Page 135 of Eternal Ruin

Arin fell with a small smile, not like she was cursed to the jaws of death but returning to it for a visit.

“Now!” Susenyos shouted, clutching Kidan close to his racing chest.

Rocks the size of small boulders hovered in a sack among the thick branches above, like swollen balloons. Taj and Iniko worked fast, cutting them down and filling the hole with cascading stones.

An avalanche roared through the clearing, each smashing stone making Kidan wince.

Arin, with her bloodied eyes, was gone.

46.

SUSENYOS

Arin was buried.

Alive, suffering, but buried.

Susenyos panted, unable to free his hold from around Kidan. She was breathing heavily into him too, her face hidden against his chest.

He’d almost cost Kidan her life.

When she disappeared over the edge, a part of him had been filled with such acute terror, he’d never known he could feel fear on such a level.

Arin could have killed her. To spite him, to teach him a lesson, which was her favorite, she could have severed Kidan’s hand or torn out her throat. It would have been horrifyingly easy.

All because he’d wanted to punish Kidan, scare her a little. Etete’s death had settled like a knife beneath his lungs, hurting every time he breathed. It shouldn’t have happened. Not like this. His eyes burned even now, thinking of returning to Adane House without her kind smile and crinkling eyes.

She was the last good thing, a mother to everyone, and she was dead.

“I’m sorry.” The word was whispered into him, his shirt damp with tears. Susenyos paused, surprised Kidan allowed him to see her like this. The sound of her cries had the horrible effect of making him want to forgive her for any crime.

Susenyos held her tighter for a couple more seconds until the comfort he’d stolen turned into hunger. Kidan was bleeding onto him, scrapes and cuts all over, andhis fangs stirred. He sat up, taking her with him. Her dark desert eyes were wide and red. It was difficult not to draw her back into his arms.

“Iniko,” he called instead, turning his face away. “Get her cleaned up.”

He couldn’t heal her without touching her skin, and Susenyos was certain if he did that, he would drink from her desperately.

Iniko flashed to their side. After a moment, Kidan stood, her sweater and pants dirtied.

The red band connecting them had been cut by Arin’s claws. Which was good. Professor Andreyas couldn’t fail Kidan if an outside force interrupted the assignment.

“There’s a creek a few steps down,” Iniko said, her voice hard.

With each step Kidan took away from him, Susenyos breathed easier, breaking the haze of his hunger. He joined Taj at the edge of the rock-filled hole.

“Is it weird I feel sad?” Taj asked him.

Susenyos rested a hand on his shoulder. “No. This isn’t what I wanted either. She belongs with the Nefrasi.”

Taj sighed. “Not to mention finding the Nefrasi hideout without her will be near impossible.”

That wasn’t lost on him. Without Arin’s support, his people wouldn’t be eager to hear him out.

They also needed Arin if they ever hoped to defeat Lusidio. And find the blade artifact.

“How’s June?” Susenyos asked, dragging branches to drape over the rocks.

“Uh, interesting.” There was a turn to Taj’s voice that made him pause. His friends’ eyes slid to the side whenever he was keeping secrets.