Page 106 of Ruin of Revenants

“Very well.”

Vithenna snapped her fingers.

Just like that, something cracked open in my chest. The bond that had been so unwelcome, so burdensome, all this time, now left a void that, with its abrupt departure, made me reel. I clutched at my chest, as if I could stave off the flood of pain. Dizziness whirled through me, making me teeter on my knees, and I stifled a groan.

“The effects of breaking the bond will wear off shortly,” the goddess said carelessly. “Now that you and Isoria are no longer bonded, I will more fully explain my mercy regarding the revenants. I’ll stop raising the dead and put an end to controlling my current revenants, allowing their souls to move on to the afterlife, if you fulfill your fate.” Her eyes bored into mine. “For you and Isoria Gildmere are fated enemies, prophesied years ago to destroy one another. It was foretold that either she would ruin the royal line or you would exterminate the phoenix shifters from Emberglade. Now is your chance to act, free of your bond. If one of you slays the other, I’ll stop the revenant army’s march. I’ll spare the miserable lives of the people you fight for.” She smirked. “The choice is yours.”

Though the weakness from the sudden severance of the bond had lessened, the horror of her proclamation sent a new wave of dizziness through me.

It’s all for her entertainment—sick, twisted, wrong.

“Can you give us another way to break the curse, a more peaceful, life-giving option?”

Vithenna rolled her eyes. “Don’t question me, child. That is my only offer.” She held out her hand to me. “And I will take my payment for breaking your bond now.”

I hesitated only a moment before reaching out and taking her hand. Almost as soon as I’d grasped it, she removed her hand from mine. “It’s over?” I asked.

She nodded, her smile almost gentle.

I sifted through my memories, trying to determine if I could tell what was missing, if I’d lost something integral. Memories of the revenant army remained clear and sharp, along with Vithenna’s offer for how to stop it and save Emberglade. I could remember being thrown in the dungeons and coming here to break my blood bond with Isoria, which Vithenna had already severed.

“My army marches on Rainsong as we speak,” Vithenna announced without preamble. “The barrier Maris constructed cannot withstand my power. I broke it when I broke your bond. This way, you understand the importance of what you must do to stop the revenants. Either you accept my final offer, or I finish razing Emberglade to the ground.”

My head whirled with the news, still trying to process everything else that had happened, trying to discover what Vithenna had taken from me. “They’re marching on the capital now?”

“If you hurry, you’ll have time to bypass the army and prepare a final stand.” With a parting smile, Vithenna walked away, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

I staggered to my feet, walking through the mist until, abruptly, it melted away and revealed the large temple sanctuary I’d been in before. I stood beneath Vithenna’s tree, staring at the boughs stretching toward the sky. The revenants are marching on an unprotected capital. The barrier is gone. Vithenna is punishing us…unless…

My gaze darted across the room to where Cliff, Owen, and Lily stood clustered around Isoria.

Every moment I’d shared with her while we’d been forced together by the blood bond was hazy and unclear, like the bond—and maybe some phoenix manipulation too—had clouded my judgment. Had I started to mistake our connection for feelings? Had I started to delude myself into imagining a future with her wouldn’t be torture? I had a strange sense that maybe I had, that when Father had ordered me here, I’d been eager to break the bond to protect Isoria.

Pure loathing consumed me, chased by utter disgust in my past self, falsely lovestruck as he had been. This fire demon had made a fool of me long enough.

Chapter Fifty

Isoria

I sensed the moment my bond with Archer snapped, the sensation shooting pain throughout my chest like something physical had been cut. The ache weakened my knees, taking me by surprise so that I nearly collapsed.

“Are you all right?” Lily asked frantically, racing to my side and grasping my hand to hold me up.

“Y-yes,” I stammered. “I think. The blood bond…it’s gone.” I pressed a hand to my heart, feeling light-headed and a little empty. Grief weighed me down, making my bones ache. “I think it’s a shock to the system, that’s all.”

Cliff and Owen surrounded me, looks of concern—even on the stoic Owen’s face—that mirrored Lily’s.

Just then, Archer appeared from the mist at the base of Vithenna’s tree. He gazed upward, his expression both thoughtful and worried, as if he were still processing whatever he and the goddess of life had discussed. I wondered what bargain he’d struck with her, if she’d offered a solution to save Emberglade like she’d given me one to help the phoenixes, and what it had cost him.

His gaze snapped to mine. There was no warmth in those green eyes, none of that tenderness I’d started to become familiar with in the short time we’d grown closer. Instead, there was only fury and loathing.

Before I could fully process what had happened, Archer was charging across the sanctuary floor. Owen, Lily, and Cliff parted, making way for him as he ran to me.

His hands seized my throat, rage and hatred burning in his eyes. “You,” he growled. “You tricked me somehow. Made me spare fire demons—think your life was worth protecting. You made me risk my kingdom.”

“Archer? What are you doing?” Lily cried. “Get away from her!”

Cliff and Owen watched in horror, but their loyalty to their prince held them back. Lily held no such reservations, stomping toward us and clutching his arm, yanking him backward. He didn’t budge, barely seemed to notice her.