Page 61 of Ruined Kingdom

And speaking to Yenisey about anything at this point was obviously out of the question.

Tieni was the only one I’d told about it, but she only told me to be patient and that I would know what to do when the time came. But I couldn’t keep waiting around until the answer just came to me—I needed to figure things out and prepare for it as best I could before the storm struck.

Where can she possibly be?

I’d searched about every room inside the castle, to no avail, and was now on my way to look for my friend outside.

Besides the soldiers making their rounds and some of the caretakers tending to the foliage, there was no sign of Lexi anywhere.

“Haha! Wonderful,” a strong voice boasted from somewhere just past the line of trees where the garden gave way to the forest. “You’re a natural!”

I knew I had to investigate and treaded past the barrier of ancient trees. I saw movement in a clearing ahead of me and ducked behind some bushes.

I first noticed the chestnut Centaur I’d befriended after we saved the castle, but the next thing I saw was what shocked me to my core.

It was the very girl I’d been looking for. Lexi…

She was holding a bow in her hand while talking to the Centaur. Then she did something unexpected. She nervously tucked her hair behind her ear and shyly looked up at him through her lashes.

She likes him! I squealed internally as I watched her through the bushes with a massive grin on my face. I don’t blame her, and he’s very handsome, brave, and likable. But how would they?—

I cut my wandering thoughts off right there, even shaking them from my head before I was compelled to run out, grab Lexi, and run away with her. If they really liked each other, they would figure things out for themselves.

A part of me felt like I should turn around, sneak away, and leave them be, but there was another part of me that wanted to poke the bear. Just a little bit.

With a wide grin back across my face, I stood up from behind the bushes and approached them with something of a playful saunter.

I only made it a few steps before the Centaur noticed. “Fancy finding you guys out here, alone, out of sight, in the forest,” I said, intoning my voice in a way to let Lexi know that I had found her out.

Lexi was so startled that she dropped her bow as she spun around to face me. “Soph! What are you doing here?”

Her sentences were tight and tense, as if she was on edge.

“Why, I was only looking for my best friend,” I crooned, tilting my head at her, trying not to laugh at her expression of mortification—she even looked around her as if she was looking for a place to stick her head in. “But I see you're already busy.”

“Not at all,” she said quickly, jerkily waving her hands out in front of her. “Hermes was just teaching me how to shoot so that I can protect a certain friend of mine who tends to get herself into all kinds of trouble.” She narrowed her eyes at me.

“Oh, you know me. I love me some trouble, just to keep things interesting.” I crossed my arms over my chest and wagged my brows at her as I said, “And so do you, apparently.”

If looks could kill, I’d be very dead right now. I knew I was in for an earful the moment we were alone, but it was worth every second.

“I think that’s enough training for today.” She rolled their eyes before turning around to face Hermes. “Thank you for all your help today. I really think I’m starting to get the hang of it. Same time tomorrow?”

“You’re quite an incredible marksman, Lexi. I can tell you're a fast learner. And yes, until tomorrow, then.” He gave her a gentle smile that lingered a little longer than a normal one before he turned to me and bowed his head. “Miss Everly, always a pleasure.”

I responded in kind.

We waited until he left before we laid into each other.

“I can’t believe you did that to me, Sophia! That was so embarrassing!” Lexi shouted at the top of her lungs.

“I can't believe you never told me you were training with him!” I exclaimed, matching her excitement. “And how could you have skipped on the fact that you really, really like him?”

“Well… I wasn't sure if you’d approve…” Her eyes fell down to the floor, and she watched her own footsteps as they crunched the dead leaves beneath her feet, and I knew she didn’t mean the training part of it.

I couldn’t help but scoff at her. “Approve? Lexi, I think Hermes is wonderful. I mean, who am I to judge? The man I love is running around as a giant, murderous wolf half the time.”

This elicited a giggle from Lexi, and we walked back to the castle, bubbly like two little butterfishes, as we exchanged stories about the things we liked about the men we had fallen for.

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