Page 12 of Hunting Her
She hasn’t recognized us, but if we get close, she will.
It’s not like the glamour can change my personality.
“Maybe I can harass her into starting the game. Because watching her from over here is fucking boring,” I say.
“Try if you want. I’m sure she’s expecting us to find her, so staying stealthy doesn’t matter. I’m going to wait outside.”
He shoves through the door, a cool breeze drifting in as he does. I’m not surprised he’s opted to leave—it’s more in his nature to observe from a distance until the ideal moment to pounce. Not like me, getting right up close to my prey so they know exactly what I want.
And that I’m coming for them.
Shoving through the crowded bar, I watch her pretty green eyes widen as I get closer. When I lean against the wall beside her stool, she shies closer to the bar, but there’s nowhere for her to go.
I sling my arm over her shoulders, whispering in her ear. “Found you, Fire.”
I love the way that makes her shiver. She wants us—she just hasn’t admitted it to herself yet. She will once she realizes that being the queen is grander than the freedom she desires. The perks are undeniable.
With me being one of those many perks.
“What are you going to do about finding me, though?” She does her best to shake off my touch, but I dig my nails into her shoulder, letting the claws out just a bit.
“Play the waiting game, I guess. This pub won’t stay open and full of humans until dawn. I should have warned you I hate waiting games, though. I’ll be a little antsy by the time we leave unless you entertain me.”
“No way.”
“Are you sure, because I?—”
A wave of ice-cold beer drips from my hair before I can finish. The piney scent of hops overtakes my senses, and I stare at the empty pint glass she holds. There’s a gasp from the few people close enough to have seen it happen.
She just… threw a drink in my face.
I remove my arm from around her and reach up to wipe the excess beer from my cheeks.
“Leave me alone,” she says loudly enough to get the attention of the bartender and all the surrounding humans.
Everyone is looking at me like I’m some creep. They’re right, of course. I’ll be hunting this woman through the city until dawn, touching her whenever I get a chance.
But it’s rude of her to use human sensibilities to force me out of her space.
Rude, yet smart. She really is a perfect queen. If Brellan isn’t convinced of that yet, he will be by the time dawn hits.
Grinning at Nova, I lick the beer from my lips. “Thanks for the drink, Fire. We’ll see each other outside—you know there’s no getting rid of me.”
CHAPTER FIVE
NOVA
Hours pass with me at the bar, nursing a single drink. I keep expecting Izoran to burst in, looking alarmingly human, to try his hand at luring me outside a second time.
But he never comes.
I’m alone, surrounded by people I don’t know, trying to stay focused on what I’m going to do next and not on panicking. I don’t have a weapon yet, and I need one.
Downtown is familiar, even with the new businesses that have popped up. This bar is as lax as ever at checking IDs, so maybe there are other things that haven’t changed. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath of the stale air.
What else is on this block or the next? Hair salon, dollar store—maybe out of business, because I remember it always struggling—hardware store. Maybe I could try to kill a demon with scissors or an exact-o knife.
But then I remember the corner two blocks down, hosting a big brick building that’s been owned by the same family for threegenerations. Last I knew, their son was set to take over, so it’s got to still be there.
