“Wow, Cross. I think you missed your calling. Screw demon hunting: you should clearly be writing Hallmark cards.”

“Oh,Mercer," he murmured against my temple once we'd come up for air, "we are so screwed."I pressed my face against his neck, breathing him in. "I know.""So what do we do?"Reluctantly, I tried to move away. It was hard to think when he was so close to me. "If we were good people, we'd never see each other again."His arms locked around my waist, pulling me back. "Okay,well, that's not happening. Plan B?"I smiled up at him, feeling ridiculously giddy for someone on the verge of ruining her life. "I don't have one.You?"He shook his head. "Nothing.But...look. I've spent basically my whole life pretending to be someone I'm not, faking some feelings, hiding others." Reaching down, he clasped my hand and lifted it so that our joined hands were trapped between our chests. "This thing with us is the only real thing I've had in a long time.You're the only real thing." He raised our hands and kissed my knuckles. "And I'm done pretending I don't want you."I had read a lot about swooning in the romance novels Mom had tried to hide from me,but I'd never felt in danger of doing it until now. Which was why a snarky comment was definitely called for."Wow,Cross.I think you missed your calling.Screw demon hunting: you should clearly be writing Hallmark cards."His face broke into that crooked grin that was maybe my favorite sight in the whole world. "Shut up," he muttered before lowering his head and kissing me again."Why is it," I said against his lips several moments later, "that we're always kissing in gross, dirty places like cellars and abandoned mills?"He laughed, pressing kisses to my jaw, then my neck. "Next time it'll be a castle, I promise.This is England, after all. Can't be too hard to find one.”

“I wish we weren't like this. You know, demon, demon-hunter. I wish I'd met you in a normal high school, and taken you on normal dates, and like, carried your books or something.”

“You know, Take Your Demon To Work Day.”

“I wasn't interrupting," I interrupted, and Ms. East's mouth tilted down ever farther, which meant I'd just crossed into the land of Royally Screwed.”

“It is imperative that you have no further contact with Archer Cross."I knew all of that. But there was something about having it actually said out loud that physically hurt. "I get it," I said,looking down. "I'm a demon, he's an Eye. If we got together, think of how awkward family holidays would be. Magic and daggers flying around, knocking over the Christmas tree...”

“My brain was spinning. Demons, missing students...Why had my life suddenly become a Nancy Drew mystery from hell?"Okay, but that would mean..." I could hardly say the next words. They seemed unbelievable to me. "That would mean Mrs. Casnoff is in on it, and if that is the case,my dad would know something about it.""Not necessarily," Archer said. "Hecate Hall and Graymalkin Island are completely Mrs. Casnoff's domain. Your dad signs off on all the kids who're sentenced here, but past that, he leaves it all to her."Way to be screwed over by delegating, Dad.”