Page 64 of The Blood Crown

News of their Commander’s return must have spread rapidly through Ravenstone, and Wraiths lined the walls, pounding fists against their chests, reverence flashing in every pair of red eyes.

Ven followed her down the stairs, snagging in the crowd.

Aurelia dredged the last of her energy to slip through the Wraiths as the warriors closed around Ven, cutting off his path.

Wisps of shadow, soft as satin against her skin trailed after her.

Every arched window, every relief carved into the black stone of the mountain was somehow more beautiful than Aurelia remembered.

Something cracked inside her chest as she looked around at the black tourmaline walls of Ravenstone, loosening and chipping away the exterior that had been hardening around her since she’d left this place.

How was it possible that a place she’d spent such a short amount of time had become branded onto her soul, leaving an imprint on her very being?

She passed the towering library doors, thrown open, the floating candles casting amber light onto the black floors. A few more paces and she’d reach the Ledge.

Chilled air rushed through the corridor as if in greeting, along with the rumble of male voices echoing up from the level below, laughter ringing out from whoever was training.

That laugh—

Before her mind could wrap around the familiar sound, she was sprinting, all exhaustion forgotten as her immortal legs hurtled her through the fortress.

She skidded to a halt in front of the balcony overlooking the Ledge . . . her footsteps hesitant now—as if she might chase away the illusion if she moved too quickly.

Peering down at the shelf of rock below, she couldn't quite believe what she saw.

Seth stood, arms crossed over his chest and a grin spread across his face as he spoke with another male.

Not a male.

A man.

With a single step, she leapt from the railing, landing in a crouch on the level below. Before the mirage had the chance to evaporate, she ran at him—wrapping her arms around him so tightly that even if he'd been some figment of her imagination, he wouldn’t have been able to slip from her grasp.

“Ari—” Asher gasped, struggling for air.

She loosened her hold, forgetting her own strength for a moment. “You’re alive,” she croaked, voice breaking.

Saying the words aloud seemed to untether the small restraint she’d had on her emotions up until this point. Warm tears flooded down her face as she held onto her brother—her brother.

Alive. Alive. Alive,her thoughts whispered, trying to convince herself that it was real. Thathewas real.

Pulling back, she gripped his arms, taking a better look at him—trying to force her heartbeat to slow to a reasonable pace before she started crying all over again.

Laughing green eyes looked back at her, sparkling with mischief. The same lopsided grin.

Asher had always been tall and lean like their father, but his features looked sharper than she remembered—like he’d lost weight and hadn’t put it back on yet . . .

Her gaze fell to the open collar of his shirt, to his exposed throat.

A jagged scar spanned the entire distance of his neck, faded to an angry red line—but the fact that he had survived the injury at all . . .

“Embra,” he answered succinctly, giving a small shrug.

It didn’t escape her notice that Seth’s eyes darkened behind Asher. He’d been the one to save her brother, too. He’d carried him back to the safety of Ravenstone—to Embra’s powerful healing magick—and it was nothing short of a miracle that Asher was before her, alive and well. Through the haze of tears, her eyes snagged on the quiet Wraith.

Seth inclined his head toward her with a soft smile. She wouldn’t have expected anything else, but she took two strides toward him, wrapping him in a hug.

He went rigid for a moment before his shoulders relaxed and he patted her back in return—one thing that he and his twin had in common.

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