This is work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright© Avery Song & Quinn Ashwood, 2020

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Cover Design by Melody Simmons

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Format: Avery S.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgement

BLURB

Prologue: Not Just An Orphan But A Prince

1.  The Truth Of It All

2.  Awakened And Revelation

3.  Hidden Kingdom Beyond Academy Walls

4.  A Summer Journey To The Lands That Raised Me

5.  Romantic Love Between Light And Darkness

6.  My Sweet Inspiration And Kindness Unlocks Opportunity

7.  Kindness Unlocks Opportunity

8.  Year Two Of Defying The Limits Set Upon Me

9.  The Year Of Combat And Sister Of Light

10.  Move Forward

11.  Exhibit Of Inspiration

12.  Temporary Break And Worthy Of Purgatory

13.  Forgive But Not Forget And Last Time?

14.  Wilting Imposter

15.  Glimpse Of Hope

COMING SOON - FAE ROSE ACADEMY YEAR THREE

SNEAK PEEK - BLOODY ROSARY ACADEMY

PROLOGUE: Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned…Again And Again

ABOUT AVERY SONG

ABOUT QUINN ASHWOOD

Also By Avery Song

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you for purchasing FAE ROSE ACADEMY.

Thank you for giving Avery Song and Quinn Ashwood duo a chance! This was a challenge, especially with the new idea of paranormal romance. Hope you enjoy our little creation!

Special thanks to our amazing Mom for blessing us with the gift to write and supporting us in all aspects. We pray to continue making you proud as we strive towards success.

Finally, we thank God for giving us the strength to achieve our goals. Without Him, we would be nothing.

AVERY SONG

&

QUINN ASHWOOD

BLURB

What is it like to be a part of the purely divine? One wouldn’t know unless awakened to see the truth hidden beneath the lies.

I, Rosadette Campbell, am finally told the truth of my heritage and all that’s been hidden from me. It’s shocking, heart-clenching, and makes me want to run back to my life as human scum in the lower lands.

The love I have for a prince so daring and humble is what clings to me, begging me to give the world I’d come to fall in love with a second chance. This may be the opportunity I’ve unconsciously sought because my many questions will lead to answers and those willing to aid me with my conquest.

Before I venture into the darker depths of year two, I must walk within the shadows of my birthplace and discover how powerful a fae like me can become. I need to learn about the raging magic of the lands and seas, and the hidden secrets that keep the separation between the purely and deadly divinities.

Darkness is brewing, revenge is calling, and I know a certain prince is waiting for my swift return. Let him endure the loss of my rose, for I am in a place I belong, and when I return for my second year at Fae Rose Academy, I hope he’s ready.

I hope they’re all ready.

PROLOGUE: NOT JUST AN ORPHAN BUT A PRINCE

~RAINER~

“ORPHAN! ORPHAN! YOU’RE A DARK ORPHAN!”

I said nothing to the taunts as I bit my lip in annoyance. Not because of the circle of children dancing around me in pure mockery, but at my stained white pants and top that Mother had just given me this morning.

Emma, our maid, had delivered it to me bright and early, prior to breakfast, which left me with the task of staying nice and clean before Mother and Father’s arrival. I’d worked really hard to keep the expensive white material as clean as possible, not a stain in sight throughout the day of extra precision.

It wasn’t until I was waiting to be picked up by Emma that my fellow fae decided to rain on my proud parade. One simple push and I was left in a puddle of mud - made by them - destroying my hard work of remaining perfect.

Trying to prove that I could mingle with the Purely Divine.

I knew of my heritage, my birthplace that oozed darkness, where I was destined to be left like the garbage my true parents marked me as, but I fought day and night to ignore it.

To try and fit into this side of the world my mom worked tirelessly to flood with light.

“Dark orphan! Dark orphan,” the kids continued to chant and cheer, their laughter and giggles only making my heart ache with sadness.

When no adults were around, this was the taunting I faced on the regular, all because I wasn’t a prince of blood.

I’m the adopted prince.

The one who couldn’t possibly fit into this kingdom because I didn’t belong in the first place. A puzzle piece that would never fit into the final equation. A faulty creation that didn’t deserve to be raised by his own creators.

I’d attempted to read all the books in the vast libraries. To solve the issues I carried that made my parents think of me as nothing. Was my future not bright enough to reach their expectations? Did I lack the magic capability, or did they want a child of light instead?

All these questions that I’d never obtain the answers to would haunt me every single time I was left in these embarrassing situations. At twelve years old, they hadn’t stopped. They’d only continued to escalate from a monthly basis to a weekly basis, and now? Daily occurrences.

They were pushing my buttons on purpose. Fighting hard to bait me into the trap they’d already set up for the boy they thought was naive. They wished for me to dance to their tune and fall into the pit they’d dug up.

Then they would laugh, cheer, and praise my suffering before acting like victims of circumstance.

Times like these made me question if this was a kingdom I could possibly protect. A place that ignored my given title by the king and queen of these very lands and took every shot to belittle my very existence.

Would I want to protect such people? Individuals who would grow up to be the adults and potential future of this kingdom. If war came down upon our lands, would I lay my life and future down on their behalf?

Do they even deserve such luxury?

It was questions like these that a child like myself shouldn’t have to answer. Thoughts and wonders that should be left for the current rulers of this kingdom.

The individuals protecting this kingdom for the day its rightful owner arrived from the dead.

“C’mon, Prince Rainer,” one boy taunted.

I lifted my eyes for a mere second, but I already knew who the cold yet mocking voice belonged to. The cheering crowd had only cheered louder at the boy’s entrance as they made a gap just for him to walk through.

He stopped only two steps away from me, his smug smile and judgemental eyes degrading me with a mere look. He gestured to his exquisite white suit, looking proud as ever to have remained perfectly clean for the entire school day.

“You should know better about the Purely Divines and their cleanliness. If you can’t keep your clothes protected, how are you possibly going to protect your kingdom?”

“Ya!” the other kids cheered and clapped. “Prince Xavier will be the true ruler.”

True ruler. Not a fake one like me...

“Can’t blame you, though. Misfits like you can’t grasp how valuable our morals are as light fae.” He chuckled. “Or whatever you are.”

I continued to say nothing as my fists clenched and shook. I couldn’t allow myself to react, because I knew what he wanted.

To get me in trouble. To take away my chance of continuing to gain knowledge and train the powers bestowed upon me from the fae lands themselves.

Dad always told me that those who belittled others were envious of their bright future. They would do anything to step on others, to make them feel unwanted, discarded, and push them out of the way so they could take the next step towards empowerment.

To Prince Xavier, I was his stepping stone.

To me, I was a threat that could destroy him.

We were from different kingdoms, but he obsessed to be a part of mine. To take the power our family had been blessed with to protect. Though, in his mind, it was all about becoming stronger.

If I hadn’t seen how his parents worked hard to correct his odd mindset and obsession with perfection and growing powerful, I would believe they were molding him into a cold prince who was desperate to become king, but they were as kind and generous as my adoptive ones.

Prince Xavier let the power his mere status gave him dominate those around him. It was why he didn’t get bullied in my kingdom.

Way opposite of me, who gets bullied on a daily basis.

I envied him. To be able to be all proud and cold. The way he could get all the girls’ attention and be praised by the boys who wished to be like him.

To them, he was fit to be a prince. Me, on the other hand…I was too soft on the outside.

Soft fae like me are weak, easily broken, and would fall at the mere sight of a challenge.

They didn’t know who I really was. Nor did I show them because they didn’t deserve to witness that side of me. Those who walked over me like I was a pesty bug in their line of vision weren’t worthy of seeing me at my strongest.

I wished to be one who’d be praised after all those who fought hard to diminish my worth witnessed the strength I’d hidden for years. To make them experience that eye-opening moment that would leave them quaking and begging for forgiveness.

An odd dream to have for a boy leaving his child years and entering the stage of teenagehood, and yet I still couldn’t gather enough guts to defend myself in moments like these.

I’d failed at keeping this outfit that my mom gifted to me clean, leaving me in a state of imperfection that would only shatter my evening, and my attempt to make my parents proud.

I swallowed the hurt it brought to my chest. The lump in my throat slowly made its way back down, and I took a slow inhale and let it out, hoping it would fight the urge to show him what a misfit like me could do.

What a threat like me could accomplish if given that golden opportunity.

“I’m bored. You’re such a coward.” Xavier kicked the puddle beneath him, splashing more mud onto me and staining my face. “Fae like you should just disappear. Us light fae don’t bother with imperfections. Now shoo.” He gestured with his hand.

I didn’t lift my head, but my eyes met his mocking ones, and for a second I noticed the fear in them as I allowed the tiny bit of anger to reflect in my color-changing eyes. There was no need for a mirror to inform me of their threatening color.

They were dark red, like blood…a color I wished to spill upon that very white suit.

Suddenly, there was a huge splash of mud as if a car had gone by and ignited a wave of the thick brown liquid.

The rest of the kids screamed as mud drenched them from head to toe. Even Xavier, who stood a few short steps from me, was now dripping with the discolored substance that worked hard to stain his precious suit.

Silence followed for five seconds as all eyes seemed to land on me. I couldn’t even say a word, knowing well that I wouldn’t be able to prove my innocence in words, let alone actions. They already assumed I was the culprit to the dread and shame they would endure the moment their parents arrived to pick them up.

“Oh goodness gracious.” The familiar voice had to be Emma. The sound came from the direction behind me.

“My oh my.” The playful, singing voice lifted my hopes up as I looked back in surprise. “I’m curious as to why my darling prince is being mocked when you all have tarnished your pretty clothes?”

Everyone continued to remain silent while I took in the woman who emerged from the corner with Emma. Emma held a white lace umbrella, shielding the radiant woman who wore the most exquisite dress.

The white fabric practically glowed even under the shade of the umbrella, accenting her majestic features, from her soft, pale skin to the bright blue eyes that carried hints of red - a unique feature that only our queen and my precious mother carried.

Her hair was in bountiful curls, the bright blonde shifting to a lovely lavender that had a touch of silver. Her lips were a cherry red that matched her red eyes, which looked upon our group with questioning force.

When she took a step, the ground beneath her bloomed with flowers, as if the earth couldn’t grow fast enough to bloom and welcome the Queen who took them in as hers. The vines continued to grow as she moved, Emma following her long strides with swiftness.

Xavier moved back to stand near his peers - most of them immediately crowding around him as if he could protect them from the queen’s wrath. That left me to turn and face my mother, the woman who was willing to adopt a misfit like me, who couldn’t remain clean for her arrival.

I didn’t expect her to arrive today. Rarely did she come to pick me up. Not because she didn’t care about my studies and progress, but as a queen of a kingdom like ours, she had to meet the standards and needs of her people before her husband and then children.

I harbored no hate towards our tradition and views of priority, but it only made this moment a rare one that left my heart beating swiftly against my chest.

This was that golden moment to make my mother proud, and they’d ruined it.

My head lowered in shame as she approached, my line of vision now on her dazzling white shoes that stepped upon a tiny platform of ice that protected her from the brown muck. I waited for her scolding, prepared myself for the disappointment her arrival would now bring thanks to my inability to stop these bullies in the past.

If I’d been a “man” like they constantly stated, this wouldn’t have escalated to this present moment. The nice guy never had the guts to fight back, and that was nothing but a form of weakness.

The stinging in my eyes forced me to close them as I fought the urge to cry. No matter what my parents said, to the rest of the world, crying was another form of weakness that boys and men couldn’t express openly.

My parents said differently, encouraging me to express my emotions when they fought to consume me, but I knew better. Those very salty tears would only add to my ‘weak’ image and be used against me at a later date.

I noticed the fold of fabric that gathered around my feet, the ice growing until it seeped beneath where I stood and glistened like it was now night and the moon was sparkling against its reflective surface.

My gaze was forced to move slightly upward, and my eyes grew as I took in Mother’s smiling expression as she looked at me with overflowing gentleness.

“Good evening, son. Why do you look at the floor with shame when your mother is right here to brighten your day?” she inquired genuinely.

Her curiosity and soft voice always got through the dark emotions that wished to take over. She was the part of light in my life that I wished to mimic.

As a fae of darkness…and light.

“I failed,” I muttered so quietly, I wondered if she picked it up. My hands clenched once again, fighting hard to remain still and not tremble in anger. “I wished to keep the outfit you chose just for me clean. It was a task I took seriously for the entire day. I wanted you to see me at my best. However, it didn’t work.”

“W-We didn’t do it!” one of the kids called out.

“Y-Ya! It’s his fault!” another declared.

“And now he made all of us unclean! Look at my perfect outfit now! It’s ruined because of him,” a third kid spoke up.

“True Purely Divine fae ensure they keep up their appearance for all occasions. It’s unforgivable for someone to destroy our impeccable beauty and grace for his own selfish desires,” Xavier declared with pure annoyance.

All I could do was close my eyes once more, their words and accusations in front of my mom only hurting me even more. I didn’t want to tell on them. If they thought this was the ‘right’ thing to do – putting the blame on another innocent fae - I wouldn’t correct them for it wouldn’t stick in their heads.

They never listened to me. Only those with authority could force them to listen by mere rank.

“Rainer.”

Her hand grasped my chin, lifting it up so I could look right into those loving red jewels.

“Do you believe mere material that cloaks our bodies is meant to prove our worth as fae beings?”

Her question intrigued me as I thought about it.

“Sometimes yes, sometimes no,” I responded.

“How do you feel at this moment?” she offered.

“That these clothes of white shouldn’t define my worthiness,” I whispered as I scanned the stained clothes. “It shouldn’t determine if I’m fit to be a Purely Divine. Clothes are meant to protect our flesh and to grant us the ability to express ourselves. I don’t think it’s fair to be judged immediately over circumstances out of one’s control.”

I watched as her lips lifted and she slowly bobbed her head as she rose up. The ice beneath our feet suddenly melted and her white heels fell into the mud. All of us seemed to gasp, but our surprise - and horror - only grew as Mother moved her hands and the splashing movement from before returned and twirled around Mother’s body.

The swiftness marked her impeccable white attire, leaving it stained, and yet it seemed to create a stunning pattern that complimented the holy color. I surely couldn’t be the only one gawking, our eyes taking in the stained dress that still looked stunning upon my mother’s body. She twirled once to show the full view of the dress. Emma had even lowered the umbrella at some point to ensure mud got on it, too.

A white dress with random splatters of mud and a lace umbrella to match. Instead of looking dirty, it appeared that her dress had become a canvas for a painting fiasco, and the only color available was dark brown.

No matter the clothes that now matched my imperfection, my mother - the queen of these lands - didn’t look short of perfection.

She actually looked more beautiful.

Everyone was silent as she turned her attention to the group of fae behind me.

“Xavier. As a prince, I’m sure your parents have taught you all about the Purely Divine,” she began and narrowed her eyes. “Indeed, they did not state that the Purely Divine must keep their attire stainless to remain worthy of carrying such a title. Or did I miss the new memo in the curriculum I aided in creating and continue to enhance every school year?”

“Y-You didn’t miss anything.” Xavier spoke with a shaky voice, his previous confidence withering by the second. I had to turn around to look for myself, to see his insecurity after being called out by the queen. The rest of the kids were shaking like we were standing in the pits of a winter storm.

Mother just stood there until he added, “Your Majesty.”

“Good,” she replied with a deadpan tone as she scanned the remaining students, who immediately dropped to their knees.

“We’re sorry, Your Majesty!” they declared

Xavier slowly went on one knee and bowed his head. “My apologies, Your Majesty.”

“I’m unsure why you’re all apologizing to me,” she inquired and gestured to me. “Did you not push Rainer into this deliberately created puddle of mud to stain his completely white suit minutes ago?”

All their eyes widened in shock and I couldn’t help but return my gaze to her as she carried on, “After pushing the prince down, you began to mock him about his circumstance and belittle his worth. He went from a prince who is fit to be a Purely Divine to a dark orphan not fit to be a ‘true ruler,’ am I right?”

She…she saw everything.

When no one spoke, she raised her hands to gesture to their very attire. “You accused him of staining your clothes that prove your divine worth when it was I who conjured up the power to splash all of you with the very substance you declared disgusting.”

Her revelation made a few of them gulp as she crossed her arms over her chest while those cherry red eyes suddenly were darker than rubies.

Dark like blood…matching my dark red orbs.

“Doesn’t that make you all imperfections now? I’m still shocked that you remain here, shivering under my critical gaze. Aren’t you all supposed to go disappear? Why aren’t you all shooing away?”

Xavier paled a bit, his hands in fists as he was clearly holding back his anger.

“Ah, I get it. So the boy who was pushed, mocked, and basically told he was worthless is a coward and needs to disappear, but the very bullies who chanted negative, hurtful words and stated that anyone with stained attire isn’t close to the definition of Purely Divine can stand here and not apologize for the harm they’ve caused.”

She tsked and tapped her lips in judgment. “Now that your queen is stained with the wonderful gift of nature, am I not considered Purely Divine?”

“N-N-NO!” multiple voices declared and bowed their heads to the floor. “We’ll apologize!”

“Well, I’m waiting,” she offered. “You’ve not only contributed to upsetting me this evening, you’ve hurt one of your own peer’s feelings and should apologize. It would be a shame to have the queen contact each of your parents on this fine Friday. It would ruin lots of plans that I’m sure many of you had in store, with the Spring Festival happening all weekend and into the following week, wouldn’t it?”

All of their faces paled before they were rushing to me and bowing down to their hands and knees. “We’re sorry, Prince Rainer!”

“So sorry!”

“It was wrong for us to call you names.”

“We were being immature.”

“Please forgive us!”

I scanned each of them before I looked at Xavier, who was giving me an intense glare while he bit his lip. I kept my expression blank, waiting for his apology. His peers looked back at him, all of them glaring while a girl spoke, “Prince Xavier! Apologize, this instant!”

He was clearly struggling to do exactly that, but one look at my mother forced him to say the words he didn’t want to state.

“I apologize for my behavior,” he declared.

“Now, now,” Mother spoke up, her voice extremely cold. “Speak from your heart or I won’t bother trying to protect you when Alicia decides to contact me about this very incident.”

He gulped then and took a deep breath and let it out.

Lowering his head once more, he put his hand to his chest. “I, Xavier Rose, apologize for my misbehavior and lack of judgment. It was immature and I’ll strive to be better.”

“Rainer?” I turned my attention to Mother. “Do you forgive them?”

It was a question that I couldn’t immediately answer. These individuals were only apologizing because of Mother’s presence and the risk of having to bear the consequences. They would surely do this again when the opportunity brought itself, but Mother told me that some grudges weren’t worth carrying on your shoulders.

It weighs you down and over time, you won’t be able to carry the important responsibilities adulthood delivers.

“I accept your humble apologies,” I finally replied. “You all may rise.”

They looked relieved as they rose up.

“Thank you!” they declared and waited for Mother to say something. Her eyes were still on Xavier’s, and I looked between them, like the others.

“A king is a man who can bring his people together. Not pick and choose who is worthy of the finer things versus those who lack qualities that you selfishly deem as perfection,” she said with power. “A king doesn’t judge upon first glance but allows one to prove themselves and their worthiness. Do not judge a book by its cover, just like you should not judge a book by its past editions. We are all gifted beings, blessed by Mother Universe with all our resources around us. The mud that you deem as disgusting is the same substance that Mother Universe considers worthy enough to exist. No matter the appearance, every substance has life and purpose, just like you and me. Remember that you will never become a king worthy of respect if you can’t acknowledge that everything in this universe has a purpose and deserves the privilege to complete that task in life.”

She offered her hand to me, and I walked over to place my hand in hers before she pulled me into a tight hug. “I missed you, son!” Her perky voice was back, and she pulled me back to take a good look at me. “Hmm. You’ve gotten taller,” she pouted.

I smiled and nodded. “Just a little.”

“Well, we must celebrate your growth and utmost maturity. I’m very proud of you, son, for you have stood in silence when you could have easily hurt or even killed these very individuals if you wanted.”

I decided to peek over and see my peers’ pale faces as Mother added, “You know what I’ve always stated. If anyone disturbs your peace, you may deliver a punishment. This is our kingdom after all, and such mocking deserves consequences, which could even include death.”

“I’ll give them another chance, Mother,” I suggested. “That’s what a true king would do, right?”

“Indeed,” she replied and looked down at me as her hand squeezed my hand. “A true king with a heart filled with kindness is not a coward, but a patient king. It does not mean you are blind and cannot sense lie versus truth, but you are wise and observant so that when comes a time of judgment, you will be ready to consider all the flaws and mistakes committed by the individual before finalizing your decision and attaching punishment.”

She gave one last look to the group of individuals and added, “You all will be entering your teenage years in the next cycle of life. Be wary of your actions, for your teenage years will not be as forgiving if you are caught disrespecting royalty,” she declared.

Her eyes paused on Xavier. “That includes royals disrespecting other royals.”

With those words, she sighed. “Emma, let us head back to the castle. I’m exhausted, and the king is waiting for our arrival. I don’t want to worry him. Always gives me anxiety when he worries that head of his, and the weather is far too delightful for me to unintentionally make it rain.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Emma bowed and with Mother’s lead, we began to walk away. We turned the corner and walked a few steps before our entire surroundings shifted like we’d entered a spinning vortex.

Three steps later and we were on the castle grounds and heading up the golden stairs.

“Children. Unbelievable,” Mother huffed as Emma closed the umbrella.

“They are troublesome, indeed,” Emma acknowledged.

“Troublesome is an understatement! How dare they try and belittle my son. A boy sculpted of the finest liquid and with the precision of the Universe, herself. They lack self-worth if they can go on and bother a boy who waits peacefully for his mother’s arrival. To think my dear Rainer endures this on a daily basis is insulting. I should visit more often.”

I looked up to see her mischievous eyes, which only told me she was going to keep to her words if I didn’t say anything.

“It’s okay, Mother. I can handle it,” I voiced as we reached the top step. She paused to smile at me, her tall figure crouching down just so we could be at the same height. This was one of the many things I adored about my mom. She respected me enough to be on the same eye level.

That respect was earned, and it felt good to have maintained such standards.

“It’s not okay that my son is being bullied. Bullying is never okay. It may not show now, but words have lingering consequences. Ones that will plant roots in your heart and grow as you grow older. They spread when you least expect it, reminding you of past situations you expected to have forgotten, and it will be harder to forget them because you start to believe their truth.”

She reached up to pat my head.

“As much as our kind loves to stress on our perfection, we have many imperfect qualities which include belittling those we believe aren’t worthy to stand amongst us. These individuals may be from different lands, may not look like us, or may be new and lack the knowledge and guidance we’ve been gifted by being born in our world of magic and prosperity. Regardless of their situation, they deserve to be accepted and respected like any other creation of Mother Universe. Remember that, son, and you will go far in life.”

“What if there comes a time when people think I’m not worthy of love?” I inquired. “Because…I’m an orphan.”

Her eyes saddened as she glided her hand from my head to my cheek.

“Being an orphan does not hinder you from being worthy of love, Rainer,” she whispered. “I love you like my very own, no matter if our blood is not a match in the microscopic realms of DNA. No matter who we are, when a blade cuts our flesh, we all bleed the same red liquid.”

She lifted her other hand to press against my opposite cheek, cupping my face as she smiled. “As a woman, I was blessed by the Universe with you. I was previously mocked for being unable to carry children and prayed day and night to the Universe to grant me an opportunity to raise a child. Just one child. Lo and behold, that day came when I heard the cries of a babe in the caves of ancient magic. A cave that is deemed as full of darkness because of the thick black rivers. Little does anyone know that the light element hides in the incantations of those walls.”

She let go of my cheek to press her hand against my chest.

“Just as they’re unaware of the balanced qualities you possess in your heart. One is Pure while the other is Deadly. You’re the best of both worlds, my dear, and that’s an underlying advantage that none of them will realize until you show them how powerful you are.”

“That won’t be now but when I’m an adult?”

“Yes.” She nodded her head. “When you are ready to attend school and begin your journey with your destined rose.”

“Won’t I have to choose which academy to go to?”

“I already know which one you’ll attend.” She winked and rose up. “However, I’ll give you the opportunity to decide which side you’d like to receive knowledge from. The Purely Divine or the Deadly Divine. That time is many years ahead, so do not worry your pretty head.”

Instead of letting her offer her hand once again, I lifted mine and waited for her grasp. She giggled, the sound pushing away my worries as she placed that soft, warm hand in mine.

“My son is going to be a wonderful prince who steals a woman’s heart,” she sang.

We began to make our way down the halls of sparkly gold cement and red tapestries.

“I can’t really steal it when my love is chosen, Mother,” I acknowledged.

She laughed and nodded. “Good point, my dear, but you never know what fate has in store for you.” She looked over at me and winked before she went right back to humming happily.

“Seraphine, would you like me to request dinner now or later?” Emma addressed to my mom. Within our home, she loved to be called by her name rather than by royal titles.

“A little later. I believe my sweetheart is enjoying a calming bath and you know how he loves to take eons.” Mother sighed as we stopped right at the doors of the bathhouse. Two guards in complete golden armor stood at attention, bowing upon our arrival before waiting for my mother’s gesture.

“Very well. I’ll set out new clothes for you?”

“No need. Knowing Emmanuel, he has probably chosen my attire for the night.” Mother rolled her eyes. “So controlling.”

Emma laughed and nodded her head. “Then feel free to summon me when need be. I will ensure all the beds are made and that Prince Rainer has his set of clothes ready for the evening.”

“Thank you, Emma,” I voiced my appreciation, which rewarded me with one of her dazzling smiles as she bowed her head.

“You are very welcome, Prince Rainer. Excellent display of courage this evening. You should be proud.”

With one final curtsy, she turned around and headed down the hall. Mother signaled the guards to open the door, and we walked right into the private royal bathhouse.

It was already full of steam, the large statue continuing to promote the flow of the clear water while the calming floral aroma drifted all around us.

“Sweetheart! We’re finally home,” Mother declared as she lifted her hands up and twirled. She slipped off her shoes and skipped towards where she knew my dad would be relaxing. She was right as always; Father chose to relax in the bottom right corner of the massive bath.

His bulky, large arms rested along the edge. His fitted chest was drenched in water while his long hair was up in a man bun. His tanned skin was somewhat like mine, a lot darker than Mother’s, and he didn’t hide the markings that blessed his flesh from his many deeds from the past to keep our realm and kingdom protected - scars from wars and magic incantations that accented his growing magical talents.

He had originally had his eyes closed, but they opened to reveal his red eyes that peered over to Mother.

He hid his amusement, but I could tell in his eyes that her perky entrance always brought him great delight.

“Sera, if you skip like that you’re going to slip,” he calmly scolded.

Mother continued to skip around, her playful side now out to play after what I was positive was a long, strenuous day of meetings and paperwork.

“Honey! I have to get all the yucky seriousness of the day out of my aching limbs. Skipping alleviates stress you kno-EEP!”

And she slipped.

The lingering pools of water against the golden marble floors were now gathering at the speed of light as they caught her in their floating grasp.

“Oh?” She went from puzzled to happy as she looked over to Dad’s unamused expression. “Thank you, my dear,” she hummed.

“One day you’re going to fall on your ass, and I’m not saving you,” he muttered as he swirled his finger, which made the water holding Mother move towards the bath.

“You say that, but realistically, you’d never let such precious cargo hit those harsh grounds,” Mother reasoned. “Only you can leave bruises on me.”

“At least you’re aware of my capabilities,” he replied, though his stern expression lessened with the sweet comment.

Mother and Father had been madly in love since before my creation. No matter how many years passed, their romance only seemed to grow stronger, as did their connection. I was used to their comments, so they didn’t make me cringe like they used to when I was younger.

“Why are you drenched in mud?” he inquired, more out of curiosity than disgust as he looked at Mother and then over to me.

“Ugh! Fae children, I swear,” Mother commented and crossed her arms over her chest while she remained hovering over the body of water. “I’m thankful our Rainer is nothing like those selfish brats! How dare they try and hurt my baby? Do they know how much I struggled to be blessed with a smart, handsome son?!”

The water began to boil around her as she uncrossed her arms to shake her fisted hands.

“Emma and I arrived and there was my gorgeous son in dazzling white. He kept his attire stainless just for us and what do those insolate children do? PUSH HIM!” She pushed one of her hands outward, and the water accidentally moved to splash Dad completely.

He blinked and arched an eyebrow at her as she cringed and put her hands up in defense.

“That wasn’t me. It was the anger of the Universe,” she sweetly declared, which made me smile from ear to ear.

“Carry on,” Dad encouraged.

“As I was saying, they pushed him and then had the nerve to call him despicable things like dark orphan and a coward! Oh! That Prince of Ice was there, too!”

“Prince Xavier?” Dad concluded. I found it a little funny that Mother could use such terms and Dad understood it.

“Yes! That little rock of ice. How is he even the son of Alicia?!”

“You and I both know he was of the same circumstance as Rainer,” Dad acknowledged.

I didn’t know that.

“Yes! That’s exactly my point!” Mother emphasized. “Blessed to be raised by our best friends when his own parents forsook him! Yet he dares to tease our son?! I should have a talk with Alicia. She should just tell him the truth instead of thinking it’s unnecessary for him to know he was blessed with the privilege of life when discarded for death!”

Her other hand pushed forward in reflex and there was another wave of water that drenched Dad. She froze and then nervously looked around. “That…was Rainer.”

“Mom,” I groaned. “You can’t blame me for your actions.”

“Why not?” she whined. “You take on your scary father.”

I sighed and looked at Dad, who shook his head. “At least you’re not too angry. The weather has been gorgeous as of late.”

“Yes!” Mother clapped her hands. “I’ve been in a happy mood. You take care of me, I’m blessed with life and beauty, and my son is doing so well at school even with pestering bullies.” She sighed. “Rainer! See how you stood up and said what I did wrong?!”

“Y-Yes, Mom,” I replied.

“You do that! Stop letting people walk all over you!” she snapped.

“Yes, Mom,” I replied, though I knew she wasn’t actually mad at me.

I’ve seen Mother mad, and that’s something I don’t want to experience often.

Dad dropped his finger down and Mom suddenly dropped right into the bath. I gawked as she swam back up and gasped for air.

“Emmanuel!” she shrieked. “What was that for?”

“For splashing me.” He winked and actually smiled playfully. “Twice.”

She pouted before she disappeared into the waters and I frowned.

“Uh oh,” was all I could say as Dad seemed to catch onto what was about to happen. He didn’t stand a chance as he tried to lift himself out of the bath.

Instead, his entire body got tossed from one end to the other as the waters lifted him like his 300-pound mass was nothing. He cannonballed into the waters, and Mother came out from her hidden spot and grinned in triumph.

“HAH! That’s what you get for ruining my dress!”

It took a few seconds for Dad to reach the surface. His man bun was now gone and his long locks of blonde were all over his neck and shoulders. I wasn’t sure if his pout was playful or damn right evil, but I wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

“Mother, Father. I’m going to go shower,” I voiced and twirled around, but I gasped when my body was lifted by the floating beads of water and I was thrown backward - right into the bath.

