“Do you want anything? Tea or coffee?” My mom offers. “No, mom. I’d rather just get this over with,” I blurt. She sighs and then nods as she sits on the loveseat; my father sits on his recliner and they both look at me with strange expressions. “Whatever it is, just tell me,” I plead. They b
Carol’s POV My heart felt like it weighed a thousand pounds hearing this story and my breathing was constricted. “I don’t understand,” I whispered. “Who was that woman?” “We aren’t sure,” my mother admits. “But she was terrified and all she asked was for us to take you and care for you like yo
I nod. “Okay,” I agree. “Let’s try. But maybe after the championships. It’s coming up soon. We only have another week before then and we should really focus on practice.” “I agree.” The next several days go by as a blur. Practice is intense as always and I spent a lot of time in the office man
Carol’s POV “Great job everybody! You all practiced amazingly!” Coach Bower praises the team as everybody returns to the locker rooms. I did some last-minute work in the office before I went home with Aiden. He was quiet for most of the drive which worried me. “What’s on your mind?” I ask him,
“I think I just need some time to think. I’m going to spend the night with Fiona,” I tell him, getting out of the car. “What?” He asks, quickly getting out after me. “Are you serious?” “Yes,” I tell him, storming inside the house. He doesn’t bother to stop me; I pack a small bag and head to Fi
Carol’s POV By the next morning, I was feeling a lot better. I went home to get ready to leave for the stadium; the game was tonight so I had to get ready to be at the stadium by mid-afternoon with the rest of the team. Aiden was already awake and dressed when I returned the next morning and my he
Could I really be as special as he thinks? The pink glow soon vanishes just like it always does, but I can’t help but remember the strange dreams I’ve been having. “It’s coming! Your destiny awaits! You must be prepared!” I swallow the lump in my throat as I wonder if that has anything to do
Carol’s POV I don’t know what time it is when I wake up. But when I opened my eyes, everything was dark. Panic consumed me when I realized I couldn’t move my arms or legs. They were bound together, and I had something in and wrapped around my mouth. Whoever took me gagged me. I let out a distres
I chuckled as I held back tears.“Sorry,” I murmured, trying to pull back, but she held me tighter.“I’ve missed you like crazy,” she breathed. “How’s life in the empire? I’ve been keeping tabs on you in the media. Seems you are kicking ass as the queen.”Since the inauguration ceremony last year, I
She flinched away for a moment, afraid that the darkness might hurt him, but I had faith that it wouldn’t because it was under her control now and the light in her wouldn’t be dim for the darkness.“It’s okay,” I assured her, bringing Caleb even closer into her view. She stared at him with admiratio
EpilogueAiden’s POV“She still won’t come out of her room?” Fiona asked, staring at the closed suite door with a frown. “It’s been a week since she killed her sister…”“She’s scared,” I told her, cradling Caleb in my arms. “Raelyn’s darkness is inside of her and she’s worried that she’s going to do
She was quiet for a moment while the Queen continued to bark orders in the background. The dark tendrils only seemed to grow more agitated with each passing moment.“Please, call the tendrils off and—”“I can’t,” she said quickly. “They don’t listen to me anymore… they listen to her more than they l
I wanted to believe that there was still good in Raelyn. That the darkness hadn’t taken over completely. I grabbed her arm, and I brought my gaze to meet hers; I wasn’t sure if my powers would work on her, but I had to try. I channeled her mind and when I found a connection, I realized it was weak,
Carol’s POVI used my powers to fight off the guards, using my mind manipulation to make them fight one another and using some of the spells I was taught to ward them off. I’ve practiced with mind manipulation a lot so I was able to do it quickly. I soon had some of them at least turning against the
“It’s not personal darling,” she said, waving off his concern. “It’s strictly business.”“Was any of it real?” He asked, shaking his head with disgust written all over his face. “Did you ever love me?”She let out a bitter laugh.“Love?” She scoffed. “Please… There’s no room for love when I have a n
My entire body went cold when I saw what they were running from. Clouds of darkness snaked through the ground, slithering like snakes. I could feel the cold darkness and the chilling aura that penetrated it.In the distance, I squinted at the figures standing in the center of the town.The Queen.St
Carol’s POV“You promised you’d help me buy a ring for Fiona,” Oliver said as he leaned against the doorframe of my suite. I had just finished changing Caleb’s dirty typer for the 5(th) time this hour when Oliver decided to bless me with his visit.Collectively, we’ve been in the Empire for 2 months