Chapter 39
LANA
T he beef stew tasted surprisingly good, even if I could only stomach a few meager bites before laying back down.
I curled up in a ball on the bed, listening to soft snores coming from the couch where Storm managed to fall asleep almost immediately after downing his dinner. Kade sat on the floor in front of the fire, staring at its crackling embers, his back facing me.
It was a good thing he wasn’t looking at me, although I knew he felt the daggers boring into the back of his head.
I had trusted this man with everything.
How could I have been so wrong?
The man I had trusted with my body, and nearly with my heart, killed my father. Tears silently fell as I thought of the life fading from his eyes. The way he’d smiled at me even as he lay dying, trying to convince me I was something worthy.
“Was any of it real?” I whispered, wiping the tears away. “Or was this all a plot to kill my father and ascend the throne?”
Kade glanced over his shoulder. “You seem to have your mind made up already, Little Rebel. I’m not sure there’s anything I can say with the grief so fresh that will change it.”
“Stop calling me that,” I hissed. I hated that name now. I hated how much my heart broke hearing it fall from his lips.
“I would have chosen you, you know. If you had won. You didn’t need to kill him.” A small sob escaped into the pillow. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up Storm and have another arrogant man to deal with. One who would surely back Kade in whatever excuses he gave me for his actions. If he even bothered to give any at all.
Kade sighed and slowly stood up, stretching his back. A crack of his bones cut the silence. He reached into his pocket and handed me a piece of parchment. “Your father asked me to give you this.”
I snatched the paper from him. The parchment shook in my hand as I examined it. The envelope remained sealed with my father’s crest, unbroken.
“I don't know what it says, and despite what you may be thinking, I didn’t magic it open and read its contents. Whatever is in it is meant solely for you. We will be leaving just after first light tomorrow morning. I suggest you sleep.” Looking me over once more, Kade retreated and lay down by the fire.
Carefully, I lifted the seal, preserving the wax, now one of the only things I had left of my father.
My Dearest Illiana,
If you are reading this, then things have gone terribly wrong. There is much I need to tell you. Please believe everything your mother and I have done has been for you, to protect you, and to raise you to be the Queen of Brookmere.
When you came to us as such a small child, we knew we would love you with our entire heart and treat you like you were our very own. But we didn’t have the honor of birthing you.
Your birth mother, Princess Fallon Dresden, was my sister. I loved her, and her husband, your father, Sebastian Rykes, was one of my closest friends. When you were born, Vivienne felt you held no power. We all feared what that would mean, and to keep any of the Court from learning you may not be able to protect yourself, we sent you away. We sent you away to Valeford for your protection, to be out of the public eye as we tried to figure out what to do.
The night of your parents’ death, Vivienne had a vision. A vision so strong that it had her riding fast and hard to Valeford herself. There has been an evil infecting our land, infecting our people. It makes sensible, strong Fae, ravenous for power and unable to contain a darker nature. They burn, and destroy, and battle our forces, and although we’ve tried to contain them, we haven’t eliminated them.
That night, it was this kind of infected Fae who had overtaken the village, and Vivienne arrived too late. Your birth mother and father, Fallon and Seb, perished in the gruesome attack when you were only six months old.
Vivienne found Elisabeth holding you to her chest in the small cottage they lived in. They saved you, and as you know, they have been watching over you your entire life.
When Vivienne put you into my arms that night, she had the vision of the prophecy.
Your mother, our beautiful Queen Roxana, could not have any children. She had lost so many babes over the years. When your parents died, we decided we’d raise and love you like our own. Hopefully, honoring Fallon and Seb in the process.
I choked on my sobs, clutching the paper to my chest. What was I reading? What had my entire life been?
I used the cheaply made blanket on the bed to wipe my face and try to finish the letter.
Illiana, you are the key to Brookmere’s survival.
