Chapter 12 - NightmaresApollo’s POVI decided to take the first watch. I told Imelda that I would switch out after a few hours. But realistically, I won’t wake her. She needs her sleep more than I do. I don’t really sleep anymore. I haven’t for a long time. My brain is always too busy to allow me a moment of rest. I’m constantly thinking of new tactics, new ways to better my training. New ways to protect our people and prevent another war from ever happening. Prevent anyone else I care about from a torturous death.I took a deep breath as I stared out at the night sky. The world around us was so very different from the one we are used to. The trees are huge and would even tower our own. The trunks are as thick as three of our own trees combined. The terrain was rough and exhausting. Even the sm
Chapter 13 - Illusions The sun broke the night sky, and mixes of oranges and purples swirled above us. Apollo and I stood outside all night. Neither one of us is speaking. The only sound was Apollo humming the same tune over and over, as much as one would think it to be an annoyance. It wasn’t. It still kept me calm time and time again. The cold air was welcomed and also needed. It reminded me that the nightmare wasn’t real. My mother was still alive, and the fire wasn’t consuming everything in its path, making the air hot and sticky. We ate our breakfast in silence too. Nothing about it, surprisingly, was awkward. Finally, we started packing up to begin our last trek through the Temptation forest. This part of the forest was the last stretch of land we had to cross before we were in the dragon's territory. But it was also the most dangerous. Even with the hot sun beating down on us, the path would be darkened by the thick branches. The creatures of the forest depended on that. They
Chapter 14 - Dragons Everything happened so fast. From the moment Garren arrived to find us bloodied and a complete wreck to us finally arriving at the border. My mind was pulled in so many directions I didn't recognize where I was, who I was talking to or how I ended up in this room. My mind only focused on one thing, one person, Apollo. He was rushed into a medical facility in Garren’s village. All I knew was that the room I was in felt safe, the fire warm and that they would get me when they had news about Apollo's state of health. I looked down at my blood-covered hands. My hands were still shaking. My body starting to ache as all of the adrenaline disappeared from my system. My heart felt as if it stopped beating, as the sound of a soft knock sounded from the other side of the door. “Come in.” My voice sounded far away as if it wasn’t my own. The wooden door opened slowly as the hinges screeched in protest. An older woman walked in—her dress worn—the white skirt stained with
Chapter 15 - Ryuu The village was anything but small. It was almost as huge as Gardenia. And that was the capital of the Fae realm. It held thousands of Fae and Lycan families. Even some other species decided to settle in the Fae realm. It was the median between all realms—neutral ground for travellers and merchants alike, a safe space. “This place is huge,” I muttered in amazement as my eyes continued to look at building after building. Houses were built into the cliff sides—intricate layouts of stairways leading up the mountainside. The peaks of the mountains were practically invisible as they reached well up into the sky, surrounded by copious amounts of clouds. The sounds of distant roars and people shouting and talking could be heard all the way from where we were standing. It was breathtaking and not what I expected at all. After the two days, it took to trek through rough terrain. Nothing but jagged rocks and dirt until we reached the forest, I would have never imagined a bea
Chapter 16 - Glamour Balthazar's POV I let out a frustrated yell as I threw the book at the wall. Nothing was working. Nothing was able to locate her. Not even the blood bond was strong enough to give me an exact location. Every time I used a location spell, it would give out multiple points or just send a crystal flying across the room. I was at my breaking point, never had anyone ever been able to evade me this long. Never had anyone been able to hide so blatantly out in the open and have me come up empty-handed every single time. Eventually, someone would slip up, or I would find a loophole. But right now, I had nothing, and it was making me explore every option I was able to get my hands on. It made me think of every possible scenario, think of every spell or trick that could be used to keep her in the shadows. Keep her hidden from me. It had only been two days since she left, but I should have found her by now, and everything I thought of still kept coming up empty. I was compl
Chapter 17 - Delusions “You mean to tell me that a deity decided to come and warn me of my future? Yeah, right, I’m not important enough to earn a visit from someone like her.” I scoffed, shaking my head. “Besides, aren’t they suppose to be all young and beautiful and only visit you in your dreams or something? The woman I talked to was old and claimed to be a fortune teller.” Garren let out a booming laugh that made the whole room shake. “She came to you as an old hag. That’s rich. I have heard stories of her visits, but that is a new one. She appears as someone who would be approachable to the targeted individual. Guess she figured old and crazy would suit you.” His voice was full of amusement. I turned to see Apollo trying his best to conceal a smirk as well. “Are we just going to make fun of me or actually try to track her down?” I asked sharply. Garren cleared his throat. “Right, so now that I know who we're after, there will be a few things we need to do to catch her trail.”
