24. Huntyr
Chapter 24
Huntyr
“ W hat was that?” I asked, looking to Jessiah and Wolf’s friend, who stood near the front of the bar.
Wolf was already pushing himself up from his chair and attempting to step in front of me. Venom was in my hand within a second, every single one of my instincts burning.
Jessiah held out a hand. The music and conversation of the pub ceased. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.
“Huntyr,” Wolf warned from behind me, gripping my arm. “Stay here.”
“What’s going on?”
Jessiah pulled his sword from his belt and shared a glance with Wolf.
“Vampyres,” Wolf answered . He tried to step in front of me, but I stopped him.
Another scream echoed through the buildings outside. “What are you going to do?”
Wolf seemed to sober up pretty quickly, and his brows drew together with conflict when he gazed down at me. “What you spent your whole life doing, Huntress.”
Shit. I knew The Golden City wasn’t safe, and I had only seen the smallest amount of proof. This was what happened to the people here—they lived in fear. “Are they hungry ones?” I asked. “They must be, right?”
“Goddess above, I hope so.”
Darkness flashed over Wolf’s eyes before he pushed away from the bar and crept toward the entrance. Jessiah did the same, as did Wolf’s friend.
Wolf was going to kill his own kind? My stomach dropped at the thought of it. I hated that I was conflicted. I hated that I cared about it at all.
This was what I spent my entire life doing, there was no denying that. But knowing what I knew now, would I do it all again? Even the hungry ones—who tried to kill me on many different occasions—held a soft spot in my chest now.
It was the nerves. I was absolutely certain it had to be the nerves stirring inside my stomach, creeping up my chest, pulling a reaction from my magic.
Wolf felt it through the bond, and he spun to make eye contact. “Huntress,” he growled.
The room around us stilled. I knew exactly what he was thinking. If I do anything, if I even attempt to stop these things with my magic, everyone will know.
The secret would be out. I’d have confirmed what everyone else had been wanting me to be the entire time.
Voiler appeared beside me, stepping out of the shadows. Had she been here this whole time?
She slipped her arm around mine, securing herself at my side before whispering, “This could be a test sent from Asmodeus. Let them handle it.”
Shock sent a wave of chills down my body. Voiler knew . “How do you?—”
Another scream interrupted us, closer this time.
Wolf turned his attention back outside, following the others through that front door.
“She’s right,” he said without looking at us. “Stay here with Voiler. For all we know, he’s doing this to test your power.”
Voiler became the only thing anchoring me inside that damn tavern as the others rushed outside, swords drawn. “That sick bastard would risk innocents just to push you into using your power,” she mumbled. “Every time I think I can’t hate him any more, he proves me wrong.”
I did a double take, realizing just what Voiler was saying. “How much do you know, exactly?” I kept my voice below a whisper, very aware of the lingering ears, though most were distracted with whatever lurked outside.
She didn’t even look at me, just kept her gaze glued on the door and her arm hooked through mine as she answered, “I know enough to know he will regret every fucking thing he’s done to you. We’re going to make him pay.”
If we weren’t in public, I would have pushed her further, but something deep in my gut told me to keep this to ourselves.
She knew more than she was letting on.
Who else in this tavern did? Who else here was acting against Asmodeus?
Did she know about what happened in Scarlata too?
A few seconds later, the screams ended, and the sound of swords slicing flesh ceased.
Wolf, Jessiah, and the others returned without so much as a drop of sweat beading across their foreheads.
A few hungry ones were no match for a group of trained men, I knew that much. If Asmodeus was truly trying to lure out my power, he was going to have to try a lot harder.
“Just a few stragglers,” Jessiah explained. “Nothing to worry about.”
Everyone else seemed to accept this, but my attention locked on Wolf, who gave me a tight smirk. We both felt the truth—those hungry ones creeping this close to the tavern wasn’t an accident.
But the barkeep went back to serving drinks. The other patrons warily returning to their tables as we all tried to act like we weren’t almost just slaughtered by the beasts lurking in the streets.
“It would’ve saved me a lot of time in Moira if I knew this was what we were trying so hard to join,” Voiler sighed.
Her relaxed tone eased some of the tension, but I had so many questions—like why was Wolf eyeing her from across the room, and why did she know so much about Asmodeus and his plan?
“I should go,” she said, letting go of my arm and stepping to the side. “We’ll talk soon, okay?”
Before I could even begin to ask what she knew, she was gone.
A n hour later, after three more ales courtesy of Wolf and Jessiah, we made our way back to the castle.
I had to admit, the slight dull in my senses was exactly what I needed to finally relax for once. Even Wolf seemed to relax a little, which seemed damn near impossible.
For once, it felt like we actually had a step up. If Asmodeus really was trying to draw out my power, he failed.
We had control here, and we were going to keep it that way. Even if I had to show Asmodeus some of my power to keep him off our backs, I could choose when, where, and how much. He wasn’t going to exploit me for everything I had, that was for damn sure.
And now, I could fucking fly. I could hardly believe it, but my tangled mess of curls was a nice reminder that just a few hours ago, Jessiah and I were soaring above this damn castle.
“What are you smiling about?” Wolf asked, bumping my shoulder with his.
“Nothing, just thinking about earlier today.”
