Page 55 of Ruined Kingdom

15

SOPHIA

Iawoke to the hustle and bustle just outside my room.

Curiosity got the best of me as I fought the sheets that’d become a tangled mess during the night.

Once I was finally able to free my legs, I rolled off the other side of the bed that was closest to the door. My chest fluttered with excitement.

Something felt very different about today. Different in the sense that there wasn't a looming nightmare over us like usual.

I opened the door to find members of the staff running back and forth with ribbons and fresh flowers. I tried to stop someone to ask what was going on, but they were far too busy to notice me.

While I was standing out in the hallway, I could hear another door farther down the corridor opening tentatively as well. I turned to find that it was Yenisey.

The light and airy feeling in my chest plummeted to the ground. My eyes went wide, but I wasn't able to move my feet before she caught sight of me.

She crossed her arm in front of her body, grabbing her elbow on the other side of her nervously.

Her head drooped as she approached me. “Good morning, Sophia.”

She appeared to be frightened of me. I couldn’t begin to imagine why. I’d saved her butt from being skewered outside the castle gates, hadn’t I?

“Good morning. I haven't really seen you around lately,” was all I could think to say, immense awkwardness smothering the air between us.

It was the truth, but only because I’d been avoiding her.

Her eyes refused to meet mine, seeming to find the intricate designs on the carpet running the length of the hallway far more interesting.

I was worried that if I spent a modicum of time with her, I would tell her the truth. But keeping it from her, while everyone else knew, seemed cruel. “Yenisey, I have something I must tell you…”

Her head popped up, and all the color drained from her face. “You shouldn’t come any closer to me.”

“Pardon?” I brought my ear closer to her as if that was going to clear up the confusion.

“Even if I don’t intend for you to get hurt, you always do for some reason when you’re around me,” she said, her voice cracking, but she forced herself to keep her composure. “Why haven’t you had the Alpha King kick me out already? I don't know.”

“I would never. Whether you stay or leave, it’s your decision… And I’ll prove to you right now that I don’t always get hurt around you.” I marched right up to her and took her arm in mine despite her hesitation. “Come, I have some information about your past that you deserve to know. I've known for a while, but I didn't know how to tell you,” I admitted as I led her into my room so that no one could overhear.

She seemed to be a little bit more relaxed now, but I didn't know how long that was going to last.

“Okay… Here it goes. You can't remember your past because, technically, you don't have a past—well, that's not true either. You do have a past, it’s just… Oh, I'm not saying this right at all!”

Why was it so much harder to explain it to her than it had been to the others? I felt like I had a frog stuck in my throat.

“Relax, Sophia. Just tell me what you need to tell me.” She ran her hand gently down my sleeve to ease my anxiety. Strangely enough, it worked.

I managed to take a deep breath, willing it to fill me with whatever strength it would allow. “When we were captured, the Fae King admitted to me that you are the reincarnation of the Alpha King's first mate, Lilliana. You were created due to a bargain they made many years ago, but that monster kept you from Kaine to torture him.”

I stopped because it looked like Yenisey was going to faint from the information.

“I know it's a lot to take in. I'll give you a moment.”

I sat down next to her quietly as she took the next ten minutes to sort through her thoughts.

She stared down at the ground and then at her hands. She moved her fingers as if to question if she was real. “When you said you had something to tell me, I never imagined this. I don't know what I'm supposed to do now that I know this.”

“You’re free to decide this yourself,” I said, wanting to console her by taking her hands into mine, but she stood away from me before I could reach her.

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