Freak Show (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7)(19)

Jenner sat stiff in his chair. He dropped Sloane’s hand and clenched his into a fist. His power filled the room, a growing heat that quickly became scorching hot.

“I like her,” Roscoe said with a nod in Arys’s direction. “This bloodline could use a woman like her. Sorry, Sloane.”

She huffed and stuck her nose in the air, refusing to acknowledge his comment. As far as I knew, she was the only existing female in Harley’s bloodline until I turned.

“This isn’t your city.” Jenner’s voice rose in a near shout. “Harley’s dead, and now it’s mine. Arys, take your wolf and leave. This is not your home anymore.”

“No, it’s not. But I won’t be ordered around. I wouldn’t take that shit from Harley, and I sure as hell won’t take it from you.” Arys exuded an outward calm; though I knew inside, he was roiling. “You think playing on stage with humans is the way to run this place? You can’t just walk away from a blood ring. You’re not ready for this city, Jenner.”

Jenner exploded from his chair. Shoving Sloane aside, he hurled a slap of power at Arys who caught it, neutralizing the attack. The close proximity to the shot caused my body to tingle.

Arys rose, meeting Jenner in the center of the sitting area. They stared into each other, and something unspoken passed between them.

“Three of our vampires, including our sire, are dead because of her,” shouted Jenner. “You are obligated to make it right. So either you came here to do that, or you came to challenge my authority.”

Shaz was tense beside me. We exchanged a look, and I gave a slight shake of my head. It wasn’t time to jump in yet, though the room was overflowing with tense vampire energy. Sloane backed away slowly to linger near the door with Roscoe. Jez did the same, keeping her distance from all vampires present.

Arys was tapping so much power it made me lightheaded. He considered Jenner’s demands with a grave expression. “I loved him too, you know. But it happened, and it’s over. How the hell do you expect me to make something like that right?”

“A life for a life. Put one of your shifters in the ring to fight to the death.”

Jenner’s words rang in my ears, but I had to replay it a few times in my head to be sure I’d heard his insane declaration correctly. The silence was deafening. A tirade lurked on the tip of my tongue as every dirty word I wanted to say came to mind.

“You’ve lost your f**king mind.” The atmosphere pulsed with Arys’s vehement declaration.

“You’ve clearly forgotten how we do things in Sin City. Either play to win or admit defeat and walk away.”

“I always win. You should know that by now.” A growl laced Arys’s words, an echo of my wolf that lurked in him. It was a remnant of my wolf that was, at times, a little too real for Arys to control.

Arys smacked Jenner with a jolt of energy that sparked with gold and blue. It was just enough to knock Jenner back a few feet. That was all it took to incite a violent reaction. The next shot landed along with a punch. Arys staggered back from the blow, his jaw bruised. His eyes were solid blue wolf when he lunged at Jenner.

The two of them grappled with both power and fists. They knocked over the chair Jenner had been sitting on before crashing into a small side table. A flurry of curses and uttered threats filled the air.

“My God, you guys, stop it!” Sloane shrieked, her voice shrill. “You’re acting like spoiled children.” With a wave of her hand, she lashed out at them in an attempt to pull them apart, but they carried on as if she’d never touched them.

The musky scent of vampire blood tickled my nose. Each of them was bleeding at this point, never ceasing in their assault of one another. Clearly, their issues went deeper than Arys’s return to the city.

“You’re a motherf*cking traitor, Sindarys! You owe us.” Jenner’s use of Arys’s full name shouldn’t have been surprising. It reminded me that there were people who knew him from long ago. He had several lifetimes with these vampires, long before me.

“If I owe you anything, it’s an ass-kicking that finally puts you in your place.” With a tug on the power flowing between us, Arys flung a potentially deadly psi ball.

Either uncanny skill or dumb luck allowed Jenner to deflect the shot. He sent it crashing into the wall where it blew open a basketball-sized hole. Drywall and paint chips rained down in a pile of dust on the carpet.

I was done waiting. They were going to kill each other. I focused hard on both vampires and, with a flick of my wrist, flung them apart. Arys tumbled over the sofa opposite me and hit the floor while Jenner grunted as he slid down the wall next to the gaping hole.

“Now both of you just calm the f**k down. Don’t make me hit you again.” My words ended on a growl. Power thrummed through me. Looking back and forth between the two cocky vampires, I dared them to call my bluff.

Jenner regained his footing but remained where he was, leaning against the damaged wall. A slow grin lit up his face. Damn vampires. It took a lot more than a slap of power to intimidate or control them. He was going to test my limits severely before this night was through; I could feel it.

“Oh, please do,” he invited, going so far as to beckon with a finger. “If that’s a taste of how you’d kill me, I can safely say I will die with a smile and a hard on.”

“You’re a pig.” My lip curled in disgust. Though I might not say so aloud, Jenner and Arys were a lot alike in their smarmy conceit. I expected a comment like that from Arys; from him it was laughable, but from Jenner it was just gross.