“What time is the summit again?” I ask Draq for what feels like the millionth time today. “I’ve told you multiple times Mary it is at nightfall.” Draq replies, his tone showing just how exasperated he was with me. “It’s essential for you to visit the market today, Mary.” Dru states, “On the day of the summit it’s important for the Village to know that their Queen has their back. Nikolai will be introducing a new law today, and its one the village folks will support.”“Do I finally get to know this secretly law?” I ask raising my eyebrow at the both of them.“I guess it’s safe enough for us to spill the beans now.” Kade replies making me jump. I had forgotten the he and Nevaeh were accompanying us to the village today. I turn my full attention to Kade, intrigued on what the new law was. “Nikolai, since meeting you, has discovered a flaw in the system, one that should have been apparent as soon as he became king, but he didn’t notice it until he realized how poorly you and your fami
“First and foremost, the most important part of taking care of others in your village is seeing what the other villagers need and making sure those needs are met. We had weekly meetings in my village and during those meetings we would list everything we had an abundance of, if someone needed something we would either give them the item free of charge or trade it for something they need. As of right now, it seems like the most important thing for these young lads is getting food to their family. Do we have anyone who is able to supply food for another family?” I asked not expecting to get a response. As I predicted no one answered. It didn’t surprise me, because from the look of things, it didn’t seem like the other villagers were better off. “Okay, that’s alright. What we will do today, is gather some ingredients from each house, and make a soup large enough to supply everyone with a least one meal tonight. For those with younger children, if there is any extra we will package it an
My head is pounding, it feels like someone is banging against my skull continuously with a hammer. All I can hear is “*thump, *thump, *thump*” the sound of my brain pounding. I am terrified to open my eyes with how swollen they feel. What the hell happened to me, why was I feeling this way? The last thing I can remember is reliving Nikolai’s past with Draq, Dru, and Nevaeh. Had my trip to the past really taken such a toll on my body? I knew I needed to get up and talk to Nikolai. I needed to tell him that I would be alright during today’s summit, and that he had nothing to worried about. As long as I was by his side. I would be safe. It took every ounce of willpower I had left to open my eyes. Once I was finally able to open them I took in my surroundings, where I was it was pitch black. I could tell that I was in a room of some sort, as I was lying in a bed. The bed I was lying in was lumpy and was nothing like the mattress I shared with Nikolai. The blankets that were covering my
An explosion sounds, and everyone in the conference room is thrown from their feet. The walls surrounding the room we’re in start to crumble. Ash, Raya and Hectate managed to escape the palace before the bomb went off, teleporting at the exact same time the explosion occurred. *’Nikolai, Mary’s been taken.’ Draq signals me through the mindlink, his voice weakened and in pain. My vampiric side engulfs me, taking control of my body as a loud cry of anger rips through me, my aura now surrounding the entire kingdom. They do not call me the king for no reason. I am not weak, I am the strongest being to walk this earth, and I will show them all, what happens when you fuck with my mate and my kingdom. The devastation from the explosion, is nothing compared to the devastation my aura is wrecking on the palace. I can see Ambrose through my mind’s eye trying to calm me down, but I’m too far gone now. The beast has taken over. The only way I’ll be able to regain control is by the touch of my
“Don’t fucking touch me!” I yell at Asher as he reaches his hand out towards me, the magical fire in his hand leaping beside me, igniting the candle that was on the bedside table. “I don’t think you understand what’s going on here.” Asher sneers, “You aren’t in control here. You’re my captive. Mine to do what I want, when I want with.” “Touch me and Nikolai will shred you to pieces.” I yell spitting at his feet in disgust. “Your mate isn’t coming for you, your highness. He’s lost control of his vampire. Soon he will be a ghoul without any care in the world.” I feel a shiver run through my body at the thought of Nikolai turning into a ghoul. Goosebumps cover my entire body. No, I wouldn’t begin to stray down that path. Nikolai was strong, both physically and mentally. He had watched his mother go down the path of destruction. Nikolai wouldn’t allow himself to wander down the same path. “If you think that, then you truly don’t know my mate.” I hiss out leering at the Alpha. Asher
Marques was starting to irritate me, my blood boiling with rage as he looks at me with discontentment in his eyes. Every once in a while he’ll steal glances towards Mary as we walk towards my study. Whenever he looks at her his eyes are full of pity, plus something else. I want to say guilt, but what does he have to be guilty for. He didn’t put Mary in this predicament, the only thing he did was hold her until I could catch up. That is the only reason I was allowing Marques into my study. I already had a feeling on what he wanted to discuss, but I loved watching people grovel. Especially merpeople. They were the weakest of the shifters, having to return to the water every night as their body forces them to shift into their mermaid form. I already knew what Marques wanted. A small girl had been picked up by my scouts about a week ago. She hadn’t shifted yet, so her mermaid wasn’t fully present, meaning she could stay out of water. A mermaid born on land would be human until they first
