Page 23 of Shadows of Ruin (The Broken Prophecy #2)

Chapter 22

Lana

F lames licked at my skin, singeing my hair and pushing me backward.

“Lana!” Ian’s scream echoed around me.

The damp stone walls trapped us both here.

Andras chuckled. “She can’t help you.”

I screamed, trying to jump through the flames, but it was no use.

I saw him.

I saw Ian lying on the ground, reaching toward me. Andras grinned, grasping a black blade over his head and slamming it into Ian’s side.

I jerked upward, shouting.

Tears stained my cheeks and my heart fluttered in time with my breaths.

I jumped out of bed, scanning the room for Ian. For Andras.

But I was alone.

Sunlight beamed through the large windows, falling across my skin and drawing my attention to my surroundings

I wasn’t in the castle. Not in the dungeons.

But Ian was.

Fates, Ian remained trapped in Ellevail, and I couldn’t get to him .

I wobbled, leaning toward the bed before crawling back into it. This time when I’d relived my nightmare, Ian and I had swapped places.

I drew my legs into my chest, rocking. Squeezing my eyes shut, I pretended Ian sat next to me. I was in Mysthaven. This was real. Real as roses. I heard his voice, forcing myself to believe I heard it.

It was a dream . I repeated it over and over.

My breathing slowed, my body letting go of some of the tension balled in my shoulders and chest.

Gulping in one more deep, slow breath, I let go of all of it.

I’d done it. I’d soothed myself without Elisabeth’s tonic, without Ian. I let myself feel the inner strength I possessed. The triumph blossomed inside of me.

I am stronger than the darkness within me.

I’d need to be strong to rescue Ian, and all of that started today. Cassandra would tell me why Kade needed me here, and then he’d take me home. I’d make Andras pay for everything he’d done to Ian, and my home, in my absence.

I turned my head, looking toward the bright windows with a settled sense of resolve washing over me.

My gaze caught on a beautiful black rose and small silver package on the nightstand. Even in my jealous and then lustful state last night, I’d noticed the immense gardens outside the castle. Black and deep purple roses stretched out past the balcony and into the night. This looked just like those.

I leaned over, picking up the package. A small folded paper lay under ribbons, and I opened it.

Happy birthday, Little Rebel. Since my original gift didn’t last nearly long enough.

My cheeks heated. Groaning, I grabbed the pillow and covered my face. I might be ready to face the world, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to face Kade.

His shadows were just as skilled as he was in the pleasure department. I wanted a distraction, and he’d delivered. Tenfold.

And I wanted more.

Idiot , I scolded myself.

Curiosity getting the best of me, I opened the package Kade left me.

Tearing the paper away revealed a crimson-red box, the edges lined with black stone. Opening the top, I gasped. Inside sat a silver necklace with a small oval-shaped midnight-blue stone surrounded by an intricate woven design of silver strands encasing it. Usually, royal jewelry was elaborate, with an excessive number of gems, but this simplicity—it was elegant, stunning.

I lifted it from the box, holding it up and watching as the sun reflected brilliantly off the gorgeous stone. It was too much, and yet I wanted it. I hugged it to my chest. My parents were the only people to have ever gifted me jewelry.

I ran my fingers over the design, the stone. Damn it, Kade.

Lifting the necklace, I fastened the clasp around my neck. It fell perfectly, resting in the center of my chest.

Heaving myself from the bed, I dressed quickly, determined to find Kade to say thank you and then to force him to drag me to Cassandra as soon as possible.

Running my hands over my training attire, in the mirror I nodded once at my reflection. It would be impossible to hide my dagger at my thigh today, so instead I kneeled, hiding it within my boot.

I would always be prepared.

I touched the necklace once more, deciding to slip it beneath my shirt, just in case the king recognized it. I had no idea how we’d play this now after last night. I’m pretty sure the scene on the dance floor didn’t make the situation between Kade and me less obvious.

