Page 59 of Savage Blood
“Get her out of here, Hawk!” Fane commanded.
My heart went into overdrive, and I shoved Hawk’s arms off. “I’m not leaving without you, Fane. I won’t risk being separated again.”
Hawk cursed, knowing I wouldn’t leave without my mate, and he darted forward to help Fane. “How aboutyouget her out of here?”
The raven whipped a dagger off his belt and slashed Barric’s arm. My eyes widened, and panic erupted through my veins as the shifter lifted his claws toward Hawk.
“I’m not leaving either of you!”
As I jumped into the fray and pushed Hawk back, he fell into Fane, the two of them stumbling away. The second I realized my mistake, a twisted smile curved my father’s bloody mouth. I’d gotten too close, within touching distance.
Fuck.
“You’re so easy to control, Tate.” His laugh skittered down my spine. “All I have to do is threaten one of your loved ones or simply dangle the Infernal Sol in front of you.”
Barric reached for me again, his fingers brushing my wrist.
Before he could grab hold, Fane’s arm wrapped around mywaist like a steel trap, yanking me against his chest and knocking the breath from my lungs. The portal behind us faltered, its swirling edges slowing as the witches on the other side lost their grip.
Hawk scrambled up just as Barric lunged for me, the blazing amulet giving him a boost of power. Sensing my father’s intent, Fane grabbed the raven’s shirt. But instead of pulling Hawk with us, Fane shoved him at the shifter.
And then we fell through the portal.
“Hawk!” The powerful gateway magic swallowed up my scream and enfolded us as I struggled in Fane’s arms. Electricity crackled over me while my mind became a storm of sorrow and confusion.
And anger.
Did that really just happen? Did we leave my best friend in the Underworld, at the mercy of my evil, psychotic father?
Moments later, the portal dumped us onto the soft grass of Bonaventure Cemetery, the night sky spotted with bright stars and a crescent moon. On either side of the archway, witches chanted, their voices circulating in a haunting melody.
The scent of soil and decay filled my nostrils as we rolled into a crumbling marble headstone covered in moss, Fane’s arms caging me into his body.
But he wasn’t protecting me. He was preventing me from jumping back through the gateway.
I slammed the back of my head into his nose and elbowed his ribs. “Get off!”
The demon shifter finally released me, and I bolted up, racing toward the doorway between worlds. But as the witches let loose the last word of their spell, the churning magic vanished, and the gateway closed.
“No!”
Heavy silence stretched through the cemetery, my frantic breaths and thundering heart the only sounds as the rustling leaves and branches settled.
“Open it back!” I told Jess, a witch from Maleor Suprema.
Her mouth parted at my vicious tone, and her fingers shook as she fumbled with her long blonde braid. “I can’t. We finished the spell. Nothing can open that door until tomorrow.”
I whirled around to find Fane standing directly behind me. “How could you?”
His jaw clenched, the tiny muscles in his face feathering. “I had to get you out of there.”
Movement in my periphery caught my attention, and Mina stepped toward the closed portal. “Where’s Hawk?”
“Ask Fane.” Venom dripped from my words.
Saint closed the distance between us. “What happened?”
“It was Barric, wasn’t it?” Ruin asked. “Roxie lost sight of him.”
