Emergency court meetings were never good. The last time Queen Solaris called for one was to announce her youngest son had turned into an angel of darkness and fallen from Paradis. The six elders took their place on the smaller silver thrones either side of the king and queen‘s thrones. I sat on a plush chair next to other lesser members of the royal court.
I adjusted my glasses as two people behind me whispered about a war with the angels of darkness. They wouldn‘t dare. Prince Jason strolled in wearing his white uniform, his blonde hair pinned down by his heavy crown. He didn’t spare me a glance. Marcus stood beside the door with his hands behind his back.
There wasn‘t a seat for princes, he sat on the same plush chair as I did across the room. The king walked in with his head held high dimming the chatter in the room. His blue cape swished behind him. He sat on the bronze throne and glared straight ahead.
Avon might have been a king, but it was Solaris who ruled. When she walked into the room, she silenced it. The aroma of lavender filled the room, filling my lungs. Her white hair flowed down her back like a river of life. Her golden crown dawned her youthful face. She grazed at me before she took her seat. I looked down at my notepad. Why did it have to be this way?
‘We must be swift, for we missed this threat.’ She said,
Her gaze wandered the room, lingering on me seconds longer. ‘Queen Hera has launched an attack on the Olympiad.’ Gasps echoed around the room.
Surely it will be death for the wicked queen.
‘The North gate has fallen!’
No, my eyes shot up at her. The Olympiad is the home of gods. How could a queen of mages break down the barriers of superior beings?
‘How can this be?!’ A haggard lady slammed her fist on the armrest.
‘It seems Hera’s murders have been more than that. She‘d been draining the powers of her people. No one is safe. It started with her own court and who knows what other creatures she’s consumed.‘
‘Is it too late, your highness?’ A man at the end of the throne wall asked.
‘It can’t be. It‘s our job to protect the mages and Olympiad. We are Deninum Angels and we cannot fall. We are to stop her in tracks. We’ll be deploying angels to the Mage Dimension to protect the remaining mages and stop Hera.‘ Solaris dismissed the lesser members. We scurried out of there.
We were just there to be briefed that the real decisions were made by a smaller group. That included the king and queen, the prince, the general and his captains.
Marcus closed the doors behind him. He was a royal guard, but he wasn‘t allowed to listen in. Marcus was a pain in the ass, and my only friend. I was pretty sure I was his only friend too because no one could deal with him.
He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I didn’t think things could get this bad.‘
I sighed. We started down the hall. ‘I thought Hera was just an over ambitious queen.’
‘Fucking blood thirsty too.’ Marcus puffed. ‘Solaris let her get out of control.’ Marcus added.
‘No, Solaris thought what she was doing was best.’
‘There you go again.’ Marcus rolled his eyes.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘There you go defending Solaris.’
‘I’m calling it as it is!‘
‘You’re not fooling me.‘
I shook my head. The doors behind us burst open and the king marched out. We stopped and gave way to the oncoming people. The general and his people followed the prince. Solaris exited last, our eyes met and I had to battle with myself not to return her smile.
‘Daylen, I’m happy to see you.‘ She smiled.
I nodded. Her smile wavered. She turned to Marcus who bowed.
‘I need to speak to you. It’s important.‘ She smiled. She didn’t wait for a reply, she knew I would see her.
Marcus smirked at me when she was gone. I groaned. ‘Stop that.’
‘You’re tense again. Let‘s get a drink.’ He laughed.
‘You’re turning me into an alcoholic.‘ He draped an arm around my shoulder.
Going to the bar wasn‘t the worst decision I’ve made. I thought as my hand ran up and down the back of the blonde woman sleeping on my chest. The telepod on the desk beeped for the hundredth time. I groaned, Solaris. I rolled out of bed, careful not to wake the woman. She rolled over to the other side.I put on my glasses before answering the call. I probably should have put on a shirt too.
‘Why don’t you answer?‘ Solaris’s miniaturized image appeared on top of the round telepod.
I ran a hand through my hair. ‘I was a little busy.’ I say through gritted teeth.
‘Yes… I can see that. I asked you personally to see me Daylen.’
‘You know what, Solaris, you do this all the time. You say jump, I say how high.’ She was my queen, the thought popped into my mind after the words left my mouth.
‘Why do you treat me this way, my dear?’
I raked a hand through my hair. ‘Forgive me. I’ll be at the castle in thirty minutes.‘
She smiled, ‘We have something very important to talk about my darling. It’ll make you very happy.‘
The image died and I fell back into bed. My relationship with Solaris brought me more stress and complications than anything else. I had to hold a double face in front of the court and my only friend.
