Page 75 of Demon's Bane

I shake my head as I cross the room and sink down into the seat across from her. “No, you’re definitely not.”

Rhett mumbles something under his breath that sounds a lot likespeak for yourself.Alva ignores him and Halla shifts a little in her seat. The movement is followed by a muffled thump, and he flinches slightly before scowling at her.

Before they can start full-out bickering, Alva silences them both with a click of her tongue and a decidedly unimpressed look.

“Forgive my children for struggling with their manners,” she says magnanimously. “How are you this morning, after so trying a day yesterday?”

“I’m… fine, I guess. We both are.”

From beside me, Rhett reaches over and lays his hand on mine. Halla and Alva share a look when they notice, but if he’s aware of that notice, Rhett doesn’t seem to care. He gives my hand a squeeze before passing me a plate that’s already loaded up with breakfast. A piece of thick, fresh bread slathered in red jam, plus a few slices of what looks to be cheese, and a handful of fresh berries.

Halla, Alva, and Rhett already have their own plates, and as we dig in, the conversation stays light.

Honestly, meeting the family in the demon realm doesn’t seem all that much different from how things go in the human realm.

They ask me about my life, my family, my work, and though some of it’s a little awkward to share with them when Rhett and I haven’t yet dived into all the specifics, it’s easy enough to answer.

At least until the conversation turns back to the more pressing matters at hand.

“And this wielder you mentioned, this David, was it?” Alva asks. “How was it you came to know him?”

Rhett lowers his brow in apparent irritation at the question, but I answer before he can play referee.

“He was someone I met at a party. We dated, but only for a few months.”

I decide not to add that in those few months, I basically let him insert himself into every aspect of my life. It seems a little too personal to lay out there for everyone when Rhett and I haven’t even talked about it, and I’m going to cut twenty-three-year-old Joan some slack for being such an idiot.

“What else can you tell us about him?” Halla asks.

Rhett shoots his sister a look. “Is this a family breakfast, or an interrogation? All of this can wait for—”

“It’s alright,” I say softly. “I don’t mind talking about it if any of the details could be useful.”

I catch Rhett’s eye and try for a reassuring smile. I’m here in this realm to help, and so far all I’ve done is stir up resentment and get caught in a cave-in. If diving back into my disastrous relationship history with the wielder is the only productive thing I can do, then it’s not a big sacrifice to make.

“I only knew him for a little while, but David always seemed… very interested in what was happening with the coven. And disappointed that I wasn’t more closely involved in it.”

Deciding to go with the Cliff-notes version of it, I tell them a bit about my history with the Crescent Coven, and how I came to distance myself from them.

Probably not the best impression to be making on my potential future in-laws, telling them what a powerless, disappointing witch I turned out to be, but Alva and Halla seem to accept the explanation without asking too many pointed questions.

“Anyway,” I finish, feeling a bit of color climb my cheeks. “David and I really didn’t know each other long enough for me to get a ton of details about what kind of magick he was working on, other than it involved some kind of fascination with poisons and explosives.”

“Would he have known about the Veil?” Rhett asks. “Or about the new bargain Queen Allison made to restore the magick between our realms?”

“I’m not sure. We were involved way before all of that happened, but I heard rumors he moved on from me to a different Crescent witch shortly after we stopped seeing each other.”

Rhett mutters something that sounds likefucking idiotunder his breath, and despite the heaviness of the conversation, it absolutely brightens my mood.

“So you think there’s a chance he could be working with someone from the coven?” Halla asks.

I nod, thinking for a few moments. The question has been rattling around in my head since Seren told me he might be involved.

“It’s the part of this that doesn’t make sense, how he would have gotten through the Veil in the first place.” At three questioning demon looks, I go on. “The coven has all kinds of wards and enchantments around their side of the Veil. Spells that make it so someone who’s not a coven member wouldn’t be able to find it on their own.”

“And do they post guards near the Veil?” Alva asks.

I shake my head. “No. The wards are… well, the wards are supposed to be enough.”