Page 72 of Shadows of Ruin

Raya jumped slightly next to me. I wasn’t even processing the fact that Kade had pulled away from the woman and hadnotkissed her.

“Okay, well, let’s—” Raya paused, sighing. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” A staff member procured a towel almost immediately.

Raya reached for me, but I shook her off. “I’m fine.”

Before she could do more than hand me a towel, I turned and hurriedly strode to the archways boasting open windowsto a garden beyond the ballroom. I could get away through the back doors.

I passed Cassandra as she came in from outside.

She grabbed my hand, taking the towel, and the cut I had from the glass disappeared. “My dear, do not fret. What did I tell you earlier?”

I shook my head. Tears trickled from the corner of my eye. Today had been too much. The battle, the Blood Oath, worrying for the others. The ball, the king. Kade. Being here. Reminiscing with Raya about Ian. Ian who was in a dungeon while I was here, drinking and wallowing like a spoiled brat.

“Nothing is as it appears at first glance, Illiana. You must trust him.”

I froze.

“Who told you to say that?” This time, Cassandra’s words didn’t allude to the ones my father taught me. They matched it. Exactly.

“I know many things.” She put her hands on either side of my face. “I know a father’s love, even one not of blood. I know the strength it takes to stand from the darkness of one’s past.” She let her hands fall, stepping back. “And I know you. You are the light. You must trust in Kade.”

Shaking my head, I backed away from her, from the rantings of another seer. I left her standing at the door.

Escaping out a pair of double doors, I entered the back garden. I’d been right to come out here, but nothing prepared me for the dark beauty of what awaited me. Hedges of black roses lined the vast edges, skirting around rows of exquisite florals glistening in the moonlight. Gray and deep indigo botanicals blossomed in full bloom.

Corbin would love seeing these darker colors compared to our bright ones.

I walked toward a balcony not far from the door. Leaning over the marble railing, I tried to catch my breath.

The darkness here hung heavy in the air. Despite the beauty, the dark ruled. It lurked. Suffocating everything.

My heart raced faster and faster.

I tried to gulp in air, as sweat formed on my brow.

I’d lost myself inside. Over what? The feelings for a man who’d lied to me?

If Andras were here, he’d laugh knowing how right he’d been all those years.

Weak.

Worthless.

No, not here. Not here.

Now was not the time for my panic to take over.

I let out a shaky breath.Come on.I counted in my head, like I had done so many times before, but it wasn’t working.

I gripped the balcony railing tightly, knuckles turning white.

A small tendril of shadow whispered at my ankles, weaving its way up my body, until it enveloped me completely.

“Breathe, Illiana. Breathe.”

Chapter 21

Kade

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