Slayer(64)

I put on my sternest face, ignoring thirteen-year-old me but allowing myself to forgive Leo a little. “Honora’s still the worst, though.”

Leo laughs. “Oh, absolutely.”

I hug the journals tighter to my chest. “So we’re totally clear, though, she changed that poem. I would never write something dirty about you.”

“Never?” he asks, and there’s a teasing note to his voice that shocks us both. His face turns as red as mine feels. “Sorry,” he stammers.

I can’t help the laugh that bursts free. Was Leo . . . flirting with me? Even though he was always nice to me, there was never a hint of flirtation when we were younger. I would have noticed. But we’re both older. We’ve been apart for a long time. And what’s in his voice now when he talks to me—it’s something that feels a whole lot like how Rhys talks to Cillian.

I clear my throat, not knowing how to react to Leo Silvera flirting. With me. “Well, I wouldn’t have written anything like that when I was thirteen. I barely knew what ‘orgasm’ meant. Watcher education isn’t really big on the whole birds-and-the-bees aspects of human development. Not that I didn’t know. Or that I don’t know. But I’m going to stop talking right now and go ahead and leave and maybe never come back.” I’ve been backing slowly toward the door since I hit “orgasm” and knew my mouth wasn’t going to stop in time to save me.

Leo’s smile is blinding, the most genuine expression I’ve seen on his face since he came back. He lifts a hand to his mouth as though he can’t believe it’s there either, touching the corner of his lips.

Confused but happy, I head for my room.

Leo’s right. I always did have something to be jealous of. I had Artemis, and I still do. And she’s definitely the best Watcher in the castle, test be damned. It’s time to tell her about the demon in Cillian’s shed. As Artemis reminded me last night, we’re better when we figure things out together. I might not have my dad, but I have her. I won’t neglect that anymore.

But I skid to a stop in my doorway. The door is open, and through it I can see Artemis.

And Honora.

She’s sitting on Artemis’s bed, and Artemis is beaming. If the age difference that used to separate Leo and me isn’t a barrier anymore, it isn’t for Honora and Artemis either. And Artemis has always crushed on Honora.

I shove the door so it bounces hard against the wall. Artemis jumps, then waves her hands excitedly. “Look who’s here!”

“I already saw Nina.” Honora smiles at me with all the fake sweetness of a Diet Coke. She never called me Wheezy around Artemis. And I never told Artemis about the poem incident. I should have. Obviously. I should have told Artemis a lot of things. I was on my way to making this better, but Honora is in our room. How can I bring up the Coldplay demon now?

“I thought you were going to breakfast,” I say.

“How could I when I hadn’t even visited Artemis yet?” Honora turns back to my sister. “God. I’ve been gone so long. You’re like a totally different person. I was a hag from thirteen until seventeen, but you’re gorgeous.”

Artemis blushes. I want to vomit.

“Seriously,” Honora continues, reaching out and playing with a curl that’s fallen free from Artemis’s ponytail. “Don’t tell me you’ve also gotten faster, smarter, and stronger, too, or I’ll be so jealous I’ll have to kill you.”

I mime puking behind Honora’s back. Artemis catches me and glares. “Let’s go get breakfast while Nina changes.”

I don’t want to follow them. But there’s no way I’m leaving Honora with full access to the castle and my sister. And I’ve got to sneak back to the shed to determine whether the demon is, in fact, as dangerous as Honora says. But it doesn’t feel right.

Do I really trust a demon over a legacy Watcher?

Honora’s poetry-performing voice rings through my memories. Yes. Yes, I do trust a neon-yellow demon more than I trust Honora.

At breakfast, Honora monopolizes Artemis’s attention with hilarious and daring stories of her demon-hunting exploits. Even Jade is engaged, leaning forward and listening. Rhys pretends like he doesn’t care, but the way his eyes widen at the good parts indicates otherwise.

“Can I talk to you?” I ask Artemis.

She nods, but doesn’t stop listening to Honora. “Later, okay?”

“Don’t you need to talk to the Council, Honora?”

“Bradford Smythe and Ruth Zabuto both sleep until ten or eleven every morning,” Artemis says.

Honora steals some fruit off Artemis’s plate. “Layabouts. I already tried my mum’s door. She didn’t even open it. Said she’s sick. Everyone here looks a little rough. You should get them vitamins or something, medic. And anyway, they can wait. That’s what they do. They should be the Waiters Council. Besides, I’m not going to leave Artemis to clean all this by herself. You’re the best trainee I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe they didn’t make you full Watcher. It’s crap.”

Artemis shrugs, but I can tell she’s pleased. “After breakfast I’ve got some time to train.”

“Can I join you?”

“Aren’t you hunting a demon?” I interject.

“No leads,” Honora says. If the Coldplay demon were really as nasty a killer as she said, she wouldn’t stop for anything. Or at least, if she were a good Watcher, she wouldn’t.