,” he answers smoothly.

Of course Belial would ring Kope to collect her. I stare at the wall and shake my head.

We leave soon after that, sliding into our coats and winding scarves about our necks. My body is heavy as we take the lift down to A

Kopano knocks on her door, and she opens it slowly. She smiles hesitantly when she sees it’s us. Nobody but Marna smiles back. A

We leave to walk to the comedy club where the summit will take place—fucking demon humor. The six of us are the only people in Times Square who aren’t laughing and talking, plastered, or nutters. My fists are shoved tightly into my jacket’s pockets, and I ca

I keep A

I wonder if Belial has told her the rules about a summit—how Neph are not to speak unless asked a direct question. I wonder if Belial has taught her to lie with confidence when the Dukes question her. I wonder if—holy shit . . . is A

When we turn down the street where the summit will take place, I fall back to walk beside A

Being next to A