Harley Merlin 12 by Bella Forrest (story books to read TXT) 📗

I wanted the Winchester mansion to swallow me like a ravenous kraken with a taste for disgraced liars. The worst part was, I couldn’t defend myself. Davin had called me out, and he was right to. We had tricked Nash. We had used him. And he’d trusted us. That stung deep—a massive fishbone of shame, lodged in my throat.

A sharp squeal signaled the end of Davin’s Hamlet time.

“You piece of crap!” Nash lost it. “Who do you think you are, Finch? You think that because you’ve got a powerful surname you can treat people like trash and take them for all they’re worth?”

Huntress peered up at Nash, appearing confused. She likely wouldn’t hesitate to protect her magical if it came to blows.

“I should’ve known something was off the minute you lied about your name,” Nash raged on.

I took a tentative step forward. “Hear me out.”

“You’ve said enough!” He scowled at me with such fury, I thought I might spontaneously combust. “I bet you were terrified I’d say no if you mentioned Erebus, right? All this time, you were working for him! If I had my rifle, I’d blow you sky high.”

“Nash, please, let me explain,” I sputtered, but he was done listening.

“You plotted all of this so you could run off to him with my blood, tied up in a bow—that evil bastard who hunted me through Davin, all those years ago. He stole my life, if we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty here. He made things unbearable, to the point that I chose to shorten the life I had left. And for what? So he could take my blood anyway and start an open season for the other hunters out there!”

I shook my head. “No, I meant what I said. We’ll protect you. Melody will find a way.”

“How long have you been working with Erebus, huh? A year? Since Elysium, right?” he spat, and I nodded sheepishly. “Then you’ve been around him long enough to know that lifting this curse would put me in the line of fire. You think he wants anyone else getting my blood? He ties off his loose ends, Finch.”

I gaped at Nash, his words hitting home like a baseball bat to the skull. Erebus had drained the Fountain of Youth and collapsed the whole Jubilee mine to make sure nobody else got their paws on the immortalizing water. Of course he’d get rid of Nash, too, for the same reason. I’d been a colossal idiot not to understand that. But that didn’t alter the promise I’d made.

“You’re not going to get ‘tied off.’ I mean it, Nash. We’ll do anything to make sure you survive,” I told him. “But you have to understand, if I’d told the truth, you’d never have agreed to this. You and Erebus have history. You would’ve bolted at the first mention of his name. And I needed your help, because there are so many lives on the line.”

Nash’s face contorted into a mask of bitterness. “Your friends, you mean?”

“Yes, my friends. Their lives and mine. And, I’m sorry, but I had to do what I did. I’m not happy about it. Believe it or not, I like you, Nash. You didn’t ask for this, and I didn’t want to lie, but I couldn’t rely on you to sympathize with the truth.” I was desperate now. “But I keep my promises. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“Shame I can’t say the same for you.” Nash’s hands raised, and a fireball barreled toward me. I ducked away, feeling the heat as it careened past my cheek.

“I don’t want to fight you!” I shouted. “That’s what Davin wants!”

“I don’t care. You fooled me, and you’ll regret it.” Nash prepared to launch another attack. To my horror, Ryann raced forward, putting herself between me and Nash.

“Stop it, both of you! Let’s sit down and talk through this. We don’t have to get violent!” she cried, but Nash unleashed a volley of fireballs, aimed straight for Ryann.

I grabbed her around the waist and spun her around, holding her tight as a fireball struck me. A howl tore from my throat as the pain seared my shoulders. It wouldn’t leave much of a mark—having Fire in my own arsenal gave me some protection—but it still hurt like hell.

My head whipped around. “You’re pissed with me. I get it. You have every right to be. But don’t you dare hurt the people I care about!”

“Maybe that’s what you need, to teach you a lesson,” Nash growled.

A figure darted across the kitchen and launched herself at Nash. Santana tackled him, shoving her knee into his chest to pin him to the ground. Her eyes glowed as her Orishas burst from her.

“Calm down, Nash!” she barked. “Stay down, unless you want my Orishas to keep you there. We’re going to talk about this like rational human beings.”

Huntress’s fur prickled, and she crouched to spring. However, before she could, Raffe sprinted to Santana’s side. His skin flashed red, smoke billowing from his shoulders. Kadar had decided to resurface and join the party, and he was ten times the beast Huntress was.

Sure enough, Kadar hunched on all fours and stared Huntress in the eyes. His lips peeled to reveal sharpened teeth. He gnashed them, and an almighty roar thundered into Huntress’s face. Her fur flattened under the pressure of the hellish air pouring from Kadar’s mouth, a whine squeaking from her throat as she backed away.

“You can let go of me now,” Ryann whispered. I realized I still held her in my arms. Awkwardly, I released her.

“Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize for saving me,” she said, with a smile. Ryann stepped back, putting a safe distance between herself and Nash. The latter remained on the floor, while Luke ran up to provide some additional muscle to keep him there.

I took my chance, with Nash immobilized. He needed to hear a few truths from me, too, or he’d