Page 66 of Fated In Ruin

I blinked, a shiver of foreboding tingling over my skin. It couldn’t be that easy. “You can’t justforgiveme,” I muttered, trying to make sense of this.

“Neither of you can just…forgive me. You need to punish me, or hate me, or…something. Make me suffer. Make me pay. I did something terrible.”

“Not everything in life is a gauntlet of pain and you’ve been through too much for me to ever add to your burden.” He brushed his lips over my forehead, leaving me even more unsettled and confused. “Punishment is for those who deserve it, not you, Evangeline.”

“But I…”

He leaned closer, lips pressed to my ear, big hands coasting down to cup my ass. “If you truly want to be punished, I can think of about a hundred ways to discipline you. Starting by spanking this sweet ass with my bare hand until it’s as red as your face is right now. But if you really want to save Draven from his own fucking fate, my idea of punishment will have to wait.”

“Wait. You’re…agreeing to help?” I spluttered, ducking my head to hide my burning cheeks.

“Weare agreeing. Despite the fact Draven is a rat bastard who cannot be trusted, he is the only one who knows how to kill Ravok, so yes, unfortunately we need him.”

“We’ve fucking said those words before,” Blake grumbled behind me.

“Yes, unfortunately, we have.” Riordan’s head snapped up a second before there was a soft knock on the door. “Come in, Fiona.”

Oh God. Poor Fiona. Only then did it hit me…I’d lied—by omission—to her about my magic. Not a stellar way to begin a friendship. She slipped through the door like a flicker of fire, her loose, red hair falling to her waist, her dress a shimmering sweep of bronze.

“Are you all right?” I asked, since the last time I’d seen her, she’d been frozen in place by Malachi’s magic.

“Quite fine, thank you. It takes more than a little glamour to harm me,” Fiona said breezily, her gown curling around her ankles as she came to a full stop, her gaze narrowing on the dark haze in the air around me, nose flaring. “Evangeline, we were worried…what are you?” She recoiled, taking a step back, her golden eyes flaring.

A faint shadow stained the air around me, filled with shifting faces too elusive to see—unless you were looking.

“Apparently, a necromancer, according to Malachi, courtesy of the Bloodmoon Coven. I truly thought I had fire magic of some kind,” I explained, my cheeks heating.Again. “I mean, I knew the fire wasn’t normal, but I was only five when mom locked my power down, and the last time I saw my magic…it was…normal. Now it’s different.”

“Necromancy?” Fiona’s eyes darkened, in direct contrast to her pale face. “There was no necromancer in the Bloodmoon Coven, except…” She clamped her lips together and Blake and Riordan exchanged a narrowed look.

“Give me a few minutes to go over some preparations with the king, and I will find you after,” she murmured, her smile forced. “We can discuss your magic, and I will replace the block, though right now, your power seems to be quite depleted.”

“Well, I did try to kill Ravok. Twice.”

That only made her lips thin out more, and I made that my exit strategy as I headed for the door. “I’ll go check on Angel.”

None of them tried to stop me.

29

EVANGELINE

Light from the ancient chandeliers washed over the deep crimson walls, turning them the color of blood as I strode toward the stairs.

Fiona knew who Rhiannon was.

Recognized my—hermagic. Which meant sheknew.

Excitement warred with dread as I took the stairs slower than usual, damaged thighs straining on every step, my lungs fighting to expand against my bound ribs. But I’d literally fallen out of the sky and survived.

And so far, Riordan and Blake hadn’t kicked me out, though honestly, I was waiting for them to come to their senses.

I paused outside my sister’s door, hand flattened to the wood, eyes closed. I shivered, despite the warmth of this place, because Bex and Angel were talking. Laughing, with not a trace of unease or fear and here I was, barging in, dragging my problems along with me.

As usual, I was a walking disaster.

Maybe I should just…

“Evie,” Angel squealed, whipping the door open as I stumbled straight into her arms. “You’re finally up. Blake told me you were back last night, but you were sleeping when I tried to visit you. Then Riordan told me this morning I had to wait. Soprotective, your two males.” Her nose wrinkled. “Lucky girl, to have both of them all for yourself.”

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