Page 57 of Savage Blood
“You arenotfine.” Fane jerked his head toward Saint. “Heal her, damn it! You’re her fucking fated mate.”
Saint jammed his fingers through his hair. “It’s not that simple, Fane.”
Enid moved toward us and rested her hand on her son’s shoulder. “It doesn’t work like that, Fane. They’re fated mates but not mated. Saint can heal her in some ways, but he wouldn’t be able to remove this sickness. There’s a good chance if they were…”
Her words dropped off because we all knew what she meant.
Saint couldn’t heal me from the Infernal Sol’s sickness unless we were actually mated. And that sure as hell wouldn’t happen. I already had a mate.
Before I even glared at the demon shifter, I could feel the wheels spinning in his mind.“Stop what you’re thinking right now, Maverick.”
His lips thinned.“You don’t even know?—”
“I sure as fuck do. And there’s no way in hell you’ll get me to break our bond to be with Saint just so he can heal me. Not. Happening. Ever.”
Hawk lifted the drink toward my mouth again, but I grabbed the bottle and took my own damn sip.
“Everyone can stop staring at me now.” I set the water down and rolled onto my feet to stand. Nausea hit me, but I choked back the urge to hurl. “We need to get moving if we ever want to get out of this realm.”
Ruin nodded. “Roxie says they’ll be busy for a while. I say we take a straight shot through the front of the city and out the gates to the forest. It’s riskier but faster.”
“I agree,” Wrath said, stuffing a water bottle into his bag and zipping it up.
A few murmurs of agreement circulated the room.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said.
Thanks to Ruin’s connection to Roxie, we didn’t run into any Collective members on our way out of Vlehull. A few patrolled the city, but Roxie alerted Ruin to their routes, so we avoided them.
The twisting black trees hid us as we sped toward the gateway to Earth, our steps pounding the hard, cracked soil. Fane kept shooting me anxious glances even though the black veins crisscrossing my flesh had already faded.
“Stop doing that,”I hissed into his mind.
A growl rumbled his throat.“I can’t help it, fiera mika. I’m fucking worried.”
The oddly arched trees framing the gateway to Earth appeared, the portal already active and swirling with magenta magic. Mystical wind stirred the barren tree branches, and as three figures emerged, it tossed their hair around.
“About time.” Kourtney lowered her sword and wiped her forehead. “The witches on the other side were ready to leave.”
Mina gazed directly toward Hawk, who gave a crooked grin.
“Were you worried about me, pretty wolf?” He winked. “I’m perfectly fine.”
A scowl pulled at the shifter’s lips, and she tucked a lock of hair back into her braid. “Oh great. I was hoping a sub-demon would eat you. Or at least rip your tongue out so I didn’t have to hear your constant yapping.”
He grinned. “If I don’t have a tongue, how can I do that thing you like so much?”
“I told you not to tell anyone about that.” Crimson flooded her cheeks as she vanished into the portal.
“Are you two hooking up?” I asked.
He shrugged, biting his bottom lip, doing a terrible job of hiding his cocky smirk. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
Kourtney jerked her chin toward me. “Glad to see you’re still hanging in there, Tate. My life has become a lot more interesting once I stopped hating you.”
“Still have love for me?” Wrath winked at her.
She opened her mouth, but her jaw dropped when she noticed his twin. “You… look different.”
