8. Hunter

My heart pounded in my chest like a drumbeat of rage as I watched Pandora, pale and shaking in my arms. The desire for vengeance burned bright in the forefront of my mind, fueling every thought with visions of retribution.

How dare Dexter Shadowheart hurt her with his shadows? There was a faint indent all around her neck that dripped blood. She was barely healing from it, and it only just started clotting. He didn’t have to do this. Her neck, of all fucking places? She just had her throat slit a couple of months ago that would’ve led to her death had her soul eater powers not awakened.

I’d wanted to do more. My vengeance powers sliced a ring around his neck that healed almost immediately, the way that he’d cut Pandora. My cut went right over his white scar, and my magic slammed Shadowheart against the wall when he didn’t leave, forcefully thrusting the bastard into the shadows. I didn’t understand why he’d want to stay and witness her break down.

He didn’t deserve to be in her presence. Not after what he had done to her.

Still, I was immensely proud and shocked about how far she’d come since then. She was attending an academy full of demons, and she barely batted an eye at Dreadful’s antics when she first met her. Normally, a life of captivity would breed hermit behavior for any other supernatural, but demons coped slightly better with cruelty than the others. But she didn’t deserve any of this. If the other students had seen her panic, I knew she’d be on their radar.

Demons weren’t the only supernatural that sought out the weak to destroy them, but we were ruthless nonetheless. I’d have to make sure the professors were aware and keeping an eye on her. The biggest plus was that Death was her father.

Nobody wanted to get on Death’s bad side.

Death had zero qualms about sucking a soul out and filling his reserves just because someone looked at him wrong. If they were to go against his daughter? He’d devour the entire student body—professors included.

“That’s it, starlight. Deep breaths,” I murmured softly to the woman in my arms. “You can do this.”

How dare Ashenfell allow this? He was briefed on her history. He knew she had trauma around feeding and shadow magic. Letting her pair with Shadowheart was stupid, and it was only day one.

I wanted Ashenfell bleeding like she was.

A whimper left her lips, and her fists clutched my shirt tightly.

“Stay with me. I’ve got you. We’re in my office,” I assured her as we sat only a couple of feet from where she’d thrown up. I’d call a janitor in later. Thankfully, the academy had a couple of enchantments that could clean a room in a second, so I wouldn’t bother cleaning it myself unless it bothered her. “You’re safe. I’m here.”

I ran a hand over her sweat-soaked coal-black hair, and a different kind of fire ignited within my soul. I knew I had feelings for her, but seeing her like this fucking hurt. I’d give anything to wipe the pain from her memories, to shield her from the horrors that haunted her past, but I knew that was impossible. All I could do was be there for her, to offer her solace in the midst of it all.

I could feel her trembling, her body finally ceasing from the sobs.

“H-Hunter,” she croaked, and her voice sounded like her throat had been shredded. It was always raspy, but it sounded downright painful right now.

My chest tightened. “Talk to me, starlight.”

“I’m fine.” She reached up and touched her neck, pulling away to look at the smear of drying blood. “This is nothing.”

I bit back a scoff. “If it were nothing, you wouldn’t have had a panic attack, Pandora.”

“I was just triggered.” She clenched her bloodied hand into a fist. “Dex just-”

“Dex?”I gritted out the name through clenched teeth.

Dexter Shadowheart gave her his first name? And she was using it? What the fuck was that about?

“I asked him not to.” She dropped her fist into her lap and leaned closer to me on what seemed like instinct. “But he did. The shadows, they triggered memories. I’m sure my dad…told you about my past.”

“He didn’t have to,” I murmured, threading my fingers through her hair. “I was there when Death found you.”

“What?” Her entire body tensed. “You saw me?”

I held her closer, afraid she’d try to pull away. “I was with him along with the shadow demon representative of the council, Bane. We shadow-traveled to you when Death felt you awaken. I know what happened, and I saw your conditions firsthand. It haunts me to this day. If you hadn’t killed Penny Bones, I would’ve gladly made her suffer before letting Death snuff her life out. I’ve felt protective of you from the very start.”

