Page 50 of Reaper’s Ruin (Reaper’s Ruin Trilogy #1)

The Storm Warrior’s attack had washed over her like water, leaving her untouched. She stared down at her unharmed form still sparking with residual energy, then her eyes met mine, wide with surprise that quickly gave way to understanding.

Storm Court blood. All Storm fae were immune to electrical hits. She truly was her father’s daughter.

There was no time to process this revelation as more guards poured in. I grabbed her hand, and we ran for the stables, cutting down the few guards who tried to stop us.

The stalls were filled with magnificent horses, no doubt fast and brave, but I rushed past them to the barn with the Stormsteeds.

We burst through the door, and they jumped, heads snapping up at the commotion.

Their feathered bodies shifted nervously as we hurried down the aisle until I found the one I’d ridden before.

“Remember me, Moonshadow?” I said, reaching out to calm the skittish stallion.

He softened at my touch.

I opened the stall door, slipping his halter on and tossing the lead rope around his neck like makeshift reins.

Careful not to spook him with my quick movements, but moving fast enough to keep us in front of the guards charging our way, I led him out of the stall.

I grabbed Soraya by the waist, lifting her up onto his back, then I swung up behind her.

Moonshadow danced beneath me, but I reached forward and stroked his neck.

“Easy, boy. I need you to get us the hell out of here. Once we’re safe, you can come back and be with your friends.”

He seemed to settle, so I wrapped one arm around Soraya’s waist, securing her against me as I took the reins with my other hand.

The Stormsteed needed little guidance—a touch of my heels and he burst forward, powerful legs carrying us down the aisle then through the stable doors and into the storm-swept night.

Behind us, shouts and curses erupted as our pursuers realized we were escaping. Lightning split the sky, illuminating the courtyard as we galloped toward the main gates .

Guards rushed to close them, the gap to our only escape narrowing by the second.

“We’re not going to make it,” Soraya breathed as the gates closed past the point Moonshadow could pass through them.

I looked around, the Storm Warriors charging toward us from behind. More warriors filtering to the gate in front of us. I thought about veering off. About searching for another way. But there was no time, and no other door.

I reached down, sliding my hand across his feathered neck, letting my desire to keep her safe surge through me as I begged him, hoping he could feel my need.

I closed my legs tighter around Moonshadow, urging him on. He responded instantly, his strides swallowing up the ground beneath us as we charged headlong toward the guards and the wall they thought would stop us.

I felt his wings unfold, his body coiling back on his hind legs as he prepared to make the jump. I gripped Soraya tight as our steed launched himself into the air.

We soared toward the top of the gate, but his small wings couldn’t lift us high enough.

And then, I felt it.

Power. Rage. Need.

My Veilwings exploded from my back with a roar of wind and wrath, catching the current and lifting us higher. For one breathless second, we were weightless. Untouchable.

And then we soared. Apart neither of us could truly fly, but together, our combined wings lifted us over the gate, over the guards, over the death they tried to chain us to. We didn’t flee. We flew.

Soraya’s face turned toward me, eyes wide, lips parted. Lightning flashed, illuminating her like a goddess—glowing skin, wild hair, that perfect mouth shaped in astonishment. The wind howled around us, the world blurred beneath.

And in that heartbeat, I didn’t feel like a Reaper. I didn’t feel like Death.

I felt alive.

Because of her.

And as we soared over the gates of Thunderspire Keep, over the warriors who couldn’t stop us, over the city that tried to kill her—I felt it in my bones.

She was mine.

And I would burn this world to ash before I let it destroy her.

We landed on the other side, Moonshadow scrambling to catch his stride again, but in a heartbeat he was off. We raced through the city streets, the beast’s cloven hooves striking sparks from the cobblestones.

“Holy shit. We just flew over that gate!” Soraya called over the rush of wind. “Now where are we going?”

“The Flame Court,” I replied, guiding our mount toward the southern road. “It’s hostile territory to the Storm Court. If we cross their borders, the Storm Warriors can’t follow without risking war.”

“How far?”

“Three full day’s ride. We need to put as much distance between us and Thunderspire as possible before dawn. We killed Princess Ravenna’s brothers... Crown Prince Alaric’s uncles. They’ll be after us.”

She nodded, leaning back against my chest as the Stormsteed carried us into the night. The city fell away behind us, replaced by the wilds of the Storm Court territory. Lightning continued to dance across the mountain peaks above, illuminating our path in brief, brilliant flashes.

I kept one arm firmly around Soraya, her body warm against mine as we rode. Her breath came in even measures now, the adrenaline of our escape giving way to exhaustion. But she never complained, never asked to slow or stop.

She had faced her murderer, learned the truth of her heritage, fought her way out of a royal palace, and discovered her own immunity to Storm magic—all in the span of an hour. Most would have broken under less. Yet she remained strong, determined, resilient.

And still, no door had appeared for her. Despite learning the truth of her death, despite confronting her killer, peace had eluded her. I should have been concerned, worried about what this meant for her soul’s journey.

Instead, a traitorous part of me rejoiced. Every moment her door remained unopened was another moment I could keep her with me.

As the Stormsteed carried us through the darkness toward the distant borders of the Flame Court, I tightened my arm around her, drawing her closer against me. Her hair whipped in the wind, occasionally brushing my face with its floral scent.

The road stretched before us, winding through storm-lashed mountains toward the distant glow of the Flame Court. Behind us, I had no doubt Storm Warriors were already in pursuit, their Stormsteeds faster than any natural mount.

It would be a race against time and fate itself. But with Soraya in my arms, for the first time in eight centuries, I found myself believing in something beyond duty and vengeance.

I believed in us.

And that belief burned brighter than any fire, stronger than any storm that might stand in our way.

Even the storm of losing her.