I quickly swam up and gasped for breath before hearing mother state, “SCORE!”

“Sera, you’re far too competitive for your own good,” Dad reasoned as he swam over to her. I shook my head and stared at my drenched clothes.

At least they’re white again.

“True, but I figured we all deserved a moment of family playtime!” she declared. “I’m hungry.”

Father chuckled as he reached her side, and he pulled her into his bulky arms and gave her a long kiss. I turned around to give them privacy, but it made me happy when they remained all lovey-dovey with their mix of antics that always seemed to tick one of them off.

Their love was playful and dangerous, but it seemed to be the perfect mix for a Purely Divine and a Deadly Divine.

“Do not worry about our Rainer. He’s a strong man, just like his mother when it comes to childish antics from our kind who only belittle out of self-hate,” he quietly declared but said it loud enough for me to hear.

I looked back to see Mother’s softened smile as she nodded and hugged Father tightly. He stroked her hair in comfort as he looked at me with his red eyes that flooded with pride.

“You did well, my son. I’m proud of you, just like your mother is. Don’t allow their words to be lingering stains on your wellbeing. Just like the water that has cleared away the mud, allow their hate to leave your flesh.”

Father’s words drifted through my head, leaving me to nod in agreement as their wise lessons harbored within me.

I’m not just an orphan, but a prince who will one day walk alongside my fated queen as we help rule this kingdom until the real owner returns to claim its golden glory.

THE TRUTH OF IT ALL

~RAINER~

I CONTINUED to soak further into the rejuvenating waters, needing the little boost after completing our exams. I couldn’t be happier for my Sweet Rose - the woman I’d been courting since the new year.

Rosadette Campbell.

The human from the fae lands, who was able to prove to this kingdom who she truly was: a true fae of purity and grace.

Since that very day in the arena, I knew I had feelings for her. The beauty in her human features wasn’t close to her true beauty hidden in the lands only a few were blessed to witness themselves.

There was so much to reveal to her, but I held back for her own safety. She may not have known of Xavier’s true capabilities, but I did. I knew of the cold heart that he carried and the truth of his birth.

We were the same and yet completely opposite.

I questioned if he had a humble strand in his body, especially when he’d seemed to be digging deeper into his purpose of being a damn right asshole.

Every session Rosadette had to experience with his constant douche behavior pushed me to the edge, and if it wasn’t for the utmost respect I carried for this strong, brave woman I’d come to fall in love with, I’d show that man the true meaning of imperfection after a few rounds of my fists into that smug face of his.

To think Mother Universe blessed this man with a woman like Rosadette. A powerful, spectacular, gorgeous rose who only needed a hint of nurturing to see how royally gifted she was.

He had all the opportunities. So many chances to make Rosadette comfortable in this new land that she’d been deprived of for years. She was brought up in a world of poverty, a fact none of us could change until she reached the golden age of eighteen.

Alicia and even Chamomile had done their parts in aiding my poor Rosadette through the struggling consequences she had to endure as a child with no place to claim as her own. This was Xavier’s shining opportunity to be that knight in shining armor from any fairy tale and save the lost princess who deserved to return to her roots.

A princess who deserved to know the truth and claim the kingdom that we’d been fighting hard to protect during her absence.

There was so much she deserved to know, and it was killing me to keep it all away from her. She’d grown so much stronger than the woman who’d stood in shame on that platform in the arena.

That woman with hopeful eyes, ready to prove to all her peers that she deserved a chance at this prestigious school.

Only to be ridiculed, mocked, mistreated, and banished by her own.

That never would have happened in our kingdom. My mother wouldn’t dare allow it, even if she or my father were headmaster of the vast academy.

I still took pride in myself for standing up that very day. For not standing there in silence and allowing her bright aura to dim into the darkness Xavier wanted.

How could he be of light and yet carry a heart of ice?

Since then, I watched her from afar, getting to know her little by little.

To Xavier, this was some sort of tactic. To try and get rid of his rose because mine had wilted away. He believed I was just like him, mistreating Esmeralda and dashing her to the side like trash - just like he was attempting to do with Rosadette.

He didn’t know how incompatible we were. The constant trust issues and her heart being somewhere else but in my grasp. I carried her rose simply because the Universe asked me to, but when one ignored every effort you made to bring happiness into their life, you’d get bored, and eventually give up trying.

That’s when I allowed her rose to wilt. For the petals of the emerald rose that glistened with gold to begin to shrivel and fall from their stem. Until all of them fell.

She already had someone in mind, I’m sure the same as many of the individuals of this kingdom whose eyes were on Xavier. They didn’t care about the cold side he projected on a daily basis.

It’s his personality, they would say and squeal in delight while continuing their praising conversations about how outstandingly hot he was.

I was considered the “good guy.” The calm, smiling man who couldn’t possibly fulfill a fae’s dark desires.

That’s where it all lay at the end of the day.

Faes weren’t just excited about the exterior perfections and attractions, but what one could do in the bedroom. What we could accomplish for our destined partners in forms of pleasure.

It was a topic that took me a long time to grasp. The ‘good’ side did not understand why sex was the only concern of fae. It mattered not if the person you were in love with was a psychopath behind the scenes or shackled and beat you until you were marked with wounds.

As long as the sex was promising, that’s all they cared for - at least this kingdom seemed to focus on such priorities.

My kingdom was different. We still had our flaws, but sex wasn’t our focus when it came to relationships. We built our bonds through experiences and courtship, or what humans like to refer to as dating. That was how you began your journey, with the end result focusing on the art of marriage.

It didn’t stop us from the pleasurable activities that sex brought, but it mixed such desires with the future hope of commitment.

That was the one thing I felt fae struggled to do: commit.

Commitment to our kind wouldn’t last a mere hundred years if you were lucky to survive that long, like humans. We lived for hundreds if not thousands of years, and commitment would always be tested as we grew older, wiser, stronger, and connections withered away.

A couple would have to constantly work with one another like it was their first day of the relationship while juggling their emotional connection and physical desires.

It was something so easy when you put it into words, but executing the action seemed too difficult for our kind. Marriages that lasted for more than five hundred years were a blessing in disguise.

No matter the obstacles such relationships would inspire, I knew it could be done from simply watching my parents as I grew older. From the days of me crawling on the royal red carpet to who I was now as a twenty-one-year-old man, their love for one another was still fresh and playful.

With a hint of darkness, of course.

I’ve been dying to introduce Rosadette to Mother and Father. For them to meet her with their loving embrace and show her the truth that we’d kept for many years.

Now that she’d passed her exam, all we were waiting for was that prime opportunity. For those petals to fall and for her to make the choice that would determine who her next lover would be.

The thought always sparked a trickle of anxiety. Our love was still new and I hadn’t been able to show her truly how precious she was.

How much I adored the way she smiled. The way her eyes twinkled when the sun shone against those radiant lavender orbs, or the soft scent of her floral aroma that wrapped all around me and tugged me right in.

Those were only the first out of many key qualities I’d come to love about Rosadette, and the closer we became, the longer that very list became.

All I needed was that golden opportunity for her to be mine. For her rose to emerge in the depths of this castle’s hidden chambers and for its glistening petals to be freshly bloomed and waiting for my loving devotion.

Then I’ll expose the truth of Xavier, the truth he surely wanted to hide from her with his authoritative virtues and diminishing actions.

Soaking further into the hot, steaming waters, I allowed my true form to enjoy the healing properties these baths had to offer. I was really spoiling myself with these, but it aided in my patience - and a hint of my sanity - when it came to my desire to spill the beans about everything.

Like Mother, Father, Alicia, and Camilla emphasized, we have to wait until the ball is in our court before we can play all our cards.

Looking to the ceiling, I closed my eyes and took a few deep inhales. There was a poof sound next to my left ear, followed with a yawn.

“I’M ALIVE!”

I allowed one of my eyes to open slightly to acknowledge my fae pixie guide, her large eyes full of excitement as she fist-pumped the air. Her transparent wings fluttered swiftly, keeping her afloat as she looked around before spearing me with her attention.

“Rain! You’re naked, as usual!”

I rolled my eyes as a sigh left me.

“You always appear when I’m bathing.”

“You bathe too much,” she acknowledged and fluttered around my head. “You know your cock doesn’t need that much water to keep it clean!”

I pressed my lips together and gave her a look that had her squealing and hiding behind the bottle of fae shampoo I’d hoped to use to clean my golden strands that shifted to purple.

“I said nothing!” she defended and peeked out to see if I was still upset. I merely sighed and dismissed it all. As similar as I was to Father, I couldn’t keep up my ‘dark’ side.

That was the problem with suppressing that side of me. I was so used to acting like a Purely Divine that my Deadly side was suffering the consequences.

With Rosadette in the picture, it was best I tamed that side, or things would get dangerous.

There wouldn’t be any restraint in me to ignore my urge to taste her. Hear that melodic voice of hers hum my name like a chanting hymn while I eat her up and have her quivering from my mere touch.

Those thoughts had me looking away from Sio to stare at the flowing waters from the female statue a few feet away. The curves of the golden sculpture of art reminded me of that moment when I got to feast my eyes on Rosadette.

The way the white silk dress hugged her body, her true fae body that I couldn’t describe with just words. So curvy and pure with her radiant skin, and her long blonde strands shifting to a dazzling red.

Her rosy cheeks, red glossy lips, and the way her eyes looked into mine. The scent of her sudden desire was just as tempting as the way she said my name.

RAIN?

Her hand reached for my cheek, pressing against my flesh that sizzled in craving while the tension around us grew.

Sexual burning tension blazed as her hand began to trail down my chest.

It lingered on my tattoo on my left peck, a magic incantation I requested to harness the rooted magic of darkness and light. Just her touch seemed to ignite its power, my magic wishing to wrap around her warmth and protect her from anyone who fought to steal her away.

I hissed quietly, not out of pain, but to quiet the spike of need I had for her. But it did nothing as I opened my eyes and met hers once more. They observed me carefully, taking in every fine detail of what must have been my lustful eyes.

We were gravitating closer to one another, and I knew from the way her eyes flickered that she was about to do something I was sure she’d regret.

Is she going to kiss me?

The idea of her lips pressing against mine in this form would be a dangerous gamble to play with. I’d lose all self-control if she tempted me here and now.

“INTRUDER!”

I blinked into the present, realizing something – or, rather, someone - just crashed into the deep waters of my oasis. If I didn’t react fast, Sio would shift into her other form and that would be an invitation for complete chaos.

“Sio, wait!” I commanded with harshness. It wasn’t out of anger or anything, but my body from head to toe burned with so much force that I knew without a doubt that a person had fallen into my territory.

A person I loved.

As if the thought had summoned the platinum blond to the surface, her head burst through the surface as she finally caught her bearings. Her eyes opened just as quickly, growing wide with shock as mine met hers.

Every nerve in my body tingled as her scent hit me hard. My cock twitched at the mere recognition and I fought hard to remain still as she took me in. She didn’t need to tell me what she saw.

Her lavender jewels were now glowing with fae magic - revealing my true form as it had the day of her fever when she’d somehow located me in my very home.

Like right now…again.

“Prince Rainer,” she whispered, and my heart dropped as I watched tears pool in her eyes. I couldn’t grasp why she was on the verge of tears, and her name fell from my mouth.

“Rosadette,” I whispered right back, but my eyes quickly scanned her body.

Slashes, cuts, wounds, bruises…blood. So much blood.

My blood boiled as the dark force inside me raced to my very fingertips in a frenzy to find out who dared hurt our woman.

Who fucking hurt her?!

I didn’t think. I moved and was before her in a flash, but her tensed body forced me to still my desire to hold her, to comfort her trembling body that was flooded with fear and adrenaline.

Someone had pushed her to an edge I’d never seen crossed, one I’d only experienced during times that were close to the arms of death.

Someone tried to kill her.

“What happened? Why are you cut all over and how did you get here, Rosadette?” The words flew out of my mouth, while I continued to take her body in.

“Her sight has awakened!” Sio announced but I felt her alertness and worry - to the point that she kept her next train of thoughts between us. “Something is wrong, Rain. She fears closeness. Her magic is all rattled. Unstable. Dangerous. You must calm her. With her in this territory, the lands will begin to react out of her distress!”

We can’t let that happen just yet.

“Rosadette.” I kept my voice low as I lifted my hand high enough so she could see it. “May I?

She analyzed me carefully as if she didn’t recognize that we were a couple. It took her an extra second before she managed to slightly nod, giving me permission to lay my hands against her cheeks.

Her skin was so cold, like ice even within the depths of the steaming hot bath. She should have been warm, but her skin was frigid, like someone left her out in the winter cold for hours. I couldn’t understand what could have happened in this short period of time.

On this side of the realms with fae sight, our time moved just a tad faster - five minutes here was a mere minute over there. I knew I’d have enough time to bathe and rejuvenate myself before returning to Rosadette’s side to celebrate.

What could have happened in the mere minutes since I left?

Droplets of tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks and onto my hands as she finally allowed herself to express what occurred.

“Xavier’s evil. He has my rose. He…said he was going to freeze me like my mom. The light king killed the dark king. My mother was pregnant with the dark king’s child. I’m that child. He…doesn’t want you having me. He wants to rule everyone and only those who are perfect can walk among the land of the fae,” she rambled in one breath, the fear, panic, and stress that still lingered in her flowing out in a rush to be free and heard. “I was frozen. So cold. I wished to be with you and I got here. I don’t get any of this…everything was scary…I’m scared, Rain.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. That mother fucker!

If my blood could boil any further, I’m sure it would be the perfect temperature to make a cup of tea.

Or boil Xavier until his skin melted off his body, leaving nothing but bones while his screams were silenced by death itself.

What she’d just revealed should have never happened. If only she were in these kingdom walls, the very land itself would never grant such occurrences from prospering. It angered me as well as left me feeling distraught for my woman.

I couldn’t fight the urge to hold her, pulling her frail body into my arms. I couldn’t care less if I was completely naked. My urge to ravish her went stale while the desire to take away her pain and protect her was pulsing through me.

There’s no way I could keep up with this secret game anymore, not when Rosadette’s life was at risk, but if Xavier was sputtering nonsense about her rose…no wait.

Fuck. He froze her mom?! How? That’s impossible. He couldn’t possibly be strong or coherent enough to do such an action. Alicia wouldn’t dare allow him to remain in her castle walls if he was the culprit of her frozen state. She was her best friend after all. The light king that killed the dark…the story of the past. That’s an old tale…isn’t it?

I quickly filtered through her previous statement, catching onto the words that tugged at my very heartstrings.

She was frozen solid…like her mother. She wished to be with me. Me. Prince Rainer. She told the Universe who she wished to belong to… The rose. Xavier’s anger. He’s…he’s lost?

The revelation was huge. So big that I needed confirmation. We needed to see for ourselves if she was finally free from his shackled hold.

“I want to tell you everything, but I need to confirm one thing, Rosadette,” I declared and pulled back to look into her teary eyes. How I hated how puffy they were from her tears, let alone the trickles of fear, exhaustion, and hopelessness that remained.

She has to know the truth.

Sio, tell Alicia and Camilla what happened. Rosadette will remain with me until she’s calm and has rested. I don’t want any disturbances until then.

“Yes, Master Rainer!” Sio replied, her usage of Master confirming she was taking my command seriously.

“Do you trust me?”

“With my life,” she responded without hesitation.

I couldn’t fight my urge to grin at those sacred words. To find a woman who was willing to trust me as I trusted her. I felt like it was a mere dream to find someone who would respect my desires to be trusted and to give trust back.

Many fae didn’t get that trust needed to be earned, a common trait even humans fought to follow versus our kind, who used their magic tactics of truth versus lie to aid them in their belief in a person.

That was an invasive trait I only used against my enemy. I never wanted to use it on a partner I loved, and that’s why trust was even more important.

I took her hand and guided her to the steps to get out of the bath. My magic didn’t hesitate to push through to the surface, my dripping body now dry and clothed with simplistic clothing.

There was no need to wear fine clothes to impress my love when I sought justice.

The thought made me realize that she was still drenched, injured, and barely clothed. Whatever fought hard to slice into her flesh tore at her clothing, which was barely keeping together.

Turning to face her, my eyes scanned every bit of her, my magic already a step ahead as it rushed from my grasp and wrapped around her like it had been begging to do from her abrupt arrival.

In seconds, she stood there with her body healed from the various cuts, and her flesh and hair now completely dry. She looked down at the outfit I’d donned upon her. The long red dress hugged all those luscious curves I adored and her blonde hair that shifted to cherry red was left down in its immaculate beauty.

I’d added an extra piece to my vision of her, and she noticed as her expression revealed her confusion. Her hand lifted slowly, feeling the prick of the golden crown that rested on her head.

My soul told me she was now mine, and a queen within her home deserves to be crowned and worshipped.

Her odd look amused me, a smile taking over my lips before I turned away to face forward. Slipping my hand in hers, I began to guide her to where we’d teleported to. I hadn’t even realized we’d shifted rooms, which only confirmed how charged up with magic I was.

Where teleportation was as easy as breathing.

We approached a platform in the middle of the hidden room I hadn’t ventured into in months. It wasn’t intentional, but walking into this space always reminded me of what I wished to have - that fulfillment Esmeralda’s rose used to give me. The hope of a future blossomed at its sight.

That hope dwindled into helplessness, and as time went on, to hate. Then I was left to stand here and watch the final petal fall to the glass surface of the little dome that protected her rose.

The beginning of the cold room that held no future in regard to romance.

Today, in this tense moment, it was different. The atmosphere, the flow of energy coursing around, and the slight shimmer of light that seemed centered on the platform we approached made me hopeful.

We climbed the three solid steps, and my heart hammered against my chest as I took in the all-too-familiar dome glass with a glittering rose inside.

Not the rose of Esmeralda…but someone I actually loved. My Rosadette’s rose.

The rose was just as beautiful as her. Its sparkling purple base matched her gorgeous eyes as gold and red glitter lathered those fine petals. Like a piece of artwork, it took my breath away while its oozing magic brought life to its enclosed chamber.

“Rain…what is this?” The disbelief and confusion in Rosadette’s voice only proved that this was all real. I was here, with her, staring at her very rose that I’d craved since my eyes laid upon her.

I felt the emotion of longing, the thrumming desire of want that would flicker through me as I watched her sleeping in my arms or laughing at my jokes. The pride her growth awakened in me, and the secret, silent prayers I’d say to Mother Universe to somehow entwine our paths together. My prayers had finally been answered.

All of that hit me at once and ignited the trickling flow of tears that threatened to fall.

I turned my attention to Rosadette, unable to hide my admiration at finally being hers.

“This is your rose, Rosadette. Your heart is symbolized by a rose.”

My hand slipped from hers as I acted upon my instincts, walking down the stairs of the platform to turn and look her way. She’d already turned to stare down at me, her confusion morphing into shock as I lowered to one knee and looked up to her as a knight would to his queen.

“Princess Rosadette of the Rose Kingdom, I, Prince Rainer of Fae Rose Kingdom, can finally show you the truth of this world. Your heart was in the hands of a man who wanted to shield you from the truth. It’s now my turn to love you and help you discover the truth of your heritage and your role in this world. Many lies have been told to hide your identity from those who seek your death. With you completing your first year and escaping the clutches of Xavier, I and those who are on your side can reveal your destiny.”

I had to get those words out. To reveal a glimpse of the truth that was held back from her. To acknowledge the villain in our love story that was about to sprout wings and fly.

To fight for her trust.

All of this could break what we’d already established, but I was ready to accept that and fight hard to prove my worth once more. I’d fight harder than ever. Harder than what Xavier surely thought was giving his all in his messed-up views of the laws of romantic commitment.

I rose up and returned to stand before her.

“This is going to be confusing…and you may not love me for holding so much back from you, but allow me the opportunity to explain in a safe place. Whatever your decision, whether to discard me or forgive me, I will protect you from the forces that wish your demise,” I vowed.

I meant it with my heart, my damn soul, and she needed to know that her acceptance would not only grant her my adoration but protection from all those who hide away within the shadows.

She stared at me, analyzing me once again. I’m sure she was summarizing all our instances together, from the moment we met to this very second. Had I proven myself? Would she make room in her heart and push aside the hints of foul play and deceit to learn the truth of why this side of the world was kept hidden from her?

“Do you love me?” she questioned, her voice not even close to a whisper. My sensitive ears caught onto it and the tiny tremble allowed me to feel her nervousness.

She needed nothing but the truth, and this was by far the easiest question to answer truthfully.

“With all my heart,” I said with confidence.

The tiny smile that sprouted on her lips triggered the tears that fell down her cheeks.

“Then kiss me,” she whispered. “Then you’ll explain everything to me, for I won’t be entering Year Two unless I know all I need to in preparation for what’s to come.”

As if I’d dare let her enter the school year without immense preparation from that ice prince of a coward. Amazing how the boy who called me a coward years ago could try to break this woman who was now standing proudly before me.

Not anymore. She’s truly mine.

“As you wish, my love and majesty,” I quietly declared, my solemn words echoing around us before I claimed her lips with urgency. Kissing her - with all the pent up passion I’d allowed to build, grow, and beg for freedom - set off a wave of hunger that overtook my senses.

How we went from standing on the platform to her body pinned against the door with my body pressed firmly against her was but a figment in the past as my lips fought hard to devour every bit of her taste.

That sweetness in her mouth, the way she breathed swiftly and moaned quietly, as if she didn’t want my ears to catch onto how pleasurable the mere kiss could be, only fueled the beast inside me.

I’d fought long and hard to restrain this urge, but now I could give her a glimpse of what she’d been missing - a speck of what Xavier had failed to do, to begin with.

My Sweet Rose deserved to be nurtured like a flower. To be pampered with love, compassion, food, and water. To be pleased down to every sexual need that begged for attention, and now I could deliver it all.

She’s mine, all mine.

I had to reel in my desires when we were both breathless, noticing the drop of energy within her aura as I automatically hooked an arm around her waist to keep her body from dropping to the ground.

She hadn’t realized her knees were about to buckle but looked relieved at my swift movement, her focus on catching her breath after that intense kiss.

I pulled her into my arms, hugging her tightly and feeling her arms encircle me. Her relief was as palpable as her growing love for me. Even after I’d kept so much from her, she could still love me. Still share a passionate kiss like we’d just experienced.

She wanted me - desperately - just as I begged the Universe to give me one shot to make her mine.

“I’m a little tired.” She didn’t sound as though she wanted to admit it, but I could tell from the emotions oozing off of her that she was begging for rest. She needed to recuperate from the intense situation she’d been in moments ago.

Even if I craved to feed on her hidden needs, I had to prioritize her health after the terrifying experience she’d endured with Xavier.

“You need to rest,” I encouraged.

“I…” Her hesitation was obvious as she paused her words. I allowed my hand to get tangled in her long locks, inching her head back just enough to look into her eyes before I sealed her lips with a gentle kiss.

What I hated the most was the fear she fought to hide. She was afraid, and that wasn’t going to go well with me when she was in my arms.

“You’re safe with me, Rosadette,” I growled against her swollen lips. I knew she could feel that I meant every word, and with confirmation that she was now my rose, I could keep to this vow.

And use every bit of power if necessary to defend what was mine.

“I know,” she quietly stated, resting her head against my chest. “If I rest, this won’t all be a dream, right?”

“No, my Sweet Love,” I assured her, before scooping her up. “This is real, and when you awake, I’ll be right there to reveal the truth to you. I swear it.”

The flowing calm that left her was followed with her slow breathing. She leaned further into me, and I looked down to see she was already fast asleep.

How serene her sleeping expression was now, especially in this magnificent form. I brushed my lips against hers before I walked back to the platform to view the rose one last time.

This room was once again the blossom of happiness and hope.

That all starts with delivering the truth of it all.

AWAKENED AND REVELATION

~ROSADETTE~

THE COLD TRICKLES in like an approaching plague, its silent arrival making me shiver as I remain frozen in my spot. The world is dark, so far away and filled with desolation, which only makes my heart pump faster as I sense my doom.

Fear always loves to tease me.

It reminded me of all things I didn’t get to do. The views I wasn’t given the opportunity to see. Wasn’t I destined to do more? To be greater than everyone expected of me? Why would my end leave me frozen in this very spot? In the pits of the darkness that everyone wished for me to remain in.

It angered me.

To always be left in this state of helplessness. Why did my life end up like this? Being tossed aside like trash in a realm that thought of me as a burden.

As lower than scum.

Was I paying for a crime I committed in some past life? Or was this a lesson I had to endure so I’d be grateful for the good blessings heading my way?

From my suffering on the lands below to the embarrassment and disgrace I carried in the lands of my own people, was it not enough for me to enjoy some sort of victory?

Instead…here I am, frozen and ready to accept my cold fate.

Tears sprang to my eyes as my breath grew quicker. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, running down the sides of my face and leaving a chilled trail with its slow passing.

I still had so many regrets.

Why didn’t I work harder? Why wasn’t I stronger? Why did the world around me fight so hard to silence me?

Only a few cared. Only a few instances ignited hope within me that I, Rosadette Campbell, the orphan of the lower lands, could be something.

Coincidences, friendships, and love, the few instances that helped the journey be easier.

Was this it? Was this how it all ended?

The cold finally struck me, starting at my feet and moving upward. My rapid breathing only escalated, my tears falling as whimpers left me.

Didn’t the cold know how badly I wanted to live? How much I craved to find who I was meant to be, and prove my worth to all those who belittled it?

I’d made some progress. I’d been shown a glimpse of the potential locked inside me, and yet it didn’t give me that satisfaction I’d anticipated. To allow me to exhale and say to Death that I did my best.

I couldn’t fathom saying those words, let alone thinking them. All the long hours and work, the sacrifices made to learn about my world in a year, only for it to end like this.

What a pity…

As the chill continued to rise, stealing my sense of feeling as my limbs grew numb, my sobs grew and I wished for one last comforting hug.

A hug from my best friend.

A hug from my mentor.

A hug from my lover.

A hug…from my mother.

To think she’d probably endured the exact same thing, her mind filled with regrets as the cold crept into her bones and agonized her very being. All the heartaches, the last thoughts, the memories, and the stream of regrets running through her mind.

A death no one deserved to endure.

It made me cry harder, and I shook with the remaining bits of my body that still functioned. All I could do was ready myself for the inevitable, and that was the scariest thing of all.

Knowing there was nothing I could do, say, or think of that would stop fate. That those who mocked me, belittled my existence, and fought hard to plague and ruin my reputation would have the last laugh.

How unfair.

I closed my eyes and allowed myself to wait for my end to finally come.

“Sweet Rose.”

A voice? A deep sound that seemed to echo in this place of darkness. The cold streak that had reached my neck suddenly stopped, leaving me in uncertainty while my ears seemed to fight hard to hear that voice again.

Something cool brushed along my forehead, but it wasn’t the same cold that fought to destroy me. It was gentle, just like the soft press to my temple. The touch trailed down to my cheek, lingered to press firmly on that spot that ignited tingles through me.

I realized the cold that fought to contain me was suddenly retreating, as the touch moved to my neck and pressed firmly once more. This touch was so much different; it ignited flames that cast the coldness away and lit my body up from the inside out.

My stomach flipped like butterflies were fluttering within it, and all my senses were on high alert, but I suddenly felt safe.

“I’m right here, Sweet Rose.” The voice returned, so soft and comforting, like the warmth that wrapped around me and held me closely. My tense body suddenly relaxed, the rigidity fading away as my heart began to settle to a calming rate.

My breathing suddenly slowed, but it didn’t make me anxious.

Someone saved me from death.

My world of darkness was growing, but I wasn’t afraid this time. I’d been given another chance. An opportunity to see the world through the sight gifted to me.

Someone wished for me to be blind forever, but that desire was no longer possible. The moment I awakened, I’d see the true world.

Then no one can stop me. Absolutely no one.

“Sleep, Sweet Rose. You must rest for me,” the deep voice encouraged. His words made my heart swell, my mind encouraging me to do as I was told.

This voice meant well. Whoever possessed such a soothing yet seductive ability to speak was close enough to my heart to make me listen.

A savior in the darkness.

He’d be the one to aid me. To shelter me from the evil that was desperate to keep me shackled. Why I felt that way was one of many mysteries, but I was ready to rest so I could wake up and see this man face-to-face.

To touch his face, to feel the heat of his skin against my fingertips. To brush my lips against his, and to appease the side I’d come to love and the side that he’d hidden away for my own safety.

In the darkness, I’d somehow found the light, and it only confirmed one important thing.

I’m about to start a new journey…a path towards the Purely Divine.

A TINY POKE to my cheek caught my attention as my consciousness roused me from slumber. My body didn’t ache, nor was I cold. Whatever I’d been dreaming about must have been a nightmare.

That left me feeling a little better now that I was awake.

I should get up.

My eyes opened slowly, expecting to see the ceiling of my dorm room, but instead, the ceiling was detailed with the finest hand-painted artwork of a field of red roses with tiny bits of gold sparkle.

The chandelier was also gold with crystal ornaments in the shape of roses. It was amazing to look at as the specks of sunlight danced against its reflective surface, which only prompted the urge to sit up and view the rest of this foreign room.

Doing exactly that, I was greeted to the sight of a magnificent room filled with fine furniture. There was a theme of ancient royal furniture, complete with the massive, king-size gold bed I lay upon. The golden windows were left open, and that immediately took my attention as I slipped out of bed and walked across the tiled floor with my bare feet to see the vast sky.

The vast red sky.

My eyes widened as I took it all in, astonished that the sun could be so bright against a red sky like this. It wasn’t a dark red like blood, but one that transitioned to a nice pastel pink in some parts. The sun didn’t blend into its calm surface but stood out to continue its duty in giving us warmth and light.

I immediately knew I was in a castle, and the mere sight of the golden sparkling cement had me speechless. The room was positioned on the back side of the castle, facing a garden laid all out with various sections for different types of floral arrangements. That didn’t include the large maze that was decorated with vines and mini roses of various colors or the massive statue of a woman with her leg up like she was dancing.

The trees far away were vast and exciting, like they held a hidden path of mystery and begged for me to go and discover their treasures.

Tugging my eyes away, I looked around the room once more, feeling slightly thirsty. When I couldn’t find a cup, I decided to head to the washroom, but the golden mirror caught my attention.

The reflection of…me.

I froze mid-stride at the sight of me, the image I recalled from that feverish dream who looked like an enhancement of who I could be. Here she was; long straight hair that fell down to my waist, the blonde shade almost shiny as it transitioned to a gorgeous red. I could only imagine myself being a full-on redhead, but the two-tone ombre look complemented my tanned, contoured skin and blushed cheeks.

My lips that I thought were dry from my lack of water were completely smooth in the reflective image as they projected a lovely cherry color that was as striking as my purple eyes with silver rings around my irises.

