The Hunter Secret (Rite World: Blackthorn Hunters Academy Book 2)

by Juliana Haygert

  “Thank you,” I muttered, starting to think this wasn’t a good idea after all.

  Harvey had dressed up, he had asked my mother's permission, and he had made reservations at this expensive restaurant—from the looks of it. I had dressed up too, and now that we were here alone, it felt somewhat wrong.

  “Relax,” Harvey said. He opened my menu for me. “I can see you’re tense. Just relax. Try to enjoy the night without any pressure. I want you to have a good time even if by the end of the night you decide you prefer being only friends.”

  Shit, his damn words. Why couldn’t I swoon and fall for him already? It would make my life so much easier.

  Determined to have a good night, I heeded his words. When the waitress came back, we ordered our drinks and an appetizer. Then, Harvey launched into stories about himself—good ones. He told me when he and Peter sneaked into the academy, when they were still young and untrained, and managed to attend three classes before they were caught. Another time, they sneaked into the full-fledged Blackthorn Hunters outpost a few miles up the mountain from the academy. They saw the hunters bring a higher demon into the compound, detain it, and interrogate it. They were discovered, though, and grounded for an entire year.

  Not long ago, Harvey had been good friends with Rey too. Did he have any stories about him? Would he tell me? I didn’t want to bring up Rey when the night was going so well, but I couldn’t shut down my brain, even if I tried. Rey was always on my mind, as was the soul bond mark and the fact that I thought Harvey wasn’t the one to bear one like mine. Several times urges to grab the collar of his sweater and pull it down hit me hard, but I held it in. If he was the one with the mark like mine, I was sure he would have already told me about it. Well, with his personality, he would have gone around campus, bragging about the mark and asking all the girls who his soulmate was.

  In the end, I knew Harvey wasn’t the one for me. He was handsome, he was fun, he was nice, but that was all. He was a friend I could count on—I knew that because he had helped me before. He knew my secret, he had fought alongside me, and he hadn't told anyone. He still flirted with me and hung around me as if I wasn’t half a monster.

  Harvey was a good friend, nothing more.

  After the main entree and dessert, Harvey asked for the bill. I insisted on paying for my part, but he ignored me.

  “I invited you, so it’s my treat,” he said, never losing that easygoing half-grin. He handed the credit card to the waitress.

  “Be right back,” she said, walking away with the card in hand.

  Then, the front doors burst open and the entire building shook as a loud boom echoed through the place, and a rage of fire rolled inside.

  8

  Rey

  After class, I had a meeting with Randall. For the most part, he left Erin out of his schemes, which I was grateful for, but that meant I had to meet the headmaster and report on our progress by myself. I told him about Zachary and how I persuaded him to join the Black Knight Unit.

  “Good job,” Randall said.

  I should have been proud of myself for ripping a compliment from him, but I only felt disgusted with myself. If Erin felt like this about me, then I was certainly succeeding in pushing her away.

  But I fucking hated this. I hated to think she was disgusted with me. Couldn’t I be a jerk with a conscience?

  Before I realized what I was doing, I entered the Gardenia building. I stopped myself in the lobby and shook my head. What the fuck was I doing? Going after Erin? Why? I couldn’t try to mend things now. It would only send her more mixed signals.

  I turned around to leave and almost bumped into Claire, who was walking in.

  She frowned at me. “Rey? Are you looking for Erin? She isn’t here.”

  That piqued my curiosity. “Where is she?”

  Claire smiled at me. “She went on a date with Harvey.”

  I blinked, not sure I heard her right. “What?”

  “It was really cute,” Claire went on, oblivious to the jealousy and rage swimming within me. “He asked her out in the middle of class. Between us, I think he really likes her.”

  The question was, did she like him? I wanted to ask Claire, but I asked something else instead. “Where did they go?”

  “West Hill, though I don’t know which restaurant.”

  “Thanks.” I dashed away, almost slipping on the front stairs. I ran into the underground garage, got my car, and drove to West Hill.

  My brain wasn’t functioning right now. All it thought about was Harvey leaning into Erin and kissing her. That sent a pang of fury through my veins, boiling my blood.

