Page 88 of Shadows of Ruin

I tried to run, but the shadows held me in place. A tendril of shadow stroked my back.

Safe.

I swore I practically heard them whisper,We will protect you.

So I stayed completely still. When the king rounded the corner, I held my breath and closed my eyes.

He moved past me without a second thought, passing through the archway, down a staircase past my room.

Releasing my breath, I waited a moment longer before attempting to move. The shadows shoved at my back and urged me forward once more.

Quicker.

We reached Kade’s door, and I turned the knob. It swung open freely as the shadows spilled into the room. I lost sight of them in the dark, even though I still felt them around me.

“Kade?” I whispered, as I tried to find him. “Are you in here?”

Silently, I shut the door behind me. I received no response from the Fae.

“Kade,” I said a bit louder this time.

Still nothing. I ventured farther into the massive room, out of his main entryway and toward his bed chambers as my eyes adjusted to the dark. Long beams of moonlight sifted through the windows along the far wall, almost as if they lit a path for me to his bedroom.

The door hung slightly ajar, and I pressed it open further.

I found nothing. No one. Just ruffled covers on his bed.

Suddenly, a shape sped through the darkness, slamming me against the wall next to the door. A familiar body trapped me.

“Careful, Little Rebel. The Monster of Mysthaven has been dying to get his hands on you.”

Kade’s eyes were so far beyond black they looked empty. Void. They were the darkest I had ever seen before.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “Let me go.”

“Sneaking about the castle in the dead of the night…is how shall we put this?” Kade laughed in a way I’d never heard before. The sinister chuckle twisted the normally bright feeling inside of me. “A poor choice.”

My heartbeat quickened. He wasn’t in his right state of mind.

This wasn’t Kade. It was his monster.

Everything we’d been through rushed back. The touches,whether I realized it or not, had helped him. I could help him now too.

Slowly, I reached up and touched his face, rubbing my thumb along his cheek, whispering, “Come back to me.”

Kade’s body jolted, yet his eyes didn’t clear like they had before.

I wiggled my other hand free from the wall and grabbed his face with both hands now. “Kade,” I said, my voice purposefully calm. “Come back to me.”

He tried to pull his head away. “Why are you touching me like that?”

“Please, come back. I’m here, it’s Lana.”

His face slackened. His eyes shimmered, the void shifting as black swirled in his gaze.

My breath hitched as I watched the internal battle unfold.

Slowly, his eyes cleared to their normal grey hue. Instantly, his shoulders sagged as if a weight had been removed. He stumbled away from me without saying a word.

---