Page 48 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

“Maybe you will,” Tobey says. “But your father is the one behind this. So why should we trust you to do it?”

It’s my turn to be hurt—taken aback—a hand flying to my chest.

“I thought we were done with blaming each other. That’s so last month. You should know you can trust me.”

Tobey says nothing, their jaw flexing.

Caldwell won’t even meet my eye.

In a huff, I stand and head for the door.

“You know what?” I say, without looking back at them. “Come find me when you’re ready to get serious about solving this murder.”

“Margaux!” Tobey calls.

I ignore them, leaving the room with slow movements—slow enough for Tobey to follow if they want to.

They don’t.

Jun does. A quick turn of my head shows it’s the demon himself, with a scowl on his face.

He follows as I leave the building without saying a word. The wind blows through my hair as I step outside, and a shiver runs up my spine.

What I need is a moment alone. Bloody tears prick at my eyes, and I want to let them out in private.

I know I haven’t always been the best friend to Tobey. I was forced to keep secrets from a young age, and worse than that, I put them in danger. How could I have let them go off on their own so often?

So many mistakes. They’re supposed to have forgiven me, but now…

I don’t know if they did. Maybe they never will. What can I do to make up for the millions of tiny mistakes I made, and the one big secret that tore us apart in the first place?

Perhaps I’m done caring. Tobey took it too far, blaming me for whatever my father is doing.

Jun won’t give me any time alone. He stands behind me, close enough for me to feel demonic heat radiating from him.

“Margaux.” His voice is as rough as ever, yet somehow, it’s softer. Quiet. Tender. “They didn’t mean that. It was out of line, but it was just?—”

The air is moist, sticking to my skin even though it’s not quite raining. Misting, maybe.

I inhale deeply, finding comfort in the cool scent in the air. “A misunderstanding. I know, and I don’t care. I just wanted to make them feel bad.”

“You care. You’re not fooling anyone… or at least, you’re not fooling me.”

I’m fighting off tears and a choking feeling, a sob threatening to slip past my lips. I can’t let him see me cry, and my voice will break if I speak, so I let a moment of silence settle between us.

“Look,” he says, “if you need a night alone or a place to stay… come hang out at my dorm. It’s a single. No roommates.”

I finally release a sob, but it’s mixed with mangled laughter. “Are you coming on to me right now? You must realize how inappropriate that is.”

He groans, rubbing a hand over his face. “No. I’m trying to be a nice fucking person.”

What I should do is flat-out turn him down, but running away may help Tobey realize how cruel they were. Perhaps it’s petty, but I want to make them suffer in silence. They did the same to me for months.

I bite the inside of my cheek, contemplating my options. Before the situation with Amelia, I would have had someone else to disappear with. I had a whole roster. Cuddling is the best distraction, but my life is different now.

I’m disgustingly single and stuck hanging out with Jun—and I will not be cuddling him.

“Fine.” I march forward, subtly wiping away a stray tear. “Lead the way.”