I was far taller, standing at 6′0″, a height I’d always dreamed of being in comparison to my previous 5′4″ height. No matter this new shift, my small waist and wide hips were still present, this new transformation preserving my curves.

My breasts had grown a bit plumper, the buds of my nipples poking out from the white silky nightgown that hugged my body. It was unnecessarily tight, but it definitely was more seductive rather than attempting to cover one’s breasts and butt.

I had to turn around and look back to see my long legs and my lifted butt, my impressed state only growing because my ass was the definition of squatting perfection.

Damn…I look good.

Turning back to view myself once more, I took in my pointy ears, and noticed how radiant my skin was. I felt rejuvenated, not simply because I’d had a good night’s sleep, but also the feeling of relief you feel after an extremely rough day when you wake up feeling renewed and ready to kick ass.

Noticing the robe that hung on a golden hook next to the mirror, I reached for the silky lavender cover-up and put it on so I could at least look decent and not scandalous if anyone came in.

I was obviously in someone else’s house, but I was unsure exactly where this was.

After another minute of appreciating my new image, my dry throat reminded me of the urge to drink water. Turning around to head to the washroom, I noticed the cup of water on the exquisite nightstand.

That wasn’t there before.

Walking over to it, I looked to the door as if it had somehow opened without me noticing, but that would have been impossible with the mirror being so close to it.

Picking the glass up, I sighed at the cool touch of the glass while fighting the urge to shiver. I wasn’t going to stop myself from drinking the icy cold liquid, and I chugged it down like my life depended on it.

With a gasp, it was done, and I frowned because it felt as though it did nothing to aid my dry throat.

Now I want more. Hmm.

Placing the glass back down, I looked around as if to locate a hidden fridge or place to put bottles of water, and, returning my gaze to the cup, I realized it was full once again.

“Huh? How is it full?” I quietly croaked before rubbing my neck as if it would help.

Without questioning it, I reached for the glass and gulped down the water once again. With another sigh, I felt the relief of quenching my thirst, feeling thankful to whatever was filling this glass.

“To whatever or whoever filled this glass, thank you very much,” I quietly praised as I closed my eyes.

Lowering the cup once more to its spot, I was ready to explore, but noticed the slight movement in the corner of my eye. Looking back at where the glass was, I noticed a tiny boy with fluttering wings, who had his hands out in concentration as the glass began to disappear.

The sight intrigued me as I quietly turned around and crouched down, taking a closer look at him. He was lightly tanned, and his hair was shorter on the sides with longer strands combed to one side with a few spiked ones.

Those strands were cherry red with gold highlights, and he wore a black tank top and red pants that fit his body well. He was slim but his little arms had muscles at his biceps.

His almost transparent wings fluttered swiftly, and the sight of him reminded me of the fairy that crashed into my forehead when I’d seen Rainer in his different form.

Rainer. Where is he?

Deciding to focus on one thing at a time, I continued to watch the cup disappear and the fairy sighed and put his hands on his hips in triumph before turning around.

He froze at my curious gaze before attempting to hide behind the nightstand lamp.

Aww. Is he shy?

“Were you the one who poked my cheek prior to me waking up?” I inquired, followed with, “Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you. I’m very grateful.”

He poked his head out just a bit, giving me a chance to see his lavender eyes, which were similar to mine, only his had red circles around his irises compared to my silver ones. He seemed relieved by my attention but also nervous at the same time. It was like his emotions bounced back and forth in an indecisive manner, all while he scanned my body as if to make sure I was okay.

“Hello,” I greeted and waved my hand just slightly.

“H…ello,” he mimicked nervously but moved a little further from his hiding place. “Princess Rosadette.”

“I’m no princess.” I giggled as I rose up. “But my name is Rosadette. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He seemed shocked by my words before he came out from his hiding place and bowed.

“It is an honor to meet you, Mistress Rosadette,” he greeted again.

“I’m a Mistress?” I pondered, which didn’t seem right to me.

Did I have an affair with someone in my dreams or something?

“My Mistress.” He pointed to himself before clearing his throat. “My name is Rox. I’m your fae pixie guide. I’m blessed to you by the Universe and your magic that radiates within you. I was born to aid you in your conquest to grow and become a powerful individual within your society. I was given the task to ensure you’re protected while Prince Rainer ensures security is up to standard for the duration of your stay.”

“Security is up to standard for my stay. Where am I?” I pondered before adding, “And thank you for the introduction, Rox. I’m still rather confused and new to all of this, but please be patient with me, and thank you for doing your part to protect me.”

“It’s my honor and duty!” he said with more confidence as his shyness began to fade away. He buzzed over to my hand, wrapping his arms around my index finger and tugging me.

“Please sit as I explain,” he encouraged.

I figured that was the best option seeing as I felt rather tired even though I’d woken up only a few short minutes ago. As I did as he insisted, he buzzed around me before he reached my eye level and gave me a wide smile.

“You are in the princess chambers in the kingdom of Prince Rainer! He has taken care of you for three days,” he began but I interrupted with a gasp.

“Three days?!”

I immediately tried to figure out what had happened to begin with to land me unconscious for three days.

We got the results of our exam, I was supposed to change and get ready to be with Rain and Camilla after we’d seen Alicia. Monica…Xavier being psycho. He froze me. He was the reason my mom is frozen in ice. He tried to freeze me. No. He DID freeze me into a block of ice after I declared we’d never be together. That I hated him. I begged to be with the person who truly carried my heart…my rose.

“I dropped into Rainer’s bath and then he showed me my rose. He carries my rose now,” I whispered.

Rox nodded and crossed his arms over his little chest as his eyes seriously looked into mine. “Prince Rainer is now the keeper of your rose, which means the light kingdom has now lost their chance with Princess Rosadette. The chance is now given to Prince Rainer.”

“Light kingdom has lost their chance?” I was confused as to what he meant.

“It would be best if Prince Rainer explained,” Rox determined as he tapped his finger against his lip. “I’ll inform him of your awakening!”

His body poofed, leaving a cloud of purple and gold sparkles in his disappearance. I bit my lip slightly, wondering where everyone else was.

How’s Camilla? Is she okay? Does she know I’m well? How about Alicia? What is she going to do about Xavier? Do I still attend Fae Rose Academy? In fact, how do I adjust to what feels like a whole new world?

Ensuring I could stand once more, I walked back to the window to view the red sky, the sight I’d seen a few times, and couldn’t understand why.

My sight has awakened. Does that mean this world was always like this prior to me arriving in these lands? If this place is like this, does that mean the human world is seen in a different aspect?

There was a knock at the door and I turned around in time to see Prince Rainer.

Dripping wet with a white towel around his waist.

I had to question the Universe as to why every occurrence I’ve had with this version of Rainer included him being practically naked.

Not complaining, Mother Universe. Keep the naked fae coming.

He seemed to need a few moments to admire me, his eyes eating me up as they scanned me from head to toe and right back up. I licked my lips slowly, though I hadn’t realized until the action was already done and Rainer was rewarding me with a slight grin that lightened those handsome features.

If this was some sort of fairy tale fantasy, why do I feel Rainer would be the deliciously evil villain? The villain is always hotter than the male hero.

He closed the door and locked it, and I turned to face him as he approached. His wet strands were still dripping with water, not like he cared as all of his attention was on me.

Normally being the center of attention would leave me anxious or worried that I’d done something wrong, but in this case, I felt empowered by his captive attention. That I could reel this man in.

This man…who is now mine?

It seemed like a dream. A true fairy tale that I was destined to wake from. Yet, there he was, now standing before me as he scanned my body up close. I could see his yearning desires, just as the buzzing attraction between us grew stronger.

I was impressed that this sizzling feeling sparking between us was still so strong, as if our relationship had been renewed but in a new aspect that made me want to roam my hands across the bulky mass of his flesh and lay kisses upon him. I’d never been so sexually charged, and it was rather hard to think straight when all I wished was to have him between my legs, ravishing all my needs.

His eyes fluttered for a moment, their color shifting from blue to gold, and then to a light red. His breathing had picked up just a bit, leaving him no choice but to take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Rosadette.” There was that deep voice of his, as I admired his mature, hot body once more. “You’ve got to tone down your desires or we’re not going to have a serious conversation,” he warned.

“Hello to you, too,” I teased, which made him smirk.

“Good Afternoon, Sweet Rose.”

Heaven’s sake, this man is going to kill me.

The way he said that humble nickname of mine made my toes curl as I gravitated closer to him. Our bodies were mere centimeters apart, and yet I kept our distance as those color-changing orbs bored into mine.

“Can I hold you?” His tender request tugged at my emotions, reminding me of how he’d asked the same thing when I trembled in fear after my confrontation with Xavier. Just like back then, I gave him a nod of approval, and that was all it took to be in his comforting, strong arms that held me tightly.

I lifted my arms to wrap around his bulky frame, my hard nipples pressing against his chest while his groin seemed to press firmly against my lower half.

His earlier point was rather valid. How were we going to fathom having a proper conversation when I was basically horny and the mere sight of him sent my hormones into overdrive?

Pulling back slightly, he gave me one long look before he groaned and muttered, “I can’t stand this anymore.”

That’s all he said before he was kissing me with everything he had. The kiss was just like the one we shared upon the platform where my rose now resided. It was raw, filled with emotion, thrilling with intensity, and seemed to light my entire body up.

I kissed him long and hard, needing to taste him, to have my tongue in his mouth and enjoy the gasps we made as our impatience got the best of us. Each movement of our lips caused sparks to grow between us, my body growing hot and needing to be pressed against his.

I was standing one minute, and sinking against the soft red sheet the next, my cover-up gone while my white gown rode up past my hips to my waist. He supported himself with one arm while the other caressed my body tenderly.

Those strong arms could somehow bring the softest touch to my sizzling flesh. He bit my bottom lip and growled for entry, and I let him because I was desperate to have him explore the walls of my mouth before entwining his tongue with mine.

I quivered under his hold, not out of fear but out of desire, and it was an exciting and yet scary feeling to experience because everything was moving so swiftly. But it was exactly what I wanted. I moaned quietly, a sound I never expected to experience so soon with Rainer, but here we were.

In these new forms of ourselves. Making love like this is now our honeymoon night and we were about to start a wild ride of pleasurable activities that would leave me active and moaning all night long.

He wasn’t just pleasing my mouth with his enticing lips, but also gripping my hips as he ground me against him. The only fabric keeping me away from his cock was his towel, seeing as the panties that covered my entrance were soaked with wetness.

He did it again, teasing me with his hardness as if I wasn’t secretly begging for it, but I felt his hesitation in the air. It was an odd feeling, experiencing the emotion as if it were mine but not. The energy was foreign for sure, and my unconsciousness identified it as his, which left me wondering why he’d hesitate.

Does he feel I’m not ready or is it that he’s not ready?

I broke the kiss so the two of us could catch our breath. He returned his other hand to the side of my head. My hair was splattered across the pillow beneath my head and I watched him take me in at a slow pace.

He was scanning me like a scanner would a paper, taking in every bit of detail so he could recall it again and again. I noticed how my breasts pressed against the fabric, and how hard my buds were poking at the thin silk while my panties were on display with my nightgown being lifted and resting at waist length.

I pressed my legs together, fighting the ache that begged for us to continue. My eyes noticed the slight lift in the towel and I wondered if that was his cock pressing against the wrapped fabric.

As I returned my gaze to Rainer, he whispered, “I should put some clothes on.”

“No fun,” I grumbled, which had him smiling before he leaned in to whisper, “Trust me, Sweet Rose. I want you. Bad. So…fucking bad,” he growled dangerously, which riled me up all over again. “However, my parents are home, as are Camilla and Alicia, and if we started what I’m craving to do, this whole kingdom would hear me ravishing you.”

That made my whole face blaze red as he leaned back to grin seductively.

“Let’s save that for when we have some alone time,” he assured me.

He was off the bed and heading to the bathroom the next moment, giving me the opportunity to breathe.

I somehow fell in love with a sexy bad boy with a good boy exterior. Does that even make sense? His new exterior is nowhere near a good boy. Bad boy exterior? Sexy, hot, I-want-him-bad exterior? A camouflage exterior! Yes, yes. That actually somewhat makes sense.

“Sweet Rose.”

I lifted my head to see he was now wearing a red t-shirt and white sweat pants.

“I’m trying really hard here, but your thoughts are a little chaotic, at the moment.”

“My thoughts?” I questioned before I sat up and narrowed my gaze at him while my cheeks flushed. “You can read my thoughts?!”

He put his hands up with a guilty expression before he admitted, “I’m not trying, Rosadette. They’re literally slamming into my head and I don’t know whether to laugh now or later.”

“Rain!” I huffed and picked up the pillow to throw at him. He stepped out of the way, the pillow crashing into the wall behind him, which only irritated me as I picked up another to throw at him.

“Stop reading my thoughts!”

“I’m not trying to!” he argued as I threw another pillow and he avoided it once again. I pouted in impatience before I grabbed the last pillow.

“Then stop!”

“You have to stop pushing them into our bond!”

“Liar!”

“I’m not lying,” he whined.

Damn sexy beast’s fly is open!

“What?” He bowed his head down to look at his sweatpants. “Rosadette! I don’t even have a fl-” He didn’t finish as I launched off the bed with the last pillow and collided into him. The two of us crashed with a loud thumping noise as I slammed his face with the pillow.

“DIE!”

“MJSJDKSDKMS.”

I didn’t care what he was saying as he mumbled into the pillow. The door opened, and I looked up to see a tall woman, who stared at the two of us with a hopeless stare.

“Rosadette. You’re given the prime time to enjoy a frisky moment with your lover and here you are trying to kill him. Haven’t we discussed the importance of taking advantage of prime opportunities when it comes to men?”

I paused in my killing spree to gawk at the woman as I took in her magnificent features.

She was 6′2″ with a slim yet curvy figure. Her brunette ombre strands transitioned into red with multiple silver tinsel strands. Her lips were cloaked with red lipstick while her familiar eyes were a vibrant red. She wore a black dress that fit her body, showing her long legs and the black heels she wore with confidence.

With her hair up in a ponytail, I knew one main thing: she was about to murder someone, and it thankfully wasn’t me.

The sight finally clicked in that I obviously knew who this person was, even with the shift in appearance.

“Camilla!” I shrieked, and abandoned my conquest of killing Rainer to practically tackle my best friend.

“Jeez. I thought you wouldn’t recognize me,” she groaned but accepted my hug as her arms wrapped around me. “Hey, bestie. Glad to see you awake.”

I don’t know why hugging brought up so many emotions, but in seconds, I was sobbing into her shoulder. All she did was hug me tighter as her hand stroked my head.

“There, there, Rosadette. You’re okay. Don’t cry. Everything is going to be just fine,” she comforted.

“Did I somehow make her cry?” Rainer questioned, his voice thick with worry.

“No,” Camilla calmly answered. “Rosadette loves to be a strong, tough chick until she can leave the sobbing for me in most circumstances,” Camilla explained. “Plus, no one can think straight seeing as you’re naked half the time.”

“I have clothes on,” Rainer grumbled.

“Ya. Probably after you were seducing her with your charm that’s thankfully useless to me,” she said with pride.

“I feel the urge to invite your part-”

“Invite that son of an ass and I’ll freeze that cock in a block of ice so you know how my bestie feels,” she seethed, which shut Rainer right up. It was pretty amusing to listen to, and though I was a crying mess, I actually giggled at the comment while tears streamed down my face.

“You can’t laugh and cry at the same time, silly,” Camilla scolded but patted my back before she moved back to see my tear-stricken face. “You’re safe here, Rosadette. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you, or I would have.”

“I know,” I whispered and lifted my hands to wipe my tears. “I should have never agreed to check on him after Monica came to tell me Xavier was losing it.”

Rainer moved to stand behind me, his arms pulling me out of Camilla’s hold as he hugged me firmly into his bear hug. His lips pressed against my neck in comfort before he whispered, “Monica had good intentions. Alicia interviewed her. You know no one can lie to the queen’s face when her fae magic is activated. She truly wanted to help Xavier during his breakdown but couldn’t. She sought you out thinking you’d know how to help him.”

He picked me up suddenly, walking back to the bed and placing me down on the edge of the bed to sit.

“I’m alright,” I tried to reason, but he shook his head and pressed his hand on top of my thigh to force me to stay put.

“Adjusting to awakened sight is draining to the body and mind. You’ll be standing, feeling perfectly fine one minute and then be completely unconscious the next. It’s best you sit. That way, if you feel suddenly dizzy or completely blackout, you won’t hurt yourself.”

“Ya. Don’t be an idiot like me, who decided to be stubborn and fell down the stairs,” Camilla muttered and I thought about it. “You fell down the stairs only once when I first got to you know,” I voiced.

“Ya, when I was twelve and landed myself with a concussion. Good times.” Camilla sighed.

“Does that mean you’ve been seeing the world like…well, like this since you were twelve?” I inquired in shock. Camilla nodded as she snapped her fingers and a chair appeared right behind her. She sat down and crossed one leg over the other while she rested her hands in her lap.

“It’s scary at first, isn’t it?”

“It is,” I admitted quietly as I took in the room alone. “The sky is red.”

“In this kingdom, yes. It can obviously be whatever color you wish, but red seems to be the theme,” Camilla elaborated.

“Any color I wish?” I pondered, and Rainer squeezed my thigh just slightly, which only sent shivers down my spine as the warmth between my legs grew slightly.

“Let’s not change the color of the sky yet,” he suggested.

I flicked his hand with my finger, which made him look at me in question.

“You’re being a tease,” I grumbled.

It took him a few seconds to get it, but he merely gave me a smug smile and returned his hand right to that very spot. “Am I?”

Camilla rolled her eyes. “Turn that sexual attraction shit off so we can focus,” she huffed.

“You realize that isn’t something that can turn off, right?” Rainer countered.

“I know you can’t, but you can control yourself so you’re not stimulating every sexual nerve ending in my best friend with that stupid attractiveness of yours.”

“You sound envious,” Rainer said as his smug smirk only grew.

Camilla frowned and threatened, “If you don’t behave I’ll turn you into a bunny and even your mom wouldn’t be able to fix you until I’ve determined your punishment was good enough,” she vowed.

That had Rainer frowning as he moved his hand from my thigh. I laughed at his actual fear of my best friend but reached out to hold his hand.

“Holding hands is fine, just being touchy makes it a tad hard to think with you in this uh…form. Whatever this form is.”

“Your awakened sight shows your true fae form. So what you’re seeing is how we’ve always appeared since eighteen. When we reach adulthood, all our fae magic unlocks and our sight is normally awakened. However, some awaken their sight far earlier, like me at twelve.”

“Sixteen for me,” Rainer declared. “It was also the same for that ice jerk.”

“What…” I paused, fighting to state the obvious question.

“What happened to Xavier?” Camilla decided to ask the prime question I was attempting to state. “He’s currently locked up in a not-so-lovely dungeon Alicia forced him into and is currently facing confinement as she figures out what to do with him.”

“Could have just gone with plan A,” Rainer muttered in annoyance.

Camilla rolled her eyes and looked to him. “Plan A had you killing him. Not a good idea for a royal prince,” she acknowledged.

“Would have been worth it,” Rainer replied.

“Ya, at the cost of losing your royal status and someone else marrying Rosadette? I don’t think so,” Camilla offered. Rainer frowned at the idea, and I looked between the two of them, feeling as confused as ever.

“I’m not following this conversation well,” I confessed.

“Neither of us blame you.” Camilla turned her attention to me once more. “You think you’re up for a long conversation downstairs while you have something to eat? You have to be hungry.”

“I’m not very-”

My stomach cut me off as it growled so loudly that we all seemed to look down at it.

“You betrayed me,” I muttered as my cheeks began to turn red. Rox came out of nowhere, his tiny body holding a double chocolate Macadamia cookie.

“Cookie?”

“Oh. Thank you, Rox,” I casually replied and took the cookie before Camilla gasped.

“Holy fae! Rosadette?! Who’s that?!” Camilla asked.

“Hmm?” I paused in my quest to bite into the inviting cookie that was making me salivate to look at them while Rox flew around to hide behind my strands of hair.

“This is Rox.”

“Rox?” she questioned. “Where’d you find Rox?”

“Uh…when I woke up. He poked my cheek and got me water when I was thirsty,” I explained. Camilla looked at Rainer with an astonished stare and he nodded.

“Yup. Her royal powers are unlocked. He popped up early this morning. It’s another reason why I called you and Alicia back here so we can discuss it with my parents.”

“Still feel like I’m missing something,” I commented and took a bite of my cookie. I groaned. “So good!”

“I can make you more if you wish, Princess Rosadette,” Rox declared as he poked out from my hair to state his epic abilities of magically making cookies.

“Rox, you’re amazing,” I praised. “I wish we had milk though.”

“Coming right up!” he declared and clapped his hands. Just like that, there was a glass of milk floating in the sky.

“Wow,” I praised. “How do you do that?”

“I use your imagination to create what you wish,” he declared. “I try not to use a lot of magic seeing as you’re still recovering, Mistress.”

“You can just call me Rosadette,” I voiced and took another bite of my cookie, followed with another.

“Don’t eat so fast,” Rainer teased and reached to grab onto the floating milk. “I’ll hold this so you’re not expelling so much energy.”

“Does having Rox around take a lot of energy?” I asked no one in particular.

“A fae pixie guide is entwined with your magic so it doesn’t take as much energy as you may be thinking,” Rainer decided to explain. There was a sudden poof, and there was the female fairy from my feverish dream.

“YOU!’ she declared and pointed at me.

She was darting my way in seconds, but Rox got in her way with his arms up. “Stop!”

The girl stopped right before him, completely surprised by his appearance as her eyes grew bigger as she looked at him in shock.

“W-W-WHO ARE YOU?” she demanded.

“I’m Rox,” he calmly replied and moved around her before putting his hand on her shoulders. “Please give my Mistress the peace of eating.”

He pushed her away as she yelled, “What? Where are you taking me?! Master Rainer! I’m being kidnapped! KIDNAPPED!”

Rainer just continued to hold my glass of milk while watching the unfolding kidnapping like he didn’t care.

“Wow. You’re diabolical,” Camilla muttered while I bobbed my head.

“Mhm.”

Rainer rolled his eyes. “Sio, go get some air and show Rosadette’s pixie guide, Rox, around.”

The two fae pixies paused before Sio pouted. “Do I have to?!”

“Yes, please,” he replied. “It would be good for him to know these lands since we’ll be staying here for the majority of the summer,” he reasoned.

“Okay, Master,” she huffed and looked at Rox. “Follow me! If you fall behind, I don’t care!” she declared and zoomed towards the window.

Rox looked over at me, and I gave him a motivating smile. “Have fun, Rox.”

“Thank you, Mistress. Please make sure you drink some milk. It will keep you rejuvenated for the conversation ahead,” he encouraged before making his way to the window that Sio had already opened.

The two of them flew away, leaving the three of us to look at one another. Rainer offered me the glass of milk, and I accepted it before drinking the glass in one go.

“Ya, we should discuss things while you get some food inside you,” Rainer declared.

“Before we do that, where are we? This isn’t the dorms or Alicia’s castle,” I voiced as my eyes darted between them. Camilla looked to Rainer, who rose and offered his hand once more.

Laying my hand in his, he helped me up and took the glass from my other hand before answering my question.

“We’re upon my family lands and this castle harbors the Queen of Darkness, which is my mother, Seraphine.”

He paused to look into my eyes and a question left my lips.

“Why does ‘harbors’ sound as though you’re renting the castle?” I inquired.

His smirk made his eyes twinkle just slightly as he answered. “We technically are.”

“Then who’s the true owner?” I inquired and watched Camilla grin as Rainer answered.

“The sole daughter of this empire is you, Rosadette. You’re the princess of these lands. This castle and this side of the fae world belong to you.”

What a revelation bomb.

HIDDEN KINGDOM BEYOND ACADEMY WALLS

“How have you been feeling since you’ve eaten, Rosadette?”

I lowered the empty cup of tea back to its matching saucer, my eyes locking onto Alicia’s relieved eyes. “I’m much better, Alicia,” I quietly spoke.

It wasn’t as though I had to speak lowly, but my nerves were beginning to get to me as we waited for Rainer’s parents to arrive. They had left briefly to talk to their security team. They desired to venture to the lower lands, so they needed to ensure they had enough security to come with them.

Rainer sat to my left while Camilla sat to my right. The three of us were drinking tea after having a rather large dinner. I had to slowly stuff my face since my stomach was still adjusting to not eating for a few days, but the food served was delicious.

The flavor of every piece seemed enhanced and made with tedious care. The five-course meal included a lovely dessert of matcha fondue with white chocolate strawberries that could be covered in our choice of toppings.

It was a combination that I could only imagine the rich to consume, but I had to keep reminding myself that this place wasn’t just an average shop or home.

This was a palace. The castle of Rainer’s kingdom.

I’d yet to learn about the truth of what he was referring to with his last statement.

“The sole daughter of this empire is you, Rosadette. You’re the princess of these lands. This castle and this side of the fae world belong to you.”

We decided to talk about it after dinner because I needed all my strength for what would become a shocking conversation. The mere statement had my mind buzzing, leaving me to wonder if Xavier also knew about this.

If I’m the sole daughter of an empire like this, did he know?

Yes, the idea of being a princess had floated in my head since it was brought up, but I’d been so focused on proving myself and gaining enough knowledge and wisdom to thrive in this new world that it became a thought in the back of my mind.

Why dream of what I could potentially be when there were so many avenues I needed to figure out about myself?

This world had taught me that power and wisdom are key; otherwise, you’d be walked upon like a laid-out carpet for everyone to abuse and leave their dirt for you to bear alone. Those of Fae Rose didn’t even believe I was a fae until I worked hard to exhibit my abilities when they least expected me to.

If I was a true princess of these realms, the same people who doubted my worth as a fae would doubt my royal blood, and that was why I had to ensure Rain’s words were true before I could finally believe in them.

He said the truth, that was for sure. My gut sensed the honesty in his words, but I need to hear from more than one person and have all the facts laid out before me.

Alicia was sitting parallel to Camilla, her hands in her lap. I’m sure she too, was nervous, especially when she knew what Xavier had done. I felt like it had already thrown a wrench in what was becoming a strong mentor relationship.

I didn’t want to end being trained by her. Far from it. Her training was something I loved because it was hands-on, and out of all the other possible professors, she’s the one person who’d had immense hope in my capabilities from the moment I arrived here.

I still couldn’t understand how Xavier could be related to her. He was polar opposite to the king and queen. I may have not seen the king as much, but he seemed so calm and collected compared to Xavier, who always appeared bitter, cold-hearted, and the pure definition of an asshole that deserved a beating.

To think Xavier was now locked up under their castle in some sort of dungeon made to isolate him, I could only imagine the boiling anger forming inside him.

Those fuming emotions that would be aimed at me.

I shivered at the thought, and before I knew it, a blanket was being put upon my shoulders. My head turned back to see Rainer had gotten up and had laid the soft white fabric onto my shoulders.

“Cold?” he whispered, though his eyes told me more.

He knows what I’m thinking about and wants to comfort me in a way that doesn’t make it quite so obvious.

“Yes. Thank you, Rainer,” I replied with a comforting smile. He nodded and walked around the golden velvet couch to sit next to me once more. As he put an arm around my shoulders to bring me closer to him, Camilla took my empty teacup and saucer and placed them upon the coffee table at our feet.

“We should make sure to run some diagnostic tests on Rosadette,” she brought up. “To make sure the ice spell doesn’t leave any lingering effects.”

Alicia nodded in agreement, though she didn’t further comment.

I could only imagine what was running through her head.

Does she know her son could have potentially frozen my mom, who was her best friend?

It all seemed rather impossible, especially since Xavier was the same age as Camilla and Rainer. How could he possibly have frozen my mother and if he had, where was she left?

Could he be that cruel of a person from as early as a baby?

Rainer squeezed my shoulder just slightly, and his deep voice flowed into my head.

“Ease your mind, Sweet Rose. The answers you seek are about to be revealed.”

His reassurance was comforting, and our attention turned to the doors as they opened from the aid of two guards in red armor.

Two individuals walked into the private royal lounge room, and my eyes couldn’t help but take their appearances in because their very auras demanded it.

Wow.

I knew Alicia was beautiful when I first saw her, and this woman was no different as she walked with pure confidence.

Even the word confidence lacked in defining just how much sass and grace this majestic being of perfection carried as she walked with her arm hooked around a large, tall man.

The woman had to be the same height as Alicia, her figure cloaked with a long, flowing gown of white that sparkled with gold. The theme continued with the gloves that cloaked her arms like we’d entered a ballroom. Her flowing hair moved gracefully with her movement.

The lower half of those lavender strands were left down while her roots and the majority of the top half of her hair was put up and pinned down by the crown that sat on her head.

Her lips were cloaked with red lipstick, and her eyes were changing color as she took in the view. She had many similarities to Rainer, especially with her eyes shifting to various colors like his eyes did on the regular.

Her white heels completed the look as her slightly tanned skin was smooth and healthy.

The man she held onto wore a black silk dress shirt and white dress pants. He could have been wearing a suit jacket earlier, but that was nowhere in sight. His skin was far tanner than the woman next to him, and his blond locks were put up in a man bun that could make headlines down in the human world if anyone focused long and hard on it.

He wore black dress shoes, and his cufflinks were made of what surely was pure gold. It looked as if they had just arrived from a ball, instead of talking with security.

Alicia rose up as did Camilla, but when I tried to rise, Rainer kept me sitting next to him.

“They’re aware of the situation. Rest. I don’t want you to blackout like you did before dinner.”

Right.

I forgot about the five steps leading to a drop that had happened the moment I left the room to go into the grand hall. It could have been the sight of how luxurious the castle was or the fact I hadn’t eaten, but I literally only lasted five steps before I was wiped out and woke up in Rainer’s arms with Camilla and Alicia looking down at me.

A side effect of this whole awakening process, I guess, but the tea we had just finished drinking would give me a bit more of a boost before I’d officially retire for the night.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me that this was going to be our new place to stay until I knew all the facts, which was a relief because I couldn’t see myself in the castle or even on Fae Rose property after everything that occurred.

I needed a break, and this was somehow becoming the separation my soul craved as I healed from the traumatic experience.

The two of them stopped and looked around before the woman spoke. “Good evening, everyone,” she greeted and looked over her shoulder to signal the guards to leave.

They bowed and turned around to close the doors. Once they were sealed shut, she snapped her fingers and the red wallpaper shifted to gold as red rose designs merged like a pattern throughout the gold surface.

The woman moved her arm from her husband’s arm to clap her hands and smile a beaming grin.

“Ah! Much better! I’m so tired,” she whined with exaggeration that seemed to get rid of the seriousness I’d expected. She skipped - literally skipped with heels on - to hug Alicia.

“Alicia! I’ve missed your cute little face!”

Camilla couldn’t help looking over at me, her expression telling me she wasn’t expecting that at all. I didn’t blame her as I glanced over to Rainer to see his smirking lips.

