Page 44 of Shadows of Ruin (The Broken Prophecy #2)

Chapter 43

Lana

I watched Raya scream until her voice gave out.

Her screaming continued to ring in my ears, even after she stopped. I don’t know if I’d ever heard such a tortured sound before.

She pulled herself to my chair and worked to untie me.

“You can do this,” I said, my voice low. I didn’t want to startle or scare her.

Fates, her crestfallen expression was so unlike the strong woman I’d come to know.

“We’re with you,” Storm added. “You aren’t alone.”

“You should hate me,” she whispered. “He is too strong.”

“You’re fighting now,” I said as the rope dropped away and my hands fell forward. I rubbed my wrists, begging the circulation to return.

She moved to Storm and produced a key from her pocket, leaving me to untie the ropes at my feet.

“I don’t know how much time we have. I haven’t been able to release his hold until now,” she murmured. “He must be distracted.”

“You need to be careful,” Storm said as she reached up to work on unlocking his chains .

I stepped out of the ropes, my muscles locked up from sitting with my hands behind my back.

Raya didn’t answer him, so he pressed harder. “We don’t know the damage fighting his mind magic causes, and I can barely see your face through the blood.”

“I’m fine,” she snapped. The lock clicked around his wrists.

“But you won’t be.” The king’s voice came from behind us.

I turned as guards poured into the room.

Followed by Kade. The second he saw us, he shoved forward. Guards approached Raya, Storm, and me, circling and blocking us from Kade.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Kade shouted. “Lana?”

Storm struggled to undo the last of his chains behind me.

“I’m okay,” I answered, unable to look away from him.

“Oh, not for long, my dear,” the king said. He flicked his wrist as he ordered his guards. “Seize them.”

Kade stepped closer. “I don’t think so,” he said, his tone menacing and dark as he stared down his father.

The king showed no sign of concern. “You will stand down, son.”

“You will not touch her. You will let all of them go.”

The king stepped around Kade. “I said, take them.”

Kade turned, shuddering, and I knew what was about to happen. I pivoted throwing myself at Storm and Raya. “Hold on to me,” I shouted.

Kade’s shadows cocooned around me, and I gripped them tightly. Darkness covered the room. I clung to the others, too nervous to let go without knowing if we were safe.

But I heard silence.

There was nothing.

Arms wrapped around me, tugging me away from both of them. Only then did I open my eyes. Storm and Raya stood unharmed in front of me .

Kade spun me around, touching my face, my neck, my arms.

“I’m not hurt,” I reassured him. “I’m okay.”

He pulled me into a hug, and I saw over his shoulder. The deadly explosion from Kade hadn’t even given the guards a chance to scream before the shadows destroyed their bodies.

Except they hadn’t killed everyone. Laughter echoed freely in the room, and I tensed, making eye contact with the king.

Who stood unharmed.

Jax ran through the doorway, taking in the destruction as he entered the room. His eyes flared wide as he took in the four of us, and then the king.

The king who should have also been destroyed and yet stood untouched by Kade’s shadows.

He laughed again. “Did you think the darkness I molded could destroy me?”

Kade’s lip curled, and he gripped me by the waist, holding me close to his side. His shadows relentless as they frantically jerked around him, spidering out in the room.

One of them curled around my leg, and the others calmed slightly at the closeness but didn’t retreat.

“What are you talking about?” Kade asked.

The king ran a hand over the front of his robes, walking toward a pile of dusty ash on the floor and kicked it.

He ran his foot through the resettling ash. Bile rose in my throat. That pile had been one of his loyal Guardians. Kade had not hesitated to destroy all of them.

All because they tried to come for me.

“You dare to defy me when I created you,” the king snarled. “I spent years feeding the darkness into you. It worked so easily to control my Guardians. They fell to my will after a dose or two.”

“We would have seen that,” Storm argued, limping forward. Kade’s shadows reached out to him, supporting his friend .

“I am not stupid enough to turn them here,” the king snapped. “My true army lies safely elsewhere. Away from the eyes of any disloyal. Who knew my own son was one of the traitors I needed to weed out. But my monster will return to me. You can’t fight the darkness already in you.”

