Page 266 of Red Ruin

The picture shakes, then drops and rolls away.

I tilt my head as the orb spins past their slippers, giving us the washing-machine view of the parlor’s dust-free floors.

Just a glare and she can’t hold on?

“Weak.” Vhex makes a dismissive huff that tickles my collar bone. He kisses the spot, full of contempt for women he could kill with a sneeze.

I feel the same.

No more fear, no more expectations.

I’m just annoyed at these out-of-touch harpies.

Remy’s shadows climb between my fingers and start to peel the orb out of my hand. “I see the nobility has continued to decline.”

“More than you know,” I murmur and tighten my grip, stopping him from ending the call. “Give me thirty seconds. That’s all I need for them.”

“I’m counting,” Remy says.

My mother picks the orb off the floor.

I can’t resent her as much when I can see straight up her nose.

She sets the orb back on its perch and smooths her skirts as if nothing has ever gone wrong. “The young duke’s soul is damaged. Apologize and return to your place while you’re still allowed to manage his care.”

“Gods know why he went to seeyou.” The duchess shakes, baring her teeth between words. “Now my son comes home in fragments, wailing in the family crypt, with no body and no Guide. I want answers, and I want whoever did this brought to me in chains.”

She stares down her nose, waiting for my confession.

As if I’d beg for one last chance to fawn over her son.

As if I owe her anything.

“Ten seconds,” Remy warns.

Not soon enough.

I stare dead into the orb.

“You’re on your own.”Just like I’ve always been.“Don’t ever look for me again.”

Remy cuts the juice just as the duchess’ lips form the first word of some screed I don’t have to listen to anymore.

As soon as it’s shut down, the glass strobes with another call.

“No more.” I give into my truest desire and shot-put the orb across the room.

It shatters against Remy’s hardwood armoire, showering the floor in the most satisfying crackle of glass and magic sparks.

I guide Remy’s shadows, directing them to sweep the rest of the messaging orbs into a trunk before anyone else can think to reach out.

No more calls.

No more looking back.

“I should’ve done that centuries ago,” Remy murmurs against my scalp. “Now you’re mine alone.”

“Fuck you,” Vhex snarls, whipping a pillow at Remy’s forehead. When Remy shifts, Vhex uses the distraction to roll me across the mattress. I land straddling his hips, hugged tight to his chest.

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