Chapter 2 - Forgetful ThievesDamonEveryone we talked to have the same answer. As if their minds had been wiped clean of any encounters they had with the pirates. And it was no different for the tavern owner we spoke to now. He spoke as if his mind was stuck in a haze. First so sure he could retrace his steps of the last few days only to have him wrinkle his brow in confusion as he tried so hard to remember what happened. "It's the oddest thing; I just can't remember," He murmured to himself, rubbing the back of his neck. His brown eyes held a dullness to them. "It's okay, Lloyd. If you remember anything, let us know," Apollo said once again, placing his hand on the tavern keeper's shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. The male was a Bear shifter. In his prime, he would have been someone I hoped I never crossed paths with. He still held his head high and radiated a power that made most fae watch carefully. The energy that demanded respect and compliance. No one that wanted to keep
Chapter 3 - Head in the cloudsAloraMy life has always been lonely. A princess locked away in a tower, unknown to the people and world around me. A girl who just wanted to be loved so badly that she stayed in that tower night and day so that she might one day know what love felt like.It was for my safety, my mother would tell me, to protect me against our enemies. The world was full of monsters, and until I could protect myself, I was to remain indoors. Hidden. But the Empress of Dreams had secrets like many others in the world. The daughter she wanted so badly that she used her own blood and magic to create me.Made. Thats what I was, not born but made.It was that magic that they would seek out and try to steal; to harness a whisp of my mother's power was enough to destroy a kingdom. To be made by it was unfathomable. So I did what she said like a good girl. I accepted her punishment for stepping out of line without a fight. I never asked for forgiveness because I knew I deser
Chapter 4 - Bitter TruthsDamon Two weeks had passed since I stood in the office of the 'Lady Captain.' Still unable to shake the weird feeling I felt from her. Unable to shake the feeling of the strange magic in the air that surrounded her and her ship. The memory of her eyes, full of starlight, now burned into my mind. The reason for her visit not sitting right with me. The way she seemed to appear on that ship, a ship that was way too nice for someone of her status to own. And the fact that I only encountered one crew member the whole time I was aboard was unsettling.Odd, everything about her was odd and left me with more questions, more suspicions. She may not be the pirate who messed with one of my villages. The time of her arrival made it not likely, and that skeleton crew of hers made it not plausible. In all the last twenty-five years that I have been involved with the capital and kingdom as a whole, I have never met someone like her. And in all my years as the Captain of
Chapter 5 - Stakes AloraThe sun kissed the horizon bringing the trip to an end as the shores of Findara, the village just outside the palace grounds, came into view.I let the air of the salted waters fill my lungs one last time. Taking in the feeling of the open-air against my skin as we moved quickly towards the port. Once we docked, the ship would vanish again, and my freedom with it. I never knew what to expect when I returned from my voyages. My mother wasn't exactly an open book and her mood changed with a flip of a hat. I just hoped that coming home with a lead on a new item to claim would please her and give me the upper hand for once."We could delay the arrival a few more days," Helga suggested from my shoulder. Returning to her tiny winged form upon entering the portal that led to the dream realm.The pixie was the closest thing I had to a friend in this realm. Not many beings in the realm of dreams paid attention to me or knew who I actually was. The ones who did were t
Chapter 6 - Delirium Damon"You sure you can handle all attention on me tonight?" I teased Lir as I took one last look in the mirror. I wore a black jacket with golden swirl embellishments on it. The tail of the jacket reached the back of my thighs. I left it open, revealing my tucked-in white shirt, tie, and black breeches. I also wore black dress shoes. Lir scoffed in response. "The only thing I have to worry about is making sure the pompous arse of a future king doesn't get himself too drunk on wine while trying to impress all the eligible suitors," I could see his teasing grin in the mirror. His onyx hair was to his shoulders now, and soon, it would be long enough for him to put up again. He told me about what had happened, how important it was in his culture, and his beliefs to have long hair. It was a symbol of power and status, and though he didn't want that life for himself anymore, he still wanted to hold tribute to his ancestors.I couldn't fault him for that. In a way,
Chapter 7 - Beautiful NightmareAlora"You have two pouches of pixie dust. One to get you into Gardenia and one to get you back," Helga instructed as she sat on my shoulder. I bit the inside of my cheek, my nerves making me anxious. My freedom was riding on this; I couldn't mess this up. I wouldn't. "Why can't I come again?" Helga huffed, crossing her tiny arms across her chest. "Because having you there might blow my cover. I can get in no problem with a bit of dream magic to make the guards believe whatever I tell them to without raising suspicion. But, if you come, I'll have to use more magic, and it might set off their wards. Too much is riding on this to risk it," She let out another huff as she ruffled her wings, spreading pixie dust all over my shoulder. "And if you mess this up, it'll be all for nothing. Just let me come, Lor. I can make it easier for you," She persisted. I swiped her from my shoulder, pinching her wings between my fingers. "Hey, put me down," She demanded
Chapter 8 - Dramatics DamonMy entire body felt heavy, like I was waking from a sedated sleep. Except I didn't remember falling asleep. My neck ached, and my mouth was extremely dry. My eyes felt heavy as I slowly forced them to open. I stared up at my bedroom ceiling, the sunlight beaming through the stained glass windows. I couldn't remember how I got here or what even happened last night. The last thing I remembered was dancing with Geraldine. Or was it Tabitha?I didn't really care to remember her name.I cleared my throat, the dryness making me wince. "What the hell happened?" I muttered to myself, my voice coming out gravely as if I had spent the whole night with my mouth wide open. Considering how heavy my entire body felt, I couldn't dismiss the possibility of it being true.I felt Helix stir, but even he was quieter than usual. I furrowed my brow as I sat up, rubbing my hands down my face. I paused, pulling my hands away. Something was off; the warmth I usually felt on
Chapter 9 - Confessions Damon I walked into the council room, the conversation already underway without me. The voices grew louder as they continued their heated argument. I took my seat, my father's jaw tensing as he stared down Lord Folic, the elder refusing to back down from old traditions. I would never understand how my mother dealt with him all these years. Once I was crowned King, I was bagging the old bat. "He said it himself. He will marry the suitor who captured his attention the most. I thought we all agreed with-" "No, you all forced your opinions and refused any other option." My father snapped. Normally I would have let the bickering continue, but I had things to do, and being here kept me from them. My body was still heavy from whatever magic was placed on me after my ring was taken. The irritation from not remembering the events of last night weighed heavily on my shoulders, along with not knowing who was behind all of it.To say my patience was thinning would be
Epilogue Three weeks later Damon The pressure of the crown was building as Alora and I settled into our new roles. My father was no longer here to keep the council at bay with their demands. But despite it all, I had found that I enjoyed this new life I had been given. The new responsibilities allowed me even more control over the Kingdom than the Captain of the guards ever could. All be it; I did miss the battle prep and daily training. But I still found holes in my busy schedule to take Alora out to the training fields at least once a week. I knew that eventually, our routine would become steady, and we would have more time to relax, but new rulers came with change and to have change, you needed to vote on old and new laws to pass. Alora and I had already made some big changes, like incorporating technology from the human realm into our daily lives to allow us easier communication with other realms. But there were still a lot of issues with the old ways of running our Kingdom
Chapter 49 - To Love and Cherish ErikPeace was something that was talked about constantly. During wars, it was what we fought for. While ruling a Kingdom, it was what we strived to maintain. But I had never truly known peace until now. The thought of finally being ridden of this pain inside of me, knowing that soon I would be with my love once again, was freeing. The final night with my family started out slow, but it eventually picked up and ran right into the night. There was laughter and tears exchanged around the table as we shared stories of my past and everyone got a chance to say goodbye, getting the closer they needed.And as everyone turned in for the night, I found myself alone again; unable to sleep, I found myself outside. I stayed up looking out at the stars waiting for the sun to rise. I closed my eyes, letting the warm breeze brush across my skin, engraving it into my mind. "So you really are going to spend your last moments alive, sitting in a field of flowers like
Chapter 48 - GoodbyesErikI watched as the sun set beyond the forest, the oranges and pinks of the sky blending together as the sun bid it farewell. It had been a long time since I had nothing to do, no responsibilities with the crown or of the guards. I thought it might help me move on from the hell that the last year had been without Athena, but now I realize that was a stupid notion. It was lonely, and the weight of losing my mate weighed heavier on my heart now than it did while I still ruled.I kept as busy as a retired King could, helping Damon when he needed to seek council or helping Apollo if he needed a hand with training recruits, but I knew that they both didn't really need my help. They just didn't want me to feel left out. Apollo was a natural at his role, and so was Damon. Despite what Damon said when he first discovered he would be the next in line to inherit the throne. He took to it as a bird took to the sky. He was a born leader and shined when he was in control o
Chapter 47 - Home Alora It had been a month since I had been crowned Queen of Gardenia, the days seeming to slip away as the kingdom welcomed the summer solstice and our ruling.I was busy learning my new role, Damon's father and Grandfather helping ease us both into the important roles we both now held. However, it was easier having Helga by my side. I was happy to have her as my royal advisor, and Rachel had said she was a natural already. I knew she would be, though; she always loved to take control and never gave up the opportunity to tell someone off. It was also working in my favour because Lord folic was so busy fighting with her that he always missed out on voting for new laws or changes to existing rulings. Damon loved it, and it made the council meetings less gruelling. It was absurd how many times we had to have a council meeting. At least once a day, and most of the things brought up were trivial problems. By the end of the day, I was just happy to get some alone time
Chapter 46 - The CrownDamon It felt like an eternity had passed as I waited in the royal chambers with my father. It felt even longer when we exchanged goodbyes at the throne room, and I waited at the dais while he sat on his throne. Melody stood in front of my father, a smile stretched across her face, glowing brightly. The room was full of people, some from the council, others from royal families, friends, family, and people from our Kingdom. All watching and waiting for the ceremony to begin.I was in a black royal jacket that was made with silver threading, and our family crest stitched into my left breast pocket. The wolves were placed proudly amongst the roses and the sword that separated them as they howled at the moon. My silver crown was placed on my head, but that would be changed once mine and Alora's vows were complete and only after the mothers accepted us as the new King and Queen to signal the dawn of a new era. Drake stood to the right of me, his mate, my mother's
Chapter 45 - Long Live The Queen Damon "Again," I commanded as Alora worked to keep the wings she had summoned to remain on her back. She had learned quickly how to handle the phoenix flames since she had already worked with the fire element. But now came the hard part, only half shifting. I did it all the time, especially in battle, morphing my nails into claws and elongating my canines. But nothing about that was easy; it came with time and practice, but Alora wanted to have it mastered. With the coronation and our mate ceremony happening tomorrow, she wanted to be better at it. Not only to prove to the council and our people that she was a worthy Queen but also to herself. I didn't want to be the one to tell her to slow down, not after she had spent so much of her life ruled under someone else thumb. But I had warned her of the risks of exhaustion and told her that when I saw fit, we would end the training for the evening.Alora begrudgingly accepted my condition, and I kept tr
Chapter 44 - Worship AloraI flipped through the pages of the phoenix book the jinx family had kept for generations. There was so much to process, like what abilities I now possessed because of what I was. It made my head hurt; there was so much to learn, so much to figure out. I was now different than normal fae; I was now a shifter. But, unlike most shifting fae, my order didn't communicate with me. Instead, it was a part of me; we were one and the same. I would still live an immortal life, only having one enemy that could stop me from ever being reborn, permanently ending my life. A Basilisk. A venous snake shifter that, like me, was rare, most believed them to be extinct. But now that I existed, one would be born, if not already—the universe now having to find balance in all forms. It was mindblowing the things I had already read about. For example, I could enchant items with my flames, similar to everlasting fire. But unlike everlasting fire, I couldn't break wards or spells w
Chapter 43 - WarningDamonI sat at the dais, my legs hanging over the edge as I waited for Cedric to arrive with the artifacts Alora and I asked for. Balor was right when he said the Jinx family would bargain for their priceless information. The smug look on their faces was wiped away and replaced with wide gaping mouths as they stared at the amulet in shock.Diana had muttered a curse under her breath. One I was sure she wanted me to hear because she said it so close to me. But I bit my tongue as I handed over the amulet, not wanting to risk them being stingy with their end of the deal.Alora was waiting in the Library, looking over whatever other books Audra had found for her. Now that Alora had her dream magic again, she was more determined than ever to find out what else she was capable of doing. I couldn't help but admire her for her devotion and eagerness. I was still reeling in from the mind-blowing realization that not only was Alora a rare Pheonix shifter, but she was also
Chapter 42 - Full CircleAloraIt's funny how even after you have overcome your deepest fears that they can still creep up on you. That was how it felt right now, anyways, as we arrived at the Dream realm. It was a ghost town, everyone seeming to either vanish with my mother's magic or flee as soon as they were freed from their promise to her. The streets were quiet, the ports empty, and the palace looked haunted. The golden paint was already losing its shine and fading with the faded magic. The windows were dark and unwelcoming as we approached the not-so-gilded gate. It was now that I felt the fear of my mother creep up on me. The well of my fears bubbled in the pit of my stomach. For decades I walked through these gates and made my way to my mother's throne room to report my findings and give her the things she requested I steal. The motions all felt so familiar, but with Damon by my side, they also felt different. I knew he could sense my hesitation as we approached the giant w