by Leigh Kelsey
Maia wouldn’t go back to it. She refused to.
She had to make it across the bridge, had to make it to the terrace house by the river. It was the only place she might be safe. Even that wasn’t guaranteed, but it was all she had, and she clung to it.
Maia took another step, her heart clamouring up her throat, but her foot gave out and she crumpled to the rough stone, pain exploding through her kneecap and shoulder as they hit the unforgiving bridge and skin scraped raw. Her head lolled, and for a reckless moment, she just laid there, dazed and breathless and scared beyond belief. There was only the cold and the pain spiking through her chest with every rise and fall, agony drumming through her shoulder, and the saints as silent witness. There was nothing else on this wind-tossed bridge in that endless moment after she fell. She wanted to curl up and cry, but if she did that, her life was forfeit. She had to scrape her agonised body off the floor, and keep running.
“Got you,” Etziel said, a smile in his voice as his boot slammed into Maia’s ribs. No warning, no hint of it coming—just blinding pain mauling her middle, her throat hoarse as a scream forced its way out.
Her breaths became shards of jagged air that hurt to inhale, and tears veiled her vision in a blinding sheet as she curled around herself, hands shaking, death so close she could feel the wolves breathing down her neck, and the abyss’s heat blistering her skin.
Was this how she would die? On a bridge she’d crossed so many times she’d lost count, in a city she’d loved for as long as she could remember?
But it wasn’t death that Etziel offered. He would drag her back to servitude and fear, shove her into that life and watch her choke on it.
She wouldn’t go back.
She wouldn’t.
Power burned through her chest, or maybe it was blind, stupid stubbornness that dug its heels in. Whatever it was, it strengthened Maia as she gritted her teeth and flattened her palms against the rough stone of the bridge, a brush of soft velvet under her fingers—the petal that had fallen from her bodice. She left it there on the bridge; it had given her little luck so far, why should it help her now?
Little stones dug into her hands as she pushed back, but she ignored every gasp of pain. Her lungs had to be scratched raw, her body battered, and pain made everything harder, an uphill battle it was almost impossible to win. Almost.
“I’m not dying here, not at your hand,” Maia snarled, panting for breath, his scent of apples and blood clinging to her throat. But it was enough, a vow to the saints watching, a message and a warning to whoever dared to bet against her. “I’m not dying here.”
Etziel laughed, crouching beside her as Maia heaved herself into a sitting position, her back thumping against the bridge’s stone wall. She panted and blinked, her surroundings spinning like a merry-go-round, lamplight and starlight blurring together into one bright magic-like streak.
“Then where would you rather die?” he asked, amusement shining through his courtly veneer. “I’m amenable to suggestions. Let the saints observe my graciousness and hospitality.”
Maia sucked in a breath and steeled her nerves, braced for the pain she knew would break her in two. “Let the saints observe this,” she hissed, and snapped her forehead into his nose, hot blood splashing across her face. Holy fuck, that hurt. She gritted her teeth as the world crashed in a painful blur, but Etziel fell back with a grunt, grabbing his face as blood spurted. She’d accomplished that, at least. Warmth bloomed on her shoulder, and Maia took it as a saint urging her to get up.
She dug her fingernails into the wall behind her and hauled herself to her feet, stumbling away as fast as her bruised body would allow.
Slow, too slow, but she didn’t stop her faltering run, grateful for the wind pushing at her heels, making her faster.
Five feet to the end of the bridge, now.
Four feet. She could see the house—Azrail’s house.
Three feet. She didn’t dare breathe, her whole body buzzing with anticipation and pain.
“You can’t get away, Maia,” Etziel said, his voice thick with blood. “There’s nowhere you can hide that I won’t find you.”
“Wanna bet?” Maia spat weakly, pressing a hand to her ribs as agony blared through the place he’d kicked her at her jerky, rushed movements.
Two feet. The stone steps down to the riverside were within view.
One foot. Please—please.
Maia couldn't breathe as she grabbed at the wall and stumbled towards the steps, bits of mortar embedding under her fingernails. But with her foot on the top step she realised that reaching the end of the bridge was only the first obstacle. Now, she had to get down the tall, narrow staircase to the riverside on numb, uncooperative legs.
But it turned out getting to the bottom was easy as tripping over her numb feet. A breathless scream tore from her lips as her body slid out from beneath her, and she could do nothing to stop herself tumbling down the river-slick steps. Her screams became whimpers as hard, stone edges slammed mercilessly into her body, cutting and breaking her open until there was no part of her that wasn’t in agony, until she tasted her own blood.
She saw nothing beyond a speeding blur, the fall too fast to process, and she landed in a bruised, bloody heap at the bottom, stunned into stillness. For an endless minute, Maia just stared at the starlit sky overhead as the heavens opened and drops of rain fell onto her body, every part of her screaming with pain. Her mind screamed, too, a deafening refusal to go back to the palace, to her aunt, to that life of never saying no. The raindrops were cool and soothing, the Eversky’s comfort making Maia’s eyes slide shut.
But that glade inside her soul stretched out a branch, beseeching her, a tiny, precious leaf unfurling on its edge. Hope—she wasn’t caught yet. Battered and broken and certainly on the edge of capture. But she wasn’t caught yet.
Maia dragged her eyelids apart with a groan of pain. Etziel was going to catch her. She only had to make it five houses down this riverside path, she reminded herself. Just five houses, you can do that.
