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"I trust him to be true to his nature, which is a demon's You need to trust that those around you will be true to their natures Even when itwho they are"

"What if it's not that easy?"

"You're strong, Luce, independent of anything or anyone else The way you responded yesterday in lad"

Luce didn't feel strong She felt foolish Daniel was an angel, so his true nature had to be good She was supposed to blindly accept that? And what about her true nature? Not as black-and-white Was Luce the reason things between the after she'd stepped into her rooet Francesca's words out of her head

About an hour later, a knock on there in the hearth Before she could even get up, there was a second knock on the pane, but this time it sounded more hesitant Luce rose fro here again? After e deal about how unsafe it was to see each other, why did he keep turning up?

She didn't even knohat Daniel wanted from her--other than to torment her, the way she'd seen him torment those other versions of her in the Announcers Or, as he put it, loved so ht all she wanted fro open the wooden shutters, then pushed up the pane, knocking over yet another one of Shelby's thousand plants She braced her hands on the sill, then plunged her head into the night, ready to rip into Daniel

But it wasn't Daniel standing on the ledge in the ed out of his fancy clothes, but he'd left o the Dodgers cap Most of his body was in shadow, but the outline of his broad shoulders was clear against the deep blue night His shy s a gold cornucopia full of orange lilies plucked from one of the Harvest Fest centerpieces

"Miles," Luce said The word felt funny in her o she'd been so prepared to be nasty Her heartbeat picked up, and she couldn't stop grinning

"How crazy is it that I can walk froe outside myto yours?"

Luce shook her head, stunned too She'd never even been to Miles's room on the boys' side of the dorm She didn't even knohere it was

"See?" His srounded, we never would have known It's really pretty out here, Luce; you should co?"

Luce wanted to go out on the ledge with Miles She just didn't want to be reminded of the times she'd been out there with Daniel The two of them were so di erent Miles--dependable, sweet, concerned Daniel--the love of her life If only it were that simple It seemed unfair, and impossible, to compare them

"How come you're not at the beach with everyone?" she asked

"Not everyone's down at the beach" Miles smiled "You're here" He waved the cornucopia of owers in the air "I brought these for you froot all those plants on her side of the rooht you could put these on your desk"

Miles shoved the wicker horn through theat her It was brie owers Their black stamens shivered in the wind They weren't perfect, a feere even wilting, but they were so er-than-life peonies Francesca had s come into our lives out of nowhere

This wasanyone had done for her at Shoreline--up there with the time Miles had broken into Steven's o ce to steal the book so he could help Luce learn how to step through a shadow Or the time Miles had invited her to have breakfast, the very rst day he met her Or how quick Miles had been to include her in his Thanksgiving plans Or the utter absence of resente duty after she'd gotten hi out Or the way Miles

She could go on, she realized, all night She carried the owers across the room and set them on her desk

When she cah theShe couldFrancesca's rules Or she could just take his hand, warh She could forget Daniel for just a moment

Outside, the sky was an explosion of stars They glittered in the black night like Ms Fisher's diahter, even more beautiful From here, the redwood canopy east of the school looked dense and dark and foreboding; to the ere the ceaselessly churning water and the distant glow of the bon re blazing down on the blustery beach Luce had noticed these things before froe Ocean Forest Sky But all the other times she'd been out here, Daniel had consumed her focus Almost blinded her, to the point where she'd never really taken in the scene

It truly was breathtaking

"You're probably wondering why I came over," Miles said, which made Luce realize they'd both been silent for a while "I started to tell you this earlier, but--I didn't--I'etting a little boring in there, staring at the re" She gave him half a smile

Miles stu ed his hands in his pockets "Look, I know you and Daniel--"

Luce involuntarily groaned

"You're right, I shouldn't even bring this up--"

"No, that wasn't why I groaned"

"It's justYou know I like you, right?"

"Um"

Of course Miles liked her They were friends Good friends Of course Miles liked her They were friends Good friends

Luce chewed her lip Now she was playing dun The truth: Miles liked her And she liked hiuy With his ocean-blue eyes and the little chuckle he gave every time he broke into a smile Plus, he was hands down the nicest person she had ever met