Page 11 of Shadows of Ruin (The Broken Prophecy #2)

Chapter 10

Lana

T he door across the hall slammed as heavy footfalls thudded inside.

A few murmurs followed as the door in the hallway shut more quietly the second time around.

I glanced at my new warden, but Raya ignored me, sharpening her blades with the stone in her hand. The steady grinding of the metal hitting the rock’s surface didn’t falter, even with the commotion of the others returning.

We’d been here for almost an hour and she’d said nothing to me since leaving the center of town.

“Feeling left out?” I asked, not sure why I thought taunting her made sense. She hated me already. Not that I cared.

She cocked an eyebrow, avoiding my gaze. “Typical behavior of a spoiled princess, throwing around childish taunts to get attention.”

I gritted my teeth.

A knock at the door forced her to stop and answer it. Jax whispered something to her, and she looked over her shoulder. “Kade is in the room across from us and will know if you try to leave. The rest of us are heading downstairs; one of us will bring your dinner up shortly. Stay put. ”

She shut the door before I could think of a retort.

“Stay put,” I mimicked once she left. I paced around the small room, letting out an agitated huff.

I glanced toward the door. If Kade waited alone in his room, and the others were downstairs in the tavern, now would be my best chance to flee. There had to be an exit from somewhere other than the front door. I’d get to the horses and return the way we’d come. Kade couldn’t be the only person in the kingdom with the blessing from the king to cross the void. I wouldn’t accept that.

If I could escape back to the void, I could find a way. I knew about the voidlings now, too, and would be more prepared. I would find a way.

Stepping from the bed and keeping as light on my feet as possible, I tiptoed to the side of the room where I’d discarded Raya’s cloak and threw it on. Twisting my hair into a quick braid, I hid it inside the hood. I inhaled, slowly, quietly, before opening the door, thankful the hinges didn’t squeak. As I entered the hall, I stopped, standing rigid outside my room, holding my breath. No sounds came from the room across the hall. If Kade was in there as the others said, I couldn’t hear him.

To the left, a small window sat too high to reach. I doubted I’d fit through it even if I managed to reach it quietly. The stairwell to my right presented the only option.

My escape route.

I tiptoed down the hallway, glancing over my shoulder only once. The door to Kade’s room remained closed.

My heart pounded in anticipation of my escape, and I prayed the raucous noise of the tavern below covered the sound. The opening at the bottom would be hard to pass through without being seen, but the hallway did, in fact, continue. My freedom depended on this moment.

I peeked around the corner of the opening once I reached the last stair, searching for the others. In the back corner, opposite me, the three of them sat at a table. A tall blonde woman blocked Jax from my view, but none of them faced my way.

A burly man rose from a table closest to the hallway like a damn gift, and I took the advantage of his saunter toward the bar to sprint across the opening.

I threw my back against the wall, waiting one heartbeat. Then two.

The noise from inside the tavern didn’t dull, and no one chased after me through the opening. I exhaled slowly, allowing relief to calm some of the anxiety flooding my veins, before facing the end of the hall. Two doors stood there, unmarked and exactly the same. I reached for the one closest to me, sending up more silent pleas to whomever might be listening.

Locked.

“Damn,” I muttered. The palms of my hands dampened as my nerves increased, distracting me from the task at hand. I was so close.

I forced myself to take a deep breath, careful to do so as silently as possible, before focusing on the other door. I gripped the tarnished handle and turned. This time, the door swung open easily.

The smell of ale and old wooden crates accosted my senses as I snuck into the dark room. Multiple boxes and barrels crowded the small space, stacked far too high. I let the door shut quietly behind me and made my way through the maze of a storeroom. I forced myself to maintain a semblance of steady breaths, still trying to calm my racing heart despite my success thus far. Sneaking past Kade and his cadre was one thing, but escaping the tavern completely was another.

The only window in the room barely let through enough moonlight to see what lay directly in front of me. My toe hit an unmovable solid barrel, and I clenched my teeth, holding back a yelp of pain. .

Shuffling through more slowly, I moved until I escaped the taller crates of supplies and made out a door in the corner. Perhaps the Fates hadn’t abandoned me after all.

I opened the door, moonlight illuminating a back alley to the tavern. Grinning, I ran to the end, looking around for the next step. I spied the bay of horses, tied up along a wooden post, bales of hay stacked in front of them.

An excited hysteria ran through my body, knowing I’d made it. I approached the horse I’d ridden earlier. “Hello again,” I cooed, reaching for the stallion’s nose. He flicked his head up, swatting my hand away. The horse pranced in place, looking like he wanted to make more noise than I could afford.

