Gena Showalter - [Lords of the Underworld 13] by The Darkest Craving Page B

if you don’t know the girl you’re following. The Fae.”
    His rescuer’s name was Josephina. Pretty. But he liked Tinker Bell better. “You want to enslave her, do you?” Was that why the girl had a death wish? She feared what the Phoenix would do to her?
    Buzz, buzz.
    Sting. Sting.
    “Argh!” Again she kicked out. Again she missed. “I refuse to answer any more of your questions. Let me go or I’ll make you regret it before I slay you!”
    “Did someone mention a lay? For the right price, I’m willing to make myself available.” William strolled into the area, chewing another nutrition bar. “And do you think she’s talking about the Fae female who just raced through our camp?”
    “What!” Kane got in the warrior’s face. “When?”
    “Just now.”
    “And you let her go?” he roared.
    Buzz. Sting.
    “Well, yeah. Our chase would have ended, and I’m not ready to go home. She told me to tell you hi, though. Or maybe she said to tell you to do what you promised or leave her alone since you’re drawing the wrong attention to her. It’s so hard to tell when you’re not really listening.”
    Battling an urge to slice the warrior to ribbons, and waste time, Kane gritted out, “Don’t let this one escape,” and bolted into action.

CHAPTER FIVE
    J OSEPHINA SPRINTED THROUGH the forest, twigs beating at her, leaves sticking to her. She pumped her arms and legs with all her might and began to pant, the night air burning her nose and throat. In one terrible swoop, all of her enemies had found her—yet none of them wanted to kill her.
    A Fae army was here, determined to escort her home.
    The Phoenix was here, determined to enslave her.
    Kane was here, determined to...finally do as he’d promised? Or did he plan to hand her over to her family and collect a reward?
    Probably the reward. Some of the Lords were wily like that.
    What had she done wrong? How had she been spotted? She’d been so careful, sneaking here, hiding there. Only twice had she spoken to a human, and only to ask the males to run her over with their cars.
    Both men had looked at her as if she were insane.
    Maybe she was.
    All she knew was that death—any death—was preferable to life with her family. The pain and suffering that came with Synda’s punishments was bad, but the agony of not knowing what the next punishment would be was far, far worse.
    Her own father hated her, and rejected her at every turn. For centuries, she’d just wanted someone to love her. To see value in her.
    Of course, then there was Leopold. Her own half brother wanted her in his bed, and wouldn’t stop pressing until he got her there.
    Every day was a new stress. Josephina would wake up feeling as if she were standing on top of a mountain, screaming for help, but no one cared enough to listen. Tension never left her. And by the end of each day, her nerves were so frayed she feared she would have a nervous breakdown.
    It was too much. She was tired, so very tired. She craved an end. Needed an end. Finally.
    Sadly, she couldn’t kill herself—and how morbid was a thought like that? Other Fae could end their own lives, but not her. To purposely injure herself was to suffer with that injury, no matter how severe, for weeks, sometimes months. Eventually, she would heal. Even from a beheading. Yes, her body would grow back. Her father had made sure of it, using an ability she would love to steal, but couldn’t. The guards protected him too diligently.
    Something hard slammed into her back, tossing her down. She hit the dirt and twig-laden ground with a loud crash, her lungs momentarily deflating. As she struggled to breathe, she was flipped over. Panic overwhelmed her, heating and freezing her at the same time. Tiny black dots winked through her vision, yet she managed to make out the shape of a man looming over her.
    “Josephina,” he gritted out.
    Kane. She recognized the low, gruff quality of his voice, and the panic receded. “Jerk! Just because you’re