Page 63 of Sworn to Revenge
I quickly glance at my arm, and the purple glow has disappeared along with the burning sensation. I let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ll never get used to that freaky look on your face when you’re gone.What did he say?” Luca’s voice pulls me back to reality as my heart rate slowly returns to normal.
“He’s sending huntresses,” I inform him. “I have no idea how he even knows where to send them, and I don’t want to ask.” I wrinkle my nose in disgust, wondering how much he really knows about me and just how powerful he is.
He nods, clearly sensing that I don’t want to discuss what just happened. “We’re close to the shore, and the Russians still haven’t made a move. It seems like they’re just tracking us, or maybe they’re waiting for us to leave the car before they pounce. Stay close to me when we get out,” he says, but it sounds more like a command.
I nod in agreement, all the while wondering if the Guardian will actually send the huntresses in time. I don’t know the Huntres’ pod of this ocean, and I have no idea how I’d protect Luca if they tried to hunt him. Alin will kill me if anything happens to him. I wouldn’t be able to save him if a huntress marks him.
I shoot a quick look at Luca and decide to call Alin. Maybe she can convince him to let me go alone—or at least come up with a better idea.
“Bay? Are you okay?” Alin’s voice is tense.
“Mariano, don’t go easy on Pedro!” she yells, pulling the phone away from her mouth, and I chuckle, remembering my training sessions with Alin in our childhood. Aunt Lora never went easy on us.
“I’m fine,” I update her with a laugh. “I’m just wondering if you know how I could keep Luca safe in case a huntress tries to capture him.”
She takes a sharp breath on the other end. “Bay, what are you talking about? Why would a huntress go after him?”
“Are they okay?” I can hear Pedro’s voice shout in the background.
“Focus on the training, Pedro,” her voice is ice-cold as she answers him, and then she turns back to me, pressing me for more information.
“We’re planning to hunt the Russians tailing us—” I begin explaining the plan.
“They’re Russians? How did the Russians find you there?” she asks in shock.
“Alin, that’s not important right now,” I cut off her barrage of questions. “I won’t be able to control them all the way to the Coral of Life, so the Guardian is sending more huntresses to help. How can I stop Luca from becoming a target?” I ask again, leaving her no room for more questions. I’ll update her later.
I hear her take a deep breath, loud enough that I swear even Luca could hear it, and the phone isn’t even on speaker.
“The only thing I ever learned from my mom’s stories is something called ‘The Huntress’s Kiss.’ A huntress who fell in love with a human tried to protect him from her pod by marking him before she left him,” she shares, and I’m glad I called her. Alin was obsessed with those strange tales as a kid and would spend hours with Aunt Lora learning about them.
“How am I supposed to do that?” I ask desperately. We don’t have time for a history lesson.
“If I knew, none of the Spallo family would ever be in danger aroundyou. But if anything happens to my husb—” she threatens, but I cut her off, ending the call immediately. This conversation won’t lead anywhere useful now.
I sigh and try to think of what I can do.
“Even Alin can’t help with this; you’ll need to stay out of sight when we leave the car. No matter what happens, make sure you don’t come into their line of sight. I’ll keep them busy with the hunt we already have,” I inform Luca, scratching my mark anxiously.
“You know, you could just ask, right?” The familiar roar rings painfully in my ears again.Oh, come on.
“Ask you to save a human? I’m not desperate enough to count on that,” I roll my eyes, and the glow in my arm flares up once more.
“If you haven’t figured it out by now—you’re a part of me, my dear huntress. What’s important to you is important to me. If you want to save such a weak little creature, I’ll help. All you have to do is ask,” his growl in my ear is softer now, calculated.
There’s that familiar queasiness again.Did he just say I’m a part of him?
“And how exactly are you supposed to help?” I swallow back the disgust, trying my last resort. Maybe I am that desperate.
“Ask nicely,” he demands.
Of course.“Please, oh mighty Guardian Dragon, help me,” I mock, exaggerating my plea.
“We’ll have to work on your attitude, but it’s my pleasure, my dear huntress,” I could swear that growl is a chuckle—the most unsettling laugh I’ve ever heard.
“Bite your lip and make it bleed. Let him drink the blood from your mouth. He’ll need to swallow it,” he says, and I let out a frustrated laugh. Of course, ‘The Huntress’s Kiss’ would actually be a kiss. Alin’s going to kill me, and Pedro... well, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, just like Cora taught me.
