It was rare that Hunter and I agreed, but impulsive was the exact word to describe her.
“I’ll give you a few days to think about it, Grayson,” Hunter said, effectively dismissing me. “Lest you think I’m some kind of monster who refuses to show my baby brother any mercy. I have always had your best interests at heart. It is you who has continued to turn your back on every opportunity that has been handed to you.”
There was the telltale flicker of electric blue that wrapped around Hunter before he left me alone.
Another scream ripped through me, reverberating around the space as I dropped to my knees.
I was useless.
And it was because of her.
My days grew senseless in Elysia as I replayed the conversation with Hunter over and over. A proposal of marriage had been the furthest thing from my mind when he appeared in the room. It was jarring how he could casually talk about eternal vows when the other option was a death sentence. More than once, I questioned my sanity, wondering if I had heard him right. Picking apart the interaction and trying to find the piece that I was certain I was missing.
Erik was furious with his brother’s lack of care towards the sanctity of a soulbond, but it was more than that. Hunter cared for no lives other than his own. He’d carved out his own path and placed himself securely in the centre of all his plans. There wasn’t a single route you could take that didn’t lead back to him. I’d have been vaguely impressed if it wasn’t so despicable.
I refused to discuss the impromptu proposal with Erik and asked him not to mention it to the others. Larkin was less curious and leaned towards livid. She’d been married to the monster for long enough. She knew how he ticked, even if she couldn’t fully understand the mechanics. After all, he’d only everlet her see what he chose to show her. Hunter was good at keeping enough of himself back that no one ever truly got the full picture.
My fingers pressed against the window of my temporary bedroom. The glass was cold beneath my fingertips, but it was the rattle of the chain between my cuffs that caused me to drop my hands.
“Have you had time to think about my proposition?” Hunter’s voice cut through my morning and made me jump.
With my heart hammering, I turned to face him. “I won’t do it.”
Something inside me rankled when I took in his appearance. Not a hair out of place. No visible sign of regret about the games he was playing with Gray’s life. It was business as usual for Hunter.
He raised an eyebrow. “So you’d rather see him die?”
“No. That would be you.” The words were strained as they came out from between my teeth.
It still shocked me how easily Hunter spoke about taking lives, like they were pieces in a game of chess. They meant nothing to him and had no impact on how he mapped out his future.
The thought of Gray’s impending death made me light-headed. I would do anything to keep him alive… But marrying Hunter? That was a step too far. No one would paint me as the world’s biggest romantic, but I wanted to marry for love. Not convenience. I wanted to marry the God who was specifically designed for me. I couldn’t imagine that Gray would forgive me if I made a choice to save his life that involved us never being together again.
“Perhaps,” Hunter started, looking pensive.
“What?”
“Perhaps you’d feel better if you could discuss the matter with Grayson?”
Hope blossomed wildly in my chest, robbing me of any sense. “You’d let me see him?”
“I don’t see the harm.” He shrugged effortlessly, as if he were deciding on dinner plans. “You’re both cuffed, after all.”
Hunter moved towards me, and I instinctively flinched. The damage he caused during our last meeting was healed by Erik and Sloan, but I didn’t trust him not to try anything again. Gray was a powder keg with the fuse always lit. Hunter was a firework you assumed was finished but caught you by surprise.
“Oh, come now, Quentin,” he crooned. “I’m a protector.”
“You’re a piece of shit,” I retorted before I could stop myself.
“Less of that,” he snapped. “Especially when I’m being so nice to you.”
He produced a key from his pocket and inclined his head towards my wrists. My gaze stayed fixed on the small piece of metal in his hands.
He was letting me free of the cuffs? The moment he did, I would channel every bit of my aura to show him he had picked the wrong person to fight with.
I raised my hands towards him expectantly. Hunter obliged and undid one cuff before it slipped from my wrist, swinging between us while the weight transferred to the other. I shook the wrist that was still cuffed, only to be met with a laugh.
“Don’t be so naïve. I’m not about to let you loose.”
