Page 34 of Savage Blood
Nine
The titanium boxin the back of my mind that housed all my hellish memories exploded as reality splintered into a thousand pieces of sharp glass. The haunting images tore my body to pieces, and I plummeted into a nightmare that had no exit.
No escape.
Barric had freed my worst memories, and the haunting image of my pain and guilt stared back at me.
“W-what’s going on?” The girl looked among the three of us, fidgeting with the unraveling hem of her faded t-shirt as cold fear eclipsed her eyes. “You said if I came with you, you’d help my sister and me. You’d pay us.”
Barric rose from his chair and stroked the amulet before hiding it back under his shirt. “Erica is a runaway, too, Tate.”
This was the reason Barric pulled me out of my cell.
“How did you know about her?” My pulse tapped a frantic beat as I searched the table for a weapon. He hadn’t given me a knife, but I could do some damage with a fork.
Barric chuckled. “The amulet showed me many things, especially about you.”
Fucking traitor.
“She has an older sister,” Barric continued. “About your age.”
Sweat beaded my forehead as tension so thick it choked me filled the room. “She’s not Jayla. You don’t need to use a look-alike to torment me. Just let her go.”
Amelia slinked through the room, inching closer with every passing second. “Where’s the fun in that, Tate?”
“Fun?” I scoffed and cracked my knuckles. “Fun would be ripping out your throat.”
“Too bad you can’t do that with the Malbraxis manacles on.” Amelia walked in front of the fireplace, the flickering light dancing across her sharp features and shining on her dark hair.
I curled my fingers, beckoning her closer. “Take them off and let’s see who wins the fight. I dare you.”
A golden glow spilled into Amelia’s irises, and her canines sharpened. “You’re nothing but a bitten piece of trash. You’re stronger than the others because Fane turned you.”
“Don’t forget about my parents.” I tilted my head toward Barric, who watched with an amused expression.
“What are you?” Erica stumbled back and fell onto the leather couch.
I inched toward the girl. “She’s just a pathetic, racist bitch.”
A snarl slid between the female shifter’s teeth. “When will you let me avenge my son, Barric? You said I couldn’t kill her, but I couldhurther.”
“In due time, Amelia. But for now, enjoy this.”
Dread ripped a hole open in my gut, but I couldn’t move fast enough. One second, Barric stood by the table, and the next, he jerked Erica off the couch, sending her ebony curls flying.
“I’m craving a little power boost,” he said with a disturbing twist of his lips, black shadows cascading over his eyes.
When I realized his intentions, my heart clenching, I bolted toward him with no regard for my own life.
I had to save her.
I had to save Jayla.
Hands fisted in my long, wet hair and yanked me back before I reached Barric.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Amelia’s hot breath poured down my nape as her cruel laughter made spread goose bumps across my flesh. “You have to watch.”
Erica, so small compared to huge, rugged Barric, struggled in the shifter’s grasp, and then he grabbed her chin between his powerful fingers to pry her jaw open. When his gaze captured hers, the fight drained out of her, and her arms dangled at her sides.
