Page 12 of Hunted (Love and Revenge #5)

“Mmm... hidden. I’m not about to give away all my secrets, darling.” She sighed, as if horribly put out. “I was saving him for other things, but I’ll fetch him. Odd little man. He has the strangest green hair. And I understand he has a goat familiar named Chauncey.”

“...Of course he does,” I muttered, as if any of that information was pertinent.

If I had to guess, I’d say she was making things up just to mess with Acacia, on the off chance the vampire were to go looking for this curse breaker.

But my head was spinning with the more important, unspoken implications of this conversation.

A curse breaker. Even I knew they were few and far between. Highly valued by people in power. And highly skilled at unweaving strong magic.

I stared at the beautiful, confusing dragon shifter who lounged across from me like a sleek cat soaking up the sun, relaxed but still ready to pounce.

She was calling in a very valuable resource, one she had hoarded specifically to aid in her revenge against the emperor.

.. and she was willing to waste this valuable asset on trying to save me.

She turned her head and met my eyes. Grinned. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, sweetheart. He could be either a genius or a complete hack, for all I know. I have no idea if it will even work. Blood bonds are probably quite different than standard, every day evil curses.”

I swallowed, trying to find my voice. “Robin—”

But she sat up, interrupting me. “No, no. Don’t go all mushy and adoring on me now, vampire. We both know I’m only doing this because it will make Ruya happy. And a happy omega is a great boon to an alpha shifter.”

That wasn’t the reason she was doing this. And it made me want to cry. Which certainly wouldn’t earn me any points in the eyes of this woman.

Seeing the imminent water works welling up in my eyes, she wrinkled her aristocratic nose and shook her head.

“Using a curse breaker is probably overkill. But if you’re going to unravel a bond forged by a psychotic vampire with a god complex and a slave kink, you don’t go to your average hedge witch. ”

I stared at her, still shocked by the enormity of the gift.

And by what it meant that she was willing to not only tolerate my presence, but to do so much to help me.

Yes, it would get rid of the spy in her court, so it wasn’t a completely altruistic gesture.

And I had no doubt she’d gotten some pressure from Ruya and Sadavir to do something.

But still, there were easier ways to get rid of the threat I posed—like simply killing me, for example.

And... I knew nothing could make the dragon alpha before me do something she didn’t actually want to do.

“What’s the cost?” I asked. There was always a cost for strong magic, regardless of whether the man owed Robin a favor. Even as a former human, I knew that much.

“Oh, it’s probably steep,” she said, sobering. “Especially for someone like you.” Someone who wasn’t born a paranormal, she meant. An outsider forced into the magical world. A lesser member of their society.

I touched my chest, over the source of my slower-than-human heartbeat. My voice felt like sandpaper. “Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”

She nodded once. “I had a feeling you’d say that. I’ll make contact.”

“Thank you,” I said.

She waved it off. “Don’t thank me until it works... and until you know if you’ll survive it.”

We sat in silence for a minute. Then Robin leaned forward, elbows on her knees. “How’s Sadavir?”

I blinked at her. “Why do you care?”

“I don’t. I just like watching your face do that twitchy thing when I bring him up.

It’s amusing how everyone thinks neither of us can control ourselves if we even hear the other’s name.

” She huffed. “Despite how it pains me to admit it of him, we are both fully functioning adult shifters who have managed to not go on random murder sprees thus far in life.”

I scowled.

Robin grinned. Then she grew serious again.

“He loves you, you know. I might loathe the slippery serpent and all the upheaval he’s caused in my court dynamic.

But even I can see how deeply he cares for you.

And I know how terrifyingly helpless love can make you feel, no matter how powerful you are. ”

“He thinks he loves me.” I murmured. “He did love me, once . Before all of... this.” I gestured at myself helplessly. “Back when I was still me .”

“Bullshit,” Robin said, her fiery aura surging then retreating. “He loves you like I love caffeine and shiny things. Like Queen Cat loves murdering butterflies. Like Cicely loves drama and butting his cute little horned head into other people’s business. Endlessly.”

I snorted at her attempt at humor. “He shouldn’t.”

