Smashed (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8.5)(13)

It had ended in a brawl so bad that it had taken three vampires to split us up. I was sure that one of us would eventually kill the other. I didn’t want it to have to be today though I was willing if that’s what it took to finally walk free of him.

“This is your home. You belong here. Come, let’s go to bed. I picked out a fresh young thing just for you.” Harley grabbed for my arm. When I jerked out of reach, he flung a roiling psi ball at me in an angry outburst.

It exploded against my chest, thrusting me backward into an ornate marble statue. It was one of several throughout the house. The thing wobbled on its perch before toppling over, smashing into pieces on the floor.

Resisting the sudden need for retaliation proved difficult. I’d hoped I could be the one to keep a level head. Harley’s outburst had been expected.

“It’s a shame you can’t support me on this,” I said, trying to reason with him. “I told you because I thought you gave a damn. Now I wish I’d never said anything at all about her.”

“Her,” he spat. “You don’t even know her name. You’re chasing a dream. Don’t expect to have a place here when you come back. If you walk out on me now, Arys—”

“Well, maybe I won’t be coming back.” My interruption momentarily silenced him. “If I find her, I won’t have a reason to.”

We stared stonily at one another. Rather than wait for him to take another shot at me, I chose to walk away.

It had taken me years to accept the things I’d been told by the old witch I had gone to see. That had been over a century ago, yet sometimes it felt like just yesterday. Each passing night contributed to each passing year, bringing me closer to a fate I both feared and hungered for. I had to answer this call.

I left him standing there fuming. It was anyone’s guess as to how long he’d wait before rushing after me.

When I crossed through the front sitting room on my way to the door, I found Sloane and Jenner entertaining an elegantly dressed human couple. The two of them had formed a partnership of sorts. They liked to tag team their victims, posing as just another friendly couple.

Jenner had spent a lot of time in Sloane’s bed since she had brought him home for Harley. Though as much time as they spent as lovers, they never seemed to really love one another. Love was a complicated thing for vampires. It was hard to have a genuine emotion toward another in this coven that wasn’t rooted in loathing.

“Excuse me a moment,” Sloane cooed to her guests, playing the role of gracious hostess. She rushed after me, grabbing hold of my arm in the foyer. “Are you really leaving?”

“Are you really asking me that? Of course I’m leaving. Do me a favor? Try to keep him from coming after me.”

I tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let go. “If you walk out on him, he will never forgive you, Arys.”

“I’m not walking out on anyone. This isn’t about him. I don’t expect any of you to understand.” Repeating myself was growing tiresome. For too long I’d let my vampire family hold me back. No more.

“Good. Because we don’t.” Jenner’s snide tone drew my gaze to where he stood just inside the large, open foyer. “Don’t you think you’ve destroyed enough in this ridiculous pursuit of a woman that doesn’t exist? Or was murdering my fiancé not enough for you?”

“Here we go again,” muttered Sloane.

Walk away. Just walk away.

“Jenner, that was decades ago. Get over it.” I was not in the mood to rehash that particular part of history. Jenner, however, was always seeking a way to throw it in my face.

Becoming a vampire had been a liberating experience. Despite Harley’s overbearing personality and constant need to control others, I’d flourished as a vampire. Not only did I enjoy it, I was damn good at it. I operated on instinct. Hunting, feeding, and regretting nothing. But what I did to Jenner…I did regret that.

It was a dreadful mistake. Tormented by dreams of Alexa, I had sought comfort in the beautiful blonde Jenner had fallen for. Ultimately I’d killed her for not being Alexa.

Harley blamed Jenner for falling in love with a human. It was unfair considering Harley himself had latched onto each of us while we were still human. Playing favorites, Harley pit us against each other. By encouraging dissention among those of us he created, he ensured we never really bonded. I was always certain he did it on purpose so we wouldn’t rally together against him.

“It’s better if you go,” Jenner decided, as if his opinion mattered. “Don’t come back.”

“Jenner,” Sloane admonished. She drifted over to him, grasping his arm and squeezing. “Don’t say such things. You were friends once. Brothers. Don’t throw that away over one human woman.”

He cast her a scathing look. She peered up at him with wide, enchanting eyes, oblivious to his disgust.

“Take care of each other, ok?” Having nothing more to say, I turned to leave. And found Harley standing right behind me.

He was smooth. Powerful and stealthy, he’d cloaked his energy and come around the house from outside in order to head me off at the door. He had abandoned the robe in favor of silken lounge pants. Without a word, he backhanded me.

It was a blow fueled by rage and power. There wasn’t a lot to hit in the foyer so I bounced rather harmlessly off the wall. I picked myself up and faced him with a wrath that had been three centuries in the making.