‘Right now,’ she says, ‘you’ve got a more immediate problem, Cillian.’
He looks at the bodies discarded on the cobblestones.
‘Clean up? That won’t be a problem.’ He pulls out his phone and is about to use it when Vittoria sashays towards me.
I swallow, her gaze holding mine as she slowly gets closer.
‘Not that,’ she says, squatting down beside me then reaching forward and gripping my chin with cold, hard fingers. ‘She killed him. This little human killed Kin.’
‘Fuck,’ Cillian mutters and I pull my eyes away from Vittoria’s cold stare and meet his. I expect it to be reassuring, but I’m very, very wrong.
Chapter6
Cillian
How the fuck did Niamh manage to kill a man? Kin, no less. Why the hell did she have to pick up a knife? All she had to do was just lie there like the victim she was and we wouldn’t be in this situation. But of course she wouldn’t. She might be quiet, innocent, but one thing I’ve learned as I’ve watched her over the years, is that she’s no pushover. The girl has backbone. She’s just not obvious about it.
I know what Vittoria is going to say, because she’s right. The Court will order a hunt as soon as it’s informed. No human can be allowed to kill one of us and live. Self-defence or not, that isn’t important. It’s not easy to accomplish and the fact that she did without even really trying just proves the danger she poses to all of us. What the hell is going on tonight? Dammit, why did Vittoria kill that guy? I want far more answers than I’m sure I’m going to get now.
‘You need to deal with her,’ Vittoria states as I stare down into Niamh’s slightly unfocused blue eyes. ‘You can’t just ignore that she’s killed Kin.’
Niamh frowns at the words as she succumbs to the pull of whatever drug has been forced on her, crumples back down to the ground and finally goes limp. Could she not have done that five bloody minutes ago? My head snaps up, and I glare at Vittoria. As a woman, how can she be so callous towards an innocent victim? Does she honestly expect me to do this? But she’s despised Niamh since the moment she laid eyes on her– which has only got worse after her brother’s death.
Aiden crosses to Niamh and lifts her up in his arms. ‘Surely you can’t be considering this, Cillian. She’s the victim here. She’s the one who texted you. She saved Rose’s life.’
‘She’s a human who killed Kin, Aiden,’ Vittoria inserts. ‘The Court?—’
‘He was going to rape her. Probably murder her. I think she’s justified.’ I shake my head.
‘But you know the rules, Cillian. You have no choice. It’s your sacred duty as the Unseelie Huntsman.’ Vittoria’s voice is unwavering. ‘I’ve already notified my father and the Court. You should be summoned soon.’
The door from the club slams open and Sean staggers out, sees the bodies on the ground and pales.
‘Where’s Rose?’
‘In the limo,’ Aiden says far more calmly than I’d manage right now.
‘Is she…’ Sean swallows and no matter how furious I am with him right now, I can’t ignore the guilt in his expression, nor the fear.
‘She’s unconscious,’ Aiden says. ‘But I don’t think they…’ His gaze flits to Niamh and my fists clench. I swear to the gods, if these assholes have harmed either of them, I will dedicate my life to seeking out Bran’s Cauldron just to bring them back so that I can torture them to death over and over and over again.
With a last furtive glance at me, Sean hurries over to the car, opens the door and reaches in to check on Rose.
‘We should get her home and get the doc to take a look at her as soon as possible. Can you—’ I stop and draw in a breath, not wanting to ask. ‘Does it look like they hurt her?’
He shakes his head. ‘Not on the surface, but—’ He stops and my gaze shifts to Niamh. There might be no outward signs of what happened on Rose, but Niamh is a different story. Her dress is torn, and it’s been ruched up her thighs until I can see her lacy underwear. Her dress is now also soaked in blood. There are a number of finger marks that look like they’ll bruise. Aiden has covered her up as best he can, but I didn’t miss the bare skin of her breast and the dusky pink of her nipple when the thug now lying dead at my feet shifted her in his arms as he faced up to me.
What is it about this woman that I can’t seem to ignore? I’ve tried to keep my distance from her, but I’m no saint. My memories of her skin beneath my fingertips, smooth and warm and perfect, flit through my thoughts. I can still remember the taste of her lips, the tiny sighs she made when I kissed her. There’s no way for us to be together, no matter what regrets I have. I can’t become king with her by my side and not only that, but I’d destroy her. Although now, seeing her lying there, covered in the blood of her enemy– it makes me wonder if maybe she is strong enough to withstand me. Either that, or her proximity to me has just destroyed any goodness within her. It’s sure to be one of the two.
‘What does it matter?’ Vittoria says. ‘Cillian will do his duty and kill her anyway.’
What the fuck? The three dead men failed to abuse and maybe even kill Niamh, but Vittoria is going to make sure that she dies anyway? Except, Vittoria isn’t wrong. Niamh has killed Kin and The Unseelie Court would certainly condemn her to death, no matter the justification. I don’t have a choice.
Is she gloating? Surely, she can’t suspect that I havefeelingsfor Niamh? Vittoria has never cared about any of the other women I’ve fucked, just as I haven’t cared about her men. Niamh and I have never even slept together, so…
But if she does suspect something, then this situation has played right into Vittoria’s hands. No, I’m sure she doesn’t know. If she did, I don’t think Niamh would have survived this long.
There’s something missing from the scenario in front of me and I’m not going to rest until I have discovered exactly who is behind Niamh and Rose being drugged and almost kidnapped. But first I have to try to work out a way to keep Niamh alive. Maybe the Court will understand?
