Page 132 of Fated In Ruin
Romulus gripped the hilt of his blade, his expression radiating quiet menace, eyes flickering over me, calculating where to strike first.
I braced myself, knowing his attack would not be steel, but magic.
Except…I’d put my attention on the wrong foe.
Ravok lifted his hand, and the room warped into a torrent of red tinted shadow and shifting forms. The walls blurred, expanding and contracting, distorting into a dizzying maze of reflections. I countered with a flick of my wrist and a wall of glamour, slamming my will into the protective shield, stopping Ravok’s attack.
Romulus struck next, his blade flashing through the air, masking the dark whip of magic behind it. I twisted away as his blow landed, and this time, my glamour shuddered beneath the impact, Romulus’s smile growing before I countered, driving a blade of dark energy toward his ribs.
Romulus snarled, our magic clashing in a burst of sparks, shadows clogging the room until I could barely see. But all around me, I sensed Ravok’s presence, as if my Maker was simply biding his time, toying with me, like a mouse in a trap.
What the fuck was he waiting for?
“You cannot win this,” Romulus murmured, his shadows wrapping around my shield and squeezing, until I felt the pressure. “You are fighting against fate itself.”
“I’m not fucking afraid of fate,” I hissed, willing my shaking legs tomove. “But you should be. You used our friend, sent him to his death. Noc looked up to you, hetrustedyou.”
“We all trusted you, and look where that got us,” Romulus muttered bitterly. “Don’t whine to me about betrayals, when yours was the greatest one of all.”
“And here I thought youlovedserving your Master.” I gathered my magic and pushed, sending Romulus flying. My knees buckled and my hand slapped against the wall to catch myself. “But I see I was wrong.”
I had to finish this before I collapsed.
I had to get close enough to use the knife.
I sensed Ravok’s creeping intent like a spider at the edge of my consciousness. He was drawing this out. Our Maker could stop this—stop me—at any moment, and yet, he was allowing this to drag on. Waiting, perhaps, for me to tire myself out, the minutes ticking by…
Past Romulus, through the haze of raw power and shadows and spent magic, my Maker’s eyes drifted to the ceiling, a look of terrible cunning written across his cruel face. His greedy gaze fixed on where Evangeline stood, right above us, here to save me from myself.
This had never been about me.
Shewas his end game. Not me.
He’d lured me here…knowing she would follow.He’d seen this, I realized bitterly. Had seen every decision, every well-thought-out step of my plan, and all my efforts had been for nothing, because unless I killed himnow, Evie would end up in his grasp and there was nothing I could do to stop him.
With a final surge of strength, I sent a blast of raw power outward, knocking Romulus back and sending cracks through the walls, across the ceiling.Maybe we’d be buried down here. And if that was the cost of keeping Evie safe, then so be it, I would welcome my stone coffin, so long as it meant all three of us died together.
Dust and stone rained down as Ravok staggered to the side, fury twisting his features.
I reached behind me, gripping the hilt of the knife. Even through the leather wrapping, a chill rippled through me from that deadly blade.
I smirked. “You’re not leaving this room alive, asshole.”
“No, my son, it’s you who is dying down here, but go to your end knowing this. Your death does not bring me joy, but will usher in a new beginning for our kind.”
With that bullshit platitude, the fucker vanished into the shadows.
Behind me, Romulus—the threat I should have kept my eyes on—drove his sword straight through my side, the point punching out through my stomach, a spear of red-stained silver.
For a second, I could only stare down, uncomprehending.
Then the pain caught up with me.
* * *
Romulus’s handclosed down over my shoulder, holding me in place as he dragged the sword back out, the hideous, wet slide of cold metal through organs and soft tissue horrifyingly real.
“You cannot win this,” Romulus murmured, his voice almost sad as he cleaned his blade on my back, shoving me forward when he was finished. “You had to know, even from the beginning, all your efforts were for naught.”
