The New Age King // Book 2

Selene makes no sign of hearing me and presses forward at the same speed. Forcing me to run to keep up with her. It continues like this for a while until she reaches a door that looks like it has been carved out of the night sky. Stars included.

"Wow," I breathe out in amazement.

Selene stops and brushes her hands over her long white dress before finally looking at me.

The stark difference in her Goddess appearance and her mortal appearance is still a little unnerving to me, but I am adjusting.

Gone is the brunette hair and blue eyes I met in the fairy pit. In their place is nothing but black. Black hair. Black eyes. The angelic face is still the same, but the colors are all wrong.

"Say nothing when we enter. Let me do the talking, Amber. Anniki is not known for her kindness. She is stubborn, and our relationship has been fractured for eons. She will most likely not approve of me granting you goddess status. I know you have only been here for a day, but time has flown by in the mortal world. Your son is no longer an infant but a child...We must act, or all hope will be lost. The fairies grow stronger every second we wait. So getting Anniki's help is key," Selene explains urgently, and my mind explodes.

"A child," I whisper, and Selene nods before placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Yes. A child. The different flows in time make it hard for me to lock down exactly how much time has passed for your mortal family, but I know it has been substantial," Selene whispers while giving me a sympathetic look.

I nod before swallowing the lump in my throat.

The hours that have passed since I arrived in Selene's palace have felt sluggish, but I never dreamed it meant time was moving faster somewhere else. I just thought it was an aftereffect of dying.

"Are you ready," Selene asks softly, and I nod.

I can't be anything but ready. My son needs me. Lucian needs me. I can't have a mental breakdown while Selene is trying to make plans that involve saving Earth. I just can't. I have to accept that I am here now. My life is over, and time is different now.

She gives me a small smile before placing her hand in the middle of the rectangle piece of night sky.

"Good. Now come," she says as the door begins to glow like a full moon on a cloudless night.

I follow Selene through the light expecting to see a room on the other side, but my eyes see nothing but black. Black on black. A void of nothing but black.

"Anniki, reveal yourself," Selene says from beside me, and the black surrounding us begins to slide together.

As the black takes the form of a woman with white hair, a starlight sky is revealed all around us, even under our feet. My eyes widen as I realize we are standing on nothingness, but I keep my mouth shut. I do not want to upset Anniki if she will be our ally in saving my son.

"Selene, how many times have I told you to stay out of my sky," the black figure asks as she turns around to face us.

Her all-white eyes instantly lock onto me, and I am startled to see the exact opposite of Selene standing in from of us. Where her sister's skin is blindingly white, Anniki's is black. Where her sister's eyes and hair are bottomless black, her's are otherworldly white.

"I always light your night sky, sister. But that is neither here nor there. We have an urgent problem on Earth that we must take care of. Our old disagreements can wait," Selene says in a stern voice that causes me to straighten my spine.

I fold my hands and place them in front of me. The need to appear as if I belong overcomes me. I need Anniki to take this matter seriously, and if I stand here like a gaping fish, that is not going to encourage her to work with us.

"A problem on Earth?... Hmm, something to do with this nameless Goddess you dragged here, I presume. Tell me little no name. Does it anger you that my sister didn't even give you a title," Anniki asks snarkily while eyeing me over?

"Anniki! Enough! This bitter act is getting old. We were both fooled, so get over it. You have avoided me for centuries and put me down every chance you have gotten. My werewolves are in peril. The vile creatures I locked away have grown more powerful. I need you," Selene snaps, and Anniki seems to expand.

The edges of her body blur in against the star lite background, and I can't seem to distinguish where Anniki begins or ends.

"Still chasing after your pathetic werewolves! I am not the one unable to move on, sister," Anniki snaps, and Selene's pale skin begins to glow. Both sisters appear to be doing something with their bodies, but I can hardly see. Anniki blends in with the night, and Selene is blinding to look at.

