Page 223 of Revels on an Angel’s Grave

His fingers nearly closing on the hem of Emmeline’s gown, but she whisked it away, shoving Myrella ahead of her.

“Keep going!” Emmeline said as a commotion rose behind them. “We need horses. Get to the graveyard.”

More soldiers raced after them, but despite her own violence, they didn’t dare hurt her—didn’t send any weapons flying her way.

One looped an arm around her waist, but Emmeline kicked viciously at him, panting and clawing. Her heel drove in his knee, his shin. Finally, he cried out, his hold loosening as he collapsed behind her.

Heart pounding, Emmeline stumbled to the stone floor, flipping around to see Cyren standing over the man with their sword out. They spun, ready to face the next of Rocarri’s guards.

“GO!” the General barked without looking back at Emmeline.

She didn’t know why they were so insistent on helping her, but a kinship she didn’t understand burned in the words.

Emmeline cast one nervous glance around Cyren’s frame as they lunged. More guards were flooding down the hall. They wouldn’t be able to hold them all off.

But Cyren wasn’t alone. Graves, loyal to a fault despite how difficult she’d made his job by constantly sneaking away, had taken up a defensive position, broadsword raised in both hands and a string of triple blades across his chest.

He gave Emmeline a look that told her to hurry out of here.

And she wasn’t foolish enough to waste their efforts.

“Thank you,” she called and hurried after Myrella, praying to the Fates they were fast enough to save Lola.

Chapter Seventy-Three

Desmond

“Let me get this straight, Alvanti,” Eston whined as he traipsed around the base of the temple in the Second District, following much closer than Desmond wished.

They’d headed here when Emmeline and Myrella went to the arena, hoping to find a hint at the first murder scene in Valyn that helped them guess where Dryvius would take Lola. With Valyn City Guard occupied with the tournament, they could finally get closer to the scene.

“Go ahead,” Desmond drawled, growing more annoyed with the man by the second.

Desmond stood at the top of the stairs, hands on his hips and fingers drumming a repetitive rhythm as he looked up at the faint outline of the bloody message they hadn’t entirely been able to scrub away. With the candle backlighting Anphrosia’s stained glass window, the words’ silhouettes were stark.

“Lola—”

“She’s not Lola to you,” Desmond grumbled, but Eston either didn’t hear him or didn’t care to acknowledge the complaint.

“—was kidnapped by a Fate. The Fate we all thought was dead, who also killed her brother?”

“Yes, and he used her older brother to do it. The previous killing, not her kidnapping. I don’t think.” He supposed they couldn’t be positive about that until they found the fucker and got the truth, but he was fairly certain Roremar wasn’t being used again.

Desmond strode forward, ripping open one of the doors into the temple. He dropped his voice as he strode up the aisle, acolytes and searchers who didn’t care about the tournament reading in small, curtained alcoves framing the interior. “But something happened when Nico was killed—some prophecy fulfilled—and Dryvius got back the body he lost when everyone thought he died centuries ago, so now, he’s somewhere in this Fatesdamned city, masquerading as anyone, because no one on this Fatesdamned realm knows what the Fatesdamned Fates look like nowadays or what form he took.”

“Un-fucking-believable,” Eston muttered.

Desmond hackles raised as suspicions slammed into him. He halted in the middle of the aisle, Eston nearly bumping into him, and whirled on the guard with narrowed eyes.

“How do I know you aren’t him?” Desmond asked.

Eston gave him a flat look, moonlight streaking his face through the windows high above. “Because Lola⁠—”

“Alana.”

“—has known me for way longer than the Fate has been back.” He scoffed. “What’s wrong? Don’t trust her judgment even though you’re so territorial over her?”

Desmond’s teeth ground, and he stepped closer. “I’m not territorial, and I trust Lola with my life.”