Page 69 of Shadows of Ruin

“Princess Illiana Dresden is from Brookmere, a land unable to be accessed by most of us. Never have we had the honor of hosting someone, let alone royalty, since the void keeps us apart from our neighbors. But don’t worry, ladies, she is not a contender for our prince. However, as is custom among royals, we will honor her with a dance.”

Raya stood on the edge of the dance floor, watching ever so closely.

Kade’s dark eyes bore into me as he scanned me, emotionless. As if he looked through me. He pursed his lips, and I took a step back.

He didn’t want to dance with me. He looked like he couldn’t stand the sight of me.

“Not so fast, Princess.” He aggressively grabbed my hand, unlike his normal gentle touches. I almost whimpered as the familiar faint electric current surged in me.

“You heard the king. One dance.”

Chapter 20

Lana

Kade placed his other hand on my waist and yanked me toward him.

This feltwrong.

He stood rigidly as we took the first few steps in the dance. After a few paces, others joined, and the room returned to its lively nature.

Kade refused to look at me though. This dance was so unlike the dances we’d shared before. Those had been consuming, fiery, electric. This just felt…awkward.

I stared at him, trying to catch his eyes as they continued to avoid mine, the swirling darkness having fully taken over.

“Kade?” I asked.

Something flickered there.

“Kade,” I tried again. “Why does this feel so…wrong?”

“There is nothing wrong, Illiana,” he said. His voice chilled me. “I told you, you may not like who I’d become once we got here.”

His eyes barely passed over me, even as he spoke.

The memory of that darkness taking over when we first entered Mysthaven returned. The way he’d flung his shadowsout as his magic destroyed everything. My heart beat painfully in my chest.

This wasn’t him.

“Look at me,” I said softly. Just as I’d been drawn to see if he was okay after his outburst outside the void, I knew I needed to do the same now. When he didn’t respond, glancing about the faces around us, I cupped his face with my right hand. “Kade, look at me.”

I didn’t dare move my hand until he stared straight into my eyes. Slowly, the swirling darkness receded, and his eyes returned to normal. The tension in his body visibly loosened.

Thank the Fates.

After a few more turns around the floor, his body relaxed completely. He pulled me in closer and whispered in my ear, “I should never have brought you here. No matter what I thought I needed, you cannot stay here. You are in danger every minute you stay in Mysthaven.”

“We haven’t even discussed what you think you need me for,” I said. “I can barely process what happened today. Your father knows somehow about us?—”

“Did he say something?” Kade pulled back, searching my eyes.

I frowned. “You weren’t very subtle with your shadows unleashing the minute you saw me with him today,” I whispered. “Then again, neither was I.” My gaze focused solely on Kade. My reactions to the king’s taunts had been just as damning as his own. The king seeing through our lie was on both of us.

Kade closed his eyes, and his body tensed. “Do not leave Raya’s side when this dance is over, do you understand me?”

I stared up at him.

“Please,” he begged.

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