Hello!
And welcome to the 3rd instalment in the main Queen Among series line-up. Before you dive in, it is important to know that understanding terms, character names, and certain events is dependent on having read books 1 and 2 before this. Each book in the Queen Among series meticulously weaves into each other and overlaps, so those moments will not make sense if read out of order.While I welcome all readers to join these characters on their journeys and even encourage them to continue on with the next generation series (Royal Shadow series) releasing upon the completion of the Queen Among series, I want readers to be able to have the reading experience they deserve, and reading this book before the others will impede that from happening.Now, I can't make you do anything, but I hope you take this into consideration before you begin.With that being said, on with the story!xoADB_Stories~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I have no idea how long I’ve been staring into the endless darkness around me. It’s been like this every night for the past few weeks, ever since I first caught that scent; that unforgettable, life-altering scent that was like a shockwave through my very being. It came out of nowhere and ever since then I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. It’s consuming me and driving me to madness. I’ve never encountered a scent like it in my life. It was so unique that I can’t even describe it as a scent. Have you ever smelt something, yet you can only describe how it tastes? It was like that for me. This scent was like the galaxy exploding on my tongue. Now every night I toss and turn, my thoughts filled with questions about who this scent could possibly belong to, as the remnants of it echo on my tongue.
I reach to the side of my bed and tap on the clock.
“The time is, 3:43 am,” the electronic voice tells me. I groan and flop back against the pillows and continue to stare into nothingness. The benefit of being blind is I’ve never been kept awake by some form of light impeding my sleep. But when you’re alone with your thoughts in the middle of the night, suddenly that darkness feels incredibly intrusive.
I’ve never questioned anything my mother has ever done. I never questioned why of all my sisters; I was the one she made blind. Yet right now I can’t help but ask why did she decide to give me an animai? In all the thousands and thousands of years that my sisters and I have existed, not once have any of us found an animai. We never even assumed we could have one. To be fair, they would prove to be a dangerous distraction and a weakness that could be used against us and in our line of work that is far from ideal.
You see, I am an irshiust, a being of truth. My sisters and I were created by the Goddess Zarseti to help maintain peace and justice in the supernatural world, and it’s a full-time job, let me tell you that. We’re one of the most powerful beings on earth, not because we’re endowed with great cosmic power, but because there are few that can match us in speed, strength, and senses.
We’re easily identifiable by our liquid gold irises and skin that glitters as golden as our eyes. Not that I’ve ever seen these for myself from the mirror, because ya know, blind. Aside from our unique features, the ability that defines us is that we can detect when someone speaks the truth or a lie. This comes in handy when bringing people to justice, which is why we were given such a gift in the first place.
So you see, what we are and what our purpose is and even how different I am from my sisters, are not things I ever questioned. But being given an animai? Why me and why now? I know I have an animai and yet I’ve never met them. I have no idea who they are. I believe in my mother’s divine wisdom so I have to believe our paths will cross eventually, but what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Go crazy? Because that’s where I appear to be headed.
I know sleep won’t come to me anytime soon, so I decided the best thing for me to do is let off some steam. I get up and walk over to my chest of drawers grabbing a sports bra from the top drawer and active leggings from the second drawer. I’ve had this room for thousands of years, but I do update the furniture to keep with the times. You might ask ‘why bother?’ given I can’t see anything, but trust me, beds have drastically improved over the years. I’ve got two words for you: memory foam.
Whenever I update my room I do have to readjust to my new surroundings, but I catch on pretty fast and soon I don’t have to count steps or click my tongue to discern where the items around my room are. Everything remains organised so I know where I can find what I need. The top drawer is for bras and underwear, bras are kept to the left, and underwear to the right. The second drawer is for leggings and shorts. Leggings on the left, shorts on the right. The third drawer is for sleeveless tops, the fourth drawer is for short-sleeved tops and the fifth drawer is for long sleeve tops. Each drawer also has dividers in them, so everything is arranged in colour order, so I don’t leave looking like I was dressed by a blind person. That person being myself.
