16. Huntyr
Chapter 16
Huntyr
I dreamt of Wolf’s blood that night. Not in the hypothetical, nice way. No, I actually dreamt that I could drink more of it, that he was in that bed with me, offering me the warmth from his veins.
I woke up sweating with a dry mouth, trying to get myself under control. The faint sun was already pouring through the windows, breaking up the vast darkness in the tower. I pushed myself out of bed, attempting to smooth down my hair before opening the door to my bedroom.
“Morning, sunshine,” Jessiah sang from the small kitchen, holding out a piece of dried meat. My stomach tightened.
“Where’s Wolf?” I glanced around the empty suite, taking in my surroundings in the daylight. “Where’s Abigail?”
“He’s taking a stroll around the ruins to see what he can find, and he took Abigail with him. There are people here who will take care of her.”
I stepped forward, accepting the piece of dried meat. “He’s handing her off to random vampyres?”
Jessiah avoided eye contact with me. “I wouldn’t call them random, but yes. She’ll be safer this way. Trust me.”
Okay. I had a feeling there was a lot going on here that both Jessiah and Wolf were keeping from me. I didn’t blame them. This was all very eerie, very secretive.
“He knows people here, then? A lot of them?” I was pushing the boundaries, looking for any hint that could piece this all together in my mind.
“I stay out of it, and you should too. This is Wolf’s business. It’s safer if you don’t know anything.” He got back to rummaging through whatever supplies were left in the kitchen.
“And he went alone? Is that safe?”
Jessiah shrugged. “Wolf can take care of himself. Plus, he needed to feed. I think he prefers to go alone.”
Feed. My chest tightened at the memory of Wolf sinking his teeth into me, of him caressing me, of him taking away the pain with his lips, with his body. I clamped my thighs together, my body betraying me in ways I couldn’t even begin to control.
I didn’t want Wolf to feed from me, not after he betrayed me. But then why did it piss me off so much that he could be out there somewhere feeding from some random person? I didn’t want to picture his mouth on someone else’s neck, the moans likely leaving their lips as he pulled them close, sucking the blood from their veins and pulling the sustenance into his own body.
“You okay?” Jessiah asked, interrupting my thoughts. I cleared my throat and made my way to the large window, peering outside at the dim daylight.
“I’m fine,” I replied. “Just not sure why we came all this way if Wolf was going to leave us here alone while he did all the dirty work.”
Jessiah sighed loudly then came to peer out the window just a few feet behind me. “I figured we could think of something else to pass the time.”
I spun to face him. “Something else like what?”
A slow, mischievous smile splayed on his mouth. I was beginning to see the fun side of Jessiah, the side that wasn’t so wound up by his father, wasn't so worried about punishment or being perceived by the angels in court.
“We’re all alone in this massive tower. What better time than right now to learn how to summon your wings?”
My jaw dropped, but my body lit up at his words, like I was secretly waiting for this moment my entire life. “Are you kidding?” I asked. “You can’t possibly think I can learn to summon my wings today.”
“Why not?” he asked. “You have to learn eventually, and Asmodeus isn’t here to watch over your every move as soon as you start wielding your magic again.”
I scoffed, turning away. “I didn’t have much magic to begin with.”
Jessiah clicked his tongue. “That’s what you might think,” he said, “but you are the heir to the blood throne. You have very powerful blood in those veins of yours, Huntyr. Not to mention what happened in the woods with the hungry ones. You might as well start trying to access your own magic.”
I took another bite of my dried meat. The ability to fly would definitely come in handy, but was he kidding? I could barely use basic blood magic in Moira without burning the entire school down. What happened in the woods with the hungry ones was a fluke, an accident. There was no way I could naturally summon my wings out of thin air.
“I know it seems impossible.” Jessiah’s voice softened behind me, all jokes missing from his tone. “But you have to try sometime. Let me help you. I swear, I’m a better teacher than Wolf.”
That pulled a smile from my lips. Wolf actually wasn’t a bad teacher at all, but now was clearly not the time to bring that up. “That, I don’t doubt.”
“Good.” He held his hand out, motioning toward the doorway. “Then follow me. Some fresh air is exactly what we need for your first lesson on flying.”
I scarfed down the rest of my food as I made my way through the door of our suite in the tower. Instead of heading down the stairs, though, Jessiah led us further up the hallway, where a small, broken window led to the roof.
“The roof?” I questioned. “Is this safe up here?”
Jessiah scoffed, pulling his white angel wings tight behind his shoulders so he could maneuver through the window. “What?” he teased. “Never been on a roof before?”
I bit my cheek to keep from smiling. Of course, I had been on many roofs before. Rummy and I practically built our entire relationship lounging on roofs, staring at the stars and pretending we were literally anywhere else in the world.
“All I’m saying is that if I fall and die, you’re the one who has to answer to your father.”
Jessiah scoffed. “Please. I’ll blame Wolf, and Asmodeus will believe me in a heartbeat.”
I faked a gasp, putting a dramatic hand over my chest. “Jessiah, maybe you are the evil one.”
