Venom And Vice

11

If I had any luck at all, they’d stay right where they were the rest of the night. Though I did have to suffer through watching Liam join their party, entertaining the group with his less than subtle charm that women adored. Had he not been one of my brothers, I would have chased him off the second he set his sights on them. But since he wasn’t technically a threat, warning him off would have sparked questions. I took the opportunity to practice restraint and kept my increasingly agitated ass firmly planted in my seat. Not long into the night, Lochlan lowered himself into the empty chair at my table. He didn’t speak at first. Instead, his eyes surveyed the room as mine had done for the past couple of hours. “You and I both know you don’t have to be here,” he mused eventually, noting the obvious aberration in my normal behavior. I rarely spent time in the club when I wasn’t on duty. Not my scene. Lochlan was telling me he knew something was up. I took a long drag from my cigarette. “Figured an extra set of eyes might be helpful. Can’t imagine after all the chaos of the past six months that everything goes back to normal overnight.” Lochlan grunted. “You don’t know the half of it.” I turned to study my one and only friend, waiting silently for him to explain himself. “Before Merlin brought Ashley back yesterday, he helped unlock her magic.” He turned and leveled me with the severity of his stare. “She set a dress on fire while she was out shopping earlier.” Christ. I sucked on my cigarette until it was nothing but ash. We had known that if Ashley inherited Merlin’s rare abilities, the danger surrounding her would be infinitely worse—especially in the early days before she mastered those abilities enough to protect herself. Guin would be watching, waiting to learn what Ashley could do. Hoping to conscript her into service. Of the five forms of elemental magic—one of which almost every Seelie could wield—fire magic was the rarest. It was just one of the many unique gifts Merlin possessed. My gaze returned to Ashley, laughing with her friends, totally oblivious to the threats closing in around her. “We need to make a plan.” “Agreed. I’ve been thinking about it all day and have come to a decision. Come with me.” He stood and led us over to the pub table where the girls and Liam were gathered, greeting them with a smile. “Liam, it’s good to see you’ve been generous enough to keep the ladies company tonight.” The most lighthearted of my Huntsman brothers grinned. “Ashley here was just telling us about her chat with Merlin yesterday. I, for one, am eager to see what she’s capable of.” Ashley grinned and started to speak—no doubt about to share the news of her red-hot shopping experience—when Lochlan cut her off. “Regardless of the nature of her powers, she’ll need someone to guide her learning. After watching Rebecca go through the process, I’ve realized how difficult this is for someone who wasn’t raised around magic.” He paused, turning his gaze in my direction. “Now that things have settled down, Caz, I think you’d be a perfect candidate.” If looks could have killed, Lochlan would have become the second Huntsman I’d put in the ground. What the f**k is he thinking? I wasn’t a goddam teacher. I might have been convinced his decision was based on the need to protect Ashley if it hadn’t been for the calculating glint in his eye and the underhanded way he delivered the news of his decision. He’d known that if he told me first while we were still alone, I would have argued. But now, with five sets of eyes all bearing down on me, I had no choice but to capitulate. I needed out of there, now, before I did something I’d regret. Without a care to the dozens of clubgoers nearby, I traced myself back to my apartment. f**k them, and f**k Lochlan. If he wanted to play dirty, he could damn well deal with the consequences. A knock on my door woke me the next morning. I wasn’t typically a late sleeper, but I’d had trouble quieting my mind the night before. When I saw the source of my restless night’s sleep standing outside my apartment, I had to forcibly restrain myself from snarling. “You’re feeling ballsy today,” I clipped at Lochlan, my voice still thick with sleep. “First, you order me to play teacher, then you drag me out of bed before the day’s even started.” I walked back inside, leaving the door wide for him to follow me. “You know as well as anyone how much danger she’ll be in. What better way to protect her than to keep my most trusted brother at her side?” “If I truly believed that bullshit, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” I rested my hip against the kitchen island and crossed my arms over my chest, leveling a challenging stare at him. He shrugged. “Believe what you like. She’ll be safer with you than anyone else I could appoint to the task.” I couldn’t argue. I was older than most of the Huntsmen and had wartime experience where they had none. My skepticism and surliness had been well earned. Given the chance to live through what I’d endured, the others would find themselves far less inclined to critique my solemn nature. “She’ll need to get control of her magic and fast.” I glowered at him. “She can’t go lighting s**t on fire and not expect to draw attention.” Lochlan nodded. “Not only that, but she needs to understand the dangers. You saw how eager she was to tell everyone what she’d done.” “As if she’d listen,” I scoffed. “That woman has the confidence of Odin’s army. Add magic to the mix? She’ll think she’s unstoppable.” The truth of my words settled deep in my gut like a thick ball of mud.