I change into my sports bra and leggings, grab a hair tie from the top of the chest of drawers and tie my long braids up into a bun. I then go into my closet, go to the shoe wall, and feel along the rows of shoes until I find the pair I’m after. I grab a pair of sneakers, put them on and make my way out of my room.
My sisters and I live in a very old castle, and we constantly see to its upkeep, but being a castle does mean it has what feels like an infinite amount of hallways and corridors, and given how many of us live here, it has many, many bedrooms. I’ve memorised every path in this place, so the chances of me getting lost are non-existent.
As I make my way down one hallway after another, the sound of music begins to travel to my ears. Instead of making my way to the gym, I follow the music and as I get closer I can tell the music is coming from my sister Setia’s room based on my memory of our home’s layout. I approach her door, which I can tell is slightly ajar and push it open as the words of Johnny Cash’s rendition of ‘Hurt’ fills the room.
“Oh honey, Johnny Cash?” I say with a sympathetic tone, as she turns her head in my direction. I step in and take comfort in her botanical and oceanic scent that perfumes the room.
“What’s wrong with Jonny Cash?” she asks.
“Nothing, his music is great, but nothing screams ‘I’m depressed’ more than playing Johnny Cash on a loop.”
Her room, like everything else, is bathed in darkness, but she’s not. I can see Setia laying on her bed, with her head on her arms. I don’t see her in the same way you do, but I can see her aura. A beautiful glowing light of amaranth with glittering gold inside the hue. The colour outlines her figure perfectly making her form easy to make out. None of my sisters have this ability, just me. So while our mother made me blind, she did bless me with a gift to see what no one else can, and I admit that makes me feel special.
Now you’re asking, ‘but if you’re blind, how do you know what colours are?’. Well, originally I didn’t know which colour went by which name, so I just gave each colour my own name. For example, I called blue, caelum, red was ribappu and you get the point. During one of my mother’s visits, I asked her to teach me what the names of the colours were, so I could better communicate with people. She spent all day looking into my mind and teaching me the names of every colour that exists as I saw them in people’s auras. It was a unique day of mother-daughter bonding. It took me a while to use traditional colour names since I had gotten so used to my own, but I learned and adapted as I always do. That’s why I can tell you with perfect accuracy the colour that surrounds my sister. My very melancholic sister.
“I’m no–… I’m no–…” she takes a breath and sighs, unable to complete her sentence.
I walk over and sit beside her, “You know we can’t tell a lie, so why even bother?” I gently ask as I reach out and stroke her hair.
“Because I don’t deserve to feel depressed,” she explains.
I sigh, “This is about Mei, isn’t it? Setia you can’t keep blaming yourself for what happened to her. She’s with her animai and her family now and Longsang is flourishing. Those are all wonderful things. You should focus on that instead of one mistake you made,” I say comfortingly.
She gets up and walks to the other side of the room turning off her music, “I can’t just forget what happened, Yildiz. My mistake got her brutalised and on top of that, I had to learn about everything that happened to her mother. I didn’t just fail Mei, I failed Xiuying and I don’t know how to cope with that,” she says, a devastated wobble in her voice.
“Xiuying chose not to tell you about her animai, and you need to respect that choice, whatever her reasons may have been. As for Mei, Zixin knew our weaknesses, and that’s something we didn’t know. I believe one way or another he would have found a way to get to her. He was relentless,” I argue.
“But Amelia was right, I could have told them, warned them. Shared even what I suspected to be true about Zixin. I could have summoned Arthwin or Aulen to put a barrier around the pack, anything to keep her safe,” she says with deep remorse and at this point, I feel I’m arguing with a brick wall. Setia is determined to blame herself for the horrors that were done to the nagata Empress, which is ironic given if this had happened to someone else, Setia would be in my shoes saying exactly what I am.