“Mom’s like that,” he declared and looked over to the bulky man. “Dad? Why do you two look like you went to a damn ball and came back?”

The man sighed and tugged at his white tie to loosen its hold.

“It’s because we did.” He seemed irritated by the very fact. “Your mother forgot she made arrangements to briefly see one of the Fae Courts. We had to teleport and make a brief appearance to show that we hadn’t forgotten. You know how fae are when you make last-minute excuses as to why you didn’t attend a silly event like a garden brunch.”

“You can’t blame our culture for holding grudges,” Rainer admitted with a shrug. “At least you two look swell.”

“For a five-minute dress up, they should be glad I left with clothes, period,” he replied, and his attention moved to me. I seemed to tense up at his gaze, which made Rainer chuckle as he rubbed my shoulder.

“Rosadette. That’s my dad, King Emmanuel.”

“H-Hello,” I squeaked my greeting which made Camilla giggle. “Rose. Stop being so nervous.”

“I-I can’t help it,” I admitted and looked back to him as he nodded his head.

“You’re the woman my son’s gaga about,” he replied and looked back at Rainer. “Am I correct?”

“Yes, Dad,” Rainer replied. “And I’m not gaga about her.”

“Are too,” he replied.

“Totally are,” Camilla side commented.

“Hey.” Rainer gave her a look that didn’t frighten her in the slightest.

“No point in lying, right?” Camilla countered and sat back down.

“Wait!”

We all looked to Rainer’s mother as she pointed to me. “You’re Rosadette!”

“Y-Yes.” I sat up like I was being picked out of a large crowd to answer a tough question.

“Wow,” she commented with the biggest smile on her face, her white teeth practically twinkling as if a beam of light was bouncing off them.

“You look just like your mother,” she whispered in awe.

All I could do was give a small smile, fighting hard not to show any bit of my own weakness. I didn’t even have a picture of this woman, yet many in these lands seemed to know some aspect of her beauty and my similarities to her.

She moved away from hugging Alicia to give me her full attention.

“My name is Seraphine. Feel free to simply call me Sera. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Rosadette. My son is head-over-heels in love with you!”

I looked over to Rainer to see his whole face was red, an intriguing look to see in his fae form.

“Mom,” he grumbled, sounding like his dad. “You’re embarrassing me.”

“Sure, sure,” she brushed his comment away and looked at Camilla. “Ah. Chamomile Goldstone. It’s been far too long since I’ve last seen you.”

Camilla looked confused and Sera elaborated, “I saw you when you were much younger. Before you and your family moved down to the lower lands,” she explained.

“Ah,” Camilla replied and bowed her head. “I apologize for my lack of memory. That was indeed a long time ago,” she answered with respect.

“No apologies needed,” Sera assured her. King Emmanuel walked over where Sera stood, the two of them lowering to sit down as Alicia returned to her seat.

“Would you like anything to drink?” Camilla offered.

“We’re both fine,” Sera replied as she looked at the three of us. “We have a lot to discuss so it may be best to tackle it early so we can all retire for bed at a reasonable hour.”

The three of us nodded and prepared for the important discussion that I was positive would change my life.

“Why don’t we discuss what occurred on the last day of your classes at Fae Rose Academy?” Her suggestion made everyone look at me, leaving me feeling as though I stood center stage.

Rainer still had his arm around me, giving me a bit of support while Camilla laid her hand on my knee to remind me that she was here too.

With a deep inhale, I let it out and looked at Sera, King Emmanuel, and Alicia.

Beginning to explain the events in as much detail as possible, I reached the last part of my confrontation with Xavier that led to me teleporting here.

“I told him I hated him. I said it with so much rage as I vowed that we’d never be together. I deserved better. I knew within my soul that we just wouldn’t be compatible because he never saw me as someone who could be on the same level as him. As an equal comrade, let alone a lover.” I paused to control the deep-rooted anger I hadn’t realized I carried with the bringing up of this topic.

Swallowing it down, I carried on with, “I declared that I, Rosadette Campbell, would see the fae world as it truly was. I asked for the truth to be delivered to me and that my heart be connected with the person who adores me. Someone who would cherish me like a plant receiving care from its owner. I then thought of Prince Rainer as my body was sealed by the last bit of ice, and I wished he’d steal me away from the darkness. Suddenly, I was crashing into steaming waters and I realized I wasn’t trapped in the ice any longer.”

Everyone remained silent as my words slowly sank in. Alicia lowered her head in shame as she sighed.

“Rosadette, I can’t even express how sorry I am for such a terrifying experience. None of that should have occurred or be tolerated. Xavier is receiving his punishment as we speak, but I’m not sure if that’s enough for me,” she confessed.

“Is Xavier going to be attending next year?” Camilla brought up with a stern voice. “He’s going to be expelled, right?”

When the three of them didn’t answer, Rainer’s body tensed, and he looked at Alicia.

“How can he still be allowed to attend after what he did to Rosadette?” he snapped.

“Rainer,” King Emmanuel warned but Rainer didn’t seem bothered by his dad’s warning.

“Rosadette could have died! Or better yet, he could have kept her trapped in that block of ice with how obsessed with power he is! Just to use her for some evil plot later on. Who cares if he’s receiving a punishment? No type of discipline should dismiss what he did to Rosadette, let alone the pain she’s endured throughout the year,” he argued. “All her suffering was because of him. She was mocked, disgraced, and almost kicked out of our world before she was given a chance. The only thing that saved her was Alicia’s presence. Even with the change in circumstance and her proving herself, he still fought hard to make her feel inadequate, and was even forcing her to do Year Two and Three spells!”

“Huh?” Camilla and Alicia declared and looked at me.

“He was forcing you to do spells outside of the year requirement?” Camilla clarified.

I’d never really told her or even complained to Alicia about the extent of his training. With a small nod, I mumbled, “Our training sessions would be one to one and a half hours long, and he’d test me with various spells from this book that he stated would make me stronger. If I couldn’t do it, he’d scold me. As the weeks progressed, and I was able to accomplish the spells given to me, it still wasn’t enough to satisfy him. It was frustrating because nothing would please him, and I wouldn’t have enough time to recover from the spells. The higher spells like the ones designated for Year Three would drain me really bad.”

“Though I’m impressed with your ability to harness spells at the third-year level of your school curriculum,” King Emmanuel spoke up, “that is absurd and dangerous.”

Sera nodded in agreement. “Surpassing your magic can lead to great consequences,” she added.

“Which is exactly my point,” Rainer emphasized and returned his attention to Alicia. “He was doing everything in his power to destroy Rosadette, yet he gets to return to school as if he didn’t try to kill her? That’s like sending a victim back to the same place where she was almost killed and telling her the killer will be in the same class as her!”

“It’s not my decision,” she announced, which caught our attention as she continued, “If I were headmaster, I’d be able to kick him out. However, my husband doesn’t agree. He thinks Xavier should have a second chance but with restrictions in place so he can’t be near Rosadette.”

“And how is he going to ensure that?” Camilla pressed. “With all due respect, Alicia, the king shouldn’t have a say in this when he has barely kept track of the many mistakes his son has made to not only Rosadette but other classmates. Yes, his grades on paper are nice and dandy but so are Rosadette’s and Rainer’s! She even beat Xavier with everything she’d gone through last year. Why is it fair to have him continue to attend?”

“Not to forget that I’m sure if the tables were turned, Rosadette would be expelled,” Rainer muttered.

Sera and King Emmanuel were silent as they looked at Alicia, who seemed rather hopeless with her conflicted expression.

“I agree with all your points. He’s just being a stubborn fool in regard to this. He’s always been closer to Xavier and thinks it’s just some sort of phase or a bipolar breakdown. He wants proper assessments to be done and to give Xavier one more chance to prove himself, or he’s officially cut off.”

“What does ‘officially cut off’ pertain to?” Camilla questioned.

“Cut off from everything,” Alicia stressed. “That was the agreement I formed with him and have an official, signed document stating that if Xavier betrays our trust and final chance we’ve given him, he’ll lose the spot to the throne and all the benefits of being a royal.”

“Doesn’t that basically mean you’re disowning him?” King Emmanuel concluded.

“That’s exactly it,” Alicia replied and looked over at me. “Rosadette, I would have done things differently if I could, but just as my husband respects me ruling our kingdom, I must respect his decision in the school he has leadership of.”

I knew she wasn’t lying but it upset me.

“So what if he killed me?” I tossed the question into the air. “Would he just receive some sort of punishment and get off scot free?”

When no one replied, I shrugged. “I just need a moment,” I replied and rose up. “I’m going to use the restroom.”

“I can take you there,” Rainer offered. I was going to deny his aid, but I sighed and allowed it with a brief nod. We were out of the tense room in a few long strides, and as we entered the large washroom, I walked to the sink and took a deep breath and let it out.

“I shouldn’t be pissed, right?” I quietly whispered and fought hard to not allow myself to cry. I sensed Rainer’s presence behind me, seconds before he turned me around to look at him.

One glance and I was in his arms, which only prompted my submission, as I began to cry against him.

“Shh, Sweet Rose,” he pleaded. “You have every right to be frustrated. I’m just as upset. That’s fucking bull! My parents would never agree to such terms.”

“Rainer…I…maybe I’ll just dr-”

“No,” he declared and pulled back to cup my cheeks as he shook his head firmly. “You will not drop out of Fae Rose Academy over a cold-hearted bastard of a man who tried every damn avenue to get rid of you before you could grasp the truth!”

“B-But…I don’t know what the truth is!” I reasoned. “Why would he go above and beyond to get rid of me?”

Rainer sighed and kissed me gently. “You’re about to find out, but you have to swear to me you will not drop out because of him, Rosadette Campbell. You didn’t enter this school to please him or anyone else, for that matter. You craved knowledge, to learn more about the magic talents you possessed, and most importantly, to learn more about your heritage, the birthplace you never got the opportunity to learn and grow in. Don’t let that sick mental case take that away from you! Don’t let him suppress you with the fear he left behind.

He pulled me into his grasp before he kissed me firmly with those loving lips. “Don’t allow him to let you abandon this.”

I knew he was right, and I felt like a coward for even thinking so negatively. I simply needed some time to recover from the experience, and maybe figure out a way to heal and move forward from it.

He’s right. I shouldn’t drop out without learning everything.

I looked up at him once more and he whispered, “Let this summer be where you find out the truth of your heritage and get a taste of what you can do with me supporting you. If we reach the end of summer and you wish to not attend, we’ll drop out together.”

My eyes widened at his declaration and he merely bobbed his head in confirmation.

“I promised to protect you. To be there for you as the holder of your rose. Your happiness has always mattered to me, and if Fae Rose brings you far too much stress and unhappiness for you to enjoy the remaining three years, we’ll stop, and I’ll let the best in my kingdom teach you.”

“Rainer,” I whispered and gave him a sad smile. “Why couldn’t you be the one to find me first?”

“Maybe if I was, life would be too easy, and I wouldn’t be filled with gratefulness for being delivered my number one wish after loads of sadness and regret,” he declared. He brushed the last set of my tears away before coaching me to take a few deep breaths.

Using a pinch of magic to rid me of my teary look, he nodded in approval before taking my hand in his. “Let’s listen to what they have to share and then we’ll make a decision at a later date, when we can absorb everything and have some time to relax.”

“Alright,” I replied and squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Rain.”

“You’re always welcome, Sweet Rose.”

He kissed the back of my hand before we made our way back to the room. Upon our arrival, Camilla was shouting the moment the doors closed.

“What do you mean he’s not your son?!” she shrieked, which left me confused while Rainer arched an eyebrow in question. He shared a look with his dad, which seemed to spark some sort of understanding in his gaze before he directed me back to the couch where Camilla was actually fuming

She’s so pissed.

Alicia sat a little taller and cleared her throat to repeat herself.

“Xavier isn’t my son by blood.” Her firm declaration had me gawking while my eyes looked over to Rainer, who didn’t seem surprised at all.

“Why aren’t you surprised?” I questioned.

Camilla looked over to Rainer and added, “Ya! Why aren’t you furious? Why would the king possibly allow him to return to school when they’re not even related by blood?”

“I knew already,” Rainer revealed, which seemed to be news to everyone as Sera spoke, “You knew?”

“Since I was a kid,” Rainer revealed and looked to me and Camilla. “You two realize I’m not of my parents’ blood.”

“What?!” we gasped, and the revelation suddenly reminded me of something.

“An orphan born out of darkness wouldn’t know shit,” Xavier snarled.

“You’re right,” Rain declared. “An orphan like me was born into the depths of a river full of dark magic. This orphan somehow was chosen by a woman who couldn’t bear children and decided I deserved a chance to live. Now here I am, a royal prince not due to my blood but rather to the love of my parents, who only want me to reach my highest potential. They do not bring me down or speak ill about my actions. They encourage me to live, and I follow every word of advice they give me. I don’t know shit, but I’ve experienced enough in my short life to know stupid when I see it.”

Wait. He mentioned something like that at the park when I was drunk!

Rainer nodded and encouraged Camilla to sit back down before he continued.

“My biological parents essentially left me in a place that’s normally forbidden to outsiders. Only strong royals could enter such places, so I guess it was a perfect place to dump a baby.” He said it so casually and yet the mere action made my heart clench in anger.

He noticed my immediate frown and squeezed my hand comfortingly.

“It’s a shitty choice, but one that my parents decided to make. One’s trash can be another’s treasure, and somehow I was found by my parents, the king and queen.”

We looked to Sera as she smiled lovingly at Rainer. The mere look told me she truly accepted him as one of her own as she closed her eyes.

“As a young child, I wanted to become powerful very quickly. Whether it was due to my family’s harsh standards or our living conditions, I aimed to be the best I could be and trained extremely hard. The training I did was very vigorous on the body, but I didn’t see it as a problem at the time. It wasn’t until I’d married Emmanuel that I found out that my years of aiming for the top had damaged something within my reproductive system, and thus deemed me incapable of having children. As fae, we have magic and medical ways of trying to aid a woman in conceiving, but the risks were far too high to take a chance on.”

She looked to Emmanuel. He had his eyes closed, but his hand had hooked around hers to give her the comfort she needed to continue on the topic.

“We decided that we’d look into adoption at that point,” Sera continued. “However, we didn’t want the kingdom to know about it. Not until we chose the child and all the work involved was finalized.”

“Why?” I asked.

Sera’s sad smile was followed with, “Our kind isn’t for the faint of the heart. Sometimes we’re genuinely mean to one another, and I couldn’t imagine a son I chose dealing with the ridicule of it all at such an early age. We wanted to at least ensure that the first few years of the child’s life would be as pure as they deserved, and that level of secrecy is difficult to come by when it comes to royalty. Instead of looking into our options, I decided to pray to Mother Universe for a way out of this. A possibility, an opportunity, or a door to simply open to the chance of being a mother without the attention.”

She paused to take a deep breath and carried on, “That was the night that the guards had gotten ill from food poisoning and couldn’t check the forbidden well of darkness. It’s a cave that’s been marked by magic, and on normal occasions, those who enter can never escape.”

“Isn’t that the place where, on the outside, it’s deemed as a plagued shadow spot with intense magic?” Camilla offered. “The well is surrounded by thick black liquid, like tar, but the well water inside is of pure light magic?”

Sera nodded. “Those who venture in have to be able to use both Shadowed and Purely divine magic. As a result, it’s extremely difficult to enter and survive.”

“Wouldn’t that mean…” I trailed off and looked at Rainer, who shrugged. “Whoever had dropped me there would have perished. Essentially a suicide mission after an attempted murder. I doubt my parents figured I’d survive, and even if I did, it’s not like they wanted the responsibility of raising me, or I wouldn’t have been there,” Rainer elaborated.

Sera agreed with a nod and continued, “Seeing as my guards couldn’t attend to the monthly assessment, I decided to do it myself. I was one of the few who could enter the place and not be consumed prior to me rising to the throne. It only made sense for me to quickly check. That’s when I discovered Rainer. He got his name from that very place, because that was one the few times where it rained of dark droplets within the cut-off area. He was at the bottom of the well, darkness drops drenching him while he floated above pure white waters.”

“Doesn’t that mean…” Camilla began and looked to Sera as she nodded.

“Rainer is technically a hybrid fae. One of Purity and Shadow magic. He was left there long enough to absorb a good chunk of the magic, but due to his innocence, the forbidden place couldn’t kill him. Mother Nature is indeed a mother, and her own creations, whether light or dark, would never allow a child to perish in a sacred spot like that,” Sera explained. “However, since I had to report where I’d found him, the news eventually slipped that he was discovered in the forbidden lands.”

“Thus, why I was called ‘dark orphan’ for a good chunk of my childhood,” Rainer declared and rolled his eyes. “Funny, too, since a cold boy who was also an orphan decided to bestow that very nickname on me.”

“Xavier,” I concluded.

Alicia sighed and looked around at us. “We had a similar circumstance. I, too, couldn’t give birth naturally. We were given the opportunity of claiming a child, but we were originally told that we’d be receiving a girl, not a boy,” Alicia admitted.

“What changed?” I asked.

“I’m honestly not sure. I was so anxious at the time that I could barely think, and as a queen, my distress can cause the kingdom itself to fall into an imbalanced state. The king aided in the details, and since neither of us were picky in terms of gender, we ended up with Xavier. I felt like maybe the agent aiding us wanted to pick a baby with a higher probability of having light fae magic versus shadowed, but again, I wasn’t picky about my options. I merely wanted to raise a child.”

She paused as she shook her head. “The mistake I made was not telling Xavier.”

“He doesn’t know?” Camilla questioned in shock.

“I didn’t see the need to tell him. Xavier was an odd child, to begin with. He was advanced but took things so critically that I worried the truth would make his heart even colder to us. It took some time for him to warm up to us, and his warmth wasn’t as pure as those children who enjoy interacting with their parents on a daily basis. Xavier loved solitude and learning, which was a little more beneficial to us because we could still run the kingdom without being distracted or drained from his growth.”

“Well, it now makes sense as to why he looks and acts nothing like you or the king,” Camilla huffed. “It’s honestly like he was born in a block of ice!”

“He may have been,” Alicia confessed, which caught our attention. “It was never officially confirmed, but some documents state that he was discovered in a block of ice that they used magic to melt and release him.”

“Who would have thought?” I whispered.

Alicia agreed as she nodded and rested her back against the couch.

“We tried to be strict on Xavier, but we started far too late. Between the two of us, I’m on the colder side of parenting compared to my husband, but we vowed to ensure he was aware of his privileges. It seemed like all our lectures, talks, and wishful words were a waste of space, especially now.” She shook her head. “Faes parent differently. We want our children to enforce their personalities earlier than how humans promote growth. Due to fae children learning far faster in speed and magic capabilities, we try to give them space to learn about themselves and become who they are meant to be. It seems that way of parenting brings out a lot of nasty qualities in many of our children because they assume being mean, ungrateful, and belittling anyone who doesn’t meet their standards is acceptable. It’s not. However, changing how our kind raises their children is a form of dictatorship we can’t implement. Every parent raises their child differently, and we can’t change that.”

Sera actually nodded.

“Rainer wasn’t difficult to raise. He was independent very quickly, but he’s shy.”

“I’m not shy,” Rainer grumbled.

“You were when you were younger,” she hummed.

He didn’t say anything but the tiny pout on his lips was cute. King Emmanuel nodded and added, “Rainer was a child who wasn’t one of many words around his peers. Not because he was necessarily shy, but he’s a silent critic. He analyzes his surroundings and the characteristics of those around him. It makes it easier for him to tell who is genuinely caring and who is faking it. He takes the time to ensure he’s not judging a book solely by its cover, which takes his peers awhile to realize. That only screws them over because they’ve already lost their privilege to get close to him.”

Now that was true. He looked past the image before him and would make sure he looked past what everyone assumed and picked up on easily.

That was the reason why he saw through the deceit that day on the platform.

“What are we going to do now?” Camilla brought up. “Yes, we have things we need to work on in terms of making our future fae children not be assholes, but what if word gets out about what happened in the training room with Rosadette and Xavier returns? You realize that would look like you can get away with anything as long as you’re a royal or have some sort of connections.”

“No one else knows of the incident,” Alicia assured me. “We’ve also spelled him so he’s unable to speak of it around anyone who doesn’t know of it.”

“It still doesn’t mean his return is welcomed,” Rainer acknowledged. “You’re not saying everything.” We all looked at him as he added, “I know our kingdoms are different, but you wouldn’t simply allow your husband to have the final say. You are the queen of your lands. He may be king, but the very land relies on your magic to thrive, which means you’re the more powerful one. Knowing your personalities, you hate injustice, which would bring you unhappiness, and that would mean your king would have to work harder to keep you appeased so your rose doesn’t diminish or suffer wilting. This frustrates you, but there’s something pausing you from taking true action, especially when Xavier isn’t of true royal blood.”

We all turned to her once more and she looked at Sera, who seemed to realize what the problem was with her gasp.

“Ah. Okay. That kind of makes sense,” she declared.

“What makes sense?” Camilla questioned. Sera needed a moment to think through it before she looked at the three of us.

“Do you know the tale of the three kingdoms?”

“No,” all three of us replied and she nodded.

“I won’t make it long like the original, but in our lands, there were three vast kingdoms. The one on the left was the kingdom of light. They were designated for Purely Divine. The kingdom to the right was of darkness. They were designated for the Deadly Divine. The two lived on opposite spectrums for many centuries, but one day, a royal child from the dark kingdom fell in love with a royal child from the light. Their love was frowned upon, but they carried forth with their love, stating that if it was truly ‘wrong’ Mother Universe would prevent it. When they decided to marry, both kingdoms thought it would never happen.”

She paused to look at us to ensure we were following along.

“The day of the wedding, they had very few guests. A few family members on both sides, and one or two friends that supported them. They asked the Universe one last time if this was the right thing to do, and if so, please show both sides that unity is possible. They married that moment and decided to visit the light kingdom. They were immediately shunned, and anyone who went with them was banished from their homeland. The king, who was from the light, was heartbroken, but they decided to go to the shadowlands, where the queen was from. Upon their arrival, they too were banished from the lands with all those who supported them, leaving them homeless between the two kingdoms.

“They walked and walked with their remaining companions, attempting to find shelter during the rough months of winter, and they reached the highest point that seemed to connect the light and dark kingdoms like a triangle point.

“The couple and the remaining survivors of the long journey began to weep as another blizzard storm approached. Many of their companions had fallen ill and given up, while others decided it wasn’t worth it and killed themselves. With only five light beings and five dark beings to support the king and queen, they knew if the blizzard was worse than the previous, they wouldn’t make it. The king and queen went on their knees and begged for mercy from the Universe. They wished to prove to both sides that their union was blessed by Mother Universe and that they weren’t plagued with death and destruction. With the final prayer, they huddled together, and the queen and king used the last bit of their magic to protect their comrades as the storm hit.”

I could vividly imagine the whole thing playing out in my head, like a movie that had reached the saddest point. To be discarded by your kingdoms and left hopeless in lands like the fae. The agony, heartbreak, and struggle to keep pushing forward to prove to their lands that being married to one another was possible.

“They survived the storm, but they were completely drained of magic, which meant if anything else happened, they and their loved ones would be finished. The storm had brought intense fog, so they couldn’t go anywhere. They had to remain in the very spot they had stayed during the night. One would think they would insult the Universe for not giving them the sign they needed to prove their unity was blessed, but they did something unexpected,” she explained as her lips curled in a smile.

Closing her eyes, she continued, “They held hands and told Mother Universe that they were grateful. They had managed to survive the storm, and no matter if death was approaching them, they had put up a good fight and were grateful to have survived the journey thus far.”

She opened her eyes to see our moved expressions as she whispered, “Mother Universe listened to every word, and it brought tears to her loving eyes.”

She lifted her hands to spread them apart. “At that moment, the thick fog began to depart, like curtains that were being parted to both sides. The sun came out and the world around them suddenly grew warm. The dead forest they had been wandering in suddenly began to spark with life, the dead trees blooming in seconds as the grass beneath their feet healed miraculously. Before their eyes, red roses began to blossom all around their feet, and when the fog cleared out, they realized there was a dazzling golden castle before them.”

She lowered her hands as a dazzling smile graced her lips - her eyes locking onto mine.

“The castle was made out of pure gold; it couldn’t be chipped or carved. The interior was furnished with the finest pieces from both fae and human realms, following the soon-to-be theme of gold, red, and black. The kingdom would come with a town for their people, their resources coming from minerals, oil, and blessed waters that could create rejuvenation baths. An army of men appeared a few feet from them, dressed in golden armor and waiting for their orders from the king and queen of the lands. That was the day the Rosadette Kingdom was born. A kingdom of light and darkness.”

I gawked at her as it finally made sense, and she grinned at my shock as she bobbed her head. “They ordered the guards to make large walls to protect their lands and to ensure no one would be allowed entry until they were ready to open their hearts. They wanted a moment to enjoy the blessed gifts of this kingdom that had answered their pleas, but they were also ready to start a family, and what better way to conceive than in a peaceful kingdom that had Mother Universe’s hand in its creation.”

She paused and lifted her hands once more.

“Both kingdoms at the time had yet to see the new sprout of competition. Since betraying their own, their kingdoms had been hit with vigorous weather that was strenuous for even the fae. Mother Universe was angry with them, upset that they could get rid of one of their own and she felt that they deserved to face the consequences. With the unpredictable weather, many faes began to grow sick and perish because they struggled to rejuvenate their magic supplies, and soon hunger became a problem for both lands. Neither of them could help one another because they both were low on everything. This lasted for an entire year.”

Moving her hands upward like two points were building up to one, she carried on.

“One day after a fierce storm, the kings and queens of both kingdoms went to the highest points of the castle and begged Mother Universe for forgiveness. They realized what they had done was wrong and that they had ignored the values of Mother Universe. They had each lost ninety-five percent of their population and begged to protect the last five percent. They acknowledged their mistake and would do anything to apologize to the couple they banished. Mother Universe heard their plea, and that was when they could see the golden castle far, far away.”

Lowering her hands, she gave us a smug grin as she crossed her left leg to rest on her right. “They rushed to those lands, banding together to head to the great golden castle. They hoped that the king and queen of the land would be merciful to their suffering kingdoms and aid them in the long recovery. They had barely anything to give but a purple rose from the Kingdom of Darkness and a silver rose from the Kingdom of Light. They protected the roses under domes of glass so they would be shielded from the travel conditions. The journey was long, but they finally reached the massive golden walls of the kingdom.”

Roses in domes to shield them from the stormy weather.

“Upon their arrival, the guards allowed them to enter and plead their case from the bottom step of the gold castle. The king came out first, wearing golden attire of the finest cloth while covering his face with a mask. He was bulky and powerful, which meant they had the proper food to survive, and it made the four individuals fall to their knees and beg for assistance. The king questioned why their kingdoms were suffering to begin with. What possible plague could they have triggered to cause them such loss? They didn’t hesitate to explain their wrongs, and how they had banished a couple who were from opposite spectrums but were madly in love and wished to marry. They couldn’t accept the idea of them being together, not because it wasn’t allowed by the Universe, but they were frightened of change. They assumed that light would be fine without darkness, just as the darkness would be fine without light. Now, after a year of struggle and tremendous loss, they realized that assumption was false. They needed one another to remain strong, and that was why they banded together to come and give them the only precious items they had left. They presented the dome roses, the silver and purple roses full of life as they twinkled beneath the rays of the warm sun above. The king admitted that their story was sorrowful, but what if accepting the roses meant that the future royal children would come to fall in love differently?”

Fall in love differently?

“The royals were confused by his question, so he elaborated. He explained that instead of one merely falling in love with those in their kingdoms, Mother Universe would bestow a rose in a glass dome in a designated room in each castle. She would choose the woman who would fit right for the king, and he’d have to fight to keep her love alive by taking care of a rose. The woman could be from any of the three kingdoms, which would make the possibilities equal and couldn’t be frowned upon by the family or people of the kingdom. If the chosen royal son took care of the flower properly, the two would begin to fall in love with one another and would eventually marry. It would be a privilege for those of royal blood and would become a tradition that would run through the fae culture for the rest of eternity. However, if the man did not take care of the woman properly by ensuring her happiness, the rose would begin to wilt until it perished. If the rose perished, the woman would then get to decide on who would be the bearer of her rose, and once chosen with her mind, heart, and soul, her rose would appear in the next man’s kingdom’s chamber, which would give him the opportunity to love her. Both kings and queens agreed that it would be the best way of determining love between the royal children and eventually bring unity by encouraging the Universe to play her role so such events like banishment never happened again. They agreed, and that was when they heard the sound of a baby.”

A baby?

Sera motioned her hands as if she were holding a bundle of joy in her arms.

“Their agreement was followed with the sweet cries of a child, a sound that they hadn’t heard for months, since the plague had caused most of their children to perish and the women to become infertile. The masked queen walked out of the castle, holding a beautiful baby girl. Her cries made the roses in the domes grow further, their petals being bathed in glitter like they had just been blessed by the very kingdom itself. The king removed his mask, as did the queen, and the four royals gasped as they realized the king and queen of the golden kingdom was the couple they banished. The revelation brought more apologies and begs for forgiveness, and with Mother Universe as their witness, they forgave them. The king and queen ordered their guards to travel back with food, water, and jugs of magic to help the kingdoms heal and rebuild themselves. Within another year, the kingdoms of light and dark were finally healed and thriving again. Together, they made a treaty of peace, that love would be left to the Universe to decide as their fae culture grew to accept all fae, so no one would ever be banished for love thanks to the dome rose privilege. That was many, many centuries ago.”

“Why do we have only two kingdoms then?” Camilla inquired. “I mean there’s this golden kingdom that we just found out is called Rosadette, where your royal family resides, and then there’s the Rose kingdom, where Alicia resides. Basically, what I’m trying to figure out is which kingdom is missing?”

King Emmanuel nodded and rose up to continue.

“This kingdom is still called Rosadette, and that is why within the walls of this kingdom and the next, we never refer to our surnames. Not because we are not proud of this kingdom and grateful for its kind offerings of life, but because it’s not ours to humbly claim.”

“Not yours?” I questioned. “I’m not following.”

Rainer looked between his parents and his father nodded.

“None of you were born at the time of this incident, and it’s not something easily found in history books on our culture,” he announced. “When the three kingdoms still prospered, the next Rosadette daughter was up next to have her rose be given to one of the royals. The Prince of Light had just become King of Light, and the Prince of Dark had also just become the King of Dark. The King of Light had dreams of being with the Queen of Rosadette. He fantasized and obsessed about their union to the point it was almost unhealthy. As king, very few could speak ill of him or even advise him because he was lost in a sort of fantasy he’d lived in for many years prior to him rising to the throne. His parents didn’t deem it as a big deal, and they had no choice but to step down, seeing as they were now old and ready to live a peaceful life until death took them. Granted, there is always a royal couple that backs up each kingdom, but the King of Light wouldn’t listen to them either. His mind was set that he would be granted the rose of Rosadette’s kingdom. However, it didn’t go as planned.”

