Page 79 of A Heist for Filthy Rivals
He doesn’t try to disguise his worried frown, and I can practically see the questions written across his furrowed brow, even though he’s trying not to voice them.
“Just… please. You’ll understand soon enough, either way.”
“Whatever you say, love.” He strips to his bare skin as directed, then bends to light the end of the rope.
The flame rises from the fuse, then licks along the rope, following it into the fortress, catching some of the debris on fire as it disappears inside.
Ravager backs away from the entrance. “Now what?”
“Wait.” I grip his forearm. “Just wait.”
We stand side by side, joined in anticipation, in apprehension.
From somewhere deep inside the fortress comes the firstboom. Then another explosion, and another. The walls of the keep begin to tilt and crumble inward, and still the explosions continue…boom… boom… boom.A chain reaction, a necklace of destruction.
Ravager doesn’t ask me what’s next, or how we’re going to escape. He turns and looks into my eyes. In his gaze, I see the resignation of a man who believes he is going to die.
If we stand here much longer, we’ll both die. The concussive force of each explosion is growing louder, more violent, as if the destruction is multiplied by all the magic and power contained within Annordun. It’s quite possible that if thiscontinues, the entire island will be obliterated, and us along with it.
When I glance over my shoulder, I see the circle in the grass glowing in earnest—a bright, violent green.
Turning to Ravager, I place my palm on his chest. “Don’t ask questions. Just go along with this.”
I half-crouch before him, grabbing his wrist and pulling his entire big body onto myself.
It takes him a second to realize what I’m doing, but when he does, he stops resisting the movement and lets me drape his rangy form across my shoulders. Clutching his arm and leg, taking a deep breath, I straighten as much as I can, hoisting his weight.
If I were a smaller woman, I couldn’t do this. But I’m tall and strong, so I’m able to carry Ravager on my back.
It hurts—god, everything hurts. There’s a stabbing pain at the center of my chest, and my thighs are on fire, and my arms ache.
But I carry him, slowly and steadily, step by step, toward the glowing circle in the grass.
“Don’t let any part of you touch the ground,” I tell him.
He doesn’t reply. I don’t blame him—he must think I’ve gone insane.
One thing. Nocturis told me I could take one thing from Annordun, whatever I could carry. I could have taken one of Drosselmeyer’s inventions, or a weapon, or some other bit of treasure. I could have pried a large jewel from one of the cabinets in the upstairs room where I first hid the Doras Àlainn.
None of those objects would have given me any joy if I left Ravager behind.
He is myone thing.
My foot hits an indentation in the ground beneath the grass, and my ankle turns with a loudpop. I shriek, but I keep going, with agony searing through my ankle like a hot blade.
“Devilry, stop this.” Ravager’s voice reflects my pain and his concern for me. But I ignore him. I stagger the final few steps and stumble into the circle.
Behind me, Annordun roars with its final annihilating cataclysm. I can smell the acrid smoke and feel the billowing heat at my back. The fireball of the fortress’s last breath is about to incinerate us, too—
And then four walls snap into place around us, cutting off the disastrous sound.
We’re in a quiet, gray room with a plain bed and dresser. A chilly breeze whispers through balcony doors which stand half open. I can see a clothesline outside, with two shirts fluttering in the sunny air.
With a scream of relief and pain, I collapse under Ravager’s weight. He moves off me in a second, then drags me against his chest, his hands clasping my body, his mouth pressed to my hair. He’s muttering wild phrases of comfort or endearment—I can’t tell which, because I’m stammering and crying, trying to explain. My tongue is unleashed from Nocturis’s spell, and I pour out the whole story in broken phrases.
Somehow, despite my disjointed babble, Ravager puts it all together.
“You fucking heroine,” he whispers into my hair. “You goddess.”
