Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(9)

“Our fault,” Shya insisted, sniffing the wine in his glass.

“It was your genius idea to bind her,” I retorted, my fuse short. “I wanted to send that bitch back to imprisonment where she belongs. It needs to happen. Better late than never.”

Arys didn’t give Shya a chance to reply. He loomed menacingly over the demon. “What are you doing in here anyway, Shya? Come to make good on your threats?”

Shya gazed up at Arys from his seat and shrugged. “Not tonight. I’ve come to apologize to Alexa. No need to get all puffed up, Mr. Knight. I come in peace.”

“I’ll just bet you do.”

“Apologize?” I cut in before Arys could initiate violence. I feared he would let that feisty vampire temper start a war I wasn’t sure we could win. “You really are out of your damn mind.”

Ignoring Arys’s glower, Shya fixed me with a cool crimson gaze. “Hear me out?”

Those blood red eyes were eerie, downright chilling with the snake-like pupils. Not so long ago, those eyes had instilled a deep-rooted fear within me. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid of Shya, but that instinctive wariness was now colored with absolute abhorrence.

“Fine,” I relented. “Make it fast.”

“I am genuinely apologetic for my behavior the last time we were together.” He paused to take a sip of wine, a melodramatic action. The demon seemed to be fond of drama. “It was a choice I have come to regret. I should have been more respectful. As one of the revered Hounds, you deserve much more than that. Please forgive my selfish nature.”

Shya swirled the wine in his glass, looking pleased with himself. He apparently hadn’t just heard the same crock of shit I had. Demons might be many things: clever, powerful, frightening. Above all things, I believed them to be exceptionally delusional.

“So what you’re saying is, you came here to waste my time,” I said. “You threatened to kill me. I’m not pretending that never happened. We’re done, Shya. I’m not one of your pets. Whatever it is you want from me, forget about it.”

Shya’s smile disappeared, replaced by an ugly sneer. “I’ve never looked upon you as a pet. I see the potential in you. The power of life and death joined in a rare and unlikely union. You could be a great ruler, you know.”

“Good Lord, you are out of your mind.”

“Am I really though?” he challenged. “You feel it, don’t you? The power burning in your veins. You’ve watched how it makes others fall before you. Have you not felt the glorious sensation of bringing your enemies to their knees? Can you tell me it doesn’t feel like paradise?”

The crazy talk was giving me a horrible feeling. It was ludicrous. I didn’t understand the demon’s need to rule over others or his hunger to be any more than what he was now.

Arys’s sapphire gaze held a knowing look. He regarded Shya with a pensive stare. “Get to the point. Why are you really here?”

“Fine,” Shya snapped, both his patient demeanor and his forced charm vanished. “Lilah is intent on reclaiming her throne. To do that she has to break the curse. And, that starts with you. She is determined to once again be queen at any cost, which I’m sure you’ve already noticed. You need protection.”

“I’m not accepting protection from you,” I retorted. “What kind of an idiot do you think I am?”

“It’s your blood she wants. She’s started with your wolves. What about when it spills over into your precious human world? You think the monster police at the FPA can contain something like her? I can’t even do that. Not anymore.”

I pursed my lips and stifled any reaction I might have had. Shya’s words scared me, but I couldn’t let him get inside my head. I pulled out my phone and brought up the picture of Zak’s body.

“What does this symbol mean?”

“It’s a summoning mark. Blood sacrifice in exchange for having her binding broken. If it had worked, we’d know. Whoever she summoned must have refused her request.”

This tidbit of information brought Shya’s smile back. I couldn’t muster one myself, but I was relieved to hear her binding was still intact.

“How many other demons can break the binding you created?” Arys asked.

“Several. Of course, most won’t be willing to help a cursed demon lest they too fall under her curse. It won’t be easy for her. That isn’t going to stop them from siding with her. They will still serve their queen.”

I groaned. All I wanted to do was go home and mourn the loss of Zak and Kale. One night to myself to cry it out before I had to face what Shya was telling me. Just one night. Was that too much to ask?

I watched as Shawn and Justin cleaned up the rest of the mess. The scent of bleach quickly filled the place with a brain-smashing odor. If this were just the beginning of what Lilah had planned, how much worse would it get? She had to be stopped.

“So we kill the bitch. Problem solved.” Arys stole the words right out of my mouth. “And, we don’t waste time doing it.”

“It could never be so simple.” Shya shook his head. “She’ll be expecting that. She won’t be foolish enough to let down her guard. I imagine she has both vampires and demons with her at all times. Getting close enough to harm her will be difficult.”