| |
––––––––
EVERYONE ON THE TEAM had been waiting for the target to strike. She’d chosen a perfect moment to make her move, since the entire crowd was immobile with shock. Her hand dipped into her pocket and she pulled out several daggers similar to mine.
Zahir and Yareli went on the move, flashing over to try to grab her before she could throw her blades. The fairy dropped her shield and the tray she was carrying and teleported away. It crashed to the ground and a few women screamed in surprise when the glasses shattered.
Hugh and Theo charged at her when she reappeared wearing a different face. Easily evading them, the target appeared behind our boss. Felicity managed to shove the fairy off balance as she tossed a dagger at our employer. The blade lodged in a vampire’s back instead of Drake’s. The leech hissed in anger and reached over his shoulder to yank it out, showing no ill effects from it. She’d probably placed a spell on the weapons that was deadly to dragons.
The trio of foreign weredragons were herded out of the way by two of Drake’s shifters. He was surrounded by guards who were determined to protect him from the deranged fairy’s wrath.
It was impossible to lock onto her when she kept teleporting all over the place. She tossed her daggers at Lord Gilden, who deftly sidestepped the projectiles. He could have easily erected a magical shield to block them, but she might give up and vanish.
“Do something!” Ruen said in annoyance when I stood there, watching the scene. “Don’t just stand there like a lump!” he hissed.
Too angry to articulate my emotions, I dropped the dagger back into Aurora’s small purse and reached for my machete. Drake’s gaze became riveted on my legs when I flipped the dress open to grab the blade. I strode towards him, shoving my way between two werewolves in the process.
The fairy’s teleporting seemed random, but years of gaming had helped hone my skills. I saw a pattern to her magic and trusted my instincts.
“It isn’t what you think, Saige,” Drake said when I was only a few feet away from him.
“Really, my lord?” I asked with heavy sarcasm. “Are you saying you haven’t become betrothed to someone?”
His hesitation was all the answer I needed. Spinning away from him, I lashed out with my machete just as the fairy appeared in front of me. The dagger she’d intended to throw at the dragon bounced off my chest as blood gushed from her wound. The hilt had hit me rather than the blade, since it had been in mid-spin. Just as I’d suspected, I felt a spell on it. Gasping and keening beneath her breath, she grabbed at her neck to try to stop the bleeding.
I swung from the other direction, chopping through bone, muscle and ligaments. It took one more blow before her head finally came free. Hugh deftly caught it when it went flying. He held it by the hair as her body collapsed to the ground.
Most of the crowd had fled as soon as the battle had begun. The rest were pushing and shoving each other, all trying to fit through the doors at once. I sneered at the beautiful gold weredragon as she wept in fear against her mother’s shoulder. Her parents were shocked by the brutal slaying they’d just witnessed. The difference between a savage like me and their delicate daughter couldn’t have been more obvious.
Blood dripped from my machete, but my dress had been spared from most of the gore. I held my weapon away from my body as my colleagues came to stand behind me. “Nicely done, Saige,” Zahir said in approval.
“I was hoping I’d get to kill her, but you beat me to it,” Hugh said, tossing her head onto her body.
“Better luck next time,” I said, trying my hardest to pretend that my heart wasn’t breaking.
“I almost got her,” Felicity pouted. “I stopped her from stabbing Lord Gilden, so at least I helped.”
“You were awesome, honey,” Otis said proudly.
“I think we can all agree that Saige is the most badass bounty hunter in Nexus,” Theo declared. Everyone nodded in agreement. Even Felicity gave a grudging nod.
“Are you really engaged, Lord Gilden?” Yareli asked, voicing the question that hovered on everyone’s lips.
“It’s complicated,” our boss said with his eyes locked on me. “You all excelled yourselves tonight. The target is dead and there were no casualties. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”
“Will Saige be getting another bonus?” Felicity asked dourly.
“That won’t be necessary,” I said, holding my rage and pain inside with extreme effort.
“Why not?” Ruen asked with a frown. “You’ve earned it.”