I’d been housed around the corner of the hallway to Kade’s chambers, so it wouldn’t take long to reach his door, but I paused when I heard voices lingering in the hall.

Silently, I stalked the rest of the way to the corner, halting at the brash tone of the king echoing down the corridor that led to Kade’s door.

“You will secure a wife,” King Dargan said sternly, “now.”

Kade huffed. “Marriage seems like the last thing we should be worried about right now.”

“You think you know best?” Dargan sneered. “You must produce an heir. You have an obligation to this family, to this kingdom. You must play your role in protecting the people of Atheria.”

Where in the Fates was Atheria?

“Have I not done my part? The Monster of Mysthaven isn’t enough for you?”

A cough behind me startled me and I jumped, slapping my hand to my mouth to keep a scream from giving away my position in the hall.

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you, it’s impolite to eavesdrop?” an unknown man said to me.

“I, uh?—”

I only took in the stranger for a second. His long flowing robe swished as he flung it behind him. His brown hair curled underneath a strange black cap. Before I could try to place him, he grabbed me by the arm and forced me around the corner to face Kade and the king.

“I found this one lurking around the corner, my king,” the man sneered. “Your conversation is no longer private.”

I shrugged his hand off my arm, freeing myself from this intruder. “Perhaps having a conversation in the hallway is the problem, not me simply walking to a meeting with the prince and stumbling upon this.” I snapped my mouth shut the minute the words were out. Great job acting proper, Lana.

“Why good morning, Princess Illiana,” the king said with his eerie smile. “Curiosity is not a sin, but…” He took a few st eps toward me and reached for me, but I stepped back. His eyes flared before narrowing. “I suggest you heed this warning and not eavesdrop like that again.”

Kade’s shadows leaked from his palms before he balled them into fists. “Careful, Father. It sounds like you are threatening a royal guest in your home.” Kade tried speaking evenly, but there was a slight tremor in his voice, betraying his emotions. “We wouldn’t want to be inhospitable. Diplomatic relations and all that.”

The king looked between us and smiled that sickeningly saccharine smile once more. “Now, Tomas, what did you need so urgently before our guest interrupted?”

“You are needed in the study, Your Majesty,” Tomas announced. “We are late for our weekly meeting with the royal advisors.”

“Ah, is it time already?” The king turned to face Kade. “Do listen to what I say, boy. Or I’ll bring you to heel as a reminder.”

“Come, Your Majesty, allow me to lead the way,” Tomas said, bowing his head and holding out his arm in the direction they intended to travel.

Before they left the hall, the king turned his attention to me. “Have a good day, Princess.”

Silently, I bowed my head as he passed.

The two scurried down the hall, leaving Kade and me alone.

The man who’d ravaged me against the stone walls of the castle garden seemed a dream compared to the stoic face before me. “We need to go see Cassandra,” Kade said, pivoting toward a set of stairs at the opposite end of the hall from where the king had disappeared.

“Wait, Kade.” I grabbed his arm, forcing him to pause. His hardened facial features softened as he looked me in the eyes, and my body came alive. Heat crept up my neck. “Thank you. ”

“For?”

“This.” I lifted the necklace from beneath my training shirt. “It is beautiful.”

A sadness appeared in his gaze as he stood staring at the necklace. “It was my mother’s—Queen Seraphine.” He touched the gem with the fingertips. “I only have two heirlooms from her, this and a ring. She was very special to me.”

His mother’s? I blinked, unsure of how to respond. “Kade?—”

He dropped his hand. “Whether you believe it or not, you are too.”

“I can’t take this from you, then,” I whispered.

“You’re not taking it,” he said. He stepped into me and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s a gift. A real gift instead of one given secretly in dark corners.”

The heat from my neck licked up to my face. I knew I’d turned a shade of pink beneath his gaze and words. The hesitation lingering morphed into something stronger, a feeling that threatened to ruin me. Which was stupid. Anything with Kade would be doomed.

