Page 91 of His Ruthless Match (Below #3)
MAGISTRATE VAELEN
T he chamber was silent, save for the faint crackle of spellfire.
This place was older than kingdoms. Older than memory. It had seen civilizations rise and rot.
“They’re organizing,” Eldric said, voice clipped, cold. “Scattered cells in The Below. Rumors of training grounds. Weapons. Recruitment.”
Caladorn gave a low scoff, amusement curving his mouth. “Sympathizers with sharpened sticks and broken bloodlines. Let them form their little army. It won’t matter.”
“It will,” Eldric snapped. “If we ignore it. We let the rebellion fester, and the consequences will stain the stones beneath our feet.”
“We won’t ignore it,” I murmured, mainly just to keep my voice in the conversation.
They turned to me.
I let the shadows stretch across my face. “We’ll observe. Strategize. Tighten control where it matters most—on the bloodlines. On the voices. On the stories they try to tell.”
“And when they reach for fire?” Eldric asked.
Caladorn smiled. “Then we bury them in ash.”
The wards along the walls pulsed once, reacting to the vehemence in the room. Not fear. Containment.
“We need a new campaign,” Eldric said. “Tighter surveillance. Restricted movement. Quiet purging. No martyrs. No headlines. Make them disappear.”
“A correction,” Caladorn said, almost wistfully.
“No,” I corrected softly. “A cleansing.”
That word lingered.
Colder than the others. Sharper, too.
“A few seeds have already taken root,” Eldric went on. “Leaders. Propaganda. Rebellion disguised as resistance. It’s all underground, but you know what they say about what starts underground.”
“That will not last,” Caladorn cut in. “They’ll turn on each other soon enough. They always do.”
“We’ll help them,” Eldric replied. “Fuel suspicion. Erode their alliances.”
Silence settled like a blade balanced on its edge.
Then Eldric nodded. “Let them rally behind false hope. And when it collapses…” His mouth curled. “We’ll offer a solution .”
“One they’ll beg for,” Caladorn added.
“And the girl?” Caladorn asked. “She’s still useful?”
“For now,” Eldric said. “Her chaos draws attention in all the right directions. Wring her dry, then sever the thread.”
No one spoke her name.
I didn’t need to. I could still see her face.
Fractured, broken. The chaos around her was useful. She wasn’t the cause of the storm—just the first tremor before the ground gives way.
We ended the meeting like we always did. No farewells. No thanks. Just the retreat of monsters into deeper shadows.
But I stayed behind.
The torches dimmed. The spellfire guttered low. I looked out across the ancient runes etched into the chamber floor—marks from a war no one survived untouched.
Correction. Cleansing. Control.
They tossed those words like arrows. But I knew them for what they truly were.
The strays would not be erased quietly.
And as for the girl...
She was no thread to be trimmed. She was the match.
And matches didn’t flicker for long.
They light. They catch. They consume.
I turned and stepped from the chamber, my cloak whispering behind me.
Let them underestimate me, too.
Because in the quiet of my mind, where no eyes could reach, I had already begun to choose.
And soon...
I would choose fire.
Thank you for reading Eva & Jareth’s story…
You’ve made it through the fire—through teeth bared and hearts guarded, through all the fury, fear, and the wild, aching need neither of them wanted to feel.
This was never meant to be love.
But it clawed its way in anyway.
I hope it wrecked you. And maybe—just maybe—put you back together too.
If you haven’t read THEIR RECKLESS THIEF yet, now’s the time to dive in. That’s where it all started—Celeste, Vincenzo, Luca, and Dorian. One heist, three mafia kings, and a girl who refused to be anyone’s pawn.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for being the kind of reader who loves their romance a little dangerous. I’ve got you.