Page 85 of Demon Apathy: Sunderverse

Sage’s eyes met mine. He was terrified. It was clear to see, but he was willing to take a stand for me, which surprised me.

“It’s fine, Sage.” I insisted. “I’ll be fine.”

“C’mon.” Jenna grabbed his elbow. “She knows what she’s doing.”

Drevan stood tense, his fists clenched, his chest rising and falling as he breathed his fury in and out. All he needed was fire spouting from his nose, and I suspected that was also part of his repertoire. I stared at his feet, expecting hooves to appear. Anger had triggered Phenog. Would it do the same to Drevan?

Reluctantly, my friends left the room. With an angry flick of Drevan’s hand, the door shut. Trying to deny my fear, I rose to my feet and quickly took a seat on the bed. I doubted I would be able to stand without my knees knocking together if I remained on my feet. Sitting would preserve my dignity. I hoped.

I continued staring at Drevan’s shoes as he stood frozen on the spot, his fury a living thing that I could feel rolling off of him.

At last, he said, “What were you thinking? You could have…” He placed a hand on his chest and rubbed it hard as if something were choking him. “Phenog can be very dangerous. She’s not your friend. She’s not what she appears to be.”

“And are you?” This time, I found the resolve to look him in the eye.

He glared at me, a muscle jumping in his jaw as he clenched his teeth to the point of breaking. “That has nothing to do with yourstupidity.” There was venom in the word, and it hurt because, despite who he was, he had never offered me an unkind word.

Shame fell on me like a heavy blanket. I broke eye contact once more and stared at my hands. “I know it was stupid, and I’m sorry. I was only trying to help my friends.”

He exhaled audibly, and I felt the anger lift from him as I wished my shame would. His shiny leather shoes came into view as they padded over the carpet, and he sat next to me, the bed dipping.

“Before your pride would get you in trouble,” he said. “Now, it’s something else. You’re doomed to always be a screw-up.” His voice held a hint of a joke as he tried to lighten the mood.

In the past, we’d joked about which of the two was the biggest screw-up?If we consider the breadth of my power and existence proportionally, you’re the biggest screw-up.

He’d been right to say that.

“I guess I am,” I agreed.

Slowly, Drevan reached for my hand, but I pulled away. Instead, he placed it on his thigh and worried at the black fabric of his dress pants.

“Why don’t you want me to have Truesight?” I asked.

“What is this about, Lucia?”

“You know what it is about.”

“I want you to say it. C’mon, go ahead. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

I swallowed thickly, not wanting to repeat what I’d been thinking. He waited, and soon it became obvious he would not answer my question unless I obeyed him.

“I… I think you don’t want me to have Truesight because you… are hiding your true self from me.”

His eyes narrowed as they roved over my face, scanning it as if he were trying to decipher an impossible puzzle. “And what do you think I look like?”

Hooves, horns, pointed tail, monstrous mouth, rows and rows of teeth… my imagination had been busy outdoing Hollywood’s best horror geniuses.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Just not like this.”

“Would you rather me look like this?” In an instant, his appearance changed, and Sage sat next to me.

I jumped to my feet, taken aback by the ease with which he’d become someone else entirely. If he’d hoped to alleviate my concerns by his transformation, he was mistaken. He’d only made my doubts grow bigger. He must’ve seen something in my expression, because he quickly switched back.

“It’s nothing to be upset about,” he said. “It was just a joke.”

“I would rather you not look anything different from the way you look now,” I said.

Silence hung thickly between us and stretched and stretched until it finally broke.