Page 65 of Ruined Kingdom

I looked down to find out why it felt like I was trying to stand up from a frozen lake instead of stone tiles, and I gasped in shock when I caught sight of my hands.

The problem was, my hands weren’t hands anymore!

I HAVE HOOVES!

I skittishly turned around to see Kaine, who was white as a ghost. I wanted to cry, but only a pathetic bleating sound came out of my mouth.

What do I do? How do I turn back?

Kaine finally snapped out of his daze and held up his palms. “Easy. Just relax, Soph. I know this is scary, but you aren’t in any danger. This is perfectly natural.”

I want to be a human again! Fix me!

“All right. Just breathe. Close your eyes, try to concentrate on your human form. Take deep breaths. Channel it through your body.” He rubbed my face soothingly as he talked me through it.

The aching came back over me, but it wasn’t as painful as before.

Once the shooting pangs stopped, I opened my eyes. I looked down at my hands, touched my face and my chest erratically with them, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when I was sure I felt very much like a human again.

“Oh, thank the Gods!”

“You can shift,” Kaine said elatedly but still in disbelief.

“So that black cursed thing was what had been suppressing my abilities?” I looked down at where the black sludge had fallen to the ground, even though it wasn’t there anymore.

Kaine wasn’t even able to comprehend anything surpassing me shifting right now. He just kept looking at me with something like overjoyed horror. “You’re a deer.”

Everything in the room stopped spinning, and my breath hitched in my throat.

“A golden deer…”

18

SOPHIA

His fingers dragged down my neck.

My eyes fluttered open slowly.

I was just lying in bed, sore and blissfully unaware of anything but him.

My skin still yearned for his touch, as if we hadn’t spent all night making love.

“Are you ready for another round, my love?” His voice sent shivers down my spine.

As badly as I wanted to, I knew I should stop him.

“Kaine, they are going to start to wonder if we’re even still alive,” I laughed as his hand ran up my bare back, getting a bit flirtatious again. “We have to leave the room eventually.”

He growled in displeasure as he rolled me onto my back and laid his chest over on top of me as if to capture me in place. His hot skin felt like fire against mine.

“Let them wonder,” he growled, cascading kisses down my neck. “I’ve not ravaged you enough yet.”

“You act like we have all the time in the world,” I thought out loud, laughing. But the way he halted his kisses and came up to look at me apologetically made me wish I hadn’t said it.

“I know we have responsibilities out there, but when I’m here with you, I feel as if my time is endless. I feel as boundless as the sky.”

“All right then… We’ll stay here and forget ourselves for a little while longer.” I held his face in my hands before bringing my lips to his.

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