Page 16 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“No,” she whispered, the word barely escaping her lips.

“I’ve seen you kill a god, Baylis.”

“Me?” She clutched her chest.

“Yes, you. Do you remember this?” Pulling Little Death from its sheath, I presented it to Baylis. Its iridescent blade sparkled in the pale winter light.

Cautiously, Baylis reached for the dagger, turning it in her hand.

“I… I recognize its feel.” She closed her eyes, focusing on the weapon.

I waited with bated breath.

Her eyes sprung open, and her gray irises turned white.

“Blood, so much blood. Running down my hand.” She traced the path of the blood down her delicate wrist. “A face… older than time. I… I…” She dropped the knife to the ground, burying her face in her hands. “I’m a monster.”

“Shh… you’re not a monster. Gideon is the monster.” I couldn’t tell her she’d killed Tharan’s father and, in doing so, made Tharan the Alder King. Truths would have to come slowly. The mind could only take so much.

Sobs shook her body violently. She turned, gripping me tightly. Fingers digging into my arms. “I don’t know who I am anymore, Aelia.”

“I will help you find out. We have time now.” I inhaled the scent of elderberry on her hair as she cried on my shoulder. “It’s okay.”

I would have to ask her to infiltrate her mind, there was no other choice. As Hand to the king I had a duty to protect the realm. But I was also her sister, and she was still so fragile. Pulling the memories could traumatize her more than she already was. Now was not the right time. But would there ever be a good time to go in? My heart twisted in my chest.

“I want to go back to the River House.” Her words choked in her throat.

“Me too,” I whispered. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

She wiped her tears on her sleeve. “I don’t know how much more I can take.”

I stared at my toes, unable to look at her.

“That bad, huh?”

I nodded, trying to figure out where to start.

“It’s about Caiden and me.”

She arched her brow.

“The fact that you two act like strangers? I noticed.”

“Yes… There’s an explanation for that.” I rubbed my palm with my thumb, trying to calm my churning stomach. “We struck a bargain. To him, I am a stranger.”

“Aelia, no,” she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, eyes widening.

“Once you were safe, I would erase the memories of our relationship from his mind.” Thorns grew in my throat. “You are safe, and I am a stranger to him now.”

“But you two were so—in love.” Her gaze softened and her shoulders relaxed.

I clenched my jaw, holding back the ache splitting my heart in two.

“Our love died in Ryft’s Edge, and that’s all I’m going to say about it for now. We both hurt each other in ways we could never repair. It was for the best. At least one of us can move on.”

“I’d say you’re moving on just fine,” she said through sniffles.

“Yes. Everything worked out the way it was supposed to.” I tried to bury the pain, but the ache of losing Caiden still resonated deep within me.

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