  I needed to find them. I needed to stop them.

  My rage subsided a little when I drove into town and found it in chaos. Humans ran down the streets, screaming, while Blackthorn Hunters in full battle gear stomped around town, searching for something.

  I dropped my car in an empty parking lot and ran to the nearest demon hunter.

  “Andre, what’s going on?”

  Andre, a tall, muscular black man in his early thirties with long dreadlocks turned to me. “Rey. What are you doing here?”

  Because of my status with Randall, I knew all the demon hunters—the active ones, the retired ones, the ones who had died in battle—and they all knew me. Some hated me for being so young and so favored (they didn’t know my real age, of course), while some were friendly.

  Andre was a friendly one.

  “I was coming to pick up something,” I lied.

  Another wave of humans ran past us.

  “This way!” Like a traffic officer, Andre gestured to the humans to continued down the road, away from the downtown area.

  “What’s going on?” I asked again once the humans were gone.

  “We’re on a hunt,” he said. “A dangerous fae was spotted in town. She blasted her frost powers at us and almost hit several civilians. We need to stop her before she escapes and hurts more people.”

  Unlike the demon hunters, I had had contact with several supernaturals, and one thing I knew for sure: not all of them were evil like the demon hunters professed. Wyatt was the first one to come to mind. He was a werewolf, and besides a few bouts of his rage spiking, he was as good as they came.

  “I have friends from the academy in town,” I told him. “I’ll find them, then I’ll join you.”

  “That would be great.” The Dawnblade appeared in his hand. “Be careful,” he said before running into an alley to search for the fae.

  I ran closer to downtown, the scent of smoke reaching my nose. I spotted more Blackthorn Hunters and talked to them, but none had seen students from the academy around. I hadn’t seen Hadrian, Harvey’s father, around, but I was sure the other hunters knew who Harvey was. If they had seen him, they would have escorted him—and Erin—to safety.

  Right around the green, businesses were destroyed and on fire. The demon hunters had called the firefighters, but they seemed skeptical about the big people in fancy black leather uniforms.

  My chest constricted a little more with every step I took. Where the fuck was Erin? What had happened to her?

  At the corner of the green, I spotted Norah exiting a store that had been burned to the ground.

  “Rey, didn’t expect to see you here,” she said, halting before me. Norah was a recent graduate of the academy. Since she first entered the academy, she had been praised for being one of the best students, and comments about her bright future only increased as the years passed. As soon as she finished the fourth year, Norah joined the main demon hunter group and was well on her way of becoming a legend.

  “I’m looking for my friends from the academy,” I told her.

  She frowned, her green eyes becoming two slits. “I haven’t seen any students around.”

  “Well, if you do, hold on to them and call me.” I patted my pocket. Though there was a rule that students couldn’t carry their phones in the academy, there was no such rule for the full-fledged hunters.

  “
Will do,” she said, before walking into the next store, also half-destroyed by the fire.

  A frost fae that set fire to town? That didn’t make sense.

  Shaking my head, I moved on.

  I was about to go crazy when I saw them. Erin and Harvey were seated on a wooden bench in the middle of the green. The first thing I noticed was how beautiful Erin looked—and sexy. She wore tight leather pants, tall heeled boots, and a red blouse that showed off her shoulders. Where the fuck was her coat?

  She had dressed up like that to go out with Harvey. That knowledge fucking hurt.

  The second thing I noticed was that Harvey was tying a piece of cloth around Erin’s hand.

  I stomped to them. “What the fuck?”

  Harvey’s hand froze. “Rey.”

  Erin turned big eyes to me. “What are you doing here?”

  I shoved my finger into Harvey’s face. “What the fuck were you thinking? Taking her out of the academy? Look what the fuck happened!”

  Erin cradled her hurt hand. “This isn’t his fault.”

  “Rey, chill out,” Harvey said.

  That only made me angrier.

  Doreen, a female demon hunter with red hair and in her thirties, approached us. “What’s going on here?”

