Page 49 of Last Ride of the Umbra Fae

“If she isn’t delivered at my feet by the time the sun sets tomorrow…”Fang’s words echoed in my thoughts as I dozed in and out of sleep for the rest of the night. It was a blended sense of worry as Vessa’s threats seared deeper. Every time I watched her sleep, the more of a bastard I felt.

My thoughts roamed over different scenarios of what to do.

I woke before dawn. Hell, I didn’t think I’d ever slept. I had to kill Fang before he got to her.

Vessa would be safe as long as she stayed here; I had paid a great deal to hide our presence. This was the one place in DoniaI could trust. The place was family owned, and they never cared to dabble in the politics or the quarrels of warring differences. Nara coins would always have a sway, and so would I as long as enough lined my pockets.

Watching the rise and fall of her chest, a peace was settled in her expression. I draped the sheets over her naked body, pressed a kiss to her temple, quietly got ready, and slipped out the door.

29

Vessa

I’d spent enough time out in the wild to know the sound of a single-action revolver cocking back. A magnum holds a powerful sound for a human, but it was nothing more than a mild inconvenience for someone like me. Waking up to it pissed me off outright.

I knew as soon as I opened my eyes I would be staring down the barrel of a gun. As heavy as it sounded, no bullet was powerful enough to stop me. Still, its familiarity didn’t cease the wave of cold sweat sweeping down my spine.

My eyes flicked open. My vision remained obscured as I struggled to get ahold of my whiskey-drenched senses. The muzzle of the gun blurred into two as I felt the world spinning.

I followed the slick lines of steel, trailing up the barrel to a pair of icy-gray eyes peeking out above a thick, gritty, rusted beard—I wasn’t sure if the rust was the natural color or days’ worth of filth. A smile crept over his mouth as his eyes darted to the sheet barely covering the swells of my breasts.

A pungent, acrid scent filled my nose when he opened his mouth. “Damn, what a fine-looking treat.”

I growled. It didn’t register that he had his other hand wrapped around my throat until I felt a growing heat emanating from his palm.

Fucking Fire Fae.

Shadows unfurled in the wake of the threat as I gritted my teeth. A darkness solidified into sharp claws as my nails dug deeper into his flesh, causing his grip to loosen and his gun to fall to the floor. A round fired off, whizzing by my face. Someone had surely heard the sound.

I silently thanked the gods for sparing someone like me, because all hell was about to break loose.

I gripped his forearms, grimacing beneath him as his burning hold intensified. The two of us elevated our power, engaged in a struggle of who would take the lead. This asshole was about to meet his end. Did he know who the fuck I was?

Apparently not.

Fire held no bounds with me. I felt the power ofLam, finding that thread of fire as my claws became a wielded heat.

My nails seared into his flesh, feeling every layer of his skin burning at the seams. A growl ruptured in his throat, and he released me.

He stumbled back with a heavy thud, and I moved off the bed in haste.

The sheets fell away, exposing my naked body.

Fuck modesty; what was mine was mine, and he was inmy room.

I’d slept without my boots for the first time in forever, and now I fully regretted it as I slammed my heel into his face. I did not want any part of my flesh touching him.

He quickly rose to his feet, taking a heavy swing at my face. I pivoted beneath his arm and kicked him in the kidney. He flew headfirst toward the wall, but a tendril of shadow whipped intoa lasso and roped around his neck, contorting his body into an unnatural position.

“Huh, well, that’s interesting,” I murmured, observing my handiwork as I effortlessly wielded a sliver of Ryder’s onyx lasso.

I wrangled the Fire Fae and flipped him onto his back to find panic in his eyes. His desperate call upon the power ofLamwas laughable.

“Aw, looks like you’re coming up empty,” I mocked, pouting my lips as I studied his bloodshot eyes and desperate attempts to try to loosen the rope.

I tied the lasso around his wrists and then to the edge of the bed before casually sauntering over to Ryder’s discarded shirt. The ivory fabric hung over my frame just enough to cover my ass.

I searched the Fire Fae’s pockets for anything—ammo, nara coins, clues—ignoring the sounds of him choking.

---