Page 92 of In the Ravenous Dark
And yet, I’m not ashamed. Hell, if I have to be dead, I’m happy I can still make love. I’m only sorry I was slower to arrive than Ivrilos.
Not that I know where to begin explaining to Japha. They look as radiant as the sun-drenched room, in a berry-colored peplos woven with peach-colored birds, a gilt-lined sword belt at their waist. They have a dagger strapped to it, its gold sheath studded in jewels to match their crown of multicolored rose blossoms. They’re a sight for sore eyes, but they obviously don’t feel the same, since they keep their own eyes covered.
I start with, “You can see him?”
“Yes, almost too much of him! Is it safe to look?” Japha asks, peering out between their fingers before getting an answer. “Oh, phew.” They blink. “Where did the strange man go?”
I look over at Ivrilos. He looks back at me, shrugs, and then to my great surprise, he bursts out laughing.
“Very helpful,” I say, but I can’t help grinning. Ivrilos doubles over, shaking, and nearly tips into a rosebush. I’ve never seen him laugh this hard. Or much at all.
“What is going on?” Japha cries.
“Ivrilos is having a fit, and I’m trying not to melt in embarrassment.”
“That wasIvrilos? Why could I see him? I’m so confused.”
“You must be able to when we’re touching.”
“So youhavecome back to life, somehow?” Japha asks.
My grin falls away. “Not entirely.”
“Okay.” Japha gives me a solemn nod. And then they shrug. “I don’t understand how that’s possible, but we’ll figure it out.”
“You’re not horrified?”
“Please.I’m not going to abandon you just because you’re dead. At least now you don’t smell anymore, thank the goddess. You actually look frighteningly magnificent.”
That wrings a smile from me—until I burst into tears. It’s all been so much: realizing what I am now, making love to Ivrilos, and nowJapha’slove and acceptance.
It’s almost enough to give me hope for when I next see Lydea.
Japha comes to me without hesitation, wrapping their arms around me. “Shh, dearest, it’s okay.” They pat my hair but then pause. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but you have blood running down your face and I’d prefer not to get any on me.”
“What?” I wrench away from them, wiping at my cheek. My hand comes away red. “Nowthatis disgusting. Ivrilos, what is this?” I demand, holding out my palm. “I cryblood?”
He grimaces. “It’s part of being a revenant who thrives on the substance, maybe?”
“Goddess.”
“What did he say?” Japha asks, staring somewhere in the direction of Ivrilos.
“I’ll tell you later,” I mutter. I hope Japha won’t want to rethink staying by my side when they learn I drink blood. “Do you know where we are? Is there any word from Lydea?”
Japha is about to answer when the door bursts open once again. We all spin.
It’s Alldan in the doorway, with a pair of incrediblystrange-looking people standing behind him, a man and a woman. Their washed-out hair is something like gray, even though they don’t look that old. Their cheekbones stand out like a skull’s. They have towering crowns woven from dead twigs, what look like mice bones dangling in the branches. Sweeping robes made of myriad fabrics in diaphanous grays hang from their emaciated bodies. Oddest of all, their lips are stained black and their eyes are red. Bloodlines cover the too-pale skin of both.
I can also smell the death magic on them. And yet, I can still hear the faint beating of their hearts, as well. They’re alive.
“Good. You’re awake, Rovan,” Alldan says. But there’s no warmth or even the respect I once knew in his voice. His violet gaze is hard, and his tone is almost disgusted. “And now we will decide if you will live—such thatthisis living,” he amends, his lip curling, “—or if you need to be destroyed.”
29
Japha and Ivrilos both step between me and Alldan. The strange bloodmages accompanying the Skyllean prince track the movement with their red eyes. They can see Ivrilos, then, even if I’m not touching him. The sunlit, rose-covered room suddenly has the air of a potential battleground.
Ivrilos, surprisingly, gives the man and woman a nod of acknowledgment. They nod back. The woman even smiles, but her teeth are a little too grayish for comfort.
