Page 34 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Hawk’s scream ripped my already damaged heart to pieces, and the agony on his sweaty, bruised face stabbed into my abdomen like a dull knife. Barric’s cruel laughter thundered in my ears.

Unable to bear it, I broke out of Fane’s grip and ran toward my friend, but when I tried to snatch the poker from Barric, my hand slipped through the hot metal as if I were a ghost.

In a way, I was, forced to watch the horrifying spectacle.

“Roxie is supposed to keep him safe.” My nostrils flared as my fists clenched, and I imagined driving them into her and Barric.

Fane crossed the rich hardwoods and stood next to me, deep lines developing across his brow as the firelight reflected orange in his irises. His guilt for Hawk’s suffering pulsed from him before he could hide it.

“There’s only so much Roxie can do,” he said. “Barric knows he can’t kill Hawk.”

Not yet, anyway. Not until he had me for the ritual that would end the lives of all bitten shifters .

Barric finally took the poker away and set it on a metal cart he—or probably Ben—had wheeled in, a few other torture instruments lying on a clean white cloth. He tapped his fingers together, obviously deciding which painful weapon to use next.

Sweat glided down my nape while I studied the thin pole, no bigger than a knitting needle, with tiny spikes on the end.

I’d use that one.

My stomach heaved at my twisted thoughts. Heldrok had really screwed me up.

“But why torture Hawk?” I rested my hand on my best friend’s shoulder, his head falling forward and eyes drooping. “What’s the point if I’m not here to witness it?”

Fane rubbed a hand down his face, scratching at the stubble coating his jaw. “Maybe Barric plans on ensuring you do find out.”

The moment my father slipped the Infernal Sol out from beneath his navy and gray flannel shirt, stroking the amulet like a precious pet, fire lit my veins.

Memories of reveling in that seductive power sped through my mind, and I had to bite my tongue to keep a moan from spilling free. Having felt the sensations bombarding my system, Fane stiffened beside me.

His muscles coiled, ready to grab me in case I went off the deep end and tried to snatch the stone right off my father’s neck.

Of course, I couldn’t take the amulet now, but maybe I could get a tiny drop of that power…

Fane gripped my chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing me to turn away from the amulet.

“Can you always feel it like this in visions?” he asked, tilting his head toward the former alpha. “The Infernal Sol, I mean?”

I gently pulled his fingers off but didn’t let my gaze travel back to the glimmering red stone. “Sometimes.”

Barric’s hushed voice filled the room, and when we turned to him, he held the stone close to his lips, whispering to it. His irises darkened, and his complexion paled.

He chuckled. “Yes, yes, I think that would be a good one.”

Ice prickled my flesh as I thought about the many times I’d communicated with the amulet while it was inside of me. Had I looked as mad as he did?

“You became darker, a little insane, but you never had a sickly pallor or appeared weakened by your connection,” Fane answered, hearing my thoughts. “Is the amulet even speaking to him right now, or is it all in his head?”

“All of it can’t be in his head. The amulet gave him information about me and on how to perform these rituals.” I ran my fingers over the sun tattoo still branded on my abdomen. “But it’s also driving him crazy.”

Like it had done to me. But Barric’s psychosis was worse.

Barric grabbed a small serrated blade from the table. “Perfect.”

As he passed by, the amulet pulsed more brightly, and that familiar power brushed against my skin.

Fane’s tongue toyed absentmindedly with his lip ring as the stone dimmed again. “It knows you’re here.”

Prickles crawled over my scalp like tiny invisible bugs. “Barric has gotten it to call me into a vision before. Maybe he was torturing Hawk because he knew I’d end up watching.”

Barric slapped Hawk’s cheek to wake him up. “I have another toy to play with, raven. ”

“Have at it, old man.” Blood stained Hawk’s teeth as he smiled. “Still won’t save you in the end.”

“Your faith in my daughter is pathetic.” Barric waved the knife around. “But I am hoping she gets a vision of one of our torture sessions. She’ll be so heartbroken, so filled with anguish, that she’ll act on impulse and rush here to save you.”

His mocking tone made my nostrils flare and my teeth grind. But knowing that he was right, that I had been thinking of doing exactly that, was even worse.

Was I really that easily manipulated?

“Getting her this early would leave more time for her to escape, but…” Barric hovered the blade over Hawk’s body, clearly trying to decide where to harm him next. “Adding her blood to the sacrifices would speed up the timeline. We could prepare the ritual so much sooner.”

Hawk tilted his head. “And you’re not the least bit worried Tate will kill you?”

