Page 26 of A Spark Of Revenge

“I never lied, Mi Sol. You assumed I was a Hunter, I never corrected you. I told you Dream Walkers were different, that you were not a Hunter, I just left out that you were part Demon,” Valen whispers, his words soft and pleading.

“Demon?” she mouths the word but no sounds comes from between her parted lips. Valen’s eyes widen in shock when he realizes what he just said. I can basically see the Pup’s mind exploding with the information, but she surprises me when she shakes her head, and glares at him. “Omitting the truth is still a lie, Valen! You let me believe for weeks that I was a Hunter!” she snaps, and my brows furrow. Weeks? What the hell, how long has Valen been awake?

“Weeks?” Nox snaps, anger darkening his expression as his head slowly turns from Meyer toward Valen.

“She called me to her dreams weeks ago,” Valen murmurs, worried eyes still on Meyer's face.

“And?” Lennox prods, making Valen finally meet our brother's demanding gaze.

“And nothing. That's between me and her, and I will not share our time with you,” Valen replies, his words clipped and final. My brows arch, and Creed winces, probably uncomfortable with the sudden dominance fight between our brothers. Out of the six Princes of Hell, Valen is the only one who is strong enough to outright refuse a command given by our baby brother. Creed, being the weakest of us, oftentimes folds simply to keep the peace. The air around him has his teeth set on edge, his eyes darting nervously between the men he’s sitting between.

“Fucking traitor. We are your brothers, your loyalty should lie with us,” Nox grumbles, his hand moving to cup Meyer's cheek. Creed relaxes a little when he realizes Nox’s anger is only surface level. It probably helps that we haven't seen Valen in years, and Nox is feeling rather sentimental right now.

Meyer flinches away, earning a growl in response from my youngest brother, to which Valen cuffs him upside the head like a naughty toddler. “It does, and you know it. But that doesn't mean I can’t be loyal to Meyer as well. Don’t scare her, and keep your hands off. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Valen asks, his voice full of disapproval as he tries to insert himself between Meyer and Nox. Creed reaches out and snags Valen by the back of his shirt, yanking him away from Nox as Meyer's eyes suddenly flutter shut, and she sighs, shocking the hell out of me when she actually leans into Nox’s big hand. Nox smirks triumphantly, and Valen's eyes widen as Creed shakes his head.

“He’s healing her,” Creed mutters darkly, his eyes flashing with jealousy as Meyer's breathing gradually regulates. Understanding finally dawns on Valen's face, which is quickly replaced by anger as his fingers spark with magic. The darkness that resides at the very center of my brother slowly crawls forward, inching over that perfect exterior he likes to hide behind, covering it with a veil of black as his pupils expand and teeth sharpen. Creed immediately lets go of Valen and leans away from him, eyeing him cautiously as Nox’s smile broadens.

“You’re healing her?” Valen hisses, voice deepening, his magic darkening into inky black swirls that call to my beast. I groan, a wave of excitement coursing through me as the darkness leaves a heavenly thrill in its place, and I have to bite my damn lip, drawing blood in the process to shove the beast down. Now is neither the time nor place to let him loose. The last time Meyer sensed him, I got a dagger to the fucking chest. Something I still plan to seek revenge for once I get her alone.

Meyer's eyes slowly open, the color returning to her too-pale face as Nox continues to heal her. When her eyes finally focus, landing on Valen, she inhales sharply and yanks herself away from Nox and his healing touch, eyes wide in surprise as she takes in the angry Dream Walker only feet from the bed. Nox curses, his outstretched hand that had been cupped on her cheek curling in a ball as he slowly lets it fall to the bed next to him, shooting Valen an accusatory look.

Fear thickens in the air, and it's enough for Valen to curse, gaining control of himself faster than I have ever seen before. His hair lightens from a slate gray to white blond, his skin turning back to that creamy color as his eyes lock on Meyer, a silent plea within them making me scoff in disgust. Valen hadn't even shifted all the way, and the girl had been scared of him. There is no way in Hell she’s going to last more than a month with the dangers of our world now out in the open.

