Page 190 of Eternal Ruin

Kidan stared at her mother’s finger bones like they were a rare artifact, unable to comprehend what she’d discovered. “But my parents’ bones were destroyed—cremated.”

GK watched her quietly.

Kidan told him what she’d discovered over the past few weeks. About the mystery surrounding her parents’ murder. How to inherit a house’s culture. And, most of all, Resurption.

He spoke with growing alarm. “You wanted to use your mother’s bones to reveal her memories?”

Kidan didn’t blame him for his caution. Resurption was an Aseracti technique. Lusidio’s—no, Varos’s writing. “I know how it sounds. But if I can see into her memories, I can understand her better. I can get the mask and set any law I want. A law to make youhuman.”

Shock washed over him for a moment, taking in the weight of her words. His face retreated into the dark. “No.”

“No?”

“I’ll be no more than prisoner in your home.”

Her stomach roiled, as she saw the grief beneath his anger. “I… I don’t know what else to do.”

GK lifted the chain, letting it catch small particles of light, and grabbed herhand, putting it in her palm. The rain stopped, and time stilled, the planes of his face were sleek, the brown of leather.

“When a Mot Zebeya can no longer uphold the religion of Sageism, they surrender their bone chain.” He sounded like his old self now, achingly familiar, heartbroken. “I can’t follow you anymore.”

The chill from the dampness of the cold stone made Kidan tremble, a chatter built in her bones and teeth.

“You said all life must be protected, and if I’m in danger, it’s your duty to protect me.” Her words carried nothing but sorrow at the thought of losing him again. Last semester, she could have let him go. But now she understood there was always a way to live with yourself, even at your worst. GK just needed one thing, one person to hold on to. “Was that a lie?”

His lips pinched together in a grimace. “Of course not. But I cannot live like this and keep my faith.”

Kidan shook her head. It couldn’t end like this. She’d brought him back to life, promised to help him, and she would, because he was meant to be by her side.

“No, you can,” she said, eyes burning.

“Kidan.”

She steeled her voice. “I will help you. I will make it right.”

GK said nothing, and his silence swelled with resignation. Cold, unbearable defeat. It broke Kidan to see him at war with himself. To see the most peaceful soul she knew lost somewhere deep.

The door creaked open, an explosion of light spilling inside. Kidan got to her feet, closing her palm over her mother’s bones. They stirred, giving her strength.

She’d expected Iniko or Arin but it was… June.

Holding some sort of cup.

Behind her, a large figure blocked the entryway. A pair of black terror-inducing eyes loomed closer.

Warde.

June carried an umber glow around her, accentuated by her long flowing skirt and tight-fitting shirt. She trailed a line between GK and Kidan, a strange sort of relief filling her eyes. “You found him.”

At a loss for words, Kidan stood numbly as June placed the cup before GK. Her skirt fanned out around her in shades of deep purple and black.

“What are you doing?” Kidan finally asked.

June froze for a moment, then glanced back. “It’s a concoction. Helps with his hunger.”

GK took the cup and drank it, grimacing. It looked like poison.

“We heard you two talking,” June said softly to him. “I know it feels impossible to live as you are, but it’s not.”