Page 58 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

I didn’t say a damn thing.

Shouting erupted above us, and the fae in the stands poured out. They were warriors, but no warrior could compare to the elves’ assassins, if the legends were true.

The door to the cage started rattling like someone was trying to get through it. The Beast must’ve locked it from the inside, trapping us in and keeping everyone else out.

Kaelle’s wind had graduated to a ferocious storm, whipping at my fire and making the flames swell larger.

She started to say something, but Nissa blurted,

“I’m mated to Kier. It’s me.”

The Beast’s grin grew wicked. “See how easy that was?”

My magic flared bigger, brighter, and hotter.

I couldn’t see a damn thing, and stayed where I was as my flames grew, and grew.

I’d never lost control so completely while wind blew like that, dragging my fire higher and higher.

The Beast called out above the wind and flames, “Surely a fae king of any worth would at least attempt to defend the female he’s claimed as his. Come out and fight, Kier.”

My fire kept burning.

The wind grew so strong that I had to move to keep myself upright, though my flames concealed everything around me.

“Find the door, Lae. Find the door, and get it open,” Ravv commanded me. His anger was gone, and a lethal calm was in its place.

He was locked out.

I saw some part of the cage in front of me, and surged toward it. My hands collided with thick bars, but I still couldn’t see through the damn fire.

It didn’t feel like a door.

I started moving, trying to feel around in hopes that I’d find it. The Beast still had Nissa—but if I couldn’t see the damn door, I couldn’t see the assassin, either.

“Stay as far from the Beast as you can,” Ravv ordered.

He must’ve gotten into the room.

The wind started to die down, and I let out a shaky breath as the mass of my flames slowly started to shrink. I turned my back to the cage’s bars and remained where I was, hoping it could keep me safe.

Finally, the flames shrank enough that I could see.

Nissa was unconscious, her shoulder bleeding and her skin an unnatural gray.

The Beast moved so fast—and he was close to me. Close enough that I could do something about it.

He had started as a shifter before the elves’ magic changed him, which meant he wasn’t fireproof, unlike the Demon and the Monster.

Despite the fear in my chest, the panic in my lungs, and the way I could feel my energy fading as my fire literally burned it away, I could do something to help.

With a yell, I launched myself at the Beast as he ran toward someone else.

Time seemed to slow as I crashed into him.

Ravv roared behind me.

The Beast let out an unearthly scream.

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