Page 20 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

Chapter

Thirteen

I darted across the small living room, nearly running into a rickety table where a few flaming candles spilled flickering shadows and light across Fane’s lethal talons.

“Fane, don’t!”

Fortunately, the demon shifter had stellar reflexes and stopped nanoseconds before his claws sank into Ruin’s flesh. They still punctured him, though, lines of black blood gliding down his pale, tattooed throat.

“You better have a damn good reason for stopping me, Tate,” Fane growled, his pupils in slits and irises flashing scarlet.

The edges of Ruin’s lips twitched. “She does.”

I gave the high demon a warning look. “If I were you, I’d keep my mouth shut.”

“Well, I can’t wait to hear this.” Wrath crossed his arms and leaned casually against the thick boards covering a window that overlooked the street below. “What could you have possibly done to keep Fane from ripping your head off, brother? ”

Ruin shrugged, wincing as Fane’s talons dug into him a little more. “Just hear me out.”

“I’d rather not.” Fane angled his head toward me while keeping his gaze on Ruin. “Tate, start talking before my control breaks.”

“This won’t go over well,” Enid muttered, bandaging Alicia’s thigh as they sat on the lumpy couch across the dim room.

Saint knew better than to hover around me while fury throbbed out of Fane, so he crossed the room and leaned against the boards with Wrath.

I rested my hand on Fane’s back, using our bond to pull his emotions into my own body. Realizing what I was doing, he glowered.

“Stop that,” he snarled into my mind.

Instead of removing my hand, I gave him a saccharine smile. “This is payback for all the times you took my pain without my consent.”

Fane grumbled under his breath, but he removed his claws from Ruin’s throat. “Fair enough.”

My hand slid down Fane’s arm, and I curled my fingers around his. “Because of Ruin, we now have a spy in The Collective.”

The demon shifter’s eyebrow arched. “A spy?”

“One I have sway with.” Ruin smirked. “I can assure my little Renfield will remain loyal to me, uh, us.”

“No fucking way.” Wrath pushed off the wall, scrutinizing his brother from head to toe. Dark spots, no doubt blood, splattered his jeans and navy shirt. “You created a demon bond.”

Ruin lifted his palms. “Guilty as charged.”

“You always said you’d rather die than have someone else connected to your mind.” Wrath’s brows furrowed as he neared his twin. “What gives?”

Some of the humor faded from Ruin, and the haunted look he was trying to mask bled across his expression. Neither Fane nor Wrath knew the extent of Ruin’s torture.

The former high demon lord swallowed hard, his stare falling to the chipped and scratched wooden floor. “Death would have been better than where I ended up.”

“Would Warin agree?” Fane snapped.

“Warin was too kind of a soul to wish this on anyone, Fane.” Ruin’s jaw clenched as he raised his head again. “You know that.”

Wrath trekked across the small living room to the kitchen counter and unzipped a backpack. “Who did you bond with?”

His tone remained calm, but his words trembled almost imperceptibly as he tried to keep his emotions in check. He and Warin had been more than friends—soul mates, according to Wrath. And he lost him because of his own twin.

And me.

Ruin slumped against the wall, thinking the danger of his impending murder was gone—or at least stalled.

“Roxie,” he said.

Wrath cursed as he withdrew a bottle of water from his bag. “Are you serious? A raven?”

Fane’s fingers squeezed mine. “Her, of all people, Ruin? She has to be one of the most duplicitous non-demon or fae creatures I’ve met.”

“Obviously, they’re a perfect match.” Wrath threw a water bottle at his brother with a little more force than necessary.

Ruin caught it, wincing from the cut leaking black blood down his side. “It’s only temporary. I’ll break it when she’s no longer needed. ”

I tugged on Fane’s hand to pull him away from Ruin. “So, with Ruin’s help, we can monitor The Collective Nosterium and remain one step ahead of Barric.”

Fane scoffed, knowing damn well that wasn’t the full story. “You think you’ll still get a chance to steal the Infernal Sol with someone on the inside.”

“Exactly.” I used all my focus to keep the craving for that stupid amulet from surfacing.

I wouldn’t let it attach to me this time. No way.

“And being one step ahead of Barric right now would help us all escape alive.” Saint wrapped gauze around Alicia’s arm while his mother continue to fuss over her leg. “Not all of us are as impervious as you four.”

Why the hell would Saint include me in the nearly invincible club, especially when a sliver of an ancient, evil demon stuck inside threatened to kill me?

Fane rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. “Fine. I won’t kill Ruin. For now.”

My lungs expelled a deep breath, and as Fane felt the relief flowing from me, his nostrils flared. He knew I had sympathy for Ruin, and he didn’t like it one damn bit.

Fane’s lips brushed over mine while his hands massaged the small of my back. Goose bumps puckered my flesh, and the tattoos on my neck and arm crackled with electricity. Hell, my whole body vibrated.

“Aren’t we supposed to help the others with our escape plan?” I murmured against his mouth.

Leaving this room to join the tension-filled living room where everyone fought over the best route to the gateway was the last thing I wanted to do. But a smidge of sticky guilt oozed through my veins.

“It’s better that I’m not in the same room as Ruin. Trust me.” Fane’s hands skimmed around my front, and those nimble fingers flicked open the button on my jeans. “And I can’t help it if I need some alone time with my mate after being separated for so long.”

I let out a soft moan as his hand dipped into my pants and his fingers slid over my center, already aching for him. “Yeah, you’re right. We should stay.”

His teeth dragged over my jaw and then down my throat as flames lapped at my skin. “You definitely need some attention, don’t you, fiera mika?”

A shudder ran down my spine. The urge to rip every bit of fabric separating us bled through my system, stealing my sanity. The smirk crossing Fane’s lips made it obvious he felt my longing through the bond.

Damn. I missed him.

“If you can be really quiet like a good girl, I—” Fane’s head suddenly yanked toward the door, his hearing picking up on something.

The chatter from the living room extinguished as creaks echoed downstairs, and my pulse skyrocketed.

“Someone’s breaking in,” I said into Fane’s mind as he reluctantly removed his hand from my pants.

He gave a sharp nod, buttoned my jeans, and tugged me into the cramped living room. Everyone was silent while the stairs behind the front door groaned under someone’s weight.

Had The Collective already found us?

Wrath and Ruin slinked across the room, their irises darkening to pools of obsidian. Now that Ruin’s hair was disheveled and he wore jeans and a t-shirt instead of his usual tailored suits, he and his brother looked nearly identical.

The doorknob jiggled, and Fane and I released our talons. As the door opened, Wrath lunged for the intruder.

“Chill the hell out. It’s me!” Logan gently shoved Wrath out of the way. “I’m on your team.”

A breath of relief burst out of my lungs at the sight of the charming high demon dressed in all black and sporting a knit beanie.

“Strawberry Shortcake?” Hawk bolted from behind Logan and, when he saw me, hurried across the tiny apartment. “You’re okay.”

He engulfed me in his arms and lifted me from my feet. Fane grumbled and released my hand before my wrist could bend at a painful angle.

“I missed you, too, Hawk,” I mumbled as a smile pulled at my lips. His clean citrus scent filled my nostrils, and I inhaled a familiar piece of home.

Wait. What the fuck was Hawk doing in the Underworld?

Panic sliced at my heart, and I forced him to drop me. “You can’t be in the Underworld. It’s too dangerous.”

He smirked. “Danger’s my middle name.”

“I thought it was handsome.” Logan pulled the knit hat off and tossed it on the crooked coffee table, revealing his lustrous golden-brown locks.

Fane crossed his thick arms. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We lost communication, so we got worried.” Logan withdrew his phone from his pocket and shook the device.

Spelled cell phones worked in other realms, but few demons in Vlehull walked around with a hunk of plastic stuck to their hands like humans did on Earth .

Ruin leaned on the kitchen counter and pushed the map of Vlehull toward Saint. “Roman probably enchanted the area to scramble cell phone reception.”

Logan went rigid, his usual charm suddenly muted. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I didn’t expect to be here.” Ruin shoved his hands into his pockets, his head bowing, tossing outgrown navy strands in his face. “Let’s get this over with. Tell me what an evil bastard I am. Everyone else has.”

The flickering candlelight danced in Logan’s electric blue eyes, but the shadows curling within them had chills skating down my back. He rarely allowed his dangerous side to show.

It was definitely out to play right now.

“Nah, I won’t do that.” Logan crossed the room toward the former high lord of Savannah, his boots barely making a sound on the dull wooden planks.

Ruin’s head snapped up. “Really? You don’t think that.”

The ominous laugh gliding out of Logan had the air thickening and cooling twenty degrees. “Oh, I have lots of thoughts on you, Ruin. I just know my words won’t make a dent in that impenetrable skull of yours.”

“I’m really sorry that I?—”

Logan punched his former friend’s cheek, forcing the high demon to stumble back. “My words won’t make a dent, but my fist might.”

Saint darted between the two high demons before a brawl could erupt. “This is not the time to fight.”

Logan’s mouth curved into a snarl. “There won’t be a fight. It’ll be a murder.”

Ruin wiped black blood from his split lip. “I deserved that.”