Page 68 of Ruined Kingdom

Her expression, however, became serious all of a sudden, and she reached out to stop me. “Do you really think it's a good idea? Going alone? Just give me a moment, I'll come with you.”

“Don't worry about me. I’m not going to go far. I'll keep to the castle lands.” I smiled at her reassuringly, but she didn't seem nearly as convinced as I did. “I promise you, I'll be safe.”

She winced, likely imagining all the ways I could get myself into trouble, but she was also sympathetic to the fact that I might need time alone as well. “Okay… Don't stray too far, though.”

“I won’t.” I patted her shoulder before waving goodbye to her instructor, who was red in the face by now. “See you, Hermes.”

Hermes gave me a quick, nervous wave before looking away again.

I was brimming with delight as I sauntered off. I knew Lexi was never going to admit to him that she liked him, even though it couldn’t have been more obvious that Hermes felt the same. They just needed a little push.

My mind clouded up the moment I was alone again.

There were so many things I didn't know how to deal with, even less where to begin, but I was hoping that by the time I reached the lake, I would have had at least a few things sorted out in my mind.

Which didn’t turn out to be the case, so I sat down by the water. But before I could continue my meditation, a menagerie of ghosts—otherwise known as Water Nymphs—came up to the surface to greet me.

“Sophia, you’re back. We've missed you. We hope you're not throwing any balls without us.” One older woman spoke for the lot of them.

“Oh, I wouldn't dream of it.” I smiled, finding peace just talking about little simple things.

“I've been told that you're our new queen.” She moved from side to side in the water as if she was wading and not a part of it.

“I suppose so, but it’s still a bit strange to me.”

“Don't worry, dear. You'll be tyrannically ordering your staff about in no time.” She waved her hand nonchalantly.

“I hope not!” I laughed. “Let me ask. As your queen, what can I do for you?” I brought my knees up to my chest so I could settle comfortably into the crunchy grass and soft earth.

“We should be asking what we can do for you, not the other way around.”

“Well, too bad I beat you to it.” I shook my head and raised my nose to the sky jokingly.

She ended up thinking long and hard about my question, even consulting some of the others around her. She turned back to me with a solemn face. “There's nothing you can give us, My Queen. We would like to leave this lake, but we can’t. The curse holding us captive here is simply too strong. This is our fate.”

Curse? Is there any creature in this forest that isn’t cursed?

“Well, why don’t you at least come up here and sit with me? It’s a beautiful day.” I forced a smile to cover up my disappointment. I wanted them to be free so badly.

I reached my hand into the water, breaking the surface and sending silvery ripples out over the water.

She was hesitant for a moment before taking my hand.

I just want you to be free…

Just as I thought that, a light popped out from the water and exploded like a star right in front of me, it felt hot to the touch, and I quickly withdrew my hand.

“What in the hell happened?” I tried to search the water for the old woman I was just talking to, but I wasn’t able to see any of the ghosts anymore.

Did I just do something to them?

I leaned in closer just as an orb of light lifted out of the water without causing any ripples. I could see it, but it was almost as if it was happening on another plane of existence.

A whole brigade of white orbs lifted out of the water and floated all around me.

It reminded me of the Light Fae, but it looked different somehow, more translucent.

One orb stopped in front of me, and while I couldn’t see who it was, I recognized the voice as the woman I’d been speaking to. “You freed us… How did you do that?”

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