I glanced at the woman and shifted over to her, pulled the hair out of her face. My lips went up her arm and found her cheek. She giggled then rolled over to face me.
‘I’m exhausted Daylen.‘ She murmured.
I chuckled, ‘I wouldn’t mind another round, but it‘s time to go sweet heart.’
I button my jacket as I marched through the empty halls. I took a set of stairs leading to a forgotten lower level of the castle. I never spoke to the queen in her quarters. I had never been to the part of the castle where the royal family lived. Unless I wanted my head cut off. Jason knew his mother favoured me which meant the King did too. I didn‘t fear Avon, but I wouldn’t go round provoking a King who wouldn‘t blink to have me assassinated.I knocked on the heavy brass door before I marched in. This part of the castle didn‘t have electricity; the room was lit by lanterns. Solaris wore a long white maternity gown. Her white hair fell to the floor in a single braid.
‘You look clean.’ She beamed.
I flopped on the wooden chair. I rubbed my eyes under my glasses. Dim light always irritates me.
‘What could be so important that it couldn’t wait until the sun rose?‘ I sighed.
She walked across the room and sat on the wooden chair with purple cushions.
‘Someone’s grumpy.‘ She giggled.
The corners of my mouth lifted. Her laughter spoke to an innocent part of my soul, a part that never existed, but craved to come to life.
‘Right.’ She clapped her hands and poured two cups of tea. ‘I think it’s important to have fresh minds in the royal court.‘
My eyes turned to saucers. ‘No, no Solaris.’
She stopped pouring the second cup. I stood and paced the room. I knew where this was going. She wanted to have me killed. For goodness sakes, her family already suspected something and this they could never discover.
‘Why not? It’s important because—‘
‘No, I don’t want it. I‘m fine with being a lesser member of the court.’
She stood and reached for my hands. I stepped back.
‘How will you know how the royal court works then?’ She folded her arms.
‘I’m not worried about that.‘
‘Darling, I won’t help you because I gave you the chance.‘ She frowned then rushed to cup my cheeks. I brushed my head out of her hold.
‘Daylen please, do it for me and more importantly for you.’ She pleaded. Solaris never pleaded.
‘I don’t think it‘s a good idea.’ I said.
‘Daylen, I order you to take a seat in the royal court. I wasn’t asking to begin with really, I just wanted you to be comfortable. Damn you for being stubborn.‘ She shrugged.
I should have known. I can‘t refuse my queen, but she wouldn’t kill me if I did. If I joined the court, I would surely wash up on one of the beaches in Paradis.
‘Let me think about it, please.’
She brushed my curly hair. ‘Think carefully my darling. I need you to rule.’
Why do I work there again? Stupid university life that needs a ton of money. I folded my arms and braced the biting cold. My cheeks felt like ice cubes. The trailer park was a few blocks away. I worked at a local bar. It was my third month working there. Well, it was a strip club slash bar. Things were calm until a couple weeks ago, now everyone wants to touch me.I literally jumped into the house when I reached the trailer.‘What the heck Arti!’ Raquel gasped.I kicked my boots off. ‘Sorry. It’s freezing outside.‘‘Tell me about it.’ My sister said.I scurried to our room to ditch my tights and leather skirt. I slipped into grey sweatpants and a pink hoodie. I exhaled when I reappeared in the kitchen slash living room slash everything else. Rocky had a mountain of sandwiches ready. We only had one chair in the living room so we ate in the bedroom.‘How was work?&r
‘What’s going on Sera, what about Rocky?‘ I paced the fortune-telling shop.‘Rocky’s at school Arti. I sent her a text not to go home.‘ Stella said.I exhaled. Stella‘s Mom was a fortune teller. I used to be a regular customer before I knew her true nature. Stella told me to stop. Fortune tellers weren’t like psychics or mediums. They told your future, but it wasn’t always true. Most of it was straight out lies, but it wasn‘t their fault, it was just who they were.Most of the fortunes Sera told me came true though. Like the one about the boy who‘d ask me to prom in high school or how a girl planned to steal my underwear during gym class. I really should have listened to that one.‘Will you tell us what’s going on Mom?‘ Stella sat at the purple table which held a crystal ball and a deck of scary cards.Sera wore a white scarf on her head and a blue jumpsuit. H
He picked a rom-com! How amazing was that? Instead of a terrible horror movie that would keep me up at night. I have to admit I wouldn‘t mind a nice action movie. Snuggling up under his arm made up for the cheesy lines I had to endure.When the movie was over, we went to a small diner in town. I couldn‘t shake the feeling there were eyes burning holes in the back of my head. When I turned all the customers were occupied with their meals or had their noses stuck in the evening paper.Alfie demanded all my attention, though it didn‘t quiet my anxiety. I couldn’t check because Alfie had claimed my mouth as his own. He didn‘t care who saw him devour my lips. Like magic released into the dark sky to give birth to stars as so were the explosions taking place inside me.When it was over the fire still burned. We hadn‘t touched our food. He guided me out of the diner, the night was still young, but the party was over on Al