“You have no power over him,” I shouted, surprising everyone in the room. “You have tried to control him for years and failed. He is stronger than you will ever be.” I tried to step forward, reaching for the dagger at my thigh, but Kade’s shadows held me back. I glared at him, wanting us to charge the king now. To end this.

The pride on Kade’s face reassured me, but he shook his head once, keeping me from continuing the struggle against him.

“If you knew I was disloyal, why wait until now to say something?” Kade asked, crossing his arms.

“I wasn’t sure, of course. With no proof, I didn’t want to make any hasty decisions,” the king responded. “Until I got into Raya’s mind last night. Finally weak enough to infiltrate completely as she spent too much of her energy giving to others, leaving her defenseless.”

She sucked in a breath and her head fell back. A whimper was all we heard as she stumbled forward.

“Fight it, Raya!” Jax shouted from the doorway. The king threw a hand in his direction and Jax flew backward, slamming against the wall.

I ran over to him. “Jax,” I whispered. His body seemed limp, but his pulse remained strong.

“Go get my Guardians, dear,” the king instructed Raya. “Bring them here. Then we can discuss your punishment.”

She bowed her head, in a complete trance as she left the room. I stared back at the true Monster of Mysthaven. The king.

He moved toward Kade, arm outstretched. Kade’s eyes bulged, and he gasped .

The king curled his hand around in the air, like he was using an invisible hand to choke Kade.

I ran forward, but Kade’s shadows blocked me from reaching him.

“Did you think you could lead a rebellion behind my back without my knowledge? How foolish,” the king said. “You will willingly submit to your punishment, or I will use you to destroy everyone in this room.”

“I would never,” Kade choked out.

“Ah, but you know how you lose yourself to that darkness sometimes. Do you think I cannot make that permanent?” The king grinned, loosening his grip on Kade.

Raya returned, guards coming in and flooding the room around the king. Around us.

“Now.” The king smiled. “You will submit to a whipping here, willingly.”

It clicked. If Kade submitted, the king would have his blood. Willingly .

“Kade you can’t, he’s going to—” A guard grabbed me, covering my mouth with his hand.

“Let her go.” Kade moved forward, drawing his sword and stabbing the guard standing in front of him with no remorse.

“Kade,” Storm shouted as two guards pulled him closer. “You can’t submit?—”

The king turned his power on Storm, and I watched in horror as he pulled our friends off to the side, trapping them behind some sort of magical barrier. We could not hear their voices, despite their mouths moving frantically.

The king laughed, turning his attention to me as an invisible hand covered my mouth, taking me from the guard as he pulled me to his side.

“Think about this carefully, son,” the king said. “You drained your power in your earlier display. You are not strong enough to defeat me. ”

He ran a hand over my hair like a damn pet as he beckoned a guard over to take his place. The guard slapped his hand over my mouth as the king removed his magical hold.

“I’ll submit to whatever you deem necessary,” Kade shouted. “If you let her go."

I shook my head. The second the king obtained his blood, he would be one step closer to releasing Thames.

And Kade had no idea.

I had to do something, warn him in some way. I bit the guard’s hand, and he yelped in pain as I thrust myself forward. “Kade—” But the king shoved me backward, sending me careening into a line of guards behind him.

The force of the motion caught me so off guard, I landed at a Guardian’s feet, who forcefully picked me up underneath my arms. He wasted no time, his hand clasped over my mouth and a dagger held to my side.

For the first time since I’d met Kade, he looked terrified. His cool demeanor cracking at the sight of me struggling before him. I would be dead in an instant if the king willed it.

“I said I will submit,” Kade growled. “On the condition Lana and my friends go free.”

All I could do was shake my head, unable to communicate that Kade would be giving the king exactly what he wanted.

The king’s eyes glimmered in giddiness as he readied the whip he’d picked up. “On your knees.”

Kade started to drop to his knees where he stood on the other side of the study, but King Dargan stopped him. “No, boy, not there.” He pointed toward me. “There.”

I screamed against the guard’s palm as I fought unsuccessfully to free myself from his grip. His armor too thick for me to do any damage, more likely to injure myself in the process.

Kade slowly stood to his full height and made his way across the room, cautiously lowering himself once more, this time at my feet .

