Page 81 of Insatiable

Almost as soon as the words leave his mouth, Rowena turns towards the stairs, her eyes a gleaming gold. The sound of the leash hits each step as she starts upwards.

“Shit!” I barrel fully through the door and race up the stairs after her, passing someone next to the stairs.

“Rowena stop!” I cry out, but her eyes remain gold and she continues on. I try holding her back, but she’s stronger than I am. “Stop!” I cry, pulling on her arm. Tears roll down my face as she drags me from step to step.

“Command her to stop!” Felix yells out and I’m not sure if he’s talking to me or the lunatic he’s holding by the throat.

“I can’t!” I yell back.

“Command her to stop or I will fucking end you. Do you hear me?”

The lunatic laughs, a strange high-pitched laugh, but doesn’t say the words to make Ro stop. We’re almost at the top of the first landing. It’s about twenty feet from the ground. If she falls, she might survive, but it’s unlikely. I grip onto her with all my might, forcing myself between Ro and the edge. Her eyes glisten unnaturally, but I know she sees me despite the compulsion. If she takes a step forward now, we’re both going over the edge.

“Rowena!” I plead, my face wet with tears. “Please don’t do this. You’ll be killing your baby!”

A solitary tear streaks down her face, but she presses forward. First I go over the edge, then right after, she follows.

There’s an almighty scream.

Half a second later, I fall on something soft and it takes a few seconds to realize Dade has me in his arm. Ro is holding onto his other arm, sobbing loudly now that the spell is broken.

“I heard you yelling stop,” Dade explains as he flies us both back up to the landing we’d fallen from.

“You are fucking dead meat!”

I glance down to see Felix pound his fist into the man’s nose. Blood spurts everywhere, but Felix doesn’t stop.

“Felix!” Ro shouts out, causing him to momentarily pause.

“Don’t kill him. You’ll be out of the games.

Felix looks insane with madness, but there’s something in his voice that lets the man go. The man’s head drops to the side. He’s not dead, but he’s unconscious, which means Ro is safe for now.

“We need to get him to a hospital,” Ro whispers.

I look at her incredulously. “He tried to kill you.”

Before she can respond, Felix charges up the stairs, positioning himself protectively between us.

“Ro. You nearly fucking died. I almost lost you.”

“But you didn’t.”

Felix’s hands tremble, and I can see the storm brewing in his eyes. His chest rises and falls rapidly as he takes in Ro, making sure she’s still standing, still breathing.

“That monster doesn’t deserve our mercy,” Felix growls, glancing back at the unconscious man. “What if he wakes up? What if he comes after you again?”

“And what if they throw you out of the games?”

“I would relinquish my place in the games if it meant keeping you safe. I will not let him touch you again.” Felix clenches his jaw. The fire in his eyes flickers as he grapples with her words. “I’d rather burn this whole fucking place down than see you hurt.”

“I know,” she replies softly, reaching out to place a hand on his arm, grounding him.

I grip onto Dade as Felix leans in and takes Ro in his arms and kisses her.

I want to feel happy that Felix has finally got his shit together where Rowena is concerned, but I can never forgive him for what he did to Jenny.

Ignoring the stab of pain in my heart watching them, I glance back down to the unconscious man and finally get a good look at the person Felix was with. The one I raced past in my desperation to get to Rowena before she threw herself off the landing.

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