Page 84 of Prince of Ruin

She hisses at me. “Because they take what’s not theirs!” The black pits of her eyes begin glowing orange like the embers of the fire, and my blood turns cold. “They come into this realm and live here freely, eating our food, drinking our heady wine, dancing with royalty, and not offering a bit of labor. At least, they didn’t until they were all enslaved.”

“Humans used to live freely here?”

“This place was an escape for them to indulge in debauchery and crime without the consequences their realm enforced. But every action has a consequence, and every sin must be atoned for. That’s why I demand sacrifices. They want to live here?” She nods slowly. “Fine. But they must pay in blood.”

Magic begins whirling around me, the strong scent of spices engulfing me. “You’ll return to your human life in the mortal realms, since that’s what you want so badly.”

“Wait! I’ll become fae again! I’ll let you change me—” I struggle to cling to consciousness, but my tongue is sluggish and darkness invades my vision before I getanother word out.

ADEN

The entire day has slowly burned away, all of us waiting in the living quarters of Wolfsbane’s Terra Palace for the volcano to stop spewing smoke into the ashen sky. Hemlock paces the length of the window looking toward the volcano, his hands buried in his shoulder-length black hair. Wolfsbane is reclining between Ash’s thighs, chewing their lip in worry. Ash’s arms are loosely clasped over their chest while she watches Hemlock pace. Kunak and Aaliyah are talking quietly across the room, muscles tense as though ready for an attack at any moment, while Shiloh drowns herself in alcohol by the fire.

It’s been a long ass day, to say the least. Wolfsbane said the journey to the heart of the volcano could take half the day. So we waited. All morning. All afternoon. Now it’s nearly midnight, and nothing has happened. Nothing has changed. Ash revisited Abaddon hours ago, hoping for some word of change,but even Abaddon seems clueless as to what’s happening in the cave.

“I bet he’s in the Skull Palace in his fae form right now, sitting in his Throne of Bones with the Crown of Teeth upon his brow, indulging in some hog feast,” Tarsus says bitterly beside me. They hunch forward on the lush couch, hands clasped between their knees. For the first time, I fear the same thing. If Mother Terra returned Clav’s memories, he might turn into the villain he once was. He’d view his human self as a pathetic fool. He might even throw me into the volcano without a second thought.

Nausea swirls in the pit of my stomach at the thought. Not only of him killing me, but of him looking at me without an ounce of love in his eyes. That might hurt the worst.

From the moment I met him in the bookstore, attraction sparked between us. We immediately vibed, the electricity between us charged. I’d never slept with anyone I met that same day, but the attraction was too strong to refuse when he came into my inn room that night. He sucked my cock on his knees, ate out my center, then fucked me hard, giving me one of the best orgasms I’ve ever had.

But he also made me laugh multiple times since then—even when my partner kept him as a prisoner. He treated me like an equal, not some mortal in need of protection. I need him to come back. I need him tolove me and see me as he did before. Not as he will in his fae form—as a weak human whose life’s only purpose is to be volcano fodder.

I glance out the wall-length window for the thousandth time, hoping for a glimpse of starry skies, which would mean the volcano has ceased her fuming. I wring my clammy hands, my stomach rolling again until I know I’m going to puke.

Racing out of the room, I ignore Tarsus’ calls as I do exactly that, reaching the bathroom just in time to throw up what little I’d eaten today into the porcelain toilet.

Just as I finish heaving, a light tremor shakes the ground. Wolfsbane said they’re common here, with the volcano so close by, and sure enough, they happened every fifteen minutes or so all day. But this one doesn’t stop. It grows stronger, until the walls feel like they’re going to collapse on us.

“Fuck.” Leaping to my feet, I race out of the bathroom to find the others on their feet, staring out the window. A fresh plume of smoke billows out of the Heart of Faerie, fire and embers bursting forth with it, glowing bright against the night sky. Orange rivers of lava carve new veins into the crater.

“We still have two weeks, don’t we?” I breathe. “Before, um…”

“Yes,” is Wolfsbane’s curt reply. They look at me, their inky black eyes seeming to absorb thefirelight. “If Mother Terra doesn’t accept Clavicle’s request, she’ll still wait until the full moon before she demands a sacrifice.” They look toward the volcano, a muscle working in their jaw. “This is just a threat of what’s to come. A reminder.”

Ash steps through the seam, a feral look on her face. “He’s not at the Skull Palace. He’s not in the caves. But as a last resort, I traveled to the human realms.” Ash’s throat bobs in a hard swallow, her russet eyes nearly growing an angry shade of red with her sneer. “Clavicle is back in his cozy mortal home, sleeping peacefully in his bed as we face utter destruction.”

Silence fills the room. Until—“Fucking excuse me?” Tarsus snaps.

“He…abandoned us to our fate?” Hemlock asks, his dark brows pulling into a V. “He must have made a deal with Mother Terra, that if she returns him to the mortal realms, he’ll not interfere.” He releases a short laugh. “How fucking typical of him. Selfish bastard.”

“Before I took him to the caves,” Wolfsbane says, “he said that, if he does this, we’d promise to return him to the mortal realms. We were so caught up on his agreeing to our terms, I don’t think any of us really understood how much he actually wanted to go back. Maybe some of us figured it was all a part of his ruse.” Wolf looks at Tarsus pointedly, and Tarsusavoids their gaze, instead looking out the window, nostrils flaring. “If Mother Terra refused his request to end the sacrifices, she probably granted his request for her to send him back to the human realms.” Their throat bobs in a swallow. “Knowing he couldn’t help us, he left us here to die.”

Everyone is quiet for a few minutes, all of us processing what this means. Because if Clavicle couldn’t stop Mother Terra from either demanding my sacrifice or destroying the world…

“Let’s bring him back,” Tarsus says, looking at Ash. “Open the seam, I’ll drag his ass back here until he does as we ask.”

“No.” All eyes turn to me. “He had his chance to help us. But…I think this was all too much for him.” I look around at each person before me, willing them to understand. “The fae world can be a lot for mortals who didn’t grow up here. Hell, it’s a lot for mortals whodidgrow up here.” I swallow hard. “We have to let him go. Let him live out his normal human life in the mortal realms.”

Silence fills the room as everyone considers.

“I agree,” Hemlock finally says, his voice rough. “As much as I hate to admit it, I think Clavicle’s mind truly was wiped. I think he’s fully mortal.” His dark eyes scan the room. “Gods know he endured enough pain in his fae life. It’s only fair that, aftereverything he went through in his fae life, he deserves to live a peaceful human life.”

“I’m sorry, Aden.” Wolf says. “I’m sorry your plan to bring Clavicle back didn’t work like we had hoped.”

Their words hit me like a punch in the stomach, and I feel like I might puke again. “It was worth a shot.” I have to swallow down another heaving as I add, “We know what we have to do.”

“Fuck. No,” Tarsus snaps, glaring at me with cool silver eyes. “You’re not going to throw your life away for some petty goddess.”

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