Page 56 of Ruined Kingdom

“I’m free to decide?” she asked, all but yelling now. “Surely that's a joke? I'm not free, and I certainly can't decide anything for myself. It's all been decided for me. I’ve been resurrected solely to be a tool of misery, but I’m not even that because the man I was brought back for no longer wants me! I was created for a purpose and have proven useless to both my creator and my lover.” She shouted up at the ceiling.

I wanted to sympathize with her, but hearing her refer to Kaine as her lover got under my skin. “No one can choose their past, Yenisey, but you can choose your future—fate or purpose be damned.”

She turned to me and scoffed with tears in her eyes. “That's easy for you to say. He still wants you… And you held on to this for so long without telling me…” She fell silent for a moment and turned away from me. “Does he know?”

I didn't like where this was going or how she sounded. I knew it would have been best to stay silent, but I couldn't exactly ignore her question. “I told him.”

“Perhaps I should speak with him.” Her words were like small daggers piercing my heart.

I’d held Yenisey in high regard, even surpassing my original concerns about her being here, but all of that trust came crashing down. “I don’t want you to do that.”

I surprised myself with the words that came out of my mouth, asserting that I wouldn’t simply back down for her.

My bedroom door swung open before another word could be spoken.

Tieni came in with a dress for me, a big smile on her face. The happiness quickly faded once she felt the tension in the room.

“I apologize. Was I interrupting something?” She began backing away, but I stopped her.

“No!” I blurted out too quickly and nervously, causing Tieni to furrow her brows suspiciously at me.

“In that case, it’s time for you to go, dear,” she said to Yenisey. “Sophia must get dressed for the special event today.”

Tieni’s voice was as sweet as could be, but there was an underlying threat to her tone.

Yenisey didn’t say another word before leaving.

As soon as she was gone, Teini shut the door behind her and looked at me meaningfully. “You told her, didn’t you?”

“Out of everyone, I regret telling her the most,” I uttered in defeat.

I knew that Kaine said not to worry, but there would always be that part of me that knew she was his first love. That wasn’t something you just swept under the rug.

“I warned you, dear. There’s nothing that can stop the matters of the heart. Now that she knows she was once mated with Kaine, she realizes why she was drawn to him initially. That residual bond was a mere passing notion for her until you admitted to her just now that she was fated to be with him.”

I dropped my head, shame and regret dancing together within me as I sunk down onto the mattress.

What have I done?

“Good Goddess, child. You are too good sometimes. Not everyone will extend the same courtesy.”

She came over to sit down next to me and pulled me into a side hug.

“What am I going to do?” I tried to hold back the sea of mixed emotions that threatened to flood out of me.

“The only thing you can do, love… Keep true to who you are. It’s the only thing in this life you can truly control.” She rubbed my arm, which somehow drew out and soothed the throbbing ache in my chest.

“Why is this so hard?” I whined, feeling like a child all of a sudden.

This made Tieni laugh. She covered her mouth in an attempt to stop, but it only made it worse. Her laugh became infectious, and soon, I couldn’t help laughing along with her.

I didn’t even know what I was laughing at, but the more I looked at her, the less I could contain it.

“You’ll be all right. A good heart might not always be the easiest path, but it’s always the right one.” She ran her fingers through my hair and smiled at me after wiping a stray tear from her eye. “Now. Let’s get you ready for this party tonight!”

She stood up and faced me with her hands on her hips. A smile spread across her face. There was even a flashing of teeth, which was very different from her usual, more modest smiles.

“What party?”

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