*Elentari* Unlike the other times I had fallen asleep, this time I was in what looked like a snowglobe, but there was no snow. The ground was a grass covered meadow littered with flowers. A small cottage was meters away. It was picturesque like it belonged in a children's book about fairy godmothers. I could tell this scene was an illusion created by another person’s mind. A tall man walked out of the building, looking directly at me. He seemed confused by my presence. “You do not look like her, but you have her hair and essence. Who are you, child?” His question took me by surprise. I felt oddly at ease with him and it was easy to trust him with my identity. “I am Elentari, the Lunar Guardian and reincarnation of Selene.” It felt strange to utter these words to another person. “Who are you?” He chuckled with a voice that reminded me of Santa Clause. “My Dearest brought you here in your slumber but did not tell you of me. How typical.” I clicked my tongue in annoyance, recognizi
*Elentari* Tanz came to my room to wake me up as I had forgotten to set an alarm. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, still sleepy. It amazed me how tired I had been the last few days. It felt like I could never get enough sleep. The pixie was humming a pleasant tune. It made me smile as I watched her buzz around, getting things set out for me. My mind wandered to the events in the dream state and I sighed internally. “My Princess, your outfit for dinner.” The announcement startled me out of my thoughts. My eyes landed on a deep plum almost black gothic steampunk dress with a pickup type skirt. It had a deep plunging sweetheart neckline and a matching bolero. It was my style to a “t”. On the other hanger was a corset with silver skull clasps in the same deep plum. Black shiny Mary Jane heels finished off the outfit. The shoes had a bow on the toe and a satin strap that wrapped around the ankle multiple times before it could be tied in a bow. The cloth material matched the rest of the outfit.
*Elentari* I looked around at all the eyes that were fixed on me. I was trying to understand everything, internally freaking out when Selene sent a wave of calm over me, and Lucinda was jumping around like a pup on crack. She seemed so happy. The auras of these individuals seemed to intimidate everyone in the hall. Everyone except me, that is. I took a sip of my water as the room stayed eerily silent. The customary annoyed tongue click was heard and some eyebrows raised. A couple of the beings cracked a smile. “So no one is going to explain to me what’s going on?” I asked, looking around. More of them were trying to hide smiles at this point and a couple of them openly laughed. I rolled my eyes. A thought fluttered through my mind, ‘once children, always children.’ It was my turn to laugh. I laughed so hard I squeaked trying to take a breath. This made everyone laugh at me. It was rather embarrassing. I counted the faces I didn’t know. Forty-nine of them. I double checked again. ‘Th
*Elentari* The door to the room burst open and a man with hair like Selene’s entered. “Pardon my intrusion, Majesties of Faerl, but I could not ignore such a large family gather.” He took the empty chair that Lucinda would have occupied if she weren’t within me. “How have the children of my sister been?” His eyes landed on each person around the room. I shivered a bit, but Stacie shivered more. “We are just peachy, uncle.” The outspoken one answered him. ‘Elentari?’ Stacie mind-linked me. ‘I feel weird, like I’m being drawn to that man. I don’t like it.’ fear laced her sentence. ‘Fuck.’ I heard Selene mutter. ‘I never gave that playboy a mate, nonetheless a mortal teenager.’ I let out a long, deep exhale. “Who are you?” I asked. “You’ll have to forgive me, history has never been my strong suit.” It was Selene’s turn to be annoyed. ‘You realize you just gave him a chance to brag about himself? You could have just asked me.’ she retreated to the back of my consciousness, presuma
*Aranelda* It’s cold and dark. It’s been this way for a long time. No light, no warmth. Just darkness and pain. I don’t know what I did to deserve this. They keep calling me names, saying I’m the son of a whore, pieces of shit that not even the slut wanted to claim. A worthless being that’s only useful when Hades is angry so he doesn’t whip the others. Persephone tried to save me once. That ended tragically. Hades didn’t want to kill me and I didn’t want to give him a reason to, so the next couple times she tried, I didn’t use the items to escape. I simply buried them next to a large rock. Maybe someday I could leave here. All I could feel was despair. The imaginary friends from my youth were still with me, but they didn’t speak much and I couldn’t see their mythical forms any more. I was too depressed for them to come around me. I had taken to carving my story on the wall, maybe someday someone would read it. Probably long after my death. I started from my first memory. *Thirteen y
*Aranelda* Suddenly I was no longer under ground. I was in a strange place that reminded me of my life above ground, before Hades. The sun was kissing my skin, but blinding my eyes. Panic filled my heart as I had no idea where I was. I had no idea who I could trust or if I should trust anyone. Persephone told me to think of something happy, so I thought of the little girl singing her song. Would I find her? There were houses in rows greeting my eyes. Outside one of the houses was a girl about my age. She had the same color hair as me, and I assumed I would have the same skin tone if I hadn’t spent years in the dark. As I walked closer I could see her eyes were sapphire blue, just like mine. My heart started beating wildly, I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. She was singing that song. Absentmindedly I started singing along with her. Her eyes looked up as the song ended. “Hi!” She cheerfully greeted me. “Wanna play?” Her hand was extended to me. I was hesitant. “I promise i
