Page 150 of Her Blood Revenge

Thalia frowns and steps closer.

‘Oh, what are you going to do, huh? Sit your magicless arse down before I put you down.’

Leo clears his throat. ‘I’ll help you find Neve. On one condition.’

‘I’m listening.’

‘You leave Thalia alone for good. All of you. And you never come looking for her or me again.’

I frown. I had every intention of killing the bitch, and he knows it. For what she did to Pix? It’s the least she deserves. But needs must. And I’m not sure Pix would be thankfulif I murdered her former friend.

‘Fine,’ I groan. ‘Only because I like you. Now tell me.’

‘I can travel the air that others have travelled.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning, if I take the air in the lungs of this Pixie into my body, I can see every road it’s travelled. And if it’s been to where Neve is hiding, I’ll see where it is.’

‘And if it hasn’t?’

‘Then you and I will go out and find another. And we won’t stop until we get hold of an Unseelie that has breathed its way to Neve’s location.’

‘Why? Why would you help us if you’re fucking that one?’ I nod at Thalia, who scowls at me.

‘It’s Thalia asking me to do it. She wants to help her friend.’

‘Friend?’ I scoff. ‘I wouldn’t call any of us friends.’

‘Icallyoumy friend,’ he replies, looking offended at my words.

‘I meant them, Leo. The girls haven’t exactly been BFF’s.’

‘Thalia did wrong when she did what she did with Cole. And you did wrong to Thalia when you cut out her tongue. But Ashe didn’t do anything. She didn’t choose any of it. Thalia knows that. And she wants to help. Let us help.’

I nod.

‘You have a deal. But you also need to come with me to recruit the creatures that ran off and convince them to fight with us.’

He looks unconvinced.

‘Shake my hand, Leo. Or your girl is fair game.’

We shake, and he faces the Pixie.

Chapter twenty-six

The Dream Walker

Ihave been walking the dreams of the creatures from the castle for hours. I’ve summoned them back and told them to come to this hidden coven. If they don’t, I will seek them out one by one and tear them to pieces. I will ensure they never know another day’s rest.

Still, I don’t know if they will obey. They abandoned us. Their loyalty is not to be trusted or expected.

When I finally feel Pixie enter the dream world, I waste no time and go to find her. I’m terrified of what I will see, but if she’s dreaming, that means she’s alive. And I can help her through anything she has suffered. And I will return the pain tenfold to any who have hurt her.

I find her running through a decaying forest. She screams as monsters chase her. Monsters with scales and horns. Monsters made of bark and blood.

She crashes into my chest, and I hold her tight, pulling her from that nightmare to the shore of a crystal blue lake with a waterfall in the distance. She falls to her knees, her face sinking into my chest as she clings to me. And I keep her held close, letting her cry.

---