Page 41 of Bound By Love
If they could stay on their feet and fighting, they might have a chance of evading this. He didn’t hold out much hope for that, but their unwillingness to kill them was helpful, even if it wouldn’t last.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted Kirkau drifting closer. Evil radiated from the creature as he glided through the trees, past the Savages, and toward them.
Twisting, Saber battered at the Savage tearing into his arms. The creature lurched back to avoid Saber’s blows before jumping forward and sinking his fangs into Saber’s bicep.
His entire body reacted as if someone had shoved him into a fire, but he clamped his teeth against the agony and jerked his arm forward. He swung his free hand over and plunged his knife through the creature’s back and into his chest.
Before he could jerk the knife free, more of them pounced on his back. Caro’s cry of rage rebounded through the trees before abruptly cutting off.
She crumpled to the ground with blood spilling from her temple. She was alive, but the sight of her down, unmoving, and bleeding caused red to shadow the edges of Saber’s vision as he roared.
Still unable to feel his legs, he lurched forward on legs as stiff as a board. His gait was awkward as he bounced off a Savage and nearly went down.
More of their enemy pounced on his back. They encircled their arms around his throat and dug their fingers into the bullet holes in his spine.
Fire lanced through his nerve endings, torching his skin and sending flames throughout his cells. He was about to tear into them when something crashed into the back of his skull.
Bone gave way with an audible crack as his head shot forward. He had no idea what they hit him with, but something caved in before the world went black.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
Saber woketo severe pain shooting through his head. His body and brain were working to repair themselves; he could feel synapses healing and flesh knitting back together, but it was a slow process.
He remembered enough to know it wasn’t happening fast enough. He had to be fully coherent and at top strength for what was about to come.
Lifting his head, he tried to take in his surroundings, but his vision blurred, and a cloudy haze surrounded everything. He could see little more than a pinpoint of only a few feet before him.
No matter how much he blinked, he couldn’t get anything more to come into focus. His ears rang; occasionally, the ringing would stop, and he’d catch the drip of something in the distance, but then the ringing returned, and it became all he heard.
The stenches of rot, brimstone, and sulfur permeated the air. Beneath it all, he detected the ocean’s faint aroma on Caro.
His teeth grated together as his heart contracted in his chest. She shouldn’t be here. She deserved far better than this, but he’d failed to help her get away, and now, here they were, and the demons were going to make him wish he’d died centuries ago.
His chest ached with the knowledge of what they would do to her. Everything in him screamed against it; he cared too much for her to see her hurt.
The realization of how much he cared hit him as hard as whatever they used to bash his skull. Part of him recoiled from it and tried to deny it was true, but it was.
He cared for her; he didn’t know if it was love, he still didn’t believe himself capable of it, but she’d somehow dug her way into his heart… and they were going to make her pay for it.
Saber blinked again as he tried to focus, but it did him little good. He had to see her, assure himself she was okay, and somehow get her out of this.
She was still alive; even if they remained closed off from each other, he felt her life pulsating across their bond. If she was already dead, he would have felt the severing and not cared about what was to come.
He jerked at the wrists the demons had bound behind his back. Thick chains rattled when he moved. His legs remained numb, but the bullets were making their way out of his spine, which meant he would soon walk normally again… if they didn’t break all the bones in his body first.
“He’s awake,” a voice hissed.
When he recognized Kirkau’s voice, the hair on his nape rose. Kirkau was pure evil and would take great pleasure in making Saber suffer. The best way for him to ensure that was to go after Caro; they all knew it.
They would have seen the marks on both their necks now, would have recognized them as a mated pair, and would take great joy in exploiting it.
Blinking again, he started bringing the room into focus, but it still wasn’t enough for him to see where he was or what was happening. He sensed something only a few feet away from him.
“I’m awake.” Saber’s words came out slurred as his tongue didn’t work properly.
But as he spoke, his mind started processing how bad this was for them. He had no idea how long they’d been in the hands of the demons and Savages or where they were.
Even if the Alliance could find them, and they could with Brian’s ability to track others, they might not come. Brian could lead them right here, it might take some time, but it could happen… if the Alliance allowed it.
