Page 69 of Ruined Kingdom

My lips parted, but I couldn't think of a response. I didn't have any explanation for what had just happened.

“However you did it, and for whatever reason… Thank you.” Her voice rippled out of existence as she and the other orbs were being dragged up into the sky.

I watched them until they disappeared into the clouds. Then I looked down at my hands.

So, it wasn't a coincidence when I broke that curse on General Eugin in the garden.

Was breaking curses a part of my ability?

My thoughts flitted to Kaine.

Could I—free him, too?

I backed away from the lake, still in disbelief. At some point, I began running until I burst into a full sprint. I clutched the fabric of my dress up to my hips to keep from tripping on it in my haste.

My eyes blurred with the swell of tears, but I didn’t let it slow me down for an instant.

I can end this! I have to try…

I passed the part of the forest where Lexi and Hermes had been practicing earlier.

Only they weren't there anymore.

I didn't warrant it strange enough to give it a second thought.

It wasn't until I reached the castle that I began to feel that something was terribly wrong.

The soldiers and caretakers who were normally out front doing their rounds were nowhere to be found.

I stopped running as soon as I hit the bottom of the steps leading up to the front door.

My stomach twisted into knots, and I could feel anxiety burning in my chest.

The sickening scent of miasma lingered in the air.

“Oh, Gods… No!” I rushed up the stairs and burst through the front door to find that everyone was frozen in time. I slowly approached one of the guards. I pressed my finger against his armor to see if he would move.

He didn’t—and he was ice cold.

My heart dropped into my stomach. “Kaine…”

19

SOPHIA

My throat was hoarse from how heavily I was breathing as I raced through the halls, my heels clicking loudly against the stone floors with every step.

Everything was so still and quiet that the slightest sound seemed to echo into eternity.

Ice-cold fear ran through my veins, torturing me with mental images of the horrors I might find in Ulric Castle.

I turned the corner down another winding hallway to reach Kaine’s study.

Horror…

My body slammed into the door, and I stumbled through, almost losing my footing on the ornate red carpet that spread across the room’s length.

I never truly understood what horror was until this moment.

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