Page 16 of Ruin of Revenants

I shot him a glare. “I’m not going to the castle.” Archer would demand to know about my people there, and, though he couldn’t hurt me, I could only imagine what else I’d face. And then there was the matter of his mind-reading father, who would discover who I was the moment he met me, sealing my fate. I wasn’t sure even risking Archer’s own death would spare me from the king’s famed hatred of the phoenix shifters.

“Well, I have to return home,” he said dryly, “and if you don’t come with me, we’ll both die from your obstinance.”

Panic overtook me, but I forced myself to work through it, drawing on my magic and using the last vestiges of my strength to heal Archer’s leg. As soon as his skin knit back together, the pain in my own leg eased. With the phoenix affliction, I would continue to feel pain as the price for using my magic, but at least it wasn’t still the sharp agony of sharing his injury.

I opened my mouth to voice my concerns to Archer, to explain that going back to the castle and his father was madness that would get us both killed if what he’d said about the bond was true, but the words stuck in my mouth. My vision tunneled, exhaustion and weakness overwhelming me, along with the pain that continued to throb through my abdomen. I tried to sit up, tried to fight it, but to no avail.

“Swooning over me?” Archer asked, resorting to humor to cope with our unbearable circumstances.

But I couldn’t even form words, let alone think of a retort. My eyelids fluttered, and I fell.

Chapter Nine

Archer

“Bloody brilliant,” I muttered. Not only was I in a graveyard, surrounded by the bodies of people I’d failed to protect, but also I was trapped in a fated bond with a death-lover.

My heart had been the lightest I’d felt in weeks after her healing effects, but I could already sense the despair trying to crowd back in. The familiar bone-weariness, paired with the exhaustion of my body healing itself after Isoria’s magic had gone to work on it. I wanted to lie down, crawl into one of the open graves the dead had clawed their way out of, and sleep.

But that would be asking for death, and that wasn’t what I wanted. I longed to shake off the pain and numbness and experience everything life had to offer me. Every adventure, every joy, every thrill.

And I had a kingdom to save.

Stifling my groan, I hefted the death-lover into my arms. Unlike others I’d hunted down, who’d never been especially remarkable in my eyes, this one was beautiful in a way I couldn’t ignore, and that troubled me more than if she’d looked as revolting as one of the revenants I’d battled. Disgust climbed my throat as I gazed down at the way her hair fanned out, hanging in long, glossy black strands threaded with shades of indigo, teal, and purple.

Why did she save my life? The question pestered me as I started the walk back toward Rainsong, my ears straining for any sound of roaming revenants in the jungle. Nothing but eerie silence hung over us, all the wildlife having fallen silent in the wake of the blasphemy that had occurred with the dead rising from their graves.

The posted guards at the barrier saluted me like a fellow soldier. Unlike every other fae who was blocked from entering because of the barrier, Father had ensured that he and his family were the exception. I didn’t need to wait for the guards to perform the spell that temporarily released the barrier’s magic to keep it from repulsing me, not when it could recognize the blood in my veins. And because it released its magical hold for me, that meant Isoria—and anyone else I might have wanted to come with me—was free to walk through as well.

Still, I exhaled in relief once we walked through, as if some part of me had half-expected it to recognize Isoria’s magic and repel her anyway.

I paused long enough to relay the sad news, that this female in my arms was the only survivor of the fight.

“Should we send someone to burn the bodies?” one of the guards asked, her tone somber, her periwinkle eyes dim as she processed the dark news.

I shook my head. “No, I beheaded them all to prevent them from rising. But who knows what other revenants might lurk out there. Don’t risk anyone else going beyond the barrier.”

When I took another step forward, I swayed on my feet.

“Do you need help, Your Highness?” the other guard asked, grasping my arm to support me.

I forced a carefree grin. The idea of being parted from the fire demon and someone discovering what she was—it made my stomach curdle. I couldn’t risk it, for my own self-preservation. Instead, I’d have to take her back to my quarters and make a plan so Father didn’t question this female’s sudden appearance in my life. “No, I’ll be fine. I’m taking her back to the castle. No need to worry.”

As I followed the cobbled street into the center of Rainsong, strains of music, conversation, and laughter drifted to us, chased by the mouth-watering aromas of a feast. Father’s party continued, heedless of the massacre that had occurred beyond its borders.

The city itself was always a wondrous sight, always pulling me in with the dancing lights of pixies fluttering through the air, the tangled vines hung across the streets or ropes of flowers strung over windows. But now, in the throes of a party that would likely last until the dawn, it was extra jovial. Tables laden with food were set up in the streets, the courtyards, the public squares, and even the alleyways. Musicians played countless songs that mingled and mixed in strange, mesmerizing ways.

As I drew closer, I came upon dancing couples and lines of people waiting to purchase various drinks or food. Others stumbled about, clearly already deep in their cups, sloshing golden wine on their clothes. Open doors along the street showed businesses and homes all welcoming in anyone and everyone for food and cheer. In the shadows, the celebrations looked different, with others indulging in baser desires, such as exchanging violent blows and wielding weapons, or sharing intimate embraces and stifling moans.

“Your Highness! Dance with us!” The female’s violet eyes were bright with merriment as she twirled with a group of sirens in their fae forms, extending her arm toward me. She looked familiar in a vague sort of way—probably a past conquest I’d enjoyed after we’d both indulged in too much wine. Or wait…was she the one I’d spoken to earlier tonight? Star? Or was it Ruby?

I laughed brightly, once again the charmer my court was accustomed to, not the one who wallowed in misery behind closed doors. “I’d love to, but as you can see, I have a female I need to attend to.”

Releasing the hands of her partners, her full mouth turned down in a pout that she probably imagined was sultry. “For her?” Her pointed stare was piercing. “Is she drunk?” She sniffed.

“Don’t sound so jealous, Ruby.”

“It’s Skye.”