Page 54 of Wicked Curses
Orin strode back until he stood near the balcony railing. Lowering his shoulder, he ran at the door and smashed into it.
Wood splintered and flew inward as it gave way beneath his weight. What remained of the fractured door rebounded off the wall and swung toward him.
Orin threw out his hand to keep it from crashing into him as a low, piercing screech started to sound. At first, he had no idea what it was, but when he tried to enter the room, a shock hit him, and he realized the witch had set up a security system.
One that had failed to stop whatever was happening in this room.
Stepping back, he took in the dark room, but all he could see was the empty bed and a toppled candle only a few feet away.
Then he noticed the dark blob hovering before him and over the top of Sahira. When the thing turned toward him, the darkness grew. It expanded toward him before retracting and scrambling under the bed.
Orin waited for it to reemerge, but it was too dark for him to see that side of the room, and if it reemerged, he didn’t see it. When Sahira moaned, Orin forgot all about the creature as he shoved his way through the electric jolt.
His body jerked and twitched from the power hitting him, but once he was through, the screeching stopped. With his hands still twitching from the lingering effects, he scrambled over to Sahira.
He knelt beside her and gently grasped her shoulders to turn her over. Her pale face turned toward him, and even in the darkness, he could see the dark circles encasing her throat.
Her white nightgown was a tangled mess around her legs as she lay unmoving before him. He searched for the rise and fall of her chest but saw nothing.
Was she dead? Because that would suck. He was looking forward to seeing how this game between them played out, and now some asshole may have cut his fun short.
He didn’t like admitting he might also miss her. She made this realm a little more bearable, and he admired her strength, but acknowledging such a thing was too close to admitting he liked this woman more than most others.
“Shit.” He reached to check for a pulse when her eyes fluttered open.
“Why are you doing this?” she whispered before passing out.
Orin sat back on his heels and rested his hands on his knees as he surveyed the room, but nothing moved through the shadows. He’d have to get better light in here.
“Fuck,” he whispered.
He removed the dagger from her hand and set it on the nightstand before carrying her from the room. There was no way he would leave her there after what he’d witnessed, and he had to examine this room more closely.
Orin carried her into his room and settled her on the bed before returning to her room. He gathered the candle and lit it again before restoring the nightstand.
Once he finished, he closed the broken door the best he could. He’d have to fix the door before anyone returned to the pub. There was no way he was letting anyone know something happened here tonight, especially when he had no idea what that something was.
He didn’t trust anyone in this realm, and that trust had just gotten much smaller.
With relentless determination, he searched every inch of her room but saw no sign of whatever was there.
That must be why she looked so exhausted and accused him of being in her room, but he had no idea what it was or how it got there. With a sigh, he returned to his room and stood beside the bed, staring at Sahira.
The bruises on her throat were already darkening and becoming more visible. He recalled when she arrived to accuse him of being in her room but understood that night better now.
He hadn’t lied to her; he didn’t have that kind of control over the shadows and didn’t think it was some shadow creature in there. The only dark fae who could exert so much control over them was Cole, and he wouldneverdo that to Sahira.
And there was no way Cole had been in there. If he had, his brother would have found a way to get them out of this realm, not attacked her.
Besides, if Sahira had done something so horrible to unleash Cole’s wrath on her, he would have come here and killed her in person. No, whatever was in her room was entirely different than the Reaver.
He didn’t know what it was, but he would find out.
His fingers skimmed her brow and the purple lump there. Her breath was slow and steady, but she required some medical attention, and the witches wouldn’t help with this. Besides, he didn’t trust them to be anywhere near her.
The light fae could also help, but most would shut the door in the face of a dark fae before he could tell them why he was there. Besides, that meant involving others, and he’d already decided against it.
Retreating from his room, he left the door open so he could hear her if something happened again. He descended the stairs and went to the bar to gather supplies to help her.
