19. Wolf
Chapter 19
Wolf
“ T he mission was uneventful,” I lied, doing my best to sound as bored as possible. Luseyar and Asmodeus sat at the far end of the large table, both demanding answers to questions Jessiah and I couldn’t answer.
It was always the same damn thing.
“You didn’t see anyone else in Scarlata?”
I shrugged. “The place was overgrown by the forest. There’s no sign of anyone living anywhere in the ruins. It was silent.”
Luseyar busied himself with looking anywhere but at me. Still . But Asmodeus glared at me for one too many seconds before sliding his gaze to my brother. “And you agree with this?”
Jessiah leaned back in his chair. Even after our long journey home, he looked confident and put together. Hells, he was such a damn good liar, I couldn’t help but wonder what else he lied about in his life.
“I agree,” Jessiah added. “We scouted the entire kingdom’s ruins and the surrounding areas. There was no sign of anyone, not even the hungry ones. They must have moved on.”
Asmodeus tapped a finger against his chin. “They’re out there somewhere. If they’re not in Scarlata, they’re somewhere else, waiting for us.”
I took a long breath, making sure to exhale loudly.
His gaze snapped to me. “Apologies, son—are we bothering you?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m simply exhausted from our journey, and I have much better things to do than stand here and tell you—once again—that our trip was uneventful.”
He considered my words. It was risky, but he would usually rather dismiss me than deal with my attitude on a regular basis.
“Fine,” he snapped. “You must prepare for the wedding, anyway. The equinox is coming up, and I want to know everything there is to know about Huntyr’s power before then. Find out what she can do. My patience is growing thin. I assume she’ll be more forthcoming with you than she will be with one of my men forcing it out of her.”
In the corner of my eye, I saw Jessiah shift.
“If you don’t start showing me what she’s capable of, I’ll be forced to get the information another way. Understood?”
I nodded, biting my tongue and clenching my fists until I was sure my palms bled. “Understood.”
“ W hat the hells is that supposed to mean?” Huntyr asked. “I show him my wings? I draw blood and burn the place down like I nearly did in Moira? I turn more hungry ones into statues when we’re about to die?”
“You’ve matured as a vampyre now,” I explained. “Your magic is going to be much more powerful than it was at Moira.”
“Great,” she mumbled. “Because that wasn’t terrifying at all.”
“You summoned your wings, right?” I pushed myself away from the door. “That was magic you didn’t have access to until you drank my blood.”
She paused. “You must think very highly of your own blood.”
I took another step closer. “It could have been anyone’s blood you drank. But it was mine, because it will always be mine.”
“How is that fair?” Her big, round eyes looked up at me from her seated position on the edge of the bed. “You drink from other people. You’ve drank from a lot of other people, I’d bet.”
The possessive flare inside me heated up. “That was different. You didn’t know what I was; I couldn’t exactly feed off you to survive.”
“And now?” Her smirk dropped. “You’ve been feeding since we arrived in The Golden City. It certainly hasn’t been from me.”
I clenched my fists and reminded myself to breathe. Hells, even thinking about her blood sent me into a freaking whirlwind.
“Would you rather I fed from you?” Thick tension clung to the air. “Do you want it to be your blood that keeps me alive, Huntress?”
A lustful gaze flashed through her eyes, but she blinked and cleared her throat. “I don’t know what to think, not anymore.”
Pain stabbed me in the chest. I took a step back.
I knew that would be the answer. I hurt her too badly; I betrayed her trust too much. What happened in Scarlata between us… the kissing… the everything, it still wasn’t the same.
Because I could never go back in time and take back everything I said to her, everything I did, everything I used her for. I couldn’t go back in time and fix things between us.
I took another step back, putting more distance between us. “Exactly,” I mumbled. “My blood is yours anytime you need it, Huntress.” I couldn’t look at her as I said the words. “But you won’t have to worry about who I’m drinking from, so long as it’s not you.”
I felt our bond, tried to sense any emotions coming from the other side. I got the slightest whisper—like a scent wafting in the wind—of grief.
“Anyway,” I started again, “we need to continue training your magic. We have to show Asmodeus something, so it’s better we plan for it now than get blindsided at the equinox.”
I turned around and reached for the doorknob.
“Wait,” she started, “you mean right now?”
“We only have a few weeks to find the true strength in your blood. Time is a luxury we do not have. Follow me, Huntress.”
To my surprise, she followed me without arguing. Perhaps she understood how dire this situation was, how little time we had to get her magic under control before Asmodeus took matters into his own hands. And this time, I didn’t hold back. I pushed Huntyr as far as she would allow, both mentally and physically.
Something in the air shifted. The lightness, the joking around the situation was long gone.
It wasn’t just about us anymore. It wasn’t simply Huntyr and me, our conflicts, her own fight for survival.
Others were counting on her to survive. Others were counting on her to fight back.