Page 3 of Fates Fulfilled
Garrin’s entire body lit up with desire so powerful it took his breath away.
He stepped back, astonished at his reaction to the woman, and at what he’d discovered. For so long he’d fought death and starvation and battled enemies to reachthe one. No Dark Fae were thought to live in the Earth realm, but Garrin suspected she was hiding here, and now he’d found her in the form of a Halven.
Elation coursed through him. After all this time, he’d succeeded where no other Fae had for hundreds of years.
He would save his people from isolation. He would make his father proud…and he would have the female.
A smile slowly pulled at the corners of his mouth. “Take her.”
2
Lex woke with a pounding headache. But like all her aches and pains, this one disappeared within minutes. She was a fast healer, and yes, that was odd, but that wasn’t why she was hyperventilating.
The man.
He was the most terrifying person she'd ever seen, standing inside the dorm. Short black hair, dark stubble that accented full lips, and a chiseled jawline. But it was his eyes that truly alarmed her.
The color should have made them beautiful—pale blue and clear as a summer sky. But it was the cold intent behind them that struck her numb.
And that was the last thing she remembered.
The room she was in now was pitch-dark, with the exception of a lit firepit, and the air held a crisp bite with the scent of dirt and decaying leaves.
Her vision acclimated to the dark and she saw three shadows standing off to the side.
Lex crawled backward. “Where am I?” Her voice bounced off the walls that felt as though they were closing in on her.
Long legs clad in all black approached, and a man hunched in front of her.Theman.“That is all you wish to know?”
Her mouth parted and her heart rapped against her chest. His eyes were bright even in this dim light, but she couldn’t hold them for long, fear making her peripheral vision darken and narrow.
“Very well,” he said when she didn’t answer. “I suppose you would call this a cave. My apologies for the lodging. We were in a hurry, and this is somewhere we’ll not be tracked.”
Lex breathed in slowly, attempting to stave off the panic flooding her. “I have to get back. To-to Jasper.”
“Impossible,” he said, no hesitation, no softening of his tone.
Lex turned from the man and clawed her way up the cave wall until she was standing. She patted the surface, searching for an exit. “Please,” she gasped. “I can’t stay here.”
Forget her paper and keeping her word to Jasper. She was trapped inside a cramped, dark space with strangers. The panic attack she’d staved off for months was gaining steam, bubbling up, and siphoning her breath.
The man stood next to her now, studying the side of her face. “What is wrong with you, Halven? Why do you breathe so heavily? I assure you, there is plenty of air in here, even for one such as you.”
Her palms grew cold and clammy, and her vision winked. “I…”
Darkness enveloped her.
* * *
When Lex next woke,she was on her back, and the man from before was leaning over her. “You are a curious female.”
Her heart raced, the shaking returning to her limbs. “Have to get back. Find Jasper.”
“Who is this Jasper person?” He glanced to the side and tipped up his chin. “She is doing it again. Calm her, Zirel. She is not well.”
Another man, just as tall as the first, moved closer and hovered over her. His hair was lighter—red? He rested a large palm on her head.
Lex flinched at the touch, but no pain accompanied it. Instead, the panic that had tightened her chest and made it impossible to breathe eased.