I bent down to wipe my dripping blade on the dead fairy’s shirt, then stood up and turned to face our boss. “As of this moment, I’m no longer your employee, Lord Gilden.”
He was just as shocked as everyone else by my announcement. “What are you saying, Ms. Sterling?” Drake asked.
“I quit,” I said succinctly, then turned to walk away.
I only managed to take three steps before an opaque shield appeared around me. Drake caught hold of my arm and spun me around. “What do you mean you quit?” he demanded.
“Did you really think I’m going to stick around and watch you get married to that skinny bimbo?” I asked him furiously.
His eyes slitted as he crossed his arms. We were hidden from everyone’s view and he’d cast a muting spell so our conversation was private. “You’re just going to walk away?” he demanded. “We both know you crave me, Saige. We’re bonded, even if our bond isn’t quite complete.”
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to tell him the full truth. It was the only way to end this farce, so we could both finally be free. “For a while there, I thought Fate had arranged for your wife to be killed so you would become my reward if we save the world from an apocalypse.” He flinched like I’d slapped him and sucked in a breath to speak, but I wasn’t done yet.
“Clearly, I was wrong. Fate killed your wife so you’d get to become bonded to that skinny bimbo. She’s the one you’re supposed to be with, not me. You’re only attracted to me because I have a trace of weredragon blood in my DNA. I have too much self-respect to pine after you like a lovesick schoolgirl. Once you two bite each other, our bond will be severed. We’ll forget all about each other and we’ll both be able to move on.”
“You’re making a big mistake,” Drake said. Smoke drifted from his mouth, betraying his anger. I guessed he wasn’t used to lowly employees quitting on him without notice.
“My mistake was to get involved with you in the first place,” I said, willing my voice to remain steady.
Flames flickered to life in his gold eyes as his own rage surged to the surface. “We’re not done, Saige Sterling,” he said, voice sounding slightly guttural. “Not by a longshot.”
“I’m not going to be your piece on the side, Lord Gilden!” I said, pointing my machete at his face. “You’ll have to be happy banging your fiancé, because I don’t share.”
A secretive smile replaced his snarl. His dragon pheromones washed over me, making me stagger in reaction. “Oh, I’ll very much enjoy banging the woman I’m betrothed to,” he said in satisfaction. “Nothing will make me happier than having her beneath me while I pound my shaft into her luscious depths.”
“I can think of one thing that will make you happier,” I said bitterly and he arched an eyebrow in sardonic enquiry. “You’ll finally get to shift into your dragon forms and mate with your fiancé while you’re falling from the sky.”
That was something I could never give him and we both knew it. A look of wistful longing came over him, breaking my heart all over again. If I didn’t walk away right now, I’d end up caving in. I’d have to watch him marry my beautiful rival and hope he would occasionally give in to his desire to bed me. True mates weren’t supposed to be able to sleep with anyone except the person they were bonded to, so none of this should even be possible.
I turned and strode through the spell, shattering it to pieces along with my heart. Most of the crowd had cleared by now. The rest parted when they saw my expression and the weapon I was carrying.
Ruen caught up to me in the parking lot and yanked me to a stop. “You can’t quit!” he snarled. “Lord Gilden needs us more than ever now that so many rogues are on the loose!”
“He can hire more bounty hunters,” I said uncaringly. “I don’t know why you’re so angry with me,” I went on. “You’re finally free, Ruen. You don’t have to be my partner anymore.” Instead of being happy about his freedom, he gave me a look of profound misery.
Unable to deal with anyone else’s emotions right now, I flagged down a passing taxi, hiding my machete behind my back so I didn’t scare the driver off. The ball would be talked about in Nexus for decades, if not centuries once word spread. No one would forget the brutal slaughter of Lord Gilden’s enemy. I’d finally achieved my goal of becoming the best bounty hunter in the city, only to immediately quit the business.
“It wasn’t supposed to end like this,” I whispered, fighting back the tears that were desperate to escape as the taxi carried me home.
