Page 2 of Shadows of Ruin (The Broken Prophecy #2)
Chapter 1
Ian
“ T he king is dead!”
“Murdered!”
I attempted to force open my eyes, but they were so damn heavy. A throbbing pain radiated from a hundred different places over my body. The gasps and cries around me barely registered past the intense torment raking over my skin.
“After such a sickening act of betrayal, your princess fled. Queen Roxana remains so stricken with grief she cannot even be here to tell you herself of the atrocities committed today.”
My head bobbed once as I struggled to compel myself into a conscious state.
Lana? Lana fled?
No . Bile crept into my mouth, but I swallowed it down, ignoring the acidic taste it left behind. She would never. I must get to her. Find her, fight for her.
A cool breeze flitted through the air, dragging with it the coppery smell of blood until it permeated my senses.
I am the damn captain of the guard. I’m better than this.
I cannot fail her. Not again .
Inhaling took more energy than I could muster. I choked against a thick rag. Fuck, I was gagged as well.
This time, I focused more on breathing through my nose slowly, refusing to give in until I succeeded. Once a breath filled my lungs, I focused on what I could remember.
Where had I been before now?
Thoughts raced through my mind.
Storm had knocked me out right after I found Lana and Kade beside the king’s body. The king’s dead body.
No. Fury pulsed across my numb arms, hungry for an outlet. Questions bubbled to the surface, each one trying to command my attention. How much time had passed since Storm and Kade’s betrayal? Where was Lana? The others? Was I hearing a crowd around me? Who in the damned Fates’ names is bellowing to them?
Then, one thought took over completely. If I ever see Kade Blackthorn again, I will slit his throat.
With a renewed sense of vengeance fueling my desire to escape whatever situation awaited me, I finally cracked open my eyes.
Well, shit.
Andras stood a few feet in front of me, gold-lined robes tattered, blood dripping to the ground from an unknown source. He brandished a bloodied sword in his hand while shouting at a crowd of scared Fae.
Where were the dark ones? How had Andras won?
“Princess Illiana Dresden is a traitor! She promised Lord West her heart if he would siphon all the king’s power into her. She is not only a traitor, but a liar!”
My head throbbed as I desperately tried to fully regain my senses. Surely, no one would believe Andras’s lies. How had he even gathered such a crowd after the attack during the trials?
“Princess Illiana has no magic, she has never had any magic. She has lied to you for her entire life. Her deceit and treachery know no bounds. ”
Anxiousness filled the air so thickly I tasted it on my tongue. Whispers, gasps, and screams echoed in a chorus orchestrated by Andras. A master manipulator. No doubt using his magic to influence the minds of those around him.
How could his influence be strong enough to turn the citizens of Brookmere against their beloved princess?
A groan reached my ears, and it took me a moment to realize it was my own.
The fog in my head finally cleared enough for me to process more of my surroundings. I looked down and realized the throbbing stemmed from the rose vines strangling me against a stake. Blood seeped from each prick of the thorns against my skin. Unable to move without the thorns digging deeper, my attention returned to Andras and his filthy mouth.
“After Lord West refused to siphon from the king, Princess Illiana murdered her own father in an attempt to steal his magic for herself. But she didn’t act alone. When Lord West threatened to bring her to justice, she fled the kingdom with the thief, Kade Blackthorn. A male with no ties to nobility, no heritage to speak of. An imposter.”
The crowd shouted among themselves as Andras continued spewing his filth. “A criminal trying to steal the crown and rule this land, alongside the princess betrayer, for their own selfish desires.” He spat on the ground. “We must rise up together. We mustn’t let her treacherous acts ruin Brookmere’s good name. The queen lives! And I—” His sword clattered to the ground, and he sighed, placing a hand over his heart. It almost sounded as if he wept. “I will aid her in every way I can. I vow my life to protect her now.”
My gaze shifted to the Fae in the crowd. Disappointment tasted bitter. Andras had spilled Lana’s secrets for them to feast on, and they’d turned on her. Just like she always feared they would once they knew her secret.
Lan.
“Though it pains me to think this could happen, we have a duty to justice. If any Fae, near or far, lays eyes on Princess Illiana Dresden or Kade Blackthorn, you are to notify one of the Royal Guards immediately.”
Double shit.
I needed to escape these chains of thorns. I must find Lana. She’d never have fled with Kade. It wasn’t possible.
He must have kidnapped her. I refused to believe she’d go willingly with the man who’d murdered her father.
Each twitch of my body coming back to life forced the sharp thorns deeper into my skin. Escaping without causing significant harm to myself felt impossible.
But I’d heal.
“Fear not, citizens of Brookmere. Not all of us have faltered like your princess. I will protect you!” His weepy theatrics were gone now. Replaced with the conniving arrogance he’d always exuded. “I will lead us to safety. I will rebuild our kingdom, safe from the dark ones. The very same dark ones Princess Illiana used to infiltrate the palace, our palace. I will aid our people to rise back to the glory we have always been destined to achieve. I will rid our lands of these treasonous traitors.”
I yanked at the vines. Enough . Enough of his vitriol.
Andras met my eyes, and a sickening smile, hidden from the crowd just for me, spread over his elongated face. “Traitors like our weak, pathetic captain of the guard, Ian Stronholm.”
Unaware my body could become any straighter, it shocked me when it did, freezing rigidly. Guards stepped closer with their swords drawn. I’d take them down one by one if I could escape this disaster. They’d die before taking me away without knowing Lana’s location.
“No!” someone shouted. “He’s no traitor!” Voices rose from the crowd, coming to my defense.
The sea of Fae shifted, restless. Hearing Andras lie about Lana without her here was an easy manipulation. It didn’t seem to work quite as well when I still stood before them.
Angry shouts continued to fill the air as their support for the hatred Andras spouted faltered.
“Enough.” Andras’s voice rose above the crowd. He bowed his head. “I trusted him, too,” his voice broken in a way which would never ring true. “But the king is dead. Captain Stronholm stood witness to the entire event.”
Heavy, deathly silence overtook the crowd instantly.
The leaden reality finally sank in.
I raised my head higher, my mouth so dry, I could not even speak. Desperation tore through me to find someone to reject Andras's lies. One of my eyes was swelled, a stabbing pain directly in the cheek underneath it. Beads of sweat pooled at my hairline and rolled down my face.
There .
Corbin’s and Leif's faces appeared through the crowd directly in front of me. Leif’s leg, though wrapped, continued to bleed through the gauze. I quietly thanked the Fates they’d survived the siege with so few injuries.
Corbin met my gaze.
His eyes burned with too many questions, mimicking my own. Did he know if Lana had fled to safety? Or if what Andras said was true instead? I tried to ask, through raised brows, praying he understood what I was trying to convey. Willing my thoughts to him, wishing desperately for just one moment alone with my friends.
The slightest shake of his head was the only indication he understood my question from afar. He didn’t know her location either. I slumped, giving in to the vines as they twisted harder.
“I never thought I’d see the king destroyed, especially by his own daughter.”
The faces in the crowd were wary, waiting for whatever might come next .
"I will ensure justice be brought to Ian Stronholm.” Andras’s voice echoed over the crowd of Fae who now grimaced toward me. Turned by pretty words and lies.
“And when we’ve taken care of his treachery, we’ll hunt down Princess Illiana.” He paused, a sinister smile spreading across his face. “She will pay for her crimes against our kingdom.”