“They're pretty conspicuous.""Why? Are they green and horny?" I willed a blush away and said, "I mean, as in having horns,not...the other.”

“Both of us widened our eyes and said, "Woah."Then I immediately blushed. Oh my God, had I just looked at Archer and said, "Whoa"?But...wait a minute. Had Archer just looked at me and said "Whoa"?”

“So that was creepy as all get-out."I shivered. "No lie. Captain Mood Swing totally gives demons a bad name, which is quite an accomplishment."But Jenna shook her head. "It wasn't him. Well,I mean, it was him, but not just him. It was the Council members. Did you see how weird they were with Nick and Daisy? Nick looked like he was seconds from blowing us all away, and no one said anything. And that stuff about changing his room?""Makes sense that they're scared of him," I said. "I'm a demon and I'm scared of him.”

“I glanced around, but no one seemed to be watching me. That would probably change once I started yelling at a waiter. I have Archer what I hoped was a significant look, but thanks to all the sparkle, I wasn't sure he got it. I walked away to the corner of the room and ducked behind a truly insane amount of potted plants. The light back there was dim and green, and everything smelled rich and loamy.”

“Cal's face swam into view. I couldn't hear him over the ringing in my ears. I'm pretty sure he mouthed for me to lie still, which seemed easy enough.He held my hand, and while the pain didn't go away, a woozy sense of calm spread over me. So I was pretty dispassionate as I rolled my head to the side and watched Cal pull a six-inch shared of demonglass out of my shoulder. As soon as it was out, the burning faded, but I knew I'd have yet another another scar. "That present sucked," I muttered.”

“At a normal high school, having class outside on a gorgeous May day is usually pretty awesome. It means sitting in the sunshine, maybe reading some poetry, letting the breeze blow through your hair...At Hecate Hall, a.k.a. Juvie for Monsters, it meant I was getting thrown in the pond.”

“Ugh. Why did I have to have so many thoughts? Why couldn't I just be a normal girl and bask in the glow of finally knowing that the boy I wanted wanted me back?I slipped in the back door,and as I did, one of the maids gave me a quick curtsy. Ah,right. Because I wasn't a normal girl.I had hoped to get back to my room without seeing anyone else, but I met Cal on the landing. Wonderful."Hey," he said, taking in my disheveled appearance. "Why are you up so early?""Oh,I was just,you know, exercising." I jogged in place for a second before realizing that I probably looked like a mental patient."Okaaay," Cal said slowly, confirming my suspicions.”