I wasn’t.
Dash stood in front of Star and me, poised to murder, bow drawn back in his hand. Two rebels held Star and me hostage, and Dash had only one arrow. How could that possibly save us both? And that was what they were counting on. There was no denying Dash had superior killing skills, but I could tell by the fright in his expression even he wasn’t positive he could strike both rebels before they had a chance to slit one of our throats. If Dash had a plan, I would have loved to know what it was.
I didn’t know how he kept a steady hand on his bow. I was quaking inside. “Oh good, more visitors,” Dash said with boredom, but anyone who knew the Slayer could see it was an act. Dash wanted to go King Kong on the rebels who dared to threaten those in his protection. “I was getting bored out here, waiting for the Institute’s monkeys to finally catch up to me.”
My teeth ground together. Why did he always insist on baiting the enemy? If I weren’t being held at knifepoint, I would have kicked him.
Racked with fear, Star’s body shuddered.
“You have two choices, Slayer. Who will it be?” The rebel echoed the question from my vision.
I squeezed my eyes closed.
This darn gift sure had a way with timing. Couldn’t I have gotten a few more minutes warning that trouble was coming? I had been yanked straight from the vision and thrown right into the hornet’s nest. There were only two rebels that I could physically see, but how many more stood waiting? We’d dealt with numbers far greater, but not knowing what we were up against didn’t bode well for us, and to think I never got the chance to tell Dash we were in danger.
The muscle in Dash’s jaw ticked, the one that said he was going to do something foolish. His eyes volleyed from Star to me, the hand on his bow never wavering. He only had to move it a fraction of an inch to decide which one of us to save.
“You’ve gotten yourself into quite the predicament, wouldn’t you say, Slayer?” the rebel who chose me as his target taunted.
“I will kill you for this.” Dash growled his promise of retribution.
“Ah, but not before one of them gets their throat slit. Are you willing to take the chance? Either way, one will die. You can be sure of it. Your skill set might be impressive, but even you have your limitations. Care to test them?”
Star’s whimpers were starting to become a distraction none of us needed. If this jerk-face’s grubby hand wasn’t still covering my mouth, I would have told her to take a deep breath.
“And you’re willing to risk your own for what?” Dash demanded.
“For you. Or haven’t you figured out that your death is the ultimate prize here? We haven’t forgotten what you did. A debt must be paid.”
“Fine. Then take me. Let them both go, and you can have me. Life for a life, isn’t that what you want?”
Did he have to have enemies everywhere we went? I whipped my head up, breaking free from the rebel’s grasp. “Dash, don’t!” I wasn’t about to let him sacrifice himself. Hell-to-the-no, regardless that it was becoming clear he was the reason why some dude with dirty hands shoved his fingers into my hair.
The jerk behind me yanked on my hair, snapping my head back to expose my throat, and inched his blade closer to my skin.
I groaned.
“Nah,” my captor said with far too much enjoyment. “I want you to suffer first. Killing you would be too easy. I want you to feel the pain my brother and I have felt every day, to live knowing you couldn’t save one of them.”
“What makes you think I care about either?” It was a little too late to play that card, and we all knew it, but I gave him props for keeping the two idiots talking.
“I’ll admit, the plan was to kill this one here.” Twisting my head to the side, he slid the cool metal of his dagger across my cheek. Instinct made me want to yank away, but I forced myself to stay still. “Your eyes really are stunning,” he whispered into my ear. “I hope for your sake, Sweet Cheeks, he chooses the mouse and lets you live.”
“Bite me,” I hissed.
He threw his head back and laughed. “Don’t tempt me. I would like that.”
Dash looked directly at the rebel. “You touch her again, and this arrow will find your heart. That’s a fact.”
“Is that your answer then?”
Dash’s gaze clashed with mine, beseeching me.
I shook my head, silently begging him to trust me. The only people dying were the two dumbasses stupid enough to cross paths with the Slayer and me.
Panic eclipsed his eyes. “Star—”
“Dammit, Dash. Don’t be a fool. You must save Star. Do you hear—?” Thwack. That was the sound of me getting backhanded.
“Anyone tell you that you talk too much, Sweet Cheeks?” the rebel asked, once again claiming a firm grip on me. My gut reaction was to fry him from the inside out.
A low roar erupted from Dash. “Do you know who she is? She is the bloody daughter of a councilman.”
“Of course. That’s why we have this.” The bastard held up a needle. Crap. I was so getting drugged.
The one holding Star grinned. His arms were the size of pythons, thick and scary. “There is a bounty on both your heads.”
Dash’s fingers steadily held the arrow. “So what? You figured you’d kill two birds with one stone?”
“We’re opportunists. Either way, the Institute will get what it came for.” A pause lingered in the air. “Or you could do the stand-up thing and surrender.”
“Go screw yourself,” I growled.
The brothers laughed.
Dash’s gaze morphed into silver daggers. “What the lady said.”
“Have it your way. So, who will it be? Are you a blonde or a ginger kind of guy?” The slime-ball’s voice slithered like maggots over my skin, and when he ran his fingers through my hair, I wanted to vomit. “I’m looking forward to taking this one back to the Institute.”
The arrow in Dash’s bow flinched, my captor’s death shining in Dash’s eyes. Oh my God. He was going to kill the brother who held me hostage. I knew it. Dash knew it. Star knew it. And the rebel did too.
“Dash!” I screamed, snapping his focus back to me. “Trust me. You must choose Star.”
Reservation reflected in his expression, including flecks of unease. The Dash I knew never doubted himself or his gift. The fact that he was in this moment told me he was shaken. If all of us were going to get out of here alive, he had to snap out of it.
We needed the Slayer, not Dylan from a thousand years ago. He might have been hiding who he really was from Star, protecting her still, but that was all about to end.
“I-it doesn’t matter who I choose. They aren’t going to kill you, not when they will benefit from bringing you back.” He more or less rationalized the situation out loud—not the approach I would have taken, but I also wasn’t faced with watching two people I cared about held at knifepoint.