Chapter 7 - Fate
My heart pounded in my chest, my breathing heavy as I dodged trees and roots.
Run, don’t stop running. He can’t catch you if you keep going. Don’t think about where you’re going. Just act on impulse. Last-minute decisions throw him off.
That’s what they told me. A large shadow flew overhead. I ducked underneath the nearest bush. Large wings flapped as he circled the forest. Looking for me, for any sign of my location.How did I get myself in such a situation? Always acting before thinking it through. My smart ideas and incessant need to always prove myself. It always got me in trouble. But now I had really done it.
“Why’d you have to go and piss off a dragon.” Oren snapped. I didn’t have
Chapter 8 - HopeI looked at him, the man I was destined to marry. My future husband. My ticket to cruelty. My mate, Balthazar, the king of the underworld.“He is not capable of love.” Ryuu’s words circling my mind. What a cruel fate, a cruel pairing from the mothers.I thought of what Nesrin said.“Rules were meant to be broken.”Audra’s words mixing in.“Fate is a cruel bitch. Sometimes, she needs a little rebellion.”The world stood still, time nonexistent. At that very moment, my mind and heart were at opposite ends of a rope, tugging me until it snapped. Do I believe what Ryuu said. Trust what my parents trained me for. They trained me to be a warrior. A queen. Someone who thinks well under pressure and weighs all the options in front of her. But what were my options? I don’t know this man, and I don’t know what to believe. My mind w
Chapter 9 - The Great Divide Nesrin’s eyes were wide with panic as she took a moment to realize it was me behind her. The palace was the last place anyone would expect a royal to be attacked with a guard posted at every corner. The fact that I snuck past them all wasn’t much of a triumph considering my training and my status. Never the less it was still something I would mention to Damon before I left. My sister spun around, her hand over her heart as she tried to calm herself. I needed her help. She had connections with merchants and realm patrol. Not only was she able to travel, but she had also created hidden passages to get through on her nightly escapes from the palace. She had friends on the outside, friends I knew would come in handy in the future. Her eyes focused on me, a glint of excitement mixed in the pool of concern. “Goddess, Mel. You damn near gave me a heart attack. Why couldn’t you just pull me aside like a normal person.” She yelled at me in a hushed tone. “You’
Chapter 10 - Temptation Weylyn wasn’t lying about the drastic temperature changes compared to what we were used to. We trekked through the temptation forest. Encountering nothing but steep hills, jagged edges, and intense heat. I hadn’t even sweated this much in training. We had a few stops along the way, drinking from our canteens and resoaking our tunics. The forest trees hardly did anything to shield us from the humidity and heat that wafted from the sun. This was our fourth stop of the day. Our water was running low, and even with being able to use all the elements, the dry earth and open forest gave us few options for harnessing our water magic. We had to save our energy for the night in case we couldn't find a place to camp and had to light our way down the path with our magic. Conserving energy was already hard enough, walking in the sun beating down on us, draining all our strength and forcing us to consume more water than we wanted to. “Let's walk for another five minutes,
Chapter 11 - Rage Balthazar POV Something felt off—the need to go to Imelda becoming unbearable. I never anticipated something like this to be so strong. I am an original being. Some might say a god of chaos and torture. I am supposed to be immune to the feeling, but somehow. In some bizarre twist of fate, the mate bond has attached itself to me. It’s like a rope wrapped around my heart, tugging me toward her. I have always been someone who has been in control. Been the one who had the upper hand in all situations. Only once did I hesitate, let my arrogance convince me I couldn’t be overruled. But never again would I let someone fool me, gain the upper hand. But this, this is unfamiliar territory. Someone now has control, and I am the one who gave it to them willingly. I had seen two futures for the world, my world, the underworld going topside. A world full of destruction, death, and copious amounts of bloodshed. A world of nightmares perfect for the king of mayhem. It was someth
Chapter 12 - NightmaresApollo’s POVI decided to take the first watch. I told Imelda that I would switch out after a few hours. But realistically, I won’t wake her. She needs her sleep more than I do. I don’t really sleep anymore. I haven’t for a long time. My brain is always too busy to allow me a moment of rest. I’m constantly thinking of new tactics, new ways to better my training. New ways to protect our people and prevent another war from ever happening. Prevent anyone else I care about from a torturous death.I took a deep breath as I stared out at the night sky. The world around us was so very different from the one we are used to. The trees are huge and would even tower our own. The trunks are as thick as three of our own trees combined. The terrain was rough and exhausting. Even the sm
Chapter 13 - Illusions The sun broke the night sky, and mixes of oranges and purples swirled above us. Apollo and I stood outside all night. Neither one of us is speaking. The only sound was Apollo humming the same tune over and over, as much as one would think it to be an annoyance. It wasn’t. It still kept me calm time and time again. The cold air was welcomed and also needed. It reminded me that the nightmare wasn’t real. My mother was still alive, and the fire wasn’t consuming everything in its path, making the air hot and sticky. We ate our breakfast in silence too. Nothing about it, surprisingly, was awkward. Finally, we started packing up to begin our last trek through the Temptation forest. This part of the forest was the last stretch of land we had to cross before we were in the dragon's territory. But it was also the most dangerous. Even with the hot sun beating down on us, the path would be darkened by the thick branches. The creatures of the forest depended on that. They
Chapter 14 - Dragons Everything happened so fast. From the moment Garren arrived to find us bloodied and a complete wreck to us finally arriving at the border. My mind was pulled in so many directions I didn't recognize where I was, who I was talking to or how I ended up in this room. My mind only focused on one thing, one person, Apollo. He was rushed into a medical facility in Garren’s village. All I knew was that the room I was in felt safe, the fire warm and that they would get me when they had news about Apollo's state of health. I looked down at my blood-covered hands. My hands were still shaking. My body starting to ache as all of the adrenaline disappeared from my system. My heart felt as if it stopped beating, as the sound of a soft knock sounded from the other side of the door. “Come in.” My voice sounded far away as if it wasn’t my own. The wooden door opened slowly as the hinges screeched in protest. An older woman walked in—her dress worn—the white skirt stained with
Chapter 15 - Ryuu The village was anything but small. It was almost as huge as Gardenia. And that was the capital of the Fae realm. It held thousands of Fae and Lycan families. Even some other species decided to settle in the Fae realm. It was the median between all realms—neutral ground for travellers and merchants alike, a safe space. “This place is huge,” I muttered in amazement as my eyes continued to look at building after building. Houses were built into the cliff sides—intricate layouts of stairways leading up the mountainside. The peaks of the mountains were practically invisible as they reached well up into the sky, surrounded by copious amounts of clouds. The sounds of distant roars and people shouting and talking could be heard all the way from where we were standing. It was breathtaking and not what I expected at all. After the two days, it took to trek through rough terrain. Nothing but jagged rocks and dirt until we reached the forest, I would have never imagined a bea