“I know exactly what I am.” Sionnach slid the weapon out of his stomach. He didn’t fling it away; instead he dropped it in the puddle beside him. He didn’t want to have it tucked between his body and his hand, but he had no other weapon. He’d keep this one near him in case he needed it. Pointedly, he looked from her injured hand to his own. His hand was barely bruised by touching the handle. He was stronger, and they both knew it.

“Think about this,” he cautioned her.

“I have. Rule of might: I have it, and you’re losing it.” Maili’s expression was anxious, but she squared her shoulders before adding, “I just need a chance to prove I’m strong enough to be Alpha. You were in the way.”

“You’re making a mistake.” Sionnach glanced at the mouth of the alley. Several of Carissa’s friends that he hadn’t yet met had just joined her. Despite the worried look on her face, she was safer now, and he was relieved. Right now, he didn’t think Maili would harm her; her goal seemed to have been merely to use her to distract him, to make him look away. It had worked. Nonetheless, he was glad Carissa wasn’t alone now—and therefore not as vulnerable.

Maili squatted beside him, glaring. “You are no better than us, fox.”

“Maybe not better, but I am smarter. Rika won’t forgive this, and she’s stronger than all of us.”

Maili laughed. “Power is only valuable if you use it. Rika doesn’t.”

In silence, Sionnach watched Carissa walk away with her friends. He wished he could tell her that he hadn’t sent a message and then abandoned her, but there were more important things than a few moments of her worry. Being Alpha in the desert meant that he had to put security and order in front of his own interests. Alpha was a duty, one that he sometimes wished he could hand to another faery—not forever, but for a few years so he could enjoy life more. It had been far too long since he’d had a true holiday.

Maili didn’t understand what being Alpha meant. She saw being Alpha as a thing of power. It wasn’t. It was a responsibility, and the only reason Rika hadn’t claimed it was because she hadn’t had someone to protect or defend. Now that she had Jayce, she was more likely to be receptive. That had been his original plan. Now that Sionnach had been poisoned with a toxic weapon, Rika had another reason to step forward.

Maybe I should’ve just gotten myself stabbed instead of finding her a date. He wasn’t quite sure which of the two had caused more pain. He closed his eyes with a laugh at his own expense.

Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10