“He had help from Isolde. Even without an ascension, she is still far more powerful than either Arthwin or Aulen combined. They would have found a way, and that’s the truth. You made a mistake, and you have owned up to it and tried to make it right, which is all you can do, but you can’t keep sitting here blaming yourself for what has passed, and you certainly can’t blame yourself for what Zixin has done, at that point you’re just being narcissistic,” I say folding my arms over my chest.
“How exactly am I narcissistic?” she asks in offence.
“To give yourself all the credit for someone else’s actions whether they be good or bad seems incredibly narcissistic to me,” I say casually.
“I can’t believe you just said that,” she whispers in disbelief.
“Well, you can because I did,” I say, rising to my feet, “Setia, I am sympathetic and I know that it will take time for you to come to terms with your guilt and I’m here for you however you need it, but don’t go giving yourself more blame than you deserve in some misguided attempt at penance. I love you and I won’t let you do that to yourself. You didn’t warn Mei, or the Invictus Pack of what dangers potentially awaited them, yes, blame yourself for that, but the blame ends there, do you understand me?” I say sternly.
I hear her audibly gulp, and watch as she nods, “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t owe me an apology, and you’ve given more than enough to Mei. Mei is moving forward with her life choosing not to be burdened by the actions of the past,” I reach out and squeeze her arm, “You should do the same. An eternity is far too long to carry so much guilt.” With that I decide to leave Setia with her thoughts, hoping my words have knocked some sense into her.
“Wait, what are you doing up at this hour?” she asks curiously as I reach the door.
I shrug, “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Is everything okay?” she asks compassionately.
“I’m honestly not sure,” I say with a soft smile, closing the door behind me and proceeding to make my way to the gym.
I love our gym. It’s the size of a stadium with everything we could possibly need. We may have superior senses, but it’s never wise to sit on your laurels. Setia is an example of that. Very few know what the weaknesses of an irshiust are, and so Setia never once assumed Zixin would, but he did and because of that he was easily able to take her down. This is why training is important, it keeps us vigilant and allows us to do our job to the best of our abilities. Stepping into the gym I take in every scent that permeates the room. From the smell of the equipment to the smell of residual sweat and even blood. My sisters and I never hold back in training, so blood has been drawn on more than one occasion. I make my way to the far end of the gym, to work on some target practice. Tonight I’m in the mood for archery. I grab a bow off the rack on the wall and a quiver full of arrows. When we train with weapons, we are always sure to train with all the variations of the weapons we possess. Fo
Stepping into the meeting hall I can see the kaleidoscopic colours that make up my sister’s auras filling the room as each one enters and takes their seat around the large circular table in the centre of the room. The table is gargantuan in size. Has to be to fit all one hundred and one of us. Hiranur and I take our seats and once everyone has gotten settled, our sister Imak, with her soft celadon aura and glittering gold hue stands to address us all. Aside from the unique shades, all of my sister’s auras have a gold glittering hue, which I’ve learned is unique to our species. Among us, there is no leader or chief as we handle things equally, but when it comes to overseeing meetings we do take turns. It just keeps things more balanced that way. I can hear the sound of rustling paper as I watch Imak, pass out dossiers. Once my dossier makes its way to my hands, I open it and begin running my fingers over the small bumps that fill the page. Naturally, I’m the only one who has to have
I’m probably a bad person for hoping whoever has been dealing with the sanguidaes all these years doesn’t make an appearance. It’s incredibly selfish, and I’ll never admit to it out loud. I just fear if I stay here dwelling over my mystery animai I will truly go insane. “Yildiz?” I hear Beste call, pulling me from my thoughts. “Hmm?” I ask, standing and turning towards her, her stunning coquelicot aura with its gold glittering hue shining around her. “You seem a little distracted,” she observes. “I have a few things on my mind, but it won’t interfere with the mission, I promise,” I say sincerely. “That’s good.” I can hear the smile in her voice as she wraps her arm around me, her delightful scent of warm sugar and fresh rain enveloping me, “Let’s go get dressed and then grab our toys,” she says with excitement. I chuckle, “Still calling weapons ‘toys’ huh?” “They are to me,” she says with a grin in her voice. We each go our separate ways, with me returning to my room to shower