Walking through your own mind can take a toll on a person, both mentally and physically. It can either strengthen you or weaken you, putting you in an almost vegetation type state. I don’t know how long I had been trapped in my mind, but I felt like i was no closer to uncovering my truth, than I was when I first started. My vampire stayed hidden in the shadows, lurking in the inner most part of my mind, waiting for a chance to pounce, killing my soul and taking over my body. I could feel his anger, his hatred, rolling in waves, throughout the vast expanse of my inner thoughts. His need and want to kill every wolf for kidnapping his mate, outweighed all his other desires. He wanted to take Mary back and drain her blood, before completing the transition and turning her into a vampire. He wanted to take away her choice in the decision, if she was a vampire, no one would be able to hurt her again. It was the only answer. No other answers mattered. Except for me, the only opinion that ma
“ I don’t have time to wait!” Nikolai booms, shaking my nerves when I realize the King was listening to my private conversation with his second in command, “Asher has marked Mary. She will die within the week if I don’t tend to her wound immediately.” Ah, now that made more sense. Nikolai has always been a fair and just leader. Every decision he’s made, every law he’s created has always been for the good of his people. I made no sense to me why Nikolai would suddenly give that up. Now knowing that Mary’s life was a stake, it made putting two and two together easy. If it was my mate, I would do anything to save her, even if it meant killing off the rest of the fae race. “I could dream walk to her.” I whisper quietly, cringing at my own suggestion. Dream walking could be dangerous. My soul would leave my body and I would enter into the Nether, the land of dreams, and navigate my way through the land until I found Mary’s dream. I would then rip my soul in half, leaving half in the net
As I sit in my chair looking outside, I recall the past. It's been over a year since my Phoenix cleansed the Earth, and to hear the way others told it, it had been quite a spectacle. Nevaeh told me she'd felt herself dying and then saw a bright light so pure that she couldn't help but walk to it. She thought it was the entrance to the Heavens, but when she reached for the light, she felt herself being pulled through a fiery inferno, and when she came to, Kade was cradling her head, murmuring to her softly over and over again how much he loved her. Kade had told me he was mourning the loss of Nevaeh when he felt a darkness sweep over the Earth. The darkness that surrounded him was ice-cold, and its touches felt like the grim reaper had come to collect the souls promised to him. Kade said he felt the darkness engulfing him, but then a pure voice called to him, beckoning him to jump off a ledge away from the darkness. Kade told me he almost didn't listen to the voice; having lost Neva
When Ash tossed me aside, I expected to feel something, anything but the emptiness I was feeling inside of me. How could I feel the intensity of Mary's throat being slashed and then feel nothing but sorrow? How could a mate survive their other half's tragic death? I'd watch my mom destroy herself from the inside out over my father's death, but looking at her physically, no one could tell that she had died on the inside. That's exactly how I felt; I felt dead inside. I could hear people screaming, swords clashing, and the smell of fresh blood spilling onto the ground, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. I couldn't move from the spot where I had landed. I could hear the Alpha laughing and taunting me, jesting over Mary's unnecessary death, but I was too weak to stop him. I was too weak to put my sword through his back and silence him. I had failed my friends and my country, but more important than both of those combined, I had failed her. Mary trusted me to keep her safe, she truste
Ambrose's magic exploded, throwing Nevaeh and I in the opposite direction of Nikolai; while I was still pissed that Nevaeh hadn't listened to me and sought safety, I couldn't focus on that right now. I needed to focus on the tasks at hand, keeping Nevaeh and myself safe while cutting through our enemies and helping Nikolai rescue Mary. I glanced around, taking note of the mayhem surrounding me; there wasn't an easy path to take getting to Ash's home; we would have to head directly into the center of the war. I looked from where Ambrose's magic had tossed us, ensuring he was okay. He was battling head-on with the witch Befana. He seemed evenly matched with the high witch, battling her spell for spell, but I wondered how long he would be able to keep up with this; Nikolai had fed from him earlier, and he'd held the protective shield over us for nearly half the battle. Looking quickly over Ambrose's features, it didn't seem like the fae was weakening in the slightest bit. The longer he
