My eyes burned, tears clawing their way to the red brims. I didn’t have time to pity myself.
If I did, if I gave in to the pain and betrayal and fucking sadness, I didn’t think I could pull myself back out.
What is an angel without wings?
What is a monster without teeth?
I didn’t notice the bedroom door opening until it clicked shut behind me. Huntyr stood there, back pressed against the wall as she eyed me carefully.
I cleared my throat and wiped at my eyes, praying to the fucking goddess she didn’t just see me gawking at myself. I stepped out of the bathroom casually, looking her up and down. She wasn’t hurt, something my magic would've picked up on immediately.
But her face was blank.
“Where have you been?” I asked. I walked to the bed and picked up the book I had been reading, twisting it in my hands to avoid looking at her.
I felt her cock her head to the side as she stared at me. “Don’t act like you didn’t know,” she breathed. “Jessiah would never take me out of here without running it by you first.”
I tensed but said nothing, keeping my attention on the book in my hands.
“It was fine,” she started. “Good, actually. It was—” Something tight filtered through our bond. It was enough to make me finally look at her. “He wasn’t there. We made it all the way there, but Lord wasn’t there.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. “I’m sorry, Huntress.”
She stepped forward, hands in front of her, almost as if she was going to reach out to me. “Don’t apologize. You’re the one who made this possible, and I—” She swallowed before she continued. “I don’t know how to thank you for this. I know how much it must’ve killed you.”
I tore my gaze away, suddenly feeling very vulnerable in front of my violent Huntress. Yeah, it did fucking kill me, but nothing was more important than her. If she needed a few hours back home to survive this mess, it was worth it.
“It was nothing,” I replied.
A long silence fell. “Yeah, well. Thank you anyway.” She waited a few more seconds before making her way to my bathroom. “And Wolf?” She turned and glanced at me over her shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“A wise man once told me, ‘Just because your back may hold those physical scars doesn’t mean you can’t rewrite that story.’” She dipped into the bathroom before I could answer, and I wasdamn grateful for it, because the tears rushed back to my eyes as I settled into my space on the edge of the bed.
I said those words to her in Moira after I’d seen the scars on her back. Fucking hells.I guess we both had stories to rewrite.
A few minutes later, the bed shifted where Huntyr’s body slid between the sheets. She always tried so hard to stay as far away from me as possible, but it never mattered. I always woke up with her head on my chest and our limbs intertwined.
It made it that much harder to untie myself from her grasp every morning without waking her, but there were certain boundaries I still wasn’t willing to cross. She already fought with her emotions plenty. I didn’t plan on adding more to that mix.
For now, I would accept as much of her as I could get.
Even if it meant torturing myself over it.
Chapter 27
Huntyr
Islept for a day and a half before I finally pulled myself from bed. Wolf brought me food, but eating was the last thing on my mind.
The wedding was tomorrow. We were officially out of time.
I looked at my reflection, taking in my mess of curls and the sharp bones of my face. Wolf had a plan, yes, but it seemed as though Asmodeus was still getting everything he wanted.
The blood queen was marrying his son.
"You're nervous.” I jumped at the sound of Wolf’s voice from the bedroom behind me.
