Page 50 of Demon Hunger

“Again, you can’t believe what he says.” Jenna shook her head adamantly.

“He also said that Drevan and Khargon were an item.” I couldn’t keep eye contact with Jenna, so I played with my napkin, feeling the flush of embarrassment climbing up my neck.

“Now, that’s just ridiculous.”

“Drevan didn’t deny it.”

“You asked him?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, shit. Lucia. I’m sorry.”

We were silent for a few minutes, then I said, “I wish I could hate him. What is wrong with me, Jenna? Why do I…?”

She reached out and patted my hand. “Nothing is wrong with you.”

“Just bad luck, I guess.”

“Why would Jophiel kidnap you to tell you that?”

I pushed my half-eaten sandwich away. “I’m confused about that too. If I’m to believe his charade, he’s hoping the truth will convince me not to help Drevan. I think there’s more. I just don’t know what.”

“Hmm.” She rubbed her chin. “Benjamin was onto something. First, Jophiel wanted to kill you, but he just had a chance and he… shared some gossip? Very odd.”

“Something tells me he got in trouble for trying to kill me.”

“Like with…God?” She pointed toward the ceiling, whispering the last word.

“I guess.”

“Interesting. This celestial drama is complicated.”

“You can say that again.”

Another moment of silence stretched between us.

“Sooo,” Jenna elongated the word, “are you mad at Drevan again?” She made it sound as if I shouldn’t be.

“He lied to me. For thenthtime.”

She moved her head from side to side. “Well, he hasn’t so much lied to you. It’s more like he’s omitted a few things.”

I glared at her. “Are you serious?”

“He’s not a bad guy.”

“He’s not even a guy.”

“That’s fair, but he cares about you. He was so worried this morning. You should’ve seen him. They found you discarded like an afterthought. He was so mad, but he was more worried than anything else.”

“Jophiel said that Drevan tried to make Khargon fall in love with him, and he asked me if he’d tried toput the moves on me yet.” I made air quotes.

“I get it, and that’s strange.”

“Right?”

“And did he saytry?”