“Yes. I can heal her. Are you done with your tantrum?” Nox grinds out between clenched teeth.

“No,” Valen snaps, shaking his head as he glares at Nox. “You won’t do that again!” Nox laughs as Creed slowly pushes himself back on the bed, his eyes on Meyer as she stares at us all in horror.

“You want her in pain, Valen? She has a cracked rib, several strained muscles, a laceration on her right hand and forehead, and…” Nox stresses, leaning forward. “A stage three concussion and sleep deprivation. She’s also dehydrated and hungry,” he points out, his words harsh enough that Valen frowns, eyes widening in horror when he realizes how bad of shape the girl is in. She must have kept some of her injuries to herself, otherwise Valen would have sought out a healer before he decided to join any adventure she pulled him into.

Speaking of… How the hell did this slip of a girl convince my stoic brother to help her? What is her plan, and why is she here? Suspicion slowly creeps into my mind as I eye her, unsure of her motives, as she glares at Valen.

“Shut the hell up, Lennox,” Meyer snarls, her foot kicking out, catching Lennox in the side, making him curse as he jumps from the bed, gaping like a damn fish at the girl’s fucking audacity. Creed rolls his lips together to hide the smile her actions caused, and Valen looks at Meyer like he’s never seen her before. She probably acted like a perfect angel in order to entrance my brother the way she has. Poor bastard is in for a big surprise if he thinks he has a sweet, obedient girl on his hands. “Are you going to kill me or use me for a blood sacrifice anytime soon?” she asks, shoving to the other side of the bed before standing on shaky legs. Creed jumps to his feet as Nox and Valen take a step forward, all of them moving to help her. Meyer throws a hand up and shakes her head. “No! Answer the damn question!”

“Not in the near future, no,” Nox grinds out, making Valen growl under his breath.

“Not fucking ever,” he snaps, the two only seconds from another dick-measuring contest. Creed sighs and rests his hands on his hips, his head falling forward as he shakes his head.

“No, Meyer. We needed your help to find Valen,” he murmurs dejectedly.

“You mean you needed my blood?” she asks coldly, and Creed nods. Meyer eyes them warily before her eyes move to Lennox. “Would it have killed me?” she asks, head tilting to the side as she stares at the four of us, trying to piece together whether she's safe here or not.

“Probably,” I offer, speaking for the first time since my brothers rushed into my room. I grin when she tenses and takes a step back, her fingers moving to her empty knife sheath. Little Pup went for her knife instead of running.

“Razar!” Nox bellows as Valen spins on me, a black blade appearing in his hand instantly.

“No! No, Meyer. Raz is just being a shithead!” Creed yells, holding his hand out in front of him like he’s trying to calm a wild animal.

“So you're saying she wouldn't have died? Are you positive?” I ask cockily, knowing damn well that they haven't received her in-depth blood results yet. “Or had it been your plan this whole time to lure her into a false sense of security, to get close to her, then use her for our own benefit, whether that cost her life or not? The girl is a debt you owed to Elaine, which is the only reason you didn’t use her at the first opportunity.”

Meyer pales at my words, and I can practically feel the heated glare Nox is throwing at me. Creed's shoulders fall forward, and he curses, not looking at Meyer, which only serves to prove my point.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” I growl to the room, refusing to let this ridiculous facade of false security go on any further. The girl is a nuisance, and I refuse to let her pull apart what's left of my Legion. I need her to hate them as much as she hates me, and I need her to stay the fuck away from all of us. Valen is here; she no longer serves a purpose and needs to go.

“That may be how it started,” Creed agrees, his voice raspy. “But that's not how it is now. Meyer, I swear. I sent in your blood for testing to make sure that when we did use you, it wouldn't kill you,” he pleads, and Meyer frowns.

“My blood? When did you get my blood?”

“Uh,” Creed stammers, flushing a little as he brings a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. “When you were in my room,” he admits.

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