Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(75)

This wasn’t my fight, and I couldn’t contribute in any meaningful way, so I watched. I was definitely intrigued by Brook’s words, though; could watching over me be part of Willow’s punishment?

He threw Willow off with a nice hit that had the fallen angel crashing into a table that promptly collapsed. Willow was up with a flare of silver wings and eyes shining with a strange light.

“She must have really got inside you. You’re acting like an animal.” Brook smiled, a taunting grin intended to provoke.

“That’s right.” Willow nodded, his expression filled with raw, untamed emotion. “I fell for love, not so I could act as a lapdog for one of Satan’s mistresses. Forbidden love maybe, but it’s what we are. Love. Have you forgotten the power of it? How it feels burning in every part of you? Or, has it been too long since the spark in you went out, demon?”

Brook’s hand curled into a fist. A black wisp of smoke trickled between his fingers. “Still preaching after being cast out, Willow. Well aren’t you the loyal one? No matter how you paint it, you’re still one of us now. Guiding a Hound won’t get you back in. Once you’re out, you stay out. You know that.”

Brook released the mist within his hand. It weaved an erratic path through the room, targeting not Willow but me instead. I braced for it, tapping my power, which did nothing to help. The murky demon assault burned its way through my energy shield and choked the breath from me. Brook’s intent wasn’t to kill by any means, merely to incite Willow’s reaction.

He put himself in the path of Brook’s attack, and the painful pressure quickly fell away. I could breathe again. The force that Willow exuded was as calming as it was strong.

The angel and demon faced off, a deadly staring match that bred palpable tension. Then, as fast as it had started, it was over. Brook backed off, hands raised in surrender.

“It’s been nice catching up with you, Willow. I’d like to stay, but I have a cute little brunette werewolf to keep company.” Brook grinned and winked at me. With the ruffle of feathers, he was gone before I could react.

“What the f**k was that?” I shouted, staring at the lock of hair I held in disbelief. “What is he going to do to my sister?”

Willow diverted his gaze, and that was enough of an answer for me. I stared at Juliet’s bloody hair. Her wolfish scent wafted from it. Beneath that was the human scent of my sister. My baby sister.

Slowly, I crumpled, falling to my knees. My chest heaved as I struggled against the threatening panic attack. Targeting my wolves had been the perfect way to shake me up. Going after Juliet, this was how Lilah would destroy me, and she knew it.

Silent tears slid down my cheeks, falling to stain my hands red. I had no crushing pain, but I couldn’t escape into safe numbness. Despair overwhelmed me with the certainty that I’d failed.

“Alexa, get up. You have to face this.” Willow knelt before me. He gently took the envelope and its contents. “She’s trying to cripple you. Don’t let it work.”

“Everyone talks about power. Who has it, who wants it. Harley, Shya, the goddamn FPA, they all said I have it, but I have nothing. A powerless demon has proven that everything I share with Arys doesn’t mean a damn thing.” As the words poured forth, I wiped at the tears, but they kept coming.

“That’s not true.” Willow pulled me up and sat me down in the closest chair. “There is nobody on this earth quite like you. Sometimes it’s not about power or authority. It’s simply about who wants it more. Lilah is desperate. She has nothing left to lose. You do. So, you have to want it more.”

The truth rang in his words, but it didn’t penetrate through the fog of desolation. I had no hold over this city. Evil ran rampant, and I was powerless to stop it. The voice in my head whispered my weakness and futility.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I said.

Willow took my hands in his and gave them a soft squeeze. “You have to. You can and you will. What you need to defeat her is already inside you. Trust that.”

His green eyes searched me, and I saw the worry within them. His wings lay tucked against his back, the tips resting on the floor from the way he crouched before my chair. I reached tentatively to touch one of those silver feathers. In that moment, I saw an enchanting creature that I once believed never existed. I needed to know he was real, that this was all real.

My fingers brushed against a feather, and I gasped as a jolt of pure, beautiful energy shot through my hand to tickle my palm. The feather was soft but strong. Upon such close inspection, I saw that each fiber danced with the colors of the rainbow.

I dragged my gaze to Willow’s; I needed to know. “What Brook said about me being your charge, is that true? Am I a job for you?”

“You’re a friend,” he replied, brushing a stray strand of hair off my face. “I don’t have the power to be a guardian. Not anymore. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t honestly care about what happens to you. I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. “Thank you, Willow. I appreciate that. I think I need to speak with Shya. He’s the only one I know, other than Lilah, who has power over Brook. I can’t let him touch my sister.”

“I understand. You feel desperate. Don’t let that desperation lock you into a deal. Lilah won’t kill your sister. She knows it’s the only way to make you walk back in there willing to compromise.” Willow went to the bar and grabbed a glass. He returned with some ice water that he pressed into my hand.