Page 61 of Torn By Fate

Then he turned to face me.

Thud. Thud.

His face had transformed. That careful, controlled mask he wore like an armor was gone, shattered, exposing what was raw and feral beneath it. Something that had always been there, lurking beneath measured words and calculated gestures, waiting for the moment to break free.

A restrained animal. A caged monster. A shackled beast.

His eyes were wild, the dark irises locked onto me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.

Blood covered him. His hands, his forearms, the front of his shirt. It was in his hair, along his jaw, a streak of it running from his temple to the corner of his mouth like war paint.

For the first time, I wasn’t looking at the man who always had himself under control, even when he was fighting in The Pit.

Because he was always in control.

Not now. Not tonight.

I was truly looking at the monster beneath the expensive suit and arrogant smirk.

Our gazes met, and his expression cracked.

The pure, unadulterated rage remained, but I saw something else. Genuine, crippling fear. The mindless terror of a man who had arrived a little too late.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

His hand reached for me.

It moved slowly, palm up, fingers extended, carefully, gently toward me. His hand was broken and bloodied. It was the hand that had just beaten a man to death.

I flinched.

The movement was involuntary, a full-body recoil that pressed me harder against the wall, my legs drawing up toward my chest.

Adrian paused. His hand hung in the air between us, fingers still extended, blood dripping from the split skin of his knuckles onto the carpet between us.

“Serafina,” he breathed, my name a tender caress on his tongue.

My chest tightened.

Uncontrollable tears slid down my cheeks.

I was going to die…

I believed I would…

A broken sob escaped my damaged throat. Panic bled through my veins, the aftermath settling into my body with sickening horror.

My body shuddered. With a breath. With life.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ADRIAN

Serafina slept, and I watched.

She was so beautiful; it made my chest ache.

I watched because I couldn’t bear to take my eyes off her.