September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(50)

“I don’t suppose you’re ready to have your mark removed as well?” Shya drew my gaze back to him with that grossly inappropriate inquiry.

“Does it look like I have f*cking dreamwalker here for you?” I snapped. Shya knew I’d come to stop this madness. He was playing with me. By getting angry I was letting him win. I took a deep breath and focused on keeping myself centered and grounded.

Shya shrugged and smiled sweetly. “Well, soon perhaps. Anyway, we were just about to get started. Can I get you anything first? Coffee? Wine? A taste of Gabriel here?”

That got Gabriel’s attention. He snapped upright, his phone forgotten. “What? No way. I don’t want her touching me.”

“The feeling is mutual,” I muttered, pinning the kid with a fierce stare. “Do you really want to do this? You don’t have to, you know.”

Gabriel glared daggers at me. Shya had to be filling his head with nonsense about me. Every time I saw the kid lately, he acted as if I were the enemy. I hoped it was because of Shya and not because of what Gabriel saw when we touched.

“It’s really none of your damn business, is it?” His snarky tone dripped venom. “Stop trying to save me, Alexa. I’m not your charity case. You have bigger problems anyway. You should be much more concerned with saving yourself.”

The urge to slap the mouthy teen upside the head was strong. I tried to tell myself he was scared and merely acting out, but I knew that wasn’t the case. Shya had offered him darkness. And he’d accepted.

I rounded on Arys, finding his expression hard and cold. “I’m not letting you do this. You know it’s not right.”

Hurst’s words of warning echoed in my head. He had told me in Vegas that Arys must not turn Gabriel. I knew if Arys did this, we would all be made to regret it.

“I don’t need your permission, Alexa. Gabriel has made his own decision, just like you did. You shouldn’t have come here.” Arys’s dark-blue eyes flashed in irritation.

Shocked didn’t begin to cover it. What the f*ck was happening right now? I glanced at Willow who stood near Jenner, watching the confrontation begin. He shrugged and shook his head sadly.

I made an attempt to get inside Arys’s head, needing to have his reassurance that this was all some kind of ploy to deceive Shya. When he blocked me out and continued to stare at me with that ice-cold intensity, my heart skipped a beat.

My cheeks burned with both humiliation and anger. I wasn’t sure what he was pulling here, but doing it in front of Shya was low. What happened to the Arys who wrestled with himself nightly about my coming death in his arms?

‘You’re looking at him.’ Arys’s smooth as velvet tone echoed in my mind. He reached in as if he hadn’t just slammed that door on me. ‘Don’t forget who I am, Alexa. Not now.’

‘What does that even mean?’ I pleaded, choking back the words that threatened to burst out in a torrent of emotion.

Instead of a telepathic reply, he spoke aloud. “I made a deal, Alexa. I have to see it through.”

I was painfully aware of the watchful demons’ gazes upon us from outside. Though they all wore a human guise, I felt as if the eyes of true monsters bore into my very soul. A shudder crept over me.

“Let’s get started, shall we?” With a sly smile, Shya drew near. He gestured for Arys to take action.

Gabriel had dropped his phone on the coffee table. He stared at Arys with wide eyes, pupils large with sudden fear. The scent of it was tantalizing. I wasn’t sure I could watch this.

Arys rose and motioned for Gabriel to do the same. Shya stood by, hands clasped in eager anticipation. I gathered the power coiled in my core. Who should I hit first?

“Don’t even think it, Hound,” Shya barked. “You interfere, and you won’t be walking out of here tonight. I already have a guest room ready for a wolf. And the door locks from the outside. Don’t test me.”

His threat rang with promise. Would Arys let Shya lock me up in this house of horrors? Probably. If it meant not having to look at me while he decided how badly he still wanted to kill me.

Arys turned abruptly to me, as if he’d heard that last thought. Maybe it was just me, but I thought I saw him wince.

“Have it your way,” I said, throwing my hands up in exasperation. “You’re an idiot though, Shya. You should know that once Gabriel is a vampire, Arys and I will both have power over him. You’re practically giving him to us.”

Jenner scoffed but said nothing. I shot him a dirty look.

“Don’t think I haven’t considered that,” Shya said. “I’m very good at planning ahead. Haven’t you noticed?”

Sure Shya knew I had power over vampires, but did he know I could practically enslave them? He’d been a witness when I’d inadvertently done it to Kale. I wasn’t sure if he knew I’d also done it to Jenner or that I could easily do it to Gabriel. Of course, that wasn’t what I wanted. Having Gabriel enslaved to me instead of Shya was only the lesser of two evils.

“Please, Arys. Don’t do this.” I stood awkwardly, crossing my arms then uncrossing them. I didn’t know what to do with myself.

“Ready?” Arys asked Gabriel who swallowed hard and nodded.

I lunged forward as Arys jerked Gabriel close. Raising a hand, he hit me with a shot of power that crushed the breath from me. It threw me back, slamming me against the island in the kitchen. I hit the floor with a painful thud.