Chapter 37
Rummy
My body buzzed with the anticipation that coursed through every breath.
Or maybe it was the monstrous amount of new magic pulsing through me.
Either way, I clasped my fingers together in front of my body to keep my hands from shaking.
I didn’t need Jessiah to see that I was nervous, although with our new bond, hiding it was impossible.
Just like I could feel the hesitation pushing against our bond from his side. He was doing everything in his control to keep his emotions in check.
And everything in his control not to scoop me up and fly me all the way back to Scarlata.
But we’d made it this far. There was no going back. We would succeed, or our entire kingdom would be at risk.
“I’m only going to say this once,” Jessiah started, “so you better listen.”
Goddess above, I soaked in the sight of him. The sun glittered against his bronze locks that had grown out in the last few weeks. His skin was tanned and dirty from our trip, and his shirt hung loose across his ridiculously sculpted chest.
And those wings. I regretted all those times I actively tried not to stare at his wings. They were magnificent. He was magnificent.
“Are you listening or just staring at me?”
My cheeks heated. “Go on.”
“I am the son of an archangel. I am the brother to the King of Scarlata. I have lived among vampyres. I have fought the hungry ones. I have flown for miles and miles, have visited dozens of kingdoms. And still, in all my existence, I have never met anyone stronger or more capable than you. You have amazed me time and time again. I am endlessly grateful that I met you, and if anyone can do this, it’s you, Rummy of Midgrave. ”
Dammit, Jessiah. I cleared my throat and shook my head fiercely. “You’re not supposed to make me cry right before I risk my life.”
The corner of his mouth rose. “Crying over my words? I was convinced you tune out everything I say the moment I start talking.”
“You’re supposed to know me better than that by now.”
“Oh, I know you, Rummy.” He closed the distance between us and put both hands on my hips. “I know you enough to know you’re the perfect person to defeat Cornelius. I might be protective of you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t sense exactly how powerful you are.”
He let his side of the bond flood open, and his emotions overtook my senses. Devotion, warmth, and passion.
Feeling everything he felt… it was hard to believe we spent two entire years pretending like we hated each other. Like we could possibly live in a world without each other.
I rose up on my toes and pressed a solid kiss to his lips. It was more than just a kiss. It was a promise.
All too quickly, I pulled away. “We’re going to make it out of this. And I want you waiting for me right here with those big wings of yours when I get back.”
His eyes glittered. “Hurry back, then.”
Hells, there was so much more I wanted to say. So many things I wanted to do with him before now. So much time to make up for.
I was confident that I could kill Cornelius, yes.
But there was still that tiny whisper in the back of my mind that told me I might never see Jessiah again.
No—I pushed that thought far, far away. This wasn’t the time to doubt.
This was the time to fight for the life I finally felt like I deserved.
Ishould have been afraid. There was a pretty large chance that I did not survive this encounter. Hells, it was a miracle I even made it this close to the front gates.
But it was time that bastard got what he deserved.
Cornelius made me feel special. Made me feel seen—like I belonged here.
Hells, maybe I did.
Maybe that tiny part of me I kept hidden for most of my life was desperate to fit in here.
I took another step toward the front gates of Pericius. The usual crowd of angry citizens outside was quieter now. Subdued, almost as if they’d lost hope. Lost the will to fight.
That silence nearly broke my damn heart. They were giving up. Either that, or Cornelius had taken enough of their powers that they no longer stood a chance against him.
I was here to make him pay.
The chill of the frost caressed my skin as I stopped walking a few feet away from Pericius’s entrance.
The few citizens around me stepped away, making room for me.
They had no way of knowing who I was. They had no way of knowing what I was here to do.
But they avoided me like I were on fire—looking at me beneath their exhausted, dull eyes.
“Cornelius!” I tilted my head up toward the wall and funneled the approaching surge of anger into my words. “I know you’re in there. We need to talk. Let me in!”
A few seconds passed.
Nothing.
“Cornelius!”
Was he really going to ignore me? Was he going to let me stand out there, screaming like a damn idiot, while he laughed behind his tall walls and enormous stone castle, stealing powers as he lived his life in luxury?
The gates shuddered and the ground beneath my boots vibrated. A few moments later, the gates opened.
I expected guards swooping in to carry me away. Weapons drawn. Front doors protected.
What I didn’t expect was Cornelius standing before me, alone aside from the two guards who opened the gates.
I shivered at the sight of him. He stood tall and stoic with his chin held high and his royal uniform in perfect condition. Not a single piece of hair was left out of place.
And he stared at me as if he were seeing me for the very first time. His eyes remained hardened as he scanned me from head to toe.
“This is a surprise,” he started. “When you and your friends left in the middle of the night without a trace, I assumed it would be for good.”
I took a step forward and pretended to be fearless. Confident. Like I had nothing to hide. “You think I’d leave without saying goodbye?”
Maybe he wasn’t buying it. Maybe he knew all along, and he was luring me in now to kill me for good.
But then the corner of his mouth lifted, and the old Cornelius—the one filled with flattery and lies—cracked through. “Well, I’m glad you’re back. I was worried something might’ve happened to you.”
