A Crown of Blood

Chapter 19

"It's kept my secrets quite well. Until recently, at least." A pause. And then, with too much hope in my voice, "I could use some air if that's okay. Clear my head."

I expected Damon to argue with me again. I got him the amulet, didn't I? That warranted a bodega bacon, egg, and cheese, right? Above me, Damon looked out at the city. The muscles in his jaw feathered, and I braced myself for an argument when Damon Caine did something unexpected.

He took my hand. Squeezing my fingers, Damon said, "You'll need to eat if you want your strength back quickly. Come on, I know a place."

* * *

Being out in the expanses of the city with Damon Caine, without guards, without Jude and his silver cuffs, felt like a game. It wasn't as if I expected Damon to leash on me—though, no one would bat an eye if he did, human or supernatural alike—but the way he walked so casually beside me, hands deep in the pockets of his black jacket, I glanced around, half expecting to see a video camera trained on us, solidifying that this was just a silly way to test my abilities and my loyalty.

In its own way, it was.

Walking into the bowels of the subway terminal brought a stale bitterness to the tip of my tongue. The last time I was on the train, I was poisoned with silver for fucks sake. And to make it worse, Damon didn't look the least bit apologetic when we rode in silence to Lower Manhattan.

I had half a mind to shove him onto the tracks.

Not to kill him, of course. What was a little revenge to keep a girl content?

"You saw the monster," I said when we emerged from the humid terminal, a cool breeze winding through my hair to dull the heat on the back of my neck. Damon's gaze slid to mine, and the magnetic force between us quivered when his arm brushed mine.

Damon huffed a laugh. "Yes."

I raised my brows. What the hell was so funny about that? The power that radiated from the Caine wolf beside me guaranteed a quick death if I tried anything. Damon Caine, I knew, had his claws in the NYPD, the traffic cams and security systems included. I was sure Jude or another witch watched nearby.

Noticing my confusion, Damon added, "I wasn't close enough to get a great look. But the way Jude practically shit his pants, I'd say the monster was quite the spectacle."

"She liked the amulet. I liked the amulet."

Around us, the city chattered, loud and alive, and I levied a yearning glance between him and the vast space around us. "A lot of creatures do. You'll need its amplification powers to retrieve the Book."

"Now that I've had a taste, I want more." And so do the witches in my dream. "I need honesty, Damon. Are you going to lock me away now that you've seen what I can do with the boost of the Hallowed Star?"

Surprised by my question, Damon asked, "Lock you away?"

My mind wandered back to memories of dark corners and small spaces when my magic and the wolf slipped out of my control. One time, Mom locked me in a closet that was charmed to keep me inside for three days after the wolf made her fangs known. Another time, when I was freshly out of the shelter, a man shoved me into his trunk and drove around for eight hours before I burned through his rusted car and scratched his eyes out. And then there was the darkness that Natalia favored when her agents were out of line. She called it the Dungeon.

I shook my head.

I would not—could not—go back.

And the thing standing between the Dungeon and my life looked radiant under the city lights.

Pursing my lips, I cleared my throat. "I nearly blew up the top of that building with the amulet. With my hybrid powers, and what it did to me, I doubt that kind of power is allowed to be... out in the open. If this is all a trick to get me into another cage, I'd appreciate the honesty, Damon."

The Alpha shuddered at the sound of his name, those dark eyelashes fluttering against the tops of his cheeks in a way that made me both angry and annoyed. This was a serious moment. For all the tricks I had up my sleeve, and for all the tricks I knew Damon had in his pretty head—

No. I was being a hypocrite for expecting honesty from him. Even now, as we walked to a tiny bistro on the corner, I collected tidbits of information that would help me in my report to the Goodwins. That was the point of coming out, wasn't it? So that Mr. Goodwin could track my scent?

Be honest with yourself, Halina.

When Damon's nostrils flared, I looked away, turning so that the spell settling over us would be broken. If he looked at me like the way he did in the forest, I wouldn't be able to contain myself. As Damon contemplated my words, we crossed the street in silence, and the hairs on the back of my neck raised when I caught the scent of a wolf in the wind. Caine Pack, of course. Out of all the places to be, I was in the heart of their world now. The Compound was a respite. This was a war zone.

"There are no tricks, Little Wolf," Damon ground out, still affected by the spark between us. "I told you that your cooperation would make your circumstances better. Tonight, we eat and you get your strength back. Tomorrow, we see what you can do with the Hallowed Star and the training you've completed with Jude so far."

"I can't wait," I replied, dryly. As we approached Little Italy, the mouth-watering aromas of herbs and cheeses and meat sauces wafted from open windows, shops, and street corners. Even after all of these years of being away, one scent of authentic New York Italian food was enough to make my mouth water. Nothing would ever compare.

"Easy, Little Wolf," Damon chuckled. "You're drooling."

Wiping the dribble of spit on my chin, I smiled sheepishly. "Oops?"

His teeth flashed. "I'm glad I guessed right about your love of Italian food." He jerked his chin to one of many restaurants on the busy streets, red brick highlighting long rectangular windows that glowed in the evening light, its patrons shadows against walls covered in pictures, newspaper articles, and plaques. "Castellano's. You've never had ravioli unless you've had Sal's ravioli."

"Easy, Alpha," I teased. "You're drooling."

Damon looked at me and smiled one of those rare, world-stopping smiles I only read about in books. "My brother brought us here all the time. Holidays. Birthdays. Good days. Bad days."

"Your brother?" I asked, softly. Noah Caine was a legend in a city of Legends. The architect of the Caine Legacy that rested on Damon's shoulders, his hostile takeover of the territories within New York State were unlike anything the modern magical world had seen in years.

A haunted smile from Damon. "He was—" his voice broke mid sentence, and time stopped when he caught the scent in the evening air, eyes widening.

The foul stench invaded my nostrils next, and the wolf jumped beneath my skin, her anger rippling beneath my skin, sending my body on high alert. I knew that scent. I knew what that creature's flesh felt between my teeth.

Turning on my heels, my stomach dropped as my eyes confirmed my fear.

Standing in the center of the crowd, teeth bared, eyes filled with madness, was Richard.

The vampire I had thought I destroyed on the rooftop.

Back from the Undead. 

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Alexa, play Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift.