Slayer(98)

I slide to a stop in Doug’s campsite, snagging the torn Coldplay T-shirt just as Leo grabs me.

He swings me up and around his shoulders so I’m facing the same direction he is, my body bent around his upper back. I’m locked in place by one arm around my knees and his other one bracing my neck. He looks down at my face.

And I shove Doug’s damp-with-psychotropic-demon-ooze shirt right in his mouth.

Leo staggers back. He shakes his head, then drops me to pull the shirt free. “What did you—” The tension in his body melts away. His expression turns sweet and open with bliss. It shows exactly how careful his expressions have always been. Even when he was smiling at me with what I thought was sincerity, he held back. I had been viewing Leo through a carefully constructed screen.

Now?

“You’re so pretty.” He reaches down and grabs my hands to help me stand. Then he gently brushes the hair from my face, letting his fingers linger there. “When I came back and saw you again for the first time, it was like—it was like magic. All the magic that was gone went right into you.”

It’s even worse than if he hit me. It hurts. “Would have loved this information before you tried to kidnap me.”

“Oh, right.” Leo tries to frown. His face wars with itself before resettling in his dimpled smile. I didn’t know his dimples even went that deep. Another detail I would have loved before suspecting him of being evil. “Rhys’s waiting for us. We should go. It’ll be fun. I’ll go with you. I should run away too. I don’t want to be me anymore.” He beams, holding up a strand of my hair to a ray of sunshine breaking through the thick trees. “I can’t believe a color like this exists on people. It feels like magic. Everything about you feels like magic. You’re too good to be a Watcher. They hurt people. You don’t hurt anyone.” He strokes my hair. “Magic.”

I steer Leo to the bench and push him down to sit. “Explain yourself.”

He laughs. “It doesn’t matter. None of it matters. The only thing that matters is us. Let’s be happy.” He stands up and tries to kiss me.

I put my hand on his chest and gently push him back to sitting. “No, sir. Not just because I think you’re not human and maybe, possibly a murderer as well. Oh gods, please don’t be a murderer. But also because you’re super high, and it would be like taking advantage. Why were you kidnapping me? And what are you?”

Leo giggles. It’s adorable and awful and useless. Just my luck, the demon drugging didn’t loosen Leo’s tongue, only his happiness.

I try changing tactics. “Rhys and Cillian are safe, right? You didn’t hurt them after I left?”

“I would never. I don’t hurt anyone. Even when I’m hungry.”

“What? You eat people?”

“It’s not like that. Besides, I like Rhys and Cillian. They’re nice. But not as nice as you.”

Please let him be drugged enough to be telling the truth. I already feel sick, gutted by the fact that he’s been lying to me our whole lives. I can’t believe I picked a worse crush than Artemis. Wait—did I pick a worse crush than Buffy?

I have to get away from him. I don’t think I can restrain him, though. I’ll go for speed and hope the Doug drugging doesn’t wear off fast. “Hey, you know what would make me super happy? Sit right here.”

He grabs my hands, his smile painfully intense. “You deserve so much better than me. But I’m still glad I came back. Even with all the harm I’ve done. Is that selfish?” His face briefly clouds. Then he’s distracted by my hands. “Look at your fingers. They’re perfect. I’ll make sure you never have to punch anything again.”

I withdraw my hand and pat Leo on the head. “Wait here. I’ll be right back!”

He nods, his hands encircling my waist. “Hurry, okay? There’s something we need to do. I’m trying to remember. . . .”

“I’ll hurry!” I twist free and walk away, periodically turning to wave at Leo so he won’t get alarmed and snap out of it. A bird lands nearby, distracting him.

I change direction, sprinting out of Leo’s sight line.

Hot tears fill my eyes. The boy I let myself trust and fall for again is possibly a demon. I don’t know where my mother and her demon conspiring and Slayer tracking fit into all of this or if she’s in trouble. I still have to chase down Honora and Sean. And I’ve got to tell the castle that Leo Silvera has gone bad.

It’s even worse than the last time my crush on him crushed me. Because this time, I’m certain he actually cares about me. And it doesn’t change anything. It only makes me an absolute idiot for not suspecting him sooner.

? ? ?

I throw open our bedroom door. “Artemis! It wasn’t Doug or Mom. And we’ve got another problem because— Oh, hello, Mrs. Silvera, what are you doing here?”

Artemis gapes at me as I give Eve my best I didn’t just leave your probably demonic son high in the middle of the woods smile. Until I know what Leo’s secrets are, I’m not giving his mother information. I hate that suspicion has clouded the trust I have in Eve. For some reason it’s worse than suspecting my mom was up to no good. Maybe because Eve has never failed me.

She sits on my bed and crosses her legs, resting her hands primly on her knee. “Artemis had some very disturbing news about your mother. I’m concerned.”