Chapter 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

As the raven lifted her sword, I snatched it out of her hand, stepped on it, and broke the blade in half. The color drained from her face.

"How did you?—"

I tossed the broken metal fragments aside. "Did you really think that would stop me?"

"Uh, Ruin, maybe we should break this up." Logan stood a few feet away while the demon lord blocked the other raven—Hawk—from coming to the woman's aid. The crazed dux demons were either dead or knocked out.

A wicked smile twisted Ruin's lips. "Just let Tate have a moment."

"Hawk, do something," the female raven demanded.

He cursed when Ruin wouldn't budge from his path. "What exactly do you want me to do, Roxie?"

Ah, Roxie.

Faint memories tugged at my mind, ones that left me—or the other me—hurt and crying. "You're going to suffer," I whispered.

And then I attacked.

She expected me to claw like a shifter, but I relied on my demon strength and grabbed her neck, quickly taking her to the ground. Roxie shrieked as I crawled on top of her.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Logan mumbled. "Tate will regret this."

"Just another minute," Ruin said.

I gripped Roxie's jaw, prying her mouth open as her soul dislodged from the center.

First her soul and then her fears.

Curses resonated behind me as the tombstones and angel statues fell away while I took my first sip of a human soul. Euphoria hit me, and I moaned before taking another inhale.

And another.

Arms wrapped around my middle and yanked me off my meal. Talons burst from my fingertips, and my teeth lengthened as I fought my captor.

"Snap out of it, Tate!" Ruin shook me and then slammed his hand over the mark on my neck.

Currents of electricity tingled over me while shocking the hell out of him. He gritted his teeth and held on as long as he could. Soon, the fog began to clear from my mind.

Fane. He gave me this tattoo. It didn't like anyone else touching it.

He always brought me back when I wasn't strong enough.

I shoved Ruin away, severing his connection on the mark, but the darkness dispersed enough for me to regain full control .

And then the memories of the last few hours returned, and I staggered into a statue.

What the hell have I done?

All those fears. And their life forces. My hand rested on my abdomen. I'd taken them inside of me, fed off them.

My gaze fell on the woman scrambling away on her hands. Roxie. I'd just sucked her soul.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Hawk kneeled beside her, his fury directed at me. "What are you?"

The cemetery spun, and I dropped to my knees, puking behind the same statue I hit.

No, no, no, no. I did not just consume part of a human soul. I didn't do what Warin had done to Jayla and my friends.

But that was exactly what happened. If Ruin hadn't stopped me, I would have killed Roxie. And enjoyed every fucking second of it.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, wiping my mouth. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

I did mean it, though.

"How could you?" The hatred and loathing pulsating around Hawk stole the air from my lungs. "You're an evil?—"

"You should stop talking now." Logan's voice dropped a few octaves, and frost twisted around every syllable. He'd never sounded so terrifying. "None of this is her fault. Do you even know where she's been for the last year?"

Year? I was gone a whole year?

"She was a prisoner in Heldrok." As Logan leaned over him, the hollows of his cheeks deepened, sharpening his features. "That's an Underworld prison. She was tortured every day and then taken captive by the ruler of Vlehull. Think twice before you call her evil. You've never met true evil, boy. "

I crawled farther away, unable to meet anyone's eyes. The Infernal Sol slithered back under, but I still felt unhinged. My brain was jumbled, leaving my thoughts broken and incoherent.

Had soaking in all those fears at Venna's permanently screwed with my mind?

"I'm sorry," I muttered repeatedly, rocking back and forth while I curled my arms around my legs. "So sorry."

I missed Fane.

A tear ran down my cheek. "We have to find him. We have to help him come back. Break the spell and put his memories back together."

That was my fault too.

As guilt ate at me, Hawk spoke to the others.

"She was tortured?"

"You will never know what she's been through," Ruin said. "And if you ever cared even one ounce for her, you'd show her some compassion."

Logan kneeled next to me and tucked my hair behind my ear. "We'll find him, Tate. But we need to get you somewhere safe."

His words filtered into my ears, but their meaning drifted away as I swayed.

"We should get her to Mohan Wilds," Logan said as Ruin kneeled on my other side. "Maybe being around other shifters will help push the demon side down."

Ruin's lips thinned, but he nodded. "As much as I hate to admit it, that's a good idea."

"I'll stay with her." Logan wrapped his arm around my shoulders and hauled me to my unsteady legs. "Let's get you home."

It felt like someone had glued weights on my eyelids as I opened them to blurry, sage-green walls. But I'd never forget the warm leather, bergamot, and a hint of cinnamon fragrance. It was permanently seared into me that night we fought in the alley after I left Wrath & Ruin.

Fane Maverick.

He wasn't here, or my neck tattoo would be tingling.

I swallowed back the bile oozing up my throat as I recalled the horrors I rained on those demons at Venna's mansion. Gobbling up their fears made me go nuts, and the Infernal Sol had only been a few inches away from taking complete control.

A bitter laugh slipped out. What control? I'd had no control. I sucked the life energy from demons like they consumed human souls.

And Hawk saw me at my worst.

He witnessed me slurp on Roxie's soul. If he didn't think I was an evil nightworlder before, he did now. I went from being a raven hellbent on saving the innocent and atoning for the blood on my hands to a psycho hybrid with an ancient amulet trying to take me over.

