Page 32 of Fated In Ruin

Except he was the one who broke.

Tears pricked at my eyes as I pulled him into my arms, trying to ignore how fast my body responded, how volatile my senses turned, knowing he was hurting. “Do not fucking make me regret this,” I grumbled. “Because I swear to God, if you do…I’ll…”

His eyes fluttered open, not a flicker of flame to be seen, and all I smelled was old, dirty pennies. He’d lost a shit ton of blood, no telling how long before he died. And maybe he wouldn’tstaydead, but I had no desire to face Ravok alone.

I stared down into those empty eyes, a keening ache building in my heart as I realized something else. I had…I had no desire to see Malachi die.

My gums burned as my fangs burst out and I sank them into my wrist in one ruthless bite, then pressed the bloody punctures against Malachi’s mouth. The stubborn bastard tried to turn away. “Drink. You’re dying. Youknowyou are.” My voice cracked, and I instantly despised my own soft, worthless heart.

Malachi shook his head, hesitation darkening his battered face.

“Either drink,” I hissed, “or I’ll force my blood down your goddamned throat. And you don’t want to test me right now.”

For a moment, silence hung thick between us.

“Fine. Be a stubborn asshole and see what happens,” I muttered, gripping a handful of hair and forcing my bleeding wrist into his mouth. He fought, tried to push me away, until finally, his lips fastened weakly around the bite, and he took one shallow pull.

My sense of relief was tempered by the growing cloud of darkness around us, the creaking coming from the roof overhead, and the sheer amount of blood he’d lost. Oh, and the fact my family were now thralls to Ravok.

But worse than any of that was the undeniable heat kindling inside me, the throbbing that only grew stronger with every pull at my wrist, the way my body purred as I fed him, the satisfaction of having him nestled between my legs.

“Glad to see you have a modicum of common sense,” I said hoarsely, knowing he couldn’t argue with his mouth full. “Your Maker is a douchebag, by the way. I’ll bet it just chafes your ass, knowing that a newly turned vampire who can barely control her magic saved your ass. Speaking of which, I think I need…a little help in that department.”

I batted an errant shadow away with my free hand.

They were back to being harmless, but what just happened?

Why had my shadows become…people?

Malachi’s lashes fluttered. His lips barely moved against my skin as he drank, but I barely caught the shape of my name. And out of habit, my fingers began to stroke gently through his silky hair.

15

RIORDAN

Evangeline had been gone one day and the world was falling apart.

Day to day operations continued as planned, Nash whipped the new Knightsguard into perfect order, Angel was safe, and there had been no attacks or even threats, as the royal houses—most of them—fell into line.

But the air in Crimson House was ripe with tension, the sort that settled deep into bones and made every moment feel like doom lurked around the next corner. The sitting room, once a place of quiet reflection, felt more like a battle ground—except we weren’t fighting a war.

No, we were playing the waiting game, and it was fucking killing us.

Blake stood near the fireplace, his back to me, fists clenched so tight his knuckles had gone white. Shadows curled around him like restless wraiths, eating up the candlelight. I hadn’t taken my eyes off him for hours, his magic was so uncontrolled and volatile, a manifestation of his spiraling frustration.

“We shouldn’t have let her stay,” he growled, his razor-sharp voice a husk of sound. “Malachi is dangerous. More dangerous than you give him credit for.”

“We’ve been over this.” I exhaled slowly, forcing my own temper into check. “We didn’tlether do anything. Evangeline made her own choice. And we agreed to give her time to see this through.”

“You mean you two made a decision and left me the fuck out of it.” His shadows swelled, deepening the dim, cutting off the candles completely, until I couldn’t tell where the darkness ended and Blake began.

He spun to face me, and I paused at the wild gleam in his eyes. His inner demons were taking him over, pushing him toward violence. My friend was forever balanced on that thin edge, but right now, I wasn’t sure which way he would fall.

“She’s been gone too long and she didn’t check in,” he muttered, voice tight with barely checked rage. “We should be out there, getting her back. Not sitting here waiting for?—”

“For what? News?” I cut in. “For a sign she’s playing her role? That’s what we agreed to, Blake. And if we storm in there now, she’d never forgive either of us. Evangeline is well trained and she’s smart. If she needed help, she would call us. We have to let this ride a little longer, we just…have to.”

I was as worried as he was, but Evie had asked us to trust her.

---