17. Talon

CHAPTER 17

Talon

" I 'm guessing the fact that I just felt the wards go down that your friends have gotten wind that I have you," Edward said. "And since you haven't given me one bit of good information, I have no more time for you."

I heard what he said but couldn't really register it. He'd tried to beat the information out of me, tried to torture it out of me, and had put more chains around me in an attempt to get me to tell him something useful.

I hadn't.

Instead using the pain as fuel to keep me silent.

It helped that I had the ultimate distraction while he beat the life out of me.

Cassandra.

I couldn't stop thinking about her. Couldn't stop analyzing what she'd said to Edward.

I didn't believe it.

I didn't believe she betrayed me.

I knew her better than that.

I knew there was no way that the king would compel her, either. I might've thought it in the moment, my own lack of trust in everyone after what Samuel did to me making me believe it, but no longer.

I hoped on some level she knew that. Especially as I was about to reach the end of my very long existence.

I was too weak to fight back, but proud that I hadn't given up anything that would help this piece of shit in his end game.

I could only hope that she knew I would die believing her. Trusting her.

"You're not even going to try to fight back? Some hunter legend you are." He drew his knife back, the tip of it aimed perfectly at my chest.

Contrary to his words, I did try to fight back, but the iron had sucked the life out of me. I had barely any strength left in my muscles and no access to my power whatsoever.

Shots were fired outside the cell, but it didn't stop Edward's knife from drawing closer to my chest?—

He flew across the room, something crashing into him so hard it rattled the bars at the back of the cage.

"What the fuck are you doing, Cassandra?" Edward hissed, and my eyes cleared enough to see Cassandra atop her brother, looking absolutely feral as she unsheathed the dagger from her thigh.

The dagger I had given her so long ago.

She didn't give him a chance to say anything else before she sank that dagger into his heart, twisting the blade to ensure that it would never heal. His eyes flared wide before the life leaked out of him, having been taken completely by surprise.

She took only seconds before she was near me, screaming as the chains of iron stung her fingers as she ripped them off of me, throwing them toward her dead brother.

Her brother. She'd killed her brother…for me.

"I didn't betray you," she said, her voice almost broken. "I promise, Talon. I would never betray you."

She sank her fangs into her wrist, shoving it against my mouth and commanding I drink.

I did, swallowing mouthfuls of her life-giving blood, feeling it work itself through me, combining with my own power as my body healed itself.

I leaned my forehead against hers when I was done, but we didn't have time to talk, not when Ajax was growling and throwing a pair of sweats my direction.

"I stopped time so you could cover up," he said. "Wouldn't want you to lose that thing in the battle," he nodded toward my cock before racing up the stairs, no doubt to finish the fight I could hear raging up there.

Dagon spared a glance between Cassandra and I, then nodded at me before following Ajax.

I took one moment to look into her rich brown eyes before throwing on the sweats and taking her hand to race up the stairs.

I was ready for war, but thanks to my hunter brothers, Benedict, Jocelyn, and Hawk, there were no guards left to fight. The Zorin estate reeked of blood and death.

"She dies," I said the second I laid eyes on Hawk escorting Cassandra's mother out in iron chains.

"She has to remain alive," Ajax said, and I growled at my brother for the first time in a century.

"You have no idea what she's done to Cassandra," I snapped. "Her throat belongs to me."

"Tough shit," Hawk said. "She knows everything Edward knows, and thanks to your little girlfriend, he's dead. She's the last one with the information we need. She lives."

They don't give me time to argue my case, and before I knew what was happening, we'd wended back to the king's residence. We reported on the mission, the battle, and the absolute shit show the last few hours had been.

"Talon," Zachariah said after we'd reported to the king. "We need to talk." Zachariah motioned to my other brothers, who were waiting for me at the end of the hallway ready to go into the war room.

I looked back at Cassandra, whose eyes were pleading. "I know we need to talk about what happened," I said.

"I didn't betray you," she said, almost as if she was trying to convince everybody within earshot. "I would never?—"

"We'll have to talk about this later," I said, and turned away from her even though it felt like it might kill me. I knew it wasn't the time. The last thing I wanted to do was hash out what happened with my brothers within earshot. What Cassandra and I needed to speak about was between me and her and nobody else.

And for now, she'd have to be okay with that.