31. “Woe to you, O destroyer”

31. “Woe to you, O destroyer”

Skylenna

I search their frames pressedfirmly together for any signs of a struggle. For any signs of a non-consenting powerplay.

Her legs tangle between his. And their kiss is…intimate. Slow. Passionate. Her thin hands wind up the length of his neck, one hand curling up into his hair, the other in his beard.

I have to restart my heart. Breathe again. Force oxygen into my bloodstream.

“Ruth…” I utter, broken, shocked, unable to process.

Her body rips from his in surprise, spinning with her hand over her mouth to face us. And I’ve never seen anyone look so completely caught off guard. We might as well have walked in on her mid-orgasm.

“Shit,” she breathes into her hand.

Dessin is the first of us to move. Taking a murderous step forward while I’m still here in the helpless form of a statue.

“Take your fucking hands off her.” The careful steps forward are those of an apex predator creeping in on its prey.

Kaspias smirks at his brother, lifting his hands to show he is no threat to her whatsoever.

“Did he hurt you?” I finally find my voice.

The length of Ruth’s throat ripples as she swallows deeply. Her soothing brown eyes search mine, and to both my relief and horror, she shakes her head.

“Ruth?” Warrose’s voice cracks.

“Are you going to tell them, darling?” Kaspias purrs with smugness written all over his grin.

“Tell us what?” Dessin grits.

Ruth looks down at her bare feet, wipes her mouth with the pad of her thumb. She glances over at Kaspias, though not in fear or disgust. She looks at him for support.

The tall, edgy commander gives her an encouraging nod.

What the fuck is happening right now?

“The assignment I was given didn’t seem hard at the time. But then, I didn’t expect to love you all so much,” Ruth says, releasing a shaky breath and pinning her meaningful gaze to me.

“What are you talking about?” I have no idea if I’m speaking or if it’s Niles or Marilynn. I don’t know what’s going on. I feel like I’ve stepped into an alternate reality.

She bites her lip, twirling a curl around her index finger. “I was assigned to watch you all. To report back on everything I learned. It was an honor to receive these kinds of orders…but once I met you and went through everything we experienced together…”

Ruth’s eyes fill with tears as the new reality sets in. It weighs me down like a house has collapsed on my shoulders. Sure, it’s convincing. But I don’t fucking buy it.

“No.” I breathe through my nose to steady myself. “He can’t force you to say these things, Ruth. We’re soul sisters. I know it in my heart.”

Ruth sighs miserably, looking back to Kaspias with an extended hand. He holds it in his, and at this, I take an offended step backward. No. NO.

Dessin’s muscles flex, then go rigid beside me. He turns his head, staring at me like he’s partially convinced.

But it’s a lie!

“I love you, Skylenna. That wasn’t a lie. I’m not some monster without feelings,” she explains with watery eyes that look two seconds from spilling over. “But I was given an assignment that I had to carry out.”

“Shut up!” I flinch, heat rising to my face like a vicious sunburn.

“You’re good people! But this is how I was raised!” She’s crying now, snot forming in her nose, which she repeatedly sniffles.

I flip my attention on Dessin. “Tell me she’s lying. Look at her body language. Tell me she’s been drugged or brainwashed.”

Dessin’s mouth parts like he wants to give me the honest answer that his instincts are telling him. But his dark chocolate eyes flick to my shaking hands, my twitching eye. He raises his chin at the challenge, examining her the way he would do to anyone who entered his room in the asylum. Patient Thirteen, the entity that could pick you apart, the being that could pull your secrets from your grasp like a loose thread.

Warrose steps forward, fists clenched, but face lacking any emotion.

“Tell me the truth. Is he forcing you to say this?”

She looks at Warrose with slumping shoulders. “I wish he was.”

Kaspias lets out a laugh that lacks humor or kindness. It’s mean. It’s sour. It’s meant to wound. “How do you think she’s the only one able to speak Old Alkadonian? No one from Dementia can speak it.”

Each word flies through my brain like a sword dipped in poison.

No.