“She was incredible, brother. A natural.” Jessiah stepped forward, taking lead down the long hallway that led to the two bedrooms.
I turned to Wolf, half-expecting him to be secretly upset he wasn’t able to join us again. But he just stared back at me, beaming. Literally beaming . The lightning in his eyes practically glowed in the darkness.
“I didn’t doubt her for a single second.”
My chest fluttered, heat rushing to my cheeks. Fuck. Lord would literally disown me if he knew how much I swore I would never trust Wolf again.
And how much I forgot about that when Wolf looked at me like that .
Jessiah stopped walking abruptly ahead of us, the smile from Wolf’s face falling in an instant. “What’s?—”
“I’d like to speak to our guest alone.” Asmodeus stood in the hallway, half-hidden in shadows, aside from his massive wings glowing in the darkness.
Jessiah stood still, like he could really be the barrier between us and him.
Wolf stiffened at my side. “I don’t think that’s?—”
“It’s okay.” I smiled at Wolf. “I’ll be fine.”
I felt a flare of his pure disgust through our bond, all the emotions toward his father he was very, very good at hiding. For survival, I guess you had to be good, especially in a place like this.
Wolf waited a few more seconds before huffing under his breath and walking to his bedroom, shooting Jessiah a look that ordered him to do the same. “I’ll be waiting inside,” he said.
Leaving Asmodeus and I alone together in the dark hallway.
I forced my hands to unclench and relax at my sides. Asmodeus wanted something from me. I possessed everything he desired, and he wasn’t going to hurt me, not when he was this close to getting everything he ever wanted.
“Busy day for you, I take it,” he started, taking a casual step in my direction. In this empty hallway, his voice echoed.
I forced a smile on my face. “Compared to being locked away in a dungeon, I suppose so.”
His grin sent a chill down my spine. “I’d like to remind you, Huntyraina, that not a single thing happens in this kingdom without me knowing about it.”
“I’d sincerely hope not.”
“That includes your escapades through the skies with my son, and that includes the little establishment you and your friends like to drink ale at.”
I swallowed, not trusting my own words. It wasn’t a surprise that he knew what we were all up to, but Wolf was under the impression that Asmodeus didn’t know about the tavern. I wasn’t going to be the one to prove his suspicions.
“You’re a smart girl,” he said, stepping even closer to me. He was still multiple feet away, but I had to resist the urge to step back. “You don’t care about your own safety, that much you’ve proven, but what of your friends?” I clenched my jaw to stop myself from grimacing. Was this bastard really threatening Voiler? “What about them?” He motioned to the bedrooms behind him.
“What do you want from me?” I asked. “So far, I’ve done everything. You want me to marry one of your sons, and I’m doing it.”
“Are you?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Because I can feel something in the air, Huntyraina. I feel something coming.”
Once again, I kept my mouth shut.
“Just remember,” he continued, “it is not only your life and your freedom on the line here. Everyone you love is at my mercy. Everyone. It would be very wise for you to remember that before you go off and do something you may regret.”
He stared at me for a handful of seconds, really ensuring I heard those words, before leaving down the hallway, narrowly missing my shoulder as he passed.
Holy fucking hells.
Just when I thought there was a semblance of hope, it was ripped away. It was naive of us to think we could do anything without Asmodeus knowing. I was putting everyone in danger by even thinking of standing up to him.
Jessiah’s door opened first. “Hey,” he said. “You alright?”
I nodded, throat dry.
“Good,” he answered. “You can’t let him scare you, Huntyr. You can’t let him get in your head and control you with fear.”
“But he?—”
“It doesn't matter what he said.” Jessiah took a long breath, glancing once at Wolf’s door before adding, “You and I had a deal. I think it’s about time I take you back to Midgrave.”
My heart stopped beating. “Are you serious?”
He shrugged. “As long as your wings can handle the flight.”
“They can!” My words rushed out of my mouth. “I swear, they can!”
“Good. Meet me here tomorrow when the sun goes down. We’ll be back before anyone notices a thing.” He slipped back into his bedroom without another word.
Adrenaline pulsed through my veins, but I took a long breath before allowing myself to follow Wolf into his room. He stood on the other side, shoulders tense. “I hate him,” he sneered.
“Really?” I teased. “I hadn’t guessed.”
“I’m serious, Huntyr. I hate that he gets to order us around. I hate that we’re stuck here, pretending like he owns us. What did he say to you?”
“He saw me flying today,” I said. “And he made an ominous threat against everyone I care about. Nothing new.”
Wolf cursed beneath his breath and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m so sorry, Huntress. You don’t deserve this.”
I kicked my boots off and made my way to the bed. “You don’t have to apologize for him. I can handle it, really. He wanted to test me today, and he’s pissed that I didn’t walk directly into his trap.”
“It was stupid of us to spend so much time at the pub. He was going to find us there eventually.”
I pulled Wolf’s blanket up over my body, adjusting the soft pillow under my neck as I watched him pace the room. “But you have a plan, right?”
He stopped pacing and faced me. “Oh yes, Huntress. I have a plan. Now sleep. Your body will be exhausted from all that flying.”
I couldn’t even keep my eyes open long enough for him to join me in the bed. Wolf was right about the exhaustion. Every ounce of my body craved sleep, and after the additional ales at the pub, I was in no position to fight it.