you doubt me. Either way, you can sit and watch from the sidelines or you can be there beside me.” I walked to Viktor with every hair on my body standing on edge. There was something terribly different, but whatever it was it was drawing me to him.
It was like power radiated off of him—something I craved. I had to be careful, though. Something different had changed in the time he’d left to see Declan. I touched his shoulder and sparks shot through me. I kept my hand there.
“Can I count on you to be by my side?” I asked as the electric current still stung. He needed to answer quickly, because I wasn’t sure I could keep my hand there any longer. He must have known because he smiled at me devilishly.
“I’ll always be there as long as you ask it of me.” He took my hand and kissed it and his eyes never left mine.
I turned to walk away and for a minute Viktor wouldn’t let go. There was a message he had in his eyes that I would ask him about later, but Simon was here. Even though he posed no threat at the moment, I refused to let him get me by surprise.
“Later,” was all I whispered, and he released my hand.
“Well, since I’m no longer running things, I am going to take my leave. Viktor knows how to get in touch with me and, then again, Sloane, so do you now if you just try hard enough.” I rolled my eyes at Simon and stared outside the window.
“Simon, I doubt I will need you for anything, but then again, stay close should I get hungry again.” His smile disappeared just as quickly as his presence did.
I stood there trying to figure out what I was going to do. I needed to gather more strength, which meant I would have to hang around more people like Simon. I wouldn’t take any from Viktor, because in the end, I was hoping Viktor and Declan would be the ones to save me from myself. And they’d need every bit of their powers to do so.
“Sloane, what’s going on?” Viktor stood next to me looking out the same window. He was careful not to touch me.
“How much can I really trust you, Viktor? And where is your true loyalty?” I turned to look at him.
“Look, Sloane, I know I screwed up—” I didn’t let him finish.
“I’m not talking about us.” I bowed my head because the pain was still fresh. “I mean to your boss.” Viktor looked confused.
“I’m his second. What else can I say?” He shrugged his shoulders. “We didn’t get our employment from being honest.” He smiled.
“So if I ask something of you and you disobeyed him, it wouldn’t be out of character?”
“There is always a power struggle down under, Sloane. Before you go up against him, I suggest you sleep on it.” He never looked at me.
“I have no desire to lead whatsoever, Viktor.” Now I had his attention. I looked down at my hands as I subconsciously fidgeted. Suddenly I couldn’t stand still.
“Then what the hell are you doing?”
“I’m ending this. Every damn bit of it. When I said I didn’t want this, I meant it.” He grabbed my hands to steady me. I looked into his eyes just so he could get a clearer understanding.
“Then why all the charades?” He was confused. “Let’s just leave.”
“I’m not running and living the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.” I pulled my hands free from his. “I’m going to make this right. So I need your help.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to take me to places where I can gather more strength.”
“Absolutely not!” He looked like a two year-old throwing a tantrum. “You want me to take you places where you can steal other minion’s darkness?”
“It would look and fit the part. Word will travel and the followers will come and bare witness.” I tried to explain.
“Witness to what, exactly, Sloane? If you think for one minute that you’ll be able to control it, you’re wrong. Gathering so much in a little time, only to turn your back on it, will guarantee your demise. It will destroy you in the end.” He was mad and scared, but for whom I couldn’t tell.
“You don’t think I know that? Right now I feel like a junkie. You have no idea how hard it is for me not to feed from you right now,