Page 15 of Black Hearted (Cursed Fae #4)

I rolled my shoulders, trying to push aside the thoughts of my black blood and Nellie’s face pressed against the bars. I needed to get into Brunok’s head before the bell rang and—

The bell rang.

Brunok exploded forward, charging at me like a bear.

I steeled myself, raising my wrapped hands as he threw a strong left hook. I ducked, dodging the blow aimed at my temple, and took a step back to get out of range.

I needed to focus, but my mind swam with concerns—being exposed, Nellie watching, the stakes of this fight.

Brunok’s fist slammed into my stomach, forcing bile up my throat and the breath from my lungs.

I stumbled back, coughing, struggling to catch my breath.

I’d barely seen him move.

“Well, folks, it looks like Zane is finally getting tired. Brunok has the upper hand,” the Enforcer’s voice boomed as the crowd cheered.

Focus, Zane, I chastised myself. Then an image of sweet Lorelei rose in my mind, and an eerie calm washed over me.

Win the fight. Get the money. Find Lorelei.

I rolled my shoulders again, meeting Brunok’s gaze. He smiled, smug, as if he’d already won.

He hadn’t won.

We were just getting started.

I went berserk, snapping out rapid-fire jabs to Brunok’s left cheek, chin, and right temple. He tried to back out of range, but I moved with him, hammering him over and over with my fists.

“Oh, and Zane is back in the fight,” the Enforcer shouted as the crowd roared.

Brunok finally broke my onslaught by kicking out at me, forcing some space between us. He glared, his expression dark. Just as I was about to move in again, I felt it—my insides started to warm.

The fiend was using his power.

“You coward,” I spat. “Using your power because you can’t take me like a man.”

I saw the exact moment he snapped. His already-black eyes went cold and emotionless, and he came at me like a man possessed. Then, he broke the one unspoken rule between every man alive.

He kicked me hard, right between the legs.

Pain and nausea exploded through me as I dropped to the ground.

Before I could react, Brunok delivered three brutal blows to the side of my head. The pain there was nothing compared to the deep, throbbing ache between my legs.

My stomach threatened to revolt, but I fought it.

This bastard is going to die.

Summoning strength I didn’t know I had, I shoved myself to my feet and attacked Brunok with every ounce of fury I possessed.

I kicked, punched, elbowed. He fell to the ground, and I was on top of him, pulverizing his face, until I realized he’d gone limp.

The bell had already rung.

It wasn’t until I was being pulled off him that my rage finally began to subside.

Standing half-dazed in the middle of the cage, I barely registered the Enforcer’s grin as he grabbed my right hand and raised it into the air.

“And our winner is—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the smile fell from his face. His brow furrowed, and his grip on my hand clamped down like a vise. His gaze turned murderous.

I didn’t understand what caused the change until I felt a warm trickle slide from my forehead over my temple and down my cheek.

“Black blood,” he snarled, his thin lips peeling back from his teeth in revulsion. “He’s got black blood,” he roared, using magic to project his voice throughout the room.

That’s when I snapped out of it and exploded into action.

Nellie was my first concern. I yanked my wrist out of his grasp, shoved him against the bars, and bolted for the open cage door.

Nellie was already waiting for me. The second I stepped out, I held out my hand.

Grasping it, she leaped onto my back, locking her legs around my hips and holding onto my neck with her good arm.

“Black bleeder! Ethereum demon!” someone spat.

Terror surged through me as I imagined them ripping Nellie off my back. I reached for my power, intending to clear a path, but horror swept over me when I found only a trickle of it.

My worst fears were confirmed. The time on the mountain wasn’t just a fluke. This realm was draining my powers or at least limiting them somehow.

As a fae lunged at us, I aimed my hand at him. A small black lightning bolt shot from my palm, striking his face. It wasn’t nearly as powerful as I’d hoped, but it was enough to make the crowd shrink back in shock and fear.

“He’s an Ethereum lord! Who else would have magic like that?” someone shouted, and half the crowd began to flee.

We had to get out of here, but I couldn’t leave without the prize.

Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted Malek on the other side of the fighting cage. He was still standing like a sentinel, holding the wooden box as chaos erupted around him.

