Page 15 of Shadows of Ruin (The Broken Prophecy #2)

Chapter 14

Lana

I magining Kade Blackthorn at the end of my blade made training effortless.

Deliciously, violently effortless.

Thud.

Each swing pulled forth more of my internal rage against the Guardians I was now stuck with. They’d left me alone in a room, with no updates for hours. Waiting in a strange place with nothing and no way to communicate with them.

Shouting, I swung my blade forward, arcing it against Storm’s.

Trapped in this miserable world away from those I loved most while surrounded by a group of liars. And, apparently, a damn prince.

Block.

The latter of whom I could hardly trust. Especially since he’d withheld his royal status. Another lie. Another secret.

Clash.

Deceitful, arrogant ass.

Storm brought his sword down on me in a new parry. The two women Jax had retrieved had immediately disappeared with Storm after the announcement from the king, and I hadn’t seen him until this afternoon, when he knocked on my door and insisted we train.

Block.

Sweat covered my body as Storm attacked relentlessly, using each of my successful blocks as fodder for the next attack, never faltering in his movements. For someone so gravely injured yesterday—poisoned, no less—he absolutely did not show it.

“Come on, Lana. I’m technically still recovering. You can do better.”

I muttered under my breath as I swung for his now healed leg.

“Oh, low blow, Princess,” he said. His blatant smile took away from the jab. “I’ll tell you what,” Storm teased, circling me. “You knock my blade from my hand in the next five moves and I’ll tell you my first name.”

“It’s not Storm?” I asked, surprised.

He cocked an eyebrow, shaking his head.

I hated the grin spreading over my face as I charged this time, laying down a few solid blows, but not disarming him. My five moves quickly came and went.

“My name isn’t enough to inspire your training?” He held his hand to his chest. “I’m wounded. Where’s the Hidden Henchman? I’m starting to wonder if Ian taught you anything.”

The mention of Ian snapped me out of the fun I was having with Storm. “Don't talk about him!” I spat. I twisted, knocking the sword out of his hand with one final swing. The blade landed on the dirt floor of the ring, dust billowing around it as it settled on the ground.

Both of us stood staring at each other, panting. “Halfway decent, I suppose.” Storm smirked, moving first.

I wasn’t sure how they healed such a serious wound so swiftly, but all that remained now seemed to be a slight limp. Without a doubt, the magic used to heal him had been extremely powerful. The healer on staff must be as good as Elisabeth. I swallowed a sob as memories of our time together played in my mind.

“That is with me only being at about half capacity. You should absolutely be able to defeat me right now. Even without magic.”

My lip curled as my sadness dissipated with his words. I’d spent the last hour channeling all my anger into our training. His mouth shifted my focus from training to him. Never mind that before the healers took him away, I silently begged for him to survive. Despite everything, I couldn’t quite hate the man.

No, he’d slithered under my skin just like his prince had. “Whatever, Storm.”

His smirk disappeared. “Listen to me, Lana, you need to be prepared if you are to survive your time here. Ian taught you well, but there is so much you still need to learn. We need to train. It’s the only way to ensure your safety.”

I ran a hand through my hair in utter frustration. “All I want to do is get back to Brookmere and save my friends. Save my mother. I will not be here long enough to train.” I kicked at the dirt. “Besides, how am I to trust any of you? Every time I turn around, there is another secret being revealed. Another lie to discover. Kade’s a damn prince. Funny, he conveniently left that out of every conversation we ever had.”

Storm grabbed a pitcher from the side of the ring, filling a glass of water before approaching me with it. He held out his hand, offering me the cool liquid. I grabbed it and downed the glass in a few gulps.

“I know this is a lot to take in, but you must know Kade is only doing what is best for his people.”

“And kidnapping a princess and bringing her to another world justifies his actions because it’s what’s best for his people? What about my people? ”

Storm opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to find the words to counter my fury.

“My turn, Little Rebel.”

My attention jerked toward the training ring entrance behind me. I tried to ignore how my stomach fluttered as Kade strode into the ring. I hated how attractive he was, even with the evident rage etched on his face.

“Do you have a death wish?” I asked, raising my weapon.

His smile wiped away all the concern and tension from his face for a brief moment. “At your hands? I wish for everything.”

He reached over his shoulder, drawing his sword from its sheath at his back, and stepped into the ring.

Storm walked by him, throwing me a grin over his shoulder. “Make him pay.”

“Gladly,” I said, bending my knees into a defensive stance.

The second Storm exited the ring, Kade’s shadows exploded out of him, exactly like I’d seen when we’d first entered Mysthaven.

“Fucking hell, Kade,” Storm shouted, but he was trapped behind the wall of black circling us.

Kade stalked forward, that earlier grin now stuck on his face.

I lunged, attacking first and putting all my energy into perfectly orchestrated offensive strikes. Kade blocked them easily, much to my disappointment.

“Something on your mind?” he asked.