I squeezed Rainer’s hand as we prepared to listen to the tale.

“The rose had appeared in the chamber of the King of Darkness. The King of Light hadn’t known at first. It was only when the King of Darkness announced his marriage to the Queen of Rosadette that he found out,” he revealed. “The King of Light was furious, astonished that Mother Universe could possibly forsake him and allow such a treacherous thing to happen when he was devoted to making the Queen of Rosadette happy. He thought it was a joke, and merely mocked the King of Darkness, saying that he wouldn’t be able to keep her happy for long. So he decided to wait. He waited and waited, expecting them to fall out of love and her rose to wilt away. To him, it only made sense because the King of Darkness wasn’t very powerful or as attractive as him. The queen deserved perfection, and there was no way the King of Darkness could deliver that to her.”

That way of thinking sounded far too familiar, leaving a lump in my throat while I fought not to shiver. Rainer squeezed my hand to remind me he was there, and Camilla put her hand on my right knee once more, the three of us still focused on King Emmanuel.

“However, time went on and it seemed as though their love was growing stronger. Their kingdoms rejoiced because it was clear that it wouldn’t be long before they brought children to the world, and the news angered the King of Light. He hadn’t had a rose show up in any royal lands and the thought of being alone in the castle walls drove him insane. He decided if he couldn’t be happy, no one could be happy. He sought a strong Fae Wizard to invoke a spell upon him and the King of Darkness. That spell, however, required death.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as butterflies fluttered in the pit of my stomach.

“There was a night when an intense blizzard came out of nowhere and hit the kingdoms, which was the night the King of Light declared he’d come to visit the Kingdom of Dark. The Queen of Rosadette was visiting the kingdom and was trapped by the storm, like many others. The King of Light had fought through the storm to arrive, and they encouraged him to take refuge in the castle for the night. That was the night the King of Light murdered the King of Darkness.”

The three of us were silent as he closed his eyes for a moment while shaking his head. “The scream that left the queen’s mouth still haunts us,” he admitted and even shivered. “The agony, heartbreak, and shock that her husband was now dead before her only worsened the storm as Mother Universe watched her precious son perish at the hands of another. The King of Light then evoked the spell, stating that her rose would be forced to appear in the Kingdom of Light first and that he’d gain the opportunity to love her better than the King of Darkness, who was obviously dead. He laughed and spread the dust of the spell, but he didn’t listen to everything the wizard had stated.”

Alicia and Sera shook their heads, as King Emmanuel continued, “After completing the spell, he was ready to take the queen as his, until he heard a baby’s cry. A female child, her upset cries bouncing off the walls of the castle. He looked to the Queen of Rosadette, only to realize one shocking thing. She had been pregnant with the child of the King of Darkness, which meant that the child carried both the blood of the shadowed and the light that the Queen of Rosadette possessed. His dream for perfection was suddenly tainted, and even if he took the queen as his own, he could never raise an abomination. Out of anger, he screamed and cast a freeze spell on the queen, but she slowed it down and rushed to remove her child from the castle. That made the King of Light angrier, and he screamed and let his elements seek to destroy everything. The Queen of Rosadette encouraged everyone to evacuate, and with the royal couple in tow, she encouraged them to seek refuge in the kingdom of Rosadette and make it their new home until the heir of Rosadette returned to their lands. She showed them the babe and informed them that the couple of Rosadette also knew of the babe’s existence. She would take the babe somewhere she hoped she’d be safe from the hands of the King of Light, and return. None of them knew of the ticking curse that was placed upon her.”

“The couples,” Camilla quietly whispered. “Was that…”

“Myself, Seraphine, Alicia, and her husband,” he revealed. “The Queen of Rosadette rushed to the lower lands, all while the King of Light destroyed the dark lands by freezing the kingdom into ice. He was going to go after the queen, but the remaining part of the spell activated.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“The spell needed blood. Little did the king know that it needed the blood of two royals. He was supposed to kill the King of Dark and Queen of Rosadette within similar time frames to shed their blood. Obviously, that would defeat the purpose of what he’d asked the wizard but that was the point. The Fae Wizard wasn’t allowed to interfere directly, but he knew the King of Light wouldn’t kill the queen. Therefore, the spell triggered the death of the King of Light. The underlying purpose of the spell was to force both slain kings to be reborn again. Though the King of Light wouldn’t receive his true love, the spell would give him the chance to be given the rose first between him and the reincarnated child of darkness,” he declared.

I was speechless, just like Rainer and Camilla, who had their jaws open in pure shock.

“Mother Universe was upset by the circumstances, and that was the day that the kingdom was completely destroyed by various forces of nature. That brought the kingdoms down to two. With the Kingdom of Light not having a ruler, it was determined that the royal couple of the darkness would move to the Kingdom of Light. No one but the royals knew that the queen was of the light element and the husband was of darkness, which ended up favoring them because the queen was compatible with the lands and could aid in their survival. The royal couple of the Rosadette family decided to rise to the throne and aid the kingdom in rebuilding from the loss of their queen after she never returned. The kingdom never stopped searching for her or the babe, and after centuries of searching, they found a field of roses where a block of frozen ice laid intact. Instead of the solider returning to get aid with the new discovery, he fought hard to thaw out the ice. He’d almost gotten through it all when he ran out of magic. He had no choice but to return to the lands and inform us about his discovery, but when we arrived, the woman who held a babe in her arms was gone.”

“So…so you’re saying the woman survived centuries of being frozen?” Camilla confirmed.

King Emmanuel nodded. “The spell wasn’t made to kill her. It was to freeze her in time until he could return her to his lands and force her into marriage. However, since he had perished, and she’d vanished down on the lower lands, no one could break the spell. Thawing the ice did exactly that, but that left us with the understanding that she’d taken the babe. The sole heir of the Rosadette kingdom.”

“Who she named after the kingdom,” Rainer concluded and looked my way. “That’s why Rosadette was on the lower lands.”

I looked back at the three of them as they nodded.

“Doesn’t that mean…my mom is alive?”

“Maybe,” Alicia answered. “I’ve been searching whenever I can venture down to the human lands, and that was how I met you. You remember our first encounter, yes?”

“Yes,” I replied with a firm nod. “Why couldn’t I come back?”

“We didn’t want to interfere,” Sera spoke up. “If your mother had left you in that specific village, there was a reason for it. She could have left you on the richer side of those realms, but she didn’t. The decision wasn’t made out of haste. It was made with guidance from the Universe, and that’s why we couldn’t easily interfere. Instead, we decided to send someone down to guide you who would be of similar age and who could be a knight to protect you.”

“That’s exactly why Camilla and her family were sent down to the lower lands,” Alicia declared.

I looked at Camilla as she seemed to understand her role now. “No wonder why I was told to protect her,” she commented. “Wow. That’s complicated.”

“Wait. Xavier had said it differently,” I voiced. “He said ‘No wonder your mother hid you away. She didn’t want you to be in the same predicament as her. The heartbreak almost killed her, but she couldn’t move on after the light king killed the dark king. Her beloved was gone and she would have no choice but to marry the light king, but lo and behold, she was pregnant. A woman of light and a man of darkness, a forbidden love that led to his demise. She ran far away to escape her marriage, freezing herself and allowing centuries to pass until the Universe awakened her from slumber. If only time could heal a broken heart.’ Does that mean she wasn’t pregnant? She already had me and ran on her own accord verses him saying she wanted to escape the marriage with the King of Light?”

The news seemed new to them, and Alicia spoke up, “I told the tale differently to him,” she revealed.

“Why?” the three of us asked as Alicia looked to Sera and King Emmanuel. They nodded in encouragement.

“Because we came to the conclusion that Xavier could potentially be the reincarnation of the King of Light,” she revealed.

That had me and Camilla gasping before Sera added, “And that would mean the potential reincarnation of the King of Darkness would be Rainer.”

He was completely still as the news struck us.

King Emmanuel nodded, as he looked at the three of us. “It only made sense. Xavier was found in a forbidden area of ice by the King and Queen of Light. Just as my wife found Rainer in the forbidden place of darkness. They were found in the same year, with no connection to their birth parents, who probably perished from depositing their children in those forbidden places. It’s not a coincidence that Xavier was placed in the Kingdom of Light and Rainer in the Kingdom of Rosadette, which we’ve covered up with the Kingdom of Darkness. They have always been somewhat rivals, and it made even more sense when Rosadette’s rose formed in Xavier’s possession first when they didn’t seem compatible.”

Sera bobbed her head in agreement.

“Like the spell had enforced, the reincarnation of the King of Light would be given the opportunity to love the destined Rosadette, which was truly Rosadette, the ‘human’ from the lower lands. His opportunity to love was here and now, and he proved what Mother Universe already knew was a wrong choice. He didn’t take care of his rose. He didn’t listen to Rosadette’s need to be acknowledged as a lover and not as competition for perfection. His old ways from his first life had been brought over to this one, and the sight of the fallen petals must have triggered bits of his memory and assumptions he’d made before his death, centuries ago.”

“Now that he’s lost the rose,” Camilla began, “won’t he try to make history repeat itself?”

“That’s what we’re fighting against, but it’s the reason why we can’t kick him from Fae Rose Academy,” Alicia answered. “We can’t give him a reason to have an outburst. We believe from the current assessment that this side of his was triggered by the sight of the dying rose as its last petal fell. Since the incident, we decided to wipe the memory regarding the rose.”

“What?” we questioned.

“He doesn’t remember Rosadette?” Rainer inquired.

“He remembers her, but not the fact he had her rose,” Alicia declared. “By getting rid of his memories of his possession of her rose, he won’t have any association with her and may even be confused as to why he even tried to hurt her. It would be deemed out of character for him to attack his Year One partner, which we have emphasized could have been due to the stress of him wanting to do well at school. He’s receiving punishment because he knows attempting to kill another, especially one of royal blood, is against the law, so he’s more ‘grateful’ than anything to be alive versus crucified for his actions.”

“So he doesn’t know about the rose, but he remembers the legend? Wouldn’t he still try to do something?” I inquired.

“He remembers the tale I told him, which again doesn’t insist that the child was ever born after the woman was frozen. I left the tale at that part, and he must have assumed what could have happened with the lingering memories of his past life. As another precaution, we’ve sealed that side of him that was causing the mental distress. The seal has been there since the incident, and it seems to be intact.”

“Does he know of the seal?” Camilla asked.

“No. We’ve told him he’ll receive treatment due to his episode to ensure his mental stability is secured. If you know Xavier, his knowledge is everything to him, and he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to secure it versus losing it from his outburst,” Alicia answered.

“Wow…that was a lot,” I admitted, feeling a headache coming on. “Xavier is the reincarnation of the Light King. Rainer’s the reincarnation of the Dark King. I’m the frozen babe who was left on the lower lands. My mom is somewhere and we’re unsure if she’s alive or dead. Xavier has to stay in school so we won’t trigger an outburst and basically repeat history…and my head hurts,” I finally admitted.

Rainer frowned and pulled me to rest against him.

“I think that’s enough for tonight,” he suggested. “At least Rosadette knows of her heritage and the circumstances that led her to this point in time. She also now knows that this kingdom is hers.”

“Indeed,” Sera agreed. “Which means you have to be careful with your emotions here, Rosadette.”

“Why?” I asked.

“You’re the heir of these very lands,” King Emmanuel declared. “Sera may be the current queen who aids in the kingdom’s survival, but you are the root of this kingdom. The love bestowed upon you from your father’s side of darkness, while the power and rooted abilities of your mother is connected to the lands we walk upon within this kingdom.”

“Wait. Doesn’t that mean that Rainer is technically Rosadette’s dad?” Camilla brought up. I actually cringed at the idea, and Rainer did the same as we both looked to Camilla, who shrugged. “What?! Doesn’t it?”

“I don’t think you guys realize that fae reincarnation is different from human reincarnation,” Sera acknowledged.

“It is?” I asked, feeling a little more comfortable about lying against Rainer.

Sera nodded. “Human reincarnation promotes the soul that was slain to return. Fae Reincarnation doesn’t promote that. When you are reincarnated, the soul is fresh. That new soul is given the traits of magic and memories of the old soul, which frees the previously lived soul to ascend up for judgment. The memories and powers descend with the new soul and only if circumstances allow it will the memories be triggered. The traits will mingle with the new individual and merely boost them versus fighting to make the individual who he previously was.”

“Basically, Xavier’s cold personality is his own trait while his desire for knowledge and perfection is a trait of the King of Light,” Alicia voiced. “Versus Rainer’s own quality of being observant and shy, while the King of Dark’s trait was having a bit of a double personality.”

“You have a double personality?” I inquired and then pouted. “Actually, don’t answer that. You kind of do.”

“How do I have a double personality?” he whined.

“You have a good boy complex,” Camilla pointed out.

“And now you’re all sexy, protective hotness with a bad boy complex that would bring all the fae to the yard,” I continued.

He groaned and looked at his parents. “That’s not true!”

“Well…” Sera smiled sheepishly as King Emmanuel shrugged.

“The truth hurts sometimes,” he muttered and Sera nervously laughed.

“Bedtime!”

“Mom! Dad! I demand better answers!” Rainer complained.

“He’s more worried about having a double complex,” Camilla muttered and shook her head. “At least he’s a new soul and ain’t your papa.” She winked at me as I cringed again.

“That’s a disgusting thought I’d like to get rid of, thank you very much.”

“Let us rest. We’ve talked enough for today. Tomorrow we’ll regroup and determine the plan for this summer before school begins. Sounds like a plan?” Sera concluded.

“Yes,” we all agreed.

I’m the only heir of the Rosadette Kingdom…and this is my home.

A SUMMER JOURNEY TO THE LANDS THAT RAISED ME

“How are your breasts bigger than mine?”

“Gah! Camilla! Stop squeezing them!” I huffed and splashed her with water which helped me wiggle out of her hold. She muttered something about getting payback as I swam to the corner of the mega royal bathing house for royal females.

After our long talk, my head was pounding like crazy, to the point that I’d asked for some sort of medication to help with it. Sera suggested I used the royal bath, which aided with all physical and emotional problems the body could be facing.

The waters were filled with healing magic properties which basically made it a magical pool of rejuvenation. It was normally used for royals to heal any aching body parts after strenuous movements such as working out.

Or sex, from what Camilla voiced when we left on our own.

Rainer wanted to talk a little more with his parents and Alicia regarding Xavier and the potential plan for Year Two at Fae Rose Academy because he didn’t approve of him attending.

I didn’t agree with attending Fae Rose with Xavier present but after the huge revelation and past history of what potentially could have been the trigger of Xavier’s mental breakdown, it now made sense.

The mental seal they had implemented would close off the influential side that came from him being reincarnated. The fact that he’d have no memory of my rose being in his possession would ensure he’d at least leave me alone.

He thought he was an ass for attacking me during his mental breakdown, and his parents were doing him a favor by keeping it private.

It seemed like a solid plan, but it didn’t get rid of the fact that I’d still have to be in the same school as him, which only left me a little more anxious regarding my future.

I hadn’t told Camilla about what Rainer had told me in the washroom. That if I couldn’t handle attending, he’d drop out with me and offer the best resources to help me learn and grow on our own.

To be offered the opportunity gave me a bit of peace of mind, but the idea of giving up also annoyed me. I didn’t want to be a coward and throw away one year of school. Even with the burdens that came with adjusting to a new world, I’d learned so much about myself as well as my family heritage that I’d always craved.

The real truth behind my birth and family circumstance only reinforced what I had to do - I have to continue attending Fae Rose Academy.

I’d have to force myself to face my fears, but that meant I’d have to learn how to become even stronger while accepting my roots.

“Hmph. You’re lucky I love my current shape, or I’d beat out those breasts of yours!” Camilla huffed and swam over to relax next to me. Seeing her up close in this new appearance was still taking me a bit to get used to. She just looked banging hot, but I guess all fae looked that way when you were blessed by Mother Universe herself.

The only difference was now I’d been given the privilege to see it myself.

“You’re somehow still two inches taller than me,” I acknowledged, which made her grin in triumph.

“True, but you’re curvier! I can eat all the cupcakes in the land and not gain weight.”

“What a problem to have,” I said with intense sarcasm, which had her laughing before she sighed.

“How are you feeling?”

The way she asked was in seriousness as she opened her eyes to look over to me.

“I’m not sure how to feel yet,” I admitted. “Everything is kind of fresh. Like holy shit, I survived Year One of Fae Rose Academy, only to almost die from the headmaster’s son, who’s actually the reincarnation of my family’s killer and essentially the reason for all my suffering. The only real benefit of all of this is knowing my boyfriend isn’t actually my dad and that I have bigger boobs than my best friend.”

Camilla gave me a look before an appreciative smile graced her perfect lips.

“You’re taking it a lot better than I would have in your situation. It’s a lot of information to carry, but it’s good that it came out. You were told the truth, which is something that may not have occurred if the right people didn’t inform you,” she admitted.

“People would actually try to cover it up?” I inquired.

Camilla nodded as her gaze seemed far away.

“You’re getting a small fraction of how dangerous the fae world is, Rosadette. Outside of the academy and kingdom walls is a world that isn’t as perfect. It’s brutal, savage, and littered with fae who want nothing but power. It’s all about war and who will come to the good side or the bad side.”

“Why do I have a feeling in this world, the good side may not be the same as those in a fairy tale, where they actually want the good for all of their kind?” I offered.

“That’s exactly what it is,” Camilla admitted. “You’re surrounded by two sides that have their own views of life and don’t care about the ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’. It’s their side or the highway, and that’s the problem we face with only two kingdoms.”

“Why didn’t they ever rebuild the Kingdom of Darkness?”

“Well, one of the main problems is having a queen to run it,” Camilla revealed.

“There’s no one who can? Alicia runs what is still the Kingdom of Light. Sera runs this kingdom, which is technically mine. Couldn’t she return with King Emmanuel to rule the Dark Kingdom?”

Camilla shook her head. “All kingdoms have to be ruled by a female. Since Mother Universe is a female who fuels Mother Nature herself, it became known that the queens of the kingdoms had a better connection with the lands than the men. It’s far easier for the lands to respond to their call, and thus, it was made that the queen would rise to the throne and aid in stabilizing the fae kingdom with her magic, while the king would be her supporter, protecting the kingdom by training himself and the fastest warriors and guards in shielding their queen. Think of it like the queen is the Rose of the Kingdom, and it’s the duty of those who live within that kingdom to protect her. Similar to a game of chess with the queen being more valuable than the king.”

She lifted her hand up from the steamy waters, the beads of water flowing out of her hand being swarmed with darkness as they floated through the air to make a castle that looked to be frozen on the outside.

“Seraphine’s element is light. She was indeed living in the land of darkness, but by the time the royal couples were chosen to stand alongside the king and queen for guidance, there were no restrictions on what element they were. It’s the same way that Alicia is of light but can also use a bit of darkness, versus her husband, who is mostly of dark fae magic. They’re only ambassadors of the lands because they were chosen by the king before he perished, but there will soon come a time where they’ll have to step down, just like Seraphine.”

We both turned our attention to her dark ice castle.

“The problem they currently face with the dark kingdom is that it’s frozen in ice. From Seraphine’s explanation, no one can melt the ice. They’ve tried and but it’s impossible, and no one with shadow magic is strong enough to connect to the land’s call.”

“When did she speak about this?” I inquired.

“When you and Rainer went to the restroom,” she replied. “Until they can find a way to melt the ice, the land of the dark kingdom will remain frozen forever. They have a bit of a theory, but it’s rather up in the air.”

“What’s the theory?” I asked.

“Two theories,” she corrected. “The one they’re kind of hoping for is that you’d grow strong enough with your fae magic to thaw through the ice. The land would recognize your magic since it’s connected to your late father. However, you’re still new to all of this, and even if you grow stronger, the very action would take a lot of magic and control. That means it could take years to do,” she admitted.

“Alright, we’ll make that plan B,” I suggested. “So what’s the other option that we’re hoping will be Plan A?”

She smirked at my comment but frowned as she muttered, “Your mother returns to the land. She was the only other one who was able to control all three lands.”

“She can control all three?” I gasped.

Camilla nodded. “From the impression I got, she was able to control the Kingdom of Light as well, but she never really showed her capabilities there because she didn’t like attending there alone. She also worried that showing how capable she was would tick off the King of Light and make her even more of a threat. The King of Darkness had already seen what your mother could accomplish and encouraged it. To have a woman aid the kingdom to flourish into something more divine was something he took pride in, so it would make sense that she’d be able to thaw out the ice. However, there’s obviously the main fact that she’s still missing and we’re not even sure if she’s alive.”

“Ya…” I trailed off and thought about it. “Never mind. Let’s save that for Plan B.”

Camilla reached out to pat my shoulder. “We’ll locate her somehow. I think we’ll just have to keep our heads high and focus on priorities. I’m sure that if Mother Universe wants us to discover your mom, we’ll find her when we least expect it. Just like how that guard somehow found your mother holding you and thawed the majority of her out of the ice. Don’t you think it’s intriguing that I, Rainer, and Xavier were around two at the time you were thawed out?”

“Very intriguing,” I admitted. “Guess everything does happen for a reason.”

“Let’s not think about it anymore,” Camilla encouraged as the dark kingdom morphed back into water and dropped into the bath. “We’re on summer vacation! Which means you having sex with Rainer!”

I almost choked on my saliva.

“Who the hell made that a goal for summer?!” I shrieked.

“Oh, c’mon. You two could barely keep your hands off of one another! Like woot. Talk about CONNECTION!” she hollered, which made me splash more water at her.

“Oh shut up!”

“We were all waiting to hear the creaks in the bed, and for the kingdom to shake! Alicia said Sera was afraid of leaving for her meeting cause she thought you’d break the whole kingdom down!”

“O.M.G. What’s wrong with all of you?!” I exclaimed and shook my head at the thought. “We weren’t going to do it like some wild horses!”

“Sure,” she drawled out. “From the way Rainer’s been looking at you, I think it’s taking all his manpower to keep his hands off you.”

“Isn’t that…like so fast?” I suggested. “He just got my rose and I’m gonna hop right into his bed?!”

“Um yes?” Camilla looked at me like I was crazy. “That’s actually how it’s supposed to be, but of course Xavier fucked up, AGAIN!” she emphasized the last word. “When your rose is connected to someone, your romantic connection is supposed to be through the roof. I’m talking, locked in whatever room you find yourselves in, and playing the ‘I’ll Make Love To You’ song for hours to cover up all the moans and screams of pleasure!”

“You’re not serious. Can’t be serious.” I shook my head. “You sound drunk!”

“Fae are very sexual creatures, my dear friend. When you hit it off with the person you love, that’s it. You’re set for life. The sex will always be on fire! You also have to acknowledge that you were the one to choose Rainer, so if you can’t keep your hands off one another, that shows that Rainer’s feelings for you are just as intense as yours are for him.”

“Is that why he can also speak into my mind?” I inquired.

“You have connected telepathy already?” she countered.

“I guess. If that’s what it’s called.”

“You’re basically soulmates,” she declared. “With everything we just found out, that kind of makes sense. If Xavier’s past soul hadn’t conducted that spell to give him a chance at love again, your rose most likely would have been with Rainer to begin with.”

“Would that have been a good thing? I wonder.” I thought about it.

“To be honest, I don’t think so,” Camilla commented. “Rainer wasn’t a ‘good boy’ back when he was younger. I don’t think he would have valued you and your rose as he does now.”

“Really?” I pondered about it. “But he tried to love Esmeralda, but she had trust issues.”

“It takes two to tango,” Camilla hummed. “If she had trust issues, that had to do with Rainer’s behavior and not Esmeralda’s alone. You should ask Rainer about it tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“You thought you were sleeping in my guest room?” Camilla laughed. “You’re sleeping with your husband!”

“W-W-We’re not even engaged!”

“That didn’t stop all those times he’d sleep in your bed at school by accident,” she hummed as she swam over to the nearest steps. She walked out of the bath and looked over her shoulder to give me a wink.

“This is your chance to get all freaky in the sheets because, after tonight, we’re heading to the lower lands and once that’s all done, we’re training your butt off.”

I groaned at the mere mention of training, knowing that when she meant training my butt off, she literally MEANT it. I’d be sore for days.

Being sore after good sex would be better.

“You’re thinking about it.” She winked as my whole face began to blush.

“How the hell is everyone hearing my thoughts but me? No. That doesn’t make sense, dammit!”

Camilla laughed and turned around as she crossed her arms over her breasts to hide her nipples. “You’ll get there,” she encouraged. “I’m glad you’re okay, Rosadette.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Chamomile,” I confessed quietly.

“You think I’d spend a boring summer without you? I think not. I’ll be that lovely third wheel who’s going to ruin every bit of alone time you guys will beg to have on this trip, so buckle up and enjoy the ride. You’ll be sick of me by the end of the summer,” she said with pride before adding, “Take a little extra time in the bath tonight. Rox knows where Rainer’s room is so he’ll show you there. Just think of him when you’re ready. Try and get some sort of sleep tonight.”

She turned away to head to the changing chambers.

“Camilla?”

She stopped. “Yes?”

I was surprised she could hear my quiet call, but now that I had her attention, I wanted to ask one last thing.

“You’ll still remain my friend, right?”

My question had her turning around to look all the way to me.

“No matter how much I…grow from this experience. You won’t abandon me, right?”

“I didn’t leave the fae lands for the human realms to not be a thorn in your butt for the rest of your life, now did I?” she countered and flicked her wet strands. “Can’t get rid of me, bestie. Be a villain for all I care, and I’ll be your evil henchmen as we plot world domination.”

My smile couldn’t be any wider as she gave one of her own as we shared a compassionate look.

“No matter if you change into a new you, Rosadette, I’ll be there by your side. I’m your shadow knight, only this time, I’ll make sure Xavier doesn’t get close to you,” she vowed and turned away.

I watched her disappear into the changing chambers, the flowing relief of her words making my heart swell and happiness flood me.

You can do this, Rosadette. Embrace these changes. Learn from them, and we’ll pull through to the next set of challenges awaiting us.

ROMANTIC LOVE BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARKNESS

Don’t be nervous, Rosadette. It’s not like you haven’t slept in the same bed as Rainer.

I’d repeated the words for what seemed like twenty times in my head, but I kept on trying to talk myself into opening the door to his bedroom.

His private bedroom. The place he sleeps in when he doesn’t accidentally sleep in mine. Oh fae, I’m invading his personal space. Doesn’t that mean we’re taking our relationship to the next step? Maybe I should have asked him instead of taking Camilla’s advice. Ugh. Knowing her she’d lock me out of her room. That evil bestie of mine!

After I’d soaked a little longer in those lovely steamy waters, I got dressed in a long white silky dress. It wasn’t as revealing as the last one, which I was thankful to have changed out of before the intense meeting we’d had.

Can’t concentrate when your nipples are poking out of a dress, now, can you?

I felt a little silly about all this contemplation. Rainer loved me, I loved him, sex was obviously something we were going to do in our relationship at some point - and something I was practically wishing for as a human who couldn’t get drunk to save her life - so there was no need for me to be nervous about it.

I’m not nervous at all. I mean, I’m in my fae form. I’m sexy, curvy, and still attractive. He’d want every bit of this. Yes! Then I’ll get to touch that built chest of his. Maybe he’ll tell me what his tattoo on his chest signifies. Wasn’t I supposed to ask him something? Oh right. About his past dating life. Isn’t that a little intrusive to ask about? Would he get mad? What if he gets mad and then we don’t have sex? Well…that would be heartbreaking but then I’d have an excuse to tell Camilla so she wouldn’t slap me across the head and call me stupid for missing out on opportunities. Ugh. This is going to give me a headache. Sex shouldn’t be so hard. Why can’t I just stare at Rainer’s sexy chest all night long? That would be far easier than thinking.

The door opened at the end of my thought, and my eyes locked onto muscled pecks.

“Oh,” I began as I admired the view. “I guess the lands can answer my thoughts!”

The low chuckle made me shyly look upward to see Rainer’s amused smile.

“We have to teach you how to close off your thought process or you’re seriously going to be an open book for everyone to read.”

I met those color-changing eyes once more, their soft pink color shifting to turquoise with hints of orange as he admired me. “Good evening, Sweet Rose.”

“Good evening,” I whispered as if I were out of breath while I got lost in his mere presence. He smirked and reached out to move a few strands of my hair that slipped out from the hair clip that held a good chunk of my strands from getting in my face.

He moved away as he gestured for me to enter the black-and-white room, which drew my attention to the sophisticated furniture that still gave off a new urban vibe to it. I walked because I was so immersed in the interior design, my eyes admiring the king-size poster bed that had its own curtained drapes that were netted with star designs.

A bouquet of flowers caught my attention, the flowers all wilted like it hadn’t been attended to for ages.

“I was supposed to move them, but I want to see if I can save them,” Rainer admitted as he closed the door. He walked over to me as I took a closer look at the dead red roses, my eyes scanning the shrilled up petals.

“Why can’t you save them?” I inquired. “You can bring them back to life, right?”

“I should be able to, but the problem is it depends on what element the florist carries. I thought they carried darkness like me, but looks like they’re of light.”

“You mean Purely Divine instead of Deadly?” I suggested.

“Ya. It shouldn’t be a problem for me either way since I can use both, though my shadowed magic is far more powerful. However, they won’t budge,” he huffed.

“Can I try?” I volunteered. “I know I should be resting, but I want to give it a shot.”

My hopeful eyes made him smirk as he nodded in approval. “Give it a try,” he encouraged.

I hovered my hands in the direction of the flowers, closing my eyes and concentrating on bringing them back to life.

“Return to your striking beauty. Ella Revasa Rosanda Le Fe.”

The words came out on their own, and I could feel the dancing flow of my energy reach my fingertips. I waited for the stream to escape me, but it merely built within my fingers, which left them tingling.

Opening my eyes, I noticed the plant was still dead.

“It didn’t work.” I looked up at him as he seemed just as confused as I.

“Guess it’s not just me then,” he commented before he shrugged. “We’ll try again in the morning, and if not, we’ll just return them to nature. They’ll find their purpose in the cycle of life, no matter if their own lifespan has ended.”

I figured he was right, but it felt as though the roses still had some sort of purpose in his room. As I returned to gazing all around, I felt his arms wrap around my waist as he pulled me into a hug.

“How do you feel?”

“Best since waking up?” I suggested though I wasn’t actually sure.

“You sound unsure,” he acknowledged, which only made me grin as I lifted my head to look up at him as he gave me his full attention.

“I’m feeling a whole bunch of things and yet I don’t know how to really express them all.”

“Do you feel overwhelmed?” he concluded.

“Ya. That’s a good word for it,” I confessed as I gave him a nervous smile. “And a little scared.”

“Why are you afraid, Sweet Rose?” he asked while slipping his arms away from me and taking my hand to lead me to the bed. We sat down on the side of it where we faced the large floor-to-ceiling window that gave us a beautiful glimpse of the garden under the now night sky that was a variation of purple and blues with sparkling stars.

