Page 84 of Eternal Ruin
“What would make you kill?” she asked, glad to aim the spotlight on him.
Taj was quiet for some time. “Not sure. I’ve never taken a life.”
“Never?”
“Never.”
“But you’re a vampire.”
“A failed one according to Arin.” Taj smiled but it wasn’t like the one before. It strained a little. “I don’t kill.”
Wind caught June’s cheeks and ruffled her skirt, the hem kissing her ankles. Her mouth opened and closed. She couldn’t find words.
He could be lying but there was a gentleness to him. It was in the way he’d smiled when he greeted her so he wouldn’t scare her, didn’t try to intimidate her into sharing information. He must be strong too. To live as long as he had without taking a life.
After a moment, June said, “I’m glad. You walk the earth as the Last Sage wanted, then. Taking blood but never killing.”
Taj’s shoulder was a few inches higher than hers, nearly brushing her short sleeve. He lowered his head, chestnut eyes expanding.
“What do you know about the Last Sage?”
Nerves shot up June’s spine from his sudden proximity but she reined in her heartbeat. “What everyone knows.”
“Hmm.”
This close, Taj’s eyes became liquid, almost transparent, capturing the setting sun. She’d thought him beautiful before but something else was pulling June to him. He seemed like the sort of person who was attuned to suffering and didn’t want to cause any more of it.
June broke their intense gaze quickly. In the distance, the spires of the Arat Towers pierced the purple and red sky. A cluster of caleri flowers was blooming at the corner garden. The oil from the dark leaves was useful for vampires with sun sensitivity like Arin. June would have to make her a new batch soon.
June dared ask one more question.
“But what if killing one person would end the suffering of many others? Would that push you to kill?”
“Moral philosophy is hell, isn’t it?”
June nodded.
Taj sighed deeply. “It depends.”
“On what?”
“If I love this person or not.”
June touched her butterfly bracelet. Tears threatened to blur her vision. “You do. You really do.”
Taj Zuri didn’t answer her. A deep furrow sat between his brows and he remained quiet, thinking. It wasn’t a question that had a simple answer. If it did, June would never have run away. She would never have left her sister behind.
And the nightmares andhisvoice inside her would have stopped terrorizing her.One person or the rest of the world—that was the question June had to answer. A deep exhale left Taj, his whole body sinking into the earth, his fingers stretching in the dirt. “I’ll do my best to save everyone. Die trying everything under the sun.”
A small smile touched June’s lips.Die trying. It seemed like the only way to go. After another moment, she shut the book.
ALL HOUSES NEED ORDER. WELCOME TO THE ARCANE TOWER.
EAGLE ORDER
AMONG THE DARK SKIES
Ajtaf House | Makary House | Delarus House
