THE ALPHA KING'S REJECTED OMEGA QUEEN
The crowd gasped in unison, pointing upward as sparkling, harmless embers rained down gently over the ancient stone spires of the capital.
Aurelia stood beside her mother, Queen Althea, her face softly illuminated by the flashing colored lights of the fireworks bursting above.
Suddenly, the festive explosions in the sky began to warp. The music, the laughter, the cheering crowd—it all dissolved instantly into a cold, muffled, underwater hum.
A sharp, violent, stabbing pain spiked through Aurelia's temples, dropping her breath down to a ragged gasp. The vibrant colors of the fireworks morphed horribly in her mind into the blinding, sterile, humming white of fluorescent laboratory lights.