“Shhh.” I reached for the stallion, but my hand was brought up short.

I shouted as my body pitched backward, a damn shadow covering my mouth.

I twisted uselessly in his shadows as Kade’s eyes shone in front of me. A smile tugged at his stupid lips. "I suppose you think you’re clever, Little Rebel.”

“Get your hands off of me.” I tried to yell, but the words muffled against his shadows, coming out as a slew of angry nothings.

Kade wiggled his fingers in my direction as I continued to fight for release from my shadowy captor. “Technically they aren’t on you.” His sly smile widened in excitement. “Let’s change that.”

Faster than should be possible, he lifted me over his shoulder, and I had to brush the hood back so it didn’t block my view. This time his shadows did leave my lips.

“Put me down right now,” I seethed.

He didn’t listen, holding me firmly in place despite my fists pounding against his back. This time, we didn’t enter the tavern through the storage room. No. The bastard marched me through the main hall itself .

Despite my protests, my curses, Kade merely laughed. The tavern quieted briefly, but returned to the rowdy atmosphere almost instantly. Not a single patron appeared to care at all about a woman being manhandled by the Fae who had tormented and killed some of their own earlier.

Jax’s unruly laughter sounded from behind me, and I held up my middle finger in his direction.

Kade strode through the crowd, undeterred by my fists as he marched us back up the stairs. He slammed the door to his room open before tossing me onto the bed.

I rebounded, jumping up, fists clenched. “I will never stop fighting to escape you,” I hissed.

Kade crossed his arms, cocking an eyebrow at me. “And I will always find you.”

I wondered briefly if I could actually harm Kade to get my freedom. I closed my eyes, drawing up the memory haunting me. Forcing myself to see my father die in my arms by Kade’s shadows. To relive the murders I’d witnessed earlier.

My breathing deepened, heavy as I ran my fingers along the blade at my thigh. Oh yes, I could do this.

I’d hurt him just like he hurt me, and so many others.

Kade’s eyes dropped to where I brushed the dagger, and he smiled.

He fucking smiled .

I launched myself forward, flinging myself at his chest while whipping my dagger from its sheath.

Kade stumbled, his momentum pulling us both to the ground. A thought briefly flickered through my brain that he’d purposefully let us fall. Like he believed I had no chance to take him by surprise. But it didn’t stop my fight.

I wrapped my legs around his center and forcefully thrust the palm of my hand upward, hitting the underside of his nose.

Blood gushed from his nostrils. A perfect shot .

Kade snarled as he tried to control the bleeding with one hand while blocking me with the other.

I embraced the relentless need to cause this man pain. His healing abilities immediately sprang into action though, and the blood slowed to a trickle faster than I would have hoped.

“Lana—” he grunted, blocking another one of my punches with ease.

He didn’t fight back. Instead, he merely protected himself, which only fueled my blinding rage.

“If you don’t stop, you’re going to hurt yourself,” Kade said, shoving aside my fist headed for his jaw like it was easy.

“Fight back!” I shouted at him. “Fight me, you coward!”

Kade had the audacity to laugh. “Oh, Little Rebel. Haven’t you learned by now? Violence doesn’t deter me. Now, are you going to let me talk or are we going to continue this lesson in fighting?”

“If violence is what you want,” I muttered, mostly to myself, “violence is what you’ll get.”

I wrestled my legs free, repositioning myself and my unsheathed dagger. As I settled on top of him, I gasped at how hard he was beneath me. Our fight clearly a turn-on as I felt his impossibly thick length through our clothes. Despite myself and my desire to cause him pain, my eyes flicked to his.

A breath caught in my throat, and I forced my fingers to grasp the handle of my dagger more firmly. All of the shifting in his lap and his excitement sent an electric shock up my spine. I would not be distracted just because my body liked the feeling of him beneath me.

Without any further hesitation, I brought my head closer to his face.

I pressed my knife into Kade’s neck, but not so hard that it drew blood. My erratic breathing only increased as his shadows wrapped around my waist, holding me in place, not fighting me.

He lay firmly in my grasp. All it would take was one move and he would be incapacitated, certainly enough so I could flee.

Yet I hesitated. My breath came in ragged pants as I so desperately attempted to summon the courage to end this battle of wills.

“Finally going to let me explain myself?” he asked, his voice rough.

