Page 26 of Shadows of Ruin (The Broken Prophecy #2)

Chapter 25

Lana

S leep eluded me.

I lay under the soft black velvet covers of this too large bed as my mind raced. Tossing and turning, unable to shut down my body or the thoughts whirling in my mind after today’s revelations.

My body remained stuck in the moment of pure dread from when Raya had screamed, finally conscious again after what felt like an eternity.

She’d been hesitant to tell me anything, but her reservations revealed enough. My best friend had not escaped the dungeons, which could only mean he was being tortured. The pained look on her face told me everything I needed to know, for I’d spent too many nights down there to think Andras would change his ways now.

She’d described the strange magic she sensed being used against Ian. Kade immediately thought it sounded like Andras had attempted to infect Ian with the same substance felt on the blades at the Blood Oath. Though understanding what the poison did remained a mystery. Everyone here felt fine.

But this meant both kingdoms were under attack from the same evil. However, Brookmere didn’t even know Mysthaven existed, so it made little sense to be facing the same dangers or using the same methods of spreading evil.

I turned over, curling myself in a ball as my throat constricted. I hadn’t thought there were any tears left after realizing Ian remained trapped. Tears didn’t do Ian any good though. I needed anger.

I would fight until my dying breath to save him. I would kill Andras. Slowly.

However, there was one good thing that had come from Raya’s vision. Kade took one look at how my knees buckled following that news, sending me to the training ring floor, and immediately decided we’d all return to Brookmere.

Despite needing me here, and Cassandra’s assignment to solve our prophecies, he agreed to go back. For me.

I didn’t know how to process that on top of everything else.

His command led to brainstorming how we could possibly get away from the castle without causing alarm or notice.

Taking me by surprise again at her generosity and willingness to risk herself, Raya offered to try to plant the idea of a traitor into the king’s mind. One on the outskirts of Mysthaven, in hopes the king would call upon Kade to dispose of him, putting us near the void and buying us time to move into Brookmere.

It was risky, too risky. But what other choice did we have at this point? I had to get back home, and I needed Kade to be able to cross the void.

Kade.

I needed him for more than crossing the void though. I was tired of fighting it. I craved his presence. Desperate to be close to him, to touch him, to be by his side. The inexplicable draw to feel his shadows around me thrummed in me almost constantly.

Our lives were clearly intertwined by these damned prophecies. But some moments made it feel like so much more than that.

Thirty more minutes passed of my circular thinking of Ian, plans to leave, Kade, and back to Ian. My torment throwing me between pain, grief, fear, and need. All I had succeeded in was creating knots in my hair and wrinkles in the covers from my constant movement.

I grabbed the black satin pillow from behind me and placed it over my head, screaming in frustration.

A whisper of a breeze rustled the covers down my body. I frowned but didn’t remove the pillow.

The covers moved on top of me again, and I jerked up, looking down the bed to find I wasn’t alone.

Kade’s shadows were here.

They pulled the covers off, whipping them back. I cocked my head to the side. Were they playing?

Would it be absolutely ridiculous if I tried to pet them?

I let out an incredulous breath. Get it together, Lana. They are shadows, not a damn pugron.

That thought only reminded me of Lucien. A smile played on my lips thinking of my brave, ferocious pugron waiting for me at home.

Kade’s shadows moved up the bed and snaked behind me, pushing me to the edge of the mattress.

“What are you doing?”

They stalled momentarily before pushing harder, pressing against my back and wrapping around my front.

They called to me. Wanted me for something.

Quickly, I grabbed the pair of training pants strewn on a chair next to the bed and shoved my feet into the flat brown shoes I’d taken to wearing here.

The shadows tremored urgently. The dark pool of them slipping under the door worried me, turning what I thought playful fun into an anxious need to get to Kade. The distance from Kade’s room to mine must be stretching their limits. I’d never seen them extended so far away from him.

I opened the door, slipping out and following their trail, all while they danced in front of me.

Come.

An ache from deep within urged me forward.

They shifted from a large outpouring to a singular trail.

Follow.

We silently moved together, calling on my skills as the Hidden Henchman to sneak down the hall. Before we rounded the corner to get to Kade’s room, the shadows halted.

Stay.

The shadows crept up my body, surrounding me just as they had when they’d protected me in a hallway similar to this back home. When they’d shielded me from Casimir.

A blanket of night stretched into the hall itself, no lights giving me away. Regardless, there was no doubt in my mind the shadows would protect me.

Click.

The sound of a handle made the faintest noise down the hall. I peeked around the corner to find King Dargan exiting Kade’s room.

What was he doing in Kade’s room at this hour?

The king glanced up and down the hallway, dropping a small object in his pocket, as he walked forward. Directly toward me.

