Page 34 of Savage Claim

My head jerked back. “You want me to kill myself?”

“If you don’t…” She gestured toward Mykel as his talons lowered to Kortney’s neck, digging in and spilling blood. “Your little raven friend dies.”

The hilt slipped in my hand as a cold sweat dampened my palms. “You can’t be serious.”

Venna patted Kortney’s head, earning a scowl from the raven. “What’s the phrase humans say? As serious as a heart attack.”

“If you choose not to kill yourself, Tate, I’ll eat this raven’s heart first.” Mykel salaciously licked his lips. “I bet it’s delicious.”

My stomach lurched at the images of him literally devouring Kortney. She must have been picturing the same thing because a green hue tinted her cheeks.

“I hope you choke on it,” she murmured, catching my eye while the two demons laughed. As her wrist wriggled in the rope tying her arm to the chair, moonlight glinted on the shiny object clutched in her fingers.

She had a tiny pocketknife.

Relief washed over me. She’d almost cut through the rope on one hand, and luckily, her ankles weren’t bound to the chair.

“And here I thought you’d want to end my life yourself, Venna.” I inched closer, keeping their attention as Kortney continued to saw through her restraints. “What happened to your thirst for revenge? Ziva screamed like a bitch when I stuck that knife in her chest, the one dipped in Demise.”

Venna’s irises darkened, and her flesh paled as shadows converged over her face. “You’ll feel that same pain when you slice into your throat.” She jerked her chin toward the knife in my hand. “The Demise on that blade will kill you if the blood loss doesn’t.”

I lifted the blade and sniffed it, my nostrils stinging from the demon poison. “Why would you give me a blade coated in Demise? What if I use it on you?”

“You won’t get the chance to use it on me, Tate, not before you kill yourself.” She flicked her long locks, the shiny leather corset and pants looking like liquid tar in the moonlight. “And once you take your last breath, Kaspin’s spell will break, and the grief will torment Fane like it did me after Ziva died.”

Kortney finished cutting through the rope on one wrist and moved to the other. She’d be free any moment now. And then we’d fight.

I rested my free hand over my pocket, ready to snatch the hilt. “Dominic stabbed me with a silver knife coated in Demise. That didn’t kill me. What makes you so sure it will now?”

Venna tsked. “Those shifters were idiots. I’ll make sure it kills you. And your hybrid isn’t here to save you like last time.” Her cheeks hollowed, and those eyes became pits of impenetrable black holes. “You’re at my mercy, little girl.”

Kortney finished cutting her other bind, and she gave a quick nod.

“Actually, I’m not at anyone’s mercy, Venna, least of all yours.” I snatched the transformative hilt from my pocket, ran my finger over the rune to activate the sword, and tossed it to the raven.

As the blade extended, she stood and snatched it through the air, spinning toward the dux demon behind her. Mykel staggered back, but he wasn’t quick enough. The sword sliced through his wrist with one quick pass, severing his hand.

A booming howl shook the construction site as his unattached limb hit the concrete, black blood spewing from his sheared appendage.

“You bitch!” he snarled, lunging for Kortney.

She jumped out of his reach and ducked to miss the talons on his remaining hand. “I guess you’re not going to eat my heart after all, asshole.”

I turned to lunge at Venna, but she’d vanished into thin air. Where the hell did she go?

A strangled cry erupted as Mykel kicked Kortney, and she flew across the concrete into a metal beam. I bolted toward her, trying to beat the dux demon before he could resume his attack.

“I’m fine,” Kortney hissed as I helped her up. “Just a little dazed.”

As the dux demon charged, I stepped in front of Tran and swiped the blade covered in Demise at him. He cursed, stumbling away from the deadly weapon. He frantically peered around for Venna, his mouth parted in disbelief when she was nowhere to be found.

“The princess left you to die, Mykel.” I grinned. “She doesn’t give a damn about you. You’re just a lowly lackey to her. Nothing more.”

His upper lip curved back, revealing jagged teeth. “You’re going to die a slow, agonizing death and then be eaten and torn apart by demons.”

“I doubt it. But you, on the other hand, are about to experience a painful death.” As the Infernal Sol stirred, enjoying the violence, a manic laugh bubbled out. “Your screams will give me a peaceful sleep tonight.”

The need to hold the demon amulet at bay wasn’t as prevalent as it was in front of the Silver Ridge pack. This was a demon, one who knew exactly what lurked inside of me. Kortney had seen a spark of the darkness when I’d ripped into those fortyno demons too.

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