Sweet Ruin Read Online Free PDF Page A

queen’s words from so long ago:
You possess the smoldering sensuality of the fey and the sexual intensity of a demon. . . . I have a use for you after all.
    Old frustrations made his tone sharp: “On the subject of whores, did I ever get around to swiving
you
, witch? For the life of me I just can’t remember.”
    Darach bit back a roughened laugh as he pulled on his tunic.
    Allixta leveled her green gaze on the wolf. “Something to say, mongrel?” Then she turned to Rune. “Trust me, baneblood, if I could stomach your befouled body long enough to bed you, you’d never forget it.”
    Befouled.
Rune loathed his blood. Worse, she
knew
how deeply he did. Some things in his mind were too prominent to disguise from prying eyes.
    He reached into his pocket, seeking the talisman he always kept near. Carved from a demon ancestor’s horn and inscribed with runes even he couldn’t decipher, it always helped him focus, reminding him to look toward the future—
    Suddenly Sian’s head jerked up. “My brother is dead?” Sian’s twin, the Father of Terrors, had been as hideous as Sian was physically flawless.
    Rune nodded. “Killed in a blood sport contest. Murdered in front of cheering crowds.”
    Blace shook his head. “Impossible. A primordial like the Father of Terrors can’t be killed.”
    “He was slain—by a mere immortal,” Rune said. “These days in the Gaia realms, they no longer fight one species against another; they’ve
allied
into armies. And more, these immortals don’t just take down primordials. They assassinate gods.”
    Allixta smirked. “Perhaps your dirty blood has finally rotted your brain. Deities can’t be assassinated by immortals.”
    He turned from her and addressed the others: “Several gods have perished, all in the last year. Including one of the witch divinities.” While Allixta sputtered, Rune reeled off names of old deities, extinguished forever. He studied the set of Orion’s shoulders for signs of tension.
    How would a god feel about the deaths of his kind?
    Orion just stared at the worlds flickering past.
    “Why do you trust this information from your . . . nymphs?” Allixta demanded of Rune.
    “Because I pay them well in their favorite currency: stiff fuckings with a stout cock. It just so happens I’m rich beyond measure.”
    Before she could launch into a scathing response, Blace said, “These assassinations have occurred. Read his thoughts, Allixta. The information is there.”
    “They seem connected,” Sian said. “It’s as if someone is trying to attract our notice. Our very presence. Who would dare?”
    “A Valkyrie named Nïx the Ever-Knowing,” Rune answered. “The primordial of her species.” According to the nymphs, Nïx had orchestrated these killings. “She’s a soothsayer and a wish giver. Close to goddesshood.”
    Orion often made allies of enemies—he had with Blace, Allixta, and two of the sleeping Møriør. Would the god enlist the primordial Valkyrie?
    Orion raised his flattened palm. The projections slowed, then stopped on an image of a crimson planet. He tilted his head, perceiving things no one else could.
    Weaknesses.
    He could see vulnerabilities in a man, a castle, an army. An entire world.
    The Undoing slowly curled his fingers to make a fist. The planet began to lose shape, crumbling, as if he wadded up parchment.
    Was Orion mimicking the destruction? Or
causing
it?
    The world dwindled and dwindled, until it . . . disappeared. A whole realm—gone. The inhabitants dead.
    Orion turned to face the others. His expression was contemplative, but his eyes . . . dark and chilling, like the abyss Sian hailed from. His fathomless gaze fell on Rune. “Bring me the head of the Valkyrie, archer.”
    No enlistment. Just death. Why not attempt to sway Nïx? Two seats remained at the table, and a soothsayer was always an asset. Lore held that she was one of the most powerful oracles ever to live.
    Too bad she couldn’t see her own future.
    Rune