I tried to run, but the shadows held me in place. A tendril of shadow stroked my back.

Safe.

I swore I practically heard them whisper, We will protect you.

So I stayed completely still. When the king rounded the corner, I held my breath and closed my eyes.

He moved past me without a second thought, passing through the archway, down a staircase past my room .

Releasing my breath, I waited a moment longer before attempting to move. The shadows shoved at my back and urged me forward once more.

Quicker.

We reached Kade’s door, and I turned the knob. It swung open freely as the shadows spilled into the room. I lost sight of them in the dark, even though I still felt them around me.

“Kade?” I whispered, as I tried to find him. “Are you in here?”

Silently, I shut the door behind me. I received no response from the Fae.

“Kade,” I said a bit louder this time.

Still nothing. I ventured farther into the massive room, out of his main entryway and toward his bed chambers as my eyes adjusted to the dark. Long beams of moonlight sifted through the windows along the far wall, almost as if they lit a path for me to his bedroom.

The door hung slightly ajar, and I pressed it open further.

I found nothing. No one. Just ruffled covers on his bed.

Suddenly, a shape sped through the darkness, slamming me against the wall next to the door. A familiar body trapped me.

“Careful, Little Rebel. The Monster of Mysthaven has been dying to get his hands on you.”

Kade’s eyes were so far beyond black they looked empty. Void. They were the darkest I had ever seen before.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “Let me go.”

“Sneaking about the castle in the dead of the night…is how shall we put this?” Kade laughed in a way I’d never heard before. The sinister chuckle twisted the normally bright feeling inside of me. “A poor choice.”

My heartbeat quickened. He wasn’t in his right state of mind.

This wasn’t Kade. It was his monster.

Everything we’d been through rushed back. The touches, whether I realized it or not, had helped him. I could help him now too.

Slowly, I reached up and touched his face, rubbing my thumb along his cheek, whispering, “Come back to me.”

Kade’s body jolted, yet his eyes didn’t clear like they had before.

I wiggled my other hand free from the wall and grabbed his face with both hands now. “Kade,” I said, my voice purposefully calm. “Come back to me.”

He tried to pull his head away. “Why are you touching me like that?”

“Please, come back. I’m here, it’s Lana.”

His face slackened. His eyes shimmered, the void shifting as black swirled in his gaze.

My breath hitched as I watched the internal battle unfold.

Slowly, his eyes cleared to their normal grey hue. Instantly, his shoulders sagged as if a weight had been removed. He stumbled away from me without saying a word.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“Yes.” Kade took a few deep breaths and ran his hands through his hair. “Are you… Did I hurt you?”

I shook my head. He didn’t look at me though, so I voiced it. “You didn’t do anything to hurt me.” I frowned, looking over my shoulder out of the room before turning back to face Kade. “What was your father doing in here so late?”

Kade’s brow furrowed in confusion. “My father wasn’t here. I’ve been in this room alone since I left yours.”

I knew full well I didn’t imagine the king earlier. “No, Kade, you were not alone. I watched him leave your room. Your shadows came and got me, and they led me to you. I saw him leave and found you like—” I paused, refusing to say monster . “Not yourself.”

I could see the wheels turning in Kade’s brain, the tick in his jaw, the furrowed brow. He took a moment before walking to his bed, sitting on the edge .

I gave him a minute to reflect before approaching him. “What do you think it means?”

He looked up at me, somber. “I’m not sure, but whatever it is, it’s not good. As much as I don’t want to believe it, I think it means my father is up to something more than just being a tyrant king. Whatever happened during the Blood Oath and whatever happened tonight are absolutely connected. He’s desperate to have me under his thumb.”

A knowing silence passed between us, and in that moment, I craved his touch. I wanted to soothe his anxious soul. Worry, guilt, frustration, all of it consumed him. It was almost like I could feel it rolling off of him.

As he sat there, looking defeated and confused, I wrapped my arms around him. He glanced sideways at me, and I reached for his face, bringing his head to my chest. Letting him hear my beating heart.

Even if the position wasn’t the most comfortable given our size difference, he didn’t pull away. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me. I held him there as his shadows wrapped themselves around my legs.

For as many times as this man had saved me, I could take a moment and provide him some comfort.

I had no idea how long I held him, but it still seemed too soon when Kade pulled away. He brushed a thumb across my cheek. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“You didn’t.” I meant that. Even if he hadn’t been in his right mind, I knew now he wouldn’t hurt me. I trusted him.

I’d almost let him all the way back in. I’d told him the prophecy. Now I wanted to let go and trust him with all of it. I exhaled slowly.

Raya had told us Ian needed me to get to Valeford, which may have been news to the others, but not to me. If Kade and I were the key to figuring out this darkness, he needed to know everything.

