Page 103 of Fated In Ruin
“What do you want to do?” I finally asked, my heart crumbling for him as I wound my arms around his neck. Holding him like this felt…strange, but comfortable, too, and slowly, the tension ebbed out of his body, his muscles relaxing.
A cunning smile graced his lips, “I want to burn Ravok’s world down around him. I want him to pay for every evil thing he’s ever done, when he was alive, and when he was locked away. But mostly, I want him dead and Romulus along with him, if everything he told me was true.” The silence that followed was deeper than any tomb.
I didn’t know whateverythingentailed, but from the way his lips drew back from his fangs, from the amount of uncontrolled magic hazing the air around us, it was bad.
“Well, now’s your chance. We’re going to Sleepy Hollow to finish this.” Malachi’s head whipped up, the candlelight catching his eyes, setting them on fire. “I want you to come with us.”
Something haunted lurked behind his gaze as he pulled away. “Did you clear this with Riordan?” His lip curled back from his fangs. “With your mate?”
My heart hurt from the self-loathing in his voice. “I’masking you to come with us.Itrust you, Malachi, and we’ll be stronger with you there.”
He laughed, but there was no humor there. “Trust me? I have blood on my hands that will never wash away.” He backed away slowly, one deliberate step at a time. “I've used you, hurt you, nearly killed you, for fuck’s sake. Committed acts that would make your nightmares seem tame. How can you ever trust someone like me?”
I pursued him, matching him step for step.
“Because I know you tried to protect Rhiannon.” His nostrils flared, throat working, and I regretted the wordtriedimmediately, but pressed on. “I know you’re better than you pretend to be, and while you enjoy pretending you’re the villain, I can’t play along with your charade any more. You kept Rhiannon safe…until you couldn’t.” I shrugged. “But whatever happened wasn’t your fault, Malachi.”Please, please believe me.
“Oh, but it was. My failure.Mine. I failed her when she needed me most,” he hissed, “Iwas the one who held her while she fucking died, so don’t tell me her death wasn’tmy fault.”
I closed the distance between us and took his hand and looked him straight in the eye. “Then I’m glad you were with her at the end. And she would have been glad, too, she didn’t die alone. But…”
My lungs locked up, head spinning as I debated going down this path…
“Ravok got to Rhiannon. Somehow, he found her and…” His face had gone slack and I wished I could take my words back, but now it was too late. “Ravok said he poisoned her from the inside. So we repay him tenfold. We don’t stay stuck in the past, we don’t look back. We finish this.Today.”
For a moment, I wasn’t even sure he was breathing, he was so still, then he sucked in a deep, shuddering breath, his hand tightening on mine.
“You should send me away, Vicious. I’ll only get you killed, too.”
I was shaking my head, but his voice grew more urgent, “Tell me to go now, and I will, because I am incapable of disobeying you. But I will only leave on your command, because I’m also incapable of leaving you of my own volition.” His voice broke. “You cannot trust me. Youshouldn’t.”
“And yet, I do.” I snagged his other hand, refusing to let him retreat again. “Because I've seen who you can become. I've watched you show mercy when cruelty would have been easier. I've seen your noble side, even when you’ve tried to hide it.”
“That doesn't erase my past.”
“No,” I agreed, “it doesn't. But it shows me you can change—if you want to.” I lifted my chin, holding his stare. “So here's my challenge to you—be the better male. Choose the right path, not because it's easy, but because it's difficult. Don't let the darkness win, because you've already proven you're stronger than Ravok, or Romulus, or any of the other monsters around you.”
His hands trembled in mine. “And if I fail?”
“Then you try again. That's what makes you different from Ravok and Tyrell and Romulus. They don't care about redemption.” I brushed my thumb over his bloody knuckles. “I trust you because you cared enough to save me. Because you cared enough about Rhiannon to keep her safe. Stop being blinded by your need for revenge and see there’s a future waiting, all you have to do is believe it’s yours.”
I searched his face. “You don’t have to be alone anymore. I know I can’t replace your brother or your friends, but if you want…” My voice trailed off, along with my courage, then I swallowed. “If you want, you could have a different family. One you chose for yourself.”
“You should give speeches for a living.”
“For the record, I hate giving speeches.” I reached up and ran my fingers down his cheek, his gaze fracturing apart, a sliver of hope replacing despair. “But for you, I’ve decided to make an exception.”
“I have to kill Romulus. And Noctarian, too, if he’s there. They can’t be left alive.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, and we will cross it together.” I wrapped my arms around him and this time, he buried his face in my shoulders, a bone-deep shudder going through him.
“She died on my watch, Vicious,” he murmured into my neck, and I tightened my embrace, the vulnerability in his confession breaking my heart. “I tried and I couldn’t…I tried and I failed and I still see her face, every time I look at you.”
“I know.” I heaved out a breath, trying to find the right words, knowing there weren’t any. “And I’m sorry, I wish we could go back in time. Make everything right.” My fingers coasted down the back of his head, stroking his braids. “I would take away all your pain, fix all your broken edges, because even though you don’t think you do…”
I tipped my head back, searched those caramel eyes, full of such catastrophic pain, then pressed a soft, chaste kiss to his lips. “You deserve love and laughter and happiness. You deserveeverything, Malachi.”
44