“Everything feels as though I’m playing in fast forward,” I confessed as I removed the hair clip from my hair and put it on the counter. Running my hands through my long locks, I let out a heavy sigh.

“When I was small, I hated being an orphan. It was kind of like a period in my childhood where I just hated my circumstances. It wasn’t necessarily that I hated being alive or I wasn’t grateful for having the ability to breathe when others didn’t. It’s just that there were times that it was so hard,” I admitted, recalling the haunting memories and mean taunts from the rich people.

“Before Camilla…I had no one. Sure, there were the instances where I had the old lady who gave me that ancient book, but other than that, there wasn’t anyone who genuinely wanted me there. Some days were better than others, but not a day went by where I wasn’t looked at with pitiful eyes. Not a week went by without words of mockery thrown at me or the sound of laughter carried through the wind in my direction for a circumstance I never asked for. If I could work at that young age, I would have just to make money, but in a village as poor as ours, it felt as though I was trapped with no way out. All I could envision was finding out my future. To figure out my heritage and see if I truly belonged in those poor lands after all.”

I paused as I lifted my hands to look at them.

“My craving to belong was so strong. To be among those my age who wore fancy clothing and got to enjoy the finer things in life. They never had to sleep on the bare floor in the heart of winter, or better yet, the forest during the harshest blizzards. I even questioned how I somehow survived all of that madness, but now that I know who I am today, it somewhat makes sense. Like the Universe felt pity for me as well, and made the harsh conditions lessen the moment I closed my eyes.”

Taking a calm breath, I lowered my hands to turn my attention to him as he stared down at me with seriousness. I loved how he actually paid attention, versus others who’d merely listen to you speak but not absorb what you were truly stating.

“I prayed for a day when I’d find out who I was supposed to be and where I came from, and, well, today finally came. I finally discovered where I came from.” I paused as I gave him a conflicted look of worry. “The discovery was long and heavy with information, but I finally know the truth. So…why aren’t I happy about it?”

He stared into my eyes as I quietly laughed.

“I mean, when I envisioned it all in my head way back then, I thought I’d be ecstatic. Jumping up and down and telling all those who doubted me in my village that I was actually an important person. I’m a princess. The only heir to a magnificent gold kingdom! My mother was frozen for centuries. Her first priority was to get me somewhere…anywhere…where they would help me survive. She thought about me first before herself and whatever injuries and heartache must have still lingered in her heart after being frozen in time. I can only imagine her heartache, and yet she was willing to give me a second chance at life. I discovered who I am. I have an amazing best friend who sacrificed her teen years to come down and be my friend. Not purposely, but she made it so that I’d approach her, and it became a true friendship that wasn’t forced. During the bad times, I got to meet you. I was able to share my insecurities with a man who didn’t even judge me. Now that I’ve found the truth of who I am, I should be screaming on the top of the hilltops and telling the world that here I am! All those who tried to belittle me, booed at me, made me feel like an insignificant fool, here I am. I’ve reached my level in destiny and no matter what they tried to do to stop me from reaching this point, it didn’t work.” I paused and lowered my gaze to my lap. “Yet, I’m scared of acknowledging that this is real. That I’ve made it. I’m nervous because I’m afraid one wrong move and I’ll screw everything over. One mistake, and I’ll be back in the lower lands, doing fieldwork to make pennies and drinking cheap beer to try and get drunk like the rest of the villagers who drink their sorrows away. I’m frightened to sleep and wake up to find everything is back to how it was a year ago.”

“It’s not a dream,” he assured me, taking one of my hands in his. “Yet, it’s normal to feel the way you do. To think that all of this could vanish because it feels far too good to be true. It takes time to appreciate it all. To absorb the truth that is before you and realize that you made it to the finish line of that goal you wished to accomplish after so many years. It’s normal to be afraid of the future. It’s also fine to be nervous.”

“Aren’t you worried something will come out of nowhere and try to take all of this away from you?”

“Ya,” he admitted as a smile graced his lips. He held my hand tightly as he looked to the view before us. “I honestly never used to think like that before. Even as an orphan, the weighing worry that something would come along and make my life far worse never seemed to pull me down. Maybe because I got used to the ridicule from being an abandoned child, or because I knew they were merely envious because though I wasn’t of royal blood, I’d be the one to inherit some sort of power that they wouldn’t be able to obtain. No matter the reason behind that, it wasn’t until I met you that I started wondering if all these good days would go up in smoke. It was a random instinct at first, a flickering thought that came and went. I think it’s when I started to fall in love with you that I began to worry about losing you.”

He lifted my hand to kiss the back of it, and our eyes met once more.

“The fear of losing it all is normal. You realize what is important to you, what has helped you become this spectacular woman and reach this point in time. The feeling may not ever go away, but it’ll get better. The fear begins to fade, just as the nervousness does. There will come a time when you won’t remember these feelings and be as happy as ever to have achieved all the things that others said you wouldn’t.”

“What about us?” I whispered. “The connection between us is fierce. Addicting. Mesmerizing. I want to give in to what feels right…and probably good, but then I think about how I may be taking things too fast, or not meeting your expectations…or maybe I’m pushing myself on you and I don’t want to do that either. I don’t know how your relationship went with Esmeralda…and I guess I’m afraid of doing whatever wrongs she may have done?” I sounded unsure as I stared into those orbs that shifted to a pastel orange.

“You’re not pushing yourself on me.” He tackled one of my voiced concerns right away. “I know I explained a bit of Esmeralda and me, but I really didn’t go into details.”

He let go of my hand to stand up, walking over to the wall and leaning against it so I could see a full view of his chiseled body. Even with moonlight shining against his back, he wasn’t short from perfection, with his hair left down in a wavy manner while his boxers were sitting far lower than normal - giving me a glimpse of those lines that pointed down to his long lollipop.

I could enjoy the view all night long while my imagination enjoyed undressing him, but I was intrigued by what he had to say, which led me to give him my utmost attention.

“When I got Esmeralda’s rose, I was in a bad sort of phase. I guess with the knowledge we gained today, maybe it was the traits of the previous King of Darkness influencing my mindset. Essentially, I gave up easily. Not in terms of doing well in school, like exams or tasks that required a grade. I gave up in pursuing what I actually wanted in a person.”

He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the ceiling for a moment.

“I didn’t understand why I needed to work hard to get a woman’s heart. Sure, I understood the logistics of it all, and at times, I was excited to please her. I’d ask to go on dates, or for us to do something lovely, and then when the time approached, that bubbling joy suddenly diminished, like someone had thrown some ice-cold water on me and I didn’t want to do it anymore. What basically happened was I kept getting Esmeralda’s hopes up and then stomping all over them. I knew it was wrong. I wasn’t stupid or naive, but at the same time, I didn’t care. I was kind of like Xavier, who knew he had a wonderful amazing rose, and yet he didn’t want to bother giving you the time of day. The only real difference is that I knew she deserved to be loved but allowed self-sabotage to fuck me up.”

“Imposter syndrome basically?” I suggested and he lowered his head to nod.

“Ya.”

“Why didn’t you just tell her?” I inquired.

“I was living in a delusion where I didn’t feel the need to justify my thoughts. I felt almost defensive when I wanted to express my emotions. As though it was against some sort of law in the world of masculinity. Fae men don’t like expressing their emotions. It’s deemed as weak and turns women off in our lands. The few times when I felt like I’d gathered enough courage to try and speak of my troubles, she shut me down. Not because she wanted to dismiss my words, but because the relationship was already going downhill and her trust had been broken far too many times. I guess she assumed I’d use my emotions as an excuse for my behavior, but that wasn’t what I wished to do. I wanted to justify that my actions were childish because I didn’t cherish our relationship as I should have. Maybe if we’d taken a break where we could be in our own environments and do things without pressure, I’m sure I would have gotten out of my funk and cherished her. However, that never really happened.”

He shrugged, letting his arms fall to his sides as he leaned against the wall once more.

“I tried three times to speak up and got shot down. Maybe I shouldn’t have given up and kept trying, but that was the best effort I’d put into trying to fight for something and she couldn’t see it. She was too blinded by anger and built-up hate to see my perspective. To grasp that I still wanted us, but I was struggling to communicate that to her. Each dismissal was like a slap to my pride. It was a rejection that only confirmed what my mind was trying to convince me was my reality. Why fight for something when you’re only going to be rejected? The third time was when I decided to give up on trying. I had far too many things swirling in my head while balancing life with learning and growing into my dual elements that I fought hard to hide from the world.”

“Why would you hide that you have both light and dark fae characteristics?” I inquired.

“Fae are all about power, but light and dark elements are the strongest in their king. It’s like Yin and Yang. They balance one another and can both become dangerous threats. When someone carries both, it’s a big deal. A big enough deal that those outside of the academy and kingdom’s protection will do anything to destroy you.”

“I feel as though the outside walls are like a raging war of darkness,” I muttered.

“That’s a good assumption of it,” he admitted. “It’s a bunch of old fae fighting an endless war that will never come to an end. It’s somewhat like human politics where everyone has an opinion, but no one wants to agree upon anything. It’s frustrating. The reason why the kingdoms were formed was for all those who wished to stay right out of it, but that doesn’t mean we’re completely safe from those who wish to tempt young fae like us into their side of the spectrum.”

“So Esmeralda doesn’t know that you carry both,” I concluded.

“Nope,” he confirmed. “That’s another one of the many reasons we just weren’t compatible. I was still harnessing this version of myself and though many women love the idea of being with a man like me, they don’t want to carry the baggage it comes with.”

“You don’t seem to carry baggage to me,” I muttered. “Even if you’ve grown from that time period, you’ve never given off such an impression that you’re an added weight in the relationship.”

“That’s because I know what I want and I’m willing to fight for it,” he stressed. “When you don’t know what you want, all your problems are carried in a sack that you throw at others to carry for you. Especially when it comes to relationships. It’s like the common tale that many believe a woman can change a man. The reality is, it’s never been the responsibility for the woman to help change a man to his better self. They can encourage you with the support and love you need but that shouldn’t be their responsibility. It took Esmeralda’s rose wilting and my mind wrapping around the fact that I’d lost a chance given to me by the Universe for me to wake up and smell the coffee. That’s when I vowed to work on me so that I’d become comfortable with who I am on both sides. This version of myself that isn’t so nice with a tough exterior, and the human side that was the good boy that everyone adored but would never take seriously.”

He looked at the tattoo on his chest, the designed circle with the floating book that reflected various incantations written on the open pages. “I got this incantation as a reminder that to accept myself, I had to seek more knowledge about who I wished to become. How I wanted to be perceived by others while searching for myself. To read a book means you have to commit to the story or purpose of the book. Funny fact is, so many people give up on a book ten percent in. It’s like they get a glimpse and if the book doesn’t resonate with them in that first set of chapters, it’s game over. I committed myself to read a book that was a thousand pages of how to love yourself like a male fae. When I got through it, I rewarded myself with this and was able to review everything that had occurred in my past relationship and finally see the wrong.”

Looking back at me, he smiled.

“I did that so if the Universe decided I deserved a second chance at love, I wouldn’t fuck it up. No more losing what is worth fighting for. I’d give that love all I could, and work on my communication skills so we’d never dismiss one another’s feelings. I guess it was good that I’d endured all that before meeting you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the courage to speak out in an auditorium full of my own kind. I surely wouldn’t have the ability to fight for this love without the lessons I learned from my past. Thus, my relationship with Esmeralda was a blessing in disguise. It didn’t end well for either of us, but it made me a better person and now I’ve got the woman of my dreams who gets me.”

“That’s deep,” I commented as I rose up and walked over to him. Wrapping my slender arms around his neck, I pulled him down for a simple kiss and whispered, “I’m proud of you.”

“See?” he whispered. “No other woman would listen to my long story and say they’re proud of me.”

“Well, I’m no ordinary woman,” I purred.

“I couldn’t agree more,” he vouched before kissing me.

This kiss was far richer with emotion and carried a tenderness to it. Its progression allowed the anxiety and fears to melt away from my heart, my body beginning to ignite at the thrumming tension building between us.

The slow kiss began to grow deeper - stronger - while my hands tingled to press against his flesh. There was nothing stopping me as I brought him closer with my hooked arms around his neck before allowing my hands to roam along his broad shoulders, feeling the lines of his biceps.

He groaned against my lips while his hands worked on feeling me up. They trailed down my long dress, and with urgency, he began to tug on the fabric and gather the floor-length dress.

It didn’t take long before we broke the kiss momentarily, giving him the opportunity to pull the silk attire over my head and arms and toss it away. That revealed my bare breasts, their perky nature making him lick his lips in desire while his hands were already at the thin waistband of my panties. He tugged them down just as he slowly trailed his tongue right down the middle of my body - from my décolletage to between my breasts to my flat stomach and finally my hot pussy that clenched at his approaching tongue.

My involuntary move to press my legs together was caught by him as the lacy white fabric fell to my ankles. He took the opportunity to lift my left foot up high enough to move the fabric off, followed by the other. Once I was free, he merely spread my legs further out, widening my stance, which brought in the slightly cool breeze that brushed against my hot, throbbing entrance.

He looked up as I took in his image, my large, loving fae boyfriend on his knees and looking up for my permission to lick me up. To tease my pussy that could probably do cartwheels at the mere idea of being worshipped in such a manner.

“Do you want this, Sweet Love?”

I didn’t need to think to respond. I knew what I wanted, and it blurted out in a needy rush, “Yes. Please, Rainer.”

Yes, I just begged to have my pussy eaten up by the man I love.

I couldn’t even imagine this happening to me, and now I was here, about to be pleased. His smirk was dangerously enticing as he rose between my legs and flicked his tongue to my clit. I shivered at his touch as a soft moan left my lips.

He gripped my legs a little firmer, which confused me at first. It was only when he slid his tongue right between my folds that I realized it was a good thing because he left my body shuddering as he worked whatever magic that experienced tongue possessed. He wasn’t just licking me up. He was diving right in like he was spoon fighting to grasp the last bit of ice cream at the bottom of the container.

My mind was whirling, my body growing hot and tingling all over while my moans grew louder. I was shivering uncontrollably, the pleasure building up inside me growing stronger and building to the point where I knew I was going to cum.

I was going to bite my lip to muffle my cry of pleasure, but Rainer’s fingernails practically dug into my flesh as he slid his tongue as deeply as he could. That made me cave into a loud moan of release as I climaxed right into his mouth and face.

That didn’t even stop him from lapping me up, licking every bit of my release before he sent me into a shuddering mess once more as he teased my clit. When he released me, I could barely stand, panting like crazy as I looked into his hungry eyes.

Holy fuck he was horny.

His eyes were one thing, but the large mass pressing firmly against his boxers told me that his little stunt had turned him on like mad. He didn’t hesitate to pull down his boxers, revealing his massive, veiny cock that already had precum dripping from the head.

I couldn’t help but lick my lips, which only made him chuckle. The sound was dark - if a sound could be described as such - as he prowled back to my side and cupped my cheeks to pull me into a heated kiss.

I pressed myself against him, needing to feel his hot, burning flesh while he devoured my mouth with no patience. All it took was a few more moaning kisses to have me pressed to the bed beneath him, a panting mess.

He pulled all the way back to admire me, all while he’s stroking his cock in preparation. His eyes were dancing in various colors, taking me all in. Like I’m some sort of trophy that he’s just won and has to remind himself is his forever.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said with such rawness that it tugged at my heart. He meant it down to his core, and his acceptance moved me like no other as he spread my legs out and prepared to fill me with his massive rod.

“You know I love you,” he whispered, and there was the pinch of that good side of him. The Rainer who expressed his emotions and always listened to mine when I needed to voice my fears.

“I know,” I whispered and smiled lovingly back at him. “As I love you. Now and for as long as we exist in this world of magic and life.”

That’s all he needed to hear as he took that moment to slide into me.

The transition was slower than I’d realized as he hit resistance but glided through it with a pinch of force. The burst of pain was one that I could handle, but I still tensed up as he expanded my walls.

He remained still, an action I picked up on as compassionate because I could feel his desperation to move. It was like he was fighting two sides of himself, the swirling emotion that begged for him to move his hips while the other wanted to hear the words of permission escape my lips.

I looked up at him as he continued to grip my hips and look down at me with intense lust.

“Fuck me, Rainer,” I encouraged, and that force I felt was stopping him seemed to fade as that thirsty look of intense need flooded his expression. My words were all he needed to begin thrusting, the movements thankfully slow as he worked on arousing me further.

I moaned without caring how loud I would be while my eyes fluttered closed and I simply let myself enjoy the pain and pleasure. It was like I was within a spiraling whirlwind of energies, my own emotions combining with a set of foreign sensations that wished to dance.

They twirled along the invisible dance floor, all while our bodies moved to the slow beat of our rhythm, a song of lovemaking, while we got lost in one another’s harmonies.

His hands dug into my flesh, the sharp pinch of his nails only adding to the overflowing sensations that flooded me. I gripped the sheets, tugging them as my own nails dug into their exquisite surface. My head fell back, and I moaned even louder.

“Rainer.” Moaning his name brings so much joy to my heart, it’s indescribable. I can’t believe I’m making love with the man who stood up for me since day one. Lying naked beneath his stronghold. Being claimed by him like a true treasure he discovered at the bottom of the ocean floor.

I was now his, a precious rose in his collection that no one else could claim. He loved me long before the possibility of me being a permanent option was there, and that’s what made all of this more perfect. A true match thanks to our own morals and growth.

This moment was one I’d dreamed of, and now I was enjoying every bit of it.

We were panting heavily, sweat beginning to coat our flesh as he picked up the pace. He bent over to occupy my lips while my breasts pressed against his chest.

“So tight and good. My Sweet Rose, all mine,” he growled into my mouth while kissing me. “I love you so fucking much. Every bit of you. Your strengths. Your beauty. Your flawless effort to prove the world wrong. Every part of you I desire, and no one can steal you from me. You’re only mine, my precious sweet.”

He smothered me in a deep kiss as he began to quicken his thrusts further. I tightened against him, feeling that building rush of pleasure that alerted me that my orgasm was coming fast. Only this time it was stronger, bringing tingles of anticipation to run through me as my gasps and moans quickened.

I broke the kiss to moan for him to move faster. “Faster, Rain. Faster…harder…more!” I’d never begged for something like this, to be pushed to the edge. I was desperate to plunge into the pool of ecstasy. His grunts grew louder as he did as I asked, pounding into me even as I tightly held onto his cock.

His thick rod felt bigger, stretching me to the fullest, which only added to the thrumming pleasure that was ready to burst between us. The sensation between us was unbelievable, as if I could somehow sense his approaching release. He was grunting and moaning my name, all while leaving tiny comments about how beautiful I am. How inspiring I’d become. How I’d somehow changed him into someone he could respect, and how he’d never let me go.

He tilted my hips upward and somehow furthered his thrusts to a place I didn’t think he could reach, and that pushed me into a spiral flow of emotions as my body began to tingle and grow rigid as I braced for the inevitable.

“Rainer! Rainer! Rainer!” All I could think of was repeating his name. Saying it over and over, louder and more frequent as I struggled to even think. I was about to cum, and he knew it as his grunts were followed with a command that threw me over that cliff of pleasurable oblivion.

“Cum, Rosadette!”

His declaration was all I needed to come undone as he gave me a final ball-slapping thrust and allowed himself to sink right into me as I came in a rush.

“RAINER!” I screamed as he groaned out my name.

“Rosadette! Fuck!” he cursed as his release left him, shooting into me as that hot, thick release continued to pool into my quivering pussy.

I was breathless as my tense body seemed to wither away, and Rainer collapsed on top of me. His weight didn’t crush me, not like I’d care at this point. My mind felt blank while it drifted on cloud nine of pleasure.

My body was still shuddering with tiny aftershocks, and I could feel his cock twitch inside me like we hadn’t just fucked long and hard.

“That thing is still kicking?” I commented while I caught my breath.

Rainer chuckled into my neck before he lifted himself so he could look down at me. “Fae are hypersexual beings,” he pointed out. “Especially to the ones we love.”

“Meaning I need stamina. Yes, stamina,” I muttered, not like I could think coherently.

He chuckled again and kept his cock inside me before rolling me onto his body as he lay against the sheets.

“You didn’t use a condom,” I pointed out, but didn’t feel bothered by it.

“Does that bother you?”

‘No,” I earnestly replied.

“Fae don’t get pregnant easily,” he revealed. “It’s a process, but if it eases your mind, I cast a spell before I slid my cock into you. It’s like a condom without the plastic sensation.”

“See? This is why I love you,” I muttered. “At least one of the reasons I do, but don’t bother asking me the others because I can’t think properly and I wanna go again and don’t wanna admit it.”

He actually laughed hard at my statement before he kissed me deeply.

“I think you just admitted it, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Just like your many thoughts that seemed to drift to me when you were waiting at the door.”

“Ugh. You heard that rambling nonsense?”

“Indeed, I did,” he revealed. “I love your thinking process.”

“You’re drunk.”

“Drunk on my Sweet Rose,” he growled against my flesh as he kissed the side of my neck. “Wanna go again?”

“I can see why Camilla told me to get some proper sleep,” I mumbled and poked an eye open to see his loving smile. “Are we only doing one more round?”

“I can’t promise anything now that I know how much I enjoy you.”

“I fell in love with a sex addict,” I concluded but pulled him down for a passionate kiss. “Let’s go again.”

“I love you,” he moaned like I was a figure of praise.

“I love you, too,” I replied. “Now fuck me.”

“Commanding,” he growled in appreciation. “Ask me that again.”

“Weirdo.”

“That’s not what I want to hear.”

I laughed. “Fuck me, weirdo!”

He joined in, the two of us laughing quietly in the dark night. I glanced at the roses that were on the table near the door, only to see they were in full bloom. Instead of being red, they were a mixture of white and black roses.

“Rainer?” He paused in his movement to follow my gaze, and his lips curled into a dazzling smile before he looked back at me.

“Guess I don’t need to replace my roses,” he whispered. “I found the cure.”

He leaned down to kiss me tenderly and then began the movements of another rollercoaster ride of complete pleasure.

The romantic love between light and darkness.

MY SWEET INSPIRATION AND KINDNESS UNLOCKS OPPORTUNITY

~RAINER~

MY HANDS RAN through the long silky locks of my Sweet Rose. Her breathing was still slow while her swollen lips from my intense kisses were pouted just slightly. She was sleeping peacefully, her naked body pressed into mine. She fit against me like we were joined pieces in a vast puzzle. My heart felt so full, being able to enjoy rare moments like these.

I enjoyed watching her sleep, but after the heated night we’d just endured, this was extra special. This was the calm after the vigorous storm of pleasure and acceptance, and I couldn’t have asked the Universe for someone more desirable.

Now that I had the quietness of the early morning on my side, I could allow myself to think about what had occurred today. So many revelations of truth, some of which I already knew.

In my calm state, it didn’t feel like any of it mattered. Not that it wasn’t important, but my curiosity regarding Xavier suddenly seemed nonexistent. He wasn’t important anymore. He couldn’t try to piss me off or make Rosadette’s life a living hell. He had no choice but to walk upon his own tight rope, and the dark part of me hoped he lost his balance and fell right off.

Maybe I was being too cruel, but I despised him. Since the day we met as children, he’d been on my shit list, but it wasn’t until I began to grow feelings for Rosadette and learned about the way he treated her like she was a piece of trash that I began to hate him to my very core.

The influence of past souls didn’t mold who we truly were. I wasn’t going to give him that as an excuse for being a jackass to someone as pure as Rosadette. I still couldn’t fathom how he let her go, but I’m sure I looked like a fool when I let Esmeralda slip out of my grasp.

I thought I’d be plagued with loneliness for my childish antics, but I guess the Universe forgave me because here I was, with Rosadette in my arms. Her sweet scent was still hugging every part of me, and I inhaled deeply just to enjoy the aroma once more.

That made my cock harden, and I had to calm my body from getting excited after the multiple rounds of sex we’d experienced. I had to commend Rosadette for hanging in there, especially for what seemed to be her first time.

I’d been gentle enough, in the beginning, to make things easier for her, which paved the way for the rest of the steamy night.

Now with our desires in check, we’d have to face the first set of new responsibilities if we wanted to prepare for Year Two of Fae Rose Academy.

I hadn’t gotten confirmation from Rosadette about whether she was up for continuing her enrollment, but I knew my Sweet Rose well enough to know that she wouldn’t quit. She’d come too far to cease her involvement in this world, and I felt like she wanted to get payback in her own way.

She may struggle with having to be on the same property as Xavier and the aftermath of recovering from the traumatic experience he orchestrated, but he’d be a nervous wreck around her - which would be the perfect revenge to add to his suffering.

Alicia had explained that she’d work on ensuring that we didn’t have classes with Xavier. At least I was Rosadette’s confirmed partner for Year Two and there was nothing Xavier could do about it.

I was a little excited for the school year. Not only to work on me, but to see Rosadette grow even more. She’d already seemed to mature just a little bit, but that also could have been because her sight had awakened.

Which allowed me to see this gorgeous body all the time.

The awakened sight was tricky like that. You could only see a fae’s true form if their fae sight was awakened or about to sprout to life. If you concentrated hard enough, you could get a glimpse of it, but the after-effects normally included a headache for days.

I’d sacrifice suffering for a few days just to see Rosadette’s fae self. Now I could see it whenever I wished, and she could as well. It felt like a little reward for my patience.

I expected our relationship to run on a slower path, but since her sight awakened and we knew her rose was now in my possession, the connection between us was unbelievably strong. Never could I have imagined being connected to anyone like this, and yet it felt so natural.

So damn priceless that words couldn’t express how thankful I was.

I might as well be a broken record because I couldn’t stop thanking the Universe for partnering me with Ella. I wouldn’t have been on that platform to speak up for Rosadette otherwise.

Now that my parents had met Rosadette and she understood that this kingdom was hers, I wondered how things would roll from here on out. My parents both liked her, which was a relief. I knew my mother would love her, but Dad was always harder to read.

He expressed his approval of her, stating that she potentially carried more power than her mother, which was indeed a compliment when Rosadette hadn’t even harnessed her full potential yet.

My imagination couldn’t piece together an example of how great she’d be by the end of the remaining school years at Fae Rose, but I knew there may be challenges along the way.

It wouldn’t be long before people began to realize that we’d gotten closer. That she could potentially become the next queen of her very own kingdom. The truth of the golden castle was only known to a few individuals.

Sadly, one of those individuals lived on the outskirts of the fae lands and was the negative influence getting anxious because of Rosadette’s admission to Fae Rose Academy.

There was nothing they could do now, but this year would prove just how powerful Rosadette could become. It was yet another one of many reasons why, after our little expedition to the human lands, we’d have to train her long and hard.

Not only would we continue our sword training and elemental magic, but I’d start to train her on hard-core self-defense. She’d learn how to disable someone triple her size, and to counter any spell with her own magic so Xavier or anyone else wouldn’t be able to threaten her by being more powerful and skilled.

She’d prove them completely wrong by showing them that she was not a weak human from the lower lands.

She stirred in my arms then, and I couldn’t fight the need to kiss her temple. Her eyes opened just slightly, their light lavender color still thick with sleep as those silver rings grew with her dilated eyes.

She was half asleep, but I wondered if she could recognize me. She blinked a few times before her eyes closed again as if she wanted to make sure I was present before drifting back into a deep slumber.

I waited for her to say something, but her breathing returned to its slow motion, which made me grin in satisfaction.

Sweet Rose needs lots of rest.

After kissing her forehead and tucking her further into my side, I stared at the ceiling of my room and allowed my mind to calm.

Today I’ll get to see with my own eyes the lands where Rosadette grew up.

Maybe we’d find some sort of clue about where her mother went. I wished to find her, not for only Rosadette’s sake, but to get confirmation on something.

Closing my eyes, I said a quiet prayer that we’d find a clue about Rosadette’s mother on our trip.

I could only hope for that slim possibility.

“WHERE’D CAMILLA GO?”

I stopped scanning the bare surroundings of what was apparently a village to look over my shoulder to see Rosadette approaching me.

My eyes took in her lovely features as she wore dark blue jeans and an orange crop top. It was hot today, not like it bothered either of us much, but it gave me the chance to see her in such clothes.

The lines of her abs were poking through while her long blonde locks were up in a ponytail. Adding her slightly blushed cheeks and red lipstick, she looked so good. I wasn’t used to seeing her in casual attire like this, especially in our fae forms, but it made it feel almost special to enjoy a glimpse.

“She said she wanted to check out the house she stayed in. Don’t know if her parents ended up keeping it or sold it now that they don’t need to stay here anymore,” I answered as she reached my side.

My arm immediately hooked around her waist, pulling her against my side as we quickly kissed. Since our pleasurable night, we’d been far too touchy, but neither of us was bothered by it. I’d been fighting the urge to have my hands all over her since she’d waltzed into my room weeks ago, but at least now our relationship was different.

The urge was still there, but it didn’t press on every nerve ending in my body like I was about to lose our chance with Rosadette forever.

There was a time and place for everything now, and this afternoon, I was spending it seeing where Rosadette grew up.

“Makes sense, I guess. One year has passed and you said a good fifty years went by here?” she questioned as she took in the view.

“Just about.” I was really estimating because the time difference was such a tricky thing to follow when it came to the lower lands. A day in the fae lands could be a week in the human realms, which was why they sucked with trying to make contracts with us.

Come back in a few weeks and we’ll review the contract. Oh, you mean in ten years? Cool.

“This place seems abandoned,” I added.

“Hmm.” She slipped out of my hold and took a few steps before she closed her eyes and took a long inhale. She let it out and turned her head to her right.

“Nah. There are people around. I can smell the dry, nasty alcohol they drink on the regular. They must have moved the bar since it used to be around here,” Rosadette declared.

She looked back at me with pride, like she’d discovered something fascinating before she walked back to me and took my hand. “Let’s look around?”

All I could do was nod, attempting to hide my anger. How could a woman as beautiful, kind, and loving as Rosadette be left to live here?

We began to make our way through the desolate land that was apparently liveable, my hand in hers the whole way through. I could sense her nervousness, but I fought to ignore whatever thoughts tried to drift into my mind.

I hadn’t taught her how to shield her mind with her fae magic, one of the many tasks I’d do once we started our training for Year Two.

With how this place appeared, we could have easily attempted to do something in terms of bringing some life to these lands. It felt as though the village lands were cursed from how the magic within the land below my feet seemed trapped.

I could feel the energy recognize my presence and press against the ground, but that’s all it could do. It could only push against an invisible wall versus our lands, where magic pulsated through all the lands, trees, rocks, and waters.

Magic was everywhere, and we were the guests able to use its divine powers to bring peace.

We reached a broken-down shack with a CLOSED sign on its door. The place was barely worthy of being called a shack. It was basically a bunch of broken wood shaped in an odd rectangle that someone added hedges to.

No matter that they were closed, the scent of alcohol was atrocious, like someone had drunk a case of expired, hot beer.