Her brows scrunched up as she stared at me with an intense emotion swirling in her red eyes. She didn’t say anything. There wasn’t much she could say, but I would’ve loved to know what she was thinking in that moment.

“You’re healing very slowly,” I told her, sliding her hair back to get a look at her neck. The wound was superficial, and it honestly only cut deep enough to make her bleed all the way around. It wasn’t as bad as I had first thought. I’d definitely cut Shadowheart deeper with my magic. “It’s because you haven’t fed. Your magic reserves are practically empty, aren’t they?”

She nodded, her breathing ragged as she clung to me. I wasn’t sure if she knew how close we were, but I loved her warmth and being able to provide her with the comfort she needed.

“You need to call your dad, starlight. He’d be the best to teach you.” I shifted her in my arms and carefully got to my feet before taking her toward the sofa and sitting with her situated in my lap. “You have to learn to feed.”

“I-” she croaked and winced. “I don’t want to k-kill.”

“You don’t have to, starlight. You can feed off fragments of souls,” I assured her softly.

“D-Daryl told me.” She took a shaky breath, and I could feel her muscles starting to relax as she gained control over her breathing. “But I c-can’t. Does it hurt for me to?”

“It doesn’t have to.” I leaned back against the softness of the sofa. “Depends on how much you take. Your dad knows how to feed off such small fragments that it doesn’t do anything but tire the source out. Death’s fed off my soul before.”

“He what?” Her voice went up an octave before crackling, and she whipped her head up to stare at me.

I chuckled lightly. “It’s fine. Like I said, it doesn’t have to hurt. It’s your magic, starlight. You can use it and bend it to your will. It’ll take some time to master it since you’ve gone your whole life without using it, but you will get this.”

“I’m scared, Hunter,” she whispered so lowly I could barely hear it with my demonic hearing. “I spent so long desperate for Mother’s approval, but I didn’t know how much I hated her until my powers spilled out. The one time I fed, I killed her. Her soul felt rotten, and I was sick for weeks. And the hatred that went through me was unreal. I don’t want to feel that again…”

“I hate her for what she did to you, but you?” I carefully placed my knuckles under her chin and guided her to look at me. “You have every right to loathe that woman, but you don’t have to feel hate to activate your powers. Your powers triggered to save your life, and you just so happened to latch on to anger and hate in the moment. Anger and hate didn’t trigger your soul eater powers. Survival did.”

She sniffed before moving closer and breathing deeper against my chest. “Thank you, Hunter.”

I wrapped my arms around her, thankful her trembling had stopped. She was exhausted. I could feel the lack of magic around her, and her neck was still healing, but it had stopped bleeding entirely now.

Her caramel scent was all over me, and I had to remind myself not to inhale it like a creep as she hugged me.

“You smell like sweet chocolate,” she murmured, inhaling quietly. “Do you like chocolate?”

“I do. Chocolate ice cream is my favorite, and I used to drink chocolate fae wine often.” A low and pleasant hum warmed my veins as I smiled. She was smelling me, too.

We didn’t say anything else for the rest of the hour, and she made no attempt to move or put distance between us, so I lapped up all of her warmth like a cold dog and held her as long as she let me. I’d never wanted to comfort anyone as much as I did her. I had never held someone as long as I held her, and I loved it.

When she finally sat up, I helped her off my lap.

Her pretty cheeks were rosy red, and they matched her eyes. “I think I should go.”

“You don’t have to,” I mumbled before realizing how much of a clingy fucker I sounded like. “I mean, I can walk you to your room if you want.”

“That’s okay,” she murmured as she reached down and grabbed her bag from the floor where she’d fallen and puked. She put it over her shoulder and peeked inside for a moment before relaxing again. “I just want to sleep.”

I nodded, getting to my feet and walking her to the door. “You need to. I’m sure you’re exhausted, but I have to insist on walking you back after everything that just happened.”

A guarded look flashed over her expression. “I have to insist that I’ll be fine walking back on my own.” She nibbled on her bottom lip, glancing up at me through thick eyelashes. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for me—” Her voice crackled. “But if I don’t do some of this by myself, I’ll start leaning on you too much. I need to be independent.”

