Page 52 of Ruined Kingdom

“It's not your fault, you know,” she said all of a sudden. “We all knew the risks of marching in with you that day. I was grieving the loss of my sister, and I took it out on you. I will do something to make amends in the future.”

Tears came to my eyes, but I didn’t want to say something and ruin it, so I simply nodded up at her.

“I hope this was a good start,” she added before floating up and away.

My chest was flooded with warmth. I didn't realize how much I’d needed that until now.

“Wow, what did you do to get a Fae to basically apologize to you?” Sharra plucked the papers from my arms to draw my attention back to her.

“Nothing… Maybe something. It's a really long story either way.” I waved it off, unwilling to let Sharra sully this beautiful moment. “More importantly, what does the book say?”

Sharra flipped through the written pages in search of something. I could see the hope fading in her eyes with every turn of the page.

“Oh! Here’s something. It says here that the Fae’s powers are their life essence. The more power they use, the more they dissolve their life,” she read out loud, squinting at the tiny writing.

“That would explain why the Fae King needs more power,” I added.

“But how does that help us?” Lexi did her best to follow what was happening despite her limited experience.

“Keep reading,” I urged Sharra.

There had to be something in the book that was important. The Library was never wrong.

“It says here that the Fae are capable of obtaining more power, and therefore more life, by absorbing the power of other creatures, but this, in turn, will corrupt the Fae beyond recognition. They will be cast into the Unseen.” Sharra slowed her reading as it became more ominous.

“That’s why they were collecting magical creatures. The Fae King was going to absorb their power.” My voice was barely audible.

Just the thought alone chilled me to my core.

He planned on killing all of them for the sake of power…

He’d done that to me when he sucked that light energy out of me. Only, he hadn’t finished me off then. For some reason, he wanted to keep me alive. Was it to snack on me again later, or use me for something else…?

The entire room was silent. A heaviness hung in the air that choked any of the light coming in.

The Fae King’s end goal was becoming clearer. He planned on consuming all the magical creatures until there was none left.

Not only would he be more powerful for it, he’d also have eliminated the competition. There would be no one left to stop him from obtaining the Spirit of the Forest.

Then the world would be his… Forever.

14

SOPHIA

The midnight breeze brushed through my hair as I sat in the quiet garden, taking in the stillness. It carried the scent of vanilla and lavender from the shampoo Tieni had tediously brushed through my hair.

This was the first moment today I felt like I could sit down and breathe.

I’d thought it would give me some time to collect myself, but it only made everything more confusing. I’d been under the impression that by learning more, I would be able to understand things better, but I found my fear of the world was greater now.

What I did understand more than before, though, was why Kaine had always tried to protect me from finding out these sorts of horrors about his world.

He knew I wouldn't be able to stomach all this darkness.

I’d picked up his burdens without giving much thought to the consequences, and now I didn’t know where to put them down.

“Those are some heavy thoughts for such a beautiful night.” Kaine’s voice came from behind me. He was so quiet that I hadn’t noticed his approach.

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