Chapter 5

Miaka’s P.O.V

I was crowned when I was two years old. Not because I was the intended King, but because my adoptive family had to protect me.

They knew I was a hybrid. And hybrids were the enemy.

Eons ago, there used to be just one world, one dimension. Different creatures lived together in harmony. It’s not that there weren’t wars, there were, but that was considered the natural order of things. Wars over territory kept the population of the supernatural in check; making sure that no one species ever dominated the world.

But that all changed when the species started inter-mating and hybrids were created. Some of those hybrids were unstable, unable to control their powers, and as a result, thousands of creatures were killed, both humans and supernatural. That’s when the five most powerful Mages of the world, the Fiostros, untied to form dimensions for the individual creatures and divided our world forever, thus saving us all in the process.

A total of twelve dimensions were supposed to be built, but such a task required a vast amount of power. So, after eleven dimensions were formed, the Mages ran out of power and died one by one while the final dimension was still in the making. That dimension was never finished and it came to be known as Shadowland. No one knew exactly what that dimension held until one of my brother’s mate, Sanaya, was sent there by an evil Mage. But now, Shadowland was an even bigger mystery than before.

“Shadowland has creatures in it. Both human like and black, gooey zombies.”

Rain, my Knight and a powerful demon in her own right, gave me an unimpressed look as she adjusted a pin in my hair. She was a bit of a perfectionist and couldn’t stand when things were out of place. If she were human, I’d say she had severe OCD. I guess I could still say it even though she was a demon.

Even now, the royal blue uniform she wore was spotless, every medal, every emblem, shore as bright as the stars. Her hair was cut short in a bob and there were some naturally occurring red streaks in them that were only visible under bright light. Her eyes were a beautiful aquamarine and they were probably the only soft feature in her body. She was a Knight through and through and she had been a Knight for the last seven hundred years. Rain Von Desero was a woman of Noble birth and almost nine hundred years old.

“Highness, it’s not our concern.” She scolded me, respectfully. “If possible, we must avoid any discussions of Shadowland altogether.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Rain.” I stood up from my vanity and went to stand in front of the huge glass windows. The curtains were drawn so no one could peek inside, but I moved it just a tiny bit so I could look at all the lights that were lit up in my honour. “There are too many questions and too little answers.”

“Highness-”

“You know what I am, Rain.” I cut her off as I turned to face her, my eyes becoming crystal blue just for a second before they went back to their original colour.

“Yes.” She bowed her head.

“Then you must know why this is important to me.”

Rain didn’t say anything at first but then she looked me in the eyes with determination. “Have you decided what to do about the Dragon King?”

“No,” I sighed. “But he’ll be here tonight and he’s bound to cause a scene.”

“Are you sure we cannot revoke the invitation?”

I shook my head immediately. “It’s my eighteenth birthday and as the head of the Dark Council, I have to make sure that every one of the Kings is present. It’s too late to back off now and considering the fact that he literally threatened to expose me, I’m guessing he has something up his sleeves.”

There was a knock on the door then and I motioned for Rain to not discuss anything further. There was no need to blow this out of proportion…yet.

Rain opened the huge mahogany doors with all her strength and in stepped my grandmother, Cecelia Von Speltsper.

Lady Cecelia, or grapy, as I liked to call my grandmother, was the woman who found me. She said she had been out riding when a ray of light fell from the sky and there I was. I don’t know if that story was true or if it was made up to cover my origin as a hybrid, but she was the one who discovered I had the mark of a phoenix on my back and that I was to be the next Demon King. Lady Cecelia was King at the time and none of her five sons and two daughters had the mark.

“Miaka,” the golden haired woman with eyes as bright as beautiful as the sky, came forward to pull me into her embrace. “You look stunning.”

I had chosen a cream colored gown for today, embroidered with thousands of crystals forming a floral design. My hair was up in a fancy bun with a few stray curls hanging loose around my face and a diamond tiara. But the tiara wasn’t what showed my status as King, it was the pendant I wore around my neck that did.

The pendant was ancient, probably as old as the world itself, but it was said to be filled with the power of all the previous Demon Kings. It was a gold pendant with a sapphire in the middle and attached to a gold chain. It was this sapphire that was the most precious stone in our world since it was supposed to have absorbed the blood of our previous Kings. There is also a rumour that it contains the blood of the five great Mages, but there is no proof for this claim.

“Not as pretty as you, grapy.” I smiled at my grandmother as she pulled away from me.

Grapy was wearing a light pink dress that hugged her figure like a glove. The dress itself was simple but she had chosen to wear a diamond necklace that reached her waist and diamond danglers. Grapy liked a lot of bling. And her gorgeous golden locks were in loose ringlets down to her hips.

She gave me a bright smile, but it soon turned into a frown.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her, because I didn’t like seeing her upset.

“I’m worried.” She sighed. “I just have this gut feeling that something bad might happen tonight.”

I looked at Rain over Grapy’s shoulders, who looked just as worried. I wanted to reassure her, I really did, but even I was worried. Rihero Von Palestine was one of the strongest people I knew. It’s not that the other species weren’t strong in their own right, but Rihero was a dragon and over two thousand years old. He was the oldest amongst us and I feared that it might cause a problem even for me.

“Let’s get going,” Grapy gave me her best smile. “Everyone is waiting for the woman of the hour.

“Yes, let’s go.”

There was no delaying the inevitable. All I could do now was wait and watch and figure out how to turn the odds in my favour.