“I need to show you something.” I removed my father’s letter from the pocket of my training pants. I always kept it on me, never wanting to part from his final words. Too afraid of who might see it and lose the one piece of my father I had left. I handed him the paper as I sat down beside him.

He watched me for a moment before I urged, “Go on, read it for yourself.”

Cocking a brow, he smirked. “Writing me love letters, Little Rebel? I’m flattered.”

I smacked his shoulder. “You ass, just read the letter.”

As soon as he was done reading, he folded the paper back up and returned it to me. I put it back in my pocket and couldn’t help but shed a tear in that moment. I knew what that letter said word for word now, I’d reread it so many times. While it may have hurt slightly less with each pass, showing Kade something so personal made me feel vulnerable. I experienced the letter in a different way now that someone besides me had read its contents. It was harder than I thought it would be.

“I am so sorry,” he said. “Receiving such news after what you saw, I—” He stopped talking and stood, moving a few steps away from me.

“It’s okay?—”

“It’s not.” He sighed, and though he made eye contact briefly, he looked away immediately. “It’s not okay that you went through learning this alone. Having to read about your parents instead of having them there to tell you.”

I swallowed, wiping away a tear that fell. “I’m not sure they would have told me.”

He kneeled in front of me, taking my hands in his. “I’m sorry that chance was taken from you. I’m sorry for the role I played.”

More tears fell, but neither of us stopped them. “I forgive you. I don’t know if that’s what you need to hear or not, but I don’t hate you anymore for what you did. And for the record, I believe you, Kade. If there had been any other way, I know you would have found it.”

He squeezed my hands. “No matter what happens, we’re leaving tomorrow. Whether Raya’s plan works or not. I’m taking you and we’re leaving. We’ll get to Ian, then to Valeford, and wherever else we need to go.”

“Cassandra made it seem like we needed to be here to solve the prophecies.”

“I don’t care,” he said with fierce determination. Reaching toward me, his hand gently caressed my cheek. “I don’t care about what anyone else needs or wants. I care about what you need. The rest, we can figure out as we go.”

I nodded, not trusting my voice in the moment.

He dropped back, letting his hand fall from my neck, but remained kneeling in front of me. The sight of him between my legs, staring at me as if I was the only thing that mattered, did something to my soul. The pull between us strengthened, solidifying. His messy hair made me smile, and I reached for a strand.

I twisted it around my finger, and before I could pull away, Kade took my hand and kissed my palm. “If my father is sneaking around at night, it’s not safe for you to be alone.”

“It feels like it's not safe for me anywhere anymore.”

Kade rose, his shadows dancing at his feet while he pulled me up to stand as well. “Stay here tonight.” Brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “Stay with me.”

I knew I should say no, but my heart screamed at me to say yes. Just being near him made me feel alive. His shadows made me feel safe. He just made me feel .

I tilted my chin up toward him. “Using fear to get me into bed with you?”

His lips curved into a heart-wrenchingly beautiful smile. One I don’t think I’d seen since Brookmere. He leaned down, his lips almost touching mine as a shiver ran over me .

“I don’t think I need any tricks to get you into my bed, Little Rebel.”

I started to pull away to try for a smart comment back, but he closed the space between us, capturing my mouth. He reached for my hair, his hand weaving into it as he moaned against my lips.

“I miss your taste. Every damn day,” he murmured between kisses.

I reached my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as I ran my tongue over his. Fates . I’d forgotten how perfect, how incredible his kisses were. My body melted into his, and he leaned down, lifting me by my thighs and wrapping my legs around his waist. He turned, falling back on his bed with me still attached to him, never breaking our kiss.

Groaning into his mouth, I didn’t care how needy I sounded as I rubbed against him.

He chuckled. “If we’re fleeing the castle, we need to sleep.”

“We can sleep after,” I whimpered against his lips.

“Little Rebel, when I have you again, it won’t be rushed.” He shifted his weight and then flipped me to my back. “It won't be used as a way to get you to sleep.” He kissed my jaw, then down my neck as his hand trailed up my thigh, brushing over that sensitive spot where I craved his touch. “It won’t be when I know you’ll be riding hours on horseback and can’t be sore from how long I spend inside of you.” He buried his head in my neck, letting out a moan of his own. “It will be when I can linger on every sweet, delicious part of you.”

Then he surprised me by sighing heavily, falling back and tugging me toward his chest.

“I don’t like this responsible version of you,” I huffed. “You only want me rested because our world is apparently riding on you keeping me alive right now.”

He pulled the covers over my lower body before laying back. Kade trailed his fingers gently over my shoulder in a soothing motion. “I’d destroy this world or the next to keep you alive, Princess, prophecy or not. No Fae or creature would be safe from my wrath should they touch one strand on your head. Your life and your heart are mine.”