Page 51 of The Ruin of Gods


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Ariman nods, smiling with triumph. “Valshour’s been in my care for thousands of years, waiting for the right moment.”

If the venom will wear off all I have to do is wait him out. Let my powers fire back up and incinerate him.

“Of course,” he drawls, as if he can read my mind, “I was able to strengthen Valshour with the Blood Stone. I learned from the mistakes the angels made. Your powers won’t be returning anytime soon as I now control them through this.” Ariman lovingly hovers his hand over the jewel.

“Impossible,” I gasp.

Ariman flicks his wrist, and a surge of magic floods me, right there for me to make use of. I don’t hesitate, drawing it in to unleash, but before I can launch it, with another wave of his hand, it’s gone.

He smiles maniacally. “It’s as I told you. I now command your power.”

“But why? What’s the end game?”

“I’m the end game.” I whirl, recognizing that voice, to find Rune behind me, and I’m so startled I bolt for the cave opening. Except I forget about Ariman and run right into him. I bounce off his powerful body but catch myself from falling.

Rune watches me with amusement. “Surprised to see me?”

I shake my head, trying to slough off the residual fuzziness. Perhaps I’m dreaming, but no… Rune is still there.

He looks nothing like how he did when I visited him in prison. He’s clean, his long beard shaved, and he’s dressed in fine leather. He’s not a god anymore… that’s impossible… but he looks powerful.

And he looks confident, as if he’s ready to take over the world.

CHAPTER 15

Maddox

The iron barcatches me in the side of my face, hard enough that I spin toward the razor wire-covered chains that border this makeshift fighting pit. I stumble into them and they make a hundred slices across my chest and abdomen, blood flowing freely.

I shake my head, clear out the fuzziness that blow created, and swivel my jaw, which crunches at the joints. That actually fucking hurt.

I point at the ravager fae with my left hand, my right having been tied behind my back. “You’re going to pay for that.”

The patrons surrounding the ring from a ledge above cheer over my taunt, and I see money being exchanged as bets are increased.

I don’t scare the ravager. He is the cruelest, most vicious type of Dark Fae in existence. They were bred and evolved into fearless killing machines and once he committed to fight me, he knew it would be to the death.

Of course, I had to agree to have one hand tied behind my back because I’m a demigod and no fae can match my strength. I also had to agree that I would use no weapons and the fae could use whatever implement he wanted. Still, he’s at a disadvantage.

My jaw fractures are knit by the time I start across the dirt floor toward my opponent. He hisses at me while twirling the iron bar, waiting for me to get within striking distance.

When I’m five feet away, he circles the bar over his head and swings like he’s aiming for a home run and my head is the baseball. I bend backward, the bar whizzing so close to my nose I feel a puff of air from it. The fae stops his momentum and brings the bar in a backhanded swipe, but I grab his forearm. With a hard twist, I snap both the bones above his wrist. He howls in pain and the bar falls to the ground. His fractures will heal but not as quickly as mine do.

I shove him away from me, unwilling to end the fight. I kick the weapon toward him and nod. “Pick it up. Let’s go.”

More raucous cheers and the ravager doesn’t disappoint. With his broken arm dangling, he ignores the bar and moves to a wooden wall where other weapons hang. He chooses a long broadsword, which is smart.

It’s heavy and with the right strike, he could cleave my head from my body. About the only thing in this ring that could guarantee him a victory and I can’t say the thought of such a thing bothers me all that bad.

Yeah… I’ve been in the pissiest mood since Zora made me admit I loved her only to tell me she didn’t feel the same. It was inherently cruel, but it hurt because I heard the truth in her tone. Now I’m questioning my own sanity because I can’t understand what I ever saw in her to begin with that could lead me to believe it was more than just an amazing fuck. I only know I can’t expel all the torment she’s caused, so I’m concentrating on other types of pain.

The fae swings the broadsword and I’m so lost in my ire against Zora I barely react in time. I twist to the left and the tip of the weapon slices right down my triceps.

“Fuck,” I roar in fury, mostly at myself for not paying attention.

Before my opponent can lift the sword, I backhand him across the face and teeth spray from his mouth. The force is sufficient to drive him down to one knee.

He uses the hilt of the sword to try to pull himself up but I launch a hard kick with my booted foot under his chin. The force of the impact snaps his head backward with such propulsion, I hear his spine crack and his body thuds to the dirt.

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