Page 55 of In the Ravenous Dark
And I merely stare, uncomprehending at first. Because peering right back at me with a strange expression on his face, less than a finger’s breadth away, is Ivrilos. His cool lips are still pressed to mine.
He’skissingme.
My eyes fly wide. Without thinking, I sit up and shove him away. It takes me a second to realize I actuallypushhim, my flesh-and-blood palm connecting with his chest. I can feel the solidity of him, the slight give of his tunic and the firm muscle beneath. I stare at my hand in shock, but it looks the same as always.
Now I’m more awake than ever, even as I glance around in confusion. Everything appears hard and sharp, all shining edges. Shadows sink darker and highlights flare brighter, despite the deep gloom of the royal gallery, my sigil-summoned flame long gone. And I feel… strange. I’m ice cold. My skin is prickling.
But at least I’m alive. I hope.
“What—?” I say, and I can’t resist reaching toward Ivrilos again. He gives me a strange, almost longing look, and this time my hand passes right through his face, like normal. Well, if I normally tried to touch his face. “I don’t understand.”
Then I remember what happened. What he did. The bodies of the guards, blood congealing around them, are still here to help jog my memory.
I scrabble away from my guardian and the corpses, my limbs responding quicker, stronger than I could have anticipated. “You killed them. I saw.”
I also saw something else, possiblyIvrilosdying in his ownmemory, but I can’t think about that right now. That happened four hundred years ago, andthisis happening now. My guardian still crouches, seeming dazed, glancing around like he’s just now realizing where he is.
“I’m glad I put the room’s protections back when I did,” he says distantly. “It’ll look like only the guards entered here, fought, and then killed each other, especially when I smooth over your footprints. We need to get out of here immediately, before anyone else sees you.”
“Or else you’ll kill them, too?”
He turns on me, eyes like daggers, no trace of longing for me anymore. “You should hope that I can, and that they don’t shout for help. There’s no way I could save you if the wrong people found out that I’d helped you like this. I couldn’t saveeitherof us.”
My stomach drops. “Helped me likewhat? What did you do to me?” I touch my chest, my mouth. “I feel odd. Cold. And everything looks… the same, but different.”
“Rovan, we need to go.”
I let my hand fall, trying not to think about the cool press of his lips on mine. “Why should I care what you need?”
“Think of yourself… and your mother. If they find you here like this, it would mean death. For you, for me,andfor her.”
“You’re already dead.”
“I can die again. Forever.”
“Why should I trust you?”
Ivrilos holds my eyes in that unwavering way that makes me want to lean into him. “Because I want to stop all of this. For the past four hundred years, I’ve spent every breath on stopping this.”
I almost can’t believe what I’m hearing. He makes mewantto believe, despite everything. But all I can say, nonsensically, is, “You don’t breathe.”
The corner of his mouth quirks. “All I am is breath.”
I remember my father definingpneuma, the essence that composes the spirit, as another word for breath.
“Fine. But you’ve spent the lives of others, too, or their pneuma or whatever. I’ve felt you take it from me.” Maybe I’ve evenseenhim do it, to the two dead guards in that strange, upside-down place.
“You’re right.” He isn’t apologetic. “About everything. And I’ll explain it all if you leave with me now.” He bows his head, the thin silver circlet glinting in his dark hair. “I promise.”
I stare at him, every line of him as sharp as a blade in the darkness. He’s a knife’s edge in human form, and for some silly reason I want to touch him again. The word escapes my lips almost involuntarily. “Okay.”
His whole body relaxes like a sigh, but then he’s on his feet, gesturing for me. I hop upright with surprising ease. A few of his muttered words send a breeze gusting along the floor, swirling over my footprints and blending them back in with the rest of the dust. The guards he leaves exactly as they lie. He hurries over to a blank stretch of wall, me in tow, along with a cool draft that chases me, covering my tracks.
“I thought you knew another way out—oh,” I say, as the stone parts like curtains after a few more words from him. I walk through in stunned awe, staring at the almost liquid quality of what was perfectly solid only a moment ago. Before I know it, we’re standing in a palace hallway, the wall once again smooth behind me, the royal gallery sealed off.
And yet, while I can see gleaming marble and columns of blooming flowers in the torchlight, I can’t seemyself.
Before I can exclaim, Ivrilos assures me, “I’ve masked you and the sound of your footsteps. It would be best if you don’t speakuntil we are back in your apartments. There I will explain everything.”
