Page 38 of Shadows of Ruin (The Broken Prophecy #2)

Chapter 37

Lana

K ade’s shadows caressed my arms as we rode hard toward The Knotted Willow.

They didn’t leave my side the entire ride. The way Kade had acted once he’d reached me during the fight, I couldn’t be sure they would leave me again until this war ended. One way or another.

When I might have demanded space before, the words died before ever becoming strong enough to say. I accepted knowing I needed their comfort too.

Everyone around me was dying.

I glanced over my shoulder at the small group of people I loved most in the entire world. Though Leif’s absence hurt, I couldn’t help but wonder if he remained the safest because he was farther away from me. Everyone here was at risk of being used. Being destroyed.

Yet I believed if I acknowledged out loud what Kade meant to me, the focus of all our enemies would hone in on him. The losses we suffered broke me. But if I lost him? It would destroy me forever.

Everyone rode in silence. Hale’s loss, along with witnessing the power Andras wielded and the way he so carelessly took the lives of his own followers without the blink of an eye, lingered among us. We all needed rest. A small reprieve. Even though I feared none of us would feel safe enough to allow ourselves that moment.

We slowed, calming both ourselves and our horses when the inn came into view.

“One thing is bothering me,” Raya said, once we were all riding close enough together. “Why didn’t Andras take Illiana once he had her? Why stay and let us find her?”

Kade jerked his head to look at her. “Watch what you say.”

She held a hand up defensively. “I don’t know what is wrong with you, but relax for one moment and listen. He had her. He could have taken her away but chose to stay for what? To fight us? And then lose her again?”

Storm ran a hand over his jaw. “Between letting Ian escape the palace and this, there is something we are missing.”

“Andras referred to a ‘he’ twice tonight,” I said. “He told me he has a plan for me. But who could he be talking about?”

“Whoever told him about the magical dream coat, maybe,” Jax muttered.

“He spoke in the dungeons like someone else was out there,” Ian added. “Like someone gifted him his extra abilities.”

“Which aligns with the idea that someone else is marking Fae with the darkness,” Storm said.

“Your father?” I asked Kade. “Could he be referring to him?”

A crease formed between Kade’s brows. “I don’t believe my father has a way to communicate with anyone in Brookmere.”

“Great, so Sir Cackles-A-Lot has someone worse than him calling the shots.” Jax snorted. “This day just keeps getting better. ”

“We will figure it out,” Kade said, leaning toward me and brushing a knuckle down my cheek.

We had barely slowed the horses to a stop to dismount when Kade’s name rang out, bellowed across the trees.

“You better be dismounting quicker than that, Kade Blackthorn.”

My eyes widened, and despite it all I snorted, trying to stifle the laugh at the brash tone from the innkeeper calling Kade by his full name .

“Someone is in trouble,” Jax said in a singsong voice.

William, who I last saw when he gave me no aid while being kidnapped, had his hands on his hips. His face reddened in anger, or perhaps frustration. I didn’t know him well enough to read it.

We dismounted our horses and Kade approached the angry Fae.

“There’s a mad woman here. I didn’t sign up for crazed Fae walking around my rooms, scaring off my patrons.” He shook his finger at Kade.

“I’m unaware of sending any crazed women,” Kade said, calmly eyeing William.

Storm laughed. “Since when do you have patrons?”

The innkeeper threw up his hands. “Fine, I will leave you to figure it out without a warning.” William shoved the front door open, storming through it and leaving us out front, bewildered.

Kade ran a hand over his face. “We shouldn’t push him much further. Let’s board the horses and get inside.”

Corbin took the lead once we drew close to the barn, from habit, I supposed. I watched him brush a hand over each animal. He caught me staring, and I decided he had been pushed to his limits with warm words and affection. I gave him a soft smile and turned away, leaving him to tend to the horses in peace.

We entered through the door William had slammed earlier. As Storm predicted, there were no patrons, but he had been right about a crazed woman. Grey wiry hair peeked from around the corner among a flutter of tattered robes. Unintelligible nonsense spilled from her lips as she paced back and forth, her path evident by the disturbance on the dusty floor.

“Vivienne?” I cried out, running across the room.

I approached, standing in front of her, but she didn’t see me. Or if she did, she refused to acknowledge my presence.

She stopped her pacing, taking a few steps back until she sat on a wooden bench. Drawing her knees to her chest, she rocked back and forth. Her wild hair was worse than I remembered, the strands jagged and frayed.

She chanted, “Blood of the heirs,” repeatedly.

“Vivienne.” I said her name softer, as I kneeled and reached a hand tentatively toward her.

