The Sweetest Burn (Broken Destiny #2)(20)

I began breaking eggs and mixing them in a bowl. Noises in the bedroom had to be Jasmine waking up, so I called out, "Jaz? Want French toast?" while still mentally stewing.

"Did you mention breakfast?" Jasmine said with a yawn, appearing in the doorway.

I turned toward her, smiling to cover the confusion that had started to swirl inside me. "Yep. Hungry?"

"Starving," she began, then stopped, staring hard. "I don't believe it," she hissed before going back into the bedroom and slamming the door.

I exchanged a bewildered glance with Costa. "Beats me," he said to my unspoken question.

"I'll be right back," I muttered, wiping egg residue from my hands. Then I slid the door open. "Jaz? What's wrong?"

She was as far away from me as the room allowed, and when she swung around and glared at me, I came in and shut the door. Whatever it was, she obviously thought it was my fault.

"You snuck out to see Adrian last night," she accused.

How had she known? She'd been asleep when I came back in! Then, I pushed my guilt back and straightened. I was a grown woman and I didn't need my little sister's permission to meet with anyone. Plus, I hadn't done anything with Adrian.

"Not for what you think," I said, trying to find a balance between you can't tell me what to do and I love you, sis. "He taught me how to ride Brutus while he's flying. Adrian used that trick to fight the demon from the other day, so it's important that I know it, too, with what we're up against."

An angry kind of hurt filled her gaze. "Oh, so I'm supposed to believe that Brutus gave you that hickey?"

For the hundredth time, I cursed my inability to look into a mirror. I'd gotten pretty good at putting on makeup using other reflective surfaces, but they weren't clear enough to show everything, like an incriminating hickey that needed covering.

"I expect you to trust me," I settled on, meeting her gaze squarely. "Nothing is going to happen between me and Adrian. The only, highly unlikely exception to that is if he can prove that he can beat his fate, and that's a very big ‘if.'"

Jasmine didn't reply. She just stormed past me and headed toward the front of the former tour bus.

"Jaz, don't!" I shouted, chasing after her.

"Let's get something clear," she snapped when she reached Adrian. "If you betray my sister again, I'll kill you."

I wanted to drag her away, but Adrian held out his hand to me in the universal gesture for Wait, I've got this.

"If I betray Ivy again, I'll let you kill me," he told Jasmine, a hard little smile playing on his lips. "Deal?"

"You'd better believe it," she muttered, spinning around. "Forget the French toast, I lost my appetite."

"After this, so did I," I snapped.




       
         
       
        
"Don't worry, Ivy," Adrian said, his tone deceptively mild. "Now that your sister and I have an understanding, all that's left is coming through on what you and I agreed to."

Costa raised a brow, but after Jasmine's little scene, I wasn't about to explain my ultimatum to Adrian last night.

"Tell you later," I said with a sigh.

Then, taking a deep breath, I went back to the kitchen and began mixing the eggs again. All the while, I repeated she's been though a lot until it cooled my anger. Jasmine just needed more time to see that Adrian wasn't the same person she'd heard so much about while trapped in his former realm. Right now, the only thing she knew was that fate predicted him to betray me two more times, the final one being permanent. No wonder she wasn't his biggest fan. She didn't have to be so bitchy about everything, but then again...

"She's been through a lot," I said to the room in general.

Adrian's glance at me only lasted a second, yet its effect lingered. "So have you, Ivy."

True, and the fight wasn't even half over yet. The thought made me whisk the eggs far harder than necessary. Costa came over and gave me a supportive pat on the back.

"Don't mind Jasmine's attitude," he said lightly. "I hated Adrian at first, too."

I stopped whisking to whirl around in surprise. "But he pulled you out of a demon realm and saved your life!"

Something dark flashed over Costa's face, marring his tanned, attractive features. "He did, yet I still hated him for a long time because of what happened to me in the realms. Some things, you get over. Some things-" his voice lowered until I doubted that anyone except me could hear him "-you don't."

A chill skittered up my spine. Yes, Costa had suffered horribly in the same realm that Adrian had ruled for almost a century, but I'd been sure that he'd forgiven Adrian since Adrian had walked away from that life to devote himself to destroying demons. Furthermore, Costa had fought side by side with us when we'd searched for the slingshot, and through it all, I'd never had reason to doubt his loyalty.