We were back where I did my training. I was held in Alex's arms while sobbing and to my despair, he could actually hold me and resist the electricity flowing from my body. Shalom was seating on a rock with Lydia sitting on her lap while she comforted her over the loss of her kingdom, everything had turned to smoke, and while the lake was still there, the door had vanished, and Lydia had no way to go to the other side. After seeing the body in that water, I started hyperventilating and Lydia had to teleport me here in hopes that it would help me to calm down. I’m guessing Alex thought teleporting was one of my strengths, he had freaked out and thought I had gone to confront Violet. I got up from the floor, leaving Alex's cold embrace. I paced around, my mind clouded with questions. “I don't understand it - why her? Why did they have to kill her?” I asked. “Killing my mother was not enough, but they just had to kill Lizzy too,” I choked on my words, trying to fight back the tears.
“Violet?” She fixed her perfect short silver jumpsuit and took baby steps towards Shalom and I, her walk so regal as if she was flaunting her beauty. Alex joined us, followed by Lydia. They looked like death. “Things don't have to end this way, all you have to do is surrender and hand yourself to the queen, that's all we want from you,” Violet said. “What are you talking about?” A male voice interjected, and the man I'd been dreading to see came into view. I don’t know what I was expecting to see, but he looked worse than I’d expected. He was thinner and sullen, and the clothes on his back looked a little too big on him. He seemed a bit darker in complexion, and if it was not for how ashy he was, I would have assumed that it was from the sun. The unkempt beard on his face made his face look thinner. He looked sick. I spent so much time battling between the hatred and love for him, and after everything that happened, I had so much anger, but now that I was standing in front of h
Sounds of flowing water filled my ears, and the smell of ocean water hit my nostrils.It flooded my mind with the memories of my father bringing me and Lincoln to the beach while we were still young. I still had a good memory of how we used to build sandcastles and joke about how we would become queen and king together, which was funny considering how our views changed as we grew older and lost interest in anything and everything to do with royalty.I always thought that was our destiny, but considering how much Lincoln had changed, our entire past felt like a lie.Lincoln had changed, he looked different, he was no longer as beautiful on the inside as he was on the outside, he held no humour, no adoration, just anger and hatred. He tried to get my attention, but eventually, he stopped trying.To think I had fallen in love with him, now I was not even sure what I felt for of him. The mention of his name, Violet, or merely the sight of him made me mad.A part of me longed for him, I mi
The first thing I woke up to was the sound of crackling fire. Something was urging me to open my eyes, but I couldn’t. Someone touched my arm, and the first reaction from my body was electricity. As they moved their hands over my arm, the current in my body followed their trail. “Eva.” A voice called, and I froze. “Eva, can you hear me?” He asked gently, and my heart filled with immense regret. Lincoln. The last time I heard his voice, there was menace in it. He was full of hatred and anger. Just the sound of his voice was enough to break your spirit off. I could never forget how much he hurt me, no matter what. Whether he was under a spell or not, or the fact that Alex was pretending to him, he still managed to break my heart into pieces. His hands continued to move, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe from the current in my body due to the way it danced to him. Lincoln could control me with just a single touch. My powers were a
The party was in full swing as the guests mingled at every corner of the hall. It was such a massive occasion for the kingdom, their prince was celebrating his eighteenth birthday a day earlier before his coming of age ceremony tomorrow. But it was more than that. I used to think that sharing a birthday with Lincoln was a blessing, we had celebrated every single birthday together in the last sixteen years. My mother once told me that Queen Gladys grew to hate her the day I was born, on her son’s second birthday. She relived that the queen had said that such precision was a bad omen and went as far as accusing her of witchcraft. It was no wonder she hated me, and the hatred did not show any hints of floundering when she realized how inseparable Lincoln and I had grown to be. Lincoln always said that the biggest gift the Zion forefathers had ever granted him was me, and his life was meaningless before I came along. I laughed at him every time he alluded to it, and reminded him t
I've always wondered what it felt like to die. What was it like? Was it like in the movies, where one dies peacefully with a smile on their face?I always wanted to know from the day my father died, had he been in too much pain? He died a painful death, and I still carried most of his pain in my heart, but I wondered how his last seconds were, if it took him all his will to breathe his last breath.Maybe that was what was killing me, the painful remnants he left in me. It was as if there were glass shards constantly piercing at me, as if to remind me that this could be my last day.It was so strange, I was not in pain, but I was hurting. My heart was bleeding over my failed dreams and short life, and yet, I had somehow found a way to make peace with it.My mother did not look bothered either as she moved about the kitchen, singing and moving to her favourite song as she cooked a storm. Occasionally, I think that perhaps we had both come to terms with the situation because bo
Talk about awkward! The queen stood there for a minute before putting on a smile and a show as she leaped forward and into her son's arms.“My son! Look how grown up you are, you look just like your dad.”Prince Lincoln hugged her and then moved to give Queen Shekinah a bear hug. “Mama, you are even more beautiful than you were the last time I saw you! I missed you.”It was the first time he spoke, and his voice was as delirious as ever. That small gesture saw his mother's face change as Queen Shekinah blushed furiously and slapped his arm. “Ugh, man, Lincoln, don't mess with me!” She laughed. Lincoln laughed and moved on to greet the king. “Baba.” He shook his hand before they hugged each other briefly. I could never understand men or why they hated embracing each other.“Goodness, Lincoln. It feels like I'm staring into a mirror. I can't believe how grown up you are, you are ready to take over the throne now,” the king said in astonishment. “Dad, don't exaggerate
One thing I admired the most about my mother, Daisy Kunene, it was the fact that she knew when to put up a good fight. She did not bring up the issue of the heart transplant the next morning, she woke up and prepared breakfast for me. It was nothing fancy, at least not something I would prefer, but as she always said, “Doctor’s orders.” I had to eat ‘healthy,’ the doctor had put me on a strict diet—greens, greens, and greens all the way. But I did not complain, I was used to it by now, and the fun part of it all was that my mother never left me to suffer through this alone. She ate whatever I ate, well, except for the palace food, which by the way I’d forgotten to bring for her last night.I finished breakfast, grabbed my book, and went to sit in our garden.Neither of us could ever say it out loud, but our garden was probably the most priced possession in our yard, not even the house measured up to it.This garden was a memory fountain, it reminded us so much of dad. I remem