Free Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins Page B

Lara.
    Once everyone was seated, Kristopher looked down the table. “I’m glad to see you and Daisy getting to know one another, Sophia.” His bright blue eyes practically gleamed. Like Lara, he seemed way too enthusiastic for so early in the morning.
    “Yeah, maybe later we can all sing a demon version of ‘Kumbaya,’” I said. As far as jokes went, it wasn’t exactly stellar, but the three Council members laughed like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.
    “Daisy, didn’t we tell you Sophie had a wonderful sense of humor?” Roderick, the tall faerie said, his wings fluttering.
    But before she could reply, the demon guy walked into the dining room. Jenna was right: he did look a little like Archer. He wasn’t quite as handsome, and when he glanced my way, I saw that his eyes were blue instead of brown, but there was definitely a resemblance.
    “Good morning, Nick,” Kristopher said, patting his mouth with a napkin. “I trust your new room was to your liking?”
    Nick headed over to the buffet, flashing a wink at Daisy, whose lips curved in response. “Very much so, Kris. Thanks for that,” he said before helping himself to breakfast. Unlike Daisy, he was American. He sat down on Daisy’s other side and leaned across her to say to me, “Got tired of the view in my old room. I mean, how many times can you look at a pond, right? Kris here was nice enough to hook me up with digs overlooking one of the gardens.” He grinned as he broke open a muffin. “Guess it’ll do for now.”
    Kristopher smiled again, but it was strained. “We strive to keep our guests happy,” he said.
    “What about you, Daisy?” Elizabeth, the grandmotherly werewolf asked, reaching out to pat Daisy’s hand. “Are your rooms still all right, dear?”
    “They’re fine, thank you,” she said softly, and I could’ve sworn Elizabeth sighed with relief.
    “So, Sophie,” Nick said. “I’m guessing you’ve worked out that Daisy and I are your siblings in demonhood?”
    “Right,” I said, straining for nonchalant. I cleared my throat and asked, “So were you guys born demons, like me, or made?”
    Elizabeth answered for them, her voice warm and sympathetic. “They don’t remember, poor things. When we found the two of them, they were both in mental institutions. They didn’t even have names.”
    “Yes, and we’re ever so thankful for the rescue, Liz,” Nick said, slurring his words slightly. I looked closer at him. His eyes were kind of red, but not in the demon way; in the drunk way. Holy crap, who started drinking first thing in the morning? And why ?

    “So,” Nick said to me, “how do you like Thorne?”
    “Love it,” I replied, but I sounded unconvincing, even to myself.
    “Well, it’s gotta be better than that dump you guys call a school,” Nick said with a snort.
    Cal’s expression turned positively stormy at that, so I rushed in to say, “Hecate’s not that bad. It just has, uh, character.”
    “Didn’t L’Occhio di Dio raid Hecate last year?” Daisy asked, reaching across me for the marmalade. That’s when I noticed the jagged, purplish scar running along her inner arm. It looked a lot like the scar on my hand. I remembered what Dad had said about both Daisy and Nick nearly being murdered, and tried not to stare.
    “No, it wasn’t a raid. There was a warlock there. Archer Cross.” It was the first time I’d said his name out loud in a long time. “He was working for The Eye. But he didn’t hurt anyone.”
    Everyone fell silent, and I really hoped that that was the end of this particular conversation. Then Nick said, “I heard he tried to cut your heart out in a cellar.”
    If everyone hadn’t been hanging on my every word, they certainly were now. “That’s not true,” I said evenly. I could feel Cal’s gaze on me, but I kept my eyes on Nick. “We fought, but he never pulled a knife on me.”

    “You fought?” Roderick asked. “With your hands?”
    “Um, yeah,” I