Page 58 of Savage Blood
Ruin snorted. “Yeah, I look just like my brother now. Pedestrian clothes and unwashed hair.”
Kourtney touched the black earpiece she wore, apparently listening to someone on the other end. “Come on, guys. The witches prepared a spell to close this portal for twenty-four hours. They can’t hold the magic much longer.”
As Alicia, Enid, and Saint stepped toward the swirling doorway, Alicia stumbled. She grabbed her injured leg, and Hawk jogged toward her and helped her up.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
“No problem.”
A strange tingle rippled down the back of my nape, and I lifted my hand to rub the spot.
Fane arched his eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”
I peered around the eerie forest of burned black trees but didn’t see anything. “Nothing.”
Wrath and Logan crossed through the portal, and Ruin waited for Enid, Saint, and Alicia to go before stepping toward it.
“Enid hates me,” Ruin muttered, the mystical wind blowing his navy hair around.
“She’s not the only one.” Hawk laughed at the high demon’s grimace.
As Ruin stuck one foot into the portal, he froze, his eyes unfocused. “Wait, something’s wrong. I don’t think?—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a hand reached through the portal and snatched him into the churning magic.
Unease twisted through my gut, and it felt as if bugs crawled over my flesh. Something wasn’t right.
“Did you really think it would be that easy to escape me, Tate?”
Like a nightmare ruining a happy dream, Barric emerged from the shadows. The Infernal Sol glowed on his chest, instantly drawing me in.
Chapter
Fourteen
My gaze remainedglued to the glimmering demon amulet, so vibrant in the shadows of the Underworld forest. Blood rushed through my veins as the thundering of my pulse drowned out the surrounding voices.
If I could just touch the Infernal Sol one time, feel the throb of that dark power for only a moment, I could breathe a little easier.
But deep down, I knew one touch would never be enough to satisfy my cravings.
“We need to get the hell out of here,” Hawk murmured under his breath.
Frosty air skimmed my shoulders. Damn it. He hadn’t gone through the portal yet?
“Tate, get back.” Fane gripped my arm and jerked me farther from the amulet.
A snarl slithered out of my mouth, and my boots dug into the hard ground. “Stop trying to control me, Maverick.”
Son of a bitch.
That wasn’t what I meant. I shouldn’t have said that. The damn Infernal Sol was attempting to control me.
I shook the haze from my mind, and the scene cleared, revealing the former head alpha inching closer. The longing for the amulet still burned within me, but I recognized its influence.
As my father lunged for me, Fane moved with lightning reflexes, slamming his fist into Barric’s cheek. Blood flew from the shifter’s mouth and stained a nearby tree.
Arms wrapped around me, and that familiar citrus scent swarmed my senses.