I grunted, blocking a strike near my waist. “A million things are on my mind.” I turned, swinging my sword toward his dominant arm.

“Am I one of them?” He grinned.

"Yes.” I turned, trying to land another strike. “But only because I’m rested enough to want to fight you again.”

His laugh echoed in the room and curled down my spine as he blocked me. Again .

We danced around each other before I used everything I could recall from training with Ian, along with a few additional moves Storm forced me to learn earlier. My breathing grew heavier, while Kade’s eyes shone like this was all a game.

I let my anger get the best of me though, throwing too many emotions into my attacks until they were hardly accurate at all.

He swiped his sword forward in an easy motion, but as I dodged the blade, he crouched, sweeping me off my feet. I hit the ground. Hard.

“You lied to me,” I exhaled sharply. “Again.”

He pounced on top of me, his body pressing mine into the ground. “I like to think of it as failing to mention.”

I felt every muscled groove of his body, as my eyes fluttered closed, relishing the contact despite my fury. He knew it, too. The arrogant bastard’s lips twitched up as he witnessed my heady inhale.

My body trembled in pure desire, and I loathed it. Loathed my reaction to him.

“I know you have something to say, Little Rebel.” His voice softened as he leaned down, drawing a dagger from his boot. He traced it slowly along my side and up to my neck. “Give me your anger.”

“You deserve every ounce of it,” I said, struggling ineffectively against his weight.

He snorted. “I do. But since the only way you seem to have a real conversation with me is when one of us is holding steel, I’ll wait right here until you’re ready to let it all out.”

I shifted my hips, a poor choice because it only served to settle him more firmly between my legs. I arched.

Stupid lust.

“I gave you the deepest parts of me,” I conceded. If letting him know my wrath would get him off me, I’d give it all. “Secrets only known by those I love. And you gave me nothing.” I swallowed, watching his eyes take me in, processing my words.

“I trusted you with pieces of myself I’ve never trusted anyone with. You didn’t have the decency to return even the tiniest bit of it.” I knew struggling would get me nowhere, but I had to fight. He slid his blade down, resting his forearm on my chest, reminding me I couldn’t escape.

“You lied about who you are, what you are. You killed my father. You took his life in front of me. I hate that I had started to forgive you and then another hidden truth is dropped in my lap. I hate that you turn around and do this . You tease me, mock my pain. You smirk and smile and twist every feeling inside of me and I hate it. I hate you.”

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, I lost my breath at their vast depth. “You’re right,” he said. “You opened up to me and I panicked because someone so strong, so perfect trusted me. No one trusts me, except the few you’ve met. No one loves the monster here.”

Monster . I’d called him that. The Fae in Canyon City called him that too. Yet everything I’d seen from him showed there was more to him than that. I knew it. Deep inside of me I knew the destruction in the city had been an act. Jax had confirmed it. I also knew the responsibilities of a crown, and how heavy it weighed. Mine came from parents who loved me; his—I shuddered thinking of his father.

“I should have told you about needing you. Needing your help. I should have told you who I was. Fates, Storm has been insisting I tell you everything for weeks now. I hate being the son of that man. He is everything evil in this world, destroying everything he touches. If he knew for one second I cared for you, he would exploit you to get me to do his bidding. Even more so than I’m already forced to do.”

He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine, and his shadows pooled around us. “I didn’t want to be the Prince of Mysthaven around you. I wanted to be Kade. Just Kade, the man you allowed me to be.”

Tears pricked my eyes thinking about what we’d shared in Brookmere. The fissures cracking over my heart trembled with his words.

“I believe you,” I whispered. “About everything. But Kade…” My voice trembled. “I will never be able to unsee it. To forget it.”

He didn’t say anything, but neither of us moved.

“I’ll never unsee it either. I can never take it back. My fear of what might happen to you outweighed everything, and I wish…” He shook, his entire body rolling with whatever emotion racked through him. “I wish I could change all of it. I’ll never be able to truly tell you how sorry I am. Because I am—so, so sorry.”

The tears slipped out and Kade pulled away, dropping the dagger and cupping my face.

“Hate me, Little Rebel. I deserve it all,” he whispered.

He loosened his hold enough so I could push him away. He met my gaze, and for a moment, nothing else mattered. I believed everything he said. I believed his apology, his pain. But it didn’t mean I could trust him.

Kade shook his head, breathing in a few short pants before rising to stand fully. He looked over his shoulder, body tensing again, and held out his hand to me.

This time I took it. We stood there, holding hands until he gave me a sad smile and squeezed mine once.

The shadows dissipated around us, and Jax and Raya rushed forward into the ring, chaos ensuing.

“What the hell, you can’t block us out like that. What if she tried to kill you?” Raya shoved Kade.

“I just needed a damn minute,” he retorted. “One minute.”

Jax brought his hands to his waist. “Well, now that we’re all here, perhaps we should discuss how absolutely fucked we all are.”