Page 100 of Ruin of Revenants

“Goodnight.”

For a long time, I lay there listening to the steady sound of his breathing. Every movement clinked my shackles together, the forget-me-nots a constant pain that distracted me from sleep. I stifled a groan when the metal dug into my skin, chafing at the developing blisters.

I’m sorry, Archer sent into my mind. You shouldn’t have to sleep in chains.

It’s not your fault.

He reached for me before seeming to think better of it.

Our emotions were knotted, full of pain and the ache of missing our magic. But I could sense his underlying anxiety, mirroring my own. There were others too, confusion and doubt and warmth and something that might have been a level of affection mixed with attraction.

“Isa?” Archer murmured after another long period of sleepless silence, his tone soft as he spoke into the darkness. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

The memory of our embrace hung between us, and my stomach tightened. “Yes?” I whispered.

“I lied.”

The admission jolted me out of my uncomfortable focus on my pain and those unnamed emotions swirling through the bond. “About what?”

“About not feeling anything when I kiss you.”

My skin was aflame with the urge to turn to him and kiss him again. That ache in my chest was a little less painful, making me start to hope. No, don’t be foolish. He’s going to send you back home. Even if he wanted you beyond temporary attraction, you can never be together. His father wants to kill you. His people won’t accept you. “Archer, we are blood bound,” I said firmly, as if to convince myself as much as him. “It’s natural that we feel things, but it doesn’t mean anything.”

With a clink of my chains, I turned back onto my side, facing away from him, hoping that was the end of the conversation.

Silence hung heavily in the darkness. My heart sank, but I refused to take back my words. Giving into anything—risking anything than what was necessary between us—was unwise. Keeping this wall around myself was safe.

We were fated enemies, after all. If Maris had seen one of us destroying the other, maybe that’s what would happen once Vithenna broke our bond. Eventually, all of this—whatever it was—would be meaningless.

At last, Archer rolled over too, his back also to me. “Goodnight, Feathers.”

His use of the nickname filled me with both relief and a strange pang of sadness. “Goodnight.”

Chapter Forty-Seven

Isoria

Fog veiled the muddy road, making every step more treacherous when we could not see if there were dangers lurking in wait. Archer had said Vithenna had mentioned the worshippers at her temple, so we assumed it still had living occupants, but that didn’t mean the revenant army hadn’t razed any civilization near it.

Not knowing what to expect made my imagination overactive. Every sound, every movement, had me scanning the countryside for signs of revenants.

Worse still, we’d been forced to leave our carriage and borrow horses for our journey. We’d left Clay behind with the jaguars, since no stable hands would go near them, and he’d promised Cliff he’d take them back to the castle stables as soon as the weather permitted. The guards each had their own mounts, as well as Cliff, Owen, and Lily, but Archer and I had to share. Even if I’d known how to ride, my shackles wouldn’t allow it.

“Isn’t horseback riding glorious?” Lily looked far too comfortable on the back of her gelding, strands of fiery hair flying loosely about her face and eyes bright with excitement. Only she could find the adventure and hope in a mission through a countryside that the revenant army might have already infiltrated.

Owen grunted noncommittally from his horse. He, Cliff, and Lily rode on either side of Archer and me, though our gelding trailed, unable to keep the same pace with its heavier load. The guards brought up the rear, silent and sullen.

Lily’s gaze flicked to Cliff. “Nothing against your beautiful jaguars,” she added.

He sighed. “My sweet cats. At least I know they’re in good hands with Clay.”

Silence fell among us as we continued onward, the way growing rougher as we entered the thick, boggy Darkwood. I couldn’t shake my growing discomfort. Perhaps it was the eerie atmosphere of this misty, godsforsaken land.

Vithenna's temple sat within the forest, its carved stone walls adorned in moss and climbing vines so thick, it was almost disguised with the rest of nature. If we hadn’t known where to look, we might have passed it by.

“Do we have to go in?” one of the guards grunted, studying the temple warily.

“Why? Afraid the goddess of life will strike you down for your wretched ways?” Lily goaded.