Page 25 of Cruelly Fated
I risked a glance over my shoulder. Larry stood behind the bar, grinning like a fae-cat in cream and counting money with greedy fat fingers.
Twelve
ALLIE
Valor strolled toward a sleek silver sports car parked right out front and lifted the passenger door open with a flourish, nodding for me to get in. My brows knitted. I’d never ridden in a luxury car like this. Everyone knew the three founding families in Avari were billionaires, but I’d never been this close to that kind of wealth. The leather and chrome pulsed with money signs writtenall over.
He tapped something on the console, and the door sealed shut with a hiss before he flashed around the hood to the driver’s side. With a press of a button, the engine purred awake—then growled as Valor revved it twice, his profile breaking into a genuine smile. For a second, he looked boyish. Not the terrifying vampire who’d nearly made me pass out minutes ago.
“Hope you like fast rides,” he said.
“How fast?” I asked, tightening my grip on the seat belt already in hand.
“Enough to give me a thrill, so…”
I jammed the buckle in with record speed while Valor chuckled and then peeled away from the curb like hordes of gargoyles were chasing us.
The vampire broke more traffic laws than I could count, triggered a chorus of angry honks, and had me silently thanking the fae gods when we finally pulled into the prison’s parking lot.
Valor pulled into aVIPspot and killed the engine. “You can remove your hand from the dash,” he said.
Oh. I peeled it off, elbow locked and fingers stiff from prolonged flexing. I massaged the tension from my knuckles as I followed him inside.
It finally hit me—I was about to see him again. The dangerous dragon shifter who’d held me yesterday while I cried. Who hadn’t demanded anything in return. But today was different. He’d summoned me, and part of me was annoyed with him for it and another part was dying to know why.
A deep breath soothed my nerves.
Guards scanned our IDs, but after that, no one asked questions. No paperwork and no pat-downs followed. I could get used to the VIP treatment.
Valor gestured toward door number four. It buzzed open the moment we neared. He caught it with his arm and held it open, silently inviting me inside. I steeled myself, a ball of nerves twisting my stomach, and shuffled forward.
Time seemed to slow down. His broad shoulder came into the view. Next I glanced a sliver of his face and muscular neck and my heart pitter-pattered. Finally I stepped into full view of him and my skin came alive, prickling with full awareness of his presence.
Kyon braced his elbows on his knees, his frame wider than I remembered. Raven hair, longer on top, stuck out in wild directions, a few strands falling into his eyes. Eyes that weren’t just emerald green. A flicker of molten orange passed through them like a spark caught mid-storm.
A cold hand pressed gently to the small of my back. Valor, reminding me to move. Right—I’d been standing there, gawking.
I plodded forward on wooden legs, painfully aware of Kyon’s eyes tracking every step. I sank onto the stool across from him. Though a glass divider and tabletop stood between us, it was the closest we’d ever been face-to-face.
A blackened scar split his left eyebrow and carved a shallow groove down his cheek. Another ran horizontally across the opposite cheek, like a blade had once kissed him there. His brows were just as thick as I remembered, his lashes dark anddense. A straight nose, full lower lip, and that chiseled jawline framed a face that was both familiar and foreign. Who was this man? And why couldn’t I get him out of my head—not just since yesterday’s unexpected tenderness, but since our very first meeting?
Kyon hadn’t twitched a single muscle since that door opened.
Valor cleared his throat, dragging me out of my trance. I blinked and looked anywhere but at Kyon.
“Right, so—” Valor began, but Kyon cut him off.
“Who hit her?” His voice rumbled through the glass, the vibration carrying through to my chest.
My brows drew together in confusion. I touched the spot on my forehead that still throbbed. It must’ve been pink and swollen by now.
“No one,” I said just as Valor responded, “Door.”
Kyon’s neck swelled, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“I hope you made him pay in blood.” His tone had turned murderous.
My eyes widened. Wait? Did he think thedoorwas a person?
