Page 9 of Shadows of Ruin

I let out a sigh, relieved to be free of the void. I brushed at my clothes and stared ahead, and my jaw dropped. The sight before me looked nothing like Brookmere.

In the distance, ice-covered mountains poked through dark storm clouds. Lightning flashed among them, illuminating the dark and beautiful jagged peaks and slopes.

A rumble in the distance to the east of the mountains showed a blaze shooting skyward. Like fire erupting from a funneled mountain. I’d never seen anything like it before.

Vicious. The scenery appeared vicious and powerful. Just like the Fae next to me.

Nearby, rocks and dirt in hues of crimson protruded from the ground in massive clusters. Sharp-looking shrubs of greenery poked from the dry land. Pink florals bloomed from a bush nearby, but its pointy leaves warned there was more to their charm. The diversity of the land between the dry, cracked ground, the luscious florals, and the mountains painting the distant sky hardly made sense.

It was the opposite of home in every way, and yet it thrived with a terrifying beauty.

Words failed to come to me. How could somewhere so vastly different exist in the same world as Brookmere?

A growl, more human than beast, reverberated from a cluster of nearby rocks. “I’m armed with more damn weaponry than the king’s entire armory.”

Kade grabbed my arm, yanking me closer to his side.

I gripped my dagger as the deep voice bellowed again.

“I swear to the Fates, come forward now from the mist or I’ll slaughter you before you take your next breath.”

Chapter 3

Lana

Adagger landed next to my feet, slicing into the ground with ease.

“Fucking assholes,” Storm grumbled.

Kade’s grip tightened on my arm, and he closed his eyes, wincing.

Two figures emerged from behind the rocks, and I bent my knees, trying, and failing, to yank my arm from Kade’s grasp.

“We’re the assholes?” the man said, moving fast. He pounced onto Storm, sending him toppling over. “You’ve been gone formonthswith no contact.” He swung at Storm’s head, but the fire-wielding warrior dodged, rolling away to keep himself from being pinned by the stranger. “No word. No, ‘Hello, my dear friends, everything is going according to plan.’ Nothing.”

Storm leapt to his feet, crouching down, and wielded a flame. The grin on his face made no sense as the two roughhoused like children instead of grown men fighting each other. I yanked again at Kade’s grip, attempting to free myself in case this rendezvous became too dangerous, and he finally relented.

A woman, just shorter than me, flipped a dagger in herhand, walking forward to pick up the additional blade, which landed at my feet a moment ago. She shoved her shoulder into Kade’s chest as she stood. “Oops,” she said.

A rumble sounded low in Kade’s throat.

“Don’t growl at me, you prick,” she said. “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how many times we’ve had to cover for you?”

“You could have simply said you missed us.” Storm leaned over and clasped the male’s shoulder after helping him up from their tussle.

“It’s not funny,” she snapped, glancing in his direction before returning her gaze to Kade. She didn’t even bother acknowledging me.

“It’s not as if we’ve been playing tea party, we’ve had pressing matters to attend to,” Kade said, stealing a glance toward me.

What in the Fates is this about?

The female’s lips curled as she finally studied me. “Well, he isn’t pleased. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he meant to punish you for your extended disappearance and lack of duties. His list of traitors has grown tremendously in your absence.”

“So, no different than any other time we return.” Kade rolled his eyes, stepping around the female and taking a few long strides away from us as he scanned the horizon.

The unknown man with Storm snorted. “Right, except the tagalong you’ve brought with you might not fare so well.”

Kade jerked his body around to face him, shadows billowing outward. His eyes narrowed.

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