I growled under my breath. I hated that he didn’t fight back. I wanted him to make this easier. I needed him to show me the man I hated. To fight. Letting me take what I wanted made the possibility that he spoke the truth far too real.

He cocked his eyebrow, patiently watching me as his shadows continued to slither around my waist.

I huffed out a breath. I still held power here. “Right, because I’m feeling extremely trusting while your death shadows hold me hostage.”

Kade blinked once, then his shadows loosened from around me instantly. I didn’t move my knife. In fact, I pushed harder until I saw a pinprick of blood pool at the tip of the blade.

His eyes darkened, but not with that black swirling ink. Not in anger. No, this time they darkened for the same reason my thighs clamped harder around his waist. A sound from the back of his throat almost distracted me from what I wanted.

Almost .

“Tell me what happened. And know this is the only chance you’ll get.” I didn’t let up on the grip of my dagger. Kade didn’t attempt to move it away either.

He stared at me, meeting my gaze, unflinching. “Your father knew his time had come. You saw for yourself Lord West can siphon others’ magic. The king believed—truly believed—the plan was for Lord West to steal his magic. If that happened, no one would stand a chance against the dark ones and whoever led them.” Kade’s lip twitched. “Andras in particular. ”

He took a breath, his eyes flashing with a deep, devastated look. Pain . That couldn’t be right.

“I said no, Lana. I told him I couldn’t. He begged me to do it. He said they’d take you—” Kade stopped, clearing his throat. “The dangers of letting them have him, his power were too great. He made me promise to make sure he couldn’t be brought back. Then he told me to look out for you, and I vowed to, with my life. When I hesitated to go through with his request to end his life, he helped me guide the blade into his heart.”

My hand trembled as my lip quivered, but I swallowed it back. Grimacing, I steeled myself against the emotions. Emotions had done nothing for me before. They hadn’t saved anyone I loved.

Kade didn’t take the opportunity to move, even as my body shook in anger, loosening the foothold I had pinning him to the ground. He stayed under my blade, even though both of us knew it wouldn’t take much for him to gain control. “When you came in and he somehow remained alive, I finished it because I promised him I would. I wish there had been any other way. I wish I could take away the pain it caused. To never, ever have done something to hurt you so deeply.”

“Why would you agree to protect me? Or do anything my father asked? You’ve never spoken highly of the king,” I asked, needing the answer.

“I was wrong about your father. He’s one of the bravest men I’ve ever met,” Kade said firmly. “And you know I’d give my life to protect you, and not just because of the vow I made to your father.”

“Don’t,” I commanded, finding the strength I needed. I wouldn’t go there with this man. “How do I know you’re telling the truth? This could all be an elaborate lie, and I’d never know because the only person who could corroborate it died.”

“You’re right. I have nothing to offer to prove myself. I swear to you it’s the truth. While here, you’ll find many things about me that you didn’t know. But it won’t change this truth, Little Rebel.”

We stared at each other, and his unyielding gaze seemed so convincing.

The grey in his eyes called to me, begging me. Something deep within me thrummed to life processing Kade’s words, urging me to believe him. Even though I didn’t want to.

“Your father died to save you—and his mate.”

I dropped the dagger, the breath from my chest gone. “What did you say?”

“There’s no way he should have been able to say it, except for a blessing from the Fates themselves at his sacrifice. But in the end, he spoke with conviction of the queen being his mate. I—” He exhaled. “I thought you should know that he loved you as much as he loved his mate .”

Tears pooled in my eyes, and I slumped forward onto Kade’s chest. The hate and anger I’d desperately clung to dissipated. He seemed so sincere. It made everything worse. I didn’t want his words to make sense, but if my mother and father had been mates, it did.

I had been so close to trusting Kade with my entire soul, to loving him. To giving him my heart. Yet he killed my father, then killed the people in the square without a moment’s hesitation. How could the man who stole my heart and the murderer be one and the same?

I wanted Ian to be here. He would know how to navigate the onslaught of information. He’d be here to catch me as I free-fell from the overwhelming feelings this brought. He’d help me discern the truth.

Emotions overtook my common sense, my body shuddering with a sob. Kade moved slowly, like he thought he’d scare me away with his movements, before he brought his hands up to me, wrapping his arms around me. The gesture snapped me out of it long enough to scramble off of him.

“Don’t touch me,” I cried, suddenly desperate to regain my controlled facade.

I had to get away. I wouldn’t be vulnerable. Couldn’t be vulnerable. Not with him. Allowing him to comfort me would betray my father. Good reason or not, this man killed him. And many others, based on today’s ordeal.

