Page 31 of Cruelly Fated
The vampire hoisted Rhylan over his shoulder like he weighed nothing and headed for the door. The wolf’s long arms dangled, fingers touching the ground.
I followed, rubbing the back of my neck. This new ability seriously kicked my ass.
“Wait—” I ran out just as Valor dumped Rhylan into the back seat. The wolf’s legs were still hanging out of the car.
“Fae gods, his wolf had another growth spurt,” Valor muttered, shoving one leg in, then the other. I helped slam the door shut, smiling a little. There was something strangely endearing in the way he treated Rhylan…and even Kyon.
The dragon’s dark, blazing eyes flashed in my mind, and I trembled.
“Yeah?” Valor asked, catching the shift in my expression.
“You didn’t ask for my dress size. Or shoes—”
“Two and seven.”
My jaw dropped. “How…?”
Valor tilted his head. “I’m good with numbers.”
Huh.
“Anything else?” he prompted.
“What’s the deal with that thing Rhylan hid?” I asked, nodding toward the car.
The vampire grinned. “It’s a dumb tradition. We steal it from each other and hide it. It’s an old prank. I know, it’s ridiculous—but he can’t let it go.”
I raised a brow. “Sounds like you can’t either.”
He laughed. “Touché.”
“And the professor? She didn’t look too thrilled. She just agreed to hide it for him?”
“Rhylan practically runs that academy. Don’t worry about her; she’ll be fine.”
He winked and flashed to the driver’s side in a blur of motion. “Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night, Miss Marsh.”
Fourteen
KYON
“Idon’t like this,” Valor said, scowling through the reinforced glass that not even he could punch through without some superpower beyond his enhanced strength.
I licked my lip, tasting dried blood. A new lowlife gang—I hadn’t caught the name—had decided to pick a fight during lunch. They’d overpowered the mess hall guards and boxed me in at the center table, the one I shared with Old Pete. Pete stood besideme, ready to fight, but I ordered him and the others to hide.
The thugs weren’t after them. They were after me. And I swore to Allie I’d keep Pete safe.
By the time reinforcements finally stormed in, four fae lay at my feet, one still trapped in a headlock, and another four circled like vultures, calculating their odds.
“If this pans out, I won’t be here much longer. How did she do?” That’s what I craved to know—Allie, her day, everything.
Pete couldn’t stop talking about his granddaughter. And with each story—funny, tragic, or quiet slices of life—I found myself sinking deeper. Her mother’s death. Her switch to online school. The way she’d pulled away from the world. I gritted my teeth through every mention of a boy, only to exhale when I learned she hadn’t dated anyone. Even the dragon in me eased at that.
Valor grinned. “She’s incredible.”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered.
“She cracked that thick skull of his in under two minutes. Found the memory without using an illusion.”