*Helios* We moved Elentari to her room. I exchanged a worried look with Alaric and Belle. I couldn’t understand why Aphrodite would have done this. If she wanted Chaos for herself, she would let us wake Endymion and keep them bound. She knew as long as those two were together, Chaos would never get to Selene. It was so confusing. I rubbed my temples as the three of us turned to leave the room. There was a loud thump on the floor behind me, and I turned to see what happened. A tall malnourished man laid on the floor. His wrists bore deep cuts, his neck rubbed raw from something that had been around it. He was barely clothed, but had strong muscles. He was barely alive. Belle ran to the man, turning his face up to hers. “ALARIC!” She cried out, “Alaric, it’s him! Oh Starlight, Starlight, stay awake.” Her words were repeated again and again. I felt my form turning to mist. This must be the boy I was meant to be with. A smile traced across my thoughts. “Helios..” She turned to where I
*Elentari* This was beginning to be a habit. Meal time, new news, my vision goes blurry, I wake up on the floor. I blinked a few times, trying to gain my bearings, hoping to be able to speak soon. My throat was dry as I gasped for air, tears pooling as I realized what, and who, I just saw. I tried to sit up, but I wasn’t allowed to. “Oh no, Princess, you lay yourself back down.” a velvet voice filled my ears. Where was I? I wasn’t on the floor, this is too soft. I moved my hand a bit and realized there was a blanket over me. “You’ve been through a lot. I do apologize for your lack of strength at the moment. I needed to talk to my sister and figure out what was going on, what you had seen. Saying Hades can mean a lot of things, and she was able to tell me more than you could.” He patted my shoulder gently. “Now that you’ve woken, though, I will leave you in the capable care of your assistant and the rest of our family. I have a situation to remedy.” The imposing figure stood and made
*Epilogue* The sleep was deep. It was meant to be. The safety of the subconscious allowed for growth beyond measure. The females would need sleep to aid them, the two tied by their mate bond more than the other. Those two will sleep for no less than a year. The other girl will sleep on and off for a week or two at a time. She doesn’t realize this yet, but it’s what must be done. Some that are to train her can only do so within her subconscious, The new deities will change the entirety of the universe as we know it and those that are unknown. A chilling wind crosses the brow of the sleeping girls, two in the meadow, one in a castle, but they all felt it. Power would be theirs. The power of three. The king and queen-to-be had a lot to learn as well. They didn’t know they would be taking over. Their confidence in themselves was shaking. Hopefully, they would realize they were meant for greatness and not insignificant. The previous generation held worry in their hearts alongside p
*Elentari*I was walking through the galaxy, stepping on thin air. My hair seemed to be made of the stars with nebulas within it. A shimmery glow surrounded my body and my skin became the deep void of the night sky. I felt a strength I had never known. Visions flew around my head. Beings from my life books, voices that felt familiar. Small pieces of knowledge became encyclopedias and volumes worth of knowledge. I saw strange beings with various colors of skin, different types of dragons, fae, vampires, pixies, itches, warlocks, werefolks, and ones I don’t have the words to describe. Each being spent hours pouring information to me. Histories, lore, policies, pantheons and so much more. It felt like weeks without a break. So many thoughts and new things to learn. Raza showed up as well, departing the histories of her people, explaining the blood of Bronzetail. They were the last line of Raza’s direct descendants. It made so much more sense now why she was targeted. Funny enough, no one
*Selene*She didn’t know it, but she hasn’t been using any of my powers for months. Everything she has accomplished has been under her own strength and goddess powers. She had no idea how strong she had become in such a short time. It made me proud. All of my children were born with their powers, so it wasn’t much of a learning curve for them. But Elentari started from scratch and was thrown into a world of peril, expected to perform flawlessly. She had been asleep for a couple of days. I suspected she would be for a few more days. Bringing someone out of a god induced sleep without direct permission was unheard of. Zeus didn’t fight us, waking him, but he didn’t aid us either. It was the most amazing feeling to be in my lovers arms again. It had been so long. The dream state was nothing compared to the real thing. His kisses made me melt. Our children came to visit, a couple at a time. They hadn’t seen him since he had been placed into his sleep state, so they were naturally taken