  “Nothing,” I snapped. “I told Andre that I would help, but I think it’s best if I escort these two back to the academy.”

  Doreen nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.” She pointed to her back. “Take the south road. We already swept that area and found nothing. You all should be safe.”

  “Thanks, Doreen,” I said.

  Doreen narrowed her hazel eyes at Harvey. “Should I tell your father about this?”

  Harvey grimaced. “Please, don’t.”

  “Get out of here safe in the next few minutes and I won’t.” Doreen winked, then stalked away, in the direction of the other demon hunters.

  Harvey stood up. He grabbed Erin’s unhurt hand and tugged her up. I wanted to break all his fingers right now.

  “What’s going on?” Erin asked, her eyes on the group of demon hunters that ran past the green and disappeared down a side road.

  “They are hunting a frost fae,” I told them. “And I’m in charge of taking you both to the academy.” I reached for Erin.

  She took a step back. “You sound like you’re a lot older than we are.”

  “Well, you two know I’m a lot older than anyone in this fucking town,” I snapped.

  “You know what I mean.” She crossed her arms in defiance. “You’re a student like us, not a professor or a full-fledged demon hunter.”

  “What the fuck?” I muttered. “You know my authority and you two are coming with me right now, or so help me.” My rage spiked and darkfire enveloped my hands.

  Gasping, Erin took another step back.

  Harvey raised both hands in a sign of peace. “Dude, chill out.”

  Fuck. I let out a long breath and dropped my magic. “You heard Doreen. We have to go now, down the south road, or she’ll tell your father, and probably your mother—” I was sure Professor Martha would be furious about this. “—about where you were when chaos hit West Hill.”

  Harvey cursed under his breath. “All right, let’s go.” He stomped past me, toward the south road.

  Erin remained frozen for a few more seconds, shooting me daggers with her golden eyes. Finally, she let out a long, exasperated breath and followed Harvey. And I followed them both.

  I tried calming down as we walked down the south road. If I got in my car with them feeling like this, I was certain to either drive into a tree, or punch Harvey.

  Or both.

  I inhaled deeply, holding the air for a few seconds, before letting it go. Holy fuck, so many things could have gone wrong tonight. Erin could have been hurt, Harvey too. They could have been found out by Harvey’s parents—Harvey would have been grounded, and Erin would have been shunned by his parents, and because of their influence at the academy, others would follow their example.

  And Erin would realize I had come after her. That I was dying of jealousy. That I wanted to tell Harvey to fuck off. That I wanted to grab Erin and kiss her.

  Ever since seeing her on the bench without a coat, I wanted to take mine off and offer it to her, but once again, that would only send her mixed signals.

  I let out another long breath.

  A few feet in front of me, Erin halted. I slowed down and stopped by her side. “What is it?”

  She glanced to a small townhouse on the left. “Look at the window.”

  I did. Faint white light shone from inside. It flickered as if magic was being used every few seconds.

  I frowned. “The demon hunters said they swept this road.”

  “Maybe that’s why the fae is back here,” Erin said. “Because he knows the hunters won’t come looking for him here.”

  “Her,” I corrected her. “Andre told me it’s a female.” Eyes on the window, Erin took a step toward it. I snatched her arm. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  She halted, as if realizing what she had been about to do. “I don’t know,” she whispered. Then, she glanced up at me. “Is there a way you can contact the other hunters and let them know the fae is here?”

  I reached for my phone inside my jacket, but I didn’t have it with me. In my rush to come after her, I had left my phone in my room. “We can go back and let them know.”

  “I have another idea,” Harvey said. I followed his voice and found him sneaking up to the townhouse.

  “Harvey! What the fuck?”

  Harvey put a finger over his lips. “We capture this fae and we’ll be heroes!” He stalked closer to the house.

  “We have to stop him,” Erin said, going after him.

  I ran past her, going directly to Harvey to stop him, but the little shit saw me coming and he sped up. Summoning his Dawnblade, he pushed in the front door and burst inside the house.

  “No!” Erin screamed.

  She and I entered the house together and froze at the door.

