Page 86 of Ruin of Revenants

My chest tightened. He’s getting more paranoid. And crueler.

Every beat of my heart felt slow, heavy. My skin was crawling, my anxious thoughts ramping up in the presence of all these forget-me-nots. I was desperate to leave, and I could only imagine how much worse it was for the male who’d been trapped down here since last night.

“You could stop it.”

The quiet proclamation was so sudden, so soft, for a moment I wasn’t sure my friend had spoken. My eyes snapped to Grey’s. He watched me steadily.

“You have far more guards and soldiers loyal to you than the king does,” he went on, still in that soft tone. “We would stand with you, if you defy your father.”

I felt like a fool, buoyed with wild hope and dread all at once. The passing thought had occurred to me, but I’d never believed it would succeed. Some people believed in me, but many of our courtiers were content to lose themselves in gluttony and excess and drunkenness, I assumed they’d prefer my father’s rule than a violent coup where I demanded we protect our entire kingdom.

And despite our complicated relationship, I wasn’t particularly interested in patricide, either.

But Father was going too far. Tormenting phoenix shifters who’d done nothing worse than exist was bad enough, I knew that now. Now, even Grey or any other guard dedicated to protecting us from the so-called fire demon threat could see it was too much. And they’d already questioned Father’s decision to cut off aid to the rest of the kingdom.

Grey’s confident words made something blossom inside me, something that felt dangerously like hope. The things I could do for Emberglade, for the phoenixes, if he was no longer…

Pain slammed into my shoulder, so vicious and sudden that I staggered.

“Your Highness, are you all right?” Grey asked, seizing my arm to help keep me from keeling over.

Blinking away the haze that had fallen over me, I glanced over my shoulder. No one was there.

I swallowed thickly against the waves of pain emanating down my arm. When I lifted it to inspect it in the dim light, there were no visible wounds. “Do forget-me-nots start to give you physical pain in…specific spots like you’ve just been stabbed?” I asked, half-joking.

Grey stared at me, his brow furrowed in obvious concern. “Maybe you need to go lie down.”

More pain pierced my stomach, stealing my breath. It was hard to think, hard to see clearly.

Archer.

The thought came in Isoria’s voice, frantic and weak. My entire body went rigid, on high alert, as I realized that the pain I was feeling was her pain, shared through our bond. Panic seized my chest in its icy grip.

Archer. Archer.

“Forgive me, Grey,” I choked out, “I think you’re right and I need to go.”

“Do you need assistance, Your Highness?”

I waved him away. “Ensure that male isn’t mistreated. That he’s set free.”

Then I was gone, the dungeon passages a blur until I was out of the oppressive weight of their atmosphere. And yet, that didn’t alleviate the agony, not when it was tied to Isoria and whatever she was experiencing. Only sheer force of will and my terror for Isoria kept me going, moving at a much faster pace than should have been possible. It’s all in your head, I thought to myself. Just pain. Not actual wounds.

Isoria, I called through the bond in my panic. What’s happened? Where are you?

No response.

I was frantic, mind spinning with panic and pain.

Umbryon’s starfire, I cursed. Please, Isoria. Answer me!

It was then I realized that something had changed in our bond, something that became clearer when I no longer had the weight of the dungeons pressing in on me. As I tore down castle hallways, ignoring the shock of agony that rippled through me with every footfall, avoiding every startled fae I passed, I realized I could sense Isoria’s presence. There was a tugging sensation, like the bond was becoming more of a targetable thing tying us together, alerting me to her location. I followed it toward our quarters, tearing through every room until I reached my bedroom.

The tunnels.

I hastened to open the trick shelf and plunged into the dim passageway, not stopping to grab a candle. I didn’t need a light when the route was familiar and our bond guided me.

Soon, I heard her ragged breathing, saw the dim outline of her slumped form on the ground.