A cold chill settles at the base of my spine. “Do you think she would go after the leader of the dark magic creatures?”
The concerned light in Slade’s eyes grows. “Her sisters would surely steer her away from that. Now that Lady Tirelli and your stepfather are out of the equation—and the Magical Magnate has been pulled back into line—we’re all concerned about what that entity might do.” He takes a pause before suggesting, “I could ask Hunter to visit Peyton and find out.”
I give that idea a thought, but shake my head. “We can’t interfere. Peyton has to be free to walk her own path. After all the years she spent without any control over her life, even before she came to the Academy, I won’t curtail her freedom.”
Slade quietly studies me without speaking, and his silent response unnerves me.
“She won’t endanger us, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I hurry to add. “She insisted on protecting me in there.”
The memory draws a warmth to my chest that I wasn’t expecting, but I remind myself that her purpose will drive her now, not her emotions. Protecting me must have been aligned with her goals.
Slade’s chest rises and falls with a deeply indrawn breath. “I wasn’t worried about that.”
Well, fuck, I’d really like Peyton’s power to read intentions right now.
Warily, I ask, “Then what?”
He gives me another quiet look. “I think you know.”
He’s too fucking perceptive.
As the realm melts away, revealing the dark alley again, I make myself breathe.
From what I’ve learned about Slade’s relationship with Hunter, they went through a lot to be together. They should be enemies, and even fought and rejected each other, but they found their way back to each other.
Slade grips my shoulder. “When it comes to someone you care about, there’s a difference between giving them freedom and freezing them out.”
He lets go of my shoulder, but it seems he isn’t done. “If you want her in your life, at some point, you’re going to have to take a leap of faith.”
With that, he disappears into the shadows as deftly as Peyton did, leaving me to make my way back to the Draven Industries building where I’ve made my office my temporary home.
Faith.
It was never my strong suit. Never my foundation.
Rage, violence, force. That’s how I survived. Or tried to.
I miss a step as I realize that, even with all the growth I’ve made, there’s still a part of me that’s broken. A chip in my heart. A piece that’s missing.
It isn’t Peyton’s love that I need to fill it.
Love can’t be demanded or expected.
It’s her forgiveness.
Fucking hell.
I need her forgiveness.
I need it more than anything, and I have no way of seeking it without being self-serving.
With a soft growl, I force myself to keep moving, keeping my senses peeled as I make my way along streets filled with humans and supernaturals, aware more than ever of the way the supernaturals give me a wide berth.
My reputation has spread. I have my stepsister Zara and the dragon shifter Abel to thank for that. Over the last two weeks, they’ve been sowing seeds throughout New York’s supernatural communities of what I wish were respect, but for now, is a healthy fear of me.
I am the hellhound who destroyed the White Wand. The one with the darkest heart. The monster with assassins watching his back.
I’m not certain yet if the growing whispers are to my benefit, but for now, they keep other supernaturals at a distance.
