“Demonstration?” Locke asked, his face an emotionless mask. “What is this?”
Warrick smiled, baring his long white fangs, and it was then as I stared at his self-satisfied expression, that I knew I’d been right. I resisted the urge to grab Locke’s sword. “Warrick is the one creating the outliers. It was never the fae,” I said as I stared down the monster.
Darian and Locke stiffened on either side of me, and delight filled Warrick’s eyes as his gaze locked on my face. The vampire flicked his wrist so fast I didn’t see him move. Locke and Darian each caught a tiny blade that had been aimed at my face, but a third blade carved a shallow cut into my left cheek. Warmth dripped down the side of my face, and when I touched it with my hand, red blood covered my fingertips.
Locke drew his sword and stepped in front of me, and Darian swore as he turned my face to him to inspect the wound.
Warrick’s lips widened into a gleeful smile. “I wondered if someone would figure it out, but I must say, I never thought it would be a newblood.Or should I say,human.”
Even through the fire and the strange clicking sound of the outliers, I could feel the tension rise in the room as the monsters who were still standing all turned to stare at me in shock. Locke and Darian angled their bodies as if they could shield me from view, but I simply lifted my chin as I glared daggers at the vampire.
“Oh yes,” Warrick continued enthusiastically. “I figured out your little secret too. I became suspicious when Locke didn’t immediately hand you over to the Taratun, but when I saw you with my own eyes, I could believe he simply wanted to toy with you. However, when I realized he was giving me shifter blood that didn’t belong to a newblood, and you refused to change during the Week of Orash…” He trailed off. “Well now, fitting the pieces together wasn’t that hard. It does amuse me, though, that the human without powers or monster abilities was the one to uncover my involvement with the outliers.”
“You won’t get away with what you’ve done,” I said, stepping out from behind Locke so I could see the male. I hoped to keep him talking about the outliers rather than the fact I was still human. “Your role with the outliers became obvious after I visited your lab. How else would you have a detailed drawing of the outlier in the ocean? Its head exploded when the gargoyles destroyed it, but you had carefully depicted every detail of the monster as if you’d seen it with your own eyes. The only rational explanation was that youhadindeed seen it before. You had because you created it.”
Locke’s hands gripped tighter on his sword. “You told me you needed the outliers to determine why our animals were turning into monsters. You didn’t say you were the one creating the fucking beasts,” he spat.
“Oh, don’t act so surprised,” Warrick said, waving his hand at Locke as if he was a petulant child. “You’ve merely been helping me collect my specimens. And, you’re missing the point. Just look at this destruction,” he said, opening his arms and spinning in a slow circle as if he wanted to take in every detail of the room around him. “This is but a show of what my monsters will be able to do against the fae. Oh yes, the Week of Orash was such a perfect distraction for me to finally test my work on a greater scale. By experimenting on the animals and adding an amount of my blood, the monsters answer my commands and I’m immune to their magic. By the time I’ve finished, we’ll have an army to not only protect Katakin but take over the fae world!”
“You said you were searching for a fucking cure!” Locke shouted as he took a step toward Warrick. “A way to break the damn curse.”
Warrick sighed heavily. “Why would I want a cure for immortality and power? No, I’m not going to take away the greatest gift the people of Katakin were ever given. No, these monsters,” he said, gesturing to the outliers with a fond expression on his face, “they will be our weapon to rid ourselves of the fae and finally take what’s theirs.”
Locke’s jaw ticked, but he let his father continue speaking.
“But first, I must rid us of this…nuisance,” Warrick said, sneering in my direction. “The last thing I need is for the citizens of Katakin to start thinking they could be human again. Not when we’re finally close to getting it all. I’m doing this for them as much as I’m doing it for me.”
I scoffed, surprised that Warrick was able to believe his own bullshit.
“Raine has nothing to do with this,” Locke said coldly as he moved to block Warrick’s view of me.
“She has everything to do with this!” Warrick bellowed, spittle flying from his mouth. “Now move aside, or you can join her just like your…” He looked down at Asher writhing on the ground as the fire continued to burn him. “…friend,” he finished with disgust.
Warrick narrowed his eyes in challenge at Locke. “I’ll give you a moment to decide. I trust you’ll make the right decision. And don’t even think of trying to fly off with your little human toy. If you do, I’ll make sure the entire city suffers.” His lips stretched into a sadistic smile then, as if he was challenging Locke to disobey him.
Locke’s nostrils flared, and the male radiated anger. For a moment, I thought he was going to launch himself at Warrick, but instead, he took a few deep breaths and turned stiffly to Darian and me.
“Fly her out of here, Locke. We’re not getting out of this,” Darian said calmly, and his defeated gaze lingered on where Asher still burned.
Locke’s temple pulsed, and his dark gaze peered at the other monsters in the room. “Warrick will unleash his outliers on the entire city. I can’t let that happen.”
I thought of how Cara was likely living somewhere in the city. I didn’t want Locke to save me if it meant condemning others. Still, it wasn’t easy facing the idea of death. Though, you’d think I’d be used to it by now. “Looks like you put me through all those trials for nothing,” I said with a weak smile, trying to lighten the mood even though a heaviness had settled over me.
Turning me toward him, Locke lifted my chin with his clawed fingers, and I expected him to say something about me being their downfall, but instead, he pressed a kiss to my lips. It was rough and punishing but also full of longing, and it wasn’t long before he pulled away again.
“I wouldn’t say that,beautiful,” he said with a small smile and released me. Rolling his shoulders, he tightened his grip on his sword and turned to face Warrick again.
I blinked, still reeling from Locke’s kiss. It became clear then that Locke wasn’t choosing his father’s side. I knew he was likely staying because he thought if I died, he and his brothers would die as well, but something still made me ache at the thought that he might be staying because of me.
“So that’s your decision?” Warrick said, looking both disappointed and disgusted. “Your mother is going to be quite forlorn, but I suppose I’m not too surprised. I’ll collect your ashes for her when it’s done.” With that, he turned and clapped his hands together as he strode away from us across the ballroom.
The clicking sound of the remaining five outliers rose as they all turned to us, their red eyes fixing on our location. As the creatures started forward, their wrinkled bodies scampering toward us, I dropped into a crouch and steeled myself for their attack.
“Stay behind us,” Locke ordered, but I moved to the side so he wasn’t blocking my view. I wasn’t going to spend my last moments cowering behind monsters. At most, Locke would be able to take out two outliers with his sword before the weapon burst into flame. That would still leave three for us to fight off.
I peered at Asher on the ground. He was hardly moving now, and the gaping cavern inside my chest felt as though it’d swallow me whole. I clenched my jaw as I turned my attention back to the gnashing teeth of the outliers and their snarling, fanged mouths.
Fuck this.I’d fought too damn hard and trained for too many years for it to end like this. Deep down, I knew I wasn’t just angry at the idea of my own death. I’d faced the idea of death so many times over the last few nights it was almost like a common occurrence. But seeing Asher burning had me filling with rage, and knowing that Locke and Darian were still there because of me made me sick.
