Page 38 of Hybrid Heroics

I made a split second decision, and though it was likely stressing them out, it was the best I could do given the situation. It might suck, but I didn’t regret it.

“I’ve cursed them,” he confessed. “The entire realm, too. I control them all now. I could make them kill each other, or I could make them stop fighting. There’s not much fun in ending the show, though, is there?”

I wobbled my head. “I do like watching them fight.”

“You would rather watch them kill each other?” His surprise made me bite the inside of my cheek.

No. I would rather not watch them kill each other, but… “Call me curious.”

He shrugged. “They’re your mates. Dead or alive doesn’t affect me.”

I gave him my best crestfallen expression, really channeling that kicked puppy look. “Why are you showing me this?”

I knew why, but I wanted to hear what he had to say since he was in such a chatty mood.

“Because I want you to understand how vast my reach is. If I can control your mates, and this entire realm, then who can’t I touch?”

“Who can’t you touch?” I repeated, my brows knitted together as if I couldn’t guess his answer.

“No one.” He smirked at me, cold and calculating. “This is where you give up, Little King. There is no need for any more violence. If you surrender, I’ll call them off before they really hurt themselves. I know how much you care about them.”

“What happens if I give up?” Other than me dying and him killing everyone I love.

Alric smiled softly, tapping into his nearly empty reservoir of humanity. “We end this here and now. Your mates live full lives knowing you saved them from horrific deaths by my hand. Because if you surrender, I’ll never touch them again. I’ll forget they exist.”

I frowned as I slowly nodded, pretending to give his offer a well-rounded thought. But I couldn’t hold the lie for longer than a solid minute before I finally popped.

I cackled hysterically, maniacally.

Like, tears streaming down my face, cheeks aching, heaving for breath type of laughter that left me worried about my sanity.

His back snapped straight as he gawked at me. Maybe he thought I was crying and got super uncomfortable… Or perhaps he knew then that he had messed up somewhere.

It didn’t matter, and I didn’t care.

“I’m sorry,” I wheezed, waving my hand to ward off the irrationality of all this shit. “I’m sorry. I tried. I really fucking did.”

“What?” he demanded, so outraged it sounded like he said watt.

I swung my hand over the imagery, freezing each of my guys as they fought. And then I took a deep breath to center myself and get rid of the lingering giggles.

“Let’s back up for a minute,” I kindly suggested. “I’ll point out your mistakes once more, so we can learn from this. Palmer created the wind, yeah? He would never leave it as something so simple. And the wind is blowing that way, right?” I tossed my thumb to the left. “So why is Novak’s hair blowing in the right direction, while Stone’s hair is blowing the opposite way?”

I gave him a moment to answer, but he only stared at me like I was the fucking idiot in the room.

“Also... You majorly fucked up with their eyes. This bitch pays attention to shit like that. And Briggs’ wolf is black. Not this sooty gray color.” I waved at the small wolf, opting to leave out the size difference as I clapped my hands obnoxiously. “But bravo for the effort.”

He blinked rapidly, then stammered, “Bravo for the effort? You were—you were—”

“Believing you?” I asked, my eyes wide with mock innocence before I dropped the act. “No.”

“You fucking brat,” he whispered, venom dripping in his tone.

“Yeah,” I drawled in agreement. “I can be, but listen… I’m out. It’s been lovely getting to know you. Dinner is at seven sharp on Thursday. Don’t forget to leave a Yelp review detailing your experience at the circus. I love new visitors.”

I didn’t give him time to reply before I kicked him the fuck out of my mind. I needed the peace to figure out how to wake myself up. Because that was one part of this plan that I didn’t know, and probably shouldn’t be winging… But instead, I found myself contemplating my interactions with Alric.

He really had put in a splendid effort, and I could give credit to where it was due. It also helped me understand the inner workings of his mind, his motives and movements, to get a better picture of who I would be fighting.