Page 132 of Savage Fate

Fane snarled and tried to grab my arm, but a drago torpedoed between us, forcing us apart.

Dread filled my veins as the realization hit me like a wrecking ball.

Somehow, probably with the Infernal Sol’s assistance, Barric had set this whole thing up. Heplantedthat vision in my head. He needed me to be here at this exact moment, in the middle of all this commotion.

Was he controlling the sub-demons too?

“Are you desperate for a fix?” He reached into the top of his shirt and pulled out the amulet, letting it dangle in the air.

Taunting me.

I hadn’t even realized I’d moved toward Barric until Fane’s voice erupted in my head.

“Don’t give in, Tate!”

My boots squealed to a halt, sinking into the soft grass. I breathed heavily as a cold sweat soaked my clothes. The urge to dart forward and grab the Infernal Sol out of Barric’s grasp was so powerful that fighting it almost sent me to my knees.

“What do you want?” I hissed.

“I want many things, dear daughter.” His foreboding laughter resonated through the cemetery over growls, clashing bodies, and battle cries.

Deep down, in the darkest, nastiest parts of my soul, I’d hoped to face Barric so I could steal the Infernal Sol.

I still wanted it.

Of course you do. We belong together.

“Touch her, Barric, and I will tear your head off so fast your brain will still be functioning while I rip your spine out.” Fane decapitated a qourt with ease, splattering black demon blood on his hands and face.

Barric calmly sat on a long tombstone, grinning. His casual jeans and red-and-blue plaid shirt did a spectacular job of hiding the real monster beneath. He looked more like a friendly neighbor than a psychotic shifter.

“Don’t you want to know how to cure her sickness, Maverick?” Barric tsked and folded his arms over his barrel chest. “I bet that dagger Reese stabbed her with didn’t help matters.”

Of course the bastard knew what was wrong with me and how to fix it.

Unless he was lying and there was no cure at all.

“Doyoueven know, Barric?” When Fane marched toward the former head alpha, I blocked his path. “You’re probably just bluffing to save your sorry ass from me.”

The murderous rage bubbling within Fane made it clear that if he got his hands on Barric, he’d kill him.

Unfortunately, we needed the bastard alive in case he actually knew how to fix me. Locating the rest of The Collective Hunt so they couldn’t hurt anyone else would also be helpful.

“Fane, wait.” I gripped his shoulders. “Let’s see if?—”

Electric-purple bands of magic struck Fane, violently knocking him into a tree. Its branches shook from the hit.

My pulse skyrocketed, and as I spun, Roman slinked from the shadows, wielding his magic to capture Fane.

“Let him go, asshole!” I stormed forward and crushed my fist into his cheek.

He stumbled sideways and fell, pulling me to the ground with him. Fane howled and fought the binds that pinned him to the tree.

They wouldn’t for long. Roman couldn’t maintain the magic if he was unconscious.

“Release him,” I demanded, yanking my hand back to deliver another punch that would knock him out.

Roman grabbed the sides of my head, and the cemetery suddenly fell away…

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