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Every muscle in my body rebelled against the monsters’ strength. To no avail. Flarking Idris and his torque. Since my youth, before coming into my powers, I hadn’t felt this helpless. If they succeeded, I feared I would never be the same. The damage would be irreparable, the coward’s actions a permanent scar on my psyche.

Firm hands grasped my pounding fists, shoving them over my head. Proving, once again, that I really was powerless without my sorcery.Flark them. Flark them, their bastard-birthing mothers, and the depraved fathers who sired them.

“Hold her tight, boys,” a gruff voice commanded. “Do this right, and I might give you a turn.”

To combat the terror threatening to cripple me, I imagined murdering each of them. If I survived, I’d make sure this trio experienced the most terrifying horrors ever conceived. Once we were set free in the pit, I’d conjure images guaranteed to destroy even the most twisted of minds.

The largest of them loomed over me, fumbling with the belt on his pants. My thrashing paid off, and both of my ankles broke free. Just as I raised my foot to kick him, his head wrenched sideways with a sickeningcrack!Pain and shock registered in his wide eyes, his mouth gaping before he toppled sideways.

Where my attacker once stood, Custodis appeared, a primal gleam sparking in his eyes. Icy menace crackled in the enclosed space. “You should know better than to touch things that don’t belong to you,” he snarled.

“What the hell?” a guy with a face like a wild boar shouted from where he’d been tossed against the wall. This must have been the reason the bula-hole released my legs.

Boar Face shot to his feet, poised to flee.

In a blur of movement too fast for my eyes to track, the vampire disabled this bastard as well. The deviant hit the groundwith a terminal gurgle—windpipe crushed, arm broken, scream trapped in his throat.

Just as fast, the hands restraining my wrists disappeared. I lurched to my feet to find the final male backing deeper into the small room, hands raised.

“N-now, see here, vampire. We didn’t know the female was yours.”

“She isn’t,” Custodis stated, annoyingly calm. “I’d simply like to rest, and you are in my room.”

He’d helped me because he wassleepy? The moment of gratitude I experienced at the vampire’s timely rescue poured out of me.

“Runa. If you don’t mind.” He gestured to the remaining assailant. “It’s been a long day, and your guest is in my way.”

“Wouldn’t want to interfere with your beauty rest,” I spat through gritted teeth. Filled with a fresh wave of rage, I punched the last of the sniveling cowards, whipping his head around. Pain shot up my arm, and damn, if it didn’t feel good. I grabbed the back of his skull and slammed my knee into his face, savoring the crunch of bone. When the screaming weakling dropped to his hands and knees, I stood over him.

“Beg me,” I snarled.

“What?” he whimpered.

“Beg me to spare you.”Spare you after you made me feel weak. Powerless. Out of control.

“Please. I’m sorry. Please. I swear I’ll never—”

“Not good enough.” I spun, landing a kick to his face. Blood sprayed, and he collapsed.

Soft clapping tapped behind me. “Nicely done.”

Fists raised, I bared my teeth as harsh breaths pumped from my chest.

Custodis held his hands out, striking a non-threatening pose while my pulse calmed. Slowly, as if he approached a wild animal, he strode closer, one cautious step at a time. Once hestood before me, he eyed my raised fists, and a strange light glowed in his icy gaze.

“You’ve injured yourself.”

“What?” I glanced at my bloody knuckles, confused by his strange shift in moods.

“Allow me.” Gently, he claimed my injured hand and brought it to his mouth. The scent of frosted evergreen filled my senses. My eyes riveted to his lips, I watched in a daze as he pressed a kiss to my broken skin. With his heated tongue, he laved my damaged flesh, soothing the burn. Breathless, I watched him do the same to each of my knuckles until, at last, he raised his head.

When he met my eyes, I expected him to taunt me for accepting his aid—to mock my weakness or belittle me for dropping my guard and allowing three ingrates to sneak up on me. Instead, his steely gaze shimmered with something I couldn’t define.

“Are you well?” he murmured.

“Well?” I struggled to comprehend his meaning as adrenaline seeped from my veins. The sudden crash turned my thoughts to goo.

“Are you well?” He glanced at the male I’d dropped.