Page 69 of Fated In Ruin
“You’re sure there were no other covens that had a similar magic? Like there had to be some really bad dark magic back then.”
“Mostly elemental and green covens, a few red covens, and then there are the white witches, who excel in healing and protective magic.”
“So the opposite of the Bloodmoon witches?”Why couldn’t I be one of those?
“Exactly,” Bex said. “But necromancy has it’s uses, too. You could raise someone from the dead to get information—usually a ghost,” she added, seeing my expression. “Or guide a lost soul to their final resting place. Or even raising someone from the dead, though from what I’ve read, the result would be…unnatural.”
“Could they speak to Death itself?” I asked, though out loud, the question sounded even more preposterous. “Like negotiate, maybe, to bring someone back?” I looked between them. “The question isn’t totally ridiculous,” I argued. “Vampires are constantly negotiating bargains and deals to benefit themselves, who’s to say there isn’t some bigger entity out there doing the same?”
“Really, Evie? Death?” Angel grinned. “Only you would suggest forging some sort of bargain with Death himself?—”
“Or herself.”
“Or herself, because that’s a distinct possibility.” Bex sat back down on the bed and smiled a dreamy, wistful smile that had no place in the gravity of this conversation. “It’s kind of romantic, though, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“You and Malachi.”
Angel shot her a look. “Seriously? You’re back to that?”
Bex nodded, completely unbothered. “Two souls drawn together, against all odds. You, willing to forge a bargain with Death herself to save his life. That sounds like destiny, Evie. Like fate chose you and Malachi Draven to be together.”
I was so amazed she actually called me by my name I chuckled. “You’re making my life sound like one of your books.”
Bex’s smile only widened. “There was this story I read once,” she continued, undeterred. “Two lovers, bound by fate, reincarnated over and over so they could find each other again in every lifetime. They kept making the same mistakes but finally, in the end, it all worked out.”
Angel rolled her eyes. “And I suppose Evie and Malachi are just history repeating itself?”
Bex shrugged. “Who’s to say they aren’t? Anyways, it’s a romantic story and I, for one, am going to believe it’s true.”
“As long as there are no werewolves in this story, I suppose I’m good with it.” But I stared down at my entwined fingers, my chest tight. I wanted so badly to believe what Malachi and I shared was more than circumstance.
That even though his track record with the truth sucked, everything between us was real.
But right now, I didn’t have the luxury of believing in fate. I had a mission. Malachi was still out there, in the hands of Ravok.
And I wasn’t leaving him there.
30
MALACHI
Like my fate, the darkness was absolute.
Deeper than night, shadow stretched beyond the stone walls of my cell, swallowing everything, even time. I’d long since stopped measuring the hours, one minute bleeding into the next in an endless smear of pain without end.
Just the endless abyss of this cold, reeking prison.
Hunger gnawed at me like a beast with unrelenting jaws. My body, weakened beyond recognition, was little more than skin stretched over brittle bones, my strength nearly spent from trying to keep myself alive, mending broken flesh, keeping my heart pumping for another few beats.
This thirst was not just desire, but a screaming need, a fire in my throat that refused to be extinguished. All I could do was wonder how I ended up here, of all places, at the mercy of humans I’d once thought insignificant and the monster I’d trapped in an iron box.
There was only one answer.
My own arrogance led me to this moment.
I’d once brought kingdoms—empires—to their knees.
