Smashed (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8.5)

“My flight leaves at midnight,” I said. “I’ve let you hold me back long enough. This is something I have to do, and if you can’t understand that then we don’t have anything left to say to each other.”


Harley’s gaze narrowed, and he shoved the woman away. Advancing on me, he got in my face, testing my restraint. “After everything I’ve done for you for all of these years, you just up and leave me?” Harley looked aghast, as if he hadn’t known this was coming. “How could you?”

I stared at him, wondering how in the hell I’d managed to put up with him for three centuries. Of course, much of that time had been spent apart, as I could only stand to be around him for so long before it drove me to isolation.

Becoming a vampire had never been my choice. I had been targeted. Chosen. What I thought was a lonely blonde in need of some company had turned out to be Sloane, one of Harley’s first vampires. She had lured me in, drained me dry. And he had turned me. Now I was his. Or so he liked to think.

Our relationship had been doomed from the start. A man like Harley needed to be surrounded by those of weaker will, which I was not. For a time we’d had fun together. Enjoying rich parties where the guests were all on the menu had led us to make many enjoyable, bloody memories together. But we had never really bonded. I had never been able to bring myself to respect or even like him. Though I did love him in the twisted way that vampires love their makers.

I stopped trying to understand that complicated emotion soon after becoming a vampire. How I felt about Harley Kayson would never make sense to me.

One thing I knew for certain was that I’d been dreaming about a woman for almost a century now, and he would not be the one to stop me from finding her. She was out there. I could feel her calling me. A call I had to answer.

“You won’t even notice I’m gone. You have Jenner and Sloane. And the others. Not to mention these pathetic whelps. I’ll send a postcard.”

It was antagonistic, but I didn’t give a damn. Letting Harley know about the dreams had been my first mistake. Letting him keep me here this long had been the second.

“Do you think I’m going to just let you walk out on me?” The venom in Harley’s tone held the assurance of the fight to come. “I made you, Sindarys. You are mine.”

The delusional ramblings of the Vegas master grew more disturbed the longer I stayed. I shouldn’t have put it off so long. “Don’t call me that.” My tone brooked no room for argument. “I don’t belong to you. I never have. Let’s not have a replay of the last time you said that.”

It had ended in a brawl so bad that it had taken three vampires to split us up. I was sure that one of us would eventually kill the other. I didn’t want it to have to be today though I was willing if that’s what it took to finally walk free of him.

“This is your home. You belong here. Come, let’s go to bed. I picked out a fresh young thing just for you.” Harley grabbed for my arm. When I jerked out of reach, he flung a roiling psi ball at me in an angry outburst.

It exploded against my chest, thrusting me backward into an ornate marble statue. It was one of several throughout the house. The thing wobbled on its perch before toppling over, smashing into pieces on the floor.

Resisting the sudden need for retaliation proved difficult. I’d hoped I could be the one to keep a level head. Harley’s outburst had been expected.

“It’s a shame you can’t support me on this,” I said, trying to reason with him. “I told you because I thought you gave a damn. Now I wish I’d never said anything at all about her.”

“Her,” he spat. “You don’t even know her name. You’re chasing a dream. Don’t expect to have a place here when you come back. If you walk out on me now, Arys—”

“Well, maybe I won’t be coming back.” My interruption momentarily silenced him. “If I find her, I won’t have a reason to.”

We stared stonily at one another. Rather than wait for him to take another shot at me, I chose to walk away.

It had taken me years to accept the things I’d been told by the old witch I had gone to see. That had been over a century ago, yet sometimes it felt like just yesterday. Each passing night contributed to each passing year, bringing me closer to a fate I both feared and hungered for. I had to answer this call.

I left him standing there fuming. It was anyone’s guess as to how long he’d wait before rushing after me.

When I crossed through the front sitting room on my way to the door, I found Sloane and Jenner entertaining an elegantly dressed human couple. The two of them had formed a partnership of sorts. They liked to tag team their victims, posing as just another friendly couple.