  Inside, a young female fae cowered in the corner, a wound on her shoulder, and frost magic in her outstretched hand. “Don’t come closer,” she said, her voice weak.

  Usually, fae were a beautiful bunch. All of them with different characteristics, depending on their kingdom, but all of them beautiful. And this female fae was no different. She had long, silver hair, bright blue eyes, and slightly pointed ears. Though she was dressed in rags—dirty pants and sweater—she had a regal air about her. If I could bet, I would say she was royalty or close to it.

  Harvey twirled his sword in his hands. “You invaded and destroyed this town. Now, you’ll pay for it.”

  The fae shook her head. “It wasn’t me.”

  Erin stepped in front of Harvey and pushed his blade aside. “What the hell are you doing?” he complained.

  Erin took another step closer. “Who was it, then?”

  “Shadow fae,” she said. “They are after me. I didn’t mean to bring them into town, but I had no choice. They chased me off the mountain.”

  “Shadow fae?” I asked, frowning. As far as I knew, Shadow fae ruled the fae world, and most frost fae had been banished to Earth years ago. ”Where are they?”

  Suddenly, the young fae pushed her hand out and a flash of frost zipped past my head. I summoned my Dawnblade, ready to kill her on the spot, until I heard the thump right behind me.

  A shadow fae encased in ice lay in the hallway a few feet behind me.

  “There they are,” the fae said.

  The shadow fae appeared in the corners of the house. Tall, lean, with long black hair, and either white-porcelain or smooth black skin, the shadow fae surrounded us—four to one. They wore black clothes with hanging fabrics and cloaks, and held on to long black-tipped spears.

  Erin held on to the frost fae’s arm and hoisted her up. The four of us bunched up as the circled tightened around us.

  “Dear Lady Farrah, we’ve found you,” a tall m
ale fae said. His armor was slightly different from the others, with pointed spauldrons and more details in silver. Instead of a spear, he held a long sword in his hand. He was the leader of this bunch. “You should know better than to run from us.”

  Farrah glanced at us. “Sorry I’ve put you in danger like this. I didn't want anyone harmed because of me.” She took a step forward and spoke louder, “I’ll go with General Auron, but only if you promise not tol harm my friends.”

  Friends. She had called us friends. She was trying to trade her life for our safety—for the safety of strangers.

  If she didn’t have a good heart, then I didn’t know who had.

  “No.” Erin grabbed Farrah’s arm. “I don’t know what your story is, but it’s obvious these guys aren’t friendly.”

  Farrah turned a sorrowful smile to Erin. “I appreciate your concern, but they won’t stop hunting me.”

  I extended my hand and my Dawnblade appeared. I turned my stare to the general. “Then we fight them all and help you out.”

  Farrah sucked in a sharp breath, as if not believing my words.

  General Auron let out a long chuckle. “Demon hunters helping a frost fae. That must be a first.” His laughter died and his stare became deadly. “Kill the demon hunters and capture Lady Farrah.”

  The shadow fae lunged at us. Harvey and I used our swords to fend them off, while Erin fought with her magic for the first time, and Farrah used her frost powers.

  In such a tight spot, it was hard to move, but once I cut through one of the fae, I was able to push them back and gain more room. Their shadow magic was incredibly powerful, but as a half-demon, my magic wasn’t too far behind. I threw my darkfire at a shadow fae—it hit him square in the chest and spread like wildfire—then I swung my sword wide and sliced a fae’s chest open.

  Three down.

  I turned around and took the scene in. Harvey had killed two, Farrah had frozen two others, and Erin had created a wall of darkfire around one of them. I knew she was avoiding killing them, but we wouldn’t get away if we didn’t reduce their numbers drastically.

  Erin turned to another shadow fae, and I advanced on her darkfire-encased one. I plunged my sword through the darkfire and killed him, then I turned to the one she was battling. He thrust his spear forward. Erin sidestepped him, but the fae was smart. He sent a shadow bolt at her, anticipating her movement. I wound my arm around her waist, tugged her to me, and twisted her out of the way. Still holding her, I swiped my sword and cut the fae’s head off.