Page 36 of Savage Claim

My scream pelted the air as blood poured out of the witch, soaking the concrete beneath him. “Let me go! I can still save him.” I struggled in Fane’s grasp, wildly kicking the air.

His hold tightened to keep me from escaping. “She’ll kill you.”

The royal demon dug her claws in and then ripped Kaspin’s head off, splattering crimson blood all over her pale face and hair. “There’s no saving him, little girl.”

“No!” All of the fight drained out of me, and my knees buckled. I would have hit the ground if Fane wasn’t holding me against his hard form. Tears blurred my vision as my lungs refused to work.

It was over. We’d never break the spell on Fane. I’d never get him back.

“Do you know what you did?” My words broke at the end as agony ripped into me.

Fane spun me toward him, his nostrils flaring. “I saved your fucking life. Again. I know what you were thinking, and you have no idea if the demon amulet could have saved you. You probably would have died.”

I steadied my legs and shoved him off. “Kaspin was the only one who could break the spell on you.”

The demon shifter’s nostrils flared as he grabbed the collar of my leather jacket and yanked me to him, his lips almost brushing me. “I already told you I’m not having any witches screw with my mind again, even Kaspin. I control my life. Not some enchantment. You should know by now that I’m stronger than that.”

Was he? Or did Fane just prefer to keep the spell intact to keep his true feelings for me from fully surfacing?

Movement caught our attention as dux demons suddenly swarmed into the area, Venna barking orders at them.

Logan cursed and gripped Kortney’s arm. “Time to go, kids. I really don’t feel like fighting a bunch of demons tonight. This was supposed to be my rom-com movie night.”

Kortney squirmed in his grasp as he towed her by us. “Let me go. I can fight if I want.”

Fane grabbed me, and I allowed him to drag me along as the loss of hope twisted through my veins. I wouldn’t be any good in a fight anyway, distracted as I was.

Venna would pay for this. That royal bitch had been a thorn in my side for years now. She’d thrown Fane and me in prison and had us tortured and torn apart. She wouldn’t continue to ruin my life.

I’d end hers before she could, no matter the cost.

I bolted upright in bed, panic consuming me as the interior of the Bowden’s pool house still lingered, trapping me within the horrifying scene that replayed in my mind. The stench of chlorine, sweat, and gin clogged my nose, and my dinner threatened to reappear. The feel of Mr. Bowden’s sick, unwanted touch branded my flesh.

If I could move, I’d climb into a scolding shower and scrub my skin clean like I’d done after every encounter.

As the pool house walls faded, my room at Silver Ridge materialized, my body trembling from the aftershocks of the nightmare.

But it wasn’t just a nightmare. It was a memory, one of many, that haunted me. I’d never be able to wash away what happened, no matter how many times I curled up on the shower floor and prayed for the images to disappear.

Having a nightworlder compel me to forget wouldn’t work. The trauma was engrained too deeply, and nothing could remove it, not even magic. This sick feeling would still twist around me even if I didn’t remember why.

Tears ran down my cheeks, hitting the tops of my knees as I curled them to my chest, resting my chin on them. Darkness coated the windows, and the clock on the nightstand read a little after one in the morning. I wouldn’t get much sleep tonight. The moment I closed my eyes, the memories would flood my mind.

Movement across the room caught my attention as Fane stirred on the worn leather couch, his feet hanging off the end. He turned in my direction, his luminescent stare penetrating the shadows.

This was one time I didn’t internally protest when he decided to sleep on the couch instead of the bed. Fury still seared my veins at what occurred with Venna and Mykel earlier tonight. He let her kill Kaspin. He let her destroy any chance we had at breaking the spell, taking away his urge to kill me and returning his memories.

“I didn’t let Venna do anything.” A rough growl infiltrated Fane’s gruff voice.

My eyes narrowed. “Stay out of my head, Maverick.”

Surprisingly, Fane didn’t say a word to Barric about my confrontation with the demon princess and her favorite henchman. If the head alpha knew I’d snuck off to meet the very creature he was trying to protect me from, he’d probably put a bodyguard on me twenty-four seven.

Fane sat up, jamming his hand through his unruly locks. “What good would breaking this spell do if you’d killed yourself? Do you know how crazy that is?”

“I wasn’t really going to do it. I only wanted her to believe it.” The Infernal Sol would pump me full of power to keep me alive like it had before. And if I had died, then I would have saved Fane from his doomed fate of killing me and finally breaking the spell only to be consumed with guilt.

The demon shifter yanked the blanket off, stood, and closed the distance between us with silent steps, the rage around him palpable. He gripped my jaw and tilted my head back to look at him. “If anyone’s going to kill you, it’ll be me. I’m not fighting this urge just to have you commit suicide over a pipe dream of bringing your old boyfriend back.”

---