Shame rushed over me. I wasn’t sure how to comfort her during one of her episodes. I’d never stuck around long enough before to see how it played out before I ran away. Even during the last trial, I was too consumed by what was happening in the arena to see what happened to her.

Yet Vivienne had saved my life. My father’s letter told me so. She saved me and Elisabeth. I’d repaid her with years of loathing and bitterness.

As if sensing my emotions, Kade stood closer to me. But it was Ian who crouched down next to me, taking my hand.

“The past is the past, Lan,” he said. “There is still time to make it right.”

He knew how I’d despised Vivienne for most of my life. He also knew what the words in my father’s letter did to me, knowing her role in my life. Ian didn’t judge me. For any of it. Even if I wished someone would.

“We’re here, Vivienne,” I said, this time not hesitating to touch her skin. “You are safe.”

Her body paused, still for a moment as she blinked a few times. A smile curved her lips when she finally registered my presence. “Beautiful little babe.”

“How did you escape?” I asked. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head, resuming her steady rocking. “Evil didn’t linger. Time to flee arrived. Flee to the feeling. Flee to the pull. Blood of the heirs.”

I turned, looking over my shoulder, asking the group instead of any one person. “Can you get her water? Something to eat?”

“Of course.” Kade responded first, touching my shoulder. Though he moved toward William, his shadows stayed with me.

Vivienne smiled as she rocked. “The time has come. Fear, yes. Fear. But light. It’s coming.”

“Everything is all right now,” I said, brushing her arm. Her skin felt cold to the touch. Instead of asking someone else this time, I wanted to do something for her myself. It didn’t make up for the past, but Ian was right. I could treat her with kindness now.

William stood at the bar, lining up mugs by slamming them down on the counter. I tried not to jump as the last one cracked with the force he put behind it.

“I hate to bother you,” I said. “Do you happen to have a blanket I could borrow?”

His hard stare softened the minute I smiled, and a blush crept up his cheeks. As if he suddenly realized who he was speaking to. “I mean no disrespect, Your Majesty.”

“I understand. I used to be uncomfortable with the ramblings myself.”

“I’ll be right back,” he huffed under his breath. When he returned from the back, he carried a quilt in his hands.

“Thank you,” I said, touching his arm before returning to Vivienne.

I wrapped the surprisingly soft blanket around her shoulders, and she stilled once more .

Kade held up a spoon, blowing on the steaming soup delicately before offering it to Vivienne. She shifted her attention to him, a smile breaking through again, just as it had with me. “You listened well.”

He grinned back at her. “I know when to heed a seer.”

Vivienne leaned forward, allowing Kade to feed her the brothy soup. My chest tightened. A prince on his knees before an old woman, caring for her despite the hell he had just experienced. A woman he barely knew. She wasn’t Cassandra, even if he told me once she reminded him of her, but he treated Vivienne with the same respect.

A respect I’d failed to give.

A sharp breath behind us made me jump, and I swiveled.

Raya’s body stood stiff, her eyes white.

“Raya?” Ian pushed past me, going to her side. Before he grabbed her, Storm cut him off, holding him back. “Get off,” Ian argued. “Don’t you think she needs help?”

“She does not need help,” Storm said. “Give her a minute. You can’t touch her when she’s like this.”

We waited, watching Raya, and I knew before she spoke that Kade’s father was infiltrating her mind.

She lowered her head, color returning to her eyes. “We’ve been ordered to return now. The length of time is unacceptable for handling the traitor.”

She did a double take at Storm’s arms wrapped around Ian, but then stepped away toward an empty bench. She brushed her hands over her arms. Storm loosened his hold, and Ian moved back toward me.

“He’s angry?” Jax asked.

Raya looked fearful briefly, then masked it back to the emotionless mask she so clearly preferred wearing. “There was something in his tone.” She swallowed. “We need to be prepared when we return. I don’t know for what, but”—Her gaze shot to Kade—“he feels different. Excited.”

Kade leaned back on the bench, setting down the soup he held in his hands. Closing his eyes, he inhaled slowly. “Storm, Raya, Jax, we leave in three hours.”

“No,” I said, stepping forward, between his outstretched legs, blocking him from looking anywhere but at me.

“Raya is second to none at gauging his moods, and she has never been this rattled. You are not going back there,” he said, jaw grinding.

I glanced over at Vivienne. “We need answers. Cassandra is the only option for getting ones not laced in riddles. The dagger, the journal. If we don’t figure out what it means, this is all for nothing. It’s worth the risk to talk to her.”

