Once I was in front of him, I finally looked up at Crow, only to be shocked at the anger in his violet eyes. Within seconds, three of his birds were attacking Oz, diving at his face with their razor-sharp claws and beaks.
“What the fuck!” Oz screamed while swatting at the assailants, dropping the knife in the process.
The moment I was free from its sharp edge, Crow wrapped his arm around my middle and pulled me over to his side. My breath hitched at the contact, and his hand warmed me through the fabric of my shirt.
“Sorry about that. I guess I need more training,” Crow said to Oz with an impish smile. “They’re just impossible to control.”
I had to place a hand over my mouth to stop the snort in my throat.
“Fucking pests,” Oz cursed while wiping his bloodied lip.
“I think more training is definitely in order,” Freddie replied stonily, making dread gather in my gut. I didn’t like the predatory way he was staring at Crow and me.
“You’re going to fight. Your birds can fucking peck at the spider bitch for a change,” he said, sweeping his eyes up and down my body. Freddie had attended a few of my feeding sessions, so his presence here was unnerving.
“And what if I don’t want to?” Crow asked. His birds flocked around him on high alert, staring down at the Spector men with irritation as they cawed and clawed at the air.
At Crow’s question, Freddie smiled meanly. I could feel the malice rolling off of his expression. “Then you’ll be punished. You remember what happened yesterday, don’t you, Crow?” he asked, while cocking his head to the side. “I can always put in a request for the researchers to do more tests, since I know how much you enjoyed it last time.”
Crow’s face turned pale at whatever insinuation was hidden behind the man’s dark words. Crow wasn’t in training yesterday, but I hadn’t thought anything of it. I was simply thankful for a break from the strange allure between us. Now, I wanted to know what they’d done to him.
My spider wanted to make them pay.
A low growl rumbled in my chest, surprising me. The sound must have pulled Crow out of his shock, because he cleared his voice. “Sure thing, asshole,” he said in forced nonchalance before turning to face me.
The apology in his eyes made me worried for what was to come. His birds—although freaky as hell—seemed to like me. Just like that day in the cafeteria, some of them were hopping around at my feet, looking up at me expectantly.
They still freaked me out a bit, to be honest, but mostly because they made me think of the night of the ritual. I couldn’t help remembering how the birds had pecked Spector guards to death, carrying bits of flesh in their sharp beaks. The memory made me shiver.
“Alright, you two are to fight head-to-head until one of you takes the other down or we call for you to stop. We’ll be observing on the sidelines,” Freddie said as they both made their way off the mats.
We had plenty of space away from the other trainees, and our section was separated by a thick wall of glass.
“What did they do to you yesterday?” I asked in a soft voice, not wanting the trainers to hear. I was disproportionately concerned for Crow. Realistically, we all were suffering here. It was every man for himself on Spector’s turf. But I cared for Crow and Tomb. The idea of them suffering was unsettling for my spider and me.
“Oh, so now you want to talk? I thought you were avoiding me like the plague, Little Spider,” Crow teased while crossing his arms over his chest, as if he wasn’t in a hurry to do what the trainers said.
“It’s not like I’ve had much of a chance. These training sessions are intense,” I deflected.
“So intense that all you can do now is throw quick glances at me when I’m not looking and then turn away when I meet your eyes? I thought we hit it off in the cafeteria. What changed?”
My eyes flickered to the glass wall separating us from Oz and Freddie. I wasn’t sure how much they could hear or if everyone knew what I’d done yet.
“It’s complicated. My demon…” my voice trailed off. I wasn’t sure how to explain myself. I felt too vulnerable in that moment, strung between my odd desire for Crow and the fear of what I’d done to Tomb.
“I know about Tomb,” Crow whispered while glancing at the glass, as if expecting them to intervene at any moment. It was like he could read my mind. Luckily, Oz and Freddie seemed to be in deep discussion with one of the researchers, so we had a little more time. Crow and I pretended to be stretching, like we were preparing for a run rather than getting ready to try and attack each other with our demon powers.
“You’ve seen Tomb? How is he?” I rushed out. “Is he okay?” A million questions and concerns poured out of me.
Crow swung his arms around, more and more birds materializing out of the shadowy vapor that came off of him in black wisps. “That’s a tricky question,” Crow said thoughtfully. “What exactly happened while you were in the tank, Motley? It’s like he’s...invincible now.”
Invincible? “What do you mean?” I asked, my mouth dropped open in shock.
“He can’t die, Motley. No matter how hard they try…”
It was my worst dreams come true. I’d changed Tomb. He wanted to escape this place, but I gave Spector more of a reason to keep him.
A chill skittered over my pulse points. “What do you mean how hard they try?” I asked warily.
Crow looked somber. “They’ve tried to kill him over and over again. They’ve been bringing in other hybrids. They even forced me to do it—or my crows, rather. But no matter what I did, he wouldn’t stay
