Page 15 of Ruined Kingdom

Her face had disbelief written all over it, but she didn’t pry. That was what was so great about Lexi. She knew when to not force anything out of me.

“How far would you like for this walk to go?” Sharra asked, already seeming to dread how long and boring her day was going to be.

“Perhaps we could just walk to the edge of the forest. I’d like to drop by my family’s old homestead,” I stated mindlessly, even though I knew very well that there was nothing left for me there.

Even the animals were surely not there anymore. They’d likely either been killed or had escaped and were living like wild animals at this point. Or, knowing Kaine, he probably had someone working the farm in my family’s stead.

It tickled me pink that a great and powerful Alpha King who was capable of horrific acts, was also the same man who would see to insignificant things so that I wouldn’t have to worry.

As promised, we made our way into the forest in the direction of the village. As we walked, however, I absently noticed how the forest looked and felt different to me now.

What I had once perceived as threatening, simply because I didn't understand it, now appeared beautiful to me, from the little whispers in the trees to the creatures scratching against the forest floor as they played and chased others.

This wasn’t a place created to scare humans. It was just a place where things lived—just as our village was a place where people lived. It was as simple as?—

I stopped dead in my tracks.

The sound of galloping horses filled my heart with fear. I turned to Sharra, who was already on her guard. She pressed her arm into me and pushed me back behind some trees.

I pointed out a tree that was hollowed out just enough for all three of us to hide in.

Lexi followed close behind, clinging to my arm as we hid in the shadows of the cavern inside the base of a large and ancient tree.

As the sound of horses came closer, I could see who was leading the group on a familiar white stallion.

I gasped but quickly covered my mouth.

It can’t be…

“Fan out, boys. I want her found. Kill as many creatures as you can find along the way that will draw her out. I will get what was promised to me.” Prince Nikolai stretched out his arm, ordering his men to ride off in different directions.

“We can’t let them get away with this,” I whispered to Sharra.

Her grip on me tightened as she stared at me with fear and anger. “What do you expect us to do against a whole army? It’s best we wait here and warn the others after they’ve passed.”

“But it’ll be too late by then. They’ll have slaughtered so many…” I looked out just as the horrid Prince flung his dagger out and pinned an innocent white bunny to a tree. “No…”

What do I do? What can I do? I need to protect them.

The bunny was still moving its tiny limbs frantically, attempting to get away, but its ear was pinned to a tree by the dagger.

“Oh, little rabbit. Run as fast as you can.” The Prince jumped down and chuckled sadistically to himself as he approached the bunny. “I’ll still catch you,” he promised as he raised his boot to?—

“Stop!” I shouted, fighting off Sharra, who was desperately trying to hold me back. I grabbed a rock as big as my head that had semi-molded into the tree and ripped it clean out of the mossy bark. “Leave it alone!”

I lugged the heavy stone at the Prince, but my aim was way off, and it missed him, hitting the tree beside him. It instantly shattered into hundreds of pieces.

I stared at the place where the tree had just stood in shock. It hadn’t been a particularly big or sturdy-looking tree, but still, if the rock had hit him, it certainly would have killed him.

I wondered where that strength had just come from, but the rest of my focus was on the cruel bastard who was just about to stomp a bunny to death for fun. “You get away from it.”

The Prince turned sharply as an unnerving smile spread across his face upon meeting my eyes. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite little plaything.”

Just the sound of his voice was enough to turn my stomach—but his face…

He had permanent damage from when Kaine had torn into him not so long ago. His nose was completely gone! The only thing left was a hole for him to breathe through. And the skin on the right side of his face was ripped clean off, the muscles moving beneath somehow visible. Even now, I could see the muscles moving beneath. He was ghastly…

Then everything around us faded to black as if the veil of night had been pulled over the sky. I looked around me, desperate to find some sort of landmark to place where I was.

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