Page 94 of Fated In Ruin

Had he drained…hundreds of people in a matter of days?

A vicious sweep of Fiona's flames wiped out most of their left flank, while Malachi's glamour continued to withstand Aria’s assault, veins of red pulsing over the surface, searching for a way inside. Blake’s shadows simply erased a charging group of ten, while my snapping creatures devoured a dozen more.

We were picking the enemy off, a few at a time.

But still, they kept coming, as if their numbers had no end.

“Riordan.” Evie's voice cut through the chaos. She was surrounded, a group of thralls clawing at the flimsy barrier between them, fingers raking gouges into the shimmering surface.

Some of them getting through.

“Malachi, reinforce your glamour before they reach her,” I growled, pointing, and he changed focus, sending a stream of glamour spilling out of his hands and up over the shield.

As one, the thralls screamed, a keening wail that set my teeth on edge.

I should be fighting beside her, but we were too spread out, each of us diverting our power to a different cause, fighting a hundred battles we could win…as more and more cropped up.

The vampire by Ravok’s side sent another wave of thralls racing toward us, and they obeyed his command as readily as they obeyed Ravok.

Who was he?

“You can't protect her forever,” Ravok said, his voice almost gentle, his power building around him like a storm. “She belongs in the darkness. With me.”

The rage that filled me was cold. Clarifying.

Evangeline was in charge of her own future, and of her own free will, she’d chosen me. She’d given me her whole heart, and in return, I’d given her mine and this fucker would never understand that kind of commitment. Never.

“She belongs in the light, with whomever she chooses,” I snarled, gathering my power for another strike. “And she chose us.”

He shook his head with the certainty of someone who could—and had—seen the future. “She will never choose you, you will never be king, and your precious, fragile kingdom, built on a lie,” he ran his tongue over his lips, “will belong to me. “

“Bullshit,” I muttered, more to myself than him, fury turning the blood in my veins thick. “We were made for each other, and you are going to die screaming in the dark.”

40

EVANGELINE

Malachi's glamour frayed at the edges, like silk unraveling in slow motion as the attacking thralls dragged their sharp, jagged fingernails down the shield, letting in more of that putrid reek.

This was fucking pathetic.

A flimsy, invisible illusion was all that was keeping us alive.

If they got through us…Angel was inside Crimson House, protected by Eldric, but Ravok would search the castle, then burn it to the ground, because he was a scorched-earth kind of guy.

Please let Eldric get her and Bex out of here. Please.

Glamour protected us at the moment, but now, that barrier wavered beneath Aria’s relentless assault. Sweat beaded on Malachi's forehead, his usually composed features tight with strain.

“Your barriers are weakening, my son,” Ravok's voice slithered through the magic-clogged air. “You feel it, don't you? The way our powers recognize each other?” His red tinted darkness probed at the shield, black tendrils seeking a way inside. “We are the same, you and I. Blessed with the same magic. But I've had centuries longer to perfect my craft.”

Malachi's response was a subtle strengthening of his shield, but the constant effort was taking its toll. Each attack from Ravok required more effort to resist, each breach took longer to seal.

And Ravok had brought someone new. A vampire with brown hair, a slight frame, and a hooked nose that somehow reminded me of Tyrell. The thralls seemed to obey his commands as readily as they did Ravok’s.

My father was behind them, along with Alistair, but…God, they looked horrendous, flesh practically peeling off their faces, their cheeks sagging off bone.

All around us, thralls fell in droves. Fiona's golden fire cut through them like a scythe through wheat, while mine reduced them to dust. But for each one we destroyed, two more seemed ready to take their place. They weren't meant to defeat us, I realized with growing dread.

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