Page 36 of The Huntress

“Of course, I like you. But marriage and taking a wife implies love, doesn’t it? Liking someone isn’t enough to base a commitment on.” She watched him and waited, ignoring the wind-whipped tendrils obscuring her line of sight.

“Do you want…love?” He hesitated when he asked her, his voice almost hoarse as if her response mattered to him.

“Yes, I do. Unless you’re thinking to death us do part? Marry me until you kill me?” She arched a brow, then wanted to hit him when he chuckled.

“We don’t marry, we claim, and when we form that bond, you become as strong as me. I can’t kill you, Callie. A part of me will reside in you, and to harm you would harm me.”

“Shit.” She tightened her fingers on his forearms. “I’d be your kryptonite. I’d weaken you, like Syl said. Your enemies could get to you through me.”

Killing her would be far easier than killing someone as experienced as him. That he was a great predator wasn’t in doubt. How he’d handled Darius said much about his skills. So why take the chance? Why tie himself to her when it wasn’t in his best interest?

Pent-up energy zinged through her blood, and she shuddered, wishing they would reach Val’s cell. She needed time away from his intense eyes, his mesmerizing scent, and this strange new world she’d stumbled into.

“Yes.” Unfazed, he grinned and opened a massive door in front of them. Stairs descended along a well-lit passage, and she stepped back at the cacophony of screams echoing off the stone walls.

Sucking in a deep breath, she skipped down. Gabe followed her. She would never admit how grateful she was for his company. Iron bars filled the vast room, swinging light bulbs shifting shadows off the bare stone walls. In each cell, a few women paced, slept, sat, or clung to the bars. Blood dried on their contorted faces, new fangs piercing their bottom lips, and their clothes hung on them in tatters.

“She’s with me,” Gabe said to the hulking guard in a crisp suit.

Callie hadn’t seen him with her interest fixed on the women’s faces. Mounted cameras flickered red lights from the corners. The footage Gabe had shown her was real. Score one for the suckblood.

“Callie?” Val’s voice cut through the din.

Her sister was alone in a cell. The rumpled clothing she wore showed no sign of abuse. Her skin was paler than usual, but there were no shadows under her eyes, and her irises glowed, switching between green and red. More surprising was the long wavy auburn hair she had prior to the chemo.

“Val, what have you gotten us into?” She hurried to the cell tucked into a corner.

Gabe leaped in front of her, throwing an arm across her chest as if Val would hurt her.

Callie elbowed him in the ribs, slipped around him, and gripped the bars.

Val didn’t move from the bed but raised her nose to sniff the air. “You shouldn’t be here, Callie. You smell…human.”

“Damn it, I’m with suckbloods because of your death wish.” She closed her eyes, trying to forget this was all her fault.

“I didn’t ask you to follow.”

If it wasn’t for the shimmer of a blood-red tear on her eyelashes, Callie would’ve thought Val was possessed or drugged. “I promised Dad, Val, you know I did.”

“Since I won’t be dying for many more years, I would say you’ve fulfilled your promise.” She raised sad eyes to Callie. “Thank you for coming. I thought you’d died.” She sniffed and dipped her face as if the lighting hadn’t picked up on the crimson tears scouring her cheeks.

“It was touch and go for a bit.” Callie smiled. “Gabe says you stay down here for a few days. What happens after that?”

“We’ve had the siring ceremony where vamps request to mentor the younglings.” Val unfolded her legs and rose off the bed, as graceful as a gazelle. “Leo is my mentor. I assume training follows.” She shrugged.

Getting Leo as a mentor was good. “Will you let me know when I can visit?” Callie glanced at Gabe. “That’s possible, right?”

He shook his head. “Not alone.”

“She’s my sister.” She glared at him. How dare he imply Val would harm her.

“I’m not referring to Val. Alone, you are vulnerable to an attack, Callie.”

Val laughed, breaking their staring contest. “I’ll visit you, sis.”

“I’m glad you made it, Val, even though it was a foolish thing to do.” Callie sighed. “Do you need anything? A book, a magazine, a pint of blood?”

“Ha, very funny.” Val smiled and nodded at the stairs. “Off you go.”

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