Page 72 of Ruin of Revenants

“I don’t trust him. Why does he have you tucked away in his bedchambers in a nightgown? Defending him? He’s used his magic on you, made you think you love him or something.”

I barked out a laugh. “Love? No. We’re blood-bonded.”

Brenton’s brow scrunched in confusion, the flames around his hands winking out in a puff of smoke. The acrid scent stung my nose, pleasantly familiar. “What the hell does that mean?”

Archer’s eyes flicked between Brenton and me. “It means that if you hurt me, you hurt her, and that anywhere one of us goes, the other must follow or die. It’s an irrevocable tether, or at least, we haven’t found the way to break our bond yet.” He swallowed, his eyes lingering on me. “Our curse.”

My brother’s shoulders slumped.

“I’ll explain more after you get cleaned up. You can use my washroom, and I’m sure Archer has a change of clothes you can wear.” I shot the prince a pointed glance.

“We can’t let him go home with us,” Brenton protested softly. “We can’t let him see.”

I lifted my chin. “He’ll go blindfolded.” And if you do anything to threaten my people, I don’t care how hurting you will also hurt me. I won’t let you touch them.

Archer’s brow twitched, and I wasn’t sure if it was surprise, amusement, or something else to hear me shoot a threat into his mind.

I waited for my brother to grab his glass of water and assemble a sandwich with the bread, meats, and cheeses left on the tray before taking his arm to lead him toward my room. As I turned, I reluctantly sent one more thought toward Archer. Thank you for rescuing my brother.

You made me do it, Archer’s voice replied dryly.

A stab of remorse struck me. Before I’d spelled him, he’d chosen of his own volition to refuse a public execution and keep my brother alive. He’d hastened to obey my command quickly, even though I hadn’t given a timeframe, and he’d been thoughtful enough to ensure he had breakfast served to him right away.

The warmth of gratitude confused me, so I tried to shove it aside, concentrating instead on the next task: going home.

“This is…” Bren was at a loss, rubbing his hand through his sandy blond hair. “Why would the gods choose you? And with the…” He lowered his voice, his eyes darting toward my closed doorway. “The prophecy? This doesn’t make sense.”

I shrugged. “Maybe one of the deities doesn’t want either of those prophecies to pass. Or maybe Maris actually knew about the bond too, but she also foresaw a moment when we break it, and…”

“And then one of you kills the other.”

I frowned at my coffee.

While Bren had taken a bath in my washroom, I’d hurriedly changed in the privacy of my closet. A knock on my door came shortly after, but it wasn’t a servant delivering an outfit for my brother as I’d expected. It was Archer himself.

Expression oddly solemn, emotions too quiet for me to read, he’d held a tray in his hands, a change of clothes tucked under one arm. A steaming cup of coffee and a plate of eggs, fruits, and toast rested on the tray.

“You forgot to take your breakfast when you left. You’ll need your strength for the journey.”

I’d accepted everything speechlessly, hastily setting the tray down on a side table so I could take the spare clothes from the prince. When I tried to find the words to thank him, he simply thrust the clothes in my hands with a crooked grin. “They might be a little loose on your brother. All this muscle fills out those shirts, as you’ve noticed.”

I didn’t have time to roll my eyes before Archer was gone, retreating silently back to his own room. For a moment, I’d stared after him. When I’d returned to my room and sipped my coffee, I’d discovered it had the exact amount of cream and sugar I liked.

We hadn’t taken breakfast in the dining room very often together, but it had happened a few times. Apparently, Archer had watched me more closely than I gave him credit for.

Another strange pang flooded my chest, one of remorse and longing and fear hopelessly knotted together.

Now, I cradled my coffee as a freshly clean and dressed Bren sat next to me on my bed, devouring the rest of the sandwich he’d assembled earlier and stealing some of the fruit off my plate.

“Yes, I guess that would be when we’d be free to kill each other.” The words didn’t feel right on my tongue. All of last night’s hate didn’t have the same strength or sting to it, not when I was holding the coffee Archer had prepared for me. “Anyway, since we have until dark, why don’t you help me with my research? I’ve been switching between trying to find the cure for everyone in Everhaven and looking for how to break this bond so I can actually go home.”

Bren studied me sadly. “Yes, we have to find a way to free you.”

Hours later, when Bren’s and my reading in Archer’s private library proved fruitless and we’d joined Archer in his rooms to gather our packs, we’d set out. Our path in the dark took us through the prince’s secret tunnels, out one of the back servants’ doors, and into the more questionable, decrepit alleyways in the heart of Rainsong. Unseen animals skittered through the shadows, making my skin crawl. The torch Archer carried cast a small glow over the slimy brick walls as we passed, illuminating the derogatory messages and scribbled depictions of burning phoenixes or revenants devouring humans smeared across their surfaces at regular intervals.

Death-lovers.

Soul stealers.