The jumble of thoughts in my head banged around so much I wanted to scream.

“Please,” he whispered. “Don’t hide from me. Let me help.”

“You’ve done enough.” I stood, embracing the sharp twisting pain separating from his touch brought, and ran from his room, stumbling into my own.

I needed time. Space.

The king and queen had been mates.

The love I’d witnessed my entire life, the love I pined for, had been the truest form of love. A love that shouldn’t exist. And my father loved me with that same fierceness.

The man who took me in without hesitation and raised me as his own.

The man who gave his life to keep me safe.

I fell onto my hands and knees inside the room across the hall and screamed, letting the wretched noise force itself from me.

I crawled to the bed, pulling myself up before I collapsed in a heap. A useless lump of a Fae, stuck in this Fates-forsaken world with this Fates-forsaken man and his followers.

I needed my friends more now than ever before. I needed my mother. Fae I could trust implicitly, who I knew could help me process this entire disaster.

I lay in silence for minutes, an hour, maybe longer. Time meant nothing to me. I rolled, staring, my gaze transfixed upon the wooden beams above me.

The eerie quiet did nothing to calm my mind or its racing thoughts .

I knew it was only a matter of time before Kade’s shadows appeared. I felt their presence before I put eyes on them. They had a mind of their own, and I liked them far better than I liked Kade himself right now. Their weight soothed a deep part of me, allowing me to breathe in my desperate search for respite. Even if I couldn’t stand to allow myself to be with Kade in this moment, I would greedily take the relief his shadows brought. Even if they’d murdered the people in the square.

What the hell was wrong with me?

They creeped from the door, slowly building, until they completely enveloped me.

I wanted to push them away, but I couldn’t. It felt right being in them. I lost the ability to care what that meant.

They were a comforting weight, a blanket, soothing my breaking heart. Easing the tension from my very soul.

I didn’t need to wait to know if he was near. I just spoke. “I planned to hurt you tonight. Hurt you so I could escape and return home. Flee so I could save Ian and the rest of my friends.”

He waited before he responded. “How many times do I have to tell you? You wouldn’t have been able to enter the void without me, let alone survive it.”

“Why? Because whoever your king is hasn’t deemed me worthy enough to enter that land? Hasn’t felt it necessary to bless those who wish to return to their home?” I sneered. Anger was a living, breathing being inside of me. My cheeks heated, burning with the feeling of it.

Kade stepped into my room, walking toward me cautiously. His shadows receded slightly so I could see his face. Concern was etched into his brow as he kneeled beside the bed.

“Blessing is the wrong word, even if I did say that before,” he murmured, “but no, you have not been blessed to enter the void. ”

My breathing turned more ragged, more panicked. How would I ever escape? How would I ever be able to fulfill this quest my father—no, my king provided for me?

“Illiana, breathe,” Kade whispered. “We cannot return yet. There is something I have to do. Someone I must see first. Someone you need to speak to as well. Cassandra—you heard Storm and I talk of her. She’s a seer like Vivienne.” He sucked in a sharp breath. “After we speak with her, I promise you I will return you to Brookmere. I will make sure you get wherever you wish to go, unharmed. I will fight for Ian, your mother, whoever needs it.” He brushed a hand over my hair once, then pulled away. “Whatever you ask of me, my heart and my sword are yours to command.”

Tears pricked my eyes once more, and I was thankful for the darkness surrounding us. Hiding at least the last bit of dignity I had left.

“Why?”

His fingertips brushed the tears from my cheeks, even as more fell. So much for hiding. I should have known. “Because watching you break at my hands is something I cannot endure again. Something I will not endure again.”

“Why not just let me go now?”

“The king knows I have returned, and he will stop at nothing if I ignore a direct order again. It is why we shifted our course today. Having you at the palace will already be dangerous enough, so I will not risk you getting caught in the crossfire of his rage and punishment at my disobedience.”

Kade reached out and let his hand wrap around my face, his thumb stroking softly over my skin.

“I don’t trust you.”

“Oh, Little Rebel,” he murmured. “I would hardly expect you to trust me after what I’ve done. Let alone right now.”

He stood up, reaching forward, but hesitated. His jaw ticked and his hand fell back to his side, clenching into a fist before he turned to walk away. His shadows lifted from my body, trailing behind him, and the loss of their weight left me chilled.

“Trust or not though, I vowed to your father to keep you safe. No matter the cost. I swear to you, Illiana, I intend to keep that promise, until my dying breath. My life is yours. Whether you want my protection or not.”