Page 12 of The Fated and the Damned
I didn’t know if I was convincing myself or her.
“You know,” Caitlin said conversationally as she ran a finger along the blade, “contrary to what I said before, I think I will enjoy it this time, and I—” She paused, sniffing the air. “What’s that smell?”
I looked around innocently, then sniffed alongside her. “Smells like a hag about to get her come-uppance to me.”
Caitlin glared at me, the smell forgotten. “You have plagued me for so long, girl.”
“We have been lifelong nemeses,” I agreed cheerfully.
She paused, uncertainty flickering in her eyes as she looked between my own.Oh yes, you should be afraid, Caitlin. Every minute she’d spent blabbering on, I’d been singeing the ropes with the slightest flare of magic. Demon be damned. It was either that or being carved up.
“Do you want to know what I think?” I said with a wide grin, revealing too many teeth. “You talk too fucking much.”
A fireball erupted in my palms, instantly feeding on the ropes around my wrists, and I jumped up instantaneously, jamming my fist into Caitlin’s stomach. She wheezed, bending double as I slammed my other hand into her face so hard somethingcracked.
She crumpled to the ground and I turned my attention to the demon. It circled me slowly, menacingly, every second that ticked by feeling like an eternity as it watched me with soulless, pitch-black eyes.
It lunged, and I had all of two seconds to dive out of the way, rolling over my side to land in a crouch, fire blazing once more. I tossed a fireball in its direction, staring in dismay as the flames simply sputtered out with a wave of its clawed hand.
That hand raised higher before it, a slow ascent of a long, furred arm shrouded in smoke and shadow reaching for me. My fingers and toes started feeling numb, that odd sensation tingling in my extremities as slowly, paralysis began overtaking my body.
I was sinking into an abyss, too dizzy and still too disorientated from having my head bashed to focus the dark magic in my blood. My stomach dropped as I stumbled, the fire in my palm winking out as I fell.
That hand reached closer, closer, and all I could think of was him. My dark knight. The man who had taken all I’d had to give. I pictured his handsome face, tousled hair and dark eyes lined with gold. Lips I yearned to kiss, if only one last time.
My eyes began to flutter closed. I didn’t want to see my death. Didn’t want to look at that thing while it tore me apart. But I was already breaking. Nothing could hurt more than the pain that had already cleaved me in two.
A bloodcurdling roar sounded, and my eyes snapped open, watching a dark shape hurtle across the room, twin blades unsheathed and eyes flashing in the dark.
“Dante,” I managed to breathe.
He moved like a demon himself, swords glinting in the candlelight, his chest bare and tattoos gleaming like smoke as he moved. He slashed, landing a blow to the demon’s waist, causing it to shriek so loud I thought my eardrums would burst.
Black blood sprayed the ground, bubbling and hissing as it sank into the dirt. Dante moved as though in a trance, slashing, rending, lunging forwards and then nimbly retreating. Like one of the black wolves of his clan he attacked savagely—a man with nothing to lose.Or perhaps, everything,a small voice inside my head dared to hope.
The demon hissed, swiping its claws across Dante’s back as he turned. Dante gritted his teeth against the pain, but still he persisted. It wasn’t until he’d backed the demon into a corner that it opened some sort of portal in the ground, jumping through it and disappearing at last.
As soon as the demon left, warmth seemed to spread through my body. Slowly, I could wiggle my toes, then twitch my legs and roll my hips.
Dante’s breath came in ragged pants as he crashed to his knees and cradled my head in his lap, checking me over for wounds. When he seemed satisfied, he held me for a moment, running a knuckle down my hair and cheek with a featherlight touch before he withdrew sharply, as though burned.
“Are you hurt?” he rasped.
I couldn’t answer yet, my tongue still firmly lodged against the roof of my mouth. All I could do was stare into the bottomless depths of those dark eyes. Eventually, I blinked repeatedly, darting my own towards the girl chained in the adjacent room. He nodded, searching me hesitantly, but at my insistence he huffed and stalked away.
A string of curses reached me moments later, followed by the rattling of chains and his deep voice speaking in low, soothing tones. The sobbing of the girl came next, and a minute must have passed where he comforted her, letting her cry it out.
When my limbs became fully responsive and I could move my jaw, I stood up slowly, making my way into the other chamber. The girl saw me enter, and she flung herself on me, squeezing as tight as she could.
I hugged her as fiercely as my weak limbs could manage as she wept into my shoulder, threatening my own eyes to tear up. Dante just stood back and waited, his arms folded, lips twisting as his gaze fell upon Caitlin.
She was still unconscious, and I wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible. When I broke apart from the witch, I held her face gently in my hands. “What’s your name?” I said softly.
She sniffed, sagging a little beneath my hands. “Léna.”
I smiled, tucking a strand of her mousey brown hair behind her ear. “You’re safe now, Léna. No one will harm you.”
Her brown eyes darted to Caitlin, and I hushed her, turning her head back to my own. “She won’t hurt anyone ever again, I promise. I need you to be brave now, okay? Do you know the way out of here?”