“I want you to depend on me,” I rasped, my heart aching at how she was pushing me away.

I just wanted to be hers.

I blinked away the obsessive thought as reality crashed me back to my senses. “I’m sorry, starlight. I think it’s wonderful that you want independence, but I am here if you need me. If you could send me a message when you reach your dorm, I’d feel much better.”

“I can do that.” She gave me a gentle smile that made my heart rate kick up another notch.

I opened the door for her, and she left my office with me watching her until she turned the corner and was out of sight.

A heavy breath hissed out of my lips as I used my tail to slam the door shut behind me. Fates, I hadn’t realized I’d been in my demon form still. I’d immediately transformed into it when I saw Shadowheart holding her to his chest with her panicking.

I made my way to my desk and grabbed my to-do list before sitting down and scribbling a couple of things on it.

Punish Ashenfell

Verbally beat down Shadowheart during a session

It felt good to write down my plan, but it would feel even better after I completed the tasks. Reaching over, I grabbed my tablet and sent a message to the janitor about the vomit before calling Death.

He picked up on the first ring. “What’s wrong with Pandora?”

I winced. Fates, he really is a dad now. “She went to Practical Applications of Demonic Feeding?—”

“What the fuck did Ashenfell do?” he barked. “Is she okay? Do I need to come down there?”

“She’s okay,” I assured him. “But she did have a panic attack to the point of vomiting and then going quiet for almost an hour.”

“How?” he growled. “Where were you?”

“I was in my office, and Shadowheart?—”

“What the fuck is Shadowheart doing with my daughter?”

“Death,” I interjected. “Let me explain. I’ll answer all of the questions.”

There was a beat of silence. “Proceed.”

“Pandora was in class, and she was paired with Shadowheart?—”

“Ashenfell!” There was a loud crash on the other line.

“Death.”

“Sorry,” he grunted, but I could feel his rage. “Go on.”

“It was a feeding exercise. He fed off her by using his shadows to cut—” I paused as he let out a roar. “A ring around her neck. It was a superficial wound, but it bled, and she was triggered. Shadowheart brought her to me himself, and I got vengeance,” I assured him. “My magic cut his neck the same way he did her, and I shoved him back into his shadows to get him out.”

He exhaled loudly. “And Pandora?”

“I had to talk her through her panic attack, and she clung to me, Death. She was scared, and I get it. I held her for over an hour before she got her breathing back under control.”

“You held her?” The question sounded bitter.

“Yes,” I admitted. I had nothing to hide. As scary as Death was, I didn’t care. I was falling for his daughter, and if he wanted to rip out my soul for it, so be it.

“I’ll be there this evening,” he stated. “I’d come now, but we have a dark magic circle in the center of the fucking capital’s government building again. This time, the demon inside it was alive, but just barely. Bane’s questioning him. I have to be here.”

I nodded. “Understood.”

I knew exactly why he had to be there. It seemed that the only way we’d found to stop dark magic-infected demons was by Death eating their souls. The dark magic stayed in the body, rotting it until it turned into a puddle of black goo, but the soul was gone, and the dark magic couldn’t keep the body alive without the soul intact.

Of course, this wasn’t public knowledge. For the supernaturals and humans in Kalista, there had only been two documented cases of a dark magic-infected individual.

We’ve had to borrow the dark magic relic from the Supernatural Council to absorb all of the leftover dark magic, though, and the fact that we’ve had to use it made anxiety claw at my throat. I wasn’t sure how Blackthistle was able to convince them to let us borrow it without getting involved, but he did.

No demon wanted a dark magic plague in the capital, and no supernatural wanted one in Kalista.

My tablet dinged, and a message popped up over Death’s call.

Pandora Gravesend

I made it. I’m going to sleep now. Thank you for taking care of me.

Relief washed over me, and I replied.

Hunter Darkmore

Anything for you, starlight.

