Chapter 8:The weapon
594 Words
We stayed in the cave for two days.
Dorian slept most of the time. His body was healing slowly, too slowly but at least he was alive. The bond pulsed steady now. Weak, but there.
I watched the entrance. Listened for wolves. Waited.
On the third morning, he opened his eyes and looked at me.
"You're still here."
I snorted. "Where would I go?"
"Leave me. Save yourself." His voice was rough. Broken. "That's what smart people do."
"Good thing I'm not smart."
He almost smiled. Then his eyes moved past me. Narrowed.
"Raya."
"What?"
"Someone's coming."
I spun, dagger out.
A figure stood at the cave entrance. Massive. Broad. Wolf eyes glowing gold in the dim light.
Kael.
I moved in front of Dorian. "Back off."
Kael didn't move. Didn't blink. Just stared at me like I was something interesting,something he was measuring.
"You've been hiding for three days," he said. Voice calm. Cold. "Impressive. Most hybrids would have died by now."
"We're not dead yet."
"No." He tilted his head. "You're not."
He stepped inside. Just one step. Close enough to hurt. Far enough to watch.
I raised my dagger. "I said back off."
"You keep saying that." His eyes flickered to Dorian. "He's still weak. Another day, maybe two, before he can fight. You're alone. Tired. Running on nothing." He looked back at me. "I could kill you both right now. Easily."
"Then why haven't you?"
Something shifted in his face. Not kindness. Not mercy. Something colder.
"Because you're useful."
I stared at him. "Useful?"
"You're a hybrid. Rare. Powerful. The prophecy says you'll end the war." He stepped closer. I stepped back. "A weapon like that... shouldn't be wasted on a dying vampire."
My blood ran cold. "I'm not a weapon."
"Everything is a weapon if you use it right." He glanced at Dorian again. "Especially something that makes the Vampire King's executioner abandon his duty."
I gripped my dagger tighter. "What do you want?"
Kael smiled. Slow. Cold.
"You."
I froze.
"Not like that," he said. Almost amused. "I don't want your body, hybrid. I want your power. Your blood. Your use." He stepped closer. "Come with me. Join my pack. Help me end this war the way I want it ended."
"And if I refuse?"
He looked at Dorian. "Then he dies. Today. Slow."
My heart hammered. "You'd kill an unconscious vampire? That's honorable."
"I'm not honorable." His voice was flat. "I'm an Alpha. I protect my pack. And right now, the biggest threat to my pack is the war between wolves and vampires." He looked at me. "You're the key to ending it. I'd rather have you on my side than against me."
Dorian stirred behind me. Weak, but trying to move.
Kael noticed. His eyes gleamed.
"Interesting. He'd die for you." He looked back at me. "Would you die for him?"
I didn't answer.
Didn't need to.
Kael saw it in my face.
"Good." He stepped back. Toward the entrance. "I'll give you one day. Rest. Heal. Say your goodbyes." His eyes hardened. "Then I come back. And you give me your answer."
He turned. Walked out.
I stood there, shaking. Dorian's hand found mine. Squeezed. Weak, but there.
"Raya." His voice was barely a whisper. "Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't go with him."
I looked down at him. At the face I'd started to trust. At the enemy who'd become something else.
"I won't," I whispered.
But even as I said it, I knew the truth.
Kael would be back.
And next time, he wouldn't ask.
- Writer
