Page 65 of Reaper’s Ruin (Reaper’s Ruin Trilogy #1)

They descended from the highest towers of the Keep, their massive wings spreading like living night across the sky.

Beautiful and terrifying, these lethal warriors moved with impossible grace, their red eyes burning like coals in their perfect faces.

Shadows writhed beneath their skin like living tendrils, growing darker as they descended toward us.

The screams stopped and I scrambled to my feet.

“What are they?” Soraya gasped, staring up at the approaching horrors.

“Sentinels,” I answered grimly, my ears still ringing from their audible onslaught.

Even Reapers told stories in hushed tones of the winged nightmares that defended the Veil Lords. No Reaper could stand against one.

Not me. Not Taelon. Not all of us together.

Their appearance meant only one thing.

We had to run.

“Sentinels!” Lorien shouted. “Get to the bloody gates!”

I saw Skorn, Lorien and Taelon climb to their feet and start sprinting toward us.

But they slammed to a stop when a Sentinel landed in the courtyard between us with enough force to crack the ground beneath her feet.

When she opened her mouth, another scream tore through the air, driving even the most powerful Reapers to their knees in anguish.

I resisted the agony ripping through me, my centuries of experience and sheer will to protect Soraya allowing me to remain standing, though the pain was nearly unbearable.

The other four Sentinels landed, forming a circle around us. Their wings, unlike mine, were made for true flight—massive, feathered appendages now bristling with lethal energy. One raised her hand, and lightning crackled between her fingers before lashing out toward us.

“No!” Soraya screamed, throwing herself in front of me.

“Soraya!” I called out, but instead of exploding from a direct Sentry hit that would have killed even the strongest Reaper, she simply absorbed it with her latent Storm court abilities .

The Sentinel shrieked again, vibrating the air around us. But I pushed the pain searing through my body, shredding my ears, and rattling inside my brain, and I grabbed her as I bolted with her toward the gate.

Across the courtyard, I saw Taelon and his friends struggling against their own opponents.

Skorn’s ice magic clashed with a Sentinel’s fire, steam erupting where their powers met.

Lorien had created a shield of water that momentarily held back another Sentinel’s attack.

Taelon fought like a demon, flames engulfing everything around him.

But they were losing. We all were. For every Reaper that fell to our side, three more replaced them. The Sentinels were too powerful, their ancient magic beyond even what Court Warriors could match.

A Sentinel burst into the space in front of me, her attack catching me off guard. One swoop of her wing slashed across my chest like a blade. I stumbled backward, nearly falling. Another closed in from behind, her hands glowing with deadly energy.

I fought with everything I had, but my scythe found nothing but air.

They were too fast. Too powerful. A blow from behind drove me to my knees.

I looked up to see a Sentinel standing over me, her beautiful face, warped with darkness and shadows, cold and merciless as she raised her hand for the killing stroke.

I sought Soraya’s eyes across the chaos. If these were to be my final moments, I wanted her face to be the last thing I saw. Our gazes locked, and I poured eight centuries of love into that one look—all I’d never had the chance to tell her, all I’d never had the chance to be.

It wasn’t my own death that haunted my last moments of existence. It was knowing hers was next. The most beautiful, perfect, bright soul that had ever existed was going to be extinguished because I’d failed her. I’d failed all the humans before her, and now I’d failed her too.

The magic flickered in the Sentinel’s hand, growing as she aimed it at me.

“I’m sorry. I love you,” I mouthed, my eyes burning with a sensation I could only vaguely remember as... tears?

“RHYKER!” Soraya’s scream tore through the courtyard, raw with desperation. It was powerful and primal, and I felt her pain, her agony, her love, all collide together in my soul.

And then...

Light .

Pure, blinding light erupted from her body.

Not the gentle glow of a soul, but a supernova of radiance that expanded outward in a shockwave of power.

And with it came a sound like nothing I’d ever heard—like the tolling of a million celestial bells struck at once, echoing through the bones of the Keep itself.

It wasn’t just heard. It was felt. A vibrational roar of ancient power that slammed into the soul and demanded to be witnessed.

