Page 53 of Oracle of Ruin

My eyes dart back to Mavis. “You didn’t tell her?”

She shakes her head and mouthsno.

Behind me, I hear Rowan’s breathing hitch. “You,” he breathes, his voice barely above a whisper. “I remember you.”

Fury burns behind the tears that shine in her eyes. Her features pinch in rage and her face reddens as she screams. The corded muscle in Neris’s arms flexes and strains as she holds the smaller girl back. Guilt pulls the corners of her mouth down and she murmurs soothingly to the girl.

My heart pulls within my chest and my hand reaches out, reaches to her in pleading. “Emi—”

“I’ll never forgive you. I hate you!” The girl thrashes more violently now and Neris hauls her further away from us. “I hate you!”

I know that Emi’s rage is directed towards the blond mercenary who stands next to me, unflinching, however, I feel her heated gaze slide my way and feel her fury in my bones. Her shrieks continue to rattle the walls of the room as Mavis dips her chin towards one of the many halls. Neris nods back and begins to lead away the one I once might’ve considered my friend. Her tear-streaked face contorts and she rips into her flesh with her teeth before spitting a blood glob the ground, mumbling something indistinguishable.

“Emi!” Mavis shrieks, her façade slipping for just a moment.

Some of the crowd hisses and a murmuring goes about. Kya pales.

My scarred hand seeks her painted one and she responds by interlacing our fingers. “What did she say?”

“It’s a blood curse.”

“On Rowan?”

She swallows thickly. “On you.”

Upon hearing these words, Rowan’s hands shove me behind him and Amír cocks her gun, her finger trembling on the trigger. Kya reaches for an espa with her spare hand while Blaine and Torin step before me, shielding me.

When I cut you, he bleeds.Mavis wasn’t the only one who believes that—Emi apparently does as well. Rowan stole the ones she loved the most, and now with this curse, she intends to do the same.

I thank the gods I never mentioned Emilie to the grieving teenager. Rowan, however, snarls and steps forward, sword drawn, towards the hall where Emi and Neris have just disappeared.

Mavis blocks his path.

“The only way to break a blood curse is to kill the witch that cast it,” he grounds out, now pointing the edge of his blade just beneath Mavis’s throat. “Let me through.”

“I will deal with the curse and Emi,” she says smoothly, her voice the perfect picture of cool confidence. The mask is back up, even when Rowan presses forward and draws a pinprick of blood. Her army surges forward, but she halts them with a single flourish of her hand. “I said I will deal with her. I don’t want Vera dead any more than you do.”

I break free from between Blaine and Torin, both of the men stumbling in surprise. My hand seeks out the coarse fabric of Rowan’s black tunic, holding firm and bringing my pleading stare to his. “No more bloodshed. Not today.”

“This curse will kill you.”

“I’m not dead yet. There’s still time. You don’t need to kill her.”

Mavis watches with feline curiosity as Rowan raises a hand to cup my cheek.

His fingers lace around the back of my neck and the callouses on his palm scrape against my jaw. “How many times do I have to tell you?” he responds gruffly. “I don’t care how many or who I have to kill to keep you safe.”

My heart traitorously flips in my chest, but I shove it down. “ButIcare. So please, let’s just go home.”

He searches for something in my face, a sign or any disgust hidden within my features. When he finds none of what he is searching for, he sighs and drops his forehead to mine. His hand squeezes at the back of my neck, the fingers lacing through the underside of my hair. “As you wish.” He flips his glare towards Mavis. “You know this isn’t over.”

She narrows her eyes to slits and her lips twist into a wicked grin. “I’d hope not, pretty boy. Life would get rather dull.”

As the Nightwalkers begin to file out of the compound, I stand still, waiting for… for what, I do not know. For them to stop me? Or perhaps a goodbye? That seems a rather silly thought now, but it still doesn’t settle right with me to just leave after all we’ve gone through the past few weeks. In some ways, this place has become another home. I’ve grown to love these people—the same people who now look like they wish to slit my throat as I walk out hand in hand with the man who killed so many of them. That betrayal burns worse, knowing that it is me who does the betraying. They trusted me, and while they took me from my home, part of me wishes that wouldn’t change now that it is time for me to leave. The line has been drawn in the sand, splitting us apart in more permanent ways than the ache in my heart.

I turn my face to Mavis, expecting a smirk or any form of acknowledgment. We lock gazes and she turns without another thought, trailing down the hallway where Neris went, the faint sounds of Emi’s screaming sobs still echoing. Somehow, that stings worse.

I can’t fault the girl for hating me, no more than I can help the ache in my heart at the thought. It is much easier to hate those who deserve it than it is to feel nothing but sorrow for the ones who want you dead. It is much harder to be the villain in someone’s story when you know you weren’t the one to do anything wrong.

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