Chapter 34 #2
It was nothing compared to the hollow ripping through my chest. I pressed my hand over the wound and forced my magic to obey.
Warm light poured beneath my palm, sealing torn skin and muscle, knitting me back together even as my hands shook.
But my eyes were already locked on the one thing that mattered.
Erebus.
The monster who took Alaric from me. He was retreating now, slipping toward a portal of darkness like a coward, as if it had been decided that he’d won. No. My hand dropped to my belt, fingers closing around my dagger. Fire bloomed across the blade, alive, beating like a second heart.
“Ruin, don’t,” Aiden whispered, grabbing my arm. I tore free and looked up at him, the words tearing out of me before I could stop them.
“I’m going to kill him.” My voice didn’t sound like mine.
Then I ran. I closed the distance fast, snow blurring beneath me.
Erebus turned at the last second, his expression calm, too calm, as if he’d been waiting for this.
He caught me mid-strike. His hand locked around my throat and lifted me clean off the ground.
My feet kicked uselessly, lungs screaming as air burned away.
I clawed at his wrist, vision dimming, and drove my dagger into his forearm with everything I had.
He snarled and released me. I hit hard, rolled, and came up slashing.
The ground split beneath me, shadow tendrils ripping upward, grabbing at my legs, my arms, dragging me down. The orb at my throat pulsed violently.
Heat detonated outward. Flames tore free, shredding the shadows, breaking their grip as I surged forward again.
Fire spilled from my palm, scorching his hair, licking at his skin.
And still…he smiled. Like this was entertainment.
Like Alaric’s death had always been part of the game.
He turned away, strolling into the darkness, leaving shadow-knights in his place.
“No!” I screamed, surging after him, only to be wrenched back, an arm locking around my waist, crushing me against a solid chest. Aiden’s shadows surged forward, taking out the shadow knights.
“Ruin. Stop,” Aiden whispered, his voice rough, breaking. I fought him. I couldn’t stop. The fire was everywhere, grief pouring gasoline onto it, screaming to be unleashed. My gaze snapped back to Alaric’s body, still wrapped in Aiden’s shadows, still and lifeless.
The sight shattered me. A sound tore from my throat, raw, broken, unrecognizable.
Aiden tightened his hold, hands firm but gentle as he turned my face toward his, pressing his forehead to mine.
“I know,” he whispered, voice cracking. “I know.” Slowly, agonizingly, the fire dulled.
From an inferno to embers. Even my magic faltered, flickering as if it were mourning with me.
That’s when I saw him. Kerian. The Blood Assassin leader stood just beyond the chaos, calm and watchful, blades lowered.
No monster. No madness. Just a man who looked as though he understood loss far too well.
I moved away from Aiden, breath shaky, heart pounding.
“Y-you’re the—” I choked out.
“Hello, Rynlee,” he said, raising his hands in surrender.
I whipped my gaze toward Aiden. His jaw was tight. “I’ve been helping them.” I stumbled back from him. Shock taking over the rage and grief.
The words knocked the air out of me. “Helping the Blood Assassins? They’ve been trying to kill us all night!”
“No,” Kerian corrected smoothly, pointing across the battlefield. My eyes followed. Blood Assassins ushered wounded cadets into the tunnels, guiding, protecting. Not hunting. “We’ve been aiding you.”
I turned back to Aiden, fury flaring. “How long were you going to keep this a secret?”
He met my gaze, weary but resolute. “I’ll tell you everything, Ruin. But not here. We need to move.” He was right, more shadows were closing in.
“Fine,” I bit out. We ran, shadows carrying Alaric’s body, Kerian sealing the tunnel entrance behind us. My focus wavered only once, back to Alaric, and the ache nearly swallowed me whole. “Ready to talk now?” I pressed; I needed something else to focus on than the lifeless body of a man I loved.
Aiden let out a heavy sigh and rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “Kerian and I started talking because of Derek.” The name hit something buried. Familiar, but far away.
“Who the hell is Derek?”
“Me.” The voice was steady, calm. My head snapped up. The honey-eyed man who had helped me on the battlefield stepped into the torchlight. “Rynlee,” he said, every word sinking like a stone. “I’m your brother.”
The world tilted. My chest seized, air tearing from my lungs. “Brother?” I stumbled back, and Aiden steadied me before I fell. I looked up at him, my vision blurring. “Y-you knew?” My voice was soft. Shaking. “You knew?”
His jade eyes burned. “Yes. I’ve known forever, Ruin.”
My breath caught, sharp and painful. “You knew I had a brother and didn’t tell me?”
Before he could answer, Derek raised his hands. “It’s not his fault. Our mother erased your memory of me.” I whipped my gaze back to Derek.
The words cut deep. “No,” I whispered. “She wouldn’t…”
“She did,” Derek said, voice low. “Because I refused father’s plans.
Because I ran. I joined the Assassins, and she couldn’t bear the shame.
So, she erased me from you.” My back hit the tunnel wall, palm pressed flat to stone.
My chest heaved. Too much. Alaric. Betrayal.
My mother. My brother. And Aiden, keeping it all hidden.
“I—I need a minute,” I whispered.