Addict (Hunter #2)(94)

“Everyone’s future?” I asked, unable to truly comprehend.

Jacob shook a finger. “It’s more complex. So much more. He will see everyone in the world and all of their potential futures. It can be a bit much at times, and he won’t have a way to stop the flow if this goes the way they hope.”

“Are you trying to talk him out of it?” Winter complained. “I thought you were only able to watch.”

“I’m explaining what is about to happen because I’ve read all the signs and I believe this will happen. The other paths have faded. This is Grayson’s path now. He will transition, but how he comes out on the other side is up to her.” Jacob stared my way.

“What does that mean?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in the middle of Gray’s destiny. I still hadn’t even figured my own out yet. The one thing I knew was that destiny kind of sucked.

“Leave her out of this,” Gray warned.

Jacob stepped up to me, taking my hand in his. He flipped my wrist over and one finger traced the blue veins he found there. “The drugs will change the chemistry of his brain, but also his blood. If you take a portion of the drug, you can take some of the chaos for him. I can help. It’s your future he’ll try to hold on to. You’re the one his mind will instinctively reach for, and that is what will cause him the most pain. It’s better for him to let it flow. I’ll stay in the room with the two of you and direct a single path into your mind. Is there one thing he’ll look for?”

“No,” Gray said, his jaw tightening.

“Our wedding night.” There was no question about it. If Gray could find that single flash, he would hold on to it as tightly as he could. He’d been trying to get back to that one blast of the future he’d seen years ago. That one single path would hold him back. “He thinks he saw our wedding night and he’ll look for it.”

“Stay out of this, Kelsey.”

“Not on your life.” If I could spare him some pain, I would do it. He was taking one for the team.

I couldn’t let him go through it alone. Not if I had the choice.

Jacob glanced over to where Winter and Sloane stood. “I see the path. If she aids him, takes some of the pain, it will work. If not, the odds are great that he will be damaged.”

“Why would you help?” Winter asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Jacob sent him a serene smile. “I seek only to manage his pain. I remember well how it felt, even after millennia. And I was an angel at the time. His transition will be more difficult. If you would rather he faced it alone, of course, do as you will. I am not here to change destiny. I am a simple watcher.”

“My contract stated she wouldn’t be harmed,” Gray ground out.

Sloane stood before his son, his tone as smooth as any con man’s. “And she won’t be. Besides, your contract was only that Winter and I and our minions can’t bring her to harm. This is a choice she will make herself. Mr. Bellamy, I believe the lovely Nex Apparatus requires a serving.”

Winter’s eyes laser focused on me. “You bitch.”

“Way to blow a girl’s cover,” I groused. “Now might be a good time to reiterate all those nice contractual words like ‘no harm comes to Kelsey.’”

Sloane’s lips curled up in a satisfied smile as he looked me over. “There’s only one reason my son’s blood would be coursing through your veins. You’re the one who got her arm frozen off. I can actually see the line. It’s fascinating. And I keep a closer eye on Donovan than anyone. He thinks he has the upper hand, but we intend to show him tonight exactly how little power he has.”

“What does that mean?” I didn’t like the sound of that. Especially the time line. Tonight was right freaking now. If something was going on, I needed to be wherever it was happening.

Bellamy passed me a wine glass. It was filled with a rich amber fluid that probably didn’t taste anything like wine.

I glanced back at Matthew. “When are you going to give my brother back to me?”

I was beginning to believe we should have had Matthew sign that contract, too.

“When my own brother is alive and this can be done,” Matthew explained. “He must transition or his usefulness to our father is at an end. He’s been stubborn and rebellious, and I can’t stand the thought of him crushed under the boot of some minor Hell lord, but that’s what will happen if he has no value. I love my brother. I’m willing to risk a lot to save him. How about you, Hunter?”

“Kelsey, don’t.” Gray’s hand came out to stop me.

I swallowed the drink as quickly as I could. Truly, I’ve learned nothing of white magic tastes good. In my days, I’ve had to take more than my share of a witch’s tonic and brews to heal and help. There’s always an earthiness to it that makes one think of dirt or other things one doesn’t particularly want in one’s gut.

Oh, but dark magic tastes like the finest of liquors. It touched my tongue and was easy to swallow. I wanted more the minute I finished because it was sheer perfection. It soothes and eases down your throat right before your body catches fire.

I gasped and pitched forward, right into Gray’s arms. He caught me, cursed, and then he too was drinking the potion down.

I held on to him as all the fates of the world swamped my senses.