Page 13

T HIRTEEN X ANDER

Since reaching Camille in the dreamscape two nights ago, I’ve had a curiosity about another, newer connection. Since learning I can dream walk without being close to my target, there’s a chance my other abilities—like tracking—are enhanced, and I can track down Harper.

Before discovering our relationship, I had no inkling of our shared blood. Perhaps if I had any link to my human family, I would’ve felt a bond with Harper before I discovered she was my half-sister, but Lucia ensured I never did. There’s an absence where I expect to feel resentment, and I shrug it off.

Grabbing my jacket from the foyer closet, I nearly run into Blake coming through the front door.

“Where have you been?” I ask, pulling on my jacket.

“Checking on the bar,” he explains. He hasn’t spent much time there since everything went down with Lucia. I suppose he has employees taking care of his business while he’s not around, though I’ve never asked.

“Everything okay?”

He nods. “Where are you headed?”

I slide my hands into my pockets, preparing myself to have him try to warn me from going to see Harper.

Instead, he spins his key ring on his finger with a grin. “Let’s go.”

Blake drives toward a suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, while I sit in the passenger seat with my eyes closed.

I focus my breathing, pushing my senses out until something like an internal GPS flares to life in my gut, singing in my blood with gentle vibrations. I press my lips together at the new sensation, giving Blake directions as I follow the invisible guide from connecting to the Gilbert bloodline. It’s as if I’m seeing the road light up in my mind, and the surrounding details get clearer the closer we get to Harper.

Ten minutes later, we turn onto a dark, quiet street, and the faint sounds of fighting reach me. Blake pulls over, and I’m out of the car before he has it in park. I find Harper in an abandoned park, facing off with a group of demons.

Her heart pounds as she surveys the scene, her dagger gripped tightly in her hand. Her opponents are low-level demons who appear human, save for their all-black eyes. They’re practically salivating as they close in on her, and a growl tears from my throat as an odd sense of possessiveness comes over me.

I’m moving in an instant, putting myself between the group of demons and Harper.

“Get the fuck out of my way, Kane,” she grumbles from behind me, and feeling her fist connecting with my shoulder blade makes my lips twitch. Even when I’m saving her life, she wants to fight me.

I ignore Harper as the demons in front of me exchange wary glances with one another. “You know who I am?” I check, and once they all nod, I continue, “This hunter is off limits. Is that clear?”

There is hesitation, but slowly they each acknowledge what I’ve said, though none of them appear too happy about it. Confusion and resentment roll off them in dark, smoky waves, making their expressions grim, though I don’t acknowledge it.

“Good. Now leave.”

The demons disperse in a matter of seconds, and I turn to face Harper, who’s sliding her dagger back into the holder at her thigh. When she lifts her gaze to mine, her eyes are narrowed, and she crosses her arms over her chest.

At least she isn’t pointing her dagger at me. I’d like to think that means we’ve made progress in the her wanting to kill me department.

“What the hell was that?” she demands, her pulse still racing.

I dip my face to meet her gaze. “I think you mean ‘thank you.’?”

“Fuck no. I needed that hunt to expedite my graduation.”

My brows lift. “You were going to take on all six demons yourself?”

She scowls. “I’ll try not to be insulted by the surprise in your voice.”

“My apologies for evidently underestimating you.”

“You can take your apologies and get the fuck out of here.”

I ignore that and say, “Aren’t hunters supposed to work in pairs?”

Several beats of silence pass between us before she says, “I’m not working…officially.”

“Interesting,” I muse.

Harper’s posture straightens as she glares at me. “How am I supposed to hunt demons if you have them refusing to engage with me?” She exhales an annoyed sigh, letting her arms fall back to her sides. “I mean, it’s certainly not impossible, but it’s far less fun when they’re running away because they’re more scared of pissing you off than being hunted by me. You see my problem?”

I press my lips together in an attempt to mask my laugh, and she shoots me a murderous glare. I hold up my hands in defense. “And here I thought you’d be grateful to have your big brother’s protection.”

Harper glowers at me, and the fury in her eyes almost makes me regret baiting her. Almost. “Don’t hold your breath.” She cocks her head to the side, her lips twisting into a cold smile. “Actually, go ahead.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “Oh, come on, Harper. You don’t truly want me dead.”