"Coming from the woman who cursed her ex-lover into being allergic to the sun! You wanted to watch him all hours of the night. Save your ridiculous speech for someone else. I have heard it. At least I let mine go. I didn't give him immortality in hopes that one day he would change his mind. Agana will never love you! He is a murderous bastard. But my werewolves are innocent. My ex-lover's crimes are not theirs. The humans also deserve protection, and I know you care about the humans. If you didn't, you would never have sent her mother's prayer to me. You know I stopped listening, but no one ever prays to you. You heard her heart, and you sent the message my way. Do not deny it! You have been a part of this plan since the beginning. Don't act like you haven't now. Not now, Anniki," Selene shouts, and Anniki's form snaps back.

Her eyelids droop a little, and her figure hunches over. Exhaustion is written all over her face, and it makes my eyebrows lift. Whatever just happened was draining.

"I never gave up hope. I thought...I thought he would see the error of his ways if he had enough time to do so. I have spent years watching. Hoping...," Anniki whispers, and Selene sighs.

"I know. You are too stubborn to give up, even on him. But we need to stop punishing each other for their crimes. I have been without my sister for far too long. The dust from Lupin's bones is gone, and still, he affects my relationship with you. We are twins, Anniki. The night and the moon. One with each other...always," Selene whispers, and her sister practically slides across the space between us.

She gets about a foot away before smiling and looking between us.

"What do you have in mind," Anniki asks, and Selene smiles.

"I was thinking my amazing sister could curse a whole new species of werewolf," Selene says excitedly, and my stomach practically falls out my butt.

"What," I scream, and both Goddesses look at me as if I have two heads instead of one.

"You are going to re-curse the werewolves," I ask in utter disbelief while staring daggers into Selene.

Anniki chuckled at my reaction, but I don't spare her a glance. I trusted Selene. She made me feel safe. I should have never trusted someone who cursed so many for so long.

"Calm down, young one. Curses aren't coherently bad. A curse is just a spell," Anniki explains in a condescending tone, and my head snaps to her now amused face.

"What do you mean," I demand, and Selene grabs my hand.

"Amber, trust us, please," Selene says, and I stare into her pupilless eyes.

"Explain so I can," I whisper back, and she nods.

I fiddle my fingers together nervously as I listen. I am still not 100% on board with the plan, but Selene believes in me.

"Selene, are you sure you want me to be their new Goddess? I am brand new to this," I ask for the hundredth time since leaving Anniki's realm.

Selene nods and gives me a sad smile.

"I betrayed them, Amber. I cursed their pups. They need a new mother now. You brought Octavius into this world. You are the mother to the New generation of Werewolves. It's only right," Selene says softly, and I swallow hard before nodding.

I turn towards the open window and lift my hand. I touch the empty space and focus on locating Lucian. When I sense his spirit, I open my eyes, as Selene taught me.

"He is talking with my dad," I whisper, and Selene moves to my side.

"They are at your grave. Look, your son is running around," Selene says with a smile in her voice, but my eyes stay on Lucian.

He seems almost happy like he just figured something out.

"I'll be back," I whisper, and Selene nods.

I step through the window portal, and my body snaps forward. When I land next to my gravestone, I smile at the man before it. My Lucian. He looks older.

"That's what I was missing wasn't it, Little Mouse," Lucian asks softly, and I freeze a little before reaching out to touch his face.

He can't see me, but that doesn't matter. I can accept this. Just being in his presence. This is all that I need. The road we have mapped out for him won't be easy, but we couldn't protect the old form of werewolves from the fairies magic. Most likely, my mate will be joining me in my new realm soon.

"I had to let go and trust. I have to trust in the Goddess and you... I love you. And I love him as I loved you...just like I promised," Lucian says, and tears well up in my eyes.

I knew loving our son would be hard for him. I feared he would blame Octavius for my death. But he didn't. He loves him. All he has to do is follow that love. That love will lead him right back to me.

I lean forward and kiss my stubborn mate. I close my eyes and push my new power as hard as I can.

"Watch over our little king, Lucian. He is special," I manage to whisper before my power snaps back into me.

When I reopen my eyes, I am standing next to Selene again.

"Don't worry, that will get easier. The more they pray to you, the stronger you will get. Plus you drained yourself earlier making your own realm. Now, let us talk about the future," Selene says, and I nod before smiling.

The future.