Page 2 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

“Tate?” Ruin rattled the bars between us, his voice distant. “Tate? Are you okay?”

Pain battered every square inch of me, and the cell swam in a dizzying whirlwind. My knees hit the hard floor, shooting more agony up my legs. Fane’s image shattered and slipped right through my grasp.

My palms shot out in front of me as I fell forward, barely keeping my face from slamming into the ground. Warmth leaked from my nose, and droplets of crimson painted the stone beneath me.

I couldn’t contact Fane. The thought alone had my chest threatening to cave in. Without our mental link, the separation anxiety would hit us harder than ever before.

As I wiped the blood from beneath my nose, the metal cuff around my wrist caught my attention.

“I have to get these damn Malbraxis manacles off,” I mumbled and propped my side against the bars. “I can’t reach Fane with them on.”

Ruin knelt and passed me a metal cup. “Drink some water.”

I reluctantly took it and sipped the stagnant, lukewarm water that held a weird aftertaste.

Shit. Was that poisoned?

“It’s not just the manacles, Tate.”

The fleeting thought of Ruin’s potential betrayal faded as I glanced at him, worry lines developing across his forehead. “What do you mean?”

The manacles prevented us from using our full powers, and I couldn’t shift. Of course they interfered with my mystical link to Fane.

Ruin brushed a lock of hair out of my face. “It’s the piece of the Infernal Sol still inside of you.”

Frost crawled over my flesh, and it wasn’t from his touch. “How did you know about that?”

“I overheard Barric talking with his witch, Roman. And I know it’s killing you.” He sat back and swallowed hard. “It’s weakening you and your powers, even the ones you share with Fane.”

Just perfect.

Not only did this remaining sliver of the amulet give me nasty cravings for that seductive power while slowly poisoning me, but it also affected my ability to contact Fane when I needed him the most .

I set the cup down and dragged a hand through my hair. “Barric says he has a cure. Is that true?”

Ruin shrugged. “The Infernal Sol could have let him know of a way to heal you.”

Or Barric could have just used that to lure me in. And the skeptical tone in Ruin’s voice said he believed as much.

“Maybe if I rest for a minute and try to contact Fane again?—”

My words sheared off as the cell suddenly tilted, and then shadows crept along the edges.

Son of a bitch.

I wasn’t passing out.

Instead, a vision was dragging me under…

A forest sprung up around me, darkness coating the starry sky beyond the branches and pine needles. Cold air rolled over my hot skin peeking out from rips in my beige sweater and jeans.

“Not again,” I gritted out.

Well, not me but the female shifter featured in this vision.

I ran past towering trees and dodged fallen logs, my sneakers slipping on piles of dead leaves and needles. Short blonde strands whipped in my face as I turned around, searching the shadows for the creatures following me.

I couldn’t let this happen again.

My heart pounded, and adrenaline pumped through my veins. I wiped a layer of sweat off my forehead. If I could just make it a little farther, I’d have time to shift and alert the patrols.

But these monsters were closing in. I couldn’t shake them.

My foot caught on a root, and I stumbled forward, my hands shooting out as I fell to the hard, cold ground .

They were delicate hands—and familiar.

Did I know this shifter?

Laughter echoed through the night, like a harbinger of doom. I wouldn’t have long before their claws ripped into me.

Or something worse happened.

As my pulse thundered, I scrambled up and darted toward the rushing waters. I knew these woods like the back of my hand, and if I traveled through the water, they might lose my scent.

When an enormous cliff came into view, a waterfall feeding the river below, something tickled the back of my mind.

Something about the place was familiar, like I’d been there.

Icy water converged over me as I jumped into the river, choking back a gasp. As more sinister laughter sounded on the wind, I dove under the surface and let the current take me south…

My eyelids popped open to a view of the rough-hewn ceiling, the dim light catching a few gossamer strands of spiderwebs in the corner. My skull pounded, and my mouth was drier than a desert.

Passing out from a vision seriously sucked. I must have smacked my head on the ground, too.

The vision replayed through my mind, and a sinking feeling that I knew the shifter twisted in my gut.

“Ruin,” I croaked out. “Do they have any other shifter prisoners?”

With any luck, the woman was still alive and these sadistic assholes hadn’t ripped her heart out yet.

When I tried to sit up, my body wouldn’t budge .

What the hell?

I yanked my arms, which had ended up over my head while I was unconscious. They wouldn’t move, and as I jerked them again, the rattle of chains echoed.

Cold panic rushed through my veins, and my head whipped toward Ruin’s cell to see him leaning against the bars with a worried expression.

“Why the fuck am I chained up?” I asked.

“Well, look at that.” Roxie stood a few feet away, an ominous smile curling her lips as she flicked her long ebony ponytail behind her shoulder. “You do know how to be afraid.”

I kicked my unbound legs, but she was too far to reach. “What are you doing, Roxie? Luring me into a trap and locking me up isn’t enough for you?”

Her laugh made goose bumps break out over my flesh, and she pulled a dagger off her belt, tapping the blade to her palm. “I thought we’d have a little fun with some torture.”