“Don’t you want to keep this for your future wife?” I glanced down and fidgeted with the stone in my hand. “Someone more important than me?”

Kade smiled, his shadows forming a warm cocoon around my legs. “There is no one more important than you, Little Rebel.” He moved away, but reached out his hand, taking mine. “Come on, we’ve got a seer to visit.”

Kade silently led me through the castle halls, our hands intertwined. Fortunately, Cassandra’s room wasn’t far, and I didn’t have too much time to think about how his touch soothed a restless part of me. Or how his words from earlier, and knowing what the necklace truly meant, snapped together within me like a missing puzzle piece.

Kade raised his hand to knock, but before he could, it swung open, and Cassandra appeared in its frame.

“I’ve been expecting you.”

Mischief and secrets danced in her eyes. She seemed more aware now than she had been in my room before the ball. I couldn’t shake that the air around her felt familiar.

Cassandra turned, her silver dress spinning out with her movement as she ushered us into a small sitting area to the right of the entryway. The sitting area was located away from where I assumed her main chambers were, through a closed door at the back of the room. Three wooden chairs surrounded a tufted emerald ottoman, holding a tray scattered with black and purple-tinted roses.

The fairly sparse room revealed nothing about Cassandra, not even the smallest detail. Except for the floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves lining the far-left wall. The shelves were made purely of stone and strewn with open books, loose papers, and scattered flower petals. A black table sat a few feet in front of the bookshelves and contained various vials and one open book.

“You’ve been away too long. I’ve had no one to sit with me for my tea, dear.” She patted Kade’s arm, tugging him down to one of the chairs. “Though I can’t fault you for your distraction.” She winked at me.

In no hurry, she poured tea into three of the cups. “Sugar?” she asked me, after preparing Kade’s with two lumps of sugar and a dash of cream.

I nodded. “And cream, please.”

She hummed, handing me my tea, and removed a black vial from inside the waistband of her dress. She poured it upside down into her own cup, not bothering to offer any to us or reveal what it contained.

Cassandra sighed heavily and leaned back in her chair, swirling the cup in front of her face as she stared at the bookshelf.

I looked at Kade, who sipped his tea, but he didn’t seem confused by the seer’s silence. He gave her a few more moments before coughing, clearing his throat to garner her attention. “Cassandra, we need to talk about my prophecy. I must know what it means so I can get Illiana home.”

Prophecies. It all came down to these prophecies. I tried not to let out my frustration that the words of seers held more weight than I thought fair.

I swallowed a sip of the sweet tea, forcing my heaviness at this moment away as much as possible. Whatever Cassandra told us would change things. I knew it. Just as my life had changed with Vivienne’s prophecy.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for years,” Cassandra started with a smile. “The time has come. The beginning of the end. Time’s afoot, time’s afoot.” She continued swirling her tea.

I stood corrected at my earlier thought that Cassandra seemed more present. This woman was just as bizarre as Vivienne, slipping in and out of her rambling. She sounded like her, almost exactly.

Cassandra sipped her tea and set it down, leaning forward to touch Kade’s face. “Have you told her Fates’ words?”

Kade glanced at me and then shook his head. “I trust her, I just wanted your wisdom without imparting my feelings.”

She scoffed at him. “The Fates’ words include her no matter your feelings, Kade Blackthorn.”

His jaw ticked.

“Go on,” Cassandra ordered. “Speak it.”

Kade huffed. “Cassandra delivered a prophecy a few years ago. She’s had a couple of them in her time—” Cassandra swatted his leg, but not angrily. I frowned, remembering how at ease Kade seemed with Vivienne at the bonfire. He hadn’t balked at Vivienne’s strange behavior because it had been so close to his Cassandra’s. “ Rebels rise where darkness lies, not one but two must break the ties. Across the void, a queen you must seek, trust freely given, for one alone proves too weak. Though evil will free and be bound no more, Fate still awaits one final war.”