*Elentari*The next day, Selene brought the offenders before Adalith. Such a thing had not been done before. A mere mortal being sentenced by the Creator of All. It was unthinkable. Word spread like wildfire that a shifter tried to frame Apophis Bronzetail for the murder of his eldest child. Krysta was sentenced as an accomplice. The shifter was identified as a servant of Chaos, unworthy of a name. His sentence was to be stripped of his shifter powers, whipped for 365 days, 5 lashes per hour, then executed by Dragon Fire. He would not be allowed rebirth, forever in the void. Krysta was stripped of the name Bronzetail, forced to reclaim Bluewind. Adalith stripped her of her magic and sent her back to her coven to be punished by the coven mother. Selene added to her sentence that Krysta would never be able to bear children or a mate mark. She would never be allowed a partner at all. If she tried to defy this punishment, she would be subjected to Dragon Fire and her soul never to be re
*Aranelda*I stormed to the dungeons. This person was going to pay and pay dearly. I wouldn’t imagine who could do this to her. She knew it was going to happen too. She did everything she could to make sure it wouldn’t impact us. There was no way it wouldn’t though. My fiancée is laying in a coma. My mate was near death. The ones in the dungeon right now were the cause of it. Apparently my father had beat me down there, but I wasn’t going to be stopped from exacting my own brand of justice. “Apophis, what did you do??” A shrill woman’s voice flooded my ears. “Why are they talking as if you have a different wife and a daughter?” The words were dripping with self preservation. “Why are you pretending you don’t know who my wife and daughter are?” The man spat back. “Dad, who are these pathetic beings that are arguing with each other?” I let the disdain fall from my every word. “This,” He pointed to the woman, “Is a creature that identifies herself as Krysta Bronzetail and insists she
*Elentari*We arrived at the Bronzetail Manor, but we weren’t in a luxurious room as I expected to be. We were in what looked like cells. Eliza laid on a cot, her hand holding her throat as she propped herself up against a wall. The man I thought was her father held a blood soaked knife in his hand and was hurling insults at her. “You’re a worthless wretch. No good comes from having female offspring. Blessed of Raza… what foolishness. You couldn’t get the prince to yourself so now all you’re allowed is death. I have to pick up the pieces from your whorish ways. Loving a woman, are you kidding me?? You’re ridiculous. Worthless.” He spat at her. I raised my hand, freezing his in midair. Hep reached out his hand and retrieved the weapon from his hand. “Mr. Bronzetail.” I spoke aloud, using the full force of my authority. “You are sentenced to death for the attempted murder of Eliza Bronzetail. You will be escorted to the Royal dungeons by Hephaestus. Your act has been witnessed by myse
*Third Person*The party was in full swing, the entire world was introduced to the newly christened Duke and Duchess of Faerl. Of course, Stacie wouldn’t stay a duchess for long. Scottie beat Aranelda to the proposal, though. He stepped out onto the dance floor, Lily on his arm, as the DJ turned down the music. “And now, your new Duke of Faerl, Scott MaComb Jr would like to have everyone’s attention.” He held a microphone in one hand, clearing his throat. “So, I’m not good at speeches, so I figured I’d try and make sure I did this first. Sorry, Aran.” A few laughs went through the crowd. “Lily, you’ve felt the mate bond in full force for the last year. I’ve only had the pleasure of feeling it, in its complete glory, for less than a day. I have to say, there is no better feeling in the world than holding your hand. I know for our kinds, this is not the tradition. You mark, and mate, and whatnot. But due to my upbringing, I thought I was a human all along, which I now know is a fairyt
*Aranelda*It was just after midnight when I woke Stacie up. I could feel her distress through the bond. At least, I thought it was Stacie’s. I rushed to her room, finding her thrashing in her sleep on a tear soaked pillowcase. “Stacie, wake up!” Her sobs flooded my ears. She rolled over onto me, clinging for dear life. “Love, what is wrong? Tell me what is going on? Why are you so upset?”I could barely understand her words, something about Eliza, her not wanting to let go of the bond, that she was in danger. It was that moment that my stomach dropped. Kali was talking about Eliza. I couldn’t worry my mate with that though. I tried to soothe her as best I could while trying to calm myself. It would all be okay. The goddess wouldn’t let Eliza die, would she? “It’ll all be okay.” I promised her. I was promising myself just as much that it would all come to a happy conclusion. ‘Deep breaths in, slow exhale’ I kept thinking to myself, hoping it would calm both of us if I was able to cal
*Stacie*The spa day was wonderful, but having to spend that much time with your “ex” is exhausting. I don’t care who you are or how much grace you have within you. I took the day in stride, but I hoped tomorrow would be a better day. Heading out of the spa and back up to my room, I felt the all too familiar presence of the most beautiful woman in the world behind me. “What do you need, Eliza?” I asked without turning around. If I looked at her I might just crumble. “Need?” She repeated quietly. Her tone was different, somewhat alarming. I felt her still, even though we rejected each other. I wasn’t supposed to be able to feel her, but here we are. Her grief and guilt floods over me. “I’m not sure what I need. I don’t know what to do. Have you ever been so dedicated to someone that their wants always came before your own and you never truly thought about yourself, or your own happiness?” Her question hit a cord with me. “I hid who I am for far too long so I wouldn’t have to be in th