Death Wish (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #5)(49)

I shook my head, hating myself for feeling that way. It didn’t matter now. Shya had made an agreement. He had to hold up his end. Kale was safe and that was what mattered right then.

The familiar touch of Arys was welcome when he picked me up off the ground. He held me upright until I was steady on my feet. Without saying a word, he smoothed the hair back from my face and swiped a gentle hand through the blood trickling from my nose. The dismay was heavy in his eyes.

Kale leaned back against a headstone, about as far as he could get from me without leaving the property. His eyes were wide and his pupils huge. Already most of his wounds from Falon’s beating had healed.

“Impressive,” Falon commented lazily.

I turned my attention to Shya. He was staring at Kale with interest. His gaze darted to me, and I knew by the intrigue on his face that my eyes were Arys’s startling blue.

Shya stepped up close with a sweep of wings. He peered into me as if searching for something specific. I glared hard, biting back the nasty remark dancing on the tip of my tongue.

“I’d hate to have another incident with the two of you. In all honesty, I’m fond of you both.” Shya referred to Kale with a dismissive gesture. “When you start being more trouble than you’re worth, things get ugly. I’ll consider this matter closed. However, I expect you will supply me with a dreamwalker, seeing as I am quite obviously still in need of one.”

Staring into the cold red eyes of a ruthless demon, I was left between a rock and a hard place. This wasn’t the time to argue his terms. It was ludicrous of him to demand that I find him a dreamwalker but refusal would get me killed.

Against my instinct, I nodded. “Fine. Whatever. Can I leave now?”

In a swift motion, Shya grabbed my hand, sealing the deal. His touch burned as flames rose up to engulf my arm. I shrieked. The pain was intense and unbearable. He released me quickly, and the fire vanished. Smoke rose from my arm. I stared in shock at the dragon burned into my skin. It wrapped around my wrist with its tail curled onto the back of my hand and its head rested on the inside of my forearm. It appeared to grip my arm with its clawed feet. Reptilian wings flared out from its back.

“What the friggin hell did you do to me?” I demanded, yelping again from the searing pain. It was leaps and bounds worse than Kale’s vicious bite.

Shya stepped back, his expression grim. “I merely sealed the deal with my sigil. Bring me a dreamwalker, and I’ll remove it. Try to cross me, and it allows me to find you and deliver justice. Don’t worry. It won’t burn for long.”

He turned his back on us all and returned to the sordid party taking place around the fire. Cloaked by his massive black wings, he looked more like a monster to me now than he ever had. Falon had disappeared in silence. Good riddance.

I was left shaken and horrified. Staring at the burning, swelling dragon, I was torn between bursting into tears and raging after Shya in a fit of wolf’s fury. Neither would bring me satisfaction, and the latter would leave me next to the dead woman by the fire.

Kale was gone. He was little more than a shadow moving through the graveyard.

Arys examined my arm, careful not to touch Shya’s mark. With a frustrated sigh, he pulled me close and pressed his lips to my forehead. “Oh, my reckless wolf. And, you say you don’t have a death wish.”

Chapter Fourteen

I stared up at the sign above the front door of The Wicked Kiss and sighed. Every night, every new twist in the chaotic tale of my life led me back here. Fuck it. It had whiskey.

It was late. The club was closed to the public for the coming day – sunrise was just a few hours away – but the building was by no means empty. The party never really stopped; it just changed.

I could feel the energy pulsing inside. I knew Kale would come here. He wasn’t going to be content with what he’d taken from me. Before he was lost in a blood-drunk haze, I needed to see him, if only to make sure he wasn’t going to do anything stupid.

Arys was furious with me in that severe, quiet manner that reveals a far deeper anger than if he’d just yelled. His refusal to accompany me inside served to emphasize further his seething rage. Despite my attempt to assure him I would be fast, he had muttered obscenities beneath his breath and slipped off into the dark to prowl for a victim to take the edge off.

I understood that need now. It was the only time I found peace anymore. Every time my world started to come apart, the promise of freedom in the kill taunted me. The pull was getting harder and harder to resist, and I was starting to ask myself why I bothered when madness held the promise of liberation.

The crowd had thinned down to a dozen or so. Those who would pass the day screwing and bleeding were already in the den of debauchery in the back. I did not intend to go back there.

The darkened atmosphere was welcoming, inviting me to slip through the shadows like so many others had tonight. We all sought something here. Escape from pain, hunger, loneliness. What we would never find was solace. Mine stood across the room, nuzzling the throat of a convenient redhead he had pressed against the wall.

Kale’s head snapped up as he sensed me. I turned away quickly, cowardice quickening my pace. Sliding in behind the unmanned bar, I helped myself to a bottle of whiskey. Sure. Why not? Who needs a stinkin’ glass anyway?

As the first swallow of whiskey burned its way down my throat, I risked a glance around. Kale’s lady friend rubbed herself against him provocatively. I didn’t want to watch, didn’t want to feel the bitter bite of jealousy. He wasn’t mine. I knew that on a conscious level, but deep within me, I didn’t believe it. Wrong. So wrong.