56. Huntyr
Chapter 56
Huntyr
FOUR MONTHS LATER
W olf soared passed me in the air. His golden wings nearly blinded me as he narrowly avoided my face. “You’ll have to be faster than that, Huntress!”
This smug bastard. Some things really never changed. I pumped my wings harder, faster, soaring through the air beside him and twisting my body around so we faced each other. “You may have more practice with this,” I started, “but those glorious wings of yours do have one major flaw.”
He flew closer to me, our wings nearly touching. “Oh yeah? Do tell, my queen.”
Hells, I was never going to grow tired of looking at him like this. He beamed with happiness as we hovered in the air above our kingdom. His new wings quickly became a talking point, not just in Scarlata, but in the rest of Vaehatis too.
Wolf was the magnificent, powerful male who saved us all.
Before, he hated attention. He was used to walking around The Golden City with his head down, lingering in his father’s shadow.
But not here. Here, children screamed with excitement and ran to him when he walked into a room. Here, his golden wings were a sign of safety, of protection from the goddess herself.
Brought back from death and touched by gold.
“They're too damn big for your own good. Good luck keeping up with those!” I zipped past him, soaring even higher before funneling myself toward the ground and diving—fast.
Wolf’s wicked laughter rang out around me as he caught up effortlessly. We both knew the size of his wings was nothing short of perfect. They were the biggest wings anyone had ever seen, and he maneuvered them like he had worn them his entire life.
I stopped myself in the air a few feet over the roof of our building. Rummy stood there waiting, waving her hand in the air to get my attention. Wolf was right behind me. We lowered ourselves to the roof with ease—something I had to practice a few times before I got the hang of.
“Look at you two,” she said. “If I didn’t know you two were the damn saviors of this place, I would be scared shitless.”
Wolf sauntered forward, his wing brushing over mine and sending a chill down my spine. “Maybe we want to scare them all shitless,” he joked. “It’ll keep them all far, far away from here.”
“Ignore him.” I pushed his shoulder. “You’re back early. I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.”
The smile grew on her face with every passing second.
“What?” I asked. “What is it?”
“It worked,” was all she said.
“It—” My heart stopped. “It worked? You’re sure?”
She could hardly contain her excitement, bouncing up and down like she used to do when we were young. “It worked, Hunt! We traveled miles from this place, and we didn’t see a single hungry one. It’s been months since the last one was spotted. I know you’ve been waiting on some big sign or announcement, but this?” She waved her hands to the side of her, motioning to our kingdom. “This place is safer than it ever could have been, all because of you.”
Wolf cleared his throat beside me.
“Oh, shove it,” she sneered. “Your head isn’t big enough with those wings yet?”
Hells, I loved her. Wolf pretended to look shocked, but I was too focused on the words that came out of her mouth.
When Wolf told me my blood was the cure to the hungry ones, I was skeptical. It all seemed too easy after how difficult the rest of our lives were.
But a few drops of my blood spilled into the lands of Scarlata, followed by Wolf chanting in an odd language I was certain only Era spoke, and it was done.
The hungry ones were actually cured.
It was a massive relief that our own people wouldn’t have to fear the sickness, but it also sent a wave of ease through me at the thought of everyone else changing the way they viewed us. Vampyres weren’t blood-hungry, depraved animals who couldn’t control their cravings.
We were just like fae, just like angels, only way cooler and with some odd dietary restrictions.
“Come on,” Rummy pushed. “They’re waiting for you both down there.”
“They’re—” I glanced at Wolf, who appeared equally as clueless. “Who’s waiting? Rummy!” But she was already leaving, already running down the steps of the tower.
I took a long breath, retracting my wings with my magic. Luckily for me, I could still contract them at will. Wolf, however, had to bend and maneuver his body—permanent wings included—through the window of the roof to get into the stairwell. Still, I knew he wouldn’t want it any other way.
I didn’t even try to hold my laughter back as I watched him.
“Careful, Huntress,” he sneered. “You’re being rude.”
We descended the stairs together, the anticipation in the air growing heavier and heavier as we approached the bottom. The last four months were a whirlwind. Scarlata was literally being rebuilt from the ashes. It helped that there were so many vampyres willing to assist us, but the memory of what happened that day lived in everyone’s minds.
We could live in peace now because of the sacrifices of so many, and nobody wanted to see violence like that ever again.
