Page 84 of Ruin of Revenants

Frustrated, I left her office. What if that was my problem? What if the reason I hadn’t found anything useful about losing magic wasn’t because this had never happened before, but because any past incidents had been essentially banned from public knowledge? If the Emberglade family had been involved in any way…

Or maybe this has never happened before.

I wiped at the tears forming in my eyes. None of the gods we’d prayed to had answered. Solea's temple was abandoned, and who knew what state the temples belonging to other gods were in.

Maybe there was nothing useful in the hidden alcove, but I was tired of finding nothing. I had to follow every path, use every available resource I had. I couldn’t give up so easily. Every time I blinked, Mama’s wan face appeared in my mind’s eye or Brook’s sad smile. I couldn’t lose my loved ones.

And what if I was next to lose my magic? If I started to grow ill and exhausted like them, it could slow down my efforts even more.

I had to do something.

Returning to that alcove, I sucked in a breath, scanning the space around me to ensure I was alone. I drew on that fire inside me, letting the strength of my magic fill my chest. It was delicious and glorious, something I’d been forced to stuff down far too much of late. Tiny flames licked at my palm. Hot enough to melt a doorknob clean off. It was risky, but perhaps I could commission Orchid to help find and replace the knob before anyone discovered what I’d done or guessed it was me.

Stomach knotting, I lifted my palm, half-mesmerized by my own dancing flames, white-hot and searing, as I approached the door.

“I knew it.”

I extinguished my flames, whirling toward the all-too-familiar voice.

It was too late. There was no hiding what I’d done this time, no torch nearby for an excuse. No way I could twist the truth.

Dell Rosebrough, standing at the edge of the shadowy alcove with a sneer on his face. “Didn’t know I could manipulate air and conceal myself, did you, little fire whore?” He stalked closer, the gleam in his eyes murderous. “It’s a rare magic, one that has made me quite useful to King Wystan as an advisor.”

The blood left my face, my limbs going weak with terror.

“Are you threatening me? I’m Prince Archer’s—”

“I don’t give a flying flame in Mortius’ afterlife if you’re the goddess Solea herself,” Dell cut in. the sound of his dagger scraping free of its sheath rang through the air, punctuating his statement.

My mind was frantic, my thoughts tumbling over one another like a cornered animal trying to claw its way free. I could scarcely remember a single piece of the training that Archer and his friends had been drilling into me the past several weeks. Parry. Slice. It was all a blur. It was pathetic, desperate, but I leaned into Archer’s and my bond, his name the only clear thought in my head. Archer. Archer. Archer.

If only he was near enough to hear my silent screams for help.

The floorboards creaked and Dell moved nearer.

“If you’re so valuable,” I said, voice tremulous as I tried to edge my way around Dell and toward the alcove’s exit, “then surely you should be on Archer’s phoenix-hunting team. You should be looking for the escaped fire demon, not—”

Dell lunged, not letting my words distract him. With a choked gasp, I ducked and rolled, but he spun. The dagger flashed in the shadows, slicing across my cheek.

I kept going, charging past the shelves and out into the open fifth floor. There was no one around, and I was as afraid of calling for help as I was of being alone with Dell. Once he told another living soul, I’d be doomed. Not even Archer could charm and lie his way out of this one, and I wasn’t convinced the king would spare me to save his son.

But maybe, if I could get away from Dell and warn Archer before the awful male went to the king, Archer and I could come up with a plan. We could run. We could find a way to survive.

I considered shifting into phoenix form, but I wasn’t sure I could force my way out a window to exit the castle. And if there was a chance Archer could stop Dell and bury our secret again, I didn’t want to throw it away.

My boots thudded against the floor as I passed rows of bookshelves and unoccupied tables and chairs, my brain scrambling to remember details about the secret tunnels that led to Archer’s quarters. Hadn’t Lily mentioned something about a tunnel leading to the library? If I was fast enough, maybe I could find the entrance and slip away before Dell realized where I’d gone.

I tossed a glance over my shoulder, but there was no way to tell if Dell was in close pursuit when he could conceal himself and my own panting breaths masked other sounds.

What had Lily said about finding the entrance to the tunnels in the library? Something about the fourth or fifth level and a stone to push in the wall behind a picture or statue of the late queen—

Something slammed into my left shoulder so hard it sent me sprawling on hands and knees, sliding across the floor. Pain bit deep and shuddered all the way down my arm. I tried to roll my weight off the wounded arm and found the floor beneath me slick with my own blood. The heat of it was already trickling down my arm and adding to the puddle.

Dell’s face flashed into view above me, his gloating smile showing all his teeth. He stomped on my bad arm, making my vision go white. I was frozen, in so much agony I couldn’t scream.

This is it. The fulfilment of my prophecy. It was wild to have the epiphany now, as my lungs still burned from my failed attempt at fleeing and my pulse hammered against my temples. I’ll die, and that will be what destroys Archer. That’s how I’m his ruin.

But even in my agony, I wasn’t helpless. My magic unfurled, eager to help. I wasn’t strong enough anymore to shift, not with my injury and blood loss, but my fire was ready. As Dell swung his blade, I focused all my energy into summoning flame and hurling it at him.