He gripped my waist. “Then I will talk to her. I will return when I can.”

I pushed his hand from my waist. “And what are you going to say when you return without me? I hardly think your father will believe that you left me behind somewhere.”

“We can all go,” Ian suggested. “We’ll keep Lana somewhere safe.”

Jax scoffed and Kade moved my body to the side like it was nothing, rising from his seat. “There is no hiding in Mysthaven. I can’t protect all of you.”

Ian’s eyes narrowed on Kade. “The last time Lana was left in your hands, mere hours ago, she was taken.

I let out a breath. Kade’s shadows darkened, swarming the space around us. Ian’s mouth twitched. “I am not afraid of your shadows. No need to try to intimidate me.”

“I met the king, Ian.” I put a hand to his chest. “He barely tolerated me, and I have the threat of a crown with my name, should he try to hurt me. I refuse to put you in harm’s way unnecessarily, which is exactly what will happen.”

“Lan—”

“No, listen to me. I lived knowing you were in danger in those dungeons, and I will not be the one to put you in that position again,” I argued. “Which is exactly what could happen in Mysthaven. This is the right thing to do. ”

“Your people need you both here.” Storm’s arms were crossed. “You need an army. You have to raise them up.”

“Ian is capable of raising an army in my name,” I said.

I would not back down. I would not allow Kade to go to Cassandra with my questions. My gut told me I needed to be in Mysthaven as much as it told me I would be returning sooner than I thought to Brookmere.

“Little Rebel.” The way Kade said my name nearly broke my heart. The desperation.

“Ian, you know who to ask.” I focused on my best friend. My best friend who I just got back and was leaving again. He hated this idea. “Track down those we aided with the Hidden Henchman. Every time we completed a drop, they wanted to know how they could help. You, Corbin, Kalliah—you can rally them.”

“Rally them where?” Kalliah asked from Corbin’s side. “We don’t have access to the palace, to weapons.”

“We provided weapons on many of the drops,” Corbin said. “We always added extra. They’ve been defending their homelands from dark ones for years. Once they know the Hidden Henchman was their princess, we’ll have their loyalty.”

He sounded so sure.

“Fates, we could even reach out to Ryland. He was an excellent swordsman and may be able to help,” Ian said as he rubbed his finger over his lips in thought. I smiled at the motion. It had been the same thing he did when I first approached him with the idea about the Hidden Henchman runs. He was onboard. “Can we stay here? Train here?”

“Not a bad idea,” Storm agreed. “The location is close to the void, which means easy access to and from Mysthaven. It also remains off the main roads enough that we might have a chance at hiding our actions from the palace.” He looked over at William. “But I’m not the one asking William for permission. ”

I walked straight toward the bar, giving my best princess-worthy smile to the old innkeeper. “William, I have a favor to ask.”

He watched me warily, eyes narrowing.

“I’ll pay you three times what you made in the last three years for allowing us to set up camp on your property for my army.”

William sighed. “Hosting an army?”

I didn’t miss the flicker of light in his eyes; whether it was the money or the prospect of an army, I didn’t know.

“Throw in making some of them cook and helping around here and it’s a deal.”

I bowed my head and shot out my hand toward his. “Deal.”

I turned triumphantly back toward the group. Kalliah smirked, shaking her head. Corbin nodded reassuringly.

Ian sighed. “I don’t like this.”

“I need you to take care of Vivienne too,” I said.

“Illiana,” Kade said again. “You cannot?—”

I marched up to him, taking his face in both my hands. My time for indecision, for second-guessing things was over. No longer would Brookmere’s princess—no, queen—sit idly by and do nothing for her kingdom.

“I will be with you in Mysthaven. We will get the answers we need from Cassandra and we will come back here. Away from your father.”

His shadows enveloped us. Ian and Corbin shouted, but I heard Storm mutter, “Again?” under his breath with a clear tone of exasperation.

“Do you think I want to leave you?” The gentle way he cupped my face was so at odds with the harshness and fear coating his tone. “My father could harm you in ways I cannot even begin to think about. Do not ask me to bring you back to a place where you are not safe.”

I leaned into his touch. “I will be in danger here or there. There is nowhere safe for me to be. You know that. But I will find the answers we need at your side. Do not put me on the sidelines in a misguided effort to keep me unharmed. I refuse to live that way. I will not ask for your permission, for the decision is mine to make."

He pulled back, the argument strong in his gaze, but instead, Kade shook his head. Taking my hands in his, he kissed my fingertips as his shadows fell from around us. “I suppose I’m at your command, Little Rebel.” He straightened. “We ride in three hours.”