Page 112 of A World of Ruins

‘What was what like?’

She turns her head to the side. ‘Your time in Olcar.’

I take a moment to think it over. ‘Different,’ I end up whispering. ‘A lot happened while I was there. The good, the bad . . .’ The words trail from my lips as I search through the memories of the Screaming Forests, the first night with Darius, and Aurum’s tricks. ‘Dusan mentioned you, though.’

Sarilyn faces me and her eyes search mine for something she cannot find. She looks at her palms. ‘Yes, he seemed to have never forgotten our time together; well, that was before Aurum murdered him.’

The noise of Dusan choking on his blood has never left me. Although, I don’t think much of that day has ever left my mind at all.

‘I can imagine the royals of Terranos despising me just as much,’ Sarilyn scoffs, falling into miserable laughter.

‘For creating the forest?’ I go on, ‘Killing half of the Fallcrown bloodline? Or is it because you tricked Dusan into falling for you in order to get to the Isle?’

Her lips snap into a thin line. ‘I never tricked him,’ she grinds out, then composes herself by using her fingers to comb through her matted hair. ‘He had just decided that what I wanted was notgood enough for him. He wanted peace and a marriage. I wanted an end.’

‘Despite it costing you everything?’

‘As you already know, I would do it all over again if need be.’

I sigh, surrendering to the quiet that envelops us. I can’t change the past; even if I were given the power to alter it, her path towards vengeance would remain the same. I don’t believe anything would have stopped her, not even the possibility of falling for Dusan.

Ruvyn emerges into the dim corridor, the flicker of his torch casting shadows across the prison walls. ‘I think it is time we left, Lady Nara.’ His gaze drifts to Sarilyn’s, the lines around his eyes visible as he frowns. He seems to think it is a lost cause, coming down here most days without my brothers’ or Darius’s knowledge.

With a reluctant nod, I concede, allowing him to lead the way. Yet I barely manage a few steps before Sarilyn’s words anchor me to the spot.

‘You should know that a Rivernorth is not invincible.’

I slowly turn on my heel and stare at the vacant look in her eyes as she toys with the ripped lace of her bodice.

‘Not like everyone believes them to be.’ Her gaze slices through the air to meet mine with an almost tangible intensity. ‘See, as a child, I grew up seeing them as these powerful beings who nothing could destroy. They were unscathed by steel weapons, magic . . .anything. But do you want to know what was in the Northern Blade that killed them all?’ She edges closer to the bars, beckoning me with her hand as if she were letting me in on a secret.

I remain motionless, intrigue mixed with wariness not letting me walk away. She leans forward while clutching the iron bars and lets out a knowing chuckle with a playful arch of hereyebrows. ‘Nothing,’ she whispers, her tongue sliding across her teeth as she watches my reaction.

I reel back, the ground beneath me feeling as unstable as Sarilyn’s revelation.

That can’t be possible.

Sarilyn nods, taking in my unvoiced questions. ‘The Isle created it, yes, but it never gifted it with anything potent enough because it didn’t need anything special. It didn’t require any poison, magic or spells to doom them. All it needed was my sacrifice, a token of despair, for the Rivernorths to abandon all hope they clung to.’ Her eyes widen as she reminisces about what she did all those years ago. ‘When I returned to Emberwell, I made sure to dismantle their world bit by bit – to break their foundations and everything they had built in their honour, and once they also saw what Aurum had become, they themselves broke.’

Their legacy was destroyed . . . ‘So,’ I whisper in realisation, ‘they became—’

‘Almost human,’ Sarilyn finishes. ‘And all they had ever known was power. You can imagine why they crumbled so easily. And eventually, Darius’s mother met that same fate because she had given up long before that.’

My chest heaves at the thought. I lift my gaze to Sarilyn’s, not having noticed how intensely I was staring at the ground. ‘You gave up your powers for years, just to end up here?’

‘With it,’ she says, ‘people would have feared me for the magic powers I had, not for who I was without them.’

I try to accept that answer, but the tragedy of it all sets my spine rigid. ‘And Aurum?’

Her expression grows cold and distant. ‘Aurum’ – she utters his name with a venomous disdain – ‘possesses no semblance of a soul. He cannot even fathom the concept of hope.’ She pauses,savouring the moment as the weight of her words hangs in the air. ‘He was born a monster; that is all he will ever be.’

By the time I walk through one of the lounging quarters, Freya and Darius seem to be debating. Freya stands up with her hands in the air, gesturing something grand, while Darius repeatedly says no from his chair. Lorcan is by the fireplace, smiling as he watches them alongside Idris.

When Darius’s eyes flit towards the threshold, his eyes light up. ‘Goldie.’ He rises to his feet and meets me halfway. ‘Please tell your friend I will not ride on a horse to our wedding.’

From behind him, Freya huffs as I say teasingly, ‘I thought you enjoyed all eyes on you?’

‘I’m a changed man.’

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