Page 17 of Savage Blood
Chapter
Five
Fireworks exploded through my body,sending me soaring through the air and crashing into the hard black and white tiles. Blood spilled over my tongue as the room spun, and I tumbled across the floor.
My cheek landed on a soft plush carpet that smelled like vanilla and sugar.
What the hell?
There was no carpet in Karn’s grand room.
As I blinked the haze from my vision, a room with navy walls, a decorative tray ceiling, and brown leather couches came into view. Electricity ricocheted across the tattoos on my neck and down my arm.
“Tate?”
A pair of familiar scuffed black boots approached, and when I looked up, my heart nearly combusted.
“Fane.”
Before I could pick myself up off the floor, Fane grabbed my arms, hauled me up, and crushed me into his chest. I meltedinto him, savoring his scent of leather and warm fire. Trembling against him, I inhaled his presence like a drug.
“Where the fuck are you?” he growled, the pain in his voice so thick it cut me like a knife. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”
I drew back as far as he would allow, which was barely more than an inch. “I’m at Karn’s old manor.”
His head yanked back, ebony hair falling across his forehead. “Karn’s? That place is destroyed?”
“What’s she saying?” Logan asked. “Why is she talking about Karn?”
I peered over Fane’s shoulder as Logan, Wrath, Saint, and Hawk loomed over a pool table, maps and old leather-bound books scattering across the surface. Apparently, trying to interrupt the ritual had knocked my consciousness out of my body and right to Fane at Wrath’s house.
Sickness twisted my gut as Ruin’s shrieks replayed through my mind. Had I stopped the ritual, or was Ruin still writhing in pain?
“I don’t know how much time I have, but I need to tell you, well, a lot.” A grimace pulled at my lips. “And you won’t like it.”
Voices reverberated through the room as everyone spoke at once, asking a million questions. Fane bared his teeth, his pupils thinning into long slits.
“Guys, just give me a damn minute.” As his consciousness separated from his body, he eased me back a few steps. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” For the most part, anyway.
Once Wrath noticed Fane’s immobile form, he tossed his hands in the air. “He’s not currently home.”
Logan smiled, his electric blue eyes softening. “Go easy on him. He needs a minute alone with his mate.”
Fane gripped my face and crushed his lips to mine, his hoop piercing searing my flesh. As his tongue caressed mine, tasting of cinnamon and wicked fantasies, all other thoughts vanished from my mind.
I should have blurted as much information as possible before my body yanked back, but I could finally breathe again. Being separated from Fane was hell, and not just because we were mates. My heart ached for him, and I had no idea when I’d see him again.
Did Saint even know his mother was missing? Doubtful, since he was here trying to help Fane find me.
“Why do you insist on scaring me to death?” he murmured against my mouth, his tongue licking my bottom lip, spilling shivers down my spine. “When Barric dragged you into that fucking portal, I went insane. A couple of tombstones are now pulverized into sand.”
My fingers ran up his neck and across his jaw, the growing stubble rough against my skin. “I should have known better than to fall for Roxie’s lies.”
His throat vibrated with a snarl. “I’d like to feed her to a pit of venomous vipro demons and laugh at her screams while they tear her apart, limb from limb. Or maybe I’ll just do the tearing apart myself.”
“That’s pretty graphic, Maverick.” I rubbed my nose against his, my every inhale filled with him. “Why don’t you paint a picture?”
