Page 128 of A Fate so Cruel

Foley backed away, a new sense of fear engulfing him. Another warrior came at Rion from behind. He ducked and let their body sail over his. He reached out with his magic to pull them close, then sliced the male’s throat.

It was a short dance, Rion’s rage feeding his frenzy as he cut each down one at a time. Selina. Selina was in trouble. Selina was drugged and unable to defend herself. Selina was out there, possibly calling for him—

The last fell and Rion turned to Foley. The male had his back pressed against the bar as if he could disappear into it.

Rion prowled closer.

Foley scrambled for a stool and flung it at Rion. Rion’s magic shattered it, sending wood flying in all directions.

“The longer you waste time with me, the worse it’ll be for her.” He gave a nervous laugh. “She’s likely already lost a limb, maybe two if the warriors followed my instructions.”

Rion froze. His nostrils flared. “Where. Is. She.”

“The thing is, if—” Rion shot a tendril of his magic out. It went clean through the male’s thigh, the hole as big as a gold coin. Foley cried out and doubled over, reaching yet not daring to touch the wound and the magic still moving within it.

“Where is she?”

Foley laughed again, hysterical as he tried to breathe through the pain. “You’re not going—” The sand clenched around his thigh hard and began sawing. Foley howled in anguish, then Rion closed the distance and clutched the male’s jaw. He tilted his head back and squeezed, forcing Foley to look him in the eye. To meet the gaze of The Demon so many feared.

His magic kept moving, kept cutting. “Where. Is. She?” he bit out again with barely controlled rage.

Tears ran down Foley’s face and his lips trembled. “N-North,” he choked out. “S-She’s n-n-orth, just outside the c-city. Up the hill th-through the trees.”

Rion squeezed and pulled him in closer. “I will count every mark upon her flesh. Every scrape.” He squeezed harder. “Then I’m coming back to return what you did tenfold. So you better start praying she’s intact.” Rion shoved the male back and he flipped over the bar backward.

Then he was running. He shot up the stairs and blasted the entire wall away that kept the stairs hidden from view. The crowd screamed and parted and Rion sprinted for the main doors. Guards drew their weapons, ready to intervene, but Rion shoved them aside. He thought he heard part of the marble crack, but he didn’t stop to look. Not as panic gripped his heart and spurred him faster.

Those outside the palace fled at the sight of his magic. Outside was dark and clouds hid the moon from his view.

Rion’s heart pounded in his throat as he raced through the city faster than he’d ever run in his life.

She’s likely already lost a limb.

Foley’s voice burned through him. It hadn’t been that long, he reasoned with himself. He hadn’t been gone that long. There was still hope. He gritted his teeth. Had they grabbed her as soon as he’d gone down the stairs, or right after he’d knocked out the servant? He’d refused to find her on the dance floor, afraid his instincts wouldn’t be able to handle it. If he’d justlooked, then maybe—

Rion pushed harder. Foley was dead. As soon as Rion had Selina in his arms, he was going back to tear that male apart piece by wicked piece.

Selina was a warrior, he kept reminding himself as he raced across the open plains. She knew how to handle tortureand pain. She’d been trained for it. But—what if they hurt her in ways she’d never recover? If they took her arm, her leg—

Rion had seen other Fae devastated by such an injury. Many were able to recover, and their healers could fashion makeshift limbs to replace those missing. But there were the occasional few who sank into depression. Those who couldn’t cope with losing a piece of themselves.

He prayed he wouldn’t have to find out how Selina might react.

Rion sprinted uphill, his magic billowing around his body even as he entered the trees. Darkness surrounded him, an ever present friend.

He scented the males first. Then her. Her blood.

Rion broke through the trees and the sight of her kneeling on the forest floor, her lip busted and body bleeding struck him to the core.

A male stood over her, his weapon raised and Rion roared.

His magic broke from the ground, ripping chunks of earth free before they split and surrounded his body in a spiraling frenzy. The male didn’t bother to stop. He swung his blade in a wide arc, aiming for her throat. The earth beneath the male’s feet came alive and shot for his arm, wringing the entire limb back so hard, bones snapped.

Rion let the male writhe on the ground, content to watch him suffer in pain.

Selina’s tear-filled gaze met his. Her left eye was already swollen shut and he wondered if those beautiful hazy eyes even recognized him from the amount of drugs coursing through her system.

They’d stuffed a gag in her mouth and tied her arms behind her back. Her ankles were bound too and that once beautiful dress was in shreds, barely covering her body.

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