Page 67 of Fated In Ruin
“Yeah, if you only knew,” I muttered, closing my eyes and wrapping my arms around her. Her little baby bump was getting bigger, and here we were, under attack from a monster who wouldn’t hesitate to use her as leverage.
“Oh, don’t give me that.” Angel gave me one last squeeze, then stepped away, frowning at my still-hurting face. “They were frantic when you were gone. Neither of them even slept. Blake stormed around here like a rabid bear, and Riordan justbrooded, growling at everyone who dared speak to him.”
“Or look at him,” Bex added. “Glad you’re back, Miss Evangeline. It’s been pretty grim around here since you left.” She peered at me, taking on the same worried expression as my sister. “You must have been dreadfully injured to still be so…bruised.”
“Well, I fell out of the sky. About fifty feet, I’d say. Thankfully, I missed the walkway and hit the bushes, instead.” Angel’s eyes got wider with every word, and I shook my head. “Just a joke. What did I miss? I heard you’re both on research duty. Find anything…interesting?” I asked casually.
“You mean like other than the fact Ravok is the freakingworst?” Angel sniffed. “Seriously, I could kill Father for releasing him from that box, what the fuck was he even thinking?”
“He was thinking about all the power he was going to end up with and instead, he ended up with nothing,” I muttered. “Uhm…Angel, Silas is gone. So are Dante and Alistair.”
“Well, good. I hated them all for being so cruel to you.”
Bex crossed the room and pretended to straighten up the books piled all over the dresser, but she was listening to every word. Fine. My family’s dirty laundry was the least of my concerns right now.
“Not gone, gone…they’re all Ravok’s thralls. Like his slaves.”
Angel just looked thoughtful. “I know what a thrall is, Evie. I’ve been a vampire for over a year.”
“Well, do thralls smell like rotting corpses? Because Silas and our uncles do.”
“No. I’ve only ever seen one…two, maybe, and they were like us, I suppose.” She looked to Bex, who nodded. “No rotting smell, just that annoying boot licking behavior, not that deference was all that unusual, especially around Laurent.Everyonekissed his ass.”
Her hand cradled her swollen belly and fear shivered through me again. Angel shouldn’t be here. She should be somewhere safe, far out of the reach of Ravok, especially with what Malachi told me. There was no fucking way I’d let my sister become another pawn in another war.
He said to find someone…someone named Brendan, from Ireland. But I didn’t know any other vampires besides this clan, had no idea how to get ahold of anyone else, and my phone was back at Malachi’s.
“Did you find out if it’s true Ravok can see the future?” Now that got their attention, Angel’s blue eyes widening to comical proportions, and Bex dropping an entire stack of books.
“Wait, he can really do that?” Bex asked, her gaze darting between us. Not surprising, given I was dropping one truth bomb after another.
Well, buckle up, buttercup, because it gets worse.
“According to Malachi, yes. Ravok’s spent the past two millennium collecting small, seemingly insignificant clues…for some personal reason. He became so unreliable, Caine threw him out of his little elite group of blood sucking ghouls and whatever he’s after…well, that’s why he’s free now. He’s close to obtaining it.”
I frowned at their blank expressions. “Isn’t that what Fiona had you researching?”
Angel shook her head. “No, Evie.” She waved to the books scattered across the floor. “Fiona and Eldric have us researching ancient covens, before the vampire clans hunted them down and exterminated them.” Bex picked up one of the books and handed it to me. I flipped it over to get a better look at the cover.
Dark Magic of Extinct Covens, by Henrietta Whistler.
First page—Necromancy, The Forbidden Art of Death.
“They have you researching me, don’t they?” I laughed softly. “Well, I can tell you this. You’re definitely on the right track.”
* * *
Ten minutes later,Angel and Bex sat side by side on the bed, matching stunned expressions on their faces.
Except Angel had that same hint of judgement in her expression that Mom always had after I’d done something I shouldn’t. And she wasn’t pissed because of my awful, terrible magic.
I swallowed, my throat tight. “I didn’t plan for this to happen,” I said finally, voice barely above a whisper. “And it was definitely a one-time thing. No repeats.”
Angel leaned forward, golden curls cascading over her shoulder, “Malachi Draven’s an Ancient. So powerful even Tyrell was afraid of him. But…he offered you a chance to come home, Evie, and you didn’t take it.”
“I know.” I chewed my lip. “I just felt like I had a chance to finally finish Ravok off for good. One less threat against us. And I know this will sound crazy,” I continued. “But every time I was around him, my emotions felt like the moon was pulling me or the stars were aligning. From the moment we met, there’s been something between us. I thought I despised him for his arrogance and his lies and his constant manipulation, but then…hate got all twisted up into something else.”
“The stars aligning. That sounds so romantic. Like in the books.” Bex’s slightly dreamy expression had me rolling my eyes.
