Page 103 of Rook of Ruin
Isle stomps off towards Simon, points to Vetter, and Simon’s face pales. Vetter grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowd of warriors outside the inn.
“Are you sure you don’t want a life debt from me?” Vetter asks quickly.
“Yes. How are you able to make one? How are you so powerful?” I reply.
He tilts his head. “If I told you all my secrets, I would be forced to murder someone you seem to care for, and I doubt you would want that, my dear. Just know I am a powerful nightmare.”
I pat him on the shoulder. “Vetter, you are not my nightmare.”
He laughs and takes me down the stairs towards a dark carriage. Vetter opens it, revealing a small boy with blond almost white hair. He gives me a shy, nervous smile as his green eyes assess my gross appearance.
“Hello, I’m Orlaith.”
I offer him my hand, and the young boy moves back into the carriage. Vetter sighs, but I ignore him. To be fair, I’m covered in blood and filth—probably a frightening sight for a young child.
“How old are you?”
The small boy doesn’t speak but holds up his hands.
“Eight? My, I would have guessed at least twelve.” I give him a smile, and he returns it with one of his own. The moment becomes uncomfortable as I wait for Vetter to explain what this boy has to do with his offer of a life debt.
Vetter looks at the boy and smiles softly. “I’ll be back.” He shuts the door and guides me to the side, out of the boy’s earshot. “He’s my son. Milo.” Vetter speaks in a low voice and pulls back his hood. I see the worry and concern every good parent has when something is wrong, but I’m stunned. Not that I know Vetter on a personal level, but he doesn’t seem the type to have a child. Yet once he said Milo was his, I could see the resemblance immediately. “I didn’t know about him until recently. His mother died a few months ago. We were friends, but she didn’t want me in his life.” He laughs bitterly. “I don’t blame her, I would destroy him.”
“Vetter, why did you bring him here?” I speak softly, afraid to cause him more pain.
His black eyes are like the night sky. “You are the only one I can trust with him. I’ve seen your thoughts and feelings, I know what you are capable of. I know you would protect him with your life regardless of your new title.”
I lower my voice even further. “What do you mean by ‘my thoughts and feelings?’” I know he holds power I do not understand. He holds out his hand to show a white-and-gold stone sitting in his palm. I swallow thickly. “What isthat?”
Vetter smiles sadly. “You already know.”
Fear fills me, and I recoil, falling backward. Vetter catches me before Simon rips me out of his arms. He looks at the stone andthen at me, fear passing over his face, but Vetter grabs Simon’s hand and places the rock in it. Simon’s eyes go out of focus for a moment, and then he shakes his head in surprise. “Orlaith.”
I don’t like the look in his eyes. I step back, unsure, but Simon makes the decision for me and grabs my hand in his, the stone between us.
Terror and anxiety fill me as I see Matron open a door with a set of keys. I’m worried about being betrayed and betraying those I love. The smells coming from the room have bile rising up in my throat. Through my own eyes, I commit treason against Acros, against the queen . . . to save innocent lives. I see everything, feel everything.
It all happens so quickly, from healing the boy and the man—leaving a jagged pink scar—to the gurney, to kneeing the Rook in the balls, to the morgue.This is how I ended up in the morgue.Then gold eyes stare into mine. A little ache in my chest blooms—I want him—noneedhim.
Time feels like it slows as a Rook appears in the hidden passage while I protect the boy with my life and I prepare myself for death. It never comes for me, instead the Rook and Matron are the ones who died that day. I watch the green-black veins make their way through the Matron.
She cries as she holds on to me, and the whisper of a voice that has haunted my mind speaks. “I’m sorry.”
A blade cuts into my neck, and I accept death, watching as Matron mournfully takes my memories of that day and the ones before it.
Tears fall down my face. Simon opens his hand, and a clear stone appears, the memory it once held gone forever. If the wrong person saw this, if the Spider saw it, I would be dead. We all know this. I’m a fucking traitor.
Vetter clears his throat. “Now you understand.” Recklessly, I hug Vetter, and he awkwardly puts his arms around me. Hecould have turned me in, he could have blackmailed me, he could have—
Vetter sighs and gently pushes me back. “I chose your side. You have my loyalty, Orlaith.”
His black eyes soften as I silently weep, and I whisper, “Thank you. Thank you, Vetter. You have given me peace. I heard that man’s voice so many times, and now I know why.”
Vetter pushes a stray hair from my face, and his finger trails along my jawline. “In another life, my dear, I would have claimed you as my own. Alas, you were claimed before we met.”
Simon growls, pulling me back and stepping in front of me, shielding me. Vetter laughs like Simon’s large warrior body means nothing to his potential violence while Simon’s fingers clench into a fist.
Before it can come to blows, I say firmly, “I’ll help you. I’ll help him.”