“Please.” I flipped my hair over my shoulder and walked through the open gates. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, Cornelius.”
This was it. This would be the defining moment. Would he realize right away that I was different? That my magic was different?
Or was he just as naive and ignorant as before?
“Take a walk with me,” he started. “We have a lot to catch up on.”
Understatement of the damn year.
The gardens of Pericius were different from what I remembered. Before, I felt them blooming with life. Beauty awaited me at every turn.
Now, the hair on the back of my neck rose with each step. I was on high alert more than I ever was before.
If Cornelius sensed my new magic, the fight would be over before it even began.
“Things were boring without you,” he continued. “I was starting to feel as though I’d lost my muse.”
I dipped my chin, acting bashful as his shoulder bumped into mine. We walked side by side, slowly circling the perimeter of the grounds, though I was taking in every single guard that we passed. Every exit. Every possible way to escape.
“I assumed you’d be too busy with the rebels to notice my absence.”
He let out a sigh. “The rebels are nothing I cannot handle, I assure you. They simply need help seeing the bigger picture here.”
“And the attack?” I asked. “Things like that seem to happen often? The people surely can’t be happy that you’re taking their magic.”
“I’m not taking anything that isn’t rightfully mine as the leader of this kingdom. They owe me their gifts. The stronger I am, the more I can protect them.”
I forced a smile. “Makes sense.”
He stopped walking and turned to me with his hands still clasped behind his back.
“I need to know something, Rummy. I need to know that you’re on my side.
I’ve looked for someone like you for a very long time, and now that I’ve found you, I don’t plan on letting you slip through my fingers.
Your disappearance scared me more than I’d care to admit. ”
“Scared you?” I scoffed. “I’d think we were the ones who were supposed to be afraid, considering those men you sent after us.”
Not a single feature on Cornelius’s too perfect face twitched. Three long seconds passed before he took a breath. “I was waiting for you to mention the dead bodies of royal guards we found. It seems you’re confirming that you did indeed have something to do with the incident.”
“Incident?” Don’t get pissed off, Rummy. Not now. Not when you’re this close. “They tried to kill us. We acted in self-defense. Nothing more.”
“Still.” The smirk in his eye—the same one that made me want to vomit—was back. “When my scouts informed me of the state of the bodies and of the condition they were each in, I had a feeling.”
The wind whistled faintly.
“A feeling?”
Cornelius’s smirk grew. “A feeling that only you—only the one I’ve been searching for—could have caused that much damage. It was you, wasn’t it? You finally used your gift?”
I should have fucking prepared for this. Of course he was going to ask me about those guards. Of course he would be curious about my magic after seeing that destruction.
“Does that mean you want my magic for yourself?” I cocked my head to the side and stepped even closer—close enough so he could reach out and touch me if he dared. “Does that mean you’ll take mine for the good of your kingdom too?”
“You misunderstand me.” He sounded different all of the sudden, his words chilled me in a way they never had before.
“I don’t look at you as someone to simply use, Rummy.
You’re much more powerful than that. I’m looking for a partner.
” Another step toward me. “I’m looking for someone to rule this kingdom with me. Someone who understands me. A mate.”
Well. Shit.
I forced a smile, but surely it looked ridiculous considering the absolute absurdity of his words.
“A mate?” I closed the rest of the distance between us. He didn’t back away as I lifted a hand to his freshly-shaved cheek and ran my fingers down his face. “And you think I’m powerful enough for that?”
“I know you are. And what you did to those guards in the forest only proved as much.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this plan before the ball? You could have told me you’d been siphoning the citizens’ magic around here. It would have explained the rebellion you told us you needed help with.”
“Trust is not blindly given. After my father died, I learned that lesson quickly. You of all people should understand that, especially with your power.”
I gulped. “But you’re stealing so much from them. Isn’t your power enough? It’s already stronger than any other gift, isn’t it? The power of death? Can you give theirs back and let them live in peace?”
“Rummy, Rummy, Rummy.” He shook his head and pulled my hands into his. “How do you not see it? The kingdom can only continue in peace if we allow it. You and I are meant to rule together with our gifts. Why else would we wield this power? Our fate is written out for us!”
Fates entwined in a web so thick,
A story of magic, folly, and trick.
He was wrong, I saw it clearly. In another world, maybe Cornelius and I could have worked together.
Maybe he could’ve shown me what my power was truly capable of and we could’ve bonded over what it was like to be different.
And who knows? Maybe I actually would’ve fallen for his attempts at flattery, for his venture to make me feel like he was the only one who could truly see me.
But in this world? He was too late. He already took too much from Pericius, and he wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon.
Cornelius did not want my power because it was aligned with his goal to raise the dead. He wanted my power because he wanted to dominate. He wanted to look down on those around him and remind them what it was like to be weak. To be lesser-than.
“And that’s why this cannot continue.” The tears that welled in the back of my throat were real. “I’m sorry, Cornelius. But some wicked things are not worth saving.”
Before he could pull away, I reached into the depths of my being for the root of all that magic. All that power. All that pure essence, those gifts from my friends, from the most powerful beings I knew.
And blasted that fucker with everything I had.