Page 144 of Shadows of Ruin

Storm shook his head. “I don’t know. We’ll be okay though.”

I winced because there was no way he spoke the truth when his body appeared as mangled as it did. He had endured far too much in such a short period of time.

“Go stand guard outside of the door.” The king’s voice echoed through the large room. I glanced over my shoulder,locking eyes with Raya as a small rivulet of blood fell from her nose. Her eyes hardened as she walked out of the room, obeying the king.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” The clap of his hands made me jump. He brought those hands down hard on my shoulders. “Shall we continue?”

Nausea churned in my gut hearing his voice and the glee dripping from his lips for what was to come.

I met Storm’s gaze, refusing to look away as the king approached him, standing at his side. When he circled behind him, as if he needed to admire what he had done to him, Storm mouthed two words to me: “Be strong.”

Then he schooled his expression into a stone-faced stare.

King Dargan stood on the other side of Storm, his focus shifting entirely to me. “The time has come to set him free.”

Him?Thames.

I tried to relax my breathing. We were out of time and completely unprepared to face the threat of Thames’s wrath.

The king backhanded Storm across his face so hard his lip split. The rings on his fingers left imprints on his skin.

“I will be the one to do it and will be abundantly rewarded.” He shifted in front of me and smacked Storm again on the other cheek. “Oh, I didn’t mean to block your view of my handiwork.” The king gave me a smug smile. He grabbed Storm’s chin in his hands. “Hmm, this one didn’t leave enough of a mark. We’ll have to try that again. Ready?” he asked. “Of course you’re not.” He smacked him harder this time, splitting skin to match the other side of Storm’s face.

“Stop!” I cried out, tugging at the restraints futilely.

But the king didn’t stop. Instead, he grabbed a candelabra resting on his desk only a few feet away. The large three-pronged decor dragged across the table. My stomach clenched watching the king wield the dense matte black weapon. He heaved it sideways, crashing it into Storm’s side. The crunch of bone ripped through the air, and I gagged at the sound.

I was going to vomit.

Storm’s eyes widened in obvious pain, but he didn’t dare utter a sound.

This torturewasreal. Unlike the torture Andras used against Ian, where it was all an illusion, this was actually happening. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I pulled harder at my wrists, still bound to the chair. “Let him go. Stop this. What do you want from us?”

The bite of the rope burned my skin. I had to get free. I had to save Storm. I couldn’t do this again.

Storm’s head hung low, and his breathing rattled, labored. He surely had a broken rib, and I hadn’t been here for his initial torture to see what else might be broken. Even if we could escape, I wasn’t sure if I could move Storm’s body. He was a strong Fae, but was he strong enough to walk out of here after everything he’d endured?

I prayed to the Fates, begging with all I had for Kade to appear. His shadows could save us all, and then Dargan would be outnumbered.

King Dargan flicked his wrist and awhooshsent the air swirling in the room straight down Storm’s throat. Stuffing it into his body, essentially choking him.

Storm tried to close his mouth, but the force of the magic was too strong.

“Stop!” I yelled again. “Please stop.” Pure desperation laced my pleas. I had to do anything and everything to draw attention to myself and away from Storm if he had any chance of survival.

Dargan turned, narrowing his eyes as he stalked toward me. “Apologies, dear,” the king said, smoothing back his hair. He flicked his hand again and Storm gasped, falling against the chains holding him up. “I merely needed to ensure I had your attention.”

He kneeled in front of me. “It is time to free Thames.”

I schooled my features, forcing myself not to react.

“He promised me power, even more than he has already gifted me. I will never have to make a sacrifice to the amulet again.” He grinned, knocking me underneath my chin. “I can live forever.”

I jerked my face away, but he didn’t allow it for long, grasping my neck.

Storm’s head rolled to the side, and he spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor before choking out, “Who the fuck is Thames?”

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