Page 78 of Prince of Ruin

Aden sets the fiddle down. “Possibly. I have become quite a bit better in the last few weeks.” He smirks, his clover eyes lighting with humor. “Maybe I should go back to busking on the streets. I bet I could make a fortune.”

That narrow black doorway made of storms and wind appears, slowly expanding into an oval, the smell of earth and rain drifting out to meet us.

Tarsus jerks their chin to the oval. “Get in.”

My heart palpitates in my chest. “What?”

Aden’s cool fingers caress my elbow. “It’s okay,” he whispers in my ear. “It’s like those wormholes we see in sci-fi movies. You step through and materialize on the other side.” He slides his fingers down my forearm, threading his fingers through mine, and leads me into the portal of wind and darkness. I try to resist, every nerve in my body telling me this iswrong, but he gently tugs on my hand, giving it areassuring squeeze. “It’s okay. I’ve done this a million times.”

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I follow him, stepping into the forbidding darkness. Cool wind whips around me, roaring in my ears as complete darkness engulfs me. Panic grips my throat, my body freezing in place, but Aden tugs my hand, and I cling to it like a lifeline.

I stumble out to a courtyard that looks like an abandoned medieval garden. Stone walls surround the courtyard, covered with dead vines that must have been green with life before Mother Terra cursed these lands. Behind me, a stone palace reaches toward the gray sky, dead vines crawl up the gray stones that make up the medieval walls. The stench of sulfur hangs heavy in the air here. In the distance, not too far off, the massive volcano is coughing black smoke into the sky. I’m seeing the mountain at a different angle than the one I beheld when I came here, as if we’re coming up from a different direction. No rolling hills stand before the volcano, just jagged, teeth-like mountains. And we are so much closer than before, nearly on the base of the slopes. A perfect place for that pyroclastic flow to whoosh down and wipe the entire city out.

“The Spine Empire is on the other side of the volcano,” Aden says quietly, stepping up beside me as I marvel at the massive mountain.

“What about the bat cave?”

“Abaddon’s Lair is on the northern side of the mountain. Facing toward the Lunar Empire, but still within the Spine borders.”

The volcano stands tall and proud, a queen looking over her empire…and threatening to destroy it. Her slopes are charred black, and standing this close, I can see orange lava cresting the peaks, a quiet threat for what’s to come if I don’t go in there and soothe the temper of Mother Terra.

As we climb the stone stairwell to the palace doors, I’m able to glance over the stone walls and see the city. Ivy City. Sovereign Wolfsbane’s home and the capitol of the Terra Empire. Stone cottages with straw roofs stretch across the broad valley in the distance, their gardens that were probably crawling with vegetation and blooming with flowers before, now nothing but brown, twisted branches. It’s nothing like the metropolis of Jawbone City. It’s quaint and…

“This city looks like it was peaceful, once,” I say.

Aden nods and scans the city, a forlorn look crossing his features. “Ivy City was…very much like a little hobbit village. While the capital of the Solar Empire is highly advanced and bustling with constant activity, Ivy City is known for its primitive, quiet way of life.” His eyes meet mine, and there’s a sadness there that rips my heart in two. “Hopefully you can restore it back to its original glory.”

I smother a laugh, because I have no idea what I’m supposed to even do to make that happen. But I nod and continue up the stairs into the palace. We step into a long hall that’s etched with twisted vines and flowers. Bioluminescent light glows from the engravings, giving the hall a warm ambience.

The guards here wear armor that looks like tree-bark, with swirls etched on the front. The swirls are similar to the ones Mom—I mean Mandi—was stitching upon her tapestry back home. I remember her telling me that the spiral represents one’s journey within. At home, my inner journey was finding my path, discovering my future, who I’d be as a human. But in this world…I feel like the only way to discover my inner self would be to learn more about my past.

We finally arrive at the private dining hall. A long oak table is already set with white plates painted with intricate designs of vines and ivy. A massive fireplace roars across the room, offering warmth from the autumn cold outside. The floors and walls are made of gray stone, making the room look like something out of King Arthur’s court. Like the walls outside, vines crawling through the cracks in the walls, but unlike the ones outside that have been dusted with ash, these vines are thriving as if through some kind ofmagic, their fat green leaves blooming against the stone wall.