“We’re definitely dealing with a sept,” muses Beste. “Six I’d say, based on the scents I’m picking up. Not counting the decomposing bodies,” I say solemnly. Sanguidae scents are much like everyone else’s, but theirs has a distinct metallic undertone that defines them from other species. We’ve only been in Auckland for thirty minutes, and we’ve already stumbled on another pile of bodies. There has been no attempt to hide the bodies from the public, they’ve just been mutilated and discarded. Left here to rot like trash. I know a blood craze can rob a sanguidae of their humanity, but I’m starting to believe that’s not the case. If even one, let alone all six were in the middle of a craze the body count would be much higher, and given how close we are to people, we’d more than likely hear screaming and a city fleeing in fear. “There’s something else I’m noticing,” says Beste. “What’s that?” “I can see why the authorities assumed an animal did this. These poor humans were savagely att
I take off, continuing to follow the trail and it’s not long before the scents begin to get stronger. As the scents get stronger I begin to pick up the sound of people conversing. I slow down my approach as their words become clearer, and it becomes obvious I’ve found the people I’m looking for. I sniff around, assessing my surroundings; smelling the trees around me. I click my tongue to discern how far away they are and walk over to what sounds like the nearest tree. It feels large and sturdy. I make quick work climbing up high into the tree top calculating how high I am as I climb so I can calculate how far the drop will be, then perch myself on a branch. From here I can easily spot the group of sanguidae I’m after. They’re a short distance away, all six of them. Each one illuminated by their different coloured auras, but each aura is outlined by a hue of blood red – common in the auras of sanguidaes. They’re laughing and enjoying themselves despite the fact they just murdered innoce
My body has become a livewire, every synapse firing at hyperspeed sending my senses into overdrive. My body feels hot and flushed as if I’ve been basking in the sun for hours. My heart has picked up speed and my mouth is salivating. My body is in such a state of overload I can’t move. I’m completely frozen, as a thousand questions race through my mind. Now that I am in close proximity to his scent, I can pick up the metallic undertone in his scent, but far more intense than what I’ve scented before.My animai is a sanguidae?! Why is he here? Why did he stop me? And how in the name of the Gods did his body shatter my sword?! I might have killed him! I have so much I want to ask I don’t know where to begin.“Not her,” comes his deep and warm voice that elicits a shiver from me.“What?” I whisper, trying to process that fact I’ve finally heard his voice and what he meant by what he said. I take what’s left of my katana and place it back in its scabbard.“I can’t let you hurt her, and as
An animai. A fucking animai. Has Zarseti lost her fucking mind?! How is that even remotely possible? This was meant to be a simple retrieval; how did this all happen? I had sensed the newly made sanguidae as soon as they turned. As the first, I am connected to each and every one, so I can feel when another comes into being. A fact that shames and disgusts me to my core. They had someone guiding them, so I didn’t interfere right away, but once I knew their supposed leader was as dumb as a doornail with the traits of a serial killer, I knew I had to step in. For thousands of years, I’ve managed to get to them before the Delegation could, but for once they beat me to it, but I never could have expected things to turn out this way. The moment I appeared; her scent overtook me. It nearly threw thousands of years of self-control out the window. Her scent was the most glorious thing I’ve ever smelt in my entire existence. She smelled of warm vanilla and orchids fresh on the vine at the pea
