Page 233 of Eternal Ruin

“But I’ll still lose her. She’ll be a vampire.”

He understood the torture in her voice. He wished he could spare her from this but without his Nefrasi army inside Uxlay, they were outnumbered. When he found Slen Qaros, his wrath alone would extinguish her from this world.

Kidan said nothing after that, she only returned to his chest, holding tightly.

He groaned and pain stole his breath. At once, she moved back. But he brought her back, quieting her protest.

Hesitant, she rested back down. He let the heat of her body, the steady heartbeat, and her intoxicating scent calm him further.

“What if June doesn’t want to?” The question came when he’d almost drifted to sleep. “What if June doesn’t want to be a vampire? What if I force her, and she hates me? Just like…”

GK.

For this, he had no answer. Choice was a difficult arena he’d been caught in before. Half of his people still resented him for what he’d forced them to become. He was in no position to tell Kidan she should take that choice away from her sister. They might not survive it.

“I’m going to close my eyes now,” he told her, breathing slowly. “You may not hear my heartbeat, but I’m here. I’m gathering my strength. Call me, and I’ll move my fingers.”

She nodded, letting him rest.

Barely a second in, she called him.

Smiling, he moved his fingers against her thigh, drawing the symbol of a circle. She exhaled, pressing a kiss to his chest.

You’re missing something. That niggling voice returned, more urgent this time, a little clearer.You know you need to warn her.

Then, all at once, with cruel torment, Susenyos understood what he’d been missing. Every cut the Sicions dealt paled to the one unfolding right beneath his heart. It couldn’t be—he refused to let himself think of it even for a second. But maybe, in a world that smiled down upon him, Susenyos would be the thing—

No.

He denied himself both the pleasure and the panic rooting inside him. He would never dare to claim such a piece of Kidan’s soul.

Refused to.

Whatever was coming, he’d remain here, alive and well, by her side, for as long as she’d have him, and defend against it.

But if not, if not… Susenyos held her tighter even as his body screamed in protest. He couldn’t hope his way out of this. If the worst thing imaginable happened, he would have to prepare her. Not only her but his friends and his people. Perhaps even himself. No one knew the cruelty of a house’s punishment as much as he. He would start with the only thing that would survive such ruin—words on a letter.

Kidan snuggled closer to him, sighing deeply.

His stubborn, lovely companion.

The soul he valued most.

81.

KIDAN

Every student, house heir and heiress, as well as Mot Zebeya gathered to watch Kidan Adane retrieve one of the prized Last Sage artifacts.

They surrounded her house, an unyielding mass of bodies, faces hard with anger, with awe, with jealousy.

The Dirt Diggers had protested on her behalf, calling the entire proceeding lawless and cruel.

But Dean Faris had presented her reasonings to the Mot Zebeya Courts. “As you recall, this isn’t the first time Kidan broke one of our laws. She was given an official warning and signed a house release form. In the event she was found breaking any of our laws, Adane House would be stripped from her and given to Uxlay as it wishes.”

There weren’t enough curses in the world to quell the rage Kidan felt. Though she had been given a chance to clean her face and look somewhat presentable, the grime under her nails and the darkness under her eyes told everyone where she’d been. Humiliation threatened to choke her.

She understood why Dean Faris invited as many souls to the event as possible. To restore their belief in the balance of power and curb their anxieties, they had to partake in the historical moment.