The nausea wouldn't subside. It barely wavered as I walked down the halls of our home. Lillian had ushered me to my room. Somehow she knew what was going on with me. Knew that something was amiss. I chalked it up to an old woman who had seen a few things in her many years on this earth. Lillian's senses were much more acute than my own. Plus, a stressful week and a few spats made my senses all but numb. Byron had warranted that little accident, but I still hated myself for it. What must the other royals think of me now? Think of Julian? They would blame him for bringing in an untamed dog into their society. I still hated how he had spoken about Julian. A boy in age, compared to them, but still their king. Tolerating such clear sign of disrespect was out of the question. I had known such mockery my entire life, and I never wanted to let Julian experience it as well. Thinking back to his moods, maybe he had experienced it before. He had felt uncomfortable yesterday as the royals came
I sucked in my first deep breath and steadied myself against the broken window. People ran in every direction in front of me. Fear twisted their faces into ugly masks as they fled whatever horror was taking place inside of the house. Security details escorted some of the people, most likely the royals, to what they deemed safety. From here, I knew there was no such thing as safety. Wolves sprinted around. Dashing to one victim, then the next. Screams curdled within throats as blood misted into the air. So many lives were already lost. Forgotten amongst the chaos. Julian and Mikaela, luckily, wasn't among the deceased. Small mercies counted in moments like these. Precious moment in which hard decisions were bound to spring into life. Getting down wasn't my problem, it was staying alive once I was there that would prove to be difficult. The flimsy dress I wore wasn't even close enough to battle attire. Nerves bounced off of each other in a frail attempt at forming a plan. I wa
Mikaela's Point of ViewLuciana's outburst had left everyone in shock around the table. No one had expected her to react in such a way. Feral and irrational. But I had known something would happen eventually. Byron still had his throat intact, meaning Luciana had used restraint. More restraint than she had ever showed before. Maids would have to take away the broken chair eventually. If only I hadn't sat so far from her. Hadn't been involved with my conversation to the point of becoming deaf to everything else.Nevertheless, Selena was a pleasant woman. Up beat and optimistic. She wouldn't stop gushing about how thrilled she was that Julian had found Luciana and I. They seemed close, but that wasn't why she was so thrilled. Selena was an avid believer in the prophecy. In changing the world. Her father, Arjun, had called herthe new generation,even when she was further away from me in age than even Julian. Selena was part of
Mikaela's Point of View Debris littered the floor beside me. My ears sang within my skull, pitching with every breath I took. This was what hell felt like. Being tossed about as if I was nothing more than a rag doll. Sharp pangs throbbed through my left side. The side closest to the window. Bracing myself on my elbows, I glanced to where Julian had stood last. The side of the room was gone, exposed to open air. Dark sky. I shook my head harshly, praying the ringing subsided. Julian was half sprawled across his table, blood dripping through his white shirt. Glass shards dotted around him, along with a brick and wood. This was a nightmare and all I wanted to do was wake up. To not be here. Slowly, I pushed myself up and into a sitting position. Hissing through my teeth from the pain, I glanced down at my side. Broken glass shimmered with crimson in the murky light. But my head still pounded, still sang with every movement. My vision blurred at
Dreams of fire and chaoscurled and shuddered in front of my eyes. People were screaming, fleeing some unseenmonsters. Bullets peppered the sky, raining down upon me like a freshly gathered storm. This was what hell looked like and I knew it. Wolves hunted scared women, ripping out their throats when they finally caught up to them. My own personal hell, formed especially for me. Julian wasn't far off from the carnage, his eyes blank as he stared at a dead Mikaela. Her head was at an odd angle, glass shards sticking from her thin body. Tears of blood streaked his handsome face, paintinghim every bit of the monster my people so vigorously feared. When I approached, he turned his head to me. There was no love present. No form of tenderness and hope that had grown there over the last few months. Only hatred and anguish curled within his mind. A worm wiggled its way from his ear and fell on his shoulder. If Julian knew it was there, he didn't say a w
Queen: Noun. The most powerful chess piece that each player has, able to move in any direction along a rank, file, or diagonal on which it stands. That is the definition of the queen in chess. I had adored chess since an early age. To manoeuvre your pieces in an effort to undermine your opponent. Victory was the only objective. The queen would protect her king, who wasn't able to move much. By doing so, she was the most powerful piece on the board. I was still considered a queen. An abducted queen, but queen none the less. My powers were cut short. Limitations placed on the spaces I was allowed to move. That didn't mean I wasn't able to move at all. But it felt suffocating to know that I had once been able to move in any direction as much as I possibly could. Gobble up opponents when they came too close or posed a great threat to my king. Mikaela would be considered the queen on our chess board now. That was the beauty of having more than one mate. Someone else had taken my place. P
Julian's Point of View Our safe house was all the way across the country in a remote location. No one had occupied the estate since before my parents had lived. But they had kept it up to date, just in case something ever did go wrong. Arjun had landed the helicopter once to refuel and to try and contact Amelia. We couldn't get hold of Selena's body and it drove Arjun mad. He had been silent for most of the flight and I understood his grief. Luciana wasn't lost physically but she was lost to us. In the hands of her father, if Amelia's brief message was any indication. A quiet sort of storm settled amongst us. Mikaela hadn't spoken to me since Amelia had informed us of what had happened to Luciana. I knew she blamed me and hell I blamed myself as well. But I hadn't anticipated for them to take her. Had thought Amber and Sebastian had gotten to her first. Regret chewed on my insides until all I could feel was shame. Heat slammed into us as the helicopt
Pawn: Noun. A chess piece of the smallest size and value, that moves one square forwards along its file if unobstructed, or one square diagonally forwards when making a capture. Each player begins with eight pawns on the second rank, and can promote a pawn to become any other piece, typically a queen, if it reaches the opponent's end of the board. Once upon a time, I was a pawn in my father's game. Made moves and followed orders, but in the eyes of my father, I remained a pawn. Never to be something more. All I was good for was marrying off and producing him stronger heirs. Something to move around and sacrifice as he saw fit. Then Julian came around and made me a queen, quite literally. A pawn had reached the end and became a queen, but her fight would never be over. Would never cease. As a pawn, she was to follow orders. Be obedient and do as she was told. Limited moves with limited spaces, but at least she was a part of the game. Now, as a queen, she made the decisions. She calle
Julian's Point of View Chaos bred chaos. Mikaela was shown to our room once Arjun had contacted the staff. Everyone else was told where to go. When to come for dinner and where to go when their wounds needed tending. It was a never ending cycle. Frantic people ran through the halls and shouted at each other. A living nightmare. So many were lost to the brief attack. We weren't prepared, but preparations would have been useless regardless. These weren't fighters. Long lives never meant that anyone had to fight in wars. Hell, most of these royals had never even seen a battlefield. But my princes had. Had known the feel of mud and blood on their skin. Felt the sharp edge of a sword cut through their flesh. Yet, there were too many people to protect and not enough princes to protect them. Even if it came down to it, I knew they wouldn't lay down their lives for the lower class. They had grown too accustomed to their lavish lifestyles and thrones built on comfort