I disappear only to reappear in front of a large white double door. With no effort on my part, I push my arms in front of me blasting the doors open as my hands connect with the wood. I storm through the pristine 14,000 sqft villa of all white, turquoise, and deep blue accents with marble floors. I pass the living area, pass the kitchen and storm right out to the backyard. I step out into the oceanfront oasis seeking my target. I make my way through the white stone paths that divide the many swimming areas, proceed past the palm trees and up the stone steps until I get to the pool at the far end. As I reach the top platform, I look down into the clear turquoise waters at the woman I seek, her 7’1” curvaceous frame lazily floating on the water’s surface. Her fuchsia hair sprawled out around her and her white bikini clinging to her bronze skin. “Is there a reason why someone who can pop in wherever he likes, felt the need to break down my front door?” she casually asks, her eyes remain
Thank you to everyone who has joined me for another instalment in the Queen Among series. I have enjoyed all of your comments with each passing day. Seeing you all connect with the story and characters truly touched me. I truly hope that if you are in the mood you will consider donating gems, and most importantly, leaving a review of this book on the book's main page. It would do me and my book a huge favour and will also allow me to hear your thoughts on the story. Speaking of story... Here is a breakdown of the series so far, what currently exists and what is to come! Currently Available: Book 1 - A Queen Among Alphas (completed and also available on paperback) Book 2 - A Queen Among Snakes (completed and coming soon to paperback) Book 3 - A Queen Among Blood (completed and coming soon to paperback) Bite-Size Luna - A prequel spin-off to A Queen Among Alphas (completed and coming soon to paperback) COMING SOON IN THE SERIES: Book 4 - A Queen Among Darkness Book 5 - A Queen
Oshmin POV Time slips away as I hold Yildiz in my arms, but soon she is springing up on her feet and quickly undressing before me, which I am not complaining about. “What are you doing?” I ask, as my eyes remain glued in captivation as I watch each piece of fabric disappear from her body leaving only exquisite, glittering mocha curves behind. “If you think I’m just going to sit and stare at a stunning, magical oasis like this and not get in, you’re out of your mind,” she says with glee and promptly dives into the water. The golden glitter of her skin now looking all the more stunning under the twinkling aquamarine waters. Eager to join her, with a snap of my fingers my clothes are in a pile beside me, and I am diving into the water with her. We both break the surface and instantly she begins splashing me. “Oh, you want to play it like that? Game on,” I smirk as I use a fraction of my energy to send a decent-sized wave of water at her. “Hey! That’s cheating,” she pouts, wiping the
Oshmin POV The last few days have been filled with more drama. I used to think my life was very dramatic, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I spent eons reliving one dramatic – or traumatic – experience and believed it followed me everywhere, but after what I’ve experienced in the last few weeks while being with Yildiz, I realise my life was incredibly mundane. We Gods do the bare minimum and then call it a day, Yildiz and her sisters are trying to solve a hundred problems at once and trying to save thousands, if not millions, of lives a day. The miraculous thing is they never complain, and I mean REALLY complain. One bad thing happened to me, and I never shut up about it. Irshiusts see the worst in people and the world around them, take care of the sick, wounded and mistreated and are witness to horrors no being should ever witness, and they do it all with compassion and tolerance – to a degree. They save lives every single day and hardly get so much as a thank you, but they cont
As I make my way down to the cells that reside deep under the Kartheca, I can already hear the voices of my sisters deep within the earthly confines. I take my final step and begin walking down the corridor when the sound of someone’s approaching footsteps gain my attention. “Let me the fuck out of here!” screams the inhabitant of the cell to my right. I stop and turn to face the dim lime-green aura with its faded olive-green hue now standing before me. “I see the concept of a life sentence still confuses you,” I say casually. “I’m an Alpha! Who the fuck do you think you are to treat me like this?” he says as I hear the sound of him hocking up phlegm. I tilt my head to the left just as I hear the wad of phlegm fly past me and hit the wall behind me. That is beyond disgusting. “You were an Alpha and a despicable one at that. Ivan, allow me to remind you that you lost your title the moment you were brought into our custody and a new Alpha was appointed of your pack. Not only are you