“Maybe not,” Robin said, “but he does. And he’s not going to stop loving you just because you keep pushing him away like a tragic ghost bride in a low-budget opera.”

I stared at her.

She studied her long, shiny nails. “What? I’ve watched a lot of bad opera over the decades.

I’m just saying, maybe let yourself believe it, sweetheart.

Even if it’s just pretend. If nothing else, it will calm him down so I don’t have to deal with all his emo pouting and pining .

I have far more important things to do with my time. ”

“That’s dangerous,” I said flatly. I clearly couldn’t be trusted to love someone anymore. To encourage them to love me.

“So’s breathing some days,” she said flippantly. But her golden gaze was intense. “Maybe it’s more dangerous to push people away?”

She would certainly know all about that. But I didn’t say that out loud. Apparently, I still had some sense of self-preservation left after all. I looked away.

Robin stood and stretched, all long, lean grace and power.

“I’m going to go to lunch. Would you like to come with me before I lock you away again?

I heard it through the grapevine that Sanka got Yukio a new teapot.

And that he has enchanted it to scream every time Yukio picks it up.

Though Yukio doesn’t know that yet. Sanka’s giving this lovely gift to him at lunch. ”

I almost smiled. Almost.

As she turned to leave, she glanced back over her shoulder at me. “Don’t let her take the last good pieces of you, Josh. Remember who you are and hold onto that, even if it has changed a bit. If you give up on yourself, she wins.”

The fierceness in her gaze reminded me that Robin had probably felt like things were hopeless a time or two in her life, to say the least. But she had never given up. She had grown stronger, fiercer. She was a force to be reckoned with, even now, with a portion of her magic locked away from her.

What was left of the beta instincts inside me told me the alpha before me wasn’t as calm and put-together as she looked. But even so, she was here, attending to me when she had a whole court to worry about and an oppressive governing system to wipe out.

She and Sadavir might not see eye to eye, but I wasn’t an alpha, worried about her snatching up my omega mate. He saw a competitor. But when I looked at Robin, I saw a truly amazing woman carrying so many burdens. And I wished I could be even half as strong as she was.

*****

I was allowed to not only attend lunch—and witness Yukio’s cold fury over Sanka’s prank first-hand—but was also allowed to spend the afternoon with the court, and attend dinner as well.

It was nice to be able to spend time with others again.

It made me feel more... human and alive.

But after so much time spent alone, I felt a little overwhelmed as the day ended.

After dinner, I slipped outside to the courtyard. The night was cool. Sharp around the edges with the promise of a biting winter to come. I tucked my hands into my coat sleeves and wandered deeper into the walled courtyard, where the court grew flowers and herbs.

The plants were all silver and shadow under moonlight. None of them cared who I was or what sort of threat I posed. The court had been polite about it. But I’d felt their guarded attention on me all day.

Odin circled overhead once, then dropped onto the wall beside me.

He cocked his head, eyes gleaming. One more being with eyes on me at all times.

And yet, I didn’t mind the crow. His presence felt more.

.. comforting than judging. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a protein bar I’d stolen for just this purpose, then broke it into pieces.

I held out my offering for him. He looked offended.

“Sorry, it’s all I’ve got,” I said. “I’ll start carrying some peanuts or something, if you’re going to follow me around all the time.”

He didn’t answer, sadly. I envied Ruya’s ability to speak to animals. It might be comforting to have a non-human companion to vent to at the moment.

I sat down on a low stone ledge, staring out at the rows of winter roses and magically enhanced thyme, and something Ruya called moonshade that I was ninety percent sure had just moved slightly to better orient itself to the moon’s light when I blocked it.

Odin hopped down and landed beside my foot.

“Do you think I’m still worth saving? Am I really worth Robin’s time and resources?” I asked quietly. “Or am I just destroying the court’s chances of success by draining those resources when they might need them at some crucial moment?”

The crow said nothing.

“Alright, bud,” Sanka said as he stepped out into the courtyard with me. “Sorry to interrupt your moonbathing or whatever. But I’ve got a few things to take care of before I turn in, and I need to get you tucked in.”