Page 82 of Court of Evil

“You go as our ambassador,” he hisses. “She scares me.”

“So you want her to scare me?” Fang grouses as I pick up my next knife and start to clean it.

“You’re a brave succubus. Seduce her into being happy or something.” Ronan pushes her forward, and Fang mutters insults but stomps over and kneels before me so I have no choice but to look at her.

“Tate,” she murmurs softly. “It’s over. They are gone. You said so yourself.”

“I didn’t get to kill them,” I mutter. That’s what keeps echoing in my head. “I didn’t get to make them pay.”

“But they are dead, and that’s what matters, right? Not who delivered their deaths, but that they cannot be around to cause any more,” she reasons.

I don’t want that. I know she’s right, but I feel . . . slighted.

“You got your revenge,” I mutter, and she flinches. “I didn’t get mine. I suffered, and I almost died. For what? It was all for nothing. Everything I have done to get here was for nothing.” I pull my hands away when she reaches for me. “We were all for nothing.”

I see pain bloom in her eyes, and I regret the words as soon as I speak them, but I cannot take them back. I used my words like a weapon, and I will deal with the consequences.

“Alright, enough fucking moping,” she snaps, changing tactics, and my eyes widen at her harsh tone. “They are dead. Get the fuck over it and put your big-girl panties on. This was not all for nothing. We were brought together for a reason. Maybe it isn’t the one you want, but that doesn’t matter. You don’t always get what you want in life, Tate. You are better than this. Do not let them ruin another minute of your life.”

She snaps her mouth shut as we stare at each other, and before I realise it, my blade is at her throat. She doesn’t react other than a slight widening of her eyes. She digs her chin into the blade until she bleeds.

“Go ahead, punish me if it will make you feel better. I owe you my life, so it’s yours to take.” Her voice is silky. “If this is what you need, then take it.”

I stare into her eyes that were filled with pleasure a day ago and see a desperate sort of fear.

Forme orofme?

I’m not sure, and I hate that I put it there.

I don’t want that either. It’s not her fault he’s dead. Removing the blade, I stand before I take my frustration out on her. She shouldn’t have to deal with my bad mood, none of them should. They’ve all suffered at the hands of men and the blades of hunters. I will not add to that.

I will be better than the other hunters

I will be better than men.

Fang especially has suffered at the hands of men for years. I will not add to her list. I recognise her willingness to be whatever I need her to be right now, but I will not.

I drop the blade and move past her. I’m not good to be around right now, and they all deserve better.

“Oh, good job, Fang,” Ronan mutters as he shoots her a thumbs up. The others struggle to copy the gesture, not used to it, and I roll my eyes and slam the door shut behind me before opening it to give them an order.

“Stay inside,” I snap, still worried about them. I don’t want them wandering about and getting killed by a rogue hunter.

Taking a deep breath, I wander down the second storey of the hotel. The rooms face the woods, and I lean over the railing at the very end, but I still feel trapped.

Catching the edge of the roof, I haul myself up and lie back, staring up at the stars.

I don’t expect anyone to come after me, not with the mood I’m in, so when someone lies down next to me, I startle. He’s the last person I would expect, but the fae stares at me from inches away.

“It’s okay to be angry, to want to be the one who ended their miserable existences. It was stolen from you. I understand,” he says, and I blink, unsure what to say. “My name is Zeev.”

I jerk as the name wraps around me with power and purpose.

A fae’s name gives you power over them. It’s an offering, a way to tell you they trust you.

“Zeev,” I whisper. He shuffles next to me, his eyes tightening as I roll it over my tongue. “Why are you telling me?”

“You have earned it,” he answers as he stares up at the stars, but I still look at him, so he turns his head and meets my gaze again. “I have been around a very long time. I have known great leaders able to kill with a thought, but I have never met anyone else with convictions as strong as yours, Tate Havelock. You have the determination to survive, but not at the price of your soul. You have resilience and strength I admire, but it is your soul I crave. You freed me when no other could, and you saved all of those in that room without asking for anything in return. You are a true warrior. You were born to wield the blade, and I would like to be at your side as you do so.”

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