Page 10 of Shadows of Ruin (The Broken Prophecy #2)

Chapter 9

Lana

E very cell in my body remained frozen in place on the horse, even as Storm slipped off behind me, stalking toward Kade in the wake of his shadows.

Storm gripped the hilt of his blade, unsheathing it while Jax and Raya dismounted, following close behind.

“I believe you were given a fair ultimatum,” Storm said, running his hand over his blade.

My heart thumped so hard in my chest, it hurt.

The reaction to Kade, to all of them, made no sense for soldiers who were meant to be Guardians. Their own people didn’t trust them. They outright feared them.

I slipped off the horse, remaining close to the beast in case I needed to flee. Not like the group wouldn’t catch me, but the thought tempted me.

Kade curled a shadow up and over a man trembling in the front of the crowd. A crowd huddled together like animals being herded for slaughter as more time passed.

“Tell me now,” he said as his shadow circled the man’s throat. “And live.”

The man raised a shaking arm, pointing toward a retreating figure at the edge of the square. Upon seeing he’d been outed, the figure turned to run.

Kade’s shadows lashed outward, flashing past everyone and darkening the square in their wake. They grabbed the man from behind, lifting him at the waist and dragging him back to the center of town as he screamed.

“I’ve committed no crime,” he spat at Kade.

I inched closer, observing the purely vengeful look on Kade’s face. Shivering, I wrapped my arms around myself.

“We’ll see.” He grinned at his captive. Surely he’d listen to the man though. Especially if Jax thought him innocent.

A small wooden platform backed up to a building wall to the left of the square, and Kade…well, Kade’s shadows set the man down on it, wrapping his arms and legs in the inky-black magic.

The crowd parted, refocusing their attention from our group to the platform. Raya startled me, approaching hastily, and hooked her arm around my side as she led me to stand between Storm and Jax. She remained behind me.

None of the group looked at me.

Kade paced back and forth in front of the wooden platform. “Richard, you have been accused of conspiring against the king, aiding dark ones, and spreading their poison.”

“It’s a lie,” the man cried out.

Kade whipped another tendril of shadow to cover his mouth. My eyes widened, and I wiped my palm against my thigh.

“It’s not your turn,” he hissed. “Where was I?” He tapped his finger against his chin.

His words from last night filtered into my mind.

The longer we stay here, the more you’ll learn. The more you’ll hate me.

“Ah yes, you’ve been accused of conspiring against the king. Is there anyone who can speak on behalf of Richard? Anyone at all?”

The crowd cowered, no one making a sound. No one moving.

It was as if they remained rooted in place, unable to do anything but stare at Kade. Which had been the truth? This man terrorizing Fae with his mere presence? Or the man who’d begged for me not to die. The man who made my soul feel at peace.

Kade tsked. “Looks like they agree that you’re a traitor.” An evil grin spread across his lips, although it didn’t seem right to call it that. I met his gaze, his dark, colorless eyes, and gasped. The black stood out so much more than it had in Brookmere.

Storm put a subtle hand on my back as I involuntarily shifted.

My breathing shallowed, quickening as I waited to see what came next.

“You didn’t work alone though, did you?” Kade said, pacing again. “Your wife, what is her name again?”

Kade looked back and Jax lifted his chin. “Bridget.” His voice, too, was cold, and he smiled back at Kade.

Terror gripped me. They were all insane. Taking pleasure in this? It didn’t feel right. Why this show if the man wasn’t truly a traitor?

The shadow loosened from Richard’s mouth. “No, please. She had nothing to do with this. She’s done nothing. I’ve done nothing.”

“Silence!” Kade roared. He nodded toward Jax.

The crowd parted as Jax walked through them, and my stomach twisted. No one defended the man, and no one did anything to protect a woman who cried a few rows from the wooden platform.

Jax grabbed her arm and escorted her forward. This time, when my stomach heaved, I thought I might vomit .

Tears streamed down her face. No, Kade wouldn’t do anything to her. He wouldn’t. Harming a woman seemed so out of character for even this level of crazy.

A shadow scooped under her chin. The shadows that had made me feel safe, now wreaked terror on the Fae here.

