7. Huntyr
Chapter 7
Huntyr
“ Y ou have to eat something,” he argued, pushing the soup closer. I clutched my stomach, willing the pain to go away, but it was no use.
This had been happening for days now. It started as a constant wave of nausea, the inability to keep food down, and now, I was repulsed by everything.
I was sick, probably something I picked up in those disgusting dungeons, but Wolf kept telling me I was becoming a vampyre. I refused to believe that, refused to believe this was already happening.
“Leave me alone,” I argued. “I’ll be fine; I just need a few days.”
“It’s not going to get any better,” he said. “You’ve missed training now for five days. You’re in denial.”
I pushed myself up on his bed and shot him a death glare. “It’s not denial, Wolf. Can you just leave me alone for one damn minute so I can get some rest?”
This became our thing. Wolf would bring me food, and when I didn’t eat it, he would insist I needed blood. But there was no way I was going to drink blood willingly. Even the thought of it made me gag more than the thought of eating this food.
“Fine,” he said. “Suit yourself. But my father is throwing a party for you tomorrow night, and you’re going to suffer if you can’t even stand up straight.”
This caught my attention. “What did you just say?”
“It’s your birthday, Huntress. Tomorrow’s a celebration.” He stood up and walked over to the door, leaning against it effortlessly with his arms crossed over his chest. Even without his wings, he looked like a smug bastard.
“I don’t want to celebrate,” I groaned. “And how does he know when my birthday is?”
“He’s the archangel. He has his ways, apparently.” Wolf looked at me a second longer before turning to exit, leaving me alone in my misery.
I spent the rest of the day trying and failing to ignore the nausea wrecking my body. I was losing my damn mind, that much was certain. I could barely stand up straight without hunching over and clawing at my stomach.
Is this how I would feel every day until I had blood? What if I had blood and turned into one of those monsters? What if I couldn’t control it—what if I killed someone?
Hells, Huntyr. Get your shit together. You can’t find a way out of here if you’re too busy suffering.
Besides, the soup Wolf brought didn’t look all that bad. I held my breath and picked up the bowl, shoving a spoonful into my mouth before I could change my mind.
And another bite.
And another.
Three bites in, I practically threw the bowl across the room. That would have to be enough for now.
I forced myself out of bed and walked over to the door that led to the hallway. I pressed my ear against it, waiting.
The last few days, I had done this. Wolf thought I was too sick to even stand, and for the most part, he was right.
But he was an idiot if he thought I would lie back, complacent, waiting for my own demise.
A minute passed, then another. I heard nothing in the hall, no voices, no footsteps.
The coast was clear.
I threw on my black boots and stuffed a bag I found in Wolf’s wardrobe with the extra bread I hid over the last few days. The smell of it threatened to make me throw up that damn soup, but I choked it down. I would need energy, even if the smell of it repulsed me.
I was getting the fuck out of here today.
I tip-toed back to the door and double-checked that the coast was still clear before I put my hand on the knob.
And twisted.
Unlocked. They really did think I was a weak, pathetic female who would sit around and accept my fate. Asmodeus didn’t know me at all, did he?
I peeked my head out the door, checking both directions of the dark hallway. The sun was beginning to set, which allowed my fae eyes to see just enough to escape in the darkness.
We had come from the left. The left was where the dungeons were, where the rest of the castle resided. The left was likely where Wolf, Asmodeus, and Jessiah were. So, I turned right, down the hallway that grew skinnier and skinnier. There were no windows this far down the hallway, but I slid my hand along the stone wall to guide me as I navigated further and further from the prison of Wolf’s bedroom.
At the very end of the hall, there was a stairwell hidden in the shadows, narrow enough for my body to slip through. I stepped through and descended the stairs.
With adrenaline pulsing through my veins, I all but forgot the torturous hunger I felt. My heart pounded, every single one of my senses on high alert.
My boots didn’t so much as squeak as I descended the stairs and peeked around from the bottom of the stairwell.
It exited to the street.
How stupid were they? They kept me in a room this close to the street, unguarded, with not so much as a lock on my door?
I pulled the hood up on my cloak and double checked that I was totally alone before I stepped into the night.
