Page 87 of Deceiver

“Good. I’m sorry I got you involved in all of this. Mercy too.”

“Don’t be. It’s another experience for me to grow my skills.” She pats my hand, smiling. “I won’t be doing any more readings for you though.”

“That’s fair. To be clear, I don’t want any.”

“Also fair.”

We laugh together, and between one second and the next, Wilder reappears. I blinked, and then he was there. His trench coat smolders slightly, and the air is scented with a hint of sulfur.

I get to my feet. “You’re back.”

“I’m back.” He reaches out and touches my chin. “Are you okay?”

“Completely. Is it… over now?”

“Very much so. The demon has been returned to its own realm, and for the crime of unapproved possession, it will spend the next millennium confined.”

“Millennium? A thousand years?”

“Correct. Turns out that particular demon has a reputation for possessing mortals and making them do bad things.”

“My dad really was possessed when he did those things?”

Wilder’s brow creases. “It seems like it, however, there’s a reason that demon found him.”

“What?”

“The demon targeted your father because he was ripe for the picking.”

His meaning sinks in. “He was already doing bad things before the possession. Really bad things.”

“Correct. I’m sure it’s hard to hear.”

“No, I’m good. I let it go.”

“You heard my instructions?” Talon asks.

“Nope, couldn’t hear a word except from the demon, but I remembered what you said so I made peace with it. I told my dad’s dead body the things I wish I could’ve said when he was alive.”

“You broke the connection,” Wilder says.

“It feels like something shifted. There’s been this weight on me ever since I found out about the accusations, and now it’s just gone.” I turn to Talon. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” She gets to her feet, stretching her arms above her head. “Oh, so much better. It’s good to be a witch.”

“Can we drive you somewhere?” Wilder asks. “There’s a body upstairs that needs to be reinterred.”

Talon shakes her head. “I’m good. I’m gonna whip up something to help my girl Mercy. I’ll see you two around, huh? Take care of each other.”

We watch her leave, and then it’s just the two of us in my quiet house. It’s sort of weird now that everything is resolved.

“Now what do we do?”

“There’s cleanup to do here. I’ll take care of that part. And then…” Wilder’s eyes soften as he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer. “I was thinking we could go back to my place and get back to falling in love. How does that sound?”

Even after all that just happened, I feel surprisingly giddy and light. “Perfect.”

Chapter 25