Page 137 of Savage Fate

My head pounded,and I winced at the soreness in my muscles from fighting those sub-demons as I was gently laid on cold concrete. The restraints were separated but locked around each wrist again.

“You came out of that too fast,” Roman whispered as I stirred. “Pretend to be asleep until we leave. He can’t realize how strong you still are.”

Even though the urge to fight clawed at my muscles, I willed my body to remain limp. My head slumped to the side, and I cracked my eyelids just enough to analyze my surroundings. Icetrickled through my bloodstream as I recognized the familiar dank cell and the hallway beyond the bars.

I’d been locked up in a similar one years ago at Karn’s manor in Vlehull.

Were we at Karn’s old place? Fane had demolished the gothic mansion when he busted in to rescue me, but maybe parts of it survived, like the decrepit underground prison.

Had Barric and his Collective minions been hiding in the Underworld this whole time?

Chains rattled, drawing my attention to the occupied cell beside mine, a wall of steel bars separating the two cramped spaces.

“Here’s your dinner, pet.” Wes, that prick from Silver Ridge, tossed a few pieces of meat at the high demon curled up in the corner. “If you’re a good boy, maybe we’ll let you out for some more torture.”

Wes had never been nice, but now cruel, sinister energy pulsated around him, and I could almost feel his thirst for chaos and violence.

“Leave him alone, Wes.” Roman stood and locked the door to my cell. “He’s not your pet.”

Wes snorted. “Of course he is. Barric said we can play with him as much as we want—as long as we don’t kill him.” His gaze swiveled to me, and I shut my lids, slowing my breaths. “I hope Barric lets us play with her. She’d be a lot more fun.”

The lust swirling in his voice curdled my stomach.

“Don’t even think about touching her.” Roman’s magic crackled in the air. “She’s not your entertainment.”

The shifter snorted. “We’ll see.”

Their footsteps hit the stone floor, and once they faded, I sat up. The demon’s bare back was toward me as he crouched and chewed on the meat, whelps, cuts, and bruises mottling his pale, tattooed flesh.

Chains that were wrapped around his arms and legs scraped over the concrete with every move.

“Do you know where we are?” I asked. “Are we in Lord Karn’s old place?”

He stopped eating and glanced over his shoulder, but the shadows were too thick, and his dark hair obscured most of his face. “Yes, Karn’s. That oversized bat.”

Fane had gotten to me at the mansion before. He had that special talent for finding things, but would the Infernal Sol block our connection? Was our bond strong enough to break through its ancient power?

“Did The Collective capture you?” I studied the restraints on my wrists, my nose crinkling at how snug they were now. Roman must have used magic to tighten them. My skin would rip to the bone if I tried to pull them off.

“It was a funny coincidence.” The demon snorted. “Not funny ha-ha but funny strange.”

My brow furrowed. There was something familiar about his voice. Maybe we’d met before.

“Who would have thought shifters—the nightworlders closest to humans—would revive a nearly extinct demon cult.” His feverish laugh echoed within the cell.

“The Nosterium?” So we hadn’t been that far off when we suspected the demon group was behind the murders.

Of course, we couldn’t have known shifters had replaced the power-hungry demons.

“They’ve been talking about you and preparing for your coming.” He shook his head. “I was hoping they wouldn’t catch you, but those bastards are sneaky. Maybe he’ll be along soon to spring you out before anything bad touches you.”

“He? He who?”

“Fane, of course. Your mate.” The demon turned and crawled toward the barrier separating us, the chains dragging behindhim. “I hope he kills them all. I don’t even mind dying when he comes. This is worse than death. I would know. I’ve been there.”

I leaned forward, attempting to peer through the shadows to get a good look at him. “What’s your name?”

Long, pale, tattooed fingers wrapped around the bars, and then his face pressed against them, stealing the air from my lungs. “Hello, beautiful.”

“Ruin?” The grimy cell blurred out of focus, and my heart dropped as I stared into those haunting blue eyes. “You’re alive?”

To be continued…

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