If she sat up, she’d be able to see the house she’d watched the Sapphire Knight disappear into. She was close—so close to almost-safety.
The glade rattled its branches within her, an urgent encouragement, and Maia pushed onto her elbows with a garbled scream. The terrace houses and the dark river went black as she fought her way to her knees, nearly tipping back to the floor, but she threw out a hand automatically to catch herself on the wall to her left, her palms not the only thing leaving bloody streaks anymore. If she’d fallen even a metre more to her right … the Luvasa would have swallowed her.
But better the Luvasa than the twisted man stalking her, laughing softly as he reached the top of the stairs and beheld what a broken mess she’d become.
No more resting, she breathed to herself, and swore the warm hand on her shoulder pushed at her. Time to get up now.
Getting to her feet was an agony, the world cutting out to blackness again, but she gritted her teeth and refused to surrender to unconsciousness. She’d never thought it was possible to be in this much pain and still be alive, but the torment only increased, growing until she couldn’t see anything but blurs when the blackness receded.
But Etziel’s soft laugh had her moving, sheer instinct propelling her into a shambling walk down the row of houses. With shaking, bloody hands, she held onto the steel railings that fenced in their neat, boxy gardens, but Maia didn’t make out any of their contents as she put one aching leg in front of the other. She counted each gate she passed, screaming through clenched teeth with every step, making painstaking progress.
Behind, she could hear Etziel skipping slowly down the steps after her. He didn’t realise she had an end destination yet; he thought she was only trying to run from him. Maia prayed to the saints that he didn’t figure it out, that he didn’t know who lived here as she passed another gate.
One more house, and she was there. One more.
Her ankle had twisted in the fall, an
d pain arrowed through her leg with every halting step she took. Maia tried to ignore that the rest of her body was every bit as ruined, warm blood running down the side of her face, a startling contrast to the cool rain.
One more house, and you’re safe. Just one more.
The world went black again as pain shot up her leg, but her hand found the cold latch of the next gate, and her bottom lip wobbled. She prayed she’d counted correctly as she fumbled the gate open and dragged herself up the path, hauling up whatever reserves she had left for those even steps. Only the glade in her soul, unfurling branches of encouragement with every step she took, kept her moving. Power reached through her insides like a warm hug, keeping her mercifully upright as she raised a fist and slammed it into the door. Her arm was so heavy that it fell to her side on the third knock, and her hand left a smear of blood on the cobalt door.
“Please,” she breathed, her voice shaky, dizziness of the fevreweed catching up to her as she slumped against the door, the cold wood a blessed relief. “Please…”
Etziel was closer now, his footsteps confident and unhurried. “No one’s going to help you there, Maia. These houses all belong to northsiders.”
She said nothing, leaning her forehead against the cool, soothing wood of the door, her eyes sliding shut as rain soaked her hair, making her dress heavy and cold.
Please…
She fell forward as the door swung away, tasting blood on her lips as she cried out. Her eyes flew open on instinct as she hurtled towards the ground—and was caught in arms that were an agony to her open wounds.
Behind her, Etziel swore, footsteps moving swiftly away. She sobbed, her breathing shattered to sharp, painful shards as she blinked dizzily at a face she recognised. So handsome it hurt, his eyes the purest, deepest blue.
“I had nowhere else to go,” she slurred, and passed out in Azrail’s arms.
Thank you for picking up my newest series - I hope you loved Heir of Ruin! There is much, much more in store for Maia, starting with book two Heart of Thorns, where she grows closer to her harem and the beastkind mystery deepens. It releases in June 2021.
Leigh
P.s. sorry for the sliiiightly evil cliffhanger.
Thank you for reading!
I hope you enjoyed Heir of Ruin!
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About the Author
Leigh Kelsey is the author of sweet and steamy books for anyone with a soft spot for steely women and the tortured men who love them. No matter what stories she’s writing – vampires or shifters or rebels – they all share a common thread of romance, heart, and action. She is the author of the Lili Kazana series, the Vampire Game series, the Moonlight Inn series, and the Second Breath Academy series. Leigh also writes new adult and young adult books under the name Saruuh Kelsey.
Find these other books by Leigh Kelsey!
All solo books free on Kindle Unlimited
Call of Magic (99c Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, and Fantasy stories)
Captured and Captivated (Alien and Sci-Fi Romance)
Happily Furever After (Animal Charity Anthology)
Kiss of Magic (PNR w/ Curvy Women)
Love Bites (Paranormal Vampire Romance)
Stand Alone Stories
Sinful Beauty (RH Demon Romance Stand-Alone)
Fae of the Saintlands series
Heir of Ruin
Heart of Thorns
Blacktower Prison for Supernaturals series
(complete series)
Prison of Embers
Tower of Sparks
Fortress of Flame
Refuge of Firelight
Lili Kazana series
(complete series)
Complete Series Box Set (w/ exclusive epilogue!)
Cast From Heaven
Crowned By Hell
Called By Gods
Vampire Game series
(complete series)
Complete Series Box Set
Vampire Game
Vampire Touch
Vampire Legacy
Moonlight Inn series
(complete series)
Complete Series Box Set (w/ exclusive epilogue!)
Mated
Empowered
Unlimited
Ascended
Unleashed
Victorious
Dead Space Universe
Dead Space (RH Sci-Fi Stand-Alone)
Second Breath Academy series
How To Raise The Dead
How To Kill A Ghost