I exhaled. Not much of it made sense to me. Minus that part where he dragged me across the void. But I wasn’t a queen. Break the ties? Evil will free? That sounded anything but pleasant.

“I’m not a queen, Kade,” I said softly.

“He acted on his heart, not the words,” Cassandra interjected. “Fate is fickle, and my interference could change too much. But I did always tell him to trust his heart.”

Kade stared at his tea.

A tingle ran along my skin under Cassandra’s stare. I’d lived almost my entire life hating Vivienne’s words. The weight I’d felt earlier returned. Maybe it hadn’t left at all, it just became more pronounced now.

“Princess,” she said. “The time for decisions has come. Unravel your mind.”

I knew her words were about Kade. If I’d trust him with a prophecy, she must know already.

It wasn’t a question though. Through my wariness, my anger, my out-of-control mind and heart, I knew one thing—I could trust Kade. It may take me time to fully accept it, to let him have all the parts of me again, if I ever did. This moment though? This moment seemed too coincidental. Two prophecies, two kingdoms.

The damned Fates struck again. And a terrifying realization settled in my heart.

Vivienne’s prophecy about me must be true. Just as Kade’s must be.

Cassandra’s voice drifted toward me and sealed my resolve. “If you’ve made your choice, no more secrets.”

Kade finally turned his attention to me. “What secrets? ”

My palms prickled with sweat, a nervous energy thrumming from my body. I knew the decision to trust Kade was the right one, a conviction stirring from somewhere I couldn’t name. But speaking those words to anyone other than my parents, Ian, or Kalliah? It proved difficult.

“I have a prophecy too,” I said, wiping my hands along my pants.

Kade’s lips parted, but he didn’t look away.

“It was given to me shortly after my birth, by Vivienne. It’s why my parents enacted the marriage trials. They believed her words so fiercely and lived completely focused on fulfilling the damn thing.”

Kade stared at me, arching his brow as if to say, “Go on.”

Taking a deep breath, I spoke the words that controlled my life. “Void of magic, a heroine born, destiny calls, though faint and torn. Many will come from across the land, yet only the strongest will win her hand. With lover’s touch she shall ignite, without it perish from the kingdom’s blight.”

Cassandra nodded with her eyes closed and stood abruptly.

She rubbed her hands together before taking Kade’s, then mine. Quickly, she pulled our hands together, forcing us to our feet. My teacup landed with a clang against the table, spilling its contents. She dragged us to the center of the room, unfazed by the mess she’d created. She muttered under her breath, words I didn’t understand or maybe just didn’t grasp for how incoherently she spoke them.

Cassandra brought our hands up and then joined them together. Kade slid his hand into mine, intertwining our fingers just like he’d done earlier. As soon as Cassandra let go, a powerful shock sent waves of energy through me.

My knees wobbled and I could barely hold myself upright, the electric current so strong. Kade’s eyes widened, and he gripped my hand more tightly, his shoulders shaking from the unknown magic pulsating between us .

“The Fates are at work.” Cassandra’s voice somehow echoed in the sitting area.

The current ceased, and the immediate force of her joining our hands faded.

“Are you all right?” Kade asked, his concerned eyes raking over me.

I nodded once. He looked back to Cassandra somewhat reluctantly. “What does it mean?” Kade asked. “It cannot be a coincidence both Lana and I have prophecies. There has to be more. What are we supposed to do?”

Cassandra’s gaze flitted between us once more, all with an eerie sense of calm. “Time will reveal what minds cannot. Fulfill your prophecies and spark your destiny.”

“That doesn’t help get her back to safety, Cassandra. I need you to tell us more.” Kade’s panicked tone surprised me. His voice rising. He still held my hand. “I have to get her away from him.”

Cassandra let him keep hold of my hand but grasped his other hand, kissing his knuckles like a reverent subject does their king. “The Fates have decreed the time has come. I can give you no more than I have right now. But know this, there is no longer a safe place for you until this ends. Not in either kingdom.”