Page 141 of Reaper's Ruin
“Taelon!” Soraya breathed, relief washing over her face.
He winked at her and smiled. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“What are you doing?” I ground out. “You shouldn’t be openly fighting. They’ll kill you for this.”
He shrugged, the flames growing in his hands. “Plan B, it seems since Plan A went up in smoke.”
Behind him strode in our two other allies—Skorn, a mountain of a man with dark skin, a deep contrast to the white beard and matching white hair twisted in rows that descended down his back.Ice clung to his armor like a second skin. His hands glowed with frost magic that crystallized the air around him.
Beside him came Lorien, tall and lean, his sharp blue eyes radiating the danger he promised anyone who moved against him. Water coiled around his muscular arms like living serpents. It shimmered with magic—fluid and unpredictable—ready to strike or shield in a heartbeat.
These weren’t just Reapers. These were Court Warriors. Trained killers. Ancient, powerful, and now risking it all—for us.
“Hello, love,” Lorien said to Soraya, his smile widening as he looked between us. “So, this is the girl we’re all going to die for? I can see why Death has a soft spot.”
Skorn eyed our opponents with a predatory grin. “Judging by this sorry turnout, I don’t think we’ll be the ones doing the dying today.” He frowned. “Shame. I was actually looking forward to getting the fuck out of this place. Oh well. The Veil Lords can reap me after.”
“Less talking, more fighting,” Taelon suggested as more Reapers appeared at the end of the corridor. “Get her to the courtyard,” Taelon said to me. “We’ll hold them here.”
I tried to swallow the guilt I had at the risk they were taking for us. Even if they survived this, they’d become outlaws like me. And how we’d ever hide from the eyes the Veil Lords had everywhere, I didn’t know. But right now, I couldn’t think about them, their risks, their lives now likely forfeit.
“You’d better survive and find us where we agreed,” I said to Taelon.
He winked. “Don’t you worry about us. We’ve all been in worse scrapes than this. We’ll be there.”
I nodded my thanks, grabbing Soraya’s hand. “Stay close,” I warned her as we broke into a run toward the open courtyard.
Behind us, elemental magic exploded against shadow energy as my unlikely allies engaged our pursuers. Flames roared, ice crackled, water crashed against stone. The very foundations of the Umbral Keep seemed to shake with the force of their battle. I risked a glance back to see more court warriors arrive. Flames, ice and water, flew from each direction. A Sylvan Fae flung a wall of dirt toward my allies, blinding them for a moment in a cloud. A lightning bolt lit up the space behind us, and I knew a Storm Fae had entered the fray.
Part of me burned to turn back, to fight beside the allies I’d only just begun to trust. Leaving them felt like betrayal—like running from the battle instead of charging into the fray, as I’d done a thousand times before.
But Soraya was the mission. She was the reason for everything—my everything—and they’d made their choice to fight for her, just as I had.
And I would let every realm collapse, every ally fall, every goddamn star burn to ash before I let anyone lay a hand on her.
We burst into the courtyard, the massive gates of the Keep visible across the open expanse. So close. Just a few hundred yards of exposed ground before I could slice out through shadow and whisk her far away from danger.
But the courtyard wasn’t empty. A dozen Reapers stood between us and the gates, their attention divided between the commotion inside and their duty to guard the exit. The moment they spotted us running, they moved to intercept, scythes materializing in their hands.
“Hold on to me,” I told Soraya, gathering her against my side as my wings expanded to their full span.
I launched toward them, my wings not meant for true flight but capable of carrying us in powerful leaps. I crashed into themwith a force that sent them flying in all directions as I charged for the gates.
So close.
If we could just get to the gate...
More Reapers converged from all directions now, the alarm fully raised. I fought with one arm around Soraya, her small frame clinging to me as my scythe cleaved through any who came too close. But there were too many. For every one I cut down, two more appeared.
A scythe grazed my back, tearing through leather and skin. Another nearly caught Soraya, missing by inches as I twisted us away. We were surrounded, the gates tormenting me with their close proximity but it may as well have been a mile.
Then through the press of bodies came a familiar trio—Taelon, Skorn, and Lorien, fighting their way toward us with elemental fury. They carved a path through the Reapers, their combined powers creating a momentary clearing.
“What the fuck are you still doing here?” Taelon shouted, flames erupting from his hands to drive back our attackers. “Get her out of here!”
“I’m fucking trying!” I shouted back, fending off another Reaper who almost clipped my throat.
With Soraya still clutched tight against me, I launched us forward again, my wings carrying us in a mighty leap toward freedom. We landed just yards from the gates, the barrier of the Keep’s magic palpable now, a shimmering presence that distorted the air itself.