“Would you care to explain your choices before you die alongside your husband?”

“No, Kade,” I yelled, stepping forward.

Storm grabbed me, holding my arms behind my back.

I struggled against him. “What do you think you’re doing? Get off me.”

“Shut up,” Raya seethed angrily behind me.

“You said they weren’t even?—”

Storm silenced me, covering my mouth with his hand.

I fought against his hold. He’d told me to stay quiet, and there had to be a reason, but logic was the furthest thing from my mind right now.

“Please,” the woman said. That’s all, one word.

Kade’s shadows tied her up around her shoulders. “You should have thought about the consequences before betraying the crown.” He lifted her in the air, putting her next to her husband. He didn’t prevent the woman from grabbing onto her husband as they huddled together, looking out.

“We never aided the dark ones,” she shouted at Kade. “We’ve protected our people from them. From the king. From you monsters,” she yelled louder.

Was he really going to do this? This couldn’t be happening.

Kade merely stared at his fingers, brushing them on his shirt before looking back at his prisoners. “Anything else you have to say? These words will be your last.”

“I hope you die alongside the king, Monster of Mysthaven.”

Kade grinned. “I would say I grew tired of teaching traitors lessons.” He looked to his group, Jax smiling, and I assumed Storm and Raya were doing something similar, but I couldn't see them. “But I’d be lying. It brings me great pleasure to show you what the crown thinks of those who disobey.”

Storm still covered my mouth and gripped me with unmovable strength, forcing me to watch the torture before me. I couldn't look away from the woman holding her husband on the platform.

Kade turned to the crowd. “Let this be a reminder of what will happen if you defy the crown.”

His shadows hurtled toward the couple on stage, and they disappeared.

I screamed behind Storm’s hand, as he kept his hold on me, pulling my arms together with one hand. “Stop it, Illiana. Now.”

I bit down, hard on his damn hand, but he didn’t relent. Didn’t even flinch.

The smoke cleared, and I gagged when Storm finally moved his hand. One look at the ashy particles floating in the breeze near a cloud of shadows where the couple stood seconds before had me spilling my stomach on the dusty ground.

Kade had killed them. Even though Jax and the others believed they were innocent. He murdered them.

I heaved, tears pouring from my face.

He killed them.

“Carry on.” Kade waved a hand toward the crowd. “Opal,” he shouted.

A thin woman, donning a worn floral apron and long wildly braided red hair, shuffled over. She hung her head, hands clasped in front of her.

“We need two rooms for the night. You’ll accommodate us or share their fate.”

She bowed, retreating with the rest of the crowd .

The town square emptied, Fae fleeing until only the five of us remained.

I wanted to run toward Kade and stab him in his lying heart. Everything had been a lie. Everything. A man like that couldn’t love. Not that what we shared was love—I refused to accept that. An infatuation, an intense pull, I’d admit to those. But I couldn’t believe I’d love someone who murdered so easily. Regardless of what the king claimed they’d done, they hadn’t even had a chance to defend themselves. No trial. Nothing.

He approached me, unafraid of my reaction, and took my chin between his fingers. “You run, and I’ll find you. No matter where you flee, even to the other side of the void, my shadows will find you, Little Rebel. Do you understand?” He searched my eyes, an unyielding determination glinting in his own. “Stay with Raya.” He looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. “Can I trust you to handle her?”

“I’ll handle you, you lying monster ,” I spat.

His brows furrowed. “I’d tell you to look deeper than what you see, but we both know you won’t listen to the words of a monster .” His shoulders slumped, despite the tilt to his chin. Then he walked away with Storm and Jax, back toward the cloud of shadows that had destroyed the supposed traitors.

“Are you coming with me nicely, or will I get to use a weapon on you?” Raya said, a corner of her lips lifted.

“I will kill you if you touch me.”

I meant it too. I followed Raya with a new resolve to do exactly as I’d intended to the other night—flee. Now I just needed an opening to get away from these psychotic killers.

Because there was one thing I knew for sure now: the Kade Blackthorn I thought cared about me didn’t exist here.

If he ever existed at all.