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Chapter Twenty-Eight

RUNA

The rush of water sliding against a rocky beach echoed in the distance.

Flutterflies danced upon a briny breeze, alighting on delicate pink and purple blossoms. At the center of the queen’s royal garden, a multi-tiered fountain gurgled with turquoise water.

Manicured hedges lined the path to an enchanting gazebo with curved arches.

Ivy wrapped around the stone pillars, creating a flowing canopy that trailed over the domed roof.

On any other span, I’d have found it captivating. I plopped down on an iron bench tucked beneath the gazebo, glaring at the tranquil view. Maybe Victor was right. Maybe the prophecy was nothing but the ramblings of seers gone mad.

But what if he was wrong?

Since my parents’ deaths, all I’d desired was to redeem myself for the wrong I’d committed.

To make up for the fact that I’d failed to fulfill my mother’s dying wish—preventing Raelynn from putting Idris on the throne.

So, I stole enough to pay their taxes, keeping their homes from burning.

Stole to keep their children fed. Yet it was never enough .

While Idris drained the obsidian from the land, bleeding the kingdom dry, I’d lie awake at night, dying inside and praying for a solution.

Except if Victor Custodis was sent here to be the kingdom’s savior, the fates must surely be blind.

I closed my eyes, picturing Custodis on Carcerem’s throne, and, strangely, it wasn’t too difficult.

He certainly had the bearing of a king, wearing his arrogance like a crown.

While bossy and demanding, I couldn’t discount his leadership skills during the Fallen Trials.

There were many times that I’d floundered, not knowing what to do next, but Victor always seemed to have a plan.

He’d made snap decisions that saved our asses time and again.

Sure, the vampire had been heartless when it suited him, but he’d also acted with confidence.

Then there was the dragon. Victor could deny it all he wanted, but I knew that he’d leaped to my rescue, believing he would die. Proving he was willing to sacrifice his life for others when the mood struck. Were these not the actions of a noble ruler?

Perhaps Victor didn’t believe in the prophecy because he hadn’t grown up here and didn’t love the land or its people.

Nor me , whispered a tiny voice deep in my conscience.

I tensed at the thought. What did it matter what the vampire felt about me in the grand scheme of things?

I certainly hadn’t developed any tender emotions toward him.

My heart twisted like a hardened rock scraping beneath my breast. Nope.

No feelings at all. That he could so easily walk away from me after the time we spent together had no bearing on the situation.

Hell, my own sister had abandoned me for power and wealth. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that someone like Victor would do the same.

So why the heck did my chest ache?

Footsteps scuffed the ground. I whipped around. Custodis approached me with slow, careful steps, as one might a cornered animal.

“What are you doing here?” I snapped.

“Searching for you.”

My heart flipped at his answer, and I ignored the sensation. “Why?”

“To apologize.”

I snorted. “Yaga sent you. Didn’t she?”

He came to stand before me, leaning against a stone pillar.

Sunlight turned his silver hair to spun gold.

His broad shoulders filled out his tailored jacket, and his biceps strained his sleeves.

Despite his lack of magical reserves, there was a delicious air of power about him.

He looked nothing like the fallen lord I’d pulled from the gallspawn’s jaws.

Carcerem had done this to him, breaking him out of his stuffy shell.

He was thriving here, and yet he rejected her and what she could offer.

“Runa, I’m sorry.”

Yaga definitely had sent him. “No, you aren’t.”

The corner of his mouth quirked. “No. I’m not.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I’ve…nobody else to talk to.”

I sensed this was also the case in his mortal realm. That he’d chosen to confide in me might have straightened my shoulders, just a bit.

“Do you believe in the prophecy?” he asked, his shrewd gaze studying my reaction.

“Honestly, I…” My knee-jerk response was to declare that I absolutely believed, especially if Yaga said it was true. When in reality, I had doubts. “I don’t know. Even if I did, what does it matter when you do not?”

“I do not,” he confirmed.

“Then what do you believe?” This time, instead of throwing the question at him as a challenge, I genuinely wanted to hear his answer .

He heaved a heavy sigh. “I believe fate is what we make of it. It is our own choices that determine our future.”

“I don’t…disagree,” I dared to admit, causing his brows to shoot into his hairline.

“However,” I held up my palm before he read too much into my admission, “for a moment, let’s take the prophecy out of the equation.

You are still a divine being, descended from a demigod, who is intimately connected to Carcerem.

The only one capable of sitting on the throne.

How can you look at the suffering Idris has caused the land and its people and choose to turn your back on them? ”

He narrowed his eyes. “You mean, why wouldn’t I desire to rule over a desolate kingdom that cannot sustain itself?

A place of filthy criminals and peasants who’d love nothing more than to stab me in the back?

Where I’m not top of the food chain, and everything in this place wants to eat me?

