Page 35 of Fated In Ruin

“You should have drank more,” I told him quietly, reaching out to scratch off a spot of dried blood from the side of his face.

“I took enough, I wasn’t going to drain you,” he countered, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

“We both know that’s not true.” He’d locked down my magic right after he sealed the bite on my wrist, and my head was blissfully quiet, despite the questions I kept asking myself.

First and foremost—what the fuck kind of magic did I have?

“Is Ravok even here?” I whispered, my eyes scanning the perimeter.

Courtesy of my new magic, I easily discerned the threads of blue witch magic securing the site, woven like trip lines across the razor wire fences, over the grass and cast like a net over the nondescript, sprawling building.

He nodded once, his gaze focusing on the main building. “I feel him.”

We crept closer, the morning thick with mist, turning the compound into a dreamscape of shifting shadow and light. I checked my knives—unfamiliar, since they were Malachi’s—but at least I had steel to rely on. The buzzing incandescent lighting along the building exterior flickered strangely, as if there was a short in the wiring.

Hidden beneath a layer of Malachi’s glamour, we followed the curve of the cracked asphalt driveway around the outbuildings before I spotted movement.

Silas and Alistair flanked the entrance, their pale figures stark against the stone wall. Thralls, bound to their master’s will, their hunched bodies shadows of the formidable warriors they once were. Silas, the man I’d once feared above all others, was bowed over in servitude. Alistair, my cruelest instructor, looked like a wraith, his red tinted eyes staring blankly into the distance.

And then there was Ravok.

He loomed in the darkness beyond the threshold of the open doors, his form obscured by the shimmering blue ward protecting him. He was skeletal, his face even more sunken than a few hours ago. Yet the power surrounding him was undeniable. Darkness pulsed around him the way dusk crept over the horizon—slow, inevitable, inescapable.

He lifted a hand, and every shadow swept toward him as if he controlled them. The buzzing lights flickered violently, the very air seemed to bend in submission, warping beneath his will.

As if they were of one mind, Silas and Alistair turned and knelt at Ravok’s feet, heads bowed as he spoke, too softly for me to hear. Then they disappeared into the darkness behind their master while I shuddered in horror.

“We’ve seen what we needed to. We’re leaving.” Malachi’s hand closed over mine, the warmth of his body sinking in as his magic slowly gathered, wrapping around us like a shield as he prepared to dematerialize us back to safety.

If you could call the compromised, ruined castle safe.

I hadn’t called Blake and Riordan, even though my deadline had passed. Better to call them to say Ravok was dead and no longer a threat, than Malachi got his ass kicked and now we’ve decided to face him down a second time in less than three hours.

Yeah, Blake would have tossed me over his shoulder, locked me in a tower and thrown away the key.I had toproveto them I could handle myself.

Every lesson, every hour on the sparring mat, had led me right here.

I wasn’t a huge believer in all that destiny crap, but therehadto be a reason why my magic was free, and Ravok was here. Looking at him, he was weak. But my body trembled beneath the sheer effort of keeping this magic contained, yet we could not afford to miss this chance.

There was a saying—in war, speed is victory—and right now, we had the advantage.

I wasn’t about to squander it.

Ravok’s gaze raked over our hiding spot and Malachi swayed, pressing a hand to his temple. I caught him around the waist before he fell over completely. His ribs heaved fast beneath my arms and I gripped him tighter, suddenly realizing how vulnerable we were.

If something happened to him, I couldn’t get us out of here.

“You’re in no shape to dematerialize,” I murmured, and he tensed up, his body a long line of trembling muscle, sweat beading on his top lip and forehead. He tried to shove me away, but I held firm. If he collapsed, we were both trapped.

“Ravok looks like shit, but his magic is strong,” I murmured, feeling the pull of that darkness against my own power. And this wasn’t just power; this was something deeper. Whatever his magic…that darkness called to me, lifting the hair on my arms, sending shivers skating along my skin.

Malachi’s jaw tightened, as if he sensed my reaction, then set me gently away. “We need to leave,” he murmured. “Tonight, once I’m stronger, we’ll return.”

“No, I need to kill him now,whilehe’s weak. I can do this, I just need to get closer,” I argued, eyeing the layers of magic protecting Ravok, the fences and walls, the hundreds of security precautions in place to keep us out. My father and uncle, ready to lay down their lives for this monster.

I swallowed hard, forcing my own magic to stay quiet as we inched closer. The hallowed ground between us and Ravok would be a problem, sapping our magic once we tried to cross over. I sensed the threat from that thin veil of divine protection, a threadbare sanctuary meant to keep our kind out.

I stole another look at Malachi. Maybe weshouldwait.

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