I left the metal behind. I groaned as the nurse pulled the band aid around my shoulder. I was lucky it was only an arrow to the shoulder. Queen Hera‘s forces were none too underestimated. I learned that the hard way.I pulled a black shirt over my head. Anyone would think a mage queen challenging a kingdom of gods was foolish. Hera was determined to bring down the Olympiad. Zeus‘ army was equally determined to destroy her. Hera better pray she died in battle because nothing could be worse than the wrath of Zeus.The woman with long golden hair bowed. She gathered her things then vanished. I had been summoned by the goddess herself. I took the stairs to Zeus‘ personal floor, where only his legitimate wife and son lived. I walked the hall lined with tall women dressed in white satin, holding bowls of fruit.Each maiden flawless with hair that caressed the floor and a blank stare. Never to be touched by any man, simply to stand and be
‘This is the mage dimension?’Stella and I stepped out of a rat-infested alley. No squeaky-clean streets, no golden lanterns. One flickering lamp post lit up one street.‘Well, the more rugged part of the dimension.’‘You’re telling me,’ I muttered. ‘So, where do we start?’The roads were lined with hut sized brick buildings, each one with steps leading up to the front door. Most of them were double storey.‘Mom said to go to Calista’s saloon. Difficult people to deal with, they don’t take anything seriously.’ She rolled her eyes.‘What is it like?’ I rubbed my shoulders.‘It’s a ghost plaza, but they always have information if you can get them to take you seriously.’Great, at least we had a place to start.‘How come you never told me about this place? It isn’t much, but why didn’t yo
Rubble rolled off me. What the hell was that? Hera’s soldiers are getting stronger, this one chose the wrong challenge. She peered her head to see where my body landed in the building. Without drawing my wings, I shot into the air. Landing behind her, I grabbed her hand.She growled. Her fist burned bright amber. I pulled back, the scent of burning flesh smacked my face. She thrust her legs forward. I hurled a ball of light that flew into a building. The two-storey apartment blew up, bricks and wood collapsed into the alley.She turned around her brown eyes fixed on me before she slammed her wrists together. Another flamed arrowed shot at me. I raised my shield. The arrow cracked the centre of my protection. The collision sent my feet sliding in the gravel.‘Stop! I haven’t done anything wrong.’I stared at the building she hurled me through and cocked my head to the side. She bit her lip. I fisted the soil beneath me and pulled my
The one time I use my powers I land myself in shit. Thank goodness Daylen and Marcus didn’t rat me out. I didn’t come here to end up in jail the more time I wasted the more the more ground I lost on Rocky. I still couldn’t put my finger on why Daylen helped me he seemed intent of getting rid of me earlier. I hoped I wasn’t getting into something worse with these two.After the door slammed shut and a few more minutes of hiding I emerged from the room. Daylen slouched on a stool by the bar with a glass in his hand and Marcus seemed to be pondering something in the living room.Daylen looked like any washed up sailor after whatever confrontation he had. His pearly white suit was ripped and brown, yes that was my fault. He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his defined caramel toned chest. He had the brightest shade of brown eyes I’d ever seen.He looked up when I fully set foot in the living room. His hair wasn’t as curly as
Thousands of creatures lived in the mage dimension, others more populous than the next. Artemis could be a rare creature from the sea. I wanted her out of my head.Her hair stuck in my mind like her baked blueberry scent. Her hair had tiny loose curls, it was so dark it almost looked blue. She held power I couldn’t let Hera possess. I couldn’t allow myself to get sloppy and let her fall into my bed either. Things got messy when sex coupled with obligation.Artemis needed to stay away from my head. I had a court meeting to attend and all my attention had to go to the situation at hand. I was either early or got the wrong date. No one was ever late for these things. Solaris would have their heads.I tucked my notepad under my arm and pushed the door in. No guards stood outside and no voices came from inside. Although, a single woman stood staring at the tallest throne on the wall.‘Only the strongest ever sat on that