Page 64 of Fated In Ruin
I didn’t. He should be furious. He should hate me. If he’d betrayed my trust the same way, slept with someone else…say that bitch Morvessa…a stab of jealousy shuddered down the mating bond and Blake’s body jolted like he’d been hit by an electric current.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” I muttered. “Just…never mind.”
He loosened his arms around me and tipped my chin up with his finger, forcing me to look him in the eye. Hard to do when you’d just broken about every vow you ever made to both him and yourself.
“I am not angry with you, Evie, because you were always Malachi’s endgame. I just…Rohr and I didn’t realize his plan until it was too late. He’s a fucking Ancient, Evie. Stronger than any of us, and between his magic and his blood…there wasn’t a chance you could resist him, once he decided he wanted you.”
“That’s fucking bullshit,” I muttered, swiping tears from my eyes. “Nobody forces me to doanything.” His glare turned apocalyptic and I dropped my eyes.
“Hedidn’tforce me. Just to be clear. Malachi is a lot of things, but…everything that happened between us,” embarrassment flushed my cheeks, “was consensual. I’m not defending him, mind you, but I don’t want to add to his list of crimes, either.”
“You drank from him, I assume, to prepare to face Ravok?” Blake asked carefully, as if he were tiptoeing across broken glass. “Did I get that right, at least?’
“Yes. My magic isn’t exactly reliable, and I figured the stronger I was, the better chance I had of controlling my flames and killing Ravok. For the record, he offered to bring me back here. To you.”
Blake stiffened. “And you refused?” Every part of me winced at the hurt on his face, the betrayal in his eyes.
“I…yes, I refused. We both know what would have happened next. Not that it mattered, since I ended up being a pathetic failure, anyway.” I sighed, feeling just a little bit sorry for myself.
“Well,” he tugged me closer, “you are right. Locking you up and throwing away the keyhascrossed my mind a time or two. Riordan made me see reason.”
“I’ll bet that was a long conversation,” I muttered.
“It wasn’t so much a conversation as a…sparring match.” When I snuck a glance, his mouth had curved into a faint smile and that fist crushing my heart eased off.Just a little. “But we have to find some common ground, Evangeline. You can’t go off fighting wars all by yourself, and I have to stop wanting to lock you up to keep you safe.”
I sniffed, but relaxed back into his arms. “Yeah, well, that sounds like a lost cause already.”
He kissed the end of my nose, then my cheeks, his lips incredibly gentle. “Now you’re just being negative. Tell me about your magic. You called them flames? If what you sent down the bond is just a taste, I’d hate to see you at full strength.”
A bolt of fear went through me and I wiggled out of his arms. “Actually, we need Fiona. She has to lock my magic back down.” True, I wasn’t leaking shadows, but once that churning ball came alive in my center, I’d become a dangerous liability.
And Angel…I had to check on Angel, make sure she was safe.
“From the look on your face, I take it your power isn’t pretty?” He cocked his brow, “You should have seen mine, the first time my shadows manifested.” He shook his head. “Total shitshow. My mother didn’t let me near the antiques for months. But every magic can be controlled, with training, and no matter what…”
“Necromancy,” I whispered. “And I make people see their worst sins. Like, they come alive, right in front of them.”
Blake’s smile disappeared completely. “I’m not sure that’s actually a…”
“According to Malachi—not a reliable source, I know—this is the same magic my ancestors in the Bloodmoon Coven possessed. But I want this power locked back down, because I’m dangerous.”
“Fiona’s already here, or will be soon.” He squinted at the bands of light streaming in through the narrow gap between the heavy drapes. “She and Eldric have been working on the Ravok problem, using Bex and Angel as assistants. Good call by the way, they both know their way around books.”
“At least smutty werewolf ones,” I muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing.” I sucked in a breath. “First, we have to get Malachi free. Ravok’s going to kill him and we need him.” I rolled my eyes. “And not because of…well, you know, but because he knows the most about Ravok. Fiona and Eldric can research this for months, and not know a tenth of what Malachi knows. We need him alive,” I said stubbornly.
“Even if you’re pissed, which you totally should be, Ravok’s coming to Crimson House next. And he’ll kill everyone, hurt the people we love, to get what he wants. Malachi said…the protections won’t stand up to Ravok. Malachi can help us defend ourselves, maybe stop him altogether.”
“Why would Ravok come here, Evie?” Blake’s gaze narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Well, it seems this magic of mine, while pretty terrible, is something he can use.” I nearly choked on my fear like a tangled knot. “He’s been after this power for a long time. Centuries. A millennium, maybe.”
“I see there’s a lot we need to discuss.” Blake’s expression had once again gone carefully blank, like he’d cut himself off from me, and I swallowed.