The former alpha snorted, the flames in the hearth glinting on the gray threading his russet hair. “The piece of the amulet remaining in Tate is still poisoning her. Fane can’t help her, and even if Saint could, she’ll never allow him to get that close. I highly doubt she can heal on her own.”

I swallowed back the acid oozing up my esophagus. Was there really no cure—other than letting my fated mate heal me?

And that meant…

“Maybe Tate doesn’t need to be completely cured to beat your sorry ass.” If Hawk’s hands weren’t tied, he’d flip Barric off. “She was born from an alpha, and she’s part demon because of Fane. She could take you any day.”

I wished Hawk were right, but I couldn’t beat Barric, not while he had the Infernal Sol .

“Tate might have told everyone who she was and shown her alpha power.” Barric sliced the blade across Hawk’s bicep, and crimson blood dribbled out of it. “But she’s not strong enough to take me.”

A knock rattled the door, and Roxie entered the room, her arrogant smile remaining in place even at the sight of a bloody, injured Hawk.

If she was letting this happen, I’d gut her.

As he felt my fury and its underlying pain, Fane slipped his fingers through mine and squeezed.

“If you keep poking at him, he’s going to bleed out, and then he’ll be of no use,” Roxie warned.

Barric’s eyes narrowed. “Are you telling me what to do?”

Roxie tsked and strolled forward, swaying her hips. “Oh, come on, Barric. You know how much I enjoy torture, which is why I have a surprise for you downstairs.”

He arched an eyebrow. “What surprise?”

She ran her fingers across his scarred arm in a slow, tantalizing manner. “I rounded up a few dux demons for you to play with.”

My gag reflexes engaged. Had Roxie actually slept with my father? She certainly seemed comfortable touching him.

“They’ll be much more fun. And you can actually kill them.” Roxie took the knife from Barric’s hand. “I can put the raven back in his little cage.”

A sinister grin hitched up the former head alpha’s lips. “You know exactly how to make me smile. You’ve proven more useful than I ever imagined.”

I almost threw up in my mouth.

After Barric left the room, Roxie tossed the knife back on the table and marched toward Hawk. She slipped a small vial of golden liquid from her pocket, uncorked the vessel, and tipped it to his lips.

“Drink this.”

Hawk gulped the elixir and grimaced. “What was that?”

She shoved the empty bottle back into her pocket. “It’s a healing elixir from Roman. Barric will forget the wounds he caused by the next time he sees you. If anything, he’ll just chalk it up to you being a raven.”

A shaky breath escaped my lungs as the blood stopped flowing from Hawk’s wounds and some of his bruises faded.

So Roxie was helping him—only because Ruin made her, though.

She pulled out a key to unlock the surrounding chains. “I’ll get you some food and?—”

The walls darkened, and the floor beneath my feet dissolved. Fane and I tumbled through a dark tunnel…

Moments later, we stood in his art studio again, my fingers clutching his shirt and our lips brushing together.

Hot, boiling rage pummeled my heart, and I broke out of Fane’s embrace. Barric was torturing Hawk in the Underworld because of me, because Fane sacrificed him for me.

“Good. Be mad,” he said. “I did this, remember?”

I shook my head as if that would rid me of those painful images of Hawk bound in chains. “How could I forget?”

But I almost did. Being near Fane, knowing how much agony this separation caused him, was almost enough to make me forgive him.

Deep down, I knew I’d have to eventually. Preston was right when he said I was Fane’s first priority, and he would sacrifice anything—anyone—to save me .

Wouldn’t I do the same for him?

Fane jammed his hand through his hair, his gaze searing into my soul. “Saint should be here soon. Let him heal you, Tate. Do whatever it takes.”

A giant fire crackled in the distance, orange embers floating up to the ebony, starlit sky. It was far enough from the line of tall pines, oaks, and maples that the sparks wouldn’t reach the foliage. Even if it did, there were plenty of shifters here who could put out a fire.

One shifter in particular was absent, though.

Fane vanished from the house right after we returned from that vision, and I hadn’t seen him all night. The cookie I just crammed into my mouth tasted like sawdust as memories of Barric torturing Hawk replayed through my mind.

Unable to choke the food down, I ambled toward the folding table with drinks to search for lemonade. Fane was still somewhere in Mohan Wilds. I could at least sense that, but neither of us wanted to face the other.

Was he lying about not getting his memories back?

And was he lying about believing our bond wouldn’t break even if I somehow solidified a fated mate bond with Saint?

I wasn’t sure whether that was possible. Saint and I would have to claim each other—intent, sex, and a bite—but I already belonged to Fane. Saint couldn’t claim another shifter’s mate.