Page 64 of Brutal Birthright

“Honestly, Ru-Ru. I’m sorry I didn’t hear you, or that I scared you. It wasn’t intentional.” She stepped forward and grabbed her sister to pull her back into a hug. Being the subject of her sister’s scrutiny was not high on her list of desires in this moment.

“What happens now, princess?” Niall leant one shoulder up against the wall beside the window. Surveying the grounds. His eyes darted over the groups of students coming and going below. “We’re going to have to tell everyone before rumours start flying and panic sets in, no?”

Ruby blew out a long exhale. Tension strained at the corners of her mouth, and while it was a rare sight to see her fierce fighter of a sister cry, her bottom lip quivered.

“Hey, Ru-Ru… it’ll be ok.” She brushed her sister’s long turquoise curls back from her face. While they’d hardly seen one another in recent weeks since the opening of the academy and in the months since she’d ascended to the throne, right now, it was just the two of them being there for one another.

Just as they’d always done.

“I’ve been taking care of the arrangements with Saskia’s family. We’ll hold a memorial and blessing here at the academy for students who wish to attend.” Ruby brushed away the moisture from her cheeks with the heel of her palm. “Then we’re going to triple down on finding out anything we can about these symbols and whatever dark magic is behind them. Fucked if I’m going to let the House of Elharean, or whoever is attempting to take their place, from daring to attack Astracadia.”

She paused for a long moment, shooting another look at Niall.

“Like I said, I don’t know where he is.” He shrugged.

“Who?” The words were out of Ri’s mouth before she could punch herself in the face for being so desperate.

Ruby made a grating noise in the back of her throat. “Fucking Rowan is who. We haven’t been able to track him down since he informed us of the attack last night.”

Something prickled the back of Ri’s neck.

He knew?

And all of a sudden, an onslaught of memories started to flood back in. Glimpses and flashes. Her rushing out of the library. The flight of stairs. Saskia’s face smiling up at her when she peered over the railing to look down. Quickly followed by the thunderous noise that consumed her senses. Blanketing her in a pulsing fog that threatened to burst her eardrums.

Then blackness claimed her.

But not before she thought she felt—no, she knew with complete certainty it was—his rough palm reaching out to grab hold of her arm in a bruising hold.

Ri slapped her hand over the spot. Instinctively going to cover the evidence of any marks.

Oh, shit. Oh, shit. That was the least of her concerns.

He’d fucking bitten her.

Spinning around, she made for the tall wooden doors of her wardrobe, leaving Ruby talking in hushed tones with Niall over by the window. Jerking open the door on one side where a mirror hung, relief immediately flooded through her as she scanned her reflection. Thank fuck.

The black jersey she wore over the top of her dress was high-necked, covering where there were definitely going to be teeth marks left indented in her skin. Buttery soft and big enough to drown her.

Hiding behind the door, out of sight of her sister and Niall, she hooked a finger in the collar to tug it down slightly.

Her cheeks flamed as she took in her reflection.

A bluish-purple bruise sat right at the base of her throat. In the fleshy part just above her collarbone.

In addition to looking like she’d been attacked by a creature in the woods, wild curls framed her face, and the attempt she’d made to throw her hair in a high knot on top of her head was half falling out. She was still in her dress from yesterday, only she now wore a finely woven cashmere jersey over the top that most certainly wasn’t hers, and she had no recollection of putting it on.

Lifting the neck to cover her nose, she took a deep inhale.

Sandalwood.

Ri wasn’t sure which way was up.

Did Rowan save her from whatever attacked Saskia? Her friend was dead. She had no memory of what happened. Now she found herself dressed in presumably his jersey, yet had woken up in her own bed with her door still sealed shut… and… and…

She tried to level out her shallow breathing. Rather than pass out on the floor and worry her sister further, she needed to go find her friends.

Brynne. Fuck. Now, her puffy red eyes in the hallway made sense.

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