We both laughed as I slid through the window, straightening myself on the other side and taking a deep breath of fresh air. “Wow,” I said. “Even in ruins, this place is much more beautiful than The Golden City. Maybe this is where we should all be fighting to get into.”
Jessiah put his hands on his hips as we both looked out at the land surrounding the tower. “Aren’t we, though?”
My stomach dropped. He was right. We were fighting over these lands, and this was just the beginning. If I agreed to become Asmodeus’s pawn in this game, we should be unstoppable.
But what would that mean for this place? Standing on the roof of the tower, I could see the entire kingdom—what was left of it, anyway. Massive hills surrounded us on three sides, leaving just one side to enter and exit through the forest without the steepness of the land. It was tragically beautiful, with vines overtaking the crumbling stone walls and covering the old ruins in lush greenery.
A bird chirped in the distance, the start of a beautiful, peaceful song.
“It doesn’t look like anyone lives here,” I noted. Aside from a few barely cleared out paths amongst the overgrown forest and crumbling ruins, there was nothing. No rebuilt homes. No clearings in the kingdom. Just…nothing.
Jessiah took a few seconds to himself before responding. “You would be surprised at how well people can hide when their life is on the line.”
I glanced at him. “Wouldn’t it be our lives on the line?”
Something like anger flashed over his features. “The fae were the ones who killed the vampyres, Huntyr, not the angels. The fae were the ones who brought war to this kingdom, who created the massive rift between the people. Vampyres are the ones everyone fears, yes, but they fear the wrong species. We should be fearing the people in power, not the vampyres.”
I shook my head. Lord told me about this, about the war and how the people outside The Golden City were forced to protect themselves. “Fae had to wipe them out. It was the only way to get the vampyres to stop killing everyone.”
He turned to face me. “Do you really believe that, Huntyr? The hungry ones are dangerous, yes, but what about all the other vampyres living in this kingdom? Ones just like you? Just like Wolf? Do you really think they’re capable of uncontrollably ripping apart entire kingdoms just to get to fresh blood?”
An eerie feeling crawled over my skin, clawing up my neck.
“Why would the fae kill the vampyres here if they weren’t causing any problems?”
His lips tightened into a thin line. “Fear. Fear will make even the sanest creature do insane things, especially for survival.”
A soft breeze blew through the air, caressing my skin and sending one of my black curls loose across my face. There had to be thousands of vampyres living in this kingdom at one point, everyone going about their lives every day in peace, doing their part to keep this city thriving.
It was hard to imagine the fae taking over, killing them all, slaughtering an entire species with nothing to stop them, the angels jumping in line to help.
“I didn’t realize the fae were that powerful,” I said. “It looks like the vampyres didn’t even have a chance.”
Jessiah craned his neck downward, looking toward the bottom of the building. “Fae are powerful, yes, but it’s the archangels who hold the most power. Magic and blood, that’s what really matters around here, Huntyr.”
Another chill ran through me. “And my blood? My magic?”
His eyes glistened when he looked at me. “Your blood will change the world.”
“ Y ou’re not even trying,” Jessiah called from the other side of the roof. I kept my eyes closed as I dropped my hands to my sides and let out a long sigh.
“I am trying! I told you I don’t have strong magic! Wolf can attest to that.”
He stood up from his lounged position, making his way over to me. “Except you do have strong magic. Wolf has attested to that part many times.”
“Well, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about then. I’ve only used my magic a handful of times, and none of them were controlled. It only became useful after Wolf and I—” I stopped myself from finishing the sentence.
“Bonded?” Jessiah finished for me. I cursed under my breath. “We all know. It’s not like it’s a big secret.”
“Still,” I pushed. “It’s not something I’m particularly proud of. We did what we had to do to survive, but that was before Wolf betrayed me. If I knew then what I know now, I may have reconsidered.”
Jessiah paused a few feet away from me. “Everything he has done is to keep you alive, Huntyr. My brother is an arrogant prick, but he cares about you. He cares about your safety.”
I rolled my eyes. “Can we not talk about this right now?”
“Fine,” he said. “We don’t have to talk. You can summon your wings instead.”
Anger flooded my senses. I stood on that roof trying to summon those damn wings for hours now, and I felt nothing, not even the slightest sensation on my back.
“I told you, I can’t do it. Maybe I’m not strong enough to have my own wings.”
Jessiah took one more step closer, coming just an arm’s length away. His white wings flared out on either side of him, and I had to stop myself from staring. Even the sheer size of them, the sheer strength, was enough to tell you just how powerful he was, just how close in heritage he was to the almighty archangel.
“Why are you so afraid?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.
“I’m not afraid,” I spat.
“You are; you’re blocking yourself from unleashing the full potential of your power.”
“That’s ridiculous.” I turned away. “The only thing blocking my full potential is my lack of power.”
He stepped closer. I backed up naturally, coming even closer to the edge of the roof. “Maybe you just need to feel it,” he said. “Maybe some motivation will force you to unleash it.”
“Motiva—” My words were cut off by Jessiah hauling himself toward me then catapulting both of us over the roof’s edge.
