“This is how you knew who did it,” he murmured.
“Mhmm,” the witch said.
Ryker pulled back his magic, and the lines returned to their prior state.
“Fascinating.” He stared at the rock. “The dark magic laced into the shale… what do you think it means, Representative?”
He had his suspicions, but he wanted to hear her thoughts.
Myrrah’s robes rustled as she kneeled beside him.
“Nothing good. Black magic is dangerous no matter which form it takes. It always requires a sacrifice. Sometimes, it’s blood. Other times, it takes part of a soul.” She turned to him, her eyes piercing. “It’s unnatural.”
Ryker grimaced.
Gods damn it all. Of course, black magic was at play. Why not? With his luck, this meant he’d be away from home for even longer. In the past, he never cared when work pulled him out of Golden City for extended periods, but it wasn’t just about him anymore.
Brynleigh was waiting for him.
That thought had Ryker turning to the witch and lowering his voice.
“Thank you for your help with my wi… vampire.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t leave her there.”
The Representative shifted, her gaze sweeping over him for a long moment. He didn’t flinch beneath her scrutiny, letting her look her fill.
Eventually, Myrrah sighed. “I had a wife once.”
Threads of ancient pain were woven through the Representative’s words, forming a tapestry of grief Ryker was far too familiar with.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” He prided himself on knowing each of the Representatives and their family members by name, but there were far too many for him to know their individual histories.
“It was a long time ago.” Myrrah stared straight ahead, twisting a blue ribbon through her fingers. “Ven died a few months before the Black Night attacked my coven. We were so young, Ven and me, and we thought that together, we could conquer the world.”
A small smile danced on Ryker’s face. He was familiar with that feeling, too. When he first met and fell for Brynleigh in the Choosing, it felt like the entire world was at their fingertips. He thought they could do anything, be anything.
“You loved her,” he murmured knowingly.
“With all my heart,” Representative Challard agreed.
Myrrah wasn’t known for being forthcoming with her words, often spending days considering even the smallest request before answering it. When she spoke, people listened. For that reason, Ryker fell silent once more, not wanting to pry into obviously painful memories.
“We fought the day she died,” the witch whispered, her voicefar off. “We were always fighting and making up, but this was one of our worst arguments ever. We both screamed and threw things at each other. We said things we didn’t mean. And then, Ven…” Myrrah shuddered. “She was stolen from me before we could mend what was broken between us. She died that very night.”
Ryker’s chest ached. “I’m so sorry.”
The words felt painfully inadequate.
“Me, too.” Myrrah stared at the destruction, her jaw working as several more minutes passed in silence. When she spoke again, her voice was softer than before. “Ven would’ve wanted you to have the chance to fix things with your wife. She was such an optimist and always saw the best in people. That’s why I agreed to your deal. Of course, more information about the Black Night will be helpful, especially considering all this, but…”
Ryker’s heart twisted as he put himself in Myrrah’s shoes. Living with that devastating kind of hurt for so long would break most people. He dipped his head as a newfound respect for the witch Representative filled him.
“Thank you. We’re… it’s hard, but we’re working on things.”
That was why he had asked Brynleigh to return to the apartment. He was done running. He was under no pretenses that rebuilding what they had would be easy, but he wanted to give them a fair shot.
“If the love you share is true, never give up.” Myrrah stood, and Ryker followed suit. The witch’s eyes crinkled, lines creased her forehead, and suddenly, she looked much older. “Whatever you do, Captain, don’t let her go. You never know when your last day might be upon you. Cherish every single one you’ve been given.”
Were those prophetic words or ones stemming from a broken heart? Ryker wasn’t sure. Either way, he stored the advice deep in his soul.