King Dargan strode toward Kade as he removed his shirt. It had to be an automatic response from his past. He placed his hands on his knees and his back remained as straight as board, ready and waiting for his punishment.

I tried once more to scream at him, to tell him not to do this. His father has no intention of letting either of us leave here. At least not alive.

Kade looked me straight in the eye and mouthed, “I love you,” before schooling his expression into a blank stare.

The sound of the whip cracked in the air as leather met flesh. My whole body revolted at the sound, flinching as the aroma of copper filled the air. Kade didn’t even flinch as the second crack echoed in the silence of the study. Droplets of blood laced the darkened leather and splattered across the stone floor.

“You dare defy your master?” the king whispered as he stalked from one side of Kade’s body to the other. “I created you. I made you the Fae you are today, and this betrayal is how you repay me?”

Tears streamed down my face as I watched while Kade was whipped three more times. Blood freely flowing down his back now. The king collected the flowing liquid into a vial.

The blood of an heir, willingly given.

Kade remained unmoving, his eyes staring straight into mine.

“I have been feeding the darkness into you for years.” Dargan was brazen in his explanation. “Haven’t you ever wondered about your little blackouts? The way your magic intensified?”

Kade didn’t say anything, but I could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. Replaying every interaction with this newfound knowledge.

“You are my monster, and once Thames is released, you will not be able to ignore darkness’s call. You will stand by my side. ”

“Never,” Kade grunted through gritted teeth.

The king scoffed and pivoted to face Raya, Storm, and Jax, still trapped behind his magical barrier. I had almost forgotten they were even here because I was so focused on Kade. Tears still flowed down my face. Dargan flicked his wrist and the barrier fell away, their screams now audible in the once quiet study.

“Thank you, Raya. Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated. You will be rewarded for your loyalty to your king.”

All their heads turned to look at Raya. Everything they had done to safeguard their plans from the king was for nothing.

Raya let a single tear fall down her face as she stood there, unable to move despite the dispersion of the magical barrier.

“Now the time has come!” King Dargan started. “Thames has waited a thousand years. It is time for him to be released.”

He still needed my blood, and I would not give it up willingly. There was no way I would be the cause of the release of this murderous void monster living between our lands, sucking it dry, infecting our people.

“Why?” Kade asked.

A single word. The power of the question unmistakable. The king froze and pivoted to face Kade.

“Why? Power of course.” The king stated it so plainly. Like it was such a simple answer. Like we were all idiots for not knowing.

“You already have power. You already rule all of Mysthaven. What more could you possibly want?” Kade probed further, keeping the king talking. Hopefully the others were devising a way to get us out of this situation, preferably alive.

“I have power in this world. But he has promised me more. No more sacrifices. No more being bound to this desolate land. Brookmere is ripe for the taking. And all I need now is the willing blood of the second heir.”

King Dargan dangled the vial of Kade’s blood in front of us. “One down. One to go.”

I bit down hard on the hand covering my mouth, the guard wincing in pain and loosening his grip. I screamed at the king, “Never! You will never get my blood.”

Dargan frowned and waved his hand at several guards standing by the door, making sure we couldn’t escape. “Then Kade is dead.”

The guards hastily moved toward Kade, drawing their blades before thrusting them against his throat.

“Give me your blood,” Dargan stated once more. “It’s really quite simple. We can sacrifice your friends too. It really doesn’t bother me either way how many we kill to get your blood.”

“No. I’d rather die than release that evil into this land,” I spat.

“Pity.” Dargan sneered. “We’ll see how you feel in a few hours, after you watch him being torn to shreds by each and every one of the guards in my command. You will give me your blood before the day is over. Guard, take her to the dungeon. We’ll let her wait there.”

Terror threatened to overtake my entire body. I could not leave this room if I ever hoped to see my friends in one piece again.

The guard moved to take me out of the room, but he only made it one step. Kade’s shadows snaked up the bodies of the guards at his side, and snapped their necks, killing them instantaneously.

Dargan stumbled back, appearing flustered, but only momentarily. He removed the amulet from its resting spot against his chest and uncorked the vial of Kade’s blood, pouring it onto the stone.

And then all hell broke loose.