Lucious is flying above us, burning everything his fire can touch; he doesn't care if the people he harms are on his side or ours. "Draq, Dru," I yell out to the twins, hoping to be heard over the screams of those being burned alive. "Lucious must be stopped. If he continues on this way, nothing will be left." The twins both give each other a knowing look, communicating in a way that only twins can before they acknowledge me. "We will do our best to make you proud, your highness," Draq replies, bowing his head before shifting into his massive beast. "If anything happens to us, just know that we fell with honor," Dru states, bowing his head as a sign of respect before shifting into his great beast. Anya gasps in astonishment, this more than likely was her first time seeing a dragon up close, reminding me that she'd come along with us. "Marques," I commanded the merman, "I need you to take Anya somewhere safe." "You need me in this battle," Marques states urgently, glancing over
"Alpha!" My scout calls to me, rushing through the doors of my home, "The King's army has been spotted; what would you like us to do." "Prepare the troops," I growl out before storming into the room and heading toward spWhen I discovered her in her room this morning, I immediately sent for the three witches; Befana, Baba Yaba, and Circe. "Are there any changes?" I asked when I stormed through the room, looking at Mary's seemingly dead body."None that we've noticed yet," Circe responded, her hands "waving over Mary's body. "THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" I yell, my arms sprouting fur, my wolf trying to escape having felt anger. "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BEAT THE ROYAL ARMY WITHOUT A PHOENIX ON MY SIDE!" "You still have the magic of all but the Sprites and the merpeople inside you. You're still as powerful as his highness." Befana spoke, trying to soothe my anger. "And if his mate is this bad, Nikolai won't stand a chance against you." Crooned Baba Yaga. Yes, but if the mate bond a
To my surprise, all four of the princes are at the door when they open it to greet Delphine. "We've been expecting you." The blond hair prince, who appears to be the oldest, states, welcoming Delphine and me into their home. There are already six cups of steaming tea waiting for us on the coffee table. "I wouldn't expect any less from Tobias," Delphine states nodding her head toward the brown-haired brother as she sits on one of the six pillows sitting around the coffee table. "Please sit." The black-haired brother indicates to me, "It isn't every day we have visiting royals here in the Sprite kingdom, King Nikolai." He smiles, although it doesn't quite reach his eye. "Enough pleasantries," Spits the red-headed brother, his fire showing in his eyes, "Anya isn't going with you." "Jed," Delphine chides, "Please hear Nikolai out. Also, Tobias, I hadn't realized your ability to see the future had grown so strong. Your mother would be proud of you." Delphine states, praising the brown
You're wondering why Stetson is the way he is," Delphine hums, her voice vibrating through me, "He was cursed as a child by the witch Belinda. He was cursed before the Princes closed the doors to the Sprite kingdom, but that is a story for another time. Right now, we should initiate the blood vow before your time has run out." She replies, her knowledge about my situation indicating she knows more than she's letting on.I go to ask another question, but she holds her hand up to silence me, "I can only see a brief glimpse of your future. You've chosen the correct path, Nikolai, but your fate will change if you come home empty-handed." She states cryptically, "Now take my hand and repeat after me." No longer hesitant about making a blood vow, I place my hand in hers, her magical energy rushing into my body as our hands become one. "A gift for later. You'll know when to use it." She whispers before raising the dagger and stabbing deeply into our joined hands, stabbing a hole directly t
It's been four days since Kade and I left the castle and were transported to the woods beside the sprite land. Kade's inside man still hasn't made contact with us, and I've grown irritated sitting around here waiting. I could be doing other things with my time, like plotting out how to kill Ash, but instead, I've been pacing a river bed. I've managed to locate the end of the bed and the pond it feeds into, but I am met with resistance when I try to find where the river begins. The river leads to Sprite lands. The river is deep enough to swim in, and last night when I suggested to Kade that we could try to swim the river into spite lands, he agreed to it on one condition. We would give whoever this S person is until tomorrow night to show up and lead us inside; if he isn't here by then, we'll act out my plan. Kade doesn't know it yet, but I plan to kill everyone and anyone who gets in my way. I'm ravenous with hunger. I haven't fed on anyone or drank a blood bag since Mary was taken.
I etch out another notch into the side of the bedpost. According to the notches, it's been five days since Ash marked me as his and four days since I felt my bond with Nikolai slip away. In my heart, I knew that Nikolai was okay, but I could wash away the sense of dread I was feeling.During the day, Ash lets me wander the halls of the mansion. The house is always empty; the only residents here are Ash, myself, and a couple of servants. I've tried to win the servants over to my side, but they ignore me; they continue with their chores and act like nothing is amiss. But perhaps to them, nothing has changed. When I first came here, there was another younger female who'd been taken. She was long gone now, but what if Ash made a habit of kidnapping women, and the servants were desensitized from the matter. On the first day, Ash let me wander the halls; I tried to make a break for it. The moment my foot crossed the front door threshold, I was met with unbearable pain as an electrical curr