Oshmin POV “Are you done with your inner thoughts, or would you like a little more time?” Yildiz asks in a bored tone. I roll my eyes, “Anyone ever tell you how annoying that is?” “Truth be told, I didn’t come here to bust your cosmic balls. I know you and Yildiz have hashed it out and you have been brutally honest. Things are looking up for the two of you and for that I am thrilled. What happened is in the past. Actually, all of that isn’t why I’m here now,” she admits, her tone becoming serious. I sit forward and give her my undivided attention, “I know that look. That’s the look of you’re about to drop a cryptic bomb on me.” “Am I that transparent?” she says with a wry smile. “No, I’ve just known you a long time. What’s going on?” I ask, cutting to the chase. “When I told you I gave you an animai because I wanted you to be happy, that wasn’t a lie.” “Never thought it was…” I say tentatively. “That being said, I had additional reasons for wanting you to be happy.” Her face
Oshmin POV I lay back with my arms under my head already missing Yildiz being wrapped in my arms. As I stare through the glass walls of her room at the stunning view outside, I can’t help but become frustrated. I’m a cosmic being with the power to give Yildiz all the answers she seeks, but because of my own idea to prevent us Gods from meddling, I’m stuck laying here unable to do a single thing to help her. I feel like I shot myself in the foot before ever even realising it. “You made the right call, Oshmin,” I suddenly hear Zarseti’s voice. I look over to see the fuchsia-haired Goddess standing off to the side in a rather stunning purple kaftan with gold beading across the bust and shoulders and lined down the arms and framing the sleeves. “What is with you and the kaftan collection?” I enquire. She walks over and leans against the window, ignoring my question. “Even my daughters need to learn life is not about cutting corners or taking the easy way. We all have our own destinies
The sound of urgent fists pounding against my bedroom door pulls me from my wonderful sleep, but as my senses wake up one by one, I take in the pleasurable heat brought by being nestled in my animai’s arms and his intoxicating scent. I want to stay like this forever, but the pounding is relentless. “I get the feeling they won’t go away until you answer the door,” says Oshmin in a sleepy voice. I groan and bury myself deeper against his side. “Make them go away,” I grumble. “They’re your sisters, you make them go away,” he argues, turning his back to me and depriving me of my cosy snuggle spot. I pout and land a jab to his back that causes me to wince and shake my hand as my finger throbs in protest. Stupid indestructible God. “I bet that hurt you more than it hurt me,” he lazily mocks. “Smartass,” I mutter. Begrudgingly I fling off the covers, get up and make my way to the bedroom door. I open it and finally bring the pounding to a halt. “Was all of that really necessary?” I ask
Oshmin POV I lay in Yildiz’s bed captivated by her every move as she changes into very fitted sky-blue satin shorts and a matching camisole for bed. I could watch her do the most mundane things for all time and never get bored. Is that because of the bond or simply because I love her? I guess I don’t care really. “I just have to take off my makeup and then I’m done.” “I could help,” I offer. “You want to take my makeup off for me?” she asks with a questioning eyebrow. I shrug, “Only if you want me to. I would be more effective though,” I point out. “Hmm. Good point. Okay, time to become the God of Makeup Removal,” she says as she saunters to the bathroom. I let out a loud laugh at her new title for me. Morrtemis would love that. I get up and follow her into the bathroom and look at all the products laid out on the counter. It’s like a chemistry lab in here. “Um, maybe I could just use magic,” I suggest. “Nope. You’re going to do it like I do. Now get to work,” she orders, but
Oshmin POV She wraps her elbow around mine and escorts me out of the door. This is a literal case of the blind leading the blind as Yildiz navigates our way through the Kartheca effortlessly, since I don't know my way around, before arriving at two gigantic doors. I can hear the voices inside that have now dropped to a whisper as we began to approach. Yildiz is right, people who can speak telepathically should just do so and save themselves the embarrassment. Yildiz pushes open one of the doors and guides me into the vastest dining hall I’ve ever seen. Pristine white marbled floors, with square marble pillars lining either side of the lengthy room. The spaces between the pillars are open and blanketed by curtains of white chiffon that dance gently in the breeze from outside. The vaulted ceiling is intricately carved and depicts the origins of every single supernatural being that exists. There are carved statues of women powerfully posed at the top of each pillar and it takes me a mo