With the towering buildings, there was no light to help me navigate. Still, I wasn’t about to let that stop me. I wasn’t sure how many more chances I would have to escape. Wolf was always around, lingering, and if it wasn’t him, it was that brute of an angel—Luseyar—watching guard.
This could be my only damn shot.
I didn’t have a plan. Actually, my plan was to get as far away from that place as fucking possible. Voiler seemed to have good friends. Maybe if I stayed hidden enough, I could find her. She would help me. She might even know a way out of this wretched place.
I couldn’t go back to Midgrave; that was out of the question, but I could at least let Lord and Rummy know I was okay.
And then, I could sneak off, living my life in the forest. I always liked the forest anyway. It would be peaceful there. Quiet.
The streets were a maze, but I didn’t slow down, didn’t falter. I moved forward, one foot after the other. The air was eerily silent. Not a single animal called to the moon. I heard no voices. No laughter. No music.
Just…silence, the kind that made you look over your shoulder every three feet.
I reached to my hip where my dagger was typically strapped, only to find it vacant. It was an old habit, but it forced me to realize how vulnerable I was out here without my weapon.
But I couldn’t let fear stop me. Not anymore.
The castle disappeared in the streets behind me. I tried to remember each path I turned down, each odd building or unique marking in the stone I came across in the dark night. Soon enough, the buildings became shorter, the narrow streets opened up, and more empty space littered the area around us.
I was getting somewhere. Keep going.
I turned one more corner when I slammed into a large body.
“What the fu?—”
I shut my mouth when I realized it wasn’t a man’s body, but a vampyre’s. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was a hungry one, and he had just run into a warm, blood-filled body.
Shit.
I scrambled backward, once again reaching for my weapon that wasn’t there.
I could run, sure. Maybe he wasn’t as fast as the others. I could try to fight—I had decent skill in hand-to-hand combat—but this vampyre was large, larger than most.
I backed up around the corner, retreating the same way I came. “It’s okay,” I said to the monster. “Just turn around. Plenty of fresh bodies the other way.” What was I trying to do? They couldn’t understand me. They couldn’t understand anything, actually, except their constant craving for blood.
A gruntled growl escaped his mouth. I could smell the rot and decay coming from the creature before his eyes locked onto me and narrowed.
Fuck.
I turned and ran as fast I could, not giving a fuck if I was heading back into the city, not caring where I was going, as long as I got away from this beast.
He was fast, but nowhere near as discreet as I was. I heard his every footstep pounding after me desperately as I maneuvered the empty streets.
Where the fuck was everyone?
“Need some help?” a male voice asked as I rounded another corner, panting.
Wait, I knew that voice.
I screeched to a halt, hiding behind a half-crumbling wall just around the corner.
“Unless you want me to be vampyre dinner, then yeah, some help would be nice!” I shouted.
Jessiah stepped out of the shadows, his white wings glowing in the moonlight. His sword was already drawn from its sheath, and he intercepted the beast just as he was about to reach me with his decaying fingertips.
I choked back a gag as Jessiah cut the head from the body in one swift motion, making sure to back out of the way before the body could touch him.
And then, it was over. I crouched down, bracing my trembling hands on my knees as I sucked in breath after breath.
That was too fucking close. Weeks being held captive weakened me more than I realized.
“Thank you,” I panted. “He was about to kill me.”
Jessiah tsked, wiping his sword on his trousers before sheathing it again. I watched his feet move closer as I remained in my crouched position.
“What was your plan here, exactly, Huntyr? To run away into the forest and live happily ever after?”
Yes. “Pretty much.”
I could feel the disapproval seeping from him. I waited a few more moments before standing up and meeting his gaze. “Did you expect me to just sit in that room, waiting for your father to kill me?”
“He’s not going to kill you.”
“He will if I don’t give him what he wants. We both know that.”
Jessiah glanced around us before stepping closer. He looked much more similar to Wolf when he was angry. The same muscle in his jaw tensed as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“How thick-headed are you if you can’t see that Wolf is trying to help you? All this does is make things harder for him. Do you want to go back to the dungeon? Is that it? Because the second Asmodeus finds out you ran, that’s where you’ll end up. Wolf took responsibility for you, Huntyr. Would you take the cold, rotting floor of the castle basement over a warm bed and hot meals?”
