Page 121 of A World of Ruins

The air is humid as I walk through the fields back to the castle alongside Ruvyn. For the entire journey back from the dungeons, Ruvyn did not speak a word, nor did he give me a single clue as to what might be going through his mind.

Until now.

As I look at him, he clears his throat, opens his mouth, and closes it again.

I stop and lift a finger at him. ‘Don’t say a word.’

His lips twitch. ‘I wasn’t planning to,’ he lies, bowing his head. ‘Lady Nara.’

I sigh, annoyed that today isn’t going how I thought it would.

‘Although,’ Ruvyn suddenly starts. I send him a glare, which he ignores. ‘I do wish to know what you plan to tell everyone once they realise—’

A strange shadow comes from above, as dozens of birds slice through the sky with urgent squawks that cut off Ruvyn’s words. Our gazes are drawn upwards, and we watch with intensity as the flock flees from the north.

‘Are they—’

A sense of foreboding tears in my chest. ‘They’re scared.’ I glance back down at Ruvyn and am about to speak again when a sharp pain twists inside my gut, and I double over, clutching my stomach.

When the time comes, you’ll know.

I shake my head with terror.

Ruvyn is saying my name, asking what is wrong, but I can’t—I can’t—

We’ll see each other very soon.

My throat tightens, each breath escaping me in ragged gasps as I try to straighten and slowly turn on my heels. My vision tunnels, merging all the birds, and I know then that the worst is about to come.

I stumble into Ruvyn, clutching his arms. ‘I need you to ring the bells and inform everyone.’

He looks lost, his dark eyes wide with alarm. ‘Inform everyone of what? Lady Nara, please. I implore you to calm down.’

‘I can’t!’ I draw in another sharp breath. ‘He’s coming—he’s—Aurum’s coming.’

Right then, as if speaking those words into existence, the air becomes thick with the pungent aroma of decay, and from where the volcanoes lie beyond the hills, an unmistakable shade of green shadows fog the sky.

Ruyvn’s hands go slack, and I start to back away, my gaze trained on the shadows.

When you’re at your happiest, surrounded by those dear to you, basking in a triumph that should have been mine, know that I’ll be lurking in the dark, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

As Aurum’s words echo inside me, I take off in a sprint, feeling the deep pain of each pounding step of my feet inside my heeled boots.

CHAPTERFIFTY-TWO

A mass of chaos unfolds before me when I return to the castle. I see Niamh, with a few other past Venators, running with their weapons drawn as they mount the shifters’ backs and take off from the windows.

Time seems to slow as Darius stands across from me in the centre of the throne chamber, his eyes spotting me instantly. We begin running towards each other, my shoulders knocking against Venators before I reach him. He catches me in his arms, pressing me tightly against him. There is only a moment spared for us to look at what each of us is wearing: him in a gorgeous black jacket with silver thread, and me in his mother’s old gown.

‘Aurum,’ I say, my voice hoarse from screaming at everyone out in the fields to run.

He rests his palm on my cheek and nods, his jaw firm. ‘I know.’ He looks past me as the bells in the castle’s tower ring. ‘Come on, we need to get as many people as possible out of here.’ Grabbing my hand, he leads me towards the exit. I start to search for my brothers, but the ground cracks beneath Darius and me.

We stumble to a pause, feeling the earth shake and crumble.

‘Darius,’ I say, before his name on my lips is drowned out by the deathly shriek of a dragon landing on the balcony – a dragon belonging to Aurum. I whirl my head, my heart hammering as the creature shakes the debris from its head and spots us. Soulless eyes dripping in black substance lock on us as it screams again and charges at us.

Its large wings catch against the pillars, but they’re no match for the dragon as it breaks through them within seconds.

---