Why wouldn’t I sacrifice my entire life to save them when they’d sooner spit on me in return? ”

I winced, having little to contest his argument except to add, “You could be king?”

“King of a dung heap.” He scoffed.

The insult stirred my temper. “You say that because you’ve only seen the worst of our kingdom.”

“There’s more?” He arched a brow.

“Of course, there’s more,” I bit out. “You’ve experienced Carcerem as the main course of a gallspawn’s meal, then as a captive, then as a prisoner in a twisted game.

” Now that I put it all together, it was no wonder he was eager to leave.

He’d yet to experience the beauty of our kingdom. The heart and resiliency of its people.

Yaga would have realized the same. She certainly didn’t send him to me to apologize. The conniving old woman was up to something. I simply needed to figure out what part she wanted me to play .

“Why did you really follow me out here?”

He didn’t even have the decency to act contrite for his duplicity. “Yaga says there is a way to restore my power. One that won’t take decades.”

My chest tightened. “Ah, it all makes sense now.” He hadn’t come to confide in me. He wanted something.

“She claims there’s a temple created by Hathor. A place of rejuvenation and rebirth I could visit. Only one being knows of its location. A divine creature the goddess created for the sole purpose of guarding her secrets. Yaga believes you could help me find them.”

I knew better than to think he desired this for the good of Carcerem. “So you will be at full strength when you return home.”

“Yes. That is my intention. Better to return a god than an exiled criminal.”

Yaga, in her wisdom, wouldn’t have shared this information without some purpose. I doubted that the reason was to help him seek his revenge in the mortal world.

If there was even a tiny possibility that he was the kingdom’s savior, I had to give him a chance to redeem himself.

Same as the fates had given me. My heart skipped at the realization.

Victor Custodis would be my penance for failing my kingdom so long ago.

This was the reason Yaga sent me to capture him that fateful day.

Why she’d placed me on the path to freedom. Carcerem’s freedom.

Since I was the one who’d found Carcerem’s lost king, I would be the one to bring him back into the fold.

Victor was a celestial being who’d lost his faith.

Who’d had his connection to Hathor’s sacred obsidian severed.

Surely, once I helped him to reconnect, he’d understand why he needed to stay—to set Carcerem’s people free.

And the taxes White Bridge owed in a matter of spans? They’d be safe if the lost king decided to stay. To fight .

I schooled my features, trying to hide the flush of hope rising in my heated cheeks. “You know, technically, I agreed to create a portal for you. I never said when. I mean, it could be years before the stars and the moons align properly.” Yeah, I’d totally made that part up.

He stiffened. “My kingdom, my world, was in peril when I left. Each minute I’m detained here takes me further from my goal.”

“Not to worry,” I said, flipping my lavender locks over my shoulder, enjoying my moment of power.

“I will open your portal in due time, as well as help you reach this temple. However, in exchange for this amendment to our original arrangement, I’m going to need something in return.

First, you will grant me three boons. Requests you may not deny. ”

“You’re blackmailing me?” His lips curled, interest gleaming in his eyes.

“Absolutely.” I tilted my chin. “I am a criminal, after all.”

Strangely, he didn’t seem angered by my admission, more like… delighted .

He prowled closer, and I resisted the impulse to sink on my bench like cornered prey. Dammit, I was the one in control here.

“Agreed,” he purred in a heated tone that sent a tantalizing tingle down my spine. “As long as the stakes are not life-threatening or these requests do anything to lengthen my stay.”

That was far too easy. Perhaps I should ask for more? “Very well,” I stated primly. “Second, there is the small matter of your portal requiring a sacrifice. A life given freely.”

“Yes.”

“That offering will be Vex. Once your power is returned, you should be able to control him as Idris controls his slaves. You will convince him to sacrifice himself.”

“Done.” He planted his hands on either side of the backrest, caging me.

His minty cypress fragrance washed over me, heating my blood.

I bit my lip. Focus, Runa. “Also, on this journey, you will subject yourself to all the wondrous things this world has to offer while keeping an open mind.” There was a chance once he’d seen Carcerem’s sweeter side, he’d rediscover his connection to the land and its people.

“While not complaining or belittling its people, nor your guide,” I added.

“Now, you’re pushing it, little thief.”

Yes, I was. Eh . Two out of three wasn’t bad.

He grasped my chin. “I didn’t realize you were such a skilled negotiator.”

I tipped my face to his, our mouths a single breath away from connecting. “I’m skilled at a number of things. It’s a shame you won’t be around long enough to experience all of them.”

With that, I shoved my palms into his chest and sprang to my feet, darting free of his embrace.

“It’s going to be a long, cold journey, vampire,” I purred on my way out of the gazebo, adding an extra swish to my hips. “Hope you’re up for it.”

His low, frustrated growl had a bubble of laughter rising in my belly.

“So do I, little thief. So do I.”