I made it to the bottom step and paused, waiting for Wolf. His hand slipped into mine, something I grew very accustomed to when it came to facing our kingdom.
And when Wolf pushed open the door, I nearly dropped to my knees.
“Headmistress Katherine,” I breathed, taking in her tall figure. “Commander Macanthos.” He stood tall, looking much happier than he ever looked back in Moira. “What are you doing here?”
In fact, they both smiled, which was already freaky enough.
“Your friends here paid us a visit and explained everything.” Commander Macanthos stepped up, pulling my free hand into his as he added, “I knew things weren’t right. I should have spoken up sooner. For years, something deep in my gut told me not to send anyone else to that damn city.”
So much emotion coming from him. I was used to him being the hard-ass, the strong rock who didn’t put up with bullshit. “It’s really okay,” I replied. “All of this was part of Era’s plan. Nobody knew what was really happening beyond those walls—nobody could have known.”
“Still,” Headmistress Katherine added. “We came here to say we are proud of you, Huntyr. You have exceeded all expectations, and you’ve saved the lives of those not even born yet. You’ve changed the fate of this entire kingdom.”
Don’t fucking cry, Huntyr. Not in front of Headmistress and Commander.
“It means a lot that you came here,” I replied. “I wish I could have saved more.”
Headmistress Katherine bowed her head. “That burden is not only yours.”
These two were sending people to their deaths for decades now, not truly knowing anything about The Golden City or what was happening within it. Asmodeus did a very good job at letting the outsiders believe what he wanted them to believe. He did a very good job at controlling people with fear and magic.
Not anymore.
“Are you staying?” Wolf asked from behind. “We have plenty of space. You’re more than welcome to?—”
“We only came by in passing,” Commander Macanthos interrupted. “We’re actually headed to The Golden City.”
I paused, dumbfounded. “The Golden City?”
Voiler then stepped into view, along with a few others. “It’s time we turn that city into a place that actually helps others. We were thinking of transforming it into a sanctuary for anyone who needs a place to stay, for anyone who’d like to come learn magic.”
Yeah, I was definitely going to start crying.
Wolf’s hand moved to my shoulder and stayed there. “You’re all going?” There was a small group of them, maybe eight, but we grew close to everyone here over the last few months.
“If it’s alright with you two, of course,” Voiler pushed. “It was Headmistress Katherine’s idea to teach magic to the others, and with the wall broken and all, I figured that might not be a bad place for it.”
I couldn’t even speak. These people—my friends—were going to build a haven for those who wanted to learn. Not just for the elites, either, but anyone. Children. Wanderers. Families. Anyone could go and learn the extent of their abilities.
There were no more limits, no more walls keeping us contained.
“That is okay with you, right?” Voiler’s eyes widened with panic.
“Yes! Hells, yes.” I pushed the others aside to get to her, pulling her into my arms and holding tight. “I’m so damn proud of you, Voiler. You saved my life. I’ll never forget that.”
Her eyes were glossy when she pulled away. “It was my honor. I would die for the blood queen, even if I don’t have a drop of vampyre blood in my body.”
I laughed, though it sounded more like an uncontrollable squeak. “Come back soon, okay? I’ll miss you too much while you’re busy sharing your wisdom with everyone.”
“I will,” she replied. “I promise.”
“Take care of them,” I said to Headmistress and Commander. “And try to be a touch nicer to the students. I don’t know if either of you are aware, but you come across a bit intimidating.”
Neither of them laughed, but Headmistress cracked the faintest bit of a smile. “Will do, Huntyr. You take care of yourself.”
The group of them turned, heading down the cobblestone street that led to the forest. We managed to pave a small path, enough to make traveling through the kingdoms much easier.
Which was why now was the perfect time for them to go.
Even if it sucked to watch them leave.
“Hells, if I knew you were this much of a crybaby, I would’ve told them to leave without saying goodbye.” Rummy sauntered back into view. She was wearing a jacket she hadn’t been wearing earlier, and my stomach dropped at the sight of it.
“You’re not leaving too, are you?”
“No! Hells no, relax!”
I took a long, shaking breath. “Good, because I don’t think I could let you go. You’re stuck with me forever.”
“You know, I quite like being one of the only fae living among vampyres. It makes life exciting.”
“Right,” Wolf added from behind me. “Because life wasn’t exciting at all before.”