“Aww boo. They’re closed,” Rosadette declared. “They must have stayed up super late into the night to be closed at two in the afternoon. It’s still early though. By four, it’s already crowded since everyone finishes their morning shift work by three-thirty.”

“Define crowded?” I asked.

“Hmm, about fifteen people? The place is pretty small so it’s not like they can fit the entire village. At least from when I grew up here.”

“It’s basically a shack,” I dryly commented.

“Yup!” She didn’t even seem offended by the term as she bobbed her head. “The alcoholic shack. You know, whenever Camilla and I came here, they would give us the nicest set of barstools they had because Camilla was a complete neat freak. The first time I brought her here, she actually vomited from the scent alone. It was pretty funny.” She giggled and tugged me along as we moved past the wooden spot.

We kept walking for a while. Rosadette commented on little things she recalled from when she was a kid. Like a little chimney house where she said sometimes the family would let her spend the night so she could sleep next to the fireplace during the crazy winter nights.

There was a broken-down old ice cream truck, where she said a man would come once a year and give all the kids free ice cream. The outside obviously looked wretched, but the inside machine still worked! He’d bring whatever frozen materials he needed from his fancy ice cream truck that he reserved for rich people.

The explanation bothered me so much. It was obvious that this village was poor, but did the rich people that lived merely inches from this place not care? Were they so lost in their own world of riches and perfections that they couldn’t spare even a few dollars each to strive together and build a place that was reasonable to live in?

This place wasn’t close to poverty.

It was essentially homelessness.

We passed by these massive fields, which Rosadette stopped to view. She grinned happily as she noticed a few kids look our way. One girl was bold enough to skip over to us, her bright blue eyes the most vibrant part about her.

Her dirty blonde hair was matted, and her pearl white dress was so dirty that I doubted water, soap, or even bleach could fix it back to its original white form. Her face was covered in dirt, and her teeth were yellow, but she was still smiling from ear to ear at our arrival.

“A princess!” she cheered as she looked at Rosadette. She looked at her hands and fought her hardest to clean them on the very dirty dress she wore as if she wanted to do her best to make her hands worthy of shaking Rosadette’s.

“Hello!” She bowed and lifted her hand up to Rosadette. “You’re new here!”

Rosadette laughed and took the little girl’s hand without worry before she crouched down to be at the child’s height. “We’re not necessarily new. At least, I’m not. I used to live in these lands.”

The little girl gasped.

“You used to live here?!” The little girl spun around to emphasize the fields. “Did you work in the fields?”

“Yes, I actually did,” Rosadette admitted. “I would work from early, early in the morning. Sometimes at five or six depending on my shift and finish up by three-thirty. We’d water the fields, take what was ripe, or gather the sticks that blew from the harsh winds during the spring and fall seasons. What are you guys doing today?”

“We’re gathering the strawberries! They’re ready. Would you like one?”

“I’d love one,” Rosadette admitted. “As long as you won’t get in trouble.”

The little girl giggled and skipped right over to her basket to retrieve two strawberries. She returned with the same friendliness as she offered Rosadette a strawberry and then came over to me to offer one.

“Here you go!” she said to me.

“Thank you,” I quietly replied, impressed that she wasn’t shy at all before she returned to Rosadette’s spot and stared up at her.

“Is he your prince?” She tried to whisper the question, but it was pretty loud to me.

Rosadette giggled and quickly nodded her head.

“Ya. I decided to bring him down here to see where I came from,” she whispered.

The little girl squealed before she leaned in and tried to whisper, “He got lucky with you!”

“Yup!” Rosadette said with pride and I smirked at the comment as the little girl laughed.

“I’m going to be a princess just like you and leave this place to find my prince!” the little girl vowed. “I have to go now. Bye, bye!” She waved to both of us and skipped back to the fields where her friends awaited her.

They looked at us in unison and quickly waved before they picked up their baskets to move to the next set of fields. I returned to standing next to Rosadette’s side, watching her smile fall as she stared at the lands as if she were remembering the times she had done the same work as these poor children.

I looked at the strawberry in my hand, imagining how little these children would be paid for the service that would feed the rich next door.

“C’mon,” Rosadette’s soft voice cut through my thoughts. “If nothing has changed in these parts, the water fountain should be just down the path and to the left.”

I followed her lead until we were there, and after a quick wash of the strawberries, we enjoyed their fresh taste.

“They’re flavorful,” I commented.

“Fresh strawberries are always better than the artificial stuff they charge rich people ridiculous amounts for. Why would I pay twenty dollars for a pack of strawberries that you could pick yourself for two,” she brought up before shaking her head. “I remember that I saved so much money to get a pretty dress from the rich lands, but the money I’d saved all season couldn’t even reach one-fourth of the price.”

My heart dropped at her comment as she looked to me with those gorgeous lavender jewels.

“I cried so hard,” she said with a beaming smile. “All day and night in the fields and I couldn’t save for the dress I wanted. They were going to change with the seasons, so I knew I wouldn’t get the dress the following year. This was when I was around ten and met Camilla. She always dressed so pretty in gorgeous dresses, so I wanted to save for one nice dress. At least I could visit her without feeling so ashamed. In the end, Camilla bought it for me. I always made her keep the gifts she got me at her place because I didn’t want to ruin them.”

She plopped the remaining bit of her strawberry into her mouth and scanned the area once more.

“I wonder if my makeshift house is still there.”

“Makeshift house?” I asked for clarification. She gave me a look like we were about to discover a hidden treehouse of some sort before she took my hand and led me to another path.

It didn’t take us long as the places that seemed to be people’s homes were farther away as we entered a forest part. Soon enough, we were in a little clearing that led to a small patched spot with what looked like a failed attempt at making a house.

At least it was some sort of structure, but from the eaten-up wood to the chipped pieces all around the ground like animals clawed at the poor thing, I was truly impressed that it was still up.

“Wow! Fifty years and it somehow survived! I must have been possessed when I made this bad boy!” she declared and walked over to the flimsy door. I followed without comment, taking in the place that was just about my height.

I snapped my fingers, my magic swirling around me until I was in my human form. Rosadette looked back to blink at me, but I shrugged. “I’m too tall in that form. Don’t want to knock into anything,” I concluded.

“Awww. That’s so considerate of you,” she genuinely stated. From the look in her eyes, she truly treasured this place like it was worth millions. I noticed her slight nervousness as she looked around.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well…” She paused and turned away so her back was facing me. “Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“Of?” I poked for an elaboration.

“Your Sweet Rose used to live here,” she declared and spun around. “See, that part over there was where I slept on the floor. It was hard to adjust to at first, but you get used to it. Just a pain during the winter, but I’d stocked up on some blankets.” She walked over to what could have been a hand-me-down dresser that was barely keeping itself together. “This was basically where I put my few work clothes and underwear and stuff. It was also where I kept that precious book of mine that I got from an older lady in this village. She passed away long before I was brought to the fae lands, but she was one of the few who showed me a lot of kindness without too much complaining. You know how people are. They love doing a kind deed here and there, but never want it to be a habit.”

She walked around the tiny space and spun around to meet my blank stare.

“I’m not embarrassed by you living here,” I pointed out.

“Xavier was,” she whispered, and I could tell she was trying not to be emotional about it. She lowered her head as she put her hands behind her back as if she were trying to hide her fidgeting.

“You know, when I brought him down here to gather my things, I felt so proud of this place. I valued what it had done for me all those years. Even those times where the rich kids came and broke it down. Again, and again. I knew he was mocking me in his head, not like he fought hard not to show his annoyance for valuing a dump like this.”

She looked up to the ceiling before her eyes returned to the place she apparently slept.

“It’s weird to say it, but I feel embarrassed showing you this place. I shouldn’t be, because this place was built on the need to survive. It was my shelter through the harshest nights. Even if it wasn’t the most comfortable, it was far better than being literally outside. A safe haven from all the spooky monsters and drunk men who occasionally walked this way to get to their homes. I know it’s a shed in comparison to a home, but when you’re drunk, it looks like a house and they walked right in.”

Her sad smile was too much for me to bear as I walked two long strides to be in front of her. “I’m not embarrassed.” I said the three words firmly as I took her hands in mine.

“You don’t seem very happy about this place,” she quietly commented.

“You’re right. I’m not happy about this place. Not because it doesn’t meet my standards. I’m pissed because you had to live here. No matter if your mother put you here for a purpose. Why didn’t anyone try to take you out of it? Why couldn’t Camilla offer you a place to stay in her house? How could anyone allow you to sleep in such conditions? Why are you so filled with love when the world seemed to be so cruel to you?”

The questions came out in a rush as they processed through my mind. I really couldn’t wrap my mind around all of this. Xavier had come down and seen this very place and was still able to treat her so poorly? In fact, maybe that was why he’d given her a whole bunch of clothes in the beginning.

Out of pity. What a jackass.

He thought of her as someone he could pamper with a few gifts and then have her wrapped around his finger just like that. This woman grew up in the harshest conditions with no one to rely on for anything. Worked in the fields, day and night, got bullied by rich kids, and somehow was willing to venture into our world.

Only to receive the same treatment from our own people.

What if we’d never met? What if she wasn’t the strong individual standing before me who thought I was embarrassed because of how shitty her living conditions were? She would truly believe that she deserves all the struggles she’d had to endure all her life.

“No one took me out of it because they had their own burdens to carry.” She stated it like it was a simple fact. “Who knows. They may have a roof over their head, but what if they have no food to lay on their table? Bringing me into their home wouldn’t solve their starvation problem. It would only add to it. In these lands, we’re simply not privileged like the rest of the world. It’s just like how humans aren’t privileged to somehow walk in the lands of the fae, let alone be friends with one.”

She squeezed my hands to try to hide their trembling as she looked to the floor. “Camilla gave me enough with her friendship. As a child who was only bullied day in and out, to have a friend like Camilla who didn’t squirm at my smell or throw rocks at me was a bonus. She talked to me with respect, like I was a being amongst society, and encouraged me to learn whatever I could. Sure, I didn’t have the resources like she may have had or the rest of the rich kids, but she was my cheerleader to better myself. She listened to me whine and stood by my side in a place where she obviously didn’t belong. She may have been sent down here to protect me, but who knows what she had to endure to ensure my safety?”

The way she explained it seemed to make sense to me because this place was so open. Anyone could come and kill her, and nothing would be reported.

She noticed my silence, which prompted her to lift her head.

“Camilla did enough for me, and I couldn’t ask her and her parents to take me in out of pity. I didn’t want to push my burdens on them, because realistically, not everything that glitters is gold. There were times Camilla would be sad and cry, but she wouldn’t be able to tell me why. There had to be reasons for it. Just like how she’d sometimes have scratches and bruises on her body when she’s not the clumsy type like me. I’m not trying to defend the fact that in a realistic environment, this isn’t a place where a child or teenager should live, but it was a circumstance I accepted and survived in.”

She pulled me into a hug, which only made me sigh as I hugged her tightly because I knew she was the one who needed the intimacy.

“As for why I still harbor love in my heart instead of being a bitch, I think it’s because loving one another is a lot easier than hate. To despise someone takes a lot more energy out of you than loving your neighbor. Also, by loving people openly and being happy, you basically raise your vibrations and invite good things to happen to you.”

She pulled back to look into my eyes.

“If I’d been a bitch like Ella, you may not have fallen for me.”

I grunted at the comparison which made her laugh. “See my point?”

“I see it, but it still bothers me,” I grumbled and hugged her again. “I’m not embarrassed. I’m fucking proud of you. None of the women of our kingdom or even Xavier would survive a night in this place. Yet, you lived here for a good chunk of your life. I don’t know why your mother left you here, but I thank Mother Universe for giving you enough strength to endure it all.”

“Maybe she wanted me to get enough resilience so that no one could bring me down in the future,” she suggested.

“Hmm,” was all I said before I gave her a quick kiss.

“What was that for?” she asked.

“That’s for being a badass fae,” I teased which made her laugh long and hard.

“Wow! I’m a badass fae for surviving the harsh climates of homelessness. You’re funny,” she giggled and pulled away to look around one last time.

“Wanna go for a walk? I want to check the forest around here one last time since I don’t think we’ll be here for a while and who knows? Maybe another fifty to a hundred years will go by and this place will be no more.”

“Ya, let’s go for a walk,” she encouraged.

We made our way out, but before we left the makeshift home, I suggested, “You should take a picture.”

“Why?”

“So you can show our kids that you survived living in a place like this and became a queen.”

I watched her whole face burn a bright red as she stared back at me.

“I’m being serious,” I pointed out.

“Y-You think that would be inspirational?” She cringed a little.

“I’m beyond inspired and I’m sure others would be too. Didn’t you see the hope in that little girl’s eyes just from hearing that you once lived in these parts and was now a princess? I think you’d be able to inspire many fae children, including our own.”

“Our own,” she repeated, her cheeks growing even redder.

I pouted my lips, unsure why she was blushing until I repeated my words back in my head.

Ugh. Too direct.

I really had the urge to slap my own face as my cheeks burned red.

“Forget I said that,” I groaned and looked away.

She walked up to me, and purposely moved in my line of vision as she whispered, “You said it twice.”

“I-I didn’t.”

“You’re lying.” She smirked at my obvious failure at defending myself, which actually made me slap my face.

“I said nothing!”

“Do you want a boy or a girl?”

“A girl,” I responded immediately before I cursed. “Fuck! I didn’t answer that!”

She giggled and leaned right against me. “You want a little mini-me? Aww.”

“Stop it!” I huffed as she continued to laugh and ended up hugging me again. I couldn’t ignore her embrace; my hand lowered from my face just so I could hug her in return.

“Alright, I’ll take a picture,” she said with pride.

“Good,” I whispered and kissed the top of her head.

After taking the pictures of the two of us, we took a final look at the place like it would be our last. I engraved the sight in my memory and vowed that I’d support this woman through any hardships because she whole-heartedly deserved every fiber of support I could deliver.

Mother Universe. Help me be the best man to my resilient queen.

KINDNESS UNLOCKS OPPORTUNITY

~ROSADETTE~

“I SAID ‘walk around the forest one last time.’ Not make out against a tree because you’re horny,” I teased while I used the opportunity to catch my breath because I seriously needed it after that whirling, heated make-out session.

This may have been Rainer’s way to cheer me up after we visited the place that I’d called my “home” before I punched Xavier in the face and landed my booty in the heart of the fae lands.

To return back was a real eye-opener as I took in the lifestyle I’d assumed would be the rest of my life. To think it was only ten months ago in fae time that I’d been doing my daily morning shifts of hard labor and drinking in the evenings to drown my sorrows.

Not like that watered-down alcohol did anything.

What I also didn’t expect was the wave of emotions that came over me from showing Rainer this place. From the fields, the bar, and the makeshift shed I’d made for myself, it brought so many feelings that it overwhelmed me, but what I feared the most was being judged by him.

For him to suddenly reject me for being raised here and not in some elite environment with the best schools, clothes, resources, and higher standards.

I hadn’t realized it, but as I moved on from the lingering fears of Xavier’s judgment and criticism, I was now witnessing that his presence had been so negative. It was something so easily missed because we didn’t need to be face-to-face for the negative influence on my mindset.

Unlike when I’d brought him here to get my belongings when we first met, I was now ashamed of this life that I’d somehow survived. Like Rainer had said, this was an experience that very few would have survived. Yet, I had done exactly that and was still able to finish my first year at a school in a world I’d just been introduced to.

It was a story that could inspire anyone who thought they would never go somewhere because of their current circumstance. It also proved that no matter where you are in this life, Mother Universe could turn that life upside down for your own benefit.

All those times I wished to have a boyfriend, and now I had one who respected me, loved me, and deemed me worthy to be by his side. No matter my upbringing, flaws, and lack of knowledge of our kind, here he was, showing his loving support by viewing my homeland.

My mother must have left me here for a reason. I just wished to discover why.

What did you see in the place, Mother, that made you leave me here?

“They say if you take breaks during walks, you can admire the scenery and discover something you wouldn’t by cruising by,” Rainer replied.

He was back in his fae form after switching to his human form temporarily to fit in my makeshift house. The problem with extremely tall fae men.

“That’s bullshit,” I huffed, and he laughed.

“It’s a real saying. I swear,” he defended.

Slipping away from the tree I’d been pressed against for the last ten minutes thanks to my tall, muscled boyfriend, I skipped around the trees while looking back to see his questioning gaze.

“Alright. I’m looking at the vast scenery!” I said with pride as I twirled and let my simple red dress twirl. I came to a stop as I gave a small curtsy. “See? No new surprises here,” I declared.

He rolled his eyes and I smirked before walking around a tree. “We should get back to the fields to meet Cami…what the-?”

I cut right off as I came to a stop - my world going from day to literally night. I quickly looked around, realizing that I was still in the forest, but it almost appeared as if I were in a parallel universe.

“Rainer?!” My voice was an octave higher, and my immediate worry was the fact that I was in a new place and he wasn’t by my side.

Suddenly a large hand grasped mine, but my suddenly racing heart immediately calmed as the familiar magic of my love wrapped around me. Turning my head to my left, I saw Rainer was now beside me, his eyes taking in the new night world before he looked down at me.

“What did I do?” I asked nervously, but his grin was playful as he answered, “You found a pocket hole,” he said with pride.

“Why are you happy?”

“Because you may just have found where your Mother may have been discovered,” he revealed, which made my eyes widen.

“What?”

Rainer’s smile only grew as he pointed forward. Following the direction of his finger, I took in the clearing that was similar to where my makeshift home was.

Instead of the place being bare, it was filled with red roses that twinkled with golden accents. One look and the two of us were rushing over to get a better view of the sight, my heart racing as I realized that this spot was the place I’d basically been living on if this was some sort of parallel universe.

“Rainer. I don’t get this,” I admitted, unsure what to think about this.

Rainer seemed to be deep in thought, his hand slipping from mine as he took off his shoes and walked into the bed of roses. His hair began to glow, magic thrumming through his body as the roses seemed to shiver at his approach.

Each step he took was taken with caution, ensuring he didn’t step on one rose.

He reached a certain part and stopped.

“You slept right here,” he declared.

“Huh?” I commented as I slipped out of my slippers and took a calming breath. I wanted to reach where he was, but I worried about stepping on the roses. Rainer must have noticed my dilemma because he turned his body in my direction.

“Allow your magic to flow through your body. Once you’ve done so, imagine yourself walking the same path as I and the roses moving away from your steps. By doing so, you’ll alter their placement temporarily, which will make it impossible for you to step on them,” he explained.

I nodded in understanding as I did exactly what he explained. The task was easy now that I got a general picture of it, and without much struggle, I was at his side and looking to the spot of roses that wavered from side to side at our presence.

“What do you mean I slept here?” I asked again.

“Your energy is all over this spot.” He marked the place as if it were a crime scene with his pointing finger. “All over.”

“Why can’t I see it?” I huffed.

“You’ll learn that in Year Two,” he teased.

“Unfair,” I grumbled but commented, “Then does that mean this is a parallel universe?”

“Yes,” he replied. “However, it’s not one of the living.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” I commented, not following what he was trying to suggest.

“He’s right.”

An elderly voice carried on the winds to us from our left, leaving the two of us to dart our heads to the sound. Our eyes landed on an older woman, but she was like a hollow projection. It reminded me of seeing a ghost, only all the outlined details of this woman were perfectly clear.

She floated towards us, and my eyes only grew bigger when I realized who she was.

“You!” I declared as the elderly woman’s smile widened.

“It’s good to see that you recall this wrinkled face, Princess,” she replied before she stopped a few feet from us and clapped her hands three times. I felt a tug of magic leave me as I lifted my hand, which had summoned the ancient book that she’d given to me many years ago before her passing.

“T-The book,” I stuttered as I watched it glow furiously with magic as the pages continued to flip on an endless cycle. A burst of magic pushed out of the pages and danced around the woman like she was made of flames. It grew stronger and wider, the mini flaming tornado wrapping around her until the elderly woman was now a young maiden who wore a magnificent traditional outfit.

My jaw dropped and I’m sure Rainer was gawking as well. The woman in our presence didn’t look older than thirty. She had long black hair that was left down, with striking orange eyes with flickers of red. She was a being like us, her skin flawless and radiant even in the dim light of the clearing, and her outfit was a mixture of red, orange, gold, and white.

The flames wrapped around her until she opened her hand, leaving the flames to gather above her palm and diminish until it was a small hovering ball of fire. The pages of the floating book suddenly stopped; the book came to a close and darted over to the woman’s other hand.

She lifted her hand up to chest level, the book landing in her grasp as her eyes inspected it with satisfaction.

“You’ve taken care of this like it was of your heritage,” she praised. “I was sure you’d throw it away once I passed away.”

“I would never throw it away,” I defended. “It was valuable to you.”

“But I passed away,” she offered. “It should have gone to the trash.”

“One man’s trash is another one’s treasure. To me, it was something given to me. You didn’t need to give me anything. You owed me nothing. The least I could do was cherish it,” I explained.

“It’s good you did,” she answered with a wide smile as she looked into my eyes. “Your mother told me you’d pass the test, but I didn’t know for sure.”

“My mother?!” I gasped at the mention of her. “Y-You know my mother?”

“And what test?” Rainer added, which was a good thing because I would have overlooked that comment.

Neither of us could speak, which allowed her the opportunity to continue.

“The Queen of Rosadette and King of Darkness requested that I station myself on these very lands. Intriguing choice seeing as this spot is one of the few in the world with a parallel universe,” she commented before carrying on. “I was requested to live my remaining human years here for there was a chance that the unborn princess would be in danger. The queen’s instincts have always been spot on, and as time has now proven again, she wasn’t wrong. When she arrived at this very spot, her body was almost frozen solid. All I could do was place a spell on her to ensure that she and the babe would not perish. I then asked the Universe to find a way to undo the spell of ice when she felt it was right. Many years passed but I remained in this universe where time was at a standstill while the rest of the world moved on. One day, a fae solider stumbled upon the pathway to this alternate universe and discovered the frozen sculpture of the queen. He did his best to melt the entire thing but exerted far too much energy. I decided to aid him by sending him back to his kingdom without him realizing it. It gave me the chance to finish off melting the ice now that the spell was broken. After that, the queen awoke with the babe and begged for me to return her to the surface world so she could be granted life. It would be considered a test, because she wasn’t sure how her fae child of darkness and light would survive in the land of humans, but she couldn’t afford to return to the fae world at the risk of getting her only child killed or the King of Light retrieving her.”

She didn’t know that time had already passed, and the King of Light had died?

“After her orders, she expressed hope that her child would be able to carry kindness in her heart and treasure the valuable things life brings. She granted me this very book and instructed that I pass it down to you before my human time was up. The book would not only protect you from the fae of the outer lands who would be desperate to get their hands on you, but it would also be an item that could return you to this alternate universe where I’d found you. Thus, the purpose of me giving you that book was to determine if you’d treasure it enough to keep it. By doing so, you protected yourself from a world you didn’t know of. It’s the reason why you and your bonded mate are present.”

“That’s an intriguing way of being tested,” Rainer admitted.

“It is,” the woman agreed and flicked her wrist. The floating book began to float back to me until I lifted my hands to accept it as it lowered into the palms of my hands.

“You’re giving it back to me?” I questioned.

“Indeed. It was a gift to you after all,” she declared. “Plus, you’ll need it if you want to awaken the dark kingdom from their icy plague.”

“Wait. The book can aid in that?” Rainer questioned.

“Indeed,” the woman replied. “I’m sure you can sense the potential your bonded rose carries, am I right?”

I looked to Rainer as he nodded firmly. “I’m well aware of how powerful Rosadette is now, as well as how powerful she can become.”

“Good,” she replied. “She needs reinforcement to reach the level of power many don’t want her unlocking.”

“Who doesn’t want me to unlock such powers?” I questioned, hoping we’d get a lead on whoever this group of individuals or organization was that didn’t want me to grasp enough knowledge to be deemed powerful by my peers.

“The same individuals who never wanted the three kingdoms established to begin with,” the woman replied. “Since their creation, those who did nothing but fight over power despised their existence. It’s another reason why your mother is somewhere, hiding.”

“Hiding?” I inquired. “Where can we find her?”

“Ah,” she hummed. “That’s all you, my dear. Your mother seemed to have loads of faith in you. Her last words before she took off were that she’d return when her daughter had grown into her element. I’m sure that means embracing who you are. Until that occurs, she will remain hidden. Wherever she is.”

“But at least she’s alive. That’s something you can confirm, right?” Rainer prompt.

“Yes,” she replied. “I can guarantee that Rosadette’s mother is still alive.”

I can’t believe this. My mom is still alive!

“So to find her, I have to work on myself as well as accept who I am,” I concluded.

“Yes, Rosadette,” she replied and clapped her hands three times. The book I held returned to its hidden place within my magic.

“I have no clue what the next hidden clue is for you to discover more about your mother’s intentions, but my duty is done.”

Rainer reached for my hand, the two of us entwining our fingers as the woman turned around and began to walk away.

“Wait!” I called out to her. “I never got your name! Are we going to see you again?”

She paused and looked over her shoulder.

“Shin is my fae name. As for whether we’ll see one another again, that is for Mother Universe to decide,” she announced. “However, I will be a little generous and state this. Ensure your bond with one another is strong, for a far more dangerous threat is brewing behind the scenes. Don’t be distracted by the darkness in front of you. All that is, is a distraction from the true threat looming for both kingdoms. Roles will be revealed, and one destined to aid in the revival of the dark kingdom will join in your midst. Be cautious and train hard or defeat will be your portion.”

She began to walk away once more as her final words drifted to us.

“Love one another like every day is your last. Let such intensity fuel you to victory and prove to those who dismiss such passionate bonds that with love, anything is possible.”

With that, she was gone, and with three blinks, we were suddenly at the makeshift home.

We stood exactly on the spot that used to be my bed, leaving the two of us speechless as we stared around our surroundings once more.

“That was…” I trailed off.

“Unexpected,” Rainer concluded.

“Looks like school is going to be interesting,” I whispered.

“I think we should worry about summer training first,” he suggested and turned his body to peer down at me. “Are you okay?”

“Yup,” I replied earnestly. “That was a little surprising, but I feel as though we did pass some sort of test. My mom’s alive still…we have a chance of finding her.”

“And one of the tools we’ll need to thaw the dark kingdom out of its frozen abyss.”

“We’re making progress when we least expected it,” I concluded with relief. “I guess the saying is true.”

His smile was priceless as he pulled me into a hug and kissed me.

“Why are you hugging and kissing me?”

“Showing you some love,” he replied and held me tightly.

“Do you think it’s weird for me to be nervous about school when it’s two months away?”

“Not weird at all,” he answered truthfully. “You may be nervous now, but seeing as we’ll have two months of training you, I have a strong feeling you’ll be pretty confident by the time Year Two starts,” he declared.

“Training aka kicking my butt for your own amusement,” I muttered.

“Essentially,” he replied and looked into my eyes. “You’re up for the challenge?”

“If it means I get to remain by your side, get stronger, learn to love myself more, and somehow find my mom in the process, I’m totally up for the challenge.”

“Then let’s get Camilla and head back home to start our new game plan,” he declared. “At least we know one important thing.”

“What’s that?” I asked, giving him my full attention as he met my curious eyes.

“Kindness unlocks amazing opportunities when you least expect it,” he advised. His words couldn’t be more true, as my kindness and morals were the reason we’d somehow found a major clue about my mother’s status and were now walking in the right direction.

Two months of training and it’ll be time to face Year Two of Fae Rose Academy head-on.

YEAR TWO OF DEFYING THE LIMITS SET UPON ME

“Get your aching ass up or we’re going to be late!”

The sheets were tugged off my naked body, but I couldn’t care less as I hugged my pillow and squeezed my eyes.

“Never,” I groaned.

Camilla groaned impatiently. “We’re actually going to be late! Hurry out of bed, you bruised-up potato!”

“Why am I a potato?” I whined, my voice thick with sleep as I tried to hide my head beneath my pillow. It was tugged out of my grasp, leaving me no choice but to groan into the soft sheets of the dorm bed that felt far too small.

Summer left me spoiled with king-size beds and cuddles with my muscled boyfriend.

“You’re right. I should call you a bruised-up banana. Jeez. Did you guys have animal sex last night? You have bruises literally everywhere,” Camilla complained.

I poked an eye open to see she was in human form. Her hands were on her hips as she stood in her Shadow Fae uniform. Her hair was left down, the shoulder-length brunette strands far different from seeing her with the long ombre locks that I’d gotten used to.

“That’s not from the sex. That’s from you kicking my ass yesterday for a stupid ‘test’!” I whined and narrowed my sleepy eyes at her. She blinked innocently and looked down my naked body again.

“Oh really? I did that? I don’t recall,” she sweetly declared.

“Bitch,” I grumbled.

“Now, now. Don’t go insulting your best friend for wanting the best for you,” Camilla defended.

“You almost KILLED me!” I snapped before I shrieked and was splattered naked on the floor. I lifted my head to see Camilla had literally taken my sheets off my bed.

“Yes and no,” she replied. “Yes, you could have potentially died, but I had faith in my best friend that she’d somehow survive the assault of my shadow blades. You see? I believed in you and now look. You’ve got the bruises to prove you’re a survivor.”

“I probably have another one from you making me fall out of the bed,” I huffed and sat up. “Ugh. My butt hurts.”

“Aww. Did Rainer’s lollipop somehow fit in there?” she sweetly asked, which had me choking on my own saliva.

“I-I-I can’t possibly fit THAT in my butthole!”

“You’d be surprised how our body accommodates,” she cheered and walked over to grab my uniform from its hanging spot. She placed it on the doorknob of the washroom before looking down at my naked self.

“Get ready now or we’re seriously going to be late. We have the assembly that will explain our curriculum today. Hopefully, there will be no surprises since it’s the first day back. Make yourself extra pretty so you can make all the haters cry over you becoming more beautiful in the last two months,” she explained and turned around. “Oh ya. Rainer bought you new sets of lingerie. One of them is in the washroom already.”

“Huh?” I stated, dumbfounded, before I scrambled up. “He bought me lingerie?!”

“Yup. This morning I think, but to be honest, they really don’t look bought from your average fae store. They’re really high quality, which isn’t a given for lingerie, even in the fae lands. He may have gotten them custom made for you, which is kind of cute if you ask me. Anyways, they’re in the washroom and the rest are in the closet for you to sort after school. Now hurry your ass up if we want a chance at breakfast!”

She waltzed out the door and slammed it behind her, leaving me standing there, butt naked, with a stunned expression.

Why am I so shocked that my boyfriend of nine months bought me lingerie?

The idea made my cheeks grow hot while my heart fluttered in happiness. Glancing at my bed that was basically a catastrophic mess, I closed my eyes and snapped my fingers.

“Vela Bedatan Cleanro.”

By the time I opened my eyes, the bed was now made and completely wrinkle-free. I looked at it proudly before I let out a long exhale.

