Page 115 of Fated In Ruin

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EVANGELINE

Hours later, I pushed open my bedroom door, intent on falling face first into bed, bone-deep exhaustion weighing heavy on my shoulders after too much time spent arguing over who was going—I was definitelynotgetting left off that list—and the emotional turbulence of the day.

But I stopped dead in my tracks, my breath catching in my throat.

There, on my nightstand, stood the most magnificent arrangement of roses I'd ever seen—dozens—a bushel basket—of rich, red blooms so dark they were almost black in the fading evening light. They commanded the space with an almost otherworldly presence, their petals catching what remained of the sunset and transforming it into something spectacular.

Malachi. My heart stumbled at the thought of him, that complicated tangle of fear and longing and forbidden desire that seemed to define our every interaction. With trembling fingers, I reached for the cream-colored note nestled among the thorny stems.

Vicious,

Words are inadequate when it comes to my feelings for you, so I will keep this short. I can never atone for my countless sins, which go back further than you will ever know, but there has always been one constant. My love for you. I loved you long before you existed, and I will love you long after I am gone. You are the light I waited my entire life for, and I will not allow darkness to taint such perfection. Live well, be happy, think of me fondly, M

The note fluttered from my fingers as something shifted within my chest, like tectonic plates of emotion realigning themselves around this new reality. I sank onto my bed, surrounded by the heady perfume of roses and emotions that threaten to tear me apart.

Live well, be happy, think of me fondly, M

That was a goodbye, not an apology.

But maybe... maybe I was jumping to conclusions. I reached out to touch one velvet petal, so soft it felt almost like smoke and reread the note again.

I will not allow the darkness to taint…

I put it to my nose, drinking in his scent. He’d touched this paper so often as he wrote…another inhale…even the ink was infused with sadness and regret, a sourness lurking beneath the fresh cedar and ice.

He was gone.

Malachi knew where Ravok was and he left to go after him by himself, because…I pinched my brow together, trying to decipher that look he’d given me and Blake, so pregnant with hidden meaning.So filled with longing and regret.

All the things he knew he would never have.

He was going to stop Ravok’s transformation. I didn’t know how, or where he was headed, but…he was going to save us…to save me.

And he’d left the note, the flowers as a goodbye…because he didn’t think he was coming back.

The realization was an angry lash across my chest, flaying my bleeding heart wide open.

I should have told him…I loved him.

I should have found a moment, even in the chaos, to pull him aside and tell him how I felt and now…

Now I had a terrible feeling I’d missed my chance.

My fingertips brushed over the velvet petal with a sudden certainty…I could no longer imagine my future without Malachi in it. The very fabric of my soul seemed to have rewoven itself around his existence in my life. The question wasn't whether to bring him into my family, but how to help them see what I was only now fully realizing…that some loves transcended the boundaries we created to make sense of the world.

I closed my eyes, breathing in the rich fragrance of the roses, letting the heady scent mingle with the tears streaming down my face. If Malachi succeeded, he would become the sacrifice that would set this kingdom free.

Riordan would be free to build a brand-new world on the bones of that sacrifice—a sacrifice I could not allow him to make, because…

The revelation hit me like a sledgehammer.

Battles weren’t meant to be fought alone.

They were meant to be fought together, with people you loved by your side, facing down the same enemies, the same evils, the same problems, and you fight those kinds of battles alone.

In that moment, I realized how alike Malachi and I actually were. Two people who knew the odds were against them. Abandoned, forced to rely on no one but themselves, afraid to trust, for fear of being let down or hurt or betrayed.

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