Page 116 of Bloodgrove

“The Hunter does not claim me.”

The King nodded. His head had not entirely fused with the growths surrounding him.

“You have served me for many years. I value your chimeras greatly. And now you wish to become my Red Hand?”

Elodie drew breath to speak, but no sound emerged. Though Will could not turn his head toward her, he suspected the King had stolen her voice.

“I am ready,” Eric said, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

“Do you have a sacrifice for me?”

“I have too many to choose only one.”

Will thought in horror of the Arcos family, of the laughing children and his happy parents. How could Eric endanger them for his ambitions? Or did he know Elodie would prevail over them all? Was he willing to sacrifice her so that he might perhaps save his family?

“You purchased a ticket for this young man with a blood toll—so that I would spare him?” the King asked, and Will shuddered.

He had learned that gods—at least those walking the earth—were not omniscient. But it would have been easier to face this one if he had sounded mad, if he had huffed like the Red Hand or spoken in the singsong voice of the Albatross.

“Yes.” Eric did not lie.

The King nodded slowly and tilted his head. “Rarely have I been offered two candidates of such quality. One murdered my servant. The other has served me for fifteen years.” Then the King focused on Will and raised a hairless eyebrow. “Would you also like to become my servant?” he asked with a trace of humor.

Suddenly, Will felt his muscles relax, and control of his body returned. But he merely sank back upon his heels and brushed a trembling strand of hair from his face. “Thank you, but no. I want to return to the Capitol.”

Yet another thought gnawed at him.

Eric had said Elodie had no ticket for him. Had everything gone according to her plan, Will would have been at the townhouse during the battle against the Red Hand. Eric would have remained at home. What if Wilkinson had been her first choice, but she had always known there was a risk? That she might be required to sacrifice her true love?

What if she had charmed and courted Will from the beginning because she needed a sacrifice?

Who greeted a newly hired interior designer wearing nothing but a whisper of silk? Why had she allowed herself to appear vulnerable before him? She had wanted him present during her examination, knowing he would suffer with her and wish to protect her. When she invited him to Bloodgrove, she couldn’t have known that he was not interested in women. It had merely been her good fortune that she awakened this new part of him.

And she had allowed herself to fall in love with him as well. She would have smothered those feelings the moment they interfered with her plan.

Will blinked back tears. But why? Because she had no one else to sacrifice? Her family was dead, and her friendships were shallow. Who knew what her father had revealed to her?

Then he understood. She had done all of it to protect Eric. Eric would survive, and she would free the city from the curse.

It was cruel and beautiful at once, like an avalanche, a lightning strike, a forest fire.

“I’m here to be sacrificed,” Will said.

“You said he was naïve,” the King said mildly.

“I am sorry,” Eric whispered.

Will only gave a low hum, incapable of words while tears ran down his burning cheeks. Shame and humiliation burned inside him, mingling with the crushing weight of a broken heart.

“You may still withdraw your offer,” said the king.

Eric shook his head. “No.”

The King laughed, and fluid gurgled inside his lungs. “This is the first time two candidates wish to sacrifice the same person.”

“I do not want to sacrifice him,” Eric interjected.

With his half-fused fingers, the King made an almost human gesture of dismissal. “Let us end this game. I know that all three of you love one another. The thought is very familiar to me. I, too, once loved two beings, but it was doomed to fail.”