Page 142 of The Princesses of Ruin
“You’re so…so strong,” she murmurs. “You sapped the life right out of me.”
I can feel the stone beneath me. The air around me. I feel the clouds and the coming snow that will turn into rain because the wind is too hot. Too hot, like my fever.
There’s a fondness for the girl leaning on the gray stones. The feeling is so deep in my chest it makes my eyes water. I keep my crouch and take a few measured steps closer.
She reaches out for me. “You can defeat Ashai.”
Why do I want to cry for her?
“Sister.”Another voice ripples through the air. Another woman. She sounds like the one leaned against the wall, but with more vitality.
I take the girl’s hand, watching as strings of green magic flow from her body into mine.
What am I?
“We’re coming. Let her go.”
The woman’s eyes close and I release her hand.
A dark figure moves through the air behind me. I whirl around, prepared to attack, but their approach is not aggressive. I hear their intensions—whispers of hope and fear.
Can she really defeat her? Is she that strong?
The man lands on the stones and unfurls his arms, revealing a woman with brown-red hair pulled tight in a bun. She unclasps the straps around her waist and steps down from the ledge, walking toward me.
My body moves back of its own accord, though I don’t feel fear.
“She’s erasing you,” the woman says, holding out her hands. “Touch me. Take my power. Strengthen your wall and remember yourself. Remember what you’re supposed to do.”
“Vessel.”
That’s right.
My destiny.
A piece of parchment flutters through the sight in my mind. It has words on it that I don’t want the others to see. She sees everything.
You know your role in this, Vessel. Don’t fail, or they all die.
They all die? Who?
“Touch me, please,” the woman says.
I trust her. I know she means well.
Our hands connect, and gold magic spirals down her arms into me. She lurches, gasping for air. The man behind her swoops in, grabbing her away.
“No!” she screams. “She needs more. Please, Kaz!”
The man with a wicked scar on the left side of his face snarls at me.
The woman reaches out again, fingers stretching, hands yearning. I connect with her and the flow of power sates the deep hunger in me. More. I needmore.
“Reina,” Alyse calls.
Alyse!
I gasp, pulling my hands back. I was draining her.
