Page 64 of Savage Hunt

Every muscle turned to stone as I waited for the spell's effects. If they hurt him, I’d never forgive myself. I’d also let the Infernal Sol take over every square inch of me and return to Heldrok to make Venna, Mykel, and Kaspin suffer until their last dying breath.

Fane coughed and sputtered, but he couldn’t stop the spell mixture from burrowing into his senses. A violet sheen spilled into his irises as they glazed over, and he stopped struggling. His ragged breaths slowed, and his head bowed.

With a wave of Kaspin’s hand, Fane’s muzzle fell to the stone ground with a thud. He brought the bowl to Venna, and she plucked out the chain with her long nails, dangling the bloodstone in front of the demon shifter.

“Fane? Look at me.”

When his head lifted, his gaze zeroed in on the bloodstone.

“Do you know what this is?”

“It’s the amulet Diama enchanted to find Warin’s killer.” His voice was flat and emotionless, like he was trapped in a daze.

Venna nodded. “And do you know who killed your brother?”

Lines developed across his forehead. “Yes, but she…” He swallowed hard as if having a hard time speaking. “She…”

“She what?” The demon princess scowled at the witch. “This had better work, Kaspin.”

Fane’s muscles strained as he pulled on the binds chaining him to the ground, battling Kaspin’s spell. “She…”

A bead of sweat ran down my nape, and my nails bit into my palms so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if my hands were bleeding back in the cave. Venna wanted him to despise me again for killing his brother. Had the spell washed away all we’d gone through in the last year?

“Fight it, Fane.” I kneeled in front of him, urging him to see me. “You are stronger than his magic. You can fight this.”

The veins in his neck popped, and his jaw clenched. “Tate…”

“Yes, that’s her name.” Venna stepped forward and gingerly lowered the talisman around Fane’s neck, letting it rest on his chest. “She killed Warin in cold blood. Remember how brutal it was? You must avenge him.”

“Avenge him,” he muttered. “I’ve been searching for his killer.”

“And you found her, remember?”

My heart plunged to the bottom of my gut as darkness flooded his features, and rage pulsated in his eyes. The spell was winning.

“Tatum Teague.” The name dripped off Fane’s tongue with enough venom to kill me in seconds. “She will pay.”

Chapter

Twenty-One

Blood thundered in my ears, and the feeling of sweat slinked down my nape even though I wasn’t in my body. Cracks spiderwebbed across my heart as rage pulsated from Fane, and the urge to rip me to pieces overwhelmed everything in him.

This couldn’t be happening.

A slow smile twisted Venna’s mouth. “This is marvelous, Kaspin. The spell won’t break in her presence?”

“No, princess,” Kaspin assured. “He’s now loyal to you.”

The door crashed open, and Wrath—back in his Demarcus glamour—marched into the room, his lips thinning at the scene. “What the hell is going on in my prison?”

Venna sauntered to a table, grabbing a bottle of wine. “Relax, Demarcus. I’m just taking what’s owed me.” She clearly didn’t know who he really was.

Wrath moved too fast to track, snatched the bottle out of Venna’s hand before she could open it, and threw it against the wall. Red wine exploded across the grimy stone. “You’re done here.”

“That’s fine.” She shrugged, unaffected by his outburst. “Now that Tate is no longer here and I have Fane to lure her, I don’t need to return.”

The high demon’s black gaze ran over Fane, his nostrils flaring. “What did you do to him?”

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