I shoved through the remaining spectators, skirting the cage to reach Malek.

“We need to bring him to Queen Gloriana to take his heart!” a male shouted.

“He can stop the curse!” someone else yelled.

Fae began crowding around us again, but by then, I’d reached Malek.

“I earned that,” I said, nodding at the box in his hands.

Malek sneered, and sharp icicles began forming on the ends of his fingers. “Ethereum monsters earn nothing here,” he spat. With a flick of his wrist, one of the icicles shot from his hand and impaled me in the thigh.

Pain sliced through my leg as the crowd turned hostile.

It all happened so fast. One second, there was no one close by, and the next, we were swarmed. Hands grabbed at me, trying to pull me to the ground.

“Zane!” Nellie screamed as I felt her slipping off my back.

Praying to my ancestors, I gathered what little power I could and let it explode outward.

Like a bomb, black electric zaps erupted in every direction, stunning the mob and dropping them to their knees in pain.

It wasn’t deadly—I didn’t have enough power for that—but it was enough. Anyone struck by the blast was momentarily incapacitated, including Malek, who dropped the winnings.

Without wasting another second, I grabbed the box from the ground. Shoving it under my arm, I reached back to secure Nellie and ran for the exit, mowing down anyone in my path.

When I reached the stairs, I took them two at a time.

“Tell me you’re okay,” I said to Nellie as she bounced up and down on my back, clinging tightly.

“I’m okay,” she whimpered, but I knew the jostling must have been hurting her.

At the top of the stairs, no one tried to stop us. We burst into the alley, and I sprinted at top speed.

When we reached the treasurer’s door, I made a split-second decision.

Sliding Nellie off my back, I dropped the wooden box at the door and smashed the top.

Reaching inside, I grabbed the faestone dagger and my winnings, leaving the rest behind.

I didn’t want to give Donahue an excuse to come after us—at least not another one.

“Ethereum lord?” Nellie asked, her voice small beside me.

I glanced down to see her staring at me wide-eyed.

Right. Nellie knew I was from Ethereum, but she didn’t know I was a lord.

I nodded, hoping what I saw in her eyes wasn’t fear. “It’s still me. I’m the same fae you’ve been traveling with these days. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

“I know,” she said. “I’m just … impressed.”

Laughter burst out of me unexpectedly, but then a shout from down the street reminded me we had to move. They were already looking for me.

“Can you run?” I asked her.

She clutched her injured wrist to her chest and nodded.

Shoving the coins into my pocket, I clutched the dagger in one hand and grabbed Nellie’s uninjured hand with the other. Together, we bolted for the barn a few blocks away.

I hated that we wouldn’t get to say a proper goodbye to Evander and Elida, but there was no way we could spend another second in this town.

When we reached the barn, Nellie made me stay outside.

“You’re bleeding everywhere,” she told me, pointing to my thigh and face.

I glanced down, realizing I’d forgotten about the icicle wound. The shard had melted and fallen off somewhere, leaving a sizable gash that soaked the thigh of my pants with black blood.

Nodding, I handed her the amount of gold coins I’d negotiated with Jasper earlier in the day. It wasn’t more than five minutes before she emerged from the barn, leading a mare already saddled with the supplies we needed.

I silently thanked the fates I’d made arrangements earlier in the day.

Nellie handed me the reins, her concerned gaze fixed on my thigh. “Let me patch you up first,” she said, starting to reach for me.

I sidestepped her, shaking my head.

There was no way I was letting her take on my injury again. Never again. I told her I could bandage myself on the way. The most important thing was putting distance between us and the mob of angry people who wanted to carve my heart from my chest.

Grabbing Nellie, I hoisted her onto the horse before leaping into the saddle behind her. With a click of my tongue and a kick of my heels, the horse took off north, heading toward the Spring Palace.

While Nellie slept against my chest, I wrapped a tourniquet around my thigh as best as I could. Without stitches, the wound would leave a nasty scar, but it wasn’t bleeding enough to be fatal. My fae healing would close the wound soon enough.

Gripping the reins, I spurred the horse on, the throbbing in my thigh forgotten as my mind focused on one thing and one thing alone.

Getting to Lorelei.