Page 150 of Eternal Ruin

Kidan hurried into the cellar, not missing the way Susenyos pushed himself backward into the wall. It broke something in her to see him retreat.

Tell me to stop and I will.

She kept thinking that, trying to hold his gaze. His pupils were wide, dark brown instead of black. When she brought the fire to his skin with shaking fingers, he lunged at her, making the candle drop.

His chain was around her neck at once, his face dangerously close to hers.

All air emptied from her lungs. It wasn’t tight, his strangle, but it was enough to make it look convincing. Dirt smeared his cheek. There was a genuine plea in the way he breathed heavy and fast against her. To get him out of here as quickly as she could.

The chain clattered to the stone floor, and she coughed, rubbing her throat. Samson had restrained Susenyos, punching him in the gut until he bent over.

“This is what you are, wendem. You harm defenseless girls.”

Susenyos’s low, winded laugh filled the room. “All this so you can take my place. My court will never acknowledge you.”

Samson stilled. “It’s my court now.”

“Really? Then why does Arin barely respect you? Why does Warde bow when he passes me? They remember their emperor.”

Samson flexed his metal hand. One powerful hit and Susenyos could truly die.

Kidan called her armor, ready to jump between them, her heart pounding.

“But you do enjoy things I discard, don’t you?” Susenyos leaned his head against the wall, bleeding from his mouth. “First, Talaa—”

“Don’t say hername.” Samson’s shoulders rose and fell like a monster’s.

Unafraid, Susenyos cut him down. “First Talaa, then my crown, my people. Hell, Kidan Adane is mine, so here you are, begging on your knees for her. Everything I have, you must have.” He wiped at his mouth and spat dark blood. “It’s quite pathetic.”

Samson’s entire body vibrated with cold fury. He lunged forward but Kidan stepped between them first. She retrieved the silver knife she’d tucked into her sweater’s sleeve and held it up.

“What are you doing?” Samson’s eyes blackened.

Emotions flooded the room—glowing with a sunlit hue, of comfort and trust. Hidden words swirled in Susenyos’s eyes. For a brief second, his gaze dropped to her dagger before flicking back up. Her gut tightened, understanding settling sourly.

“Look at her,” Susenyos continued, almost proud, arrogant. “Look how she’s mine.”

Kidan inhaled.

Exhaled.

Then she spun with the knife, slashing clean across Susenyos’s cheek.

His face swung to the side, making her stomach twist. The cut wasn’t deep but it sprayed dramatically. Susenyos touched his face, as if he didn’t believe she’d struck, then flared his nostrils.

Kidan held the knife close to his eye and hurled, “I was neveryours.”

She shook all over, even as no drop of rage touched the room.

His trust overwhelming. Smiling.

It was always violence, wicked, hidden, or gentle, that bound them together. As long as they had it—and they had plenty, they’d never leave each other. It was a red string of their own, one she never wanted to sever.

When Kidan stepped back, Samson’s arched lips were unexpected and as wide as a knife. The hair on Kidan’s arms stood at being the source of it.

“I don’t care what happens to either of you,” she said, her voice nothing but steel. “I only want my friend back.”

They remained in that small dark room for eternity, both of them regarding her with mild interest and caution.