Page 50 of Ruined Kingdom

“Do you know where he went or why he left?” I couldn't help pressing for answers.

Kaine’s mental state had been so volatile lately that not being near him made me anxious.

“Don't worry, Princess, it was nothing quite so serious.” Sharra winked at me with a sly smile on her face.

I suppose I can relax then.

“When did you two get so close?” I winced at them as I took a seat in my favorite chair by the window.

“Who else is there to hang out with around here?” Sharra waved an arm out while the other clutched a book to her body. “Tieni and the other caretakers are always busy with housework, and the soldiers are a total bore. The only other person is Yenisey, and that’s just a big no for me.”

Yenisey…

I had conveniently forgotten about her until now. Shame crawled over my skin. It was almost as if she was a ghost living in the castle, not a person who deserved company and to feel included among all of us.

“She really isn't so bad once you get to know her,” I said, my voice turning low as if I was afraid she’d hear me somehow.

“If you ask me, she's bad news. Her story, and what’s happened, just doesn't add up for me. I'm sorry. I know you like her, Sophia, but you also tend to be very forgiving of people who don't deserve it.”

That was Sharra for you, she never held back on expressing her true feelings, and that was one of the main things I liked so much about her. I always knew exactly where I stood with her.

“Perhaps she's stuck in a situation she can't much help.” Sharra was right, of course, but that didn't mean I was able to go against my nature.

It was horrible enough that I was keeping the truth from her when she had every right to know who she was. I hung my head and wrapped my arms around me.

“Soph, what’s the matter?” Lexi’s demeanor changed in an instant. She walked over to me and sat on the edge of the table so that she could face me.

“Lexi… I’ve done something terrible, and I don't even know if I have the strength to undo the mess that I've made.” I looked up at her with defeat in my eyes.

“Well, that doesn't sound like you at all. Why don't you tell me about it, and we'll figure it out together?” She rubbed my back and offered me a gentle smile.

It was moments like these when I was reminded why she was my best friend.

I told her everything from Yenisey being Lilliana to me being a shifter. The funny thing was, the problem had seemed so impossible to deal with until I said them out loud to her. Lexi always made me feel stronger than my concerns were.

“My, that is a lot. I can't believe you were carrying all of that by yourself for so long. You know that you could have come to me at any time with this, don’t you?”

“I know… I just wasn't ready to fully admit it, even to myself. I told Tieni, but she thought it best to keep it hidden for now. Part of me thought that was the best idea, too, at least until Kaine and I could be bound as one, but then I thought, ‘What kind of person would I be to withhold information from Kaine until it was too late?’ It feels like entrapment.” I huddled into myself, half-forgetting Sharra was there until she slapped her book closed and marched over to me.

Sharra kicked my seat out from in front of the table and leaned my chair back as she held the headrest so that I had to look her in the eye. “That's because it is entrapment. He has every right to know, and you have every right to know if he's willing to stay by your side no matter what. You think after all he's done for you that he's going to up and leave you for someone who has been dead and gone for a really long time now—who might not even be the same person he once knew? He's mourned her. I know that's the scariest part for you, but mourning her means that he has accepted that she is gone. You are here in front of him right now, flesh and blood. Don't withhold it from him any longer. This should have never been your burden to carry in the first place.”

My gaze wandered over to Lexi, who looked at Sharra and then looked back at me in agreement. “I would have said it with much less aggression, but Sharra is right. The Fae King told you that to hurt you and drive a wedge between the two of you. The longer you wait, the more he wins. Have faith that Kaine’s love is stronger than this.”

“All right, I'll tell him tonight.” My chest was filled with fear of the unknown, but some relief also mingled there. “Now, until then, I need to focus on research?—”

I wasn't even allowed to finish my sentence before the book came flying at me and landed right in front of me without hesitation. I had never been handed a book with such ferocity before. I suppose that was confirmation that the new books were in.

Sharra and Lexi could not help but be intrigued as well. They gathered around me as I scooted my chair back to the table.

The book itself didn't appear to be anything special. I could at least tell from the cover that it was very old.

“Whatever you were looking for, I think you found it,” Sharra mumbled, more to herself than to me.

Lexi was far less patient. “Well, go on then. Open it up. The Library obviously thought it was pertinent that you have a look at this book first.”

I peeled the front cover open, and the spine crackled, signaling how long it had been in disuse. I cringed with every sound of protest, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from wanting to read it.

The first thing I noticed was that it was written in a foreign script. “Curses… I don't even know what language this is.”

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