Page 7 of Ruin
“Wait, won’t you…”
I didn’t catch his question as I rushed to put distance between me and my family. Seeing my sisters embarrassed had only given me seconds of satisfaction. The spell would wear off soon, and they’d be back to being adored. I reached the secret passageway and sighed with relief. Ducking under spikes that pointed down in warning, I climbed into it, then emerged on the other side.
Cold, narrow passageways and ancient stone steps greeted me as I made my way up toward my room, far away from the rest of my family’s chambers. The sun was gone and the shutters closed, and I was back to being alone.
“You should have killed when you had the chance. You promised a life and have not delivered.”The voice resonated in my head.
My heart fluttered. I pushed open my bedroom door and screamed.
Seven dead crows laid in a circle on the floor. Blood markings surrounded them. The smell was overpowering.
“Now you will pay.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Strangled screams sounded from behind jail doors. The stretching table sat stark under the candlelight and had been whittled to be used on faeries’ wings. The room dropped several degrees. I shouldn’t have ventured into the dungeons, but I had to find a human heart and fast, and who was better than a thief or murderer?
I’d cleared the birds from the floor last night and took their bodies to the woods when night had fallen. I was sick to my stomach. The necromancer haunted my nightmares. I did not get a single moment of peace, awake or asleep. When I awoke, I knew I needed to end the torment.
I pushed on ahead, looking for my victim. The only innocents in the dungeon were the fae. The rest were sorcerers, awaiting trial for their crimes. Shimmering caught my eye, pulling me to my right. A bucket of rubies glistened under the shuttered light pouring through the barred windows. They were untouched, yet to be filled with the magic siphoned from tortured creatures. Storing magic in relics and precious gems was smart, as it was the only thing, aside from gold and silver, that couldn’t be replicated using magic. If only it weren’t so barbaric. Rumors could be dismissed, but when it was in front of my eyes, the destruction was harder to ignore. I pondered how many rubies one fae could fill before it desiccated, pushed to the brink of death but never offered the sweet release.
“These souls are too broken,”the voice warned as I approached locked doors. “I need vibrance, vitality, youth…”
I ran my hands down my face, pulling the skin under my eyes. There was no way I could find that girl from the other night without being seen or kill her without arousing Zalia’s growing suspicion.
“I don’t want this.” I choked. “I’m not a murderer.”
“You could have everything. Be a queen.”
The words fell like poison from his cold, blue lips. He gripped my soul, unveiling my wants and desires. I didn’t know where his physical self was, but his location was of little importance. His reach was far, his hold suffocating.
Lifting my skirts from the ground, I ran out of the dungeons, leaving the tortured pleas and howling to the darkness under the castle. I emerged to a bustling corridor, ensuring I took the back passages people seldom roamed. I knew my way through the web of hallways better than any other.
“You again.”
I jumped, my shoulders tensing on seeing Caspian again. His eyes flitted from mine to my dress. I knew what he must have been thinking; my dress was far too beautiful for such an ugly maiden.
I shivered, then tilted my head to look around him. “I was actually about to—”
“Please. You left so quickly before.”
His eyes were like sapphires, brighter than any I had seen. He was so captivating, his essence beautiful and alluring, a rose among thorns.
“I stay out of the way of people.”
His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not important.”
“Then perhaps you can direct me to the dungeons.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “Why do you want to visit there? It is the place for criminals.”
He rubbed his forehead. “I can’t say.”
“You don’t want to go down there.”
He lifted an eyebrow, then whispered. “Why?”