It washed over the courtyard like a tidal wave, throwing everyone—Reapers and Sentinels alike—backward with incredible force.

I was hurled through the air, landing hard against the stone wall. Pain lanced through me, but I barely noticed it, my eyes fixed on the impossible sight before me.

Soraya stood at the center of the courtyard, her body still radiating light so pure and brilliant it hurt to look at her. The shadows of the Umbral Keep retreated from her as if burned, leaving not a single dark corner in her presence.

The Sentinel who had been about to strike me down lay nearby, momentarily stunned by the blast. As I watched, something extraordinary happened.

The shadows writhing beneath her skin retreated, and for the briefest moment, her wings gleamed white instead of black, her eyes clear and blue instead of burning red.

She looked at me with an expression of profound grief and recognition—then, as Soraya’s light dissipated, she cried out in agony as darkness claimed her once more, shadows rushing back to consume whatever momentary freedom she’d found.

I realized in that moment that beneath the terror, beneath the darkness, those Sentinels were something else entirely.

But I couldn’t waste time wondering how something that had been so light, so luminous for a moment, could be warped into something as dark and dangerous as the Sentinels now rising back to their feet. I had one goal, one chance to save the woman I loved.

I staggered to my feet, disoriented but driven by one purpose—reaching Soraya. Around me, Reapers struggled to rise, dazed and thrown. But not all returned to the fight.

Some simply... stared at her.

Like light itself had taken form—and claimed her name.

One dropped his scythe.

Another fell to his knees, not in agony—but in reverence.

She was light in a land of endless shadow.

She stood unmoving at the center of it all, still glowing faintly, her hair lifting in the charged air, eyes wide with shock at what she’d done.

“Rhyker?” she called, voice trembling with uncertainty.

I pushed through the scattered Reapers, many still struggling to rise, and reached her side. “What was that?” I asked, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the gates. “How did you—”

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice trembling. “I just—I saw you about to die, and something... something broke open inside me.”

There was no time to consider the implications. Already the Sentinels were recovering, gathering themselves for another attack. Their wings spread wide as they prepared to take flight once more .

“We need to go. Now!” I pulled Soraya toward the gates, praying we weren’t too late.

But just as we were about to reach our freedom, a figure stepped into our path—Jade, the female Enforcer.

We slammed to a stop, and I yanked Soraya inside one wing.

Jade, though small, was absolutely lethal.

I wasn’t sure if I had what it took to overcome her devastatingly fast strikes.

But as I glanced at Soraya, I knew she was depending on me. I wouldn’t fail her. Not this time.

I raised my scythe, preparing for one final battle.

But instead of attacking, Jade’s silver eyes studied me as she stood in that last space between us and freedom. Her expression didn’t waver. Not fear. Not submission. Just... calm.

She simply tipped her head, looked at me, then at Soraya, some strange understanding moving across her features. Then something passed between us—some recognition, some unspoken understanding—and much to my utter shock, she stepped aside.

I didn’t question the miracle. With Soraya’s hand clasped firmly in mine, I charged through the gates, feeling the barrier of the Keep’s magic wash over us like a cold wave, then recede as we passed beyond its influence.

I turned back, searching the chaos for my unlikely allies. Taelon stood at the edge of the courtyard, injured but still standing. Our eyes met across the distance, and he grinned that infuriating, cocky grin that somehow, against all odds, I’d grown to appreciate.

“Get her out of here!” he called. “We’ll find you!”

“The place I mentioned!” I shouted back. “Hurry!”

He nodded, then turned back to the battle, flames erupting from his hands as he rejoined Skorn and Lorien in holding back the pursuing forces.

With one last look at the allies I’d never expected to find, I turned to Soraya. “Hold on to me,” I commanded, spreading my wings to their full span .

She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing herself against me as I gathered her close. With the barrier behind us, my power returned in full. I sliced through the shadows with my wings, and as darkness engulfed us, one thought burned bright in my mind, more powerful than any fear or uncertainty:

She was safe. For now, at least, she was safe.

And I would burn the realms to ash before I let anyone take her from me again.