I blinked back my surprise. Of course I would rather stay in Wolf’s room than the dungeon, but how could he not see how desperate I was to get out of this?
“I can’t,” I stuttered, taking a step back. “I can’t go back there, Jessiah. I’m rotting away in that room.” My throat burned again, tears springing to my eyes. Another wave of nausea hit me as the fresh blood from the dead vampyre wafted into the air. “You can’t take me back there.”
“You know I don’t have a choice.” he sighed, sounding bored. “I can keep my mouth shut about this, but you have to come back.”
“Why?” I pushed. “Why do you care so much if I stay or leave, huh? What’s in it for you?”
He turned his head toward the sky and smiled wickedly. It was the first wicked gesture I had seen from Jessiah. He was typically lighter than Wolf. Kinder. Gentler. He was good.
But when his eyes met mine again, they held only malice. “What’s in it for me? How about the fact that I’ve already watched my brother suffer for you? He went to Moira for you. His wings were cut off because of you. Do you know what that means for an angel, Huntyr? Do you know how badly he’s suffering right now?”
My breath hitched. “If you want me to apologize for any of that, you’re wasting your time. It’s not my fault Wolf pulled me into this disaster.”
“No, it’s not, but it’s not Wolf’s fault either. Asmodeus will get his way whether Wolf is there to help you or not. Trust me, my brother may put on a front of being an arrogant asshole, but he cares. He cares about you, too much for his own damn good. It’s dangerous, and it’s risky. If my father was smart enough to pay attention for even a second, he would see how Wolf looks at you.”
My chest tightened. “Yeah, well, he betrayed me.”
“Did he?” Jessiah stepped closer, and I backed up until I was stuck, pressed against the brick wall behind me. “Did he betray you, or did he do everything in his power to keep you safe?”
My mind spun. It didn’t fucking seem like he was trying to keep me safe. There were so many times in Moria where he could have told me the truth, could have told me?—
A wave of pain hit my stomach. I doubled over, wrapping my arms around myself as I stifled a groan.
“Not to mention the fact that he’s trying to help you mature as a vampyre, and you’re blowing him off every chance you get.”
“I’m not ready,” I grunted.
“Then get ready. Wolf is the only one who knows what you’re going through. Get help from him or die, Huntyr. I’m tired of playing these games.”
He reached forward, aiming to grip my arm, but I yanked my body away. “Wait.” I took a few settling breaths and righted myself against the wall. “I want to visit Midgrave, just for a few hours. If you let me do that, I’ll go willingly with you. I won’t run anymore.”
Jessiah laughed. “You think Asmodeus will let you out of here? There’s a reason it’s nearly impossible to get out of The Golden City.”
“Nearly, but not impossible. You know the way.”
His jaw tightened. “No, it’s too risky. Not happening.”
“Just think about it, Jessiah,” I pushed. “If I run away again and get killed by a vampyre, it will be you and Wolf who take the punishments for me. Help me with this one thing, and I swear I’ll help you.”
He eyed me carefully. Jessiah was smart, calculated, and this was risky.
But I couldn’t sit around and wait to be played like some card in a game.
“Flying all the way to Midgrave will take hours,” he started. “They’ll notice if you’re gone, Wolf especially.”
I cursed under my breath. “Then we’ll go when he’s distracted. It doesn’t have to be tonight. I can wait. But if you promise to take me there the second you can, I’ll go along with Asmodeus’s plans.”
He cocked his head to the side. “You have no idea what Asmodeus has planned for you, do you?”
I could picture a few things. “I’m a smart girl, Jessiah. I can figure it out.”
His chest rose and fell inches from me. He eyed me like he was trying to decide if he could trust me or not, like he was trying to decipher the code in all my lies.
But the truth? The truth was that I wasn’t lying. If I could get back home and let Lord and Rummy know I was okay, I could live with this fate. I could live with my death, even.
“Fine,” he said after a while, uncrossing his arms and shoving them in his pockets. “But don’t mention a word of this until the coast is clear. And you’ll stop fighting Wolf. He’s a fucking idiot when it comes to you.”
I ignored the way my chest tightened at his words. He might care for me now, but it didn’t matter. Everything he did to me, everything he lied to me about…
If I wanted to survive, I couldn’t trust him. Not again.
I made that mistake one too many times.
“Deal.”