Your mother asked she be buried with a journal she kept, passed down from each generation in the royal family. She needed it secret. Safe. You must go to your parents’ home and find it. I ensured her request was met. In it, she always believed you’d have everything you needed to save our lands.
Be strong, my heart. You are brave and worthy and everything Brookmere needs in a Queen. You will rule this kingdom with fairness and grace. You will make all of us proud.
Trust the prophecy and remember to never trust something is as it appears at first glance.
I will miss you with all of my heart. I loved you with even more.
May nature guide you.
Love,
Your grateful father
Tears flooded my eyes. Betrayal, anger, and grief, all swirled into an emotional cyclone racking my body. Why did they hide this from me? Did they think I would love them any less, knowing they weren’t my birth parents?
A long painful sob escaped as I shoved my head into the pillow to muffle the sound.
Kade stirred. “Lana?”
I cried even harder, clutching the letter to my chest, curled into a ball beneath the thin blanket. A Fae could only handle so much, and I was nearly at the end of my limit.
I must have misread the letter, throwing my feet over the edge of the bed, I sat up in a flash, determined to read it again, to reveal its true contents.
Kneeling before me, Kade grasped my shaking hand as my tears stained the parchment wet. “I know I am the last person you want near you right now, but what do you need? Tell me how I can help you.”
Ripping my hand from his, I tried to regain some control. “I need my father back.” I stared directly into his eyes, my voice rising. I didn’t care if Storm woke up at this point. “You took him from me. You took him from me before he had a chance to tell me any of this!”
Kade stiffened but remained unwavering in his presence. He allowed some shadows to swirl around me.
My body reacted to his nearness, the hum of energy between us never ending. It wasn’t just desire. It was the undeniable need for someone to tell me everything would be okay. I didn’t want him to read the letter. This man would gain no more of my secrets, no more of me. He could sit there and wonder about the pain and anguish I endured.
I needed my parents.
I needed Elisabeth.
I needed Ian and Kalliah. Fates , I hoped they had survived the attacks.
An unwavering resolve, deep from the recesses of my being, forged after facing Andras, surfaced. A sense of purpose renewed within me.
I would get to Demarva. It was only a short distance from where we were right now. I would escape these two asshole Fae and head west to Valeford to find whatever it was my birth mother had left me. I didn’t know what good it would do, or why my father needed me to retrieve whatever was hidden, but I would do it.
Alone .
I would find a way to rid myself of this murderer and his sidekick and gain my throne. Without a king, I’d be the queen Brookmere deserved. A queen all of my parents knew I could be.
The sound of birds chirping a joyful tune seemed wrong as I opened my eyes in the bright sunlight, streaming through the cracks of the worn-down window.
Perhaps it had all been a dream. A terrible, horrible nightmare.
I felt warm, and…safe?
The comfort I’d been so desperately seeking yesterday was with me now, although that had to be impossible. Because there was no comfort to be found with everything I’d lost.
I peered over the bed, finding Kade on the floor beside me, but all around me were his shadows, like an extension of his arms, holding me. They wrapped around me like a blanket.
It was a good thing I’d always thought of them as separate from him, because they’d somehow kept me safe, even from my own thoughts so I could sleep.
A nightmare-free sleep, too.
Now I would be rested enough to escape from Kade and Storm and return to Ian and the others.
Kade rolled to the side, stretching as he immediately directed his gaze to the bed. His eyebrows shot up, as if he were surprised to find me covered in his shadows. He pulled them back into himself without a word.
The moment they were gone, I missed how they felt, but I kept my mouth shut. I’d never ask Kade Blackthorn for anything, ever again.
“We only have an hour’s ride ahead of us,” Kade said. “We should go.” Although he didn’t even look at me as he spoke, I knew it was for my benefit. Storm would know where we were, and where it was we were going.
“Demarva is only a few miles, it shouldn’t take an hour,” I argued.
“We’re not going to Demarva.”
Before I could ask anything further, Kade rose from his uncomfortable-looking spot on the floor and walked out of the room.