“Or who do you think told us that you were going to be on the ship? Did you really think Ruth just happened to meet you at Meridei’s dining party? At the exact time when the two experiments met in the asylum? Coincidence? Fate for a special soul sister bond?” Kaspias laughs some more.

Ruth glares back at him and says, “Knock it off.”

Each moment I’ve had with Ruth soars through me. How easily she accepted Dessin poisoning the staff. How quick she was to leave her life and family behind just to travel with us and outrun Demechnef.

Slowly, the pieces fit the narrative.

I peer back at Dessin with wide, pleading eyes.

And…he just looks at me. An expression that says a thousand words. Mostly apologies. But nevertheless, the truth is there.

My soul cracks right down the middle.

I’m instantly reminded of the moment I met the real leader of Demechnef. How I looked into Aurick’s wintery blue eyes. He had no remorse. At least, not that he was willing to reveal in that encounter. The betrayal nearly knocked me to the floor.

But this…this is different.

This isn’t just a betrayal.

This is the death of a character I have fallen in love with. Though my soul sister was fictional, she was still embedded in my heart like a birthmark. And she was never real. She’s been a spy from day one.

Air whooshes out of my lungs, deflating me.

I take another step back, looking from Dessin to Warrose, and finally, my gaze lands on Niles. He looks exactly how I feel.

Gutted.

“Wow,” I say with a bitter laugh, swiping a tear away with malice. “You played that part well, didn’t you?”

Ruth places a hand over her stomach, pinching her eyes shut to release a few more tears.

“Stop crying!” I hiss, yanking my hand away from Dessin. “You can stop acting now! The show’s over!”

My shoulders are quaking, and I’m going to vomit.

She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend. She’s not my best friend.

“You must have had a good laugh all the times I bared my soul to you! You fooled me!” I’m yelling now, eyes wide, smile cruel. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me now. But I can’t stop the hate that’s stinging my aching heart.

“And you?” I throw a sharp look at Kaspias. “Congratulations! You did it! In a single moment, you managed to rip us apart.”

I applaud his efforts. Literally clapping my hands obnoxiously together.

He doesn’t bother looking anything but pleased with himself. But that’s the thing, I expected this of him. But Ruth? No. Never.

“How could you do this to us?” Niles’s voice breaks, crumbling to his feet as he looks at our former friend with a broken heart.

Ruth opens her mouth to respond, but I beat her to it.

“Isn’t it obvious, Niles? She’s a sad girl with a sad life. And clearly, sad taste in men. She had nothing better to do!” Everything radiating from my clenching body is venomous. I’m like a wounded animal backed into a corner.

Warrose remains unmoving. Unyielding. A shadow among my uncontrollable flames.

“Was any of it real, Ruth?” He watches her carefully, like any small sign she could give him might disrupt this illusion she’s painted for us.

I find myself leaning in, too. Desperate for some truth that might soften this blow.

Ruth doesn’t look at him. Instead, she glances up at the ceiling with shame.

“Some of it was.”

And Warrose winces. I, on the other hand, scoff loudly. The sound is wet and shrill.

“So, it’s him then?” he pushes, the intent behind his question painfully clear to the rest of us.

In response, Ruth slides closer to Kaspias, enough so that he can wrap his thick arms around her upper body, molding her to his chest. And to make it so much worse, Kaspias rests his chin on top of her head, inhaling deeply with a condescending smirk.

Warrose turns away.

“Go then,” I bark, thrusting my arm out in the opposite direction. “Ride off into the sunset with him. You’ve done your job.”

“Actually,” Kaspias interrupts. “She’s still assigned to watch you. Cruel, isn’t it? Ruth is still assigned to be your cage neighbor.”

The hallway walls shrink, closing in on me until all I want to do is crush her. Remove his organs. Beat them to a pulp.

And before I can lunge, Dessin puts a hand on my shoulder.

“You’ve been with us long enough to know us, Ruth. And I’m sure you understand the consequences of your betrayal.” He strides up to her until she can feel his breath on her face. “We will not leave this prison until you’ve paid for what you’ve done in blood.”