I blinked the haze from my vision, and Fane's room at the Anders' home came into focus. In the cemetery, Logan and Ruin discussed taking me to the Mohan Pack. They said being around other shifters might push my demon side down.

Flashes of Venna with pictures of Fane's family infiltrated my mind as sharp claws tore at my chest.

No. I couldn't be here. It wasn't safe for them .

I scrambled out of Fane's bed, wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of my sleep shorts. Who the fuck changed me?

Not important.

I needed to get out of here as fast as I could before Venna's demons came for me. The door creaked open, and Fane's aunt stuck her head through the opening. Her brow creased when she saw the empty bed, and then she found me standing in the middle of the room like a deer in headlights.

"Oh, you're awake." Nora opened the door and slipped inside, her honey locks bouncing around her shoulders. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"No! I have to get out of here." I marched toward the door, but she stood in my way. "It's not safe."

She lifted her hands and shook her head. "No one's going to get to you here, Tate. You're safe."

" You're not," I screeched as my panic reached a fever pitch. "None of you are. Venna will come for me, and she'll hurt all of you, even Dylan, to get to me." She'd already threatened them to force me to torture Fane. She'd do anything at this point.

Nora slowly lowered her hands to rest on my shoulders, her expression softening. "No one will make it through our territory lines. After the agrigon attack, we aren't taking any chances. We have constant patrols."

But someone did get through to take their pictures. And even if Venna couldn't get to them, I still wasn't safe to be around.

"I could hurt you." My voice came out in a broken whisper. " I am not safe to be around. There are things you don't understand. I'm dangerous, and I have this thing inside of me that I can't control and?—"

"Ephraim and I are well aware of the demon amulet." She gently rubbed my arm, trying to calm me. Normally, I shied away from physical touch, but something about Nora's presence soothed me now. "Logan filled us in."

"And you still want me here?" He probably kept the worst of it to himself. There was no way they'd trust me to be around their kids. "He couldn't have explained everything."

Nora backed me up until Fane's mattress hit my legs. "He told us enough, but don't worry. We have no plans to inform Alpha Camus about the amulet. That stays between us." She gently pushed me to sit on the bed and followed, perching next to me. "When Fane brought you here last year, this became your home. I meant that as much then as I do now."

My next breath caught in my lungs, and unshed tears turned the room hazy. "I hurt Fane, though. He's under a spell because of me."

"That horrible demon princess screwed with his mind. You can't shoulder the blame for that, Tate." She smoothed a lock of hair behind my ear like I'd seen mothers on television do. "You are not responsible for every terrible thing in this world."

I was to blame for this. "Venna did it because of me."

She used one finger to tilt my chin up as a stray tear glided down my cheek. "Fane has also done some terrible things, and we would never turn him away, no matter what. Just like we'd never turn you away."

A lump clogged my throat, stealing my ability to breathe. People made promises like that before, mostly when I was a kid, and they always broke them. The ravens had made me feel like I was home, and they'd never abandon me.

But they did. Everyone always did.

Why would the Anders be any different?

Even as I wondered that, the truth permeated Nora's emerald eyes. She meant those words with her whole heart. No one had ever welcomed me in without a price, and no one stayed around after uncovering my flaws and imperfections.

Until now.

As a sob slipped out, I pressed my hands over my face. Fane was the only person I'd ever broken down in front of, but I couldn't stop the flood of emotions from overwhelming me. I was finally out of Heldrok and the Underworld.

Pang slashed at my heart as I ached for Fane. He should have been here with me.

Nora curled her arms around me and pulled me in for a hug, her jasmine scent swirling into the air. "Fane says you don't like others in your personal space, but I can't help it. I'm a mama wolf, and I protect my little pups, no matter how big or old they are."

For the first time, I didn't mind Nora's hug. She wasn't using me, and she wouldn't ask for anything in return. She truly wanted to comfort me because it was her instinct.

After I thoroughly drenched her shirt, I pulled back and wiped away my tears. "Thanks, Nora. That was… different."

She chuckled. "Get used to it. I've been in a house full of boys. Now that you're here, I'm not letting you go."

I sniffled and peered at her through damp lashes. "If you don't feel safe at any time, don't hesitate to send me off."

Her brows slammed down. "That's not going?—"

"I mean it." I used Fane's shirt to wipe the remaining moisture from my face. "Promise me you'll tell me to leave if you think I might be a danger to any of you. Please."

Her lips thinned as she hesitated, possibly having an eternal debate with her motherly instincts and common sense. "Fine," she eventually muttered. "Don't expect that to happen, though. Ephraim and I are pretty good at protecting our family."

"Good." I blew out a long breath, taking in Fane's room as my heart constricted. Had Venna punished him for letting me go? Did she even realize he was the one to sneak me out?

Maybe he got away too. Fane was still alive. I could feel his life pulsating through our connection. I would know if he were dead. I would feel it like a lethal blade to my own heart.

I dragged a hand through my tangled hair and slumped over as exhaustion twisted around me. Had Fane and I really been gone an entire year?

"He'll find his way back to you." Nora gave a sympathetic smile as I turned to her. "Fane will return."

Everyone kept saying that, but the spell on him held steady. He wanted to murder me for Warin's death. I'd felt it in his touch even when he kissed me. That might never go away.