Page 42 of Midwinter Night's Prince

“Youwhat?” Gwen shouted.

Chloe and Cat both flashed their fangs, as if ready to attack an invisible adversary.

“Oh, sweetie,” Diana murmured. “That’s how you got hurt?”

“Why the hell would you—”

“She did it to protect you,” Seth stated, leaping to her defense.

“Maybe she should have stabbed you instead,” Chloe shot back.

“A-fucking-men,” Seth replied easily. “I would have let her. Though I’d quite enjoy keeping on breathing, the reality is that while I’m alive and Blair has my soul, Aveka has a chance to use me to destroy your borders at will. Each time you rebuild them again, she’ll make me get rid of them. You’re outnumbered. Some individuals among you might be more powerful than most, but ultimately, tens of thousands of foot soldiers will always win against a couple of hundred warriors. You know this. The only thing guaranteeing the safety of Oldcrest is your shield. So you either kill me, or she runs.”

He was met with silence, because there was no arguing against the facts.

There was another solution, of course. The one he’d stopped earlier. If she were gone, with the fragment of his soul, they’d all be safe.

“You’re missing another option, poser,” Chloe replied.

Blair lowered her gaze. She agreed, but hearing Chloe say it was going to hurt anyway.

“We take the bitch out. Right now.”

23

OUT OF PLACE

She hadn’t just said that. She’d better not have. Seth was going to rip the Eirikrson kid’s throat out if she even suggested—

“I take it bythe bitch,you mean Aveka, right?” Greer asked with a wince.

“Duh. Who else?”

Seth could breathe again. Right, naturally, Chloe wasn’t going to suggest they kill the girl she’d just called her best friend.

“It’s not that simple,” Diana said regretfully. “For a psycho, she has a healthy sense of survival. Every time we came close, she slithered away like the snake she is.”

Seth nodded. “It’s a risk. And if we fail…”

“Leaving Blair alone is a failure. We can’t do that to her.” Gwen shook her head. “Not again.”

“How about a compromise?” Levi suggested.

All eyes turned to the ancient.

“Aveka needs to be dealt with. If she’s gracious enough to come to us, I say we kill the bitch.”

Chloe grinned, getting to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek like the little bloodthirsty fledgling she was.

“In the meantime, we prepare for the worst. Some of us can stay with Blair to ensure her safety, and take her away if it looks like we might fail.”

“I don’t like this.” Jack shook his head. “Blair’s too important. That means our best fighters will need to stay back to guard her. The odds aren’t on our side.”

The nephilim apparently wasn’t an idiot. Seth was all agreement.

“I’mnotremaining safe here watching TV while you guys risk your lives to protect me.” Blair shook her head. “Let alone while taking a few of our best fighters away from this mess. I can hold my own. By all means, if there’s no other choice, take me away, but Ineedto be a part of this.”

She must be fucking joking.

---