Page 43 of V for Vengeance

My feisty dove would figure it out in no time.

So, perhaps, it was an overreaction for me to give chase, but I’d never let her fight alone again. If I could pave the way for V to conquer another name on her list, I’d do it with a bloody grin on my face. Most importantly, I wanted her to see what I was willing to do to stay by her side. I’d take the head of any person who dared to hurt her, and she’d see I wasn’t all chatter—I was a man of my word.

Flipping back my hair, I scanned the room. The she-devil was pacing the far corner of it, doing whatever it was barbarians did when their enemy escaped.

From what was uttered between Her Evilness and V earlier, Serine and that devil woman shared a personal history of sorts. It didn’t take a keen eye to deduce that it wasn’t a good one. The she-demon regarded Serine as an adversary, and one she worried would win. Rather odd for a woman who always seemed confident she’d conquer any enemy.

It should give me pause, but it didn’t. Not now that I had all my deadly power returned. I’d use every bit of it to get my stolen bird back. Though, I fully expected to find V free of her prison well before I found her. Most likely, I’d be chasing the ghost of her all the way back to the safe house if I took too long.

The brutes following V around often underestimated her, and they found themselves saved by her time and time again. She was as resourceful as she was sadistic. Like me. Perhaps that was the entire reason we were made for each other. No one could meet her on level ground like I could. Unlike those undeserving brutes, I knew better than to underestimate her.

I might loathe some of the pranks she’d made me front and center of, especially the ones where she tagged in that gross pervert to ruin both of our days, but even I couldn’t deny how ingenious they were. I never saw them coming—and neither did that pierced troll who thought himself the cleverest of the lot. It amused me how outright irate the man got when she tormented him using her time freezing ability. Tickled this dark heart of mine in ways I never thought possible.

I’d likely get dethroned as the Monster of the Realm by V, but of course I would. Shewasthe girl I’dpersonallychosen to follow. I’d bend the knee to her before anyone else did.

Phillip and Sloan might’ve thought they were sly enough to keep her abilities a secret from me, but I’d seen it all when Iunlocked her power; how devastating it could be and everything she was capable of. My darling could do far more than they realized. I’d never seen a power like it. But it came at a devastating cost. One that, for as long as I still breathed, would never happen.

If one day she were forced into a corner and employed the entire arsenal of her power, she’d lose herself to the chaos. A fate worse than death in my opinion. I could come back from being a Fae marred by my dark deeds and mistakes, but she couldn’t. Once V tapped into that chaotic darkness locked inside of her, she wouldn’t be the person she fought so hard to be. She wouldn’t be the strong and persevering woman I desperately wished to make mine. She’d be the thing of nightmares. Darkness personified.

Look at me, the poet.

Of course, now that I was here by her side, I’d never let that happen. The she-demon might be helping her learn to control her abilities, but I’d put several fail-safes in place—ones that dropped the redhead unconscious before she reached dangerous levels of dark power use. But they couldn’t be maintained if I wasn’t reinforcing them every day, so not being by her side was out of the question. I’d go wherever she went, even if it meant torturing myself with the company of all those feral lowlifes she kept around her.

Granted, none of that would matter if Serine found a way to kill V. Seeing how she’d won the bid to recover her for the Organization—or perhaps her rise to the top in the underworld was thanks to her connection with them—I wouldn’t be surprised if they gave Serine everything she’d need to destroy their weapon should my darling get out of control. To them, V was the only threat they truly saw.

Thankfully, the Hunter’s abilities made her immeasurably invaluable to Serine. The tart wouldn’t waste it on just any event.She’d keep my bird until she could utilize the Organization’s weapon in the most destructive way possible. Which could mean only one thing. Total domination. But not in this realm. She’d go after the one she was probably chased out of if she was here.

Guess it’s time to return home.

Her Evilness had already come over when my magic found the trail leading to the Fae realm portal. Confirmation my suspicion was correct. She’d crossed over.

The whip-carrying savage stepped over the dead like none of it bothered her. As unsurprising as that was. She was, after all, a psychopath. What V saw in her I’d never understand. “You won’t find her like that. Believe me, I’ve tried,” was all she said.

Of course she would underestimate my power, but perhaps that was for the best. I refused to team up with the homicidal assassin. I’d overheard enough to know that she was powerful, but I’d rather swallow a blade than bring her along. No, I’d find V without anyone else’s aid.

I sucked in a rageful breath, ready to snap back, but when my eyes slid over to the bane of my existence, she’d come undone in a way I’d never seen on the woman before. She looked…positively worried. I wasn’t even aware she possessed normal emotions. I’d never witnessed anything that wasn’t homicidal rage or apathetic arrogance. But I hadn’t the time nor the energy to invest in deciphering the reason she’d unraveled in this moment.

V was alone, and Serine was on the run.

I’d kill the evil bitch who stole my darling, then I’d show V who was truly her ally when I swooped in to save the day and return her to the realm she belonged to. She might gain her freedom on her own, but finding her way to a portal and back here would require much more than sarcastic hubris. She’d need to tap into her magic and gain access. Only I could teach her how. And when I did, she’d know I was on her side.

I was her handsome, invaluable rogue.

Grinning to myself, a perfect plan hatched, I gathered my magic all around me with a sweeping gesture of my hand. The psychotic woman nearby was confused by the eyebrow she raised at me. Probably suspected I planned to abandon them now that V was in the wind. She’d walk in circles trying to team up with the pierced brute to recover their lost prize, but I would’ve already saved the beauty. And after, perhaps V might want to kiss my lips instead of theirs.

I’m bloody brilliant…

I tossed the demon mistress a snide look and snapped my fingers. My slithering black power fled out in all directions with a crack before returning in a swarm and wrapping around me in a devilish vortex. “Ta-ta, devil woman. I’m off to do what you can’t.”

Chapter 23

Goth Tinkerbell Dude

Deadly quiet never hit as hard as it did now. Not even a whisper of a sound echoed around me. The wind didn’t blow. The earth didn’t quake. It was just a tunnel of nothingness. If I didn’t know better, I’d be convinced I wasn’t on Earth anymore.

Thanks to years of training with Grams, I was used to working with a lethal timer ticking away. It never occurred to me that one day I’d be grateful that my terrifying grandmother nearly killed me that one time because I was seconds away from failing a timed training. I’d gotten free with only heartbeats to spare before the crossbows aimed at me went off and several arrows struck the chair I’d been bound to.

Of course, that was rope and not magic wrapped around my body. Still, it gave me the encouragement I needed to focus on my task and not the pulse raging in my ears.

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