Page 125 of Fated In Ruin

That particular accent I'd know anywhere. Romulus stepped out to intercept me, and I paused, keeping my expression neutral despite the hatred surging through me.

Romulus blocked the opening to Ravok’s chamber, his slight frame silhouetted against a golden glow—fire or candles, I didn’t know—his mouth set in that familiar half-smile that used to be open and friendly, but now didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Rom,” I said, my voice betraying none of my fury. “Serving Ravok seems to have agreed with you.”

He chuckled, the sound echoing in the narrow space. “Says the traitor who kept him prisoner.” He stepped forward, and I noticed he carried no visible weapons. “You owe our Maker a debt, Kai.” His eyes narrowed. “You owe him your life.”

“I don’t owe that monster a thing,” I replied coldly. “Why you decided to waste yours in his service is beyond me. I’ve spent mine figuring out how to destroy him.”

“Destroy him?” He laughed again, circling slowly to my right. I matched his movements, measuring the shrinking distance between us. “You spent all these years trying to figure out a way around that oath you swore.”

“The oath I swore to save you and Noc and Tyberius,” I reminded him.

“All you had to do was kill him. Of course, that would have meant you died in the process, and the almighty Malachi Draven would never dream of sacrificing himself for the greater good. No, you were always more worried about saving your own skin, just like you did on that battlefield.”

“What happened on that battlefield,” I scoured his face for any redeeming sign of the friend I used to know, “was grotesque. I’ve spent almost every day since wishing I would have chosen death.”

“But you didn’t. And here we both are. Why did you come, Kai?” Romulus asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. “Do you truly believe you’re strong enough to face him?”

I didn't answer. Words were Romulus's favorite weapons—he would keep me talking until he got close enough to exploit an opening.

I attacked without warning, covering the distance between us in less than a heartbeat, an illusion of silver daggers aimed for his throat. Romulus was ready, twisting away with inhuman grace, wielding that strange magic that made my bones groan when his power collided with mine.

This was almost like…he was mimickingmy magic.

The walls of the passageway shook, dust and debris raining down over our heads, Romulus’s own hands now bore a set of wickedly curved blades that seemed to materialize from nowhere.

“I found these in your memories.” He sliced them through the air with barely a hiss of sound, exactly as Valaine had wielded them. “Formidable weapons, I think.”

I didn’t know what kind of magic Romulus possessed, but those knives weren’t glamour. Theywere real. And if he’d reached past my layers of protections that easily to see into my thoughts…

We clashed in a blur of magic and metal, centuries of experience guiding every strike and parry. My magical weapons sliced through the air where his head had been a split second before; his curved blades scraped against my reinforced shield, nearly penetrating the protective enchantments.

“Your magic is strong,” Romulus acknowledged, dancing back to create distance between us. “But it won't be enough. Not against all of us.”

We parried again, both of us spinning to avoid being sliced apart, fighting for solid footing, shoulders scraping against the rough stone walls…then Romulus’s back was to the room with the still pool.

And I was right where I wanted to be.

Right in front of him ready to drive him backwards, straight to his demise. I didn’t know what stepping into that dark portal would do, but Romulus was about to fucking find out.

And once Romulus was gone, I’d drag Ravok into that dark hole.

“How’s the ritual coming along?” I murmured, circling to the left, only to be cut off by a flash of razor-sharp silver clashing against my shield, sparks showering to the floor. “Everything going to plan, I hope?”

Something flickered across Romulus's face—satisfaction, perhaps? “Our Master’s plans never fail. He has proven time and again his vision is true, because you are here, as he foresaw.”

“Ah yes, Ravok and his amazing foresight. I’m not impressed,” I muttered, looking for an opening in his guard as he retreated another step.

“You should be,” Romulus said. “He sees everything that will happen, knows every decision you will make. For instance, I know that in a few seconds, the portal over the ley line will open. I know your woman is almost here. In a matter of minutes, she will walk straight into our trap, like a lamb to slaughter.”

I faltered, shock breaking through my carefully maintained facade. “You're lying.”

“Am I?” Romulus gestured behind him at the doorway, as the walls all around me ignited with a strange, white glow. A phantom wind blew past us, smelling of primordial rot and spent magic and something even fouler. “Look for yourself. It's already beginning.”

Cursing myself, my gaze lifted over his shoulder. I barely glimpsed the edge of the pool, but the previously still water was moving, and the air blowing from that room festered, as if something vast and ancient and utterly wrong was stirring.

That momentary distraction cost me.

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