Page 77 of Ruined Kingdom

My mother rode beside me, glancing at me every few seconds as she tried to build up the nerve to say something but appeared to lose it with every attempt.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Mother, what is it?”

“It’s fine. Well, as fine as it can be in this situation.”

I was beginning to see where I got my hopeful personality from.

She continued, “I just wanted to let you know that I never willingly left you. The Fae King had me trapped in my shifted form since the day we brought you to him to save your life. I never imagined that he would know what I was—what we were. Everything that has happened from that point on has been a part of his plan… Except for you being the Alpha King’s second mate, which, as it turns out, is the very key to his undoing.”

That’s why Helene made me his mate. She said only I can stop the Fae King.

I just hoped I was ready to do whatever it took to fulfill my destiny.

22

SOPHIA

My feet sunk into the sticky mud. It was like it was alive and trying to drag me down into it.

My heart was pounding in my ears so much that I could barely hear the whispers of General Eugin and Berrok, who had taken up position on either side of me as some sort of protection detail.

“Halt,” General Eugin hissed under his breath, holding his fist up so that my mother, Lexi, and Sharra, following behind us, knew to stop. “There appears to be a weak point in the guard right there. Perhaps we can enter and infiltrate the Dark Fae’s lair from there.”

The air hitched painfully in my chest as the horribly deep cry of a battle horn roared through the silent night.

We were still under the guise of shadows, but our plan to have the Centaurs lead a surprise attack at the south end of the Dark Fae territory seemed to be working like a charm.

The guards that were watching the north end of their lair rushed over to heed the call of the battle horn.

“Come. Now’s our chance.” General Eugin waved everyone through while keeping a sharp eye out for any movement.

My feet moved quickly. They had to.

The grass almost seemed to snap at my ankles as if attempting to stop me from proceeding.

The plan was to find Kaine and get him out while the enemy was distracted fighting our soldiers. If we had to take down the Fae King once and for all to do it, then so be it.

My main priority was getting to Kaine and escaping—not fighting.

Debilitating anxiety spread through my chest, crippling me, but my sheer will to save my mate was what kept me moving forward.

Just thinking about how far I’d come from being a poor farm girl, to becoming a lover and a leader, was what stoked the embers of hope and fortitude.

From the moment I’d ventured deeper into the Forest of Sorrows almost a year ago, I had been made to find courage in times when I thought I would run. I’d had to stand up for myself and others, and met people I couldn’t imagine living without now. I found my mother.

And all of that … everything that had ever happened to me—the good and the bad—had led me to this very moment.

I could feel it in my bones.

Helene had been right.

I wouldn’t necessarily know what to do until the time came…

For some reason, that comforted me the most.

I was where I was supposed to be. And somehow, I found peace in that.

Berrok and General Eugin peeled back a heavy curtain that appeared to be made out of a dragon’s ashy, gray, thick skin. In fact, the curtain—or door—looked like a massive leathery wing.

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