“She’s going to need you to teach her to feed without killing. Her magic reserves are so low, it took an hour for a slight cut to stop bleeding,” I explained to Death as I sent my reply to Pandora, my heart aching for her. “She has to feed.”

“I’ll be there,” he promised, clicking off the call.

My heart ached for Pandora as vengeance thrummed through my veins like a wildfire. I got to my feet, intent on sating my vengeance on Ashenfell before Death could rip out his soul. I needed to expel the magic building inside of me, and the only way to do that was to even the odds that had taken place due to Ashenfell’s decision to pair Shadowheart with Pandora.

I barged into Serpentine Stadium,interrupting Ashenfell’s lesson as his class turned toward the disruption.

He stopped as soon as he saw me, his blue eyes widening exponentially. “Darkmore, what are you doing here?”

“You and I need to talk, Ashenfell.” I rolled my sleeves up my arms, spearing him with a scathing glare.

He tugged at the collar of his shirt and darted his gaze toward the students. “I’m in the middle of class; surely whatever it is can wait?—”

“Now,” I barked, my voice cracking like a whip through the air.

He visibly flinched. “I’ll dismiss the class and meet you in my office.”

Students murmured, and I knew this exchange would make the other demons gossip, but I didn’t give a shit. I demanded blood for blood because he allowed Pandora to be hurt under his watch. He allowed Pandora to bleed under his fucking watch.

Vengeance thrummed through my veins like liquid fire, crackling around me as I stormed off to the corner of the chamber, where Ashenfell’s office was. My magic rippled forth, tossing his door open and forcing it against the stone wall with a loud bang that echoed throughout the entire stadium.

The whispers of the students increased, but I strode in and whirled around, crossing my arms as he murmured some bullshit excuse and excused the class early to meet with me.

Professionalism wasn’t on my mind in the slightest. Ashenfell was about to pay dearly.

His office was lined with high shelves that had absolutely nothing but one trophy on the top shelf. A single lamp cast a dim glow over the metal desk, and it was just a sad space. No wonder he never worked in his damn office.

Ashenfell stumbled into the room, bringing his weird baby powder scent with him, and gently shut the door before turning to me with fear in his gaze. “What brings you here?”

“You’re a fucking professor,” I growled, my words vibrating through my chest with each syllable. “You were told about Pandora’s fear of shadow magic, and you were supposed to look out for her! But what did you do? You fucked up majorly!”

Ashenfell gulped, straightening his shoulders. “This is about pairing her with Shadowheart?”

“What else could it be about, Ashenfell?” I shouted, my magic cracking with the boom of my voice.

His gaze darted to the side, and he shrugged one shoulder. “I didn’t realize her fear of shadow magic was that bad. Besides, Shadowheart was the one who volunteered to risk his soul around her. If anyone was in danger, I figured it was him.”

“Shadowheart was who you were worried about? You didn’t even think about how pairing them would affect her, did you?” My voice turned cold, and my power exploded outward, shackling him with fear so raw it forced his blood pressure to skyrocket and his lungs to stall. “For your idiocy, I’m going to claim vengeance for her.”

“Wait,” he choked out, holding his hands up as he felt my magic on his soul. “I didn’t know?—”

“Didn’t know or didn’t care?” I snarled, contempt and vengeance magic spilling out of me like an open wound. “There’s a price to be paid for your incompetence, and you’re paying it now.”

Vengeance struck fierce and absolute, forcing Ashenfell to his hands and knees with ragged breaths.

Mimicry shadows wrapped around his throat and sliced until he bled worse than Pandora had, and my powers didn’t relent until he was deep into a panic attack and blood pooled onto the stone below him.

My magic reserves filled to the brim with the vengeance I’d claimed on Pandora’s behalf.

My footsteps thudded on the stone as I moved around him, glancing over my shoulder. “In the future, do remember that if you ever put her in immediate danger again, I’ll make you suffer worse than this.” I opened the door with a small chuckle. “Fates, I might even kill you before Death does.”

Ashenfell’s sobs became background noise through the stadium as I strode out, my reserves filled, and my soul satisfied with knowing vengeance had been served for Pandora.