Page 11 of Blood So Brutal

Well, shit. I still hated his guts, but I shoved my feet into my shoes and stormed after him anyway.

Chapter 4

Wolf

The moon was full tonight. I appreciated the extra light for Huntyr’s sake. I could already picture the way she’d refuse to take my hand in the darkness, and she’d likely stumble and hurt herself out of stubbornness.

I liked that about her. Her stubbornness.

But now, it was becoming my biggest weakness.

“This way.” I turned and made my way out of the main building.

Everyone else in The Golden City lived outside of the main castle. The city was set up in rings, with the poorest and weakest living on the outside. It wasn’t fair—anyone could see that—but when Asmodeus decided something, that was what happened.

I wouldn’t be hiding it from Huntyr, though. If she was ever going to accept her position as heir to Scarlata Empire, she would have to see what it had become.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked. A cool breeze caressed my skin, and I heard her shiver behind me.

“I want to show you what this place has turned into.”

“You mean what you’ve turned it into? How many people here are really vampyres, anyway? And how did they get into The Golden City?”

The towering buildings shadowed us with the moon’s light. A crow cawed in the distance, followed by a grunted cry that I could only assume was one of the hungry ones outside the wall.

“Do you really want to know?” I asked. “Or are you simply trying to insult what I am? Don’t forget thatyouare a vampyre too, Huntress.”

She scoffed but said nothing. I could have easily pushed her, could have given her a long speech on how important it was to accept her destiny, but I kept my mouth shut.

The right time would come when she was ready—or when she began craving blood. Any day now, her first craving for blood would hit. Any day now, her vampyre fangs would come in, possibly even with a new wave of her magic.

Then, it would be impossible to deny.

“This place is nothing like what they told us,” she whispered. I barely heard her over the creaking of a dark building to my right. “How many of them knew The Golden City is… this?”

“None of them know,” I answered, “but they have their suspicions. The teachers at Moira are kept in the dark, even Headmistress Katherine. They stepped foot in The Golden City ages ago, but since accepting their positions in Moira, they’re no longer granted entrance. For all they know, The Golden City is still as beautiful and magical as they remember.”

“And you?” she asked. We turned another corner, heading down an alley with practically no lights. If I still had my wings, I would have to turn to fit.

“What about me?”

“How can you live with yourself knowing that so many people die for this? All our friends… They didn’t deserve that. They didn’t deserve to die just when they thought they made it.”

“Who said they deserved it?” I questioned. “If I could do anything to stop it, Huntress, I would. Trust me, I have little power against the archangel.” I stopped at a slim doorwaycovered with a tapestry. I pushed the cloth aside, exposing the hidden pub that lay inside.

I watched as Huntyr’s mouth fell open. “What is this place?” she asked.

“Go on in and find out.”

She turned and shot me a sideways glance, but her eyes were finally lighting up for the first time since Asmodeus found us. I missed that look, that slight twinkle in her eyes.

She stepped forward, her black boots gliding over the gray stone beneath us.

Inside was nothing like the rest of The Golden City. It was warm, with red lanterns illuminating the interior and colorful paintings decorating the four walls. A bar filled the back half of the room, leaving plenty of room for tables to fill the rest. I recognized the usual barmaid, as well as a few of the patrons.

“Look who’s finally showing his face around here again?” one of the males at the closest table called out. I walked over to him and clapped his shoulder.

“They still let you in here, Nathan?”

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