Page 47 of Ruined Kingdom

This wretched, corrupting fear crept up from the pit of my stomach into my chest and squeezed down on my heart until it could barely keep beating.

I knew that I was asleep, but I wasn't able to wake myself up.

This was just like when I had the nightmare the other night. The only difference was that I was now very much aware that I was dreaming, even though it felt eerily realistic.

In my dream, I looked over to Sophia to find that she was wearing her white ceremonial dress made of pure light. But the beauty of it was marred by blood.

My eyes shot up to her face. She was pale and ice cold. I watched her chest, waiting for any type of movement, but she was utterly still. I scooped her up into my arms and held her close to me.

Her body already felt stiff.

Then, a dark presence entered the room, choking off any and all remaining light.

It was the Fae King. He was standing in the corner, consuming the room with his darkness. “I can help you if you want?”

I’d been in this moment before. Many, many years ago. I was reliving it, only this time it was Sophia, not Lilliana. I had never told another soul what I’d bartered for Lilliana's life. I wouldn't be able to face anyone ever again if they knew.

In exchange for Liliana's life, I’d given the Dark Fae King my son and a fraction of the Spirit of the Forest.

In my all-consuming grief, I hadn't realized my error until it was much too late. My son… was gone, sent to the belly of beast…. He was just a child.

And the Spirit of the Forest… I hadn't even considered that a mere modicum of that immense power would give him such dominion over the magical forces, much less the jurisdiction he’d been able to claim over me as a result.

Everything that’s happened thus far… Every life lost… It’s all because of me…

Sophia's cold face turned to me suddenly, snapping me out of my self-condemning reverie. I stared down in horror as her dead, gray eyes stared back at me.

Her stiff hand raised to my face and pressed against my warm, wet cheek. “I know how to save you now.”

The shock of hearing her voice dragged me out of my dream and into my waking life.

My eyes shot open. Tears were dripping down Sophia’s now very flushed cheeks as she held my face tightly between her hands. Her reassuringly green eyes were desperately searching mine.

“I was trying to wake you, but you—you just kept screaming.” She could barely speak through the sobs.

I sat up quickly, gathering her in my arms and hugging her tightly to me. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just having a bad dream.”

“That seemed like more than just a bad dream. That was horrifying for me to watch, and I didn't even know what you were seeing... ”

“Be still now. It's all over. Nightmares can't hurt us.” I couldn't help but wonder if I was trying to convince her or myself of that.

She managed to wriggle her head out from my arms to look up at me. “How can you be sure?”

I managed to smile at her, which seemed to calm her down. I dragged my thumb gently across her cheek to wipe her tears away.

I found it difficult to focus on anything other than how beautiful she was. I was just so grateful that she was alive and well and in my arms. I brought my lips to hers before I could even give it a thought.

She didn't hesitate for an instant, either. She moved closer so she could wrap her arms around my neck, one of her hands trailing up to lace her fingers through my hair.

She made sure to press her body into mine, and even through the thin material of her nightgown, I could feel her skin—electric and responding to the touch of mine with instant and intense heat.

It drove me absolutely wild.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and laid her down on the bed, pressing my weight on top of her. I didn't want to make her fear anymore. I was tired of how many times I'd made her cry. I just wanted to see her be happy.

My hand roved its way down the length of her body until I found the bottom hem of her nightgown. I slowly began pulling it up, and she let out a small whimper with every inch that I revealed.

“If you continue to make those little noises, I won't be able to control myself.”

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