Page 137 of Fated In Forever
“I offered.” Blake said quietly, coming to crouch downbeside Evie, who couldn’t help but reach out and brush her delicate fingers down the length of his scar. “I would have gladly finished that fuck off, so you didn’t have to live with the memory. I know…” he swallowed, gaze narrowing as he studied my face. “I know you still have regrets.”
“No regrets.” I firmed my shoulders, resolve hardening inside me. “None at all. Not now. Not knowing how everything will turn out.”
Evie gave us both a sad smile. “You have no idea how this will turn out.”
I raised our clasped hands to my lips, pressed them against her warm palm, closing my eyes and offering up a prayer. “I do know, because I have found my queen. You and I will rule side by side, with Blake and gods help us, Malachi, too.”
Blake snorted, then rested his forehead against Evie’s. “I will protect you both with my life. Rohr and I swore a vow to each other once.” He and I traded a look, the same promise we’d made each other on that fateful night, to always guard each other’s back. “A vow I mean to keep.”
“We swore to make our kingdom into a safe haven for everyone,” I explained. “One where everyone is equal and everyone has a say and there are no executions or mock trials. No corruption or back room deals or threats. That is what we set out to do, and once Ravok is gone, we can finally build our kingdom.”
“You sound sure we can beat him.” Evie looked between us. “How?”
“We know he’s going to make a move, so we’ve rolled out the welcome mat, so to speak.” For the last few nights, we’d planned and strategized, then finally decided not to waste precious manpower chasing the bastard down.
“We all agreed on one thing.” Blake explained. “Sooneror later, he’ll return to France. That pool, that round chamber will draw him like a magnet. All we have to do is wait.”
“We’re running shifts at the ruins and we’re taking turns keeping watch. The moment Ravok or Romulus appear, a warning will go out. We have a full contingent of Kightsguard on site, overseen by either Finn and Nash. But Malachi is the key. He’s confident he can take Ravok on and win, and we mean to let him try.”
I paused, watching her face as she processed this.
“He’s the one who suggested we carry out a multi prong attack. He takes on Ravok. Blake, Finn and I take down Romulus, Nash and the Knightguard concentrate on the thralls. The less of those he has to draw power from, the weaker they both will be.”
“If he brings more thralls to France, he’ll use them like a living shield,” she pointed out softly, worry shining in her eyes.
“Not going to happen.” Blake’s smile turned positively cruel. “We shut down Vincent Valentine’s little partnership with Ravok, and evacuated Thorndale, cutting off his supply of warm bodies. No more students, no more thralls, no more power.”
“And Vincent?”
She sat up straight, a tremor of disgust pinching her mouth and I felt a vicious thrill of joy when I said, “Blake and I took care of Vincent ourselves. He’ll never hurt anyone ever again.” I pressed her hand between mine. “We should have finished him off long ago. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not like I didn’t leave him alive. But good, I’m glad he’s dead.” She looked between us. “Providing Ravok doesn’t bring his contingent of thralls, what’s the plan for France when he does arrive?”
Blake smoothed his hands down his thighs, “Nikolai and Fiona will stay here, in reserve, while you, my love…” My mouth went dry as her expression darkened, but all Blake did was chuckle, his shoulders shaking.
“Don’t fret, mate. You’re going in with us, Evie. In the first wave. Fully armed, well rested and ready to kick ass, if you think you can manage that?”
She gave us a queen’s smile, swift and sure and touched with vicious anticipation, as if she was remembering everything Ravok had done, and everything he was owed.
“Oh, I’ll be ready, and this time, he’s not leaving that mountain.”
66
MALACHI
Two days later, I stood on the rocky outcropping above Château des Ombres Éternelles, the wind whipping through my hair as I stared down at the ruins below. From this vantage point, the destruction looked almost peaceful—weathered walls and crumbling towers covered in mist, hiding the violence that had created them.
The irony wasn't lost on me.
Even in ruin, this place was more permanent than any future I would ever have.
I didn’t know how much longer I could stay here. Every moment, I felt the tug of the Underworld, like I would feel the tug of my bond with Vicious, once I went back.
Days, hours, minutes…any second, this could all be a memory.
Which was why I savored every last detail of the scene before me. Why I’d dallied over the breakfast Vicious had cooked me this morning, and every one of her soft snores last night as she’d dreamed.
I wanted to slow time down, to stop it all together.
