Page 29 of Hell Fae Captive

“Asshole,” I muttered and changed course, going in what I now knew was thecorrectdirection.

Something in the air shifted. The hair on the back of my neck rose. Acting on instinct, I jumped out of the way, crashing to my knees, just as a massive beast leaped from the top of a building and landed with an earth-shattering thud. A large scorpion tail followed, plunging into the ground right where I had been standing milliseconds ago.

Scrambling back to my feet, I gaped in horror at the hellish creature. Black eyes from a human head stared at me as it bared its fangs, its furry ears pulling back as it growled.

The sound vibrated through my bones.

Its giant, golden lion body was nothing but thick slabs of muscle, deadly claws peeking out of its massive paws.

And the wings.

Fuck,they marked this thing as a creature of Hell with the leathery black quality. One flap nearly knocked me over again.

I didn’t know what the hell this thing was, but I knew better than to challenge it to a fight.

Acid sizzled in the crater where the beast had struck. Its scorpion tail curled back up, its deadly barb dripping with venom.

Before I could come up with a plan, it lunged, jaws snapping. It could have easily torn my arm off, but I leapt out of the way just in time, the rankness of its breath making me gag.

It roared in fury, sending my heart stuttering.

A paw swept past me, and I just managed to arch back.

It missed me by an inch.

And Melek just stood there,watching.

He was really going to let this thing eat me.

Ajax’s words came back to me, chilling my blood.No one survives being out past curfew.

Now I understood why.

The scorpion tail jabbed again, but I didn’t have time to do anything other than hold up the book in a pathetic attempt at defense. I flew back as it made contact, my ass sliding against the prickly black grass.

No, not grass.

Charcoal blades.

Hell really redefined the meaning ofpark.

I jumped back up. The tail hadn’t left a scratch on me. Nor, thankfully, on the book. Apparently, it was a lot stronger than it looked.

I didn’t have time to puzzle over why.

“The least you could do is give me a damned weapon!” I shouted at Melek as I dodged another paw swipe.

The monster’s head whipped toward me, fangs on full display. I caught the rotting, stinking insides of its mouth before whacking him across the nose with the magical tome. The creature growled in response.

I gripped the book as if it held the answers to this conundrum. A ridiculous notion, yet it’d worked as a shield thus far.

“Come on,” I said through clenched teeth, my gaze once again going to Melek—my lying savior. “Give me something!”

The book warmed under my touch in response, and magic rushed up my arms, going straight to my chest.

What the…?

Nothing spectacular happened, yet I’d felt the enchantment. Then the air revealed a strange sort of black aura around the beast.