Page 125 of Court of Evil

“My vision is going to come true,” she murmurs without looking at me. “I keep seeing a million different variations, but one thing is always the same—the hunters turn on us. There is so much death. It’s a battle no one wins.” She looks at me, seeming so isolated and alone. “I cannot stop it. I have tried everything.”

“Then we’ll face it together,” I tell her as I stop at her side.

“I gave everything to these people. I died for them, for what I believed in, and now it will get me killed again.” She releases a bitter, haunting laugh that carves something out of my chest. She tames the madness inside me, but in turn, she has taken part of the darkness into her.

She has become what she hunted, but it is not that which bothers her. It isn’t the price she paid. It’s the people she did it for.

What happens when you find out those you were willing to die to protect would not do the same for you?

It’s a bitter truth I have faced before, and it’s a question I cannot answer, nor a fact I can protect her from.

“Tate, you are not alone,” I remind her.

“I have never felt more alone in my entire life. Everything I became, everything I lost, it won’t matter. We will be ruined. Even if I survive what is to come, we will never recover from the loss.” She meets my eyes. “I am a hunter, Zeev. It is all I am, it is what I was born to be, and yet I have never hated it more than I do in this moment. My soul is ruined, bleeding from a thousand tiny cuts they made. One day, there will be nothing left of me. Being a hunter won’t kill me, but trusting people will.”

“Then I will be your shield and your medic. I will heal those cuts and protect your soul,” I vow.

Her smile is soft and sorrowful. “I had such fire in me, such belief in who I was and what I was doing . . . . They extinguished that and plunged me into the darkness, and in that darkness I found the monsters who called me home. I found you, and now I’m scared,” she admits. “I’m scared I will lose you, that I have led you to your death and that your belief in me will be your end, just like my belief in this place will be mine.”

“We will not let it happen. We would all gladly die for you, but our deaths will not be today or tomorrow. Whatever comes next, we’ll face it together and then pick up the pieces in the ashes. You cannot stop hate, but you can prevail against it. Yes, you were born to be a hunter, which means you were born to face this. Everything you have survived and endured does not end here.Wedo not end here. Let them try to take the loyalty and strength from you. I will be your shield, your medic, and the blade in the shadows slaying your enemies. Where you go, I go. I knew it from the moment I tasted your blood—not just because you tamed the madness, but because you embraced it. This was always my purpose, and now I know a few weeks at your side is not enough. Ten lifetimes will not be enough, but I vow this to you. Tate Havelock, monster tamer, I will not let your life end here, so bring on the future. I am ready. Are you?”

She stares into my eyes, putting herself back together. “I’m scared.” I know how much that cost her to admit.

Tugging her to me, I slide my hand into her hair as I press my forehead to hers. “Then let me be your strength. Do not let fear stop you. Embrace it like you do everything else.”

“I don’t know if I have it in me to slaughter our own people,” she whispers.

“You do. You have the capability to do anything, and they stop being our people the moment they raise a weapon against us.” The voice fills the dark room, and she pulls away to see Shamus.

“He’s right. We are your people, not them,” Fang says.

“Those in this room,” Ronan adds, all of them standing there, loving her.

“No matter what happens,” Jarek says.

Tem smiles. “Wherever you go, mistress, we are with you.”

“Trust in us the way we trust in you,” Addeus implores.

“They are right. The creatures in this fucked-up family are your people, not those who are willing to harm you for trying to save lives. Some of them will turn against you, but it means you are walking the right path. When the battle comes, remember who stands at your side and who stands opposite it,” I tell her.

A flare fills the night sky, and we all turn to see it.

“It’s here,” she croaks before she clears her throat. “They are early. I didn’t see it happening tonight.”

“Something changed,” Shamus murmurs. “It doesn’t matter. Whether it’s tonight or tomorrow, we are ready.” He looks to her. “We will kill any who turn against us. We keep this place safe and rebuild after. First, we need to survive the night.” He grabs her then and kisses her solidly. “Do not die or I will bring you back and tie you to me like I did that fool.”

“You too.” She looks at us. “That goes for all of you. Nobody dies tonight—not one of us, at least. Everyone else? Kill them. I give you free rein to slay whoever would harm us or our cause.”

“You just unleashed monsters,” Fang jokes. “Let’s hope they are ready for that.”

“It doesn’t matter if they are not,” I reply as an explosion rocks the building. “They are coming either way.” I look at Tate, we all do, and she composes herself before our very eyes.

“This is our last stand, right here. We’ll make our way through the building and outside. We’ll give ourselves room to manoeuvre and work as a team. Addeus,” she snaps. “I want constant reports on what is happening. Keep every door locked bar the ones we need. Ronan, go get their numbers and reportback. Fang, stay behind me, and when I say, call them to us. Tem, change and block their vision with your shadows. Jarek, I want shields for all of us. Focus on them and keep us safe. Shamus, we need every weapon you have.”

“And me?” I ask.

She looks at me. “You’re my general. Let’s go to war.”

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