Page 156 of Shadows of Ruin

“For this kingdom,” Kade shouted, stabbing his father again and yanking the shadow blade out, leaving the steel one rammed in his chest.

My body, so filled a second before, drained. I wobbled and fell to my knees.

Kade looked at me, eyes widening before he turned back to his father.

“And for ever thinking you could harm my mate and live.” Kade slammed the shadow blade down into the king’s chest with a sense of finality, his father not even coherent enough to utter a word in the end. Not even begging for his worthless life.

Kade turned, meeting my gaze. I wanted to run to him. Touch him. To ensure we were both okay.

The amulet lay toward my right, flung haphazardly in the chaos of our battle. I reached for it, wanting to secure its safety before whatever came next.

Before Kade or his shadows reached me, the ground shook, throwing us sideways.

“What the fuck?” Jax shouted from somewhere behind me.

My hand burned and I dropped the amulet in horror. I stared at the blood on my hand, realizing what I had done. Willingly.

The earth refused to yield. A sound like a bellowing roar, louder than anything I had screamed moments ago, surrounded us. I covered my ears, struggling to keep upright.

Kade crawled, feebly inching across the ground, desperately reaching for my hand.

A light smoke coated the room, swirling and hissing, making the roar even worse.

“Get away from it, Lana,” I heard Storm call.

I kicked the amulet across the room as I cried out inhorror. It teetered on the ground before breaking into two pieces. Smoke billowed out of it, coating everything.

Thames. With the amulet destroyed, Thames would be free.

If Cassandra had been right, and the amulet kept his evil trapped, the magic holding Thames at bay in the void was now gone.

A shape formed in the misty haze.

Kade didn’t look at the amulet like the rest of us. Instead, he still tried to crawl toward me, calling my name as the earth shook, preventing him from making progress.

I had to get up. I tried to stand but couldn’t keep my balance as the earth trembled beneath us. The power shifting the world around us was too strong.

A laugh replaced the roar as the smoke solidified into a tall figure. A man.

His black hair hung in greasy, almost wet stringy clumps over his head. His thin face too sharp and angular.

He laughed again, finally blinking more fully into existence.

“What in the Fates’ names…” Storm made it to me, grabbing my arm.

“I need to get to Kade.”

“Stay there—” Kade shouted as the figure’s arms developed. “Don’t leave Storm’s side.”

“Do listen to your mate,” the figure said, his voice haunting and old. “Though they are such tiresome things. Mates.” He spit the word out like it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Kade’s shadows froze, going rigid as the lighter smoke surrounding the ominous figure lurched forward, wrapping around him.

“No,” I yelled, desperate to dig into my power. A magic I knew I now possessed. But there was nothing left. The initial burst had been too much too fast, and now that well I'd hoped to be endless sputtered. Empty.

I had no idea how to access it again.

“Kade!” I screamed. The world stopped shaking and I ran forward, Storm close behind me. I reached through the shadows, pain lancing up my arms as I did.

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