Free Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

bodyguard. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you initially accept the assignment?” she asked Cal.
    It was the closest I’d ever seen Cal to angry. Of course, on him, that meant that his brow furrowed a little. “I did, but—” he started to say.
    “But then you heard Sophie was coming to Hecate, and you decided to stay,” Lara finished, and her lips twisted in the triumphant smile I’d seen on Mrs. Casnoff’s face dozens of times. I stood there, frozen in place, as she turned back to me and said, “Mr. Callahan gave up a chance to travel the world with the Council so that he could be little more than a janitor on Graymalkin Island. For you.”

A fter that, I didn’t hear much more of what Lara said. I know she mentioned something about a meeting and being late, and then suddenly she was gone, leaving me and Cal alone.
    Cal turned his attention back to his plate, so I crossed the room to the buffet. There were dozens of silver trays steaming with eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, and a whole bunch of other foods I wasn’t sure I could name. My heart was jumping around nervously, but I tried not to let it show as I filled my plate.
    Then it occurred to me that I had no idea where to sit. The table could easily fit over a hundred people, so I didn’t want to sit right next to him, obviously. But it would also look weird if I picked one of the seats far down the table. I finally just sat across from him, and for a while, Cal and I sat in silence, munching on our respective breakfasts. The sound of our forks scraping across the plates echoed in the cavernous room.
    Cal shifted in his chair, and I thought he was about to leave without saying anything. Then, quietly, he said, “I didn’t stay just for you.”
    I kept my eyes down. “Right. Of course you didn’t. Duh.”
    His foot nudged mine under the table, and I finally looked up at him. He was leaning forward, his face intense. “I mean it. I like Graymalkin. I like being close to the ocean and working outside. Working for the Council would’ve meant…” He sighed, lifting his eyes to the ceiling. “Offices and planes. And wearing a tie. It wasn’t for me.”
    “Cal, it’s fine,” I insisted, even as my cheeks burned. “I didn’t actually think you were hanging out at Hex Hall because of your burning love for me. But that’s what I’m telling all the girls back at school,” I said, stabbing a forkful of eggs. “I’m thinking ‘heartbreaker’ might be a nice addition to my ‘avenging witch’ reputation.”
    He looked like he was going to say something else, so I hurried on, even though it meant talking around a mouthful of food. “So, what do you think of Thorne Abbey?”
    Cal blinked at the subject change, but then said, “This place freaks me out.”
    “Me too,” I said. “Which is weird, seeing as how Hex Hall is technically a million times creepier.”
    Cal shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s home.”
    “For you, maybe. Have you really never left since you were thirteen?”
    “Never. Not even to go to the mainland.”
    I shook my head and broke off a piece of my toast, slathering it with orange marmalade. “That’s insane. Why?”
    He put down his fork, his eyes on a spot somewhere over my shoulder. “I don’t know. As soon as I set foot on that island, I never wanted to leave it. Like I said, it’s home. Haven’t you ever felt that way about a place?”
    I thought about all the houses Mom and I had lived in over the years. Some of them had been nice, but none of them had ever felt permanent. I’d always known better than to get too attached to a place. All the word “home” conjured up for me was Mom and the vague impression of suitcases. “No. One of the benefits of being a nomad. You never feel homesick.”
    Cal studied me in that quiet, intense way of his before saying, “How did it go with your dad last night?”
    I sighed. “Not great. Apparently I should be way more psyched about being a demon. And of course he’s