Torn (A Wicked Saga, #2)(83)

Kicking out again, I hit his right leg and then straightened, jabbing the dagger deep into his side. He grunted and swung, but I anticipated the move and dipped under his arm. Now in front of him, I caught him in the chest again with the dagger, and immediately brought my leg up, kneeing him in the nuts.

Valor doubled over, and I caught his shoulders, shoving him down with my weight. He went, clutching his poor boys. He rolled onto his back, and I saw the opportunity. I had to do some major damage to keep him down.

I dropped to the ground next to him, the damp soil soaking through my dress. He rolled onto his side, grabbing my left arm and yanking hard enough that I worried he’d pull it out of its socket. He shouted, and I didn’t think about what I was doing, because it was so gross. I just did it. Slamming the blade down, I went for the eye, and I hit my target. His roar was cut off and his arms dropped limply. Dark blood and other liquid I didn’t want to think too closely about, because it might make me puke, spurted into the air, hitting my face and chest.

The hit wasn’t going to kill the dumb son of a bitch, but I figured it would keep him down for a while.

“Ivy!” Faye shouted, up and apparently alive. “Let’s go!”

Yanking the iron dagger out of Valor’s eye socket, I stood up and took off, darting across the street, following Faye’s moonlit form. We ran for several more yards, twigs and fallen branches tearing at my feet. Small rocks dug into my skin, but I kept going. My heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest, but this was my only chance. If I didn’t get away now, I was never getting away.

Feet pounded behind me. Sparing a look over my shoulder, I saw the ancient I’d just stabbed in the damn face tearing through the woods, dark liquid pouring down his face. Jesus, he was like the Terminator Ancient. I dug in, giving it everything I had.

But it wasn’t enough.

Air exploded out of my lungs as he crashed into me from behind, taking me down. The impact knocked the dagger out of my hand, and his weight drove me several inches into the mush where I got a mouthful of soil and grass. Dirt clogged my nostrils, and for a moment I couldn’t breathe.

Spitting the mess out, I dragged in gulps of air as Valor grabbed a handful of my hair and jerked my head back.

“You f*cking bitch,” he spat. “I could snap your neck in a second.”

My fingers dug into the soil as I reached for my dagger. “I don’t think your prince would be happy about that.”

Valor flipped me onto my back and loomed over me, one hand still tangled in my hair. His face was a mess—really not a pretty sight. “Do you think that will stop me? He’ll find another halfling. You’re not the only one.”

“I’m the closest,” I spat out, lifting my hips to throw him, but he wouldn’t budge.

His grip in my hair tightened, and fire spread across my skull. I was going to be bald if he kept it up. “He’s going to think you escaped, but in truth, you’re going to be dead.”

I started to point out that my escaping on his watch was probably not going to over well, but I didn’t get the chance. His other hand came down, landing on my throat, squeezing and cutting off my air before I realized I’d taken my last breath.

That was it.

My eyes widened as I grabbed his wrist, scratching and tearing at his skin, but it did nothing to alleviate the pressure. Where in the hell did Faye go? He was choking the life out of me! A deep, unholy burn bloomed in my chest and rapidly crawled up my throat. I went for his gouged-out eye, but he leaned away, keeping just out of reach. Panic exploded, raw and all-consuming as the corners of my vision darkened.

Valor was really going to kill me.

This was it.

I was going to die in the bayou like I was some poor victim in an episode of an investigative Discovery Channel show.

My strength was waning and I could no longer keep swinging at him. My hand slipped down his arm, and all I could think—

Valor suddenly jerked and his grip on my throat loosened. Air rushed into my lungs as he looked down at his chest where a stake had burst through. And not an iron one, either.

His body trembled but no sound came out of his gaping mouth as I scrambled out from underneath him. The ancient was a goner. Dead. Oxygen burned my raw throat and my eyes watered as I rolled sideways. My brain kept telling me to get up and start running again, but all my limbs were tingling and they felt sort of detached.

A gentle, warm hand touched my shoulder. “Ivy.”

I stilled. Slowly, I lifted my head, and with a shaky hand, pushed my hair back from my face. My voice was hoarse and weak as I said, “Ren.”





Chapter Twenty-Nine


Shocked and utterly speechless, I stared up at Ren, and a part of me wondered if I was hallucinating, because I couldn’t understand why he was here.

Ren slowly knelt beside me. Moonlight highlighted his cheekbones and full mouth. “Ivy, are you okay?”

I had no voice as I stared at him. His hair fell in waves over his forehead. In the darkness, his green eyes were nearly black. He looked a little pale, almost shaken. It looked like Ren and he’d killed Valor, but I . . . I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

My heart, which never really slowed down, kicked into high gear, pounding so fast I felt like it would give out any second.

I’d been fooled before. I’d let my own wants and desires to be reunited with Ren clog all my sense of judgment. If I had been paying attention, had been less emotional, I would’ve noticed right off the bat that something was wrong with Ren, that it wasn’t him.