Page 28 of Ruined Kingdom

It was loud, with Fae shouting and bartering with each other.

I never expected that the Fae would be so diverse. I had only ever met a handful of them in my life, and they all hardly varied in both looks and mannerisms.

It was actually quite refreshing to see them act so … mortal.

“Why is it that the Light Fae exist on a separate plane while all other magical beings exist in our plane?” I questioned while passing a fishmonger who looked at me with a toothy smile. I moved closer to Kaine to signal that I was not interested in his attention.

“There are many other magical beings aside from the ones that exist on the mortal plane. The Light Fae just happens to be one of them. It's really for their own protection. They're a fairly docile people who carry a significant amount of magic. Can you imagine what would happen if they were enslaved?”

I wanted to believe that the world wasn't wicked enough to try to do that to such gentle creatures, but I knew better by now. The first thing that popped into my mind was Prince Nikolai and his father before him.

They had both willingly worked with the Dark Fae in order to take down a place that many creatures called home. They had done horrible things to others, all just for power.

“I understand. Mortals can't be trusted.” My voice dropped as I resigned myself to that fact.

In truth, I’d never had very good experiences with other humans myself. I was an outcast, alone, even among my own people long before I met Kaine.

He stepped in front of me suddenly and grabbed my arms to steady me in front of him. His eyes leered down at me heavily.

There was something like pain on his face as he said, “That's not true. I was wrong to believe such things. Because of my prejudice, I almost ended up killing my mate. You should never resign yourself to my beliefs. I am corrupted by the world. Don’t let it claim you, too. The world needs people with good hearts like you to counterbalance bastards like me.”

“You are not… You’re anything but…” I pulled on the collar of his fine vest and held his gaze with my own. I could easily get lost in those deep, cavernous eyes.

“Please let us proceed forward. The Queen is waiting.” The marching soldiers hastened us as politely as possible.

Anxiety prickled down my neck, but Kaine only rolled his eyes.

“This is becoming tedious,” he grumbled to me as he turned and continued walking until we reached another gate guarded by much more menacing-looking soldiers.

They scrutinized us as we walked past them into a wide courtyard filled with giant cascading flowers and vines.

I came to an abrupt standstill, staring up at a being I could only describe as a glowing giant. She was busy cutting flowers and putting them into a large basket. Everything about her face and motions was calm and mindful.

All I could do was hold onto my jaw and stare up at the giant in awe.

Her silvery hair ran down like waterfalls to the ground, and her head was adorned with a crown made out of light and jewels I'd never seen before.

She wore a dress that must have been made of Starlight. She was dazzling… Heavenly so.

I couldn't find a word that quite summed up her magnitude. The only way I could best explain it was that my eyes did not feel worthy to witness her.

She turned, spotting us instantly with her pastel-pink eyes. She batted her long white lashes as a smile pursed her pale lips. “You’ve come.”

She placed the basket down on the floor and walked toward us, but with every step she took, she grew smaller and smaller until she was a—uhm—reasonable size. Even still, she must have been over eight feet tall.

“Let me get a good look at you.” At first, I thought she was only talking to Kaine, but it wasn't until she stood before us that I realized she was talking to me.

“My name’s Sophia, it’s nice to meet you,” was all I could think to say.

“You mortals have such strange names,” she said in a way that didn’t even occur to me as offensive, her voice like a gentle melody. “But then again, you aren’t, are you?” She tilted her head and smiled at me with adoration and fascination.

“Aren’t what?” I pressed, forgetting my manners. “Your Majesty,” I added quickly.

She placed her palm over her mouth to shield her mischievous grin. “Mortal or not, you're the very woman who brought the Alpha King back to us. We nearly lost him to the darkness before you came along, my dear. You're somewhat of a celebrity here. Though the other Fae might not know you by face, they have certainly heard of your deeds.”

I looked around me, and sure enough, some eyes were on Kaine, but most of them were focused on me in wonder. They whispered among themselves, likely with me as the topic.

I blushed and felt uncomfortable under their gazes all of a sudden. But when I looked to Kaine, a simple smile from him calmed my nerves.

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