Page 60 of Ruin of Revenants

Stop thinking about it! I reprimanded myself. Surely Archer didn’t waste this much energy on thoughts of me. Even hating him felt like letting him occupy more space in my head than he deserved.

Plus, I didn’t want to let my thoughts stray to what could happen as far as distractions went if Archer and I had to get married. Maybe, trapped together with no one else but one another to understand our plight, we’d be desperate enough to grow accustomed to such…distractions. And that sounded utterly terrifying.

I’ve had worse. The memory of Archer’s words and wicked smile as his eyes had swept over my prone form swept through me.

Mortified, I focused on climbing into the carriage and trying not to slouch in the seat out of exhaustion. Unlike Cliff’s carriage, this was a normal one drawn by horses. After growing accustomed to the extra speed of the jaguars, the pace felt wrong.

Bone-weary from the magic I’d expended and the few hours of sleep I’d stolen, I’d found my reflection wan and my eyes dim earlier this morning as Orchid had finished helping prepare me for the day. She’d dressed me simply and comfortably in a flowing tunic with floral designs stitched along its hem and a pair of silky-soft leggings before braiding my hair in one long rope down my back. She urged me to drink the tea she’d prepared, so hot it nearly scorched my tongue.

“Helps with the effects of…indulging too much.”

Now, Princess Briar glanced between Lily—who, to my relief, had been invited to join us on our outing—and me. “You both drank too much. You look terrible.” She sniffled, twirling a lock of her red hair before offering us a devious grin. “I know just the thing to help. It’s what assisted with my energy and glow today—because I hardly slept last night.” She winked and laughed, leaning back with a contented look that reminded me so much of Onyx I half-expected her to start purring.

As we jolted through the gates and over the bridge, Lily covered her yawn. “Where do you plan to take us?”

“Well, I wanted to do some shopping. See my favorite jeweler and stop at the best bakery in Rainsong, so Isoria can see what she was missing with her Upper District life.” Her pretty smile wasn’t warm enough to bring me any comfort. “But I think we’ll visit Plumeria first.”

Lily straightened in her seat. “The witch?”

“The spellweaver,” Princess Briar corrected. “She’s nothing like that stiff old hag Maris we’re all forced to see for our prophecies when we’re younger.” She wrinkled her nose, her gaze settling on me. “Do they keep such traditions in all those little towns and villages, Isa?”

It rankled to hear her use my nickname, as if we were at all close. She was all condescension, clearly still suspicious of Archer’s and my proclaimed engagement, and was barely trying to pretend at politeness. But it was a welcome distraction, drawing anger rather than fear when I considered how close to the uncomfortable truth of my fate she’d come. “Yes,” I replied curtly.

Lily turned to me with interest. “I didn’t ask about your prophecy before. Did she tell you that you’d fall for the prince?” she nudged me playfully.

My laughter sounded false to my own ears, but I hoped neither of the females knew the sound of my true laugh well enough to detect the wrong notes in it now. “Oh, she didn’t tell me about my love life.” I shrugged. “I wish it had been that delightful.”

“She does enjoy boring one half to death, doesn’t she?” Princess Briar rolled her eyes. “She didn’t tell me anything I hadn’t already known. I really expected better. Though my brother had a much more interesting prophecy—have you heard of it?”

My skin prickled; I longed for her to continue, reading into my silence as acknowledgement of my ignorance.

Lily saved me by speaking up. “He’s alluded to it. Mentioned that part of the reason your father has been so adamant that Archer assist with hunting and eradicating the phoenixes was because of his prophecy.”

“Death-lovers,” Briar sneered. “Yes, it was said a phoenix shifter would ruin his life, or something of that nature.”

You are my ruination.

My stomach clenched. Solea, help me.

To my relief, our carriage slowed and Briar leaned forward to peer out the window in excitement. “We are near.” She rapped on the ceiling, urging the driver to a halt. “We can walk along this street to Plumeria’s shop.”

Following Princess Briar and Lily, I strolled down the street, taking in the citizens who were leisurely shopping or going about their errands. It was surreal to watch such normalcy and peace with the images of last night’s death and destruction still vivid in my mind.

Lily threaded her arm through mine, offering a reassuring glance as we trailed Briar into a small shop tucked between a vacant one and a quiet-looking apartment that I supposed probably belonged to Plumeria herself. The sign was decorated in flourishing handwriting, promising quality spellbooks and potent potions.

Within, I was overwhelmed with a dim space exploding with mingling aromas of herbs and old parchment. Dried sprigs of every conceivable plant hung from the rafters above or rested in jars on shelves cluttered with vivid potions in decorative vials and vases. Another two walls were full of bookshelves that instantly caught my attention.

What sort of books does a spellweaver have about magic and blood bonds? With nothing useful turning up in the castle library, I was starting to lose hope I’d ever find anything there. But here, with a different sort of magic used—the sort that could be crafted and bottled and sold—I had to believe that there were also different pieces of knowledge that might give me more insight into the phoenixes’ condition and Archer’s and my rare bond.

Princess Briar greeted Plumeria, who was somewhere in the shadowy back working over a counter, so I excused myself as Lily perused a shelf of potions to approach the books alone. I skimmed the titles, intrigued by the worn leather spines. Some were titled forbidden, which made me wonder if the author had simply wanted to intrigue, or if Plumeria truly had collected books that weren’t meant to be publicly circulated. Maybe ones that weren’t stored in the castle library, or only behind the locked doors the librarians claimed they couldn’t admit me into even with my status as future princess.

But there was nothing that appeared, from its title, to be about the loss of magic, curses, or any types of bonds. Giving up, I started to peruse the potions, reading the titles and descriptions of what they did written in neat handwriting on cards pinned beneath each one.

I scoured the shelves for anything useful. There was a potion to force someone to share their deepest secrets, which sounded interesting but, considering I was fully convinced Archer hadn’t cursed the phoenixes, not helpful. Others claimed to make someone fall in love—my traitorous mind flew back to the moment I’d thought Archer would kiss me last night. Angling my face in hopes that Lily, only a few feet away, wouldn’t glance over and notice my flushed cheeks, I refocused on the potions in front of me.

Then I saw it, one that flooded me with hope and fear all at once.

Liquid Glamour: A potion, when consumed, compels the user to obey any command. Effects wear off after a few minutes.