Page 120 of Fated In Ruin
I rubbed my temples, forcing my magic to cooperate, to show me some glimpse of the future.
Anything. I’ll take anything right now.
A flash of light and Evie’s face appeared, her blue eyes wide with terror, mouth open in a silent scream as she flew toward me. I could barely catch my breath, terror racing through my veins, fear spiraling out of control as she grabbed onto me with bloodstained hands. I reached out to catch her, but there was nothing but a wisp of shadow.
The vision ended, leaving me with a fractured heart and aching lungs that didn’t work properly.
I hadn’t had one of these in…years. And Evie had been terrified, bloody…why the fuck had she been covered in blood?
I scrubbed my face, pushing the fear away. This was nothing but guilt, rising to the surface. Nothing but all my regrets coming back to haunt me.Nota harbinger of the future.
Evangeline was safe in Crimson House, protected by the king and her mate, destined to live a long, full, happy life. The life she deserved, after everything she’d endured.
I’d done what I could, in the little time I had before leaving. The roses, the note, my heart, poured out, only a fraction of the promises I’d wanted to make—the words she deserved to hear. Evangeline might never forgive me for leaving, but I’d do this all over again, to save her from Ravok.
I forced myself to focus, to put the past behind me.
Killing Ravok was all that mattered, and if I spent my life to accomplish that, then so be it. I’d sworn an oath to Evangeline at the beginning of this. To leave, once he was dead. So no matter how he died—and he must die to keep her safe—I would lose her in the end.
Better I lose Evangeline on my terms, than have her taken from me.
I prodded at the shale, testing the shimmer of residual magic around me.
This place was as unnatural as I remembered.
For an ancient Elder seeking seclusion, the château offered perfect sanctuary. The remote location, dark, hidden tunnels, and legal restrictions keep visitors at bay. Everything Romulus would need to protect his master.
But there was a hidden secret the castle's dark history did not mention. One I hoped Romulus—and Ravok—had not yet discovered.
Lord Aurelius, being an incessant braggart, had once led me deep beneath the castle, to a circular room where an intersection of hand-hewn corridors created a liminal space, a threshold between worlds where two realms collided. The center of the room was consumed by a hollow, pulsing blackness, like a doorway to another realm.
Standing inside that room had been like enduring a collapsing black hole, pounding energy tearing at my face, ripping apart my very soul, as if unseen forces were desperate to tear me to pieces.
Lord de Noct had laughed as the strange magic dragged me forward, step by hesitant step, urging me toward whatever dark realm lay behind that tattered veil.
The Underworld, Lord de Noc had speculated, on that long-ago night, but whatever realm that was, I’d resisted the call to cross over, even though it took every bit of my resolve. I still had nightmares about that night, about the voices murmuring inside my head, about the tug I’d felt inside my chest, like I was being called home.
And this time…this time I would not resist.
This time, I would drag my enemies with me, to whatever hell lay behind that veil, and we could all burn together.
53
EVANGELINE
Blake and Riordan crowded in through my bedroom door behind me, the three of us a tangle of mouths and fingers and keening want, fueled by a desperation born out of fear and the hard, needy edge of the coming battle.
We might not survive these next few hours.
And somehow, that added a delicious wildness to the hunger devouring us from the inside out.
“Get these off.” Blake tore at my jeans, scattering my weapons onto the thick rug, Riordan peeling off my coat, while sinking his teeth into my neck before I pushed them both away with a low laugh.
“No…no.” I breathed, heat burning up my thighs, “this is for you. After everything…this time, I want to make you feel good.”
In truth, I wanted to stop time, to stretch these minutes out into years before our future was snatched away from us and maybe some of that fear showed on my face, because my mate stepped closer.
Blake cupped my face in his huge hands. “Youalwaysmake us feel good. I know you’re scared of what’s coming, Evie. But you don’t have to do this.”
