Page 20 of Blood So Brutal

A new wave of hatred washed over me. He never cared about Huntyr, that much was obvious. All he cared about was the power she could give him. But to blatantly use her like this?

“Keep walking,” Jessiah whispered, shoving my shoulder lightly. As soon as we were out the door, Luseyar slipped in and shut it, leaving me and Jessiah alone in the dark hallway. “Do you have a damn death wish?” he asked. “You know better than to question him like this!”

“This is fucking insane!” I clenched my fists, looking for something I could punch to get this anger out of me. “He wants to marry her off like she’s nothing! What then? He’ll lock her up and force us to rule the vampyres?”

“Think about this, okay? If you really care about her, this is how you’ll keep her safe. You marry her, satisfy this current outburst of delusion, and the two of you can think of a plan later. Okay?”

I stopped pacing and shook my head. “She’ll never marry me, Jessiah.”

“That’s not what it looked like when I found you in the pub tonight. If it’s this or death, I think she’ll?—”

“You don’t know her like I do.” I inhaled shakily. “I’m telling you, it will never happen.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “Then I’ll do it.”

I pinned him to the wall before he could take his next breath. “You absolutely will not,” I growled.

He lifted his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, calm down! I’m only trying to find a way to get us all out of here alive, Wolf. Think with your damn head!”

This was so messed up. “I can’t think of this right now,” I sighed. “If she’s becoming a vampyrenext fucking week, I’ll worry about that first. Keep your mouth shut about the marriage thing, okay? It’ll only piss her off more. I need some time.”

“Time?” His laugh was menacing. “You’ve got eight weeks, brother. Good luck with that.”

Iled Huntyr to a small, overgrown clearing behind the main castle of The Golden City. It was secluded here, private, but it also gave her a break from those suffocating walls of her confinement.

“It’s important you don’t lose what you learned in Moira. Your magic will be getting stronger as you transition.”

She didn’t even look me in the eye. Her gaze had been that way lately—vacant, cold, like she was always somewhere else in her mind, never here.

I didn’t blame her, but if she was going to get stronger—strong enough to protect herself—she would have to fight.

“Huntress,” I called out, setting a soft hand on her shoulder.

She snapped her attention to me before shoving my hand away. “I heard you.”

Doubtful, but I continued anyway. “Let’s start with whatever feels easiest. Natural magic, anything you can summon.”

She stood with her hands crossed over her chest, practically hugging herself. It wasn’t cold outside today, but she wore one of my long tunics that practically drowned her. She had on the same dirty, black boots she always wore, and even though they were falling apart, they reminded me of the old Huntyr. The fighter.

“I don’t feel anything,” she said, mindlessly kicking a small stone with her boot. “There’s really no point, anyway. If I allow my power to grow, he’ll force it out of me even faster.”

“That’s not true.” I stepped forward but kept my voice calm as I pushed. “You need to be able to protect yourself, especially here. Don’t think about this being for him. Think about this being for you.”

She rolled her eyes, but at least she finally looked at me. “Fine. But unless my magic has morphed into some world-destroying essence, I’m not sure it will help me here.”

Okay, I ignored that comment. Huntyr had no clue how powerful she was fated to become. She was the blood queen, the heir to the Scarlata throne.

If what I tasted in her blood was true, she really could have the power to destroy worlds.

Which is something my father could never find out.

“Start with something small. Simple.”

She closed her eyes and took a breath, the only sign she was trying to summon her magic. I felt a stir in my stomach through our bond, my own magic reacting to hers.

Her eyes snapped open. “Stop doing that.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

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