A scream built in my throat, but as the tower disappeared from beneath my feet, Jessiah wrapped his large arms around me and held me. Tight. I gripped his shoulders with all my strength, slamming my eyes shut.
But we didn’t fall.
Not even slightly.
A few wooshes of his powerful wings, and we were going higher, lifting into the sky.
Jessiah held me effortlessly, his arms around my waist. “See?” he pushed. I finally lifted my head from his shoulder, peeking slowly. “This is what you’ve been missing this whole time. This is what you’re holding yourself back from.”
He pumped his wings again and again, launching us even closer to the dark clouds above the kingdom. I opened my eyes fully, taking in the surrounding forest and the sheer beauty of it all.
A giggle bubbled in my throat before erupting outward, blending with the sound of air gliding against Jessiah’s feathers.
I had flown with Wolf before, but this was different. This was a window into what my future could look like, into what I could accomplish.
“Goddess above,” I mumbled. “This is incredible.”
“Is this motivating you at all?” Jessiah adjusted me in his grip before diving down, lowering us to skim just the tips of the crumbling buildings. My stomach dropped out, and I laughed again as I clung to Jessiah’s neck.
“It might be,” I answered through laughter. “But if you drop me, I’ll kill you.”
I felt his own laugh in his chest. “If I drop you, I’m sure Wolf will beat me to it.”
The air caressed us, kissing our bodies as Jessiah demanded we go higher, lower, around the blood kingdom and through the ruins. It had to have been ten minutes that passed, maybe more, before Jessiah finally returned us back to the roof of the tower.
My legs wobbled as he set me down, but he made sure I could stand on my own two feet before removing his arms from my waist. “Next time, that’s all you.”
I met his eyes and smiled—a genuine smile, not one of teasing or jokes or sarcasm. Jessiah made me feel like someone in this world actually cared about me, and I needed a friend more than anything right now.
The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. I didn’t have to turn around to know that Wolf was back.
“What the fuck do you two think you’re doing?” Each word was a dagger thrown through the air.
Jessiah backed away in an instant. “Relax, brother. I was just helping Huntyr learn to fly.”
“Yeah, it looked like you two were having a great fucking time flying all around the kingdom. Do you know how dangerous that was? You could have gotten hurt or Huntyr could have been killed, Jessiah!”
Wolf stormed forward, seething in anger. His clothes were wrinkled and dirty, his hair a mess. It looked like he didn’t sleep at all last night. He came just inches from his brother, staring at him like he was the enemy.
“We were perfectly safe,” I interrupted.
“Right,” Wolf answered without looking at me. “Jessiah had things under control, didn’t he?”
I stormed forward and put myself between the two brothers. “Calm down, Wolf.” I placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back a step. “What is going on with you? Why are you freaking out? I was just trying to summon my magic.”
“I don’t want you flying with him.” His eyes still didn’t meet mine.
Was he kidding? “And why is that? You don’t think I can handle myself?”
“This has nothing to do with you,” Jessiah answered. “Wolf here has a jealousy problem.”
Wolf’s jaw clenched, and I pushed on his chest again to keep him from killing his brother. “Watch what you say next,” Wolf seethed.
“Am I wrong?” Jessiah asked. “Get over yourself, brother. Huntyr needed someone to teach her how to fly. Did you expect it to be you?”
My own stomach tightened as I watched Wolf’s face drop.
Jessiah kept pushing. “I hate to break it to you, but you can’t help her, Wolf, not the way she needs to be helped right now.”
“Jessiah,” I hissed, spinning around. “Why are you suddenly being so cruel?” This was not the Jessiah I had seen, wasn’t the brother who smiled and laughed and wanted to help me.
He scowled at Wolf with fierce eyes and brows drawn together. “You haven’t known our family long, Huntyr, but Wolf is not the victim he portrays himself to be.”
“I do not portray myself as?—”
“Yes, you do. It’s poor you for being sacrificed to the goddess, for turning into a vampyre, for being sent to Moira. Poor you for being the chosen one. Poor you for being the one with all the attention, with all the skill, with?—”
Wolf stepped forward and roared, “My wings are gone , ripped from my damn body! Would you prefer that fate, brother? Would you prefer to be the one who is tortured, who is killed, who is manipulated, who is–”
A wicked, dull laugh cut through the air. “At least you are seen .” Jessiah’s voice dropped as he walked away from the conversation. “I would rather be a vampyre, have a purpose, have a damn kingdom, than live in the invisible shadows of others for the rest of my life.”
“What are you talking about?” Wolf asked. “You are safe and protected in The Golden City, Jessiah. You and your perfect white wings, your spotless reputation.”
Jessiah looked down at his feet. “Do you know what Father and I talked about when you were gone? When you were in Moira, when you were with Huntyr all those months?”
Wolf blinked.
“We talked about you, brother. Every meal, every conversation, every topic. It was all you.”
“I’m sure Father had no shortage of horrific things to say about me.”
Jessiah took a few steps toward the broken window that led to the staircase. “Not horrific things, brother. Not horrific at all.”