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Page 18 of Redeemed (House of Night 12)

“Thanks, sweetie,” Cass says, and he obligingly takes a bite.“Mm.Delicious. You’ve gotta try it, Desi.”

“Okay!” Desi shoves an enormous piece into her mouth. Almost immediately, she gasps. “JJ! Cass! I’ve never had strawberries before! They’reso good!Areallfruits so good?”

“A lot of them are,” JJ confirms, making a mental note to buy strawberries for Desi the next time they’re on sale. “Raspberries and blackberries are also really tasty, and so are oranges and grapes and‍?—‍”

“‍—‍and blueberries,” Cass cuts in, slicing off a sizable portion of his blueberry crepe and placing it on her plate. “Here. You can try this one, too. I think you’ll like it.”

JJ fights down an irrational pang of loss as Desi eagerly digs into Cass’s crepe. He knows that it’s not a competition‍—despite Cass’s many failings, hehasmade it fairly clear that he respects JJ as a co-parent‍—but part of JJ still misses when he was always the one who got to show Desi new things.

Even though she’s objectively safer at Cass’s house than in JJ’s room at the Sanctum, part of him still misses seeing her every day, not just twice a week.

Luckily, he knows that Desi feels the same way. “But why didn’tyouget a sweet one, JJ?” she asks now, peering up at him like she’s sincerely concerned for his taste buds. “They’re the best!”

Smiling, JJ ruffles her hair. “The sweet ones are great, but I was in the mood for a savory one today.”

Desi’s eyebrows furrow. “Save… ree?”

“Savory,” JJ corrects, and he carefully cuts her a piece of crepe with just cheese and tomato. “It tastes more like dinner than dessert, but it’s still really good. Here, try it.”

Dubiously, Desi takes a bite. Her mouth twists into a confused squiggle. “But crepes are supposed to besweet.”

“Not all crepes!” JJ says. “There are plenty of savory ones, too. If you want, we can try every single one from Crêperie!”

Desi considers this solemnly before brightening. “How aboutIcan try all the sweet ones, andyoucan try all the save-ree ones?”

JJ shakes his head, amused. “Sure. We can do that.”

“And Cass can help us!” Desi adds, turning back to Cass. “Do you like the sweet ones or the save-ree ones?”

To JJ’s surprise, Cass smiles back at her. “I like both. Uncle Obie and I actually mapped out all the best crepe spots in Paris back in the twentieth century.”

JJ’s jaw threatens to drop. “Really?”

Cass’s eyes narrow. “Yes, really. What? Demons aren’t allowed to like crepes?”

“I‍—‍” Why is that so surprising to JJ? Maybe because two powerful demons going abroad for something besides destruction is a surreal concept? Maybe because searching for every crepe place in Paris seems like such ahumanthing to do?

Or maybe it’s just hard to imagine scowly Cassius Chin harboring a secret love of crepes. “Well, you don’t need to eat,” JJ says awkwardly. “I just, um. Didn’t realize you did it so often.”

Cass’s smile is thin. “Food and music are humanity’s only good creations. The rest of the time, your lot just keeps inventing new ways to kill each other.”

JJ’s temper spikes. “Well,youseem to enjoy a lot of those different ways,” he says, smiling back with all his teeth. “After all, you started World War I, didn’t you? And the War of 1812?”

Cass’s eyes flash. He opens his mouth to respond.

“Why don’t you like each other?”

Cass snaps his mouth shut with a flinch. Stomach lurching, JJ turns to face Desi. “What?” he asks uneasily.

“You and Cass.” To JJ’s horror, Desi’s lower lip is trembling. “Why aren’t you nice to each other?”

Crap.“We’re nice to each other!” JJ blurts out, frantically trying to figure out how to defuse this situation. “And we‍—wedolike each other.”

Cass curses under his breath. “Jackson, don’t‍?—‍”

Desi’s eyes narrow dangerously. “Don’tlieto me,” she says, her voice rising enough that the family at their neighboring table gives her a startled look. “You’re lying to me!”

Abort mission, abort mission‍—JJ casts a desperate glance at Cass, but he looks just as apprehensive as JJ feels. “You’re right,” JJ says, swinging one leg over the bench seat to sit sideways and face Desi directly. “I’m sorry for lying. That was wrong. But Chi‍—Cass and I just don’t know each other as well as you know us, Desi.”


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