“At least I’m getting better at this magic lifestyle,” I commented to myself before heading to the bathroom. Locking the door, I took a long look at my body and shook my head.

I could tell which bruises were from our crazy, last-day-of-training fiasco with Alicia because they were larger, darker, and still hurt. It was our fault for getting a little cocky in the fight. We were all left on our asses at the last second before the bell went off, proclaiming Alicia’s victory.

Yet again, she’d proven why it was a blessing to have her training us for the last two months. She was a force to be reckoned with. I wondered if Xavier grasped even a bit of her skillful training.

Apparently, Xavier had received therapy all summer long in his dungeon, one of the punishments he agreed to endure if it meant he’d be able to attend Fae Rose still. I’m sure he was doing it so that people wouldn’t find out exactly what he did to me, not to forget his immense pride that had probably been stabbed by his loss of mental control.

With the last two months of training with Rainer, I could tell when he was being influenced by traits from the past. One of those traits was a hint of possessiveness Rainer carried.

He fought hard to hide it, but I could tell during our travels throughout his kingdom that he didn’t like the way certain people - particularly men - looked at me. He’d use the excuse that they were looking at me kind of funny and he disliked it, but I was pretty positive he merely wanted to keep me all to himself if he could.

These traits, however, only seemed to appear when he was in his fae form. The few times we’d returned to our standard human appearances, he’d returned to that good boy persona that he had clearly perfected.

The fae world I could now see with my awakened eyes was far different than the world I’d seen all my life. It was beyond the projection of fairytales from the lower lands or in books, with the mere colors of everything being more enhanced than the standard color wheel.

The fae world had a thing about pastel colors; the sky alone was a glorious blend of them depending on the time of day. The standard sky was red instead of blue, and the night sky was dark purple with hints of blues and greens versus the dark-blue-to-black surface I were used to.

The stars that twinkled in the sky were far closer, and if you concentrated long enough, you could hear them singing from far away.

Yes, stars can sing to you.

The creatures of the fae world were still as beautiful as ever, though some qualities like their size or wings were revealed with the awakening. This meant that it was normal to see a bee the size of your head and know they wouldn’t eat you.

The two months of training had consisted of various things. Combat was a big deal and was the center of our daily sessions, which started at nine in the morning and ended at five in the evening. Early afternoons were spent gathering knowledge to back up every move or section of discovery we’d learned about during the morning combat sessions, and the last two hours was normally the time we used to summarize what we’d gathered and ask questions.

Alicia continued to prove herself as an amazing teacher to myself, Rainer, and Camilla. When she offered to train the two of them with me, it was a huge relief because I didn’t want to necessarily go through this journey alone.

They were my backbone in all the craziness that had occurred since the first weeks of attending Fae Rose Academy, and it felt like such a privilege to have them continue to aid me on my journey.

After our lessons were officially over, we’d shower or bathe off the sweat from the day. The evenings were designated for us to do whatever we wanted to.

Some days we’d explore, other days we’d simply rest and talk about the crazy week, and twice a week Camilla would go see her lovely ‘partner’ who’d ordered her to come to see him since he was so depressed without her.

I was beginning to wonder if this guy was more than just her partner, but Camilla was being stingy about giving me his damn name. I’d seen him from far away once or twice, but that was essentially it. All I could assume was that she was shy and didn’t want to introduce him to me unless she knew without a doubt in her mind that he was the one that was going to date her.

It was quite amusing since I’d always believed Camilla would be the first to have a serious boyfriend in her life. I hoped that since she’d paused her own life goals to protect me and be my friend she’d be rewarded for the sacrifices she’d made on my behalf.

Finding a friend like her was a four-leaf clover moment, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

With a smile gracing my lips, I hopped into the shower and allowed the hot water to run down my aching bones. The soreness wasn’t only from the intense training day from yesterday, but also because I’d been rather needy in the loving department.

And boy did my man deliver.

I knew Rainer and I had become close before the whole frozen fiasco with Xavier, but with the truth out, and having the last two months to learn bits about him and his background, we had upped our connection to new heights.

It was easier to talk to him, to lower my walls completely without judgment, and to get positive advice in return. His parents were surprisingly easy-going in comparison to what I’d assumed about them. King Emmanuel was even fine with me calling him Emmanuel now that he knew I genuinely loved his son.

He appeared to be the more protective one with a quiet exterior, while Seraphine was carefree and happy on the outside while maintaining a powerful dominance on the inside. She could be happy, free, and living her best life one minute, and planning out a plan of retaliation with intense seriousness the next.

The people of the kingdom respected both of them, which made me want to strive towards a similar persona. To be kind and loving when I need to be, but commanding and smart when push came to shove.

So far, I looked to be the girl the world seemed to underestimate. Though that was a little good because it gave me an advantage against any enemy who thought I was weak, I wanted the world to be forced to acknowledge my power. To grasp my capabilities as someone powerful and not based upon assumptions of me.

It would take time to prove, but I knew if I continued to work on myself and what I wished to achieve in this lifetime, I’d reached that level of triumph.

Lifting my arms up to stretch while the water ran down my body, I could still feel Rainer’s soft kisses as he lifted my arms up to slide my pajama top off last night. The sensual kissing led to our intimate night of intense sex that left me even more bruised up than the previous night.

Now with us back in the dorms, we didn’t have the privacy we once did, which meant we wouldn’t be having sex every other day. I pondered if I should feel relieved or saddened that our sex life would be taking a hit because of school.

I doubt school is going to stop us from enjoying sex.

“You always have the oddest thoughts.”

My eyes rolled at the soothing, deep voice, one I’d gotten used to popping in at the oddest times.

How do you always know when I’m showering?

“To be fair, I didn’t until I arrived and noticed the room was rather empty, but your school bag is still there.”

Where are you?

“You’re asking a question you already have the answer to.”

The way his voice taunted me only answered the rather rhetorical question. I knew exactly where he was as the musky scent of nature began to wrap around me while a heavy presence lingered behind me.

My lips curled as I merely turned my head in time to receive a hungry kiss, his body pressing against my bare back as he hugged me against him.

“I’m running late, you know,” I warned him because we both knew what Camilla was capable of if we made her late for her classes.

“Hmmm. Am I brave enough to deal with her wrath just so I can enjoy you?”

I laughed and turned right around to admire his naked, wet body before wrapping my arms around his neck. He pressed me against the tiled wall, kissing me with every bit of emotion that overrode the bit of logic I carried so early in the morning.

I gasped for breath and he took advantage by sucking my bottom lip and pressing his forehead against mine as he fought for air.

“I’d rather avoid gaining more bruises on my skin,” I concluded, which only made him smirk as he lowered his lips to my neck and sucked hard. I groaned as my eyes fluttered close. My head fell back against the tiled wet surface, which only gave him access to continue marking me up with those dark purple hickeys he loved to leave behind.

“You and I both know I’m not worried about having any bruising on my flesh.”

“I was referring to me, silly,” I quietly moaned and let my hands run through his hair before tugging it back so he had no choice but to look at me. “Camilla’s gonna kick your ass and it won’t be pretty if it’s in public.”

That made him cringe while a pout of disappointment graced his lips. I laughed because, in this sexy hunk of fae form, he looked absolutely adorable.

“We can have fun later, I promise,” I assured him and kissed his swollen lips. “Why are you naked, anyway?”

“I figured if I got out of our kingdom fast enough, I’d get the opportunity of multitasking by showering with you,” he declared.

“Our kingdom, huh?” I acknowledged his words, feeling overwhelmed with happiness that he continued to think in a marriage manner when we’d yet to be officially engaged.

With the truth of the current dark kingdom being the original Rosadette kingdom, I honestly expected some sort of hassle along the lines of who’s kingdom it was. However, since the revelation, Rainer made it clear that once they could safely announce the truth about the melting of the old dark kingdom, their temporary home would officially be mine to rise upon the throne.

I don’t think any of them realized that I didn’t want to rise to the throne so soon. I wasn’t close to being ready to rule a property, let alone an entire kingdom, nor did I have the greedy intentions of taking the kingdom they called home.

With my relationship with Rainer being confirmed with my rose in his possession, it was obvious that we’d be together for quite some time. We may not be officially married or engaged, but the connection with the rose’s presence was enough for the two of us to agree that the kingdom would be ours to share.

My goal was to now find my mother, and by getting stronger, I’d be creeping closer to the finish line. Until then, there was no need to worry about the status of power. Seraphine was doing an amazing job with Emmanuel, far better than I’d be able to do even with Rain’s guidance.

We also didn’t know what occurred outside of the walls of our kingdom, which meant we didn’t know how crazy things could be in a world where only power can speak.

“It’s ours,” he replied against my lips as he plopped a kiss on them.

“True, but when are you going to make me yours?” I teased.

“Hmmm, soon.” He winked and kissed my nose. “I have to do my research in that department.”

“Do you know what I’m referring to?” I pondered, because men were one of those intellectual creatures that missed women’s underlying points almost ninety-nine percent of the time.

He chuckled and reached for my sponge.

“I do,” he assured me. “Now turn around so I can scrub your back.”

“You’re gonna help me bathe? Wow. We’re really taking it to the next level.” I laughed but felt far too happy at his gesture.

“We already passed that level, sweetheart,” he pointed out. “You did fall into my bath plenty of times.”

“Once,” I defended.

“More than enough times,” he concluded, which left me giggling.

We helped each other wash up, and I teased him because he now smelled like fruity flowers. After changing into our uniforms, I worked on drying my hair with a wind spell as Rainer explained what took so long.

“Was Seraphine taking a bunch of pictures of you again?” I inquired.

“Nah, she took plenty of those already,” he replied as he lifted the collar of his shirt to slide the silk fabric of his tie in place to begin the sequence of tying it. “My sister returned early this morning.”

“Sister.” I had to pause my spell to make sure I heard him right. “Did you actually say ‘sister’?”

“I thought you knew I had one,” he pointed out.

“I remember I asked, but we never talked about it,” I acknowledged. “Also, with what I know now, how do you have a sister, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t mind you asking,” he answered first. “She’s also adopted, but that was because her mother was a good friend of my mom’s and she died of a rare illness.”

“I thought fae don’t die from diseases,” I pointed out.

“You’re correct,” he replied. “However, she was human.”

“Wait. So her mom was human and her father a fae?” I tried to figure it out. “Where’d her dad go?”

“Surprisingly enough, being a fae doesn’t mean you won’t be a deadbeat father,” Rain casually declared as he continued to tie his tie while his eyes remained on me. “When he found out she was pregnant, he ditched. Didn’t want a hybrid child or the responsibility. He isn’t a fae like us, who live amongst the kingdoms and strive for peace. He’s ruthless and I guess was only playing around with her, treating their relationship like it was a fling. Fae can’t get pregnant without doing certain rituals and such. He didn’t take into consideration that humans don’t follow the same process unless the man protects his cock.”

“Which he obviously didn’t,” I concluded with a sigh. “Why does the male species struggle with the simplest things?”

“Like?” Rain asked for an elaboration.

“Men literally cry at the idea of wearing a condom for ten to fifteen seconds but will run for the hills and ditch all levels of responsibility when his actions for a few seconds of pleasure brings a child into the world. It’s like they gamble with life. Instead of taking the easy, safer road by wearing a condom, they go on a chase of thrilling adventure before running away and leaving the woman behind to continue driving the car for the next twenty years of her life while raising a child.”

“I agree with you,” he admitted. “But I don’t know why we’re like that.” He shrugged as he finished with his tie. “I’ve respected women and their desire to be protected. Just as it takes two people to tango, sex is something we both deserve to enjoy. That includes the idea of bringing a child into the world. The human world has different viewpoints when it comes to children, but fae acknowledge that the creation of children is a sacred blessing that shouldn’t be played around with. Most of the time, anyway. My sister’s biological mom just wasn’t lucky, but Seraphine and Emmanuel concluded they would take her in. Since fae males and females are trained in completely different aspects, we don’t really see each other as often. Only recently, before I started school, did I spend the summer with her.”

“Why didn’t we see her this summer?” I inquired. “I would love to meet her.”

“She was working. She’s aiming to become a fae doctor in various areas of health. Fae don’t normally have physical wounds. Everything is on the more emotional or mental sides of the spectrum, so she’s learning how to counter emotional and mental health while working on her physical healing abilities for emergencies like a sudden battle or war. We always have to be prepared just in case things go south on the outside of our kingdoms. She’s actually really good at healing,” he explained. “As for meeting her, you’ll meet her today.”

“I will?”

“She’s the same age as you,” he revealed. “She took online classes last year due to some healing complications. Not all healing spells basically heal without consequence.”

“Without consequence? But you’re healing someone. Why would there be consequences for being selfless?”

“Extremely powerful healing magic requires a sacrifice of some sort. It’s used for conditions like curses and sometimes death. I believe that Xavier’s father was sick with something. Not necessarily cursed but something along those lines. Either way, my sister had to treat him cause no one else was strong enough to do so. That was before you arrived and all. It’s information that remains within royals and close family,” he admitted. “Due to her healing him, she was basically weak for nine full months. I think humans call it fibromyalgia? You basically feel exhausted all the time and have to do all your activities during the day or as early as possible from the time you wake up or you become drained. She’s basically recovered from it, but she still experiences one or two episodes a year of intense weakness. Since it was the headmaster’s fault for her missing school, he granted her online classes for the year so she wouldn’t be behind. She’s attending classes this year.”

“At Fae Rose?” I asked.

“Yup. She’s a Purely Divine for sure,” he declared. “We’ll see her after the assembly. She’d love to meet you.”

“Great!” I replied and reached for my brush to comb through my hair. “Are you excited?”

“For school? Yes and no. With the training we did during the summer, I feel like this year could be a breeze, but then again, it could be hard as ever. You just never know.”

“That’s true,” I admitted as I combed through my hair that was already beginning to curl on its own. “At least it’ll be nice to continue training with Alicia with our special weapons.”

“You haven’t used your pendulum since the incident, huh?” Rain brought up as he walked to where I was sitting at the vanity. Reaching for the brush, he took it and began to brush through my back locks.

“Thank you,” I whispered, before answering, “Not really. I was giving it a break since it was pretty drained from the event. I didn’t think my pendulum could carry that much power. Alicia said the full moon will be approaching soon, so I’ll be able to charge it properly. We never got the chance during the days we were training. I’ll have to start marking the calendar for all the full moons.”

“It’s a little trickier to predict in the fae lands,” Rain acknowledged. “Some months we can have a full moon every day and other times, we don’t see it for six months.”

“Maybe we’re enduring the latter option,” I suggested. “Alicia said she’d give me a heads-up when she senses it.”

“Intriguing how much Alicia adores you and yet Xavier’s an ass.”

“One of those unsolvable mysteries,” I declared and looked in the mirror to notice his stare. “What?”

“Are you anxious about him being on campus?”

“A little,” I admitted. “His fae side is a little scary to me.”

“Now that you have more control of your fae magic you don’t need to see everyone in their fae form. Everyone will appear in their human forms, especially today because of the mandatory assembly meeting. It’s only when you need to see another’s fae side for your own purposes, or when you’re amongst close individuals you’re connected with that you will see their fae forms.”

“That’s a little relieving,” I admitted, looking to my fingers in my lap.

I shouldn’t be afraid of Xavier. I was stronger now. Tougher than what he expected from me. There was no need to prove myself to him anymore to get on his worthy list. I’d trained with Alicia, discovered my family’s past, and had the support of my best friend and boyfriend. I couldn’t ask for more.

He wouldn’t be able to ruin this for me. I wanted to make him acknowledge what he let get away from his grasp.

I hadn’t realized Rain had finished with my hair until both his hands were on my shoulders, squeezing them gently.

“Rosadette.”

I lifted my head to look at him, and he gave me a firm look that said a thousand words.

He’s here for me. He’ll be my shield and protect me from any situation that is deemed unsafe in my heart. I have to trust that I can get through this. He’s by my side. That’s enough motivation.

“I know,” I whispered. “I have you. By my side.”

He smiled as his head lowered until his lips claimed mine. “If he tries to approach to apologize, you stand right by my side. I doubt he’d be bold enough to do so, but regardless, if he does, the right people will be watching his every move. Alicia said if he does anything that goes against the rules, he’s out. His dad can’t protect him. So all you need to focus on is yourself, alright?”

“Alright,” I repeated against his lips and kissed him in return.

The bittersweet kiss ended before it could develop into something deeper, and I stared into his loving eyes as they shifted to a pastel pink with hints of orange.

“Think you can spare a moment for a picture?”

“Why?” I asked and lowered my head to see the strawberry chocolate cake on the vanity table. I had to take a few extra blinks. The glass table was covered in a red cloth, and a dazzling cake sat right in the middle. It was white with a dripping chocolate design on the sides. Red roses with hints of gold decorated all around the top of the circular cake, and in the middle it read ‘Happy Birthday, Rosadette’ in gold cursive.

“How…when…” I trailed off in my attempt to find words, my eyes looking into the mirror to see his wide grin.

“You thought I forgot.” He winked and leaned over to kiss my cheek. “Happy birthday, my Sweet Rose. May the Universe bless you abundantly with positive experience, love, and strength as you journey into the next chapter of this fae life.”

“Rainer,” I whispered, fighting off tears as I looked back to the cake, where the tiny red sticks were now lit up. “How do you keep doing things so quickly?”

“Magic,” he teased. “Make a wish.”

I grinned like a little girl, realizing this was the first cake I’d ever had that was solely for my birthday. Taking a deep inhale, I let it out to blow out the candles. The sound of a picture being taken caught my attention, and I noticed he’d gotten the Kodak moment on his cellphone.

“My mom would kill me if I didn’t get at least one picture,” he declared.

I laughed and reached out for his tie, tugging him closer to me. “One more, then. Just for you and me.”

My words ended with me tugging his tie further until our lips met.

Another shutter sound kicked off my nineteenth birthday.

THE YEAR OF COMBAT AND SISTER OF LIGHT

“This year will go by quickly. You will be tested when you least expect it and every class and activity is given to you with a purpose. Some will rise to the challenge. Others will fall and be left behind. As fae, no matter Purely or Deadly, we are divine individuals of grace and power, and we carry the pride of victory on our shoulders. Do not allow yourself to be weak, because the weak are always left behind,” Alicia declared as her eyes scanned the vast room of students.

Headmaster Rose bobbed his head in agreement as he carried on with the final statements.

“This year is focused on combat. As the queen has stated, you will be tested, and those marks add up. Do not take these tests lightly. Some may be easy. Others, not so much. However, be wise. Not all tests are ones we give to you. If foul play is used against you, gather the proof you need and report it to myself or the queen. Let me be the one to warn you that foul play is a tactic we don’t encourage in Year Two. Therefore, if caught, you will be expelled from Fae Rose Academy, and if you really push it, you’ll be banished from this kingdom.”

Not a single student made a sound as the nervous energy continued to grow.

“Looks like everyone understands,” Alicia declared. “This week is designated for you to retrieve your combat uniform, schedule, and weapons. A few of you have been chosen to be an apprentice and will get special schedules for this year as well. They have already been reviewed and approved by the headmaster and add up to the same amount of credits needed to continue on to Year Three. If you have any questions, feel free to ask one of the standing professors around the room.”

She gave one last long look around the room before she nodded.

“You have the rest of the day and week off to prepare. Have a marvelous week and good luck to all of you.”

With those words, everyone began to clap before students with questions practically darted to the fifty professors stationed around the large auditorium.

Rainer slipped his hand into mine, as the two us noticed Alicia’s gaze, which told us to follow her.

We moved to the stage to be briefly stopped by the guard who then allowed us entry at Alicia’s hand raise. I could already sense the stares in our direction as we made it up to the stage before following Alicia to the back curtain that led to a private exit.

The moment we reached the royal courtyard, I let out a long sigh before taking in the fresh air.

“That was intense,” I declared.

“I agree. I think it’s mostly due to the nervous energy of everyone bottled up in one room that left me feeling uneasy,” Rain confessed as Alicia turned around to stare at the two of us.

“Neither of you should have a problem this year,” she commented. “Everything will seem easy to you.”

“Your hope in us is far too high,” I commented with a smile. “But we’ll do our best to meet your standards.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” she declared and snapped her fingers. A red envelope appeared in her grasp before she offered it specifically to me. I gave her a look of uncertainty as I accepted it.

“What’s this?” I inquired respectfully.

“That’s your birthday present,” she declared with a wink. She turned around before she continued. “Your mother used to mention how she wished to take you to one of our rare fae parks. It’s extremely limited and only royal individuals with granted access are able to attend once a year.”

“Wait…” I took in her words as Rainer commented, “You’re giving her your pass to attend?”

“I’ve gone for a few centuries. Missing one won’t hurt. I heard this year they’ll have phoenix exhibits and the actual event will be taking place in your kingdom, Rainer, so it seems like a good opportunity to enjoy. There are two tickets, by the way. My love isn’t interested in going without me.”

She lifted her hand to give us a back wave. “The two of you will be off this week as well so feel free to take advantage and check the exhibit out. Once training commences, you may not get the opportunity. I’m heading back to the castle to get some paperwork sorted. I will see the two of you next week. Happy Birthday, Rosadette. Make sure nothing brings you down today.”

We both stood there speechless as she headed down the path towards the royal garden maze. It wasn’t until she was completely out of sight that I returned my eyes to the very envelope. With shaky fingers, I tugged on the exquisite ribbon and opened the sealed fold to tug out the two tickets that were printed on golden paper with red ink. The exhibit’s name was on it with multicolor phoenix drawings designed around the words.

“This is the real deal,” Rain whispered like it was a well-kept secret. “My mom attends every year with my dad. Tickets are worth millions in human currency and billions in fae currency.”

“B-B-Billions?!” I had to fight not to shriek as I looked at him with wide eyes. “I can’t accept this.”

“Sweet Rose.” He actually seemed amused as a smile of hopelessness morphed on his fine lips. “You already did. You know Alicia by now. She isn’t accepting that back.”

He took the tickets and slipped them back into the envelope. Placing it back in my hand and tying the ribbon around it, he added, “Put that in a special place. They’re valuable and I’d rather we remain alive to experience it.”

His words prompted me to store them in the same magical void where I kept my pendulum and ancient books of spells.

“Okay,” I agreed, and in a few seconds, the gifted envelope was gone into its safe haven.

It seemed to be perfect timing as two individuals emerged from the second path to the royal maze gardens. The mere sight had me frozen in place as I took in the male.

Rain noticed my sudden rigidity, and one followed look clearly ruined his mood, but also triggered an odd sensation that I picked up on.

The two individuals noticed us, and they too, came to a stop before the unfamiliar woman pointed our way with a pleased expression.

Rainer tried to move in front of me, but I slipped my hand in his and took a step so I stood next to him. The trickling fear that was beginning to boil within me was suddenly silenced by the overwhelming desire to stand my ground.

I put up a fierce exterior, one that wouldn’t be dampened by my past experiences - no matter how traumatic they were.

My eyes locked onto those ice-cold ones, the same jewels that looked at me with so much sinister hate more than two months ago.

I could feel the same icy sensation creeping through me, attempting to consume me like the very element that almost trapped me in eternal imprisonment if I hadn’t somehow reached Rainer’s side.

Now he was here with me, standing next to me with his raging aura fighting hard to not swallow everything around us in pure protectiveness.

Throughout the summer I’d envisioned what it would be like to face Xavier again. To prove that he hadn’t won by destroying me and would have no choice but to see me - alive and well. I expected to see those cold, piercing eyes of hate and hear his huffs of frustration at the list of flaws and areas I lacked. I was ready to face his demotivating words and attempts to provoke me like he loved to do, but as we stared at one another from a distance, it didn’t seem like the way I’d pictured.

Xavier looked different. His hair was a lot shorter than before, like he decided to get a haircut that left his hair spiked up with one side brushed down to give a wild but sophisticated combination.

He was in his school uniform, which was in perfect condition as usual, but what caught my attention was the slight discoloration on his face. It wasn’t something easily picked up on from such a distance, but there was some sort of scar along the left side of his cheek that went past his eyes.

I couldn’t recall injuring him during the ice assault, but the sight of it gave me an odd satisfaction because he had to use some sort of makeup to cover it.

What a punishment that would be to his perfectionist ego. To have a scar on your face that can’t be covered with magic but mundane, lower-level makeup creations. Priceless.

My attention moved to the woman accompanying him. She had long blonde hair, striking blue eyes with hints of orange, and wore the Purely Divine uniform, which told me she was definitely amongst our crowd of students.

If she was here, that meant she’d just finished the second-year assembly, but this was the first time I was meeting her.

Who is she?

The girl reached for Xavier’s hand, and they began walking this way. I could see Xavier’s cold eyes go from blank to full-alert mode as the woman’s sudden movement shocked him. I could feel Rainer tense up next to me, but I squeezed his hand that was in my grasp.

“I’m fine. Whether I like it or not, there’s going to be a time we’ll cross paths. Might as well get it over with here and now.”

I felt Rain’s dissatisfaction, but he remained by my side and didn’t comment about it, which was impressively kind of him to support me even though he didn’t agree with this.

The woman stopped just before us, her body parallel to Rainer while Xavier was parallel to me. Just seeing him so close was beginning to make my heart drum against my chest as crippling fear fought dangerously hard to creep through my body.

I continued my brave act, my eyes dull of emotion, just like my expression, as I stared back at him. He was fighting hard to hide his own emotions, which I found rather amusing because he was the type to be a smug asshole for the sake of saving face.

Now he wanted to pretend this sudden change of events wasn’t driving him insane.

“BROTHER!” the girl cheered, which had me and Xavier slowly turning to look at her properly as she moved to hug Rainer, who looked like he was going to die of annoyance.

“Vixen, what are you doing here? You’re not supposed to use these paths during school without royal permission,” Rainer announced as she pulled away to look at him.

“I did get permission,” she huffed and put her hands on her hips. “Why are you being a grumpy ass when we’ve just seen each other? There’s no way that assembly was shitty enough for you to be in a bad mood.”

“It’s nothing,” Rainer coldly replied, though his eyes could probably write Xavier’s will if they had the ability to do so.

“Hmph. Ya right,” she commented and followed up with, “I’m still working, so I can’t stay long, but oh!! Are you Rainer’s girlfriend?!” The moment her eyes locked onto me, her voice went up an octave or two, and now she was admiring me with starry eyes.

“Hello,” I greeted, though my voice was rather flat.

“Oh my. Where are my manners?” She nervously giggled and waved. “Hello! I’m Princess Vixen! You can just call my Vix or Vixen. I’m Rainer’s sister,” she introduced.

“You two are related?” It was the first time hearing Xavier’s voice as he croaked the question out. My eyes locked on his for a moment before he looked away and muttered, “I’m leaving.”

“Huh?” Vixen gasped when Xavier tugged his hand out of hers and began to leave.

“Xavier! We’re not done with our session!” Vixen declared with a stern voice that had him stopping in his tracks. I didn’t need to see his face to feel his irritation all the way over here, but Vixen didn’t seem to mind as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Fine. Remain there but give me a minute to be polite. We’re going to work on that bad attitude of yours. You ain’t getting a pass from Alicia if you keep acting like a selfish prick with a stick up your ass!”

I had to blink a few times to stare at Rainer’s sister. Her appearance gave off the perfect ‘innocent cutie’ vibe, but her sudden shift in tone when she addressed Xavier was as though she was now talking to her child.

Rainer looked just as shocked as me, but he soon recovered and asked, “You’re still working?”

“Yup. Have one more hour left of therapy sessions, but I ran out of time due to the assembly. I’m sorry we can’t stay and chat more. I shouldn’t have intruded on your little date.” She winked my way before she patted Rainer’s shoulder. “You did well, brother! No wonder why Mom’s already planning a wedding!”

“Wedding?” Rainer and, surprisingly, Xavier said at the same time, which resulted in me peering to see Xavier’s reaction as he glance over his shoulder to us before his eyes met mine once more.

He couldn’t hide it fast enough for me to see that slight flicker of pain.

The mere idea of me potentially being married hurts him? Good. So, so good. Will he now realize he did this to himself?

Vixen sighed but bobbed her head. “You didn’t see? She made a whole book of potential venues for you and your lover. Clearly, you had to be hitting it off well with her for Mother to go serious wedding researching. I can see why she’s excited though.” Vixen winked as she looked between us. “Anyways. We’ll catch up later. I’m busy for the next few weeks so I may barely see ya, but I promise we’ll talk soon enough,” she assured Rainer before glancing back at me. “Such a pleasure to meet you, sister-in-law!”

“S-Sister-in-law?!” I gasped.

She laughed and began to walk past Xavier. “C’mon, Xavier. Forty-five minutes and you’ll be free from my grasp to go live life.”

Xavier didn’t say anything as he immediately moved to catch up to Vixen, who was walking so fast, I wondered if she was doing it on purpose to get on Xavier’s nerves.

“That wasn’t what I expected,” I commented.

“Tsk. Alicia knew,” Rainer declared. “No wonder why she told you to not let anything ruin your day.”

“Alicia and her riddles.” I sighed and noticed how my hands now shook violently. Rainer noticed as well, and soon enough, he was grabbing my hands.

“R-Rainer?”

“Are you okay?” He got to the point as he lifted my hands in his and inspected them like I’d hurt myself.

“I’m okay,” I quietly answered, and followed with, “That was unexpected, but I didn’t quiver in front of him. He didn’t have ownership of me. Honestly, he looked so uncomfortable. I feel like a bitch for saying this, but I enjoyed the look of shock that took over his face when Vixen mentioned a wedding.”

The thought made my lips curl up slightly as I muttered, “I’m happy that it poked at his pride. He actually looked distraught at that moment, but it made me happy, which makes me feel a little bad as a person, but I won’t lie that it gave me a bit of satisfaction.”

Rainer nodded and hugged me, his lips pressing on the top of my scalp.

“It did make me feel amazing at his level of distraughtness, which I also agree makes me feel shitty as a person, but he deserves to feel a fraction of the burning torment you endured last year.”

“At least your sister is nice.”

“That we can both agree with,” he assured me. “You’ll come to realize my sister is a little naive, but with her being a therapist, she has no choice but to aid Xavier, I guess.”

He didn’t sound too pleased about the idea, even with the understanding that his sister really didn’t have much choice if she wanted to follow through with her job.

“Let’s take a soothing bath to relax after that intense encounter,” he concluded and added, “Maybe she’ll be able to knock some sense into his brain, but we’ll see. She’s never failed at being a therapist thus far. I think she’ll be able to help him somewhat. Not like I give two cents.”

“I doubt a princess of light like her can cut through whatever Xavier’s got going on, but it’ll be nice to see if she can,” I suggested, already wishing we were back in our kingdom home so we could enjoy the rejuvenating waters.

“Let’s go enjoy a bath,” he encouraged again. “Seeing as we’re off this week, we can go home and do other things.”

“Home,” I repeated, and saw the glint of excitement in his eyes at the idea of us enjoying some more time together before the storm of school hits us.

“