Page 16 of Risen (Love and Revenge #6)
Ruya
I marveled yet again at how strange the past week had been.
After our formal dinner with Sadavir’s family and elders, I had tea with his mother several times, and I spent some part of nearly every day with one or both of his younger twin sisters.
It felt odd to spend so much time socializing and actually enjoying myself while we were hiding from the Order of the Triple Moon and stuck in a sort of breathless pause in our war against the syndicate.
Robin had slipped out several days ago to commit murder and meet with Acacia on her own, which hadn’t gone over well with anyone in the court. It still gave me a jolt of anxiety when I thought about how we could have lost her without even knowing, if her little trip had gone wrong.
But, her cold-blooded decision had yielded results.
Acacia had shared the location of her monthly meetings with the emperor.
And she and Robin had agreed to meet at the next full moon and bring Robin’s revenge plans to fruition.
Just a few short days from now, we’d be walking into battle with one of the most well-known and feared paranorms in the country.
Despite spending my days in the delightful company of Sadavir’s family, the tension had not left my body since Robin returned to us with her news and the date of the attack.
I had a fae bargain to fulfill, and there were severe magical consequences if I failed—not only would my own life be forfeit, but Yukio’s as well.
Somehow, I had to make sure that I was the one who killed the emperor.
The flicker of premonition I had been shown by the wild fae elder replayed in my mind, the shadowy form of a woman plunging a knife into the chest of the man who knelt at her feet.
“Ruya?” Sadavir’s voice was soft, and the feeling along our bond was one concern. “What is it?”
I shook my head, and did my best to dispel my previous train of thought, squeezing his arm to my side as he escorted me down a sloping hallway toward the naga temple, while Cicely followed along behind us. “Nothing. I was just… thinking about the ritual.”
He patted the back of my arm where it was twined with his. “There is nothing to fear. It will make you one of us.”
I nodded and drew a calming breath. I knew this was a big deal.
The ceremony I was about to participate in was to welcome me into Sadavir’s clan.
But it was more than just symbolic. While my mate was certainly pleased to formally make me one of his family, he had also explained to me that he had other, less warm and fuzzy motivations for insisting upon the ritual today.
Once I was magically bound to the naga, I should be able to draw strength from the clan—to literally bolster my physical and mental stamina. He was giving me this gift in an attempt to make me as strong as possible before our confrontation with the emperor.
And, while I would have been honored by the gesture anyway, given my stupid fae bargain I would be wise to grasp at any advantage I could find.
So, I tucked my fears away for now, banished the memory of the fae elder’s vision, and focused on my current surroundings.
The naga enclave had a deep magic. Even after a little over a week living among their tunnels and pools, there was a sense that I’d stepped sideways out of the world I knew into something older and slower—like time itself was awed by its surroundings.
Tonight was no different. If anything, the earth magic of the place was amplified, growing stronger as we got closer to the temple.
We walked through the torchlit corridor, our steps soundless, even on the slick stone. The air carried a weight of salt and incense that clung to my tongue. Somewhere far below, water moved in slow, tidal breaths, its sound echoing up through the tunnels and walkways like a heartbeat.
Sadavir hadn’t told me much. Only that the temple was sacred. That I should come as I was—no weapons, or armor, or jewelry. Martina had insisted that I carry the dagger she gave me at all times. But I had left it in our room tonight.
I knew the knife wouldn’t really do much for me if I had to fight—I had been learning to defend myself ever since I came to the rebel court, but I was still blind and inexperienced.
Even so, I felt vulnerable without the weapon, especially now with Acacia’s leash still coiled around Josh, the cult still on the loose, and the sick anticipation of our impending conflict with the emperor.
But Sanka had assured me he would protect me with his life, and there was no part of me that could tell him no.
So when he said no weapons, I did as I was told.
Sadavir slowed, drawing me with him, and I sensed the change in the air as the tunnel opened up above us into what must be a vast cavern.
Cicely briefly showed me a vision of the place.
The room before me disappeared into shadow past the warm blur of light coming from the nearby wall sconces.
Sadavir carefully led me down to a pool of water, describing our surroundings in a soft murmur, while Cicely dutifully stayed on more even ground, translating and serving as witness.
Carvings lined the rock at the water’s edge, and Sadavir described them to me as Cicely offered another short flash of sight—serpents twined with moons, eyes open and unblinking, mouths parted in silent song.
Sadavir stopped us at the edge of the pool and turned to face me. The warm glow from the nearby lights bathed us in fuzzy, muted yellow light. “This is the heart of the enclave,” he said. “My family restored the temple here, but it’s magic is far older than we are.”
I stepped closer, the water’s surface reflecting the lights and making it seem like the floor was glowing, to my limited sight. “I can feel it,” I said, my voice hushed. We were alone, but this place felt sacred. It didn’t seem right to disturb the silence.
I felt Sadavir’s happiness along our bond. “The magic here recognizes our bond. It remembers all magic. And it can strengthen those ties. It also has the power to cleanse the soul, or so my people believe.”
My chest tightened. “You’re saying—”
“I’m saying we’ve been carrying too much fear. For each other. For the court. For what comes next. I want to burn that out before we go to war.”
His words sank into me slowly, like the warmth of a fire when you were chilled to the bone. For a moment, I couldn’t speak. The only sound was the faint ripple of water against stone.
“What do I have to do?” I asked finally.
I felt him move, heard the soft sounds of the water as he stepped into the pool. “Come in. Keep our bond and our love for one another in your mind.”
It was a simple thing to summon up the warm feelings that came whenever I thought of my bond to Sadavir.
I followed, the cold water biting instantly at my skin.
The water deepened fast, climbing my calves until it reached my knees.
It wasn’t just water—it was heavy with power, pressing against me like a living thing.
My breath shortened as the current shifted, curling around my legs in a deliberate spiral.
Sadavir held my hands. His fingers were warm despite the water’s chill, his grip steady. “Close your eyes.”
He continued to speak aloud, his voice low and reverent. “You’ve helped me carry my fear, my anger, my grief, my joy, my love… you gave me back my life. Tonight, we let go of the weight. Give me all that you carry, so I might give it to the water.”
The words unlocked something I didn’t realize was still caged inside me.
I remembered the feelings, a flood of emotions as I recalled Josh and Sadavir when I’d first met them in Acacia’s court, forced to be quiet, small, but still defiant, and willing to cling to me like I was the their only hope.
I recalled how it felt, seeing them both grow more confident and at ease amidst the rebel court.
And I recalled how their energies and emotions felt to me now whenever I was in their presence…
Josh was a shadow bleeding sadness and despair.
Sadavir was trying too hard to be strong, when he felt helpless and lost.
And… I remembered the way Robin had sounded the night she’d decided to follow Acacia’s terms—bitter resignation and icy determination.
The way I could feel her aura darkening with every passing day, losing the battle with the wounded beast inside her.
The way the entire rebel court—and everyone I loved—seemed to be dancing on the edge of some ultimate loss, while I scrambled for anything I could do to save them.
The current tightened, swirling around my legs as if it would draw me deeper. The water was cold but threaded with heat where Sadavir’s magic touched mine, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. It felt as if it wanted to pull my memories from me, steal them away as it rushed past my skin.
“Let it go,” Sadavir whispered.
Reluctantly, breath hitching, I did.
It came like a flood—magic older than the stones around us, sliding over my skin and through my bones. It probed without malice, mapping every break, every scar. My own magic rose to meet it, wary at first, then locking into the steady, reassuring presence it offered.