Huntress

Chapter 42

I didn't argue too much when Ryder insisted we go back to the royals. The tears that had fallen down my cheeks just a few short hours ago must have leaked all of the venom right out of me. Even Ryder seemed a little surprised when I just sighed and put on my boots. It didn't mean that I was particularly pleasant though. I kept my knees turned away from him and allowed my head to rest against the cool window for the drive there. The rain hadn't let up just yet and I didn't know if seeing the sky cry made me feel better or worse.

I still couldn't stomach the sight of the cabin though. And Ajax knew it too.

As I climbed out of the car and caught the dreaded building out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smirk a little bit. My fear was blood in the water to him. I suppose it was only fair. After everything I had done, all of the lives I had stolen, wasn't I due for a little bit of suffering?

"Hello you two," the king greeted, moving towards Ryder as if they were the best of friends.

"Ajax," Ryder said carefully, cocking his head in a slight bow.

For a brief moment, it felt like Ajax transformed into two people before my very eyes. The one he wanted people to see. And the one he truly was. On the outside, I see his persona, imagining a man with a gluttonous belly that jiggled with laughter, milky eyes that didn't notice much. A king that was so friendly and so casual, that he was negligent. Someone how favored fine wines over thriving economies.

But that wasn't the other side of Ajax. The other man was one of high attention and even higher expectations. His gaze missed nothing, his ears letting no sound pass unheard. A serpent beneath a sugary surface.

"I was beginning to wonder if you two would ever come back," the delightful king said, slapping Ryder on the back. A little too hard to be friendly. "I think most males would be too concerned with their mate to think about their king's wishes."

Ryder was unaffected by the jovial act. Either he had quite the talent for reading people or he had worked with Ajax for long enough to understand his tricks. "Our relationship is a little too complicated to result in a spontaneous getaway or even a few hours of distraction," he grumbled.

Ajax didn't press, didn't have to. He only raised his chin.

"Things got a little emotional," Ryder added.

"Everyone's emotions are running high." And the feelings of the woman who mercilessly slaughtered werewolves were not of particular concern to the king.

"I don't feel like this is a conversation we should have outside."

So, we moved back inside the home where Clementine played and Keiko had bandaged me up in an effort to keep infections at bay. Ajax prepared coffee for all of us. Ryder melted into the couch in the living room, looking like he just wished the world would swallow him up. I sat rigidly, my back perfectly straight and my lips pressed together tightly, like my mouth would get me in more trouble than my hands already had.

"Should we wait for Keiko?" Ryder asked when Ajax finally sat down with us.

"She's out with Clem for the day. So, I think now is the perfect time to tell me why you are a day late and why there are only two of you when I was expecting three." Brewing on his features was the ice and chill of a king who ruled too young.

It was then that I realized that Ryder had taken a risk. A very real one, for me. Through not capturing and detaining Milo, he not only allowed a known werewolf hunter to roam free, he had also blatantly disobeyed clear orders given to him by his king. Though I had been selfish and dizzy with concern for my parents and heartache for Cassey, I hadn't considered what it would be like for Ryder to have to announce his doings to Ajax.