Hunter-in-training or not, Harper is still human. There should be some instinctive part of her that recognizes me as a danger, and yet it’s clear she isn’t afraid of me. If it were anyone else, that’d be a problem I would swiftly be fixing, but with her…I’m glad she doesn’t cower or tiptoe around me. It’s entertaining, to say the least. It also gives me hope that perhaps down the line we can have some kind of relationship that doesn’t involve her itching to dagger me with an obsidian blade.

“No?” she challenges.

I arch a brow, shrugging. “That would be far more convincing if your dagger was in your hand instead of strapped to your thigh.”

She rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Aren’t you supposed to be off ruling the demons or something?”

“Or something,” I say wryly, not offering any details. Harper is my enemy, same as I’m hers, and information is a powerful thing that I can’t let slip into the wrong hands.

The distrust in her eyes claws at my chest. It feels wrong. More so is knowing there’s little I can do to change it.

“Are you stalking me now?” she asks in a cold tone. “How’d you find me here, anyway?”

“Coincidence?” I offer, and she shoots me a dry look before I continue, “I found you, because as much as you’d prefer to ignore it, we share blood, which ties us to one another.”

The color drains from her face, and she steps back, as if on instinct. “What the fuck? So, you have some weird ability to track me?”

I hesitate before answering, “To put it simply.”

A muscle ticks along her jaw for a moment before she blows out a breath, fogging the air in front of her face as she glances around and shakes her head. When her gaze returns to me, she says, “Were you looking for me then?”

I nod. “It’s not exactly easy with your entourage of hunters. I’ve had to be very careful and make sure you weren’t with any of them. How’d you give them the slip?”

She crosses her arms again. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re concerned about my interference when it comes to graduating your precious organization, but ditching the team doesn’t seem very conducive to your fast-track plan. Sounds like self-sabotage to me.”

“That’s funny, I don’t remember asking you,” she shoots back.

I let silence hang between us for several beats. “What’s your target?”

“What?”

“How many demons do you need to kill to graduate?”

Her brows knit. “I…Why? Going to round them up for me?”

I shrug, the corner of my mouth kicking up. “Maybe.” The thought of bringing Harper onto my council shoots to the forefront of my thoughts. The idea is wild, and has never been done in the history of demonic monarchies. I started my to-be reign by making history…perhaps I should continue to.

Plus, having someone on my side from my own bloodline could be beneficial. If nothing else, I’d have her carry out punishment under my rule to save me from doing it while earning points with her organization. We’d need to figure out the logistics of how the demons would be rounded up for her to hunt without raising suspicion from the royal guard or the hunters.

They will need to have committed an act of treason so I can justify their executions.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Harper says, unimpressed. “You’re the king of demons. They’re your people—you’re meant to protect them.”

“I’m not king yet.” I’m not sure what possesses me to add, “Have you and Camille not spoken? I would’ve thought she’d report to you when I saw her after the first trial.”

Harper crosses her arms again—she does that a lot around me. “Of course we have. But she’s been a little preoccupied with being sick. She’s been in bed for two days, probably since you saw her.”

My brows lift. “What—?”

“I don’t mean to break up the playdate at the park,” Blake interrupts as he approaches, “but you shouldn’t be out in the open like this.” His attention travels to Harper. “Hello, love.”

“Bite me.”

“Hmm. Tempting.”

She scowls, reaching for her dagger again, but I step in front of her, snaring her attention away from wanting to kill Blake.

“What’s wrong with Camille?”

Her expression softens slightly at the mention of her best friend. “She’s sick with some brutal flu, but I’m sure Noah will take care of her.”

A growl tears from my throat at the thought of that damn hunter anywhere near her.

Harper rolls her eyes, snapping her fingers in my face. “You don’t get to go all alpha male, jackass.”

Blake whistles under his breath as I back away, barking, “Go home,” at Harper. “We’ll finish this conversation later.”

I don’t wait for her response before going to the car with Blake on my heels. He takes one look at me and sighs. “We’re going to New York, aren’t we?”