Fighting Destiny (The Fae Chronicles, #1)

Tears of hopelessness ran down my face as he snickered and backed up with his head tipped low as madness lit inside his eyes. "You took him away from me. I could have brought down the entire Fae race. You ruined it!" He lost his composure and screamed showing just how unhinged he was, "No, you will suffer and you will take her place."

He turned and picked up a knife, his other hand trailing over Larissa's bare leg where he'd cut her pants open. I screamed, shaking everything inside the room until he was forced to turn back to me. He walked back slowly, his eyes lighting up around the edges to reveal the fact that he was half Fae, Changeling. "That's it baby, scream," he screamed with me, his piercing the room until he started laughing. "No one can hear you. No one will save you."

I stopped and shook inside, my palm itching with a slight tingle and then a burn as if it was trying to work blood magic again. I swallowed and begged him to cut me, to use me. But he refused and when he walked back over to Larissa all I could do was watch as my voice, hoarse and tired refused to work.

He removed the gag from Larissa's bloody mouth and my heart dropped, everything inside of me screamed in denial. "No, oh God nooooo! Lari….oh God," he'd cut her beautiful face up in several places. He snickered as he sank his blade in and watched her come back, aware of what was happening, she sobbed and shook her head trying to move it away from his merciless abuse.

I met her eyes and I sobbed along with her as I fought the hold of the pins. He was cutting her open and once again I couldn’t help, I wasn’t strong enough to do anything with the pins holding me securely to the wall. I screamed and fought the horror of what he was doing. He whistled, while he cut my best friend open. He was fucking insane!

His body moved blocking my view for a few seconds and then silence reigned as he cut whatever it was from Larissa's insides, the noise sickening. When he turned around, I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see, didn’t want to know what he had done.

"Beautiful," he whispered and then I felt his blood coated hands on my shirt as he cut it up the middle.

I opened my eyes and met his, "I'm going to get loose and when I do I am going to cut the flesh from your bones and every organ out slowly, starting with the ones you can live without!"

He snickered again and groped my chest. I couldn’t see Larissa, I felt the rage pulsing inside of me and yet no magic came from it, the connection we shared was now completely gone. Severed.

"You will scream for me, I promise you. When I am done with you, you will do anything I want you to. I will control your body and mind. Are you ready to scream?" He smiled coldly as his blade came up to touch my skin.

I felt the knife cut through my chest and he was right. I screamed, I'd thought I couldn't anymore—I was wrong, the blade sliced through my skin like freshly melted butter. I looked down to watch his blade covered with my own blood now.

He snickered, enjoying the sound of my screams as he pulled the blade out and licked it. He opened his mouth, to say something and before he could, he was gone from where he had stood in front of me. I turned my head and watched as a hooded figure in an onyx colored cloak attacked him, cutting and slicing him with a wicked looking silver blade.

Blood spurted up with every angry slice the hooded figure took. I moved my eyes to Larissa but before I could finish making them move to her mutilated body, Ristan was there blocking the way. "Move," I cried, but he ignored me as he placed his hand on my chest and dropped his magic to seal the wound.

His skin turned bright red, his eyes matching crimson as he spoke strange words that caused his hand to glow as he pressed it against my chest as he applied more pressure. "Ryder, she needs more help than I can give her here."

"Not…me, heal…heal her, Please, I need her, fix her. You can do it, please. I’ll do anything Ryder, anything. She my family!" I sobbed uncontrollably.

His eyes met and held mine with sorrow in their ancient depths, "She's already gone Syn."

"No! You're wrong, fix her…oh God…no, no just fix her. I need you to just fix her. Please, oh God, you have to!" I sobbed sagging as Ristan started pulling each pin out of my skin and then Ryder was there.

"Syn, look at me," Ryder took in the pins still protruding from my skin and pulled them free before he caught me and pulled me close against his body, "She can't be fixed Pet and you don’t want to see her, not like this Syn." I sobbed, my body shaking with each one as what they were telling me sunk in. I couldn’t do this, I wasn’t strong enough. I buried my face against Ryder as I screamed with everything I had, my body shook hard enough that Ryder had to hold me with both hands to keep upright.

"Ristan, stay with the body and clean it up, bring her back to the mansion when you finish. I need to take Syn back to Eliran," Ryder whispered but I pushed away from him.