Page 201 of Red Ruin

It’s not a bad idea, but we don’t have time for much trial and error. I glance at Remy. “Any suggestions from the archives?”

“Just a personal observation,” Remy says, offering a dark smile as his shadows squeeze Kevan’s throat. “If there’s no body, there’s no body to possess.”

“No shit,” Vhex mutters. “The bat speaks the truth.”

Dismembering my ex is a fun fantasy, but I’m not confident we can chop him into small enough pieces. “We’ve seen bones and ashes responding to the lich king’s call. We’d better not let him lose a single drop of—”Well, hell.I turn to Vhex and Remy with a twist in my mouth. “Did you already make him bleed?”

“Gave him some air holes.” Vhex’s shrug flashes his rib-holsters. He’s missing a knife. “But they were cauterized?” he adds thoughtfully.

“Right bicuspid,” Remy drawls.

“So I hit him,” Vhex replies. “I didn’t make him spit the blood. You’re the one who carv?—”

A shadow chokes him off.

“Unimportant,” Remy says and takes my hand. “Whether through blood or other means, Kyorgos is compromised beyond saving.”

Great.

I bet it’stotally a coincidencethat the lich king popped up from his nap right after their fight splashed Kevan’s blood-ichor all over the streets.

Unconcerned, Remy plays with my fingers. “What would you like me to do with the body?”

I sigh. “Keep Kevan and Luca bound. We need to?—”

My badge buzzes.

An emergency alert from Cherise.

“The keep. Defenses are failing.” I grab Vhex, ready to wink. “Let’s go.”

“Wait.” Tiago rips the Deathguard badge from Kevan’s uniform. He jogs over, then bows slightly and presents it to me with both hands. “We’ll follow you.”

“Always have,” Mallory adds.

Luca kicks in muffled protest, but the rest of the Deathguard nods or throws salutes.

It’s vindicating but so frustrating.

A nod of approval every so often would’ve been all I needed.

Now, they’re handing me all their expectations after so much shit has hit the fan that it’s raining raisins.

Whatever.

I’ll take a turn using them like they used me.

The Farguard is my priority.

I snatch the badge from Tiago’s hands..

The blue-tinged metal is cold to the touch and shows the Deathguard’s flaming skull emblem. Not so long ago, I would’ve held it like a sacred artifact.

Now, I make a puckered face as I erase Kevan’s weakening mental imprint. Fighting a bit of resistance, I ruthlessly weed out his energy and make my own mark.

As soon as I become the Deathguard’s sword major, a dizzying amount of information whooshes into my head. Before I shut it down, I can’t miss the firm sense of approval beaming at me from every member of the guard.

I’ll never forgive them.

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