Page 29 of Ruined Kingdom

“But your story isn’t over,” the Queen said as she motioned for us to follow her.

Her strides were so long that I had to pick up the pace to keep up with her. Kaine, however, didn't seem to have any trouble matching her speed with his long legs.

“What do you mean, my story?” I asked.

“It means that the die has been cast, my dear. The story has been written, and all we need to do is play our parts.” She seemed to glide across the cobblestone path as we reached the front of her daunting castle.

I would have taken more notice of the beauty of it had I not been so disturbed by her words. “You speak as if we cannot change our fate.”

“Oh, you mortals. Fate cannot be altered. Things will come to be as they are meant to. There is nothing we can do to stop it.” She halted right before a set of grand white doors that began to open for her.

As she turned around to face us again, her long silver hair flowed like the waves of an ocean with her movement. She clasped her hands together gently and smiled at me once more.

“Now, my dear, if you don't mind, my discussion with the Alpha King is rather private. Feel free to wait here or in the garden if you like.”

“This shouldn’t take long,” Kaine assured me, but that wasn’t what I was concerned about.

I stood there watching as the doors closed behind him and the Fae Queen, and I was left outside with the menagerie of soldiers.

I stared at the intricate ironwork of the door as I slipped further into my mind.

If we cannot change our fates, then what is the whole point of me being here? Of me loving him … of him loving me.

I absently pulled out the little pale pink rosebud Helene had given to me—which had grown into a full-on rose by now.

Even though I gently pulled the rose out of my pocket, one of the petals still came loose and disintegrated.

“No!” I hunched over the rose to protect it from any further damage.

I realized my reaction was silly, though. It was a ticking pocket watch, and there was nothing I could do to stop it from wilting away with each hour.

I’ve concluded that it had to have something to do with Kaine—and the time he had left. Why else had the Goddess given it to me, claiming that Kaine needed me by his side with it?

Now that I was closely inspecting the rose again, I found something familiar in it.

This looks just like?—

I looked up and found myself racing back to the garden. When I first witnessed this flower being plucked by Helene, I had never seen a rose like it before, and I've never seen anything like it since … until today.

I walked back out into the broad daylight and approached the first vine of roses I saw.

The roses in this garden were much bigger, but beyond a shadow of a doubt, they were exactly the same as my rose. Could this be a coincidence?

Does this mean that the Fae Queen has something to do with Kaine’s end?

7

SOPHIA

Iadmit I've been rather distracted lately.

A few days had passed since we had visited the Light Fae Kingdom of Solanas, and I couldn't stop thinking about the roses in the garden.

Helene must have been trying to tell me something when she gave me this rose specifically. She’d told me that I would know when the time came to use it.

The only issue is that I still didn't know.

I threw my head into my hands and garbled a few choice words out of frustration.

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