Page 130 of A Fate so Cruel

Another second. No movement.

He turned, eyes roaming over the scattered bodies. The blood. The limbs.

They didn’t move either.

Insects crawled across the bloody grass. A bird ventured close to examine the carnage or search for its next meal.

Someone whimpered and every instinct in his body zeroed in on that one sound.

He scented the air, felt when she touched that impenetrable wall.

Rion let it fall and the female’s scent floated toward him, dragging Rion from the bloodlust.

He blinked a few times, breathed in the blood coated air.

Selina.

She whimpered again.

Then Rion was moving toward her, taking the hand that had clamped around a fallen blade.

She looked at him again. There. A bit of recognition. And . . . fear.

“It’s okay now,” he said, his voice too rough. Too raw from roaring at the warriors who’d done this to her.

Carefully, oh so carefully, Rion tilted her body and scooped her knees up before cradling her close. She stiffened and tried to push away at first, then something seemed to come over her. Maybe it was his scent. Maybe it was exhaustion. But Selina curled into his chest and closed her eyes.

Her breathing slowed and Rion was almost thankful.

He stared north and didn’t bother looking back.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Rion’s jaw worked as he stood vigil beside the tiny window, observing the pouring rain and the door to the inn below.

No one entered and no one left.

Rion had stormed through the front door, soaked with blood, and demanded a room. The female at the front desk had run up the single flight of stairs and unlocked a door without question.

Somehow she’d possessed enough bravery to linger and he’d given her a single command before slamming the door in her face. No one was to enter the building. The threat was clear.

To his surprise, the female had delivered bandages, medicine, extra blankets, and clothes and had left them outside the door. He’d placed a bag of coins in their place.

A tray of steaming soup arrived not long after. He took it, but set it aside. He wasn’t about to risk eating anything, not with Selina the way she was.

He’d tended to her wounds, far too many, and stripped off the remnants of the dress. Rion clenched his jaw. Stupid. It was so stupid of him to have left her at all.

The bed creaked and Rion’s head whipped toward the sound. Selina’s eyes were open and she winced as she tried to move.

He was at her side a second later.

She froze.

Her lips parted slightly and her heart rate spiked as she stared at him. Fear. Fear of him, at who else might be in the room, judging from the way her gaze flicked around the area.

He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and slowly seated himself in the wooden chair. He’d wrapped her ribs asbest he could, but her breathing was too shallow. Her eye was still completely swollen and a large bluish bruise had bloomed under the left side of her jaw. He’d wrapped her arm too, but couldn’t tell if the bones were broken or the muscles simply strained. The entire limb matched her jaw in color.

Selina blinked a few times and tried to breathe in. She winced. “Hi,” she croaked. A harsh cough followed and she curled in on herself. Rion went for the water at the side of the table. He’d already threatened the inn keeper and made her drink from it first. Just to be sure.

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