Death Wish (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #5)(47)

“You can watch while I kill him. Or, if you prefer, you can spare his life. On one condition.” Like a reality TV show host, Shya paused for dramatic emphasis. “You take his place.”

“What?” I said in the same moment both Arys and Kale shouted, “No!”

Our reactions must have been what he wanted because Shya chuckled. “Much like the wolf I handed over to you, I will do the same with Kale. He becomes your responsibility. In exchange for sparing his pitiful existence, you will accept his debt owed to me as your own.”

Stunned was just scratching the surface of what I felt. This was beyond cruel. Shya was working an angle. Always a goddamn angle!

“There must be another way.” I chose my words carefully, hoping I wouldn’t make matters worse than they already were. “You know I can’t pay any debt. I know you’re pissed, Shya, but that’s not fair.”

“Not fair?” Falon spoke up like the obnoxious interloper that he was. “You very well could have traded places with her tonight.” He indicated the desecrated corpse of the naked woman near the fire. Then he smiled.

I shot him a venomous look. “Funny to see you here, Falon. You know, with your dick in your pants and all.”

We shared a brief moment, glaring in silence at one another. Shya watched us, noting the exchange.

“Nothing is fair, is it?” The strange lilt to Shya’s tone set off warning bells in my head. “You are mortal yet, and still you reign over vampires and werewolves. Some may consider that unfair. It shouldn’t be such a difficult choice. You are lovers, you and Kale, are you not?”

That was it right there. Shya’s angle. I was the perfect mix of monster and human. Just enough monster to give me the power he desired, and just enough human for him to exploit my emotions to control me.

“No,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “We’re not lovers.”

“Kale’s devotion to you suggests otherwise.” With a raised brow and a pointed look, Shya made it painfully clear that he knew he had me on this one.

I was uncomfortable with so many sets of eyes on me. I let my wolf stare out, into Shya. If I looked at Arys or Kale, I’d fall to pieces. “There must be another way. I’m not making some shady deal with you.”

Slowly he shook his head. The depths of his red eyes were void of any emotion. Did Shya even feel true emotion? Doubtful.

“I’m afraid those are your only options. Don’t worry, Alexa. I promise not to kill you. You are far more valuable to me alive.”

My temper flared. I had underestimated Shya. I had fully believed him to be capable of such cold, calculated manipulation. Yet, I never gave him credit for how clever he was. I was backed into a corner, forced to commit to a choice that I would regret either way. Condemn Kale to death for doing the right thing, or owe Shya in his place.

“Alexa,” Kale said my name like it was glass in his mouth. A cough racked him, and he spat blood. “Don’t let him do this to you. Let him kill me. It’s my choice.”

“You heard the man,” Arys’s murmur was so faint, I wasn’t sure if it had been said out loud or something he whispered in my head.

I rounded on him with a deadly glare, all fangs and claws. Neither of them was making this decision for me. I shoved past Shya and knelt before Kale where he sat broken and weary on his knees in the grass.

An uncharacteristic dullness shaded his beautiful brown and blue eyes. His energy was weak as if it had been stripped from him. Not only was that unbearably painful, it was psychically dangerous. He needed blood.

For the first time in weeks, I breached the unspoken wall we’d built. With a shaky hand, I reached to smooth the blood soaked hair off Kale’s forehead. I lingered, running my fingers gently down his face.

“I’m not going to let you die. Not because of me. Don’t ask me to make that happen.”

“You need to walk away right now and let me go.” He reached to touch the cross around my neck, and I jerked at the ice-cold caress of his fingertips as they grazed my flesh.

I felt Arys’s light touch on my mind. He said nothing, but clearly made his presence known. I hated that this moment had to happen in front of him. I hated that it had to happen at all.

“I’m not doing that.” I shook my head sadly. I wasn’t ready to face these feelings. “I won’t.”

Weakened as he was, Kale still had no problem getting mad. “Dammit, Alexa. Don’t kid yourself. We’ll both regret it, you more so than I. Walk away.”

His tone was firm. Serious. He just might hate me for what I was about to do. There was a good chance he wouldn’t be the only one.

“I’m sorry, but your death can never be by my hand.”

“I f**ked up, Alexa. It’s not your problem. Walk away.”

“Stop saying that!” I stood quickly and clenched my hands into fists. My long claws cut into the palms of my hands.

I turned to Arys, finding him closed off. With arms crossed, he fixed me with a disaffected stare. He gave the impression that he didn’t care. It was a lie.

‘I have to do it.’ I pushed the thought to Arys. ‘I can’t live with his blood on my hands.’

Arys merely stared, silent and grave.

Falon feigned a dramatic yawn. Checking his non-existent watch for the time, he loudly declared, “At this rate, the sun will rise, and there won’t be a decision to make.”