Page 13 of Cry of Blood and Joy
He reminded me of a spider spinning its web in some dark corner—silent, patient, designing an intricate trap to catch an unsuspecting fly. His mind was calculating angles and probabilities with that razor-sharp intelligence of his.
The bastard set my nerves on edge like fingernails on glass. Why wasn’t he talking? Something about his posture nagged at me—too relaxed, maybe, or the way he held his shoulders. Lorcan carried months of rage toward me, but now he seemed almost…comfortable.
My skin crawled under his unwavering stare, and the muscles in my shoulders bunched with tension. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, primitive warning signals that had kept me alive through countless dangerous encounters.
With effort that felt like tearing away from quicksand, I wrenched my gaze from Lorcan’s unsettling smirk and focused on Keir. Whatever had changed about his enforcer could wait—I had more pressing concerns.
“You know Joy’s part Unseelie.”
“And?” The single word fell like a pebble into still water, creating ripples of possibilities I couldn’t predict.
My throat was dry, as if all the saliva had been suddenly sucked out. “Do you have an Unseelie who possesses this unusual gift?” The question came out more strained than I’d intended, betraying the desperation I’d been trying so hard to conceal.
Keir’s eyebrows rose slightly, genuine curiosity flickering across his features. “Why?”
“Because she needs to be taught how to manage this power. If she can, then—” I gestured helplessly, the words catching in my throat as hope and fear warred in my chest.
A slow, knowing smile spread across Keir’s lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He leaned back in his chair, fingers drumming slowly on the armrest as he regarded me with the patience of someone who held all the cards. “You believe Angelo would forgive her and all will be well?” His tone carried just enough mockery to make my fangs ache with the urge to descend.
I had no intention of getting into a philosophical debate with Keir about Angelo’s capacity for forgiveness. Time was a luxury I didn’t have, and hope was a poison I couldn’t afford to drink. If Angelo never changed his mind—and let’s be honest, when had my former brother ever shown mercy?—then Joy needed to learn how to protect herself. Period.
“Do you have someone, Keir?” Desperation bled through my carefully constructed composure.
“I do.” Keir folded his hands in his lap, his stillness somehow ominous in the elegant parlor. “But at the moment, he’s on assignment.”
Frustration twisted in my gut like a knife cutting deeper and deeper. Of course he is. I knew better than to ask where or doing what—it was Unseelie business, and Keir wouldn’t tell me even if I begged. Like vampires, the Unseelie were notorious for their secrets, hoarding information like dragons hoarded gold.
“When will he return?”
“Soon.” The non-answer reminded me of a father answering his impatient child. Soon could mean days, weeks, or months in the immortal world.
“Will you ask him to help Joy?” I was reduced to begging, something the proud enforcer I’d been would have died before doing. But for Joy, I’d swallow every scrap of pride I had left.
Keir rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, his fingers tracing the sharp lines of his cheekbone. The gesture looked causal, but I could see the calculation behind his greenish eyes that seemed to change color in the light. He was determining the costs andbenefits, measuring what helping Joy might cost him. “Perhaps. Joy does pose a problem not just for Angelo, but for my family as well.”
I tried to remain calm and not react to his observation. He was fishing for any weaknesses, waiting for me to lose my cool so he could use it against me. That was how he gained his intel and controlled people. Regardless, I needed Keir and alienating him wouldn’t help Joy.
“Then wouldn’t it make sense to teach her how to use the shadows, especially when she’s experiencing negative emotions?”
“I do. But she’s half human, Enzo. That could cause a problem.” He picked up his tea again, taking a slow sip as if he were discussing the weather rather than Joy’s survival. “Humans have a difficult time controlling their emotions. I suspect her human half and her Unseelie half may be going to war with each other.”
Then it hit me, the truth I’d been circling suddenly crystallizing with sickening clarity. No wonder her powers were so chaotic, so destructive.
I had seen supernatural beings that were half human before—hybrids caught between two worlds, never fully belonging to either. The memory of their struggles flooded back, each face a reminder of the cruel reality Joy now faced. It was a real danger because they couldn’t manage their emotions the way their supernatural halves required. Her human side felt everything too intensely, while her Unseelie nature craved the kind of cold control mortal emotions made impossible.
And many times they were shunned, treated as lesser beings for not being purebreds. I’d watched proud supernatural families disown their own children for the crime of loving someone human. Seen half-bloods turned away from councils,denied positions of power, forever marked as ‘other’ by both sides of their heritage.
My chest tightened with a mixture of anger and protective fury that made my fangs ache to descend. Not Joy. I wouldn’t let her become another casualty of supernatural prejudice, another lost soul caught between worlds with nowhere to belong.
“She’s stronger than most,” I said quietly, though I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince Keir or myself. “She has to be.”
But even as the words left my mouth, doubt gnawed at me like a persistent ache. Strength might not be enough when her very nature was working against her.
“I have a man—Morden. Like her, he has the rare gift of controlling shadows and could teach her the techniques she needs. However, he’s currently on assignment. Upon his return, I’ll have him instruct her.” Keir’s causal mask slipped to reveal genuine concern beneath. “Her anger is what triggers the shadows, and they will lash out.”
Every muscle in my body tightened up like coiled wire, tension radiating from my shoulders down to my clenched fists. The cruel irony wasn’t lost on me. Joy’s emotions were her trigger, but emotions were the most human thing about her. Her capacity to feel so deeply, to love so fiercely, her instinctive need to protect those she cared about even at the cost of her own safety.
It was why I fell in love with her.