I glanced over at Storm, half-expecting the man, who I’d thought was becoming a friend, to offer me words of wisdom. Something to tell me they weren't the villains of my story.
But he said nothing, giving me a sad sort of smile as he followed Kade.
The innkeeper handed me a basket of bread and cheese before I walked out the door. I managed a “Thank you,” even though I was furious, they seemed to know who I was and had done nothing to help me.
Kade and Storm were already mounted when I exited. I stalked toward Storm, but he trotted away, leaving me no choice but to get on the horse with Kade.
He held his hand out to me, but I refused. After three attempts of not being able to get on myself without knocking him off, his shadows lifted me, depositing me in front of him.
“Hold on,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me.
Fates, I wanted to kill him.
No, it wasn’t true. I wanted him to hurt, though, the way he’d so easily hurt me.
The ride was hard, especially in silence, but as we approached the edge of Brookmere’s landscape, Kade reined in the horse. Storm dismounted, taking the steed by the bridle, and walked.
Kade easily slid off the mount and held his arms out to me. This time, I used him for what I needed before stumbling away a few steps.
“What are we doing?” I demanded. “What’s the point of standing by the ocean?”
I needed them to tell me something of whatever their plan was so I would know when I’d be able to escape. Aware it would be two against one would make escape near impossible due to their unnatural strength. But if they’d be going to get supplies, or setting up camp, it would be a perfect opportunity to run.
“It’s not an ocean,” Kade said.
He and Storm were both quiet as Kade swirled his hands around and in front of him, in some sort of a wave, as though he could see something I couldn’t.
The view of the ocean rippled.
Wait, how could that be? How could my view be rippled?
Kade took a step forward, and suddenly, the ocean disappeared altogether.
Instead, we stood before a thick, dark mist, spanning outward.
My breathing picked up. The mist, it was darkness personified. Like a poisoned-looking place, dreary and deadly. I stared forward, fear filling me to the point where I felt suffocated.
“What is that?” I whispered.
Kade looked back at me. “Part of the darkness.”
“You.” My voice cracked. As if killing my father hadn’t been enough. Betraying me hadn’t been enough. Now this? “You brought the darkness here?”
Storm turned around, brows furrowed at me, and Kade sighed. “No, I did not. Believe I’m a monster, or evil, or whatever all you want, but this”—He waved his hands behind him—“isn’t because of me.”
He grabbed my hand, then tugged me toward Storm, taking his hand as well.
“Let go of me,” I said. “No, I will not go in there with you. I don’t even know what it is.”
“Stop,” he said, his voice rising. He yanked me closer to him, pulling me to his side. He was stronger than me. I couldn’t fight him.
I didn’t scream, but clenched my eyes closed as Kade escorted Storm and I into the damn mist itself.
A tugging sensation pulled across my body, as though I were being squeezed into a space entirely too small.
And then, suddenly, a soft pop sounded in my ears.
Kade let go of our hands and I scanned our surroundings, taking in the hazy-covered land. We stood in a trench, dug out from the Earth itself, a sense of decay encompassing us.
It was hard to see beyond a few feet in front of us. Squinting, I noted upturned trees, appearing like roots, growing into the sky.
“Where are we?” I demanded, my voice trembling. “What is this place?”
“Welcome to Mysthaven, Little Rebel,” Kade said, his face stoic. He didn’t seem happy to be here. In fact, suddenly he appeared much more like the man I met the first time at our initial meeting in the woods—masked and unemotional.
“There’s nowhere in Brookmere named Mysthaven,” I said.
He scanned the area around us before looking at me once more, cocking an eyebrow. “That’s because we're no longer in Brookmere.”
“Where are we?” I asked warily.
His gaze softened the longer he stared at me. He inhaled deeply, and the expression on his face seemed hopeful, but for what, I couldn’t yet be certain.
“You may know it better as the Forgotten Kingdom.”