Page 17 of Queen of Ashes and Scars
I hold a hand out in his general direction, not meeting his inquisitive gaze. “I’m not a victim here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m miserable, but there are a ton of variables… My family has been mixed up in this for centuries, you can’t possibly understand—”
“Listen, I don’t know what Keenan offered you, but you have other options, Leo. It’s hard to be a normal, a simple human in this world when so many others have more power, but we could help you protect yourselfandyour family. You don’t have to become like him.”
My brows pull together, and my voice is low and dark as I say, “What?”
“I saw it in your eyes. When Keenan blinked in to save her, you envied him. It’s perfectly natural, I envy him, too—”
“I don’t know what you think you saw, but it’s my business.”
He raises both palms in front of him. “Hey, I just want to help.”
“Help someone else, then,” I bark, his unrelenting scrutiny starting to get under my skin. The man feels eerily familiar and pushes my buttons the way few strangers do, like we share some type of common ground I can’t quite wrap my head around.
He scratches the back of his neck for a minute, his lips pursed in an apologetic pout. “Alright. Keenan has my number… if you change your mind. Take care, Leo.”
His witch friend falls in step with him as he leaves, the two of them exchanging a few words of encouragement, and I watch them walk away with a giant boulder in my stomach. With everything going on, maybe Arielle would have agreed for me to join them. Maybe if I’d promised never to go back to Hadria and basically play dead, she would have set me free.
Maybe.
The guy slayed a vampire right in front of me like it was nothing, but I realize right then and there, I don’t want to leave my vampire princess behind. Whatever I thought before, I don’t want out of this fight now.
An intrusive, bitter doubt weasels its way into my brain as Thomas’ sleek black Vanquish spits out gravel on its way out of the hangar. Am I making the biggest mistake of my life?
My gaze falls to the princess—the queen, now—and my chest warms. I made a promise to her. My mind flashes back to the nightfall ceremony, when she looked so small and vulnerable in her black, feathery dress. She’s come a long way since then, but as long as she needs me, I will stay by her side.
Always.
Chapter9
Risen
ARIELLE
The rain drums hard on the white tarp of the hangar, the thick cover of clouds shielding us from the morning sun as the witch’s car disappears in the distance. Most of the dead bodies have already been dusted, but Alec inspects the clusters of clothes and personal effects left behind. I take his lead and search the glove compartment of the vehicle closest to me.
Leo grabs the opened passenger door. “What happens now?”
My first-blood looks exhausted, the blood loss he suffered in order to heal me dragging down his features. A red splatter mars the collar of his white shirt, the scar left over by Keenan’s bite still red and swollen. I squint at the hideous mark, but the leather wallet I pull from the middle of the console provides a welcomed distraction.
“I found something.” A calling card identifies the band of shapeshifters as being part of a gang. The hairy spider on its front brings chills to my neck, and I climb out of the SUV to show it to the others.
Keenan shakes his head in annoyance. “Damn Widow Makers.”
I flip the card between my fingers. “I’ve heard of them. They’re a ruthless band of mercenaries.”
Alec pries the piece of paper from my hand and glares at it like he can somehow kill them a second time just by looking at their personal effects. “They’ve been particularly active in the USA lately, but yeah, mercenaries. Not the kind of company Jasper usually keeps.”
A heavy weight presses on my shoulders. “Jasper probably hired the assassins that tried to kill me back in France, too. If he was involved from the beginning…maybe the entire government is corrupt.”
Alec slides the ugly card inside his jacket. “Jasper didn’t bring any of the crown’s soldiers or guards, so he was still trying to keep this mission a secret. He let it slip that Peter thought you were dead. He orchestrated everything so you’d be married off to Pereira and permanently out of his way. Killing you was plan B. And I had no clue…” he trails off.
I stand on the tip of my toes and kiss his cheek, feeling like I want to curl into him and sleep half a year. “I know you didn’t.”
“No…you misunderstand. I’m saying I should have known. It was my job to know and protect you—”
“Hush. I won’t let you beat yourself up over it.” With a small sigh, I rest my forehead on his shoulder, unable to piece together all the threads of his brother’s betrayal at the moment, my brain still fogged by the aftermath of the ritual.
“That’s not all. Clearly, my brothers arranged to have the king killed, too,” Alec adds bitterly.
