Page 3 of Ruined Kingdom

“Not yet, dear Sophia. There is something I must talk to you about first.” She held up her hands in protest, but smoothly and gracefully, to the point where I didn't mind the delay.

She waved her arm out in a wide and sweeping motion, creating a curtain of stars out of thin air—a sudden rip in the endless bright light. Somehow, I knew she’d just created a doorway back to the realm of the living, for I could see a lush green garden through it on the other side.

She motioned for me to step through first, and I didn’t argue. As soon as I stepped through to the other side, I immediately recognized the plant life and my surroundings as right outside of Ulric Castle. It was Kaine’s garden, but it looked different—almost like it was another version of the same place.

The flowers were so alive they almost sang in the wind as they rustled. The leaves were the most vivid green I'd ever seen. The water looked to be made of crystals as they created their own little waves in the fountains.

Helene stepped through the ethereal opening after me and lifted her arm to allow me to take it. I didn't hesitate this time and wrapped my palm gently around the gossamer sleeve, caressing her porcelain skin. The moment my fingertips touched her, a vibration of power emitted right into me, trilling through my blood unbidden.

“I know this last year of your life has been quite difficult for you. This is in part due to my decision to make you a second mate to the Alpha King, Kaine Ulric. I'm sure you've read in your books how it is very uncommon for any shifter to be granted a second mate. I assure you I had my reasons for doing so.”

The way she spoke sounded like a mournful song. I also noticed that she was avoiding making eye contact with me all of a sudden.

“A Goddess's duties are not always easy. Sometimes they require great sacrifice. There are times when mortals must sacrifice for the greater good as well, but you are only given what you’re able to handle. I've given you a very important task because you are strong and kind. You will do what is best for the greater good, despite yourself. That is what makes you special, Sophia Everly.”

She glanced at me from the corner of her eye before quickly looking away again. I was beginning to suspect that whatever she wanted to tell me wasn't something I wanted to hear. I pressed my lips together in anticipation of what she was about to say.

Instead, though, she went quiet and reached forward, plucking a soft pink rose from an overgrown bush before us. She offered it to me, the fully bloomed rose having reverted to a single bud by the time it reached my hand.

“Although I cannot tell you everything or even prepare you for what is to come, I wish to ready you as best I can.”

I leered over the small pink rosebud in bewilderment. “What is this for?”

“That, my dear, is a timer. Keep it close, and keep it safe. There will come a time when you will need to use it. I trust by then you will know what to do with it.”

My arm fell away from hers as she took a few steps forward before turning around to face me.

She looked at me with the gentle pity of a mother. “I can see the trepidation building in you. Your heart patters with the fear. But know that I will protect you … at least until the time comes when you won’t need it…”

Her serene expression faltered slightly as she tried to withhold her true emotions. Quickly, she waved her hand, creating another otherworldly doorway behind me just as I reached out to her.

“Wait, Helene!”

“Go quickly, my dear. He needs you back, now.” Her voice shook as a crystal tear dripped from her eye, and a gust of wind knocked me back and through the portal.

Before I knew it, I was spinning around in a vacuum so fast I could hardly comprehend what was happening to me. If I’d ever imagined what falling off the edge of the end of the world would feel like, this was it.

“Be brave, Sophia.” Her final words filled my ears like a distant melody. “For all our sakes…”

1

SOPHIA

Panic flooded my veins as I sunk back into my skin.

I shot up from the bed as a rush of pain struck me back down to the pillowy mattress. I cried out, clutching my stomach with my arms.

When I pulled my hands away, they were painted in a deep red color. It was unmistakable. I was bleeding out, and there wasn’t a soul in the room to help me.

I rolled to the side, hissing through my clenched teeth and clutching my stomach. I pushed myself up from the bed, taking a few moments to find my balance on the ground, spinning uncontrollably beneath my feet.

I need to get some help, or else I’m going to find myself back in that endless darkness!

I halted, wondering if I’d imagined all of it.

It couldn’t have been real, could it?

Writing it off as a simple trick of the mind, an illusion, was certainly preferable to believing that the realm of nothingness I’d drifted around in was the place we ended up in after we died. I shook my head at the thought and stumbled into the vanity.

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