Page 96 of Ruby & Onyx

On cue, we resume our sprint, or as much of a sprint as we can manage after conquering those stairs, in search of the stables. I’m hobbling along, breathing like a wild cat after a fight. But Guylita, despite her frailty, neither falters nor complains. Determination and grit etch on her face as she runs. Moose sticks by my side.

This part of the garden provides little to no protection. If even one person – guard, servant, invisible, or even Olly himself – were to see us, we would never make it off of the grounds alive. Our heads would be nailed to a pike on the castle gates.

When the stables come into view, I nearly start crying as the relief, exhaustion, and fear wash over me.

I can’t believe this is happening. It feels more like a dream than reality. Albeit, a good dream. A great dream, actually. It’s thrilling and terrifying. And, for the first time in my life, I feel in control. It’s like the world is finally opening up to me, extending a hand in invitation. Following Bas might be a huge mistake, but it’s a mistake that I get to make.

“Stay here for a minute,” Gemma tells us.

“We’ll wait just behind the tree line.” Bas nods and then urges us to follow him behind the stables and into the forest that surrounds the property.

We crouch in a circle behind a row of gooseberry bushes. And for the first time in daylight, I get a good look at Bas and Amin. They look like they could be distantly related. Not identical, but there are enough similarities to notice – dark hair, light eyes, bushy beards, and tanned skin. Amin appears older than Bas, though. The lines around his eyes are deeper, and the texture on his skin more mature.

One thing is certain. They are both stunningly beautiful. Bas flashes me a smile like he knows what I’m thinking, so I seal off my expression into unreadable steel.

But… I saw him there.

That day in Carcera.

He stayed back, remaining mostly hidden in the shadows, while Amin spoke. How could the King of Umbra get so close to the barrier? To even attempt what he did is insane. What if he had been captured alongside Amin? Sir Magis would have found some creative way to torture him with magical experiments before stealing his immortality, or at least he would have tried. Was he so confident that I was his Perdita that he was willing to risk everything?

Now that we’re here, does he think it was all worth it?

“Brother,” Amin nudges Bas in the side to get his attention. “Do you think we escaped a little too easily?”

“We haven’t escaped yet,” Bas says firmly. His eyes are dark and swirling with focus.

“Are you brothers?” I interrupt, finding a sudden need to ask.

“Not by blood,” Amin grunts. I suppose that makes sense. How could an immortal who has been alive for… a very long time… have a living brother? Sadness tugs at my heart for a moment as I consider that all of Bas’ family must have passed. I can’t imagine how lonely that must be.

“We fought together in the last war. When Vani stole you from me,” he chokes, swallowing hard to steady his breath. “Amin helped me through it. We’re as good as brothers now.”

I nod back and try to avoid the blazing stares falling on me.

It’s such an odd feeling to know that to him, he lost me. And yet, I didn’t lose him. Or, at least, this version of me didn’t lose him. I lived twenty-two years without knowing he existed, while he spent those years searching for me, hoping and praying that he might one day find me.

And now, here we are.

Together.

Yet, we couldn’t be further apart.

He’s merely a stranger that I’ve met twice now. A face whose image appeared in my dreams, coaxing out long-forgotten memories. But I don’t know him, not really.

What does that mean?

“What you did back there, Radya,” he eases my name off of his tongue this time, slow and exploratory. “It was amazing.”

“I had no idea that I was capable of that. How was it even possible?”

It is Guylita who answers. “I have a theory.”

All of our eyes dart to the old woman.

“And what might that be?” Amin folds his arms in front of his chest, tilting his head to the side.

“The magic that stole you from your immortal body is the same as the magic that binds the dungeons. That magic is a wild beast, a living thing, that’s imprinted on those very walls. And it is a derivative of praecian power. I believe that some part of that magic still lingers in your soul, as well. So, when you called upon it, you summoned not only your own power, but also the power dwelling in those dungeons. Like turning a wave into a tsunami.”

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