Page 217 of A Flame of the Phoenix

Reuben said, “I’ll only hurt-hurt you again. She can use me anytime, and when she hears of my running away…she’ll find me and know-know where you are. She’ll know about the ruin if you keep me alive.”

“The ruin?” Faythe asked.

Something tumbled out of a cloth Reuben was holding, and when it did, Faythe grasped, slackening her hold on him not on purpose as a wave of immense power slammed into her.

Familiar, daunting, delicious power.

Faythe’s sight fixed on the ruin. Its markings glowed, and the symbol of Aurialis shone proudly at the peak of the serrated arrow shape.

Her trance was snapped when Reuben quickly threw the rag over it. Whatever it was made of must have powerful suppressing properties like the Blood Box for her not to feel even a hum of its call now.

“I brought it for you,” Reuben said, scooping it up and cradling it.

Relief washed over her. They still had Aurialis’s ruin she’d had to leave behind in Rhyenelle, hoping it would remain hidden where she’d stored it in the catacombs Agalhor had once shown her.

“I followed Izaiah and stole it when I had the chance.” He answered the question blazing in her eyes when they met his.

“What was he doing with it?” Faythe asked.

She’d only told him in case someone needed to retrieve it if she couldn’t.

“He’s been trying to master it.”

That stirred something ugly and suspicious in her. Izaiah had never disclosed his plans. All this time, she’d chosen to have faith in him to believe he wasn’t truly up to anything nefarious.But where was he when Malin murdered Marlowe? Why was he trying to master the ruin? What did he mean when he’d told her he was one step ahead?

Faythe held her hand out for the ruin, their first test of alliance. Reuben hesitated, and Faythe’s heart skipped. She didn’t want to harm him anymore than he’d already suffered. To her relief, he handed it over.

Even concealed, she felt its power caress her skin and stroke her senses. She believed she had enough wrath and power to kill Malin without it. He was nothing compared to her. But with the ruin in her possession, Faythe wouldn’t stop with him—it wouldn’t be enough. She needed the world to feel a fraction of her loss…and Marvellas’s ruin would be her weapon to unleash it.

“We need to go,” Faythe said, making as if to stand.

Reuben gripped her arm to keep her down. His wide eyes turned desperate. “Please, Faythe,” he said in a broken tone. “You’re the only one who can make it painless. Maybe even pleasant. I can’t… Please don’t make me live like this.”

Her heart slammed in her chest. Faythe had never killed tohelpsomeone before. The concept felt so twisted. How could it be help if she ended his life? She knew without a doubt he’d suffered incredible pain and torment, but what if he could be saved if he just held on and wanted to fight?

“You have to want to live, Reuben. If you fight back against the shadows and claws, I might be able to help you.”

Reuben shook his head and broke into heart-wrenching sobs. He let her go and began to crawl across the floor. Faythe watched in agony as muttered incoherent thoughts. When he next stopped, hitting his head with his clenched fists, Faythe grabbed his wrists and pulled him into her. He just cried as she held him tight, rocking with him, while he kept mumbling fractured sentences.

“I’m so sorry, Reuben,” she whispered, stroking his hair.

Faythe severed the pain receptor in his mind, and Reuben’s body relaxed a little. They rocked, and she painted bright colors into their surroundings, breathing life back into this mill. She showed him a vision of their past. Faythe chased Reuben around the dining table with a wooden makeshift sword, while Mrs. Green called after them to be careful.

Reuben chuckled faintly. His mumbling began to cease. “I miss my mother,” he said sleepily. “I think I’ll go see her now.”

“She misses you too,” Faythe said with a tight chest. “Rest now, Reuben. No one can hurt you anymore.”

His mind started slipping away gently. “I’ll see you again, won’t I? You’re my…my best friend.”

“I’ll see you again, I promise.”

She pressed her lips to his head as she took the final step to end his pain once and for all. In the silence of death and the grief that followed, holding Reuben’s still body, Faythe became numb. Saying goodbye to another dear friend so soon who had also suffered too much in this war…Faythe became fast-burning fuse.

When she detonated, her enemies would know the true meaning ofruin.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

Zaiana

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