Page 58 of Whispers of Ruin
“No, we usually make it further than this or to the crudue vine before calling it for the night, but I think everyone could use a break after what happened earlier.”
“So do I.” Brokk stopped gathering wood to study the river. “Anything in there that’s going to eat us?”
A smile tugged at the corner of Ryker’s lips, but there was no humor in it. “We’ve crossed it to get to the crudue vine, and nothing has tried, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something in there now.”
There was a time when coming to Doomed Valley and learning its secrets was his biggest dream. Now, he’d give anything to get away from the choking jungle, unrelenting humidity, the fucking bugs, and countless enemies stalking them.
He glanced over at where Kaylia had formed a circle with the remaining witches. They all held hands as they bowed their heads and whispered words he couldn’t hear; tears streaked their faces.
“Will the witches leave now?” he asked.
“They haven’t left yet. We’re paying them well, but I think it’s become a mission for them to rescue Leo and defeat the ophidians too. More than a few witches have already died here; if they were to leave now, those lives would have been lost in vain. I think they would see it as a disgrace to the memory of those who have perished if they left now. Plus, Allegra had a thing with Leo.”
“They were sleeping together?”
“Yes, but I think it meant more to her than him. She and the other witches were there for the ghoul war. They’ve been through a lot, seen a lot, and shed a lot of blood; I think they intend to see this through to the end.”
“And Allegra is in love with your king?”
“Maybe, and if she’s not, she’s at least something.”
Brokk’s gaze shifted back to the mourning witches. Witches had always hired out their services to other immortals; most of them made a living by working for others, selling their potions, and casting spells, but it surprised him that they continued to put themselves in jeopardy for money.
But love could make someone do the craziest, bravest, worst, and best shit ever.
Love was why he and Kaylia remained here. Him, for his oldest brother, best friend, the man he admired and loved deeply as he did the future sister-in-law he’d come to care for a lot. Kaylia was here because she’d grown to love Lexi and because she couldn’t stand the suffering others would endure if they lost the queen of Dragonia.
And everyone inallthe realms would suffer because Cole would unleash destruction on anything in his way. Without Lexi, the Shadow Reaver could never be stopped.
Brokk finished gathering wood and carried it over to the ever-increasing pile they’d stacked in the center of their newly established camp. He set his sticks on top of the others, stepped back, and rubbed his hands together to get rid of the bark and debris adhering to them.
Makeshift tents and shelters had already been set up beneath the trees; many were created from their limbs. Guards already stood around the perimeter, keeping watch of the safe space the witches established before they gathered to mourn.
When he looked back at Kaylia, his heart clenched. She was beautiful; he desired and admired her, but the swell of emotion he experienced around her was a new sensation.
He didn’t understand what it meant or why she caused the vampire part of him to rise to the surface so strongly that his fangs tingled. He gritted his teeth against the unexpected hunger she’d awakened and returned to the river.
He stopped at the edge again and surveyed the brown water flowing past them. Tree roots and rocks poked above the surface, and branches dipped into the water. Leaves swirled as they floated leisurely past.
“At least it looks clean,” he muttered.
Ryker chuckled. “The bottom is muddy, but the water’s clean. I’ve bathed in it before, and it’s a far better option than being covered in sweat and smelling like shit.”
Brokk wasn’t so sure, but since he couldn’t stand the smell of himself anymore, he planned to find out.
CHAPTERFIFTY-FIVE
Kaylia finished washingherself the best she could in the river and sat back to study the sluggish current. In some sections, ripples radiated outward as the water moved around tree roots and rocks.
She saw no signs of life within the water’s murky depths, but because she imagined it was full of gators, snakes, and leeches ready to devour them, she’d stayed on land and dipped her hands into the river to wash herself. Entering the water was not something she was willing to brave after the earlier events of this day.
Kaylia glanced back at where the witches had assembled their sleeping quarters for the night. They’d draped tarps over the trees and gathered close to the trunks to find solace in the life flowing through the jungle.
Verdan was in ruins, but they’d returned the bodies of the fallen to the witches’ realm and buried them in the sacred land of the dead. While there, they hadn’t encountered any other witches, and a palpable hush hung over the weeping land.
Verdan would be rebuilt, and the witches would see to it, but that rebuilding hadn’t made it to the land of the dead yet. They hadn’t encountered anyone else while there and returned through the portal they’d left open and heavily guarded on both ends.
When they finished, Ryker and his men carried their fallen into Tempest. They didn’t stay to bury them but returned to Doomed Valley before seeing the bodies claimed by their families.
