Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)

“Willow, don’t!” My shout echoed in the empty hall. It went ignored.

He didn’t use power, choosing instead to use his fists, which made his assault uncomfortably personal. What exactly had Willow seen?

Falon didn’t fight back. It was a battle we all knew he couldn’t win. He took the beating Willow dished out, and he might even have enjoyed it in some twisted way.

Falon smirked through the blood smeared on his face. “How much did you see, Willow? Did you watch? Because if you did, you’d know that she fucking loved it.”

My heart seized, or it would have if it had beat at a pace that matched my panic. All I could do was watch as Willow beat the hell out of Falon. I winced as each blow landed. This was a fight that never should have happened.

“You took advantage of her,” Willow hissed into Falon’s face, a hand around his throat.

“I didn’t have to,” Falon grunted. “She wanted it. If anything, she took advantage of me.”

I wanted to hit him myself then. Being a succubus gave me a manipulative edge. There was no denying that. But Falon was strong enough to withstand it if he wanted to. Wasn’t he?

My horror grew when Willow produced a silver-coated dagger and plunged the blade into Falon’s heart. Blood seeped from the wound, staining his shirt. Silver eyes wide, he gaped at Willow like he wanted to throw out one last smartass remark. He never got the chance. Willow jerked the blade free, and Falon dropped, disappearing as he hit the ground. He’d been weakened to the point of being forced back to the other side.

I stood frozen beside Izzy. When Willow shoved the dagger into a sheath in his coat and turned to us, I trembled. There was no real way of knowing what kind of shape he was in. He’d gone dark for me, and still I was a mental case. How much worse would Willow be?

He gathered me in his arms and hugged me close, smoothing a hand over my hair. “I’m sorry I left you to face this alone. I should have been here for you. But why, Alexa? Why him?”

Tears pricked the back of my eyes, and I blinked them back. He smelled like sulfur and tequila, and he felt like the absolute black that only existed in the absence of light. But he was still Willow, and I held tight to him.

The last time I saw him was when he’d taken my darkness. His sacrifice had allowed me to keep both the light and the dark powers I possessed. Shya and Falon claimed it was making me crazy, which I didn’t doubt for a second, but I knew how much worse it would be without Willow’s sacrifice. It was an act of love, and I could never thank him enough.

“Where’ve you been?” I asked, pulling back to gaze into his gold-flecked, red eyes. “Are you ok?”

“I’ve been… adjusting.” Willow touched my face. It was the affectionate caress of a dear friend. “I know you have been too.”

“Trying,” I said. “And failing.”

The concern in his eyes was reassuring. I’d been afraid that the darkness would change who he was, but I could see that he was still there behind the red demon eyes and the black wings.

He continued to smooth down my hair. With a sad smile he said, “There is no failing as long as you’re trying.”

Dear God, how I had missed his perfectly timed wise words. I threw my arms around him and squeezed tight. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

“Don’t worry about me, Alexa. I’m playing the role I was created to play. And so are you. I’m here. I won’t leave you.” The warmth and genuine care in his words broke what was left of my heart. It reminded me that I couldn’t let his sacrifice be in vain.

“You smell like tequila,” I said with a laugh.

His laugh was the laugh I remembered, and it put some of my worried mind at ease. “I’ve changed, but I’m still me. You’re still you. We’ll get through this.”

Izzy shifted uneasily from foot to foot beside me. “I think we should get going. Someone’s coming.”

I followed her gaze to the main end of the hall. I could hear the tread of footsteps and the murmur of voices. We turned to continue on the way we’d been headed only to jerk to a halt when we heard footsteps approaching from that direction too. They’d discovered Falon’s frozen cameras, and now they were coming for us.

“Willow, get Izzy out of here please. Take her to Doghead.” My frantic gaze darted from one end of the hall to the other. We were going to be surrounded in a matter of seconds.

“I can’t leave you here,” he said. “If you don’t make it out soon, the sun will rise, and you’ll be stuck in here all day.”

“That’s ok. I need to find out what happened to my sister anyway. If I don’t get out before dawn, then I’ll see you after sundown.” Between the two of us, Willow and I had more than enough power to take on a group of Feds. But there had already been so much recent death, and I wanted to avoid adding to the blood on my hands if possible. I just wanted to locate my sister and get my hands on Briggs.