Wolfsbane and the rest of the Cadre are just now stepping into the dining hall, and I try to remember their names as they walk in. Shiloh, the mermaid with iridescent scales and short white hair, is dressed in a sapphire garment today, though the fabric is still pure gauze and see through. Two swaths of fabric cover her breasts down to her gold chain belt at her hips, where they merge into one swath that falls down to her feet. Her blue-green skin shimmers, even beneath the sheer garment.

Kunak the Minotaur and Aaliyah the werebear are both dressed in armor, as if they just returned from training with their armies. Though this side won the battle against the Solar Empire, I still hear whispers aboutsides,as if there’s still tension between us and the Solar Fae, with potential for war on the horizon if Sovereign Baneberry doesn’t behave.

Hemlock, the Solar Prince, is dressed in her full drag queen attire today. Gold hoops hang from her ears, matching the gold bracelets on her wrists and the gold choker engraved with designs of the sun. She wears a glittering gold gown, with a V that dips low on her muscled chest. The gown hugs her narrow waist and broad hips before flowing to the ground in graceful swaths. Her hair—her hair that was black before, is now a light lavender, matching the thick shadow on hereyelids and the purple lines of her brows. Even her full, trimmed beard has been colored a glittery purple.

“This better be important,” the drag queen says, studying her long, gold nails. “I was just about to perform a show for my handsome partner.”

That partner, Wolfsbane, steps in a moment later, their long brown hair braided down one shoulder and apparently very disgruntled for being interrupted from their drag queen’s show. Their black, star-flecked eyes study me closely, as if trying to decide whether or not to chain me up now that we’re inside their Terra Palace. They must deem me harmless, because they take their place at the head of the table, Hemlock already seated at their right-hand side, Ash, who’s wearing black leather pants and a matching top, is seated on their left, russet eyes gleaming.

Wolfsbane gestures toward the chair across the table from them—at the head—and looks at me. “Please, Clav, take a seat at the head, and let us speak to one another as sovereigns.”

I’m not a prisoner, then. Which means they deem me somewhat trustworthy. My shoulders sag in relief, and I take my seat, noting the scowl on Tarsus’ features as they sit on my left, Aden taking the seat at my right. I throw Tarsus a cocky grin as I take my seat at theheadof the table as thehonoredguest, and that permanent furrow between their brows deepens.

“What’s this emergency meeting for?” Wolf asks, as platters of sliced spiced meats, lentils, rice, and bread rolls are brought out. Everyone digs in to help themselves, but my stomach is too tight to eat. When only silence fills the room, I realize, being Spine Sovereign, I’m expected to lead my half of the meeting. Shit.Shit.Panic immediately engulfs me. Tarsus smirks beside me as they stuff a bite of meat into their mouth, clearly taking pleasure in my sudden discomfort.

“Well, um, I’m sure you felt the tremors not too long ago.”

Wolfsbane nods as they stuff a bite of lentils into their mouth. “It was stronger than the others,” they say around that bite. “But we have two more weeks before the full moon, when Mother Terra demanded the sacrifice.”

The sacrifice.I glance at Aden, my chest growing heavy at the thought of him being seen as nothing more than a sacrifice to this cruel goddess. And suddenly, hatred for Mother Terra infiltrates my veins. How could she acknowledge Aden and see him as nothing more than blood to be spilled? How could she demand this of Tarsus, of Wolf, of any of us? That anger pours through my veins until I taste fire.

“Let’s get straight to the point, then,” I say. My words come out harsher than I anticipated, and I straighten my shoulders, lift my chin, because I’ll notsit back another moment when Aden’s life is on the line. What if the bats steal him while I’m still trying todecidewhether or not to speak to Mother Terra? What if I chicken out? “How do I contact this…Mother Terra?”

“Getting right to it, hm? I knew I liked you,” Wolfsbane says, leaning back in their chair, a small smile tugging at their lips. “You’re going to walk into the volcano’s depths and meet with Mother Terra there. I’ll go with you halfway, but she hates me for rejecting her last demands, so you’ll have to go the rest of the way on your own, unless Abaddon feels gracious enough to escort you.” Wolf picks up their wine and takes a drink. “You’ll talk to her like an old friend andkindly requestshe end her demand for human blood.”

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