Page 78 of Ruin of Revenants

“He can sit outside while we talk,” my brother said firmly.

Mama’s smile faltered, her gaze flicking to Archer, who remained stoic, his hands shoved into his pockets. “Whatever is the matter?” she asked.

“He’s—” Bren started, but I elbowed him in the side.

“Mama,” I cut in, “this is Archer, my betrothed.”

Chapter Forty

Isoria

Mama’s eyes widened. “Oh. That was…”

“I know it happened fast,” I said, plastering on a smile that I hoped eased her and trying to appear nonchalant as my mind worked to twist the truth when I couldn’t outright lie like Archer could. “There’s a powerful bond between us.”

It was better than making Mama panic about the fact that he was my mortal enemy, the one prophesied to destroy us if I didn’t destroy him first. Or I hoped.

But Bren scowled. “He’s Crown Prince Archer Emberglade.”

The color instantly drained from Mama’s face, and I shoved my elbow into my brother’s side again in frustration. “Mama, please don’t panic,” I began.

“Please, I need to sit, and you can explain everything.” She swayed on her feet, grasping at the counter weakly.

My brother and I rushed to her side, helping her cross to the living room and get settled on some cushions. Archer hesitated near the doorway, looking uncertain for once.

“I’ll sit with him outside while you and Mama talk,” Bren volunteered, shooting Archer a dark look. He patted Mama’s hand, glanced at me to confirm the plan—I nodded, feeling relieved I could discuss this with Mama alone—and strolled to Archer. “Let’s enjoy the view out here, Your Highness.” A hint of sarcasm edged my brother’s tone.

As the door closed, I leaned into my mother, and she wrapped her arms around me. Weariness crashed over me, weighing down my bones, and I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. As she held me, I wept, in relief, in frustration, in fear, in sorrow. I didn’t want to return to Rainsong and its atrocities and hatred.

And yet…I did. I needed Emberglade to be saved from the revenants. Needed to know my people were safe from them too.

Mama grasped my face in her hands, lifting it to meet her gaze as she tenderly wiped away my tears. “Before you tell me the whole story, I need to understand. You’re telling me that you have to go back with him?” Her voice broke a little. “That you can’t stay home?”

“Yes, Mama.” She caught another tear as it escaped down my cheek, swiping it away with her thumb. “But I think I can save Emberglade this way. Maybe, because of the prophecy, we were always destined to be tethered together somehow. Maybe this is better because we cannot hurt each other. And even though it looks like I’ll have to marry him, maybe I can make a difference for our kingdom.”

Mama’s expression was sad. “There are other ways to be hurt, my love. I don’t know what to say. How can I accept that you must live among our enemies? Marry one?”

I clasped her hand. “By knowing I will protect our people this way.”

She hesitated. “I thought Prince Archer had blond hair.”

“We needed him to look different to protect us both.” And so I poured out the entire story to Mama, clinging to her like she was my lifeline. I shared how Archer and I had met in a graveyard after a revenant attacked, then explained all I’d learned about the blood bond and why I wouldn’t be able to stay at home but would have to go home with my enemy. I told her the tangle of conflicting emotions I carried now that I’d seen softer sides of Archer and his determination to save his kingdom. How, even though I’d compelled him to rescue Bren, he’d obeyed me without question when I’d asked him to send my brother to the dungeons rather than execute him at the party. How he’d noticed how I took my coffee, how he’d sacrificed for his people, how even now, there were confusing moments of tenderness between us that seemed like maybe he no longer viewed me as a fire demon.

At last, I leaned back, wiping at my eyes as tears formed once more. “If I go back, maybe we can save Emberglade. I don’t know what that means for the prophecy. Neither of us can hurt the other without both being harmed, and I don’t think he wants to be a killer any more than I do. But I’m afraid we won’t be able to stop the army of revenants either.”

Mama sighed. “Sit and let me do your hair.” Like I was a child again, I sat with my back to her as she wove the strands into a long braid down my back, her hands working in soothing movements that eased my anxieties.

“I should be the one helping you. How have you been feeling?” I said, but she smacked my shoulder lightly.

“I’m your mother, and I’ve missed you. Today is the best day I’ve had in a long while. I’m a little tired, but nothing that would prevent me from tending to you.”

So I let her do that for me. Afterward, she fetched our mugs. Cross-legged on a cushion, I sipped the lemon tea she’d sweetened with the perfect amount of honey and felt my tension slip away. How I’d longed for a day like this, how I’d feared I’d never have time with Mama like this ever again.

“My dear girl,” Mama said at last, her hazel eyes contemplative as she stared out the window, sipping her own tea. She’d always said that I’d gotten her dark hair but Father’s gold eyes. “I don’t know what the gods have planned for you, between the bond you share and your strange prophecies, but the way you speak of him tells me more than a bond and a prophecy tie you to him now.”

I frowned. “I don’t understand.”

She studied me with such affection, my heart ached. I never wanted to leave her and her steady presence again. Here, I wasn’t a phoenix shifter among my enemies or a fae bound to a prince trying to fight off a growing revenant army. I was just Isoria. “I think there may be a deeper bond growing between you, one not forged by the gods.”