Chapter 18 - Caspian The heat and the brightness of the sun woke me. I hadn’t realized I had fallen asleep. The last thing I remembered was watching the star twinkle in the night sky. We were no longer in the sky, though. A fur blanket replaced the dragon that was once beneath me. The smell of fire and smoked meat wafted in the forest air. The sound of two male voices caught my attention. Their tones hushed, making it hard to hear what they were discussing. I recognized the one voice as Garren’s, but I didn’t know who the second voice belonged to. I slowly sat up, blinking away the sleep from my eyes. A kettle hung above the flames of the fire. Two sticks were placed on either side of the fire, and, what appeared to be, a rabbit was roasting between them on a metal rod. I looked around for Garren and the other male, but I couldn’t see them anywhere. A thick forest surrounded us, and the memories of what happened on my trek to Ramiro flooded my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut as I trie
Chapter 19 - Unique Fascinations I stare at Garren in disbelief. Yes, we are all related to our mothers by creation. But some are special. Some are not just creations of our mothers but blood relatives. The lines of that heritage are old, so old in fact, that they were thought to be extinct for centuries. Of course, it would be a dragon who would still be a direct bloodline. They live immortal lives like Dacian and Fae. My heart stopped for a beat as I really let it sink in. The fact that my mother had higher authority over him was just mind-blowing. He looked at me with a knowing look. “I may be related to Ryuu, the spirit of dragons. But your mother is created by divine power and holds the blood of two deities, Imelda. So her heritage is directly linked to both, as is yours. So you and I are equals. Don’t think otherwise.” Garren turned his attention back to Gregory. “I need you to prepare my quarters and have Imelda placed in the room attached to mine. I need to visit my parent
Epilogue *Five years later.* "Deep breath in and let it go through your nose with each hit. Stay steady on your feet." I shouted at Kai as he moved to make his next swing at his target. He did a quick sidestep before spinning and slicing the demon's head clear off. "Better?" He panted as he approached the bench for water. "Much better. Next, we will work on hand-to-hand combat. Then I think you'll be ready for your first collection. I think this time we will have you face Jade. These illusions aren't cutting it." He nodded before taking a swig of his drink. He let out a loud breath before running his hands through his short brown hair. "It would be easier if I could fight you. Besides Jade and Balt, you're the only other person here who knows what they're doing." He mused as he adjusted the blades sheathed to his bicep. "I know, but until I'm fully in control of my powers, I don't want to risk hurting you," I explained. He rolled his eyes before sitting down on the bench with
Chapter 45 -Queen of the underworldTwo weeks had gone by since Balthazar, and I came home. There hasn't been a moment that's gone by where I am not being taught the ways of the underworld, from learning the laws of a deal to the reasons behind a specific sentence. I didn't know there were so many forms of torture available. What is even more unnerving is that the demons assigned to deliver said torture have been doing it their whole lives. Jade told me a few stories of her encounters with the beasts of the torture cells and had warned me never to cross one. Balthazar laughed at her warnings and reminded her who I was. Even with his faith in the hierarchy, Oren and I still vowed never to go there alone.Between us, not being able to keep our hands to ourselves and learning everything I had to before I was officially crowned Queen. Balthazar expl
Chapter 43 - I Love YouWe sheered into what I could only assume to be his bedroom. A huge king bed sat in the middle of the room. A white fur carpet laid beneath his bed. A perfect contrast to the black marbled floor and black bedding. The whole room smelled of him, and it made my head spin and my heart race. The walls of the room were red. The one wall was made entirely of glass facing the city. The northern lights were dancing with the twinkling stars. As much as I wanted to appreciate the beautiful scenery, I wanted to enjoy Balthazar more.Garren warned me about how the bond would drive us crazy with lust. But I wasn't sure how I had ignored such an urge before now. Maybe it was the distraction of the mission or the fact that we hadn't entirely accepted each other until now. But now, all I craved was his touch, his lips on mine. I craved the throaty laugh he gave when he was teasing, temp
Chapter 42 - GodricI hugged Balor goodbye as I left his room. He refused to see me off. He was too upset with what I had given up. I made him swear never to utter a word of it to our family. I would tell them when I was ready, he reluctantly agreed. He said he also had to build up the nerve to tell our parents that he was leaving Gardania and heading back to the packhouse in the human realm."Still refused to come to dinner?" Nesrin asked as I shut the door behind me."Of course he did. But he will get over it. Did you know he was talking about going to live with Aunt Cass and Uncle Ty?" She nodded."Yeah, he mentioned it to me a while back, but mother and father shut him down. Saying he would make a great blacksmith. That he didn't need to worry about it
Chapter 41 - GoodbyesImelda's POV"I don't want you anymore," Balthazar shouted at me."You're no use to me like this. You can't even give me a child. Let alone how pathetic you look trying to rule the underworld. You don't belong here, by my side." He continued to belittle me—each word slicing deeper. I knelt in front of him. My head hung low. I was too ashamed to look up at him. My eyes were swollen from crying. My throat was dry and sore."You had one job, and you couldn't even do that right. I knew you were weak, but I didn't think you were this weak." Oren hissed. I shook my head."I'm sorry." My voice was a mere whisper."I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!
Chapter 40 - InnocenceThe forest around us was full of life, just like I remembered. The trees all holding golden flowers that smelt of citrus. The sky was the brightest blue. All the colours in my home were vibrant. Something I slowly forgot while I was away. The sound of birds chirping filled the air giving everything a calming element."Why do you hurt people?" The little girl asked, pulling my attention back to her."That's a bold question for someone your age," I said, avoiding the answer."I'm more mature than I look. I have to be. My family is preparing me to be a leader, and leaders ask bold questions and make hard decisions. At least that's what I've been told." I frowned a little at the statement. Why would a child no more than nine be forced to
Chapter 39 - ChoicesThe pathwas exactly how it looked, dark and cold. It was as if I was caught in another realm entirely. The trees were dead, the sound of crows echoed throughout the dead forest. A thin layer of fog coated the ground, and the air smelt stale. Not even a twinkling star shined above my head. My footsteps crunching against the gravel and dirt echoing in beat with my heart. I swallowed hard as I pushed back the nerves that kept prickling at my skin.I held my head high as I kept moving forward, subconsciously counting my footsteps as I went. A harsh, cold wind blew my hair around. It was then I realized I was still only in a light tunic and pants. I fought the shiver that tried to take hold of me. No matter what I was going to face, I would face it all to ensure a future for all wo
Chapter 38 - PricesEmpress Sorin stared at us all. I swore I could see the stars twinkle in her golden eyes now and then. Then, aswift smile graced her lips as she took a sip of her tea. She placed her dainty teacup, littered with purple and blue flowers. The rim dipped in gold. No one else made a move to drink their tea. It was almost humorous picturing any of the men holding such tiny cups in their big hands.“This is awkward. Should we speak first?” Oren mused. I bit the inside of my cheek, clearing my throat.“You said you would like to discuss the future-“ Sorin held up her finger, cutting me off. I glanced over to see the corner of Balthazar’s lip tipping up slightly.I gave him a subtle glare as I turned my attention back to the Empress of d
Chapter 37 - Dragon Spirit Imelda’s POV “How did you get here?” I asked, my voice mixed with both relief and fear. “I go where you go. Nothing could stop me from reaching you.” He turned his gaze to Ryuu. “Not even you, you pathetic excuse for a female.” He sneered. I stared in disbelief. If there were ever a time not to insult someone, it would be now. But Balthazar never played by the rules. He was a king. After all, he made them. Ryuu scoffed. “Oh Balt, I love when you talk dirty to me.” She said, her tone salty. I cringed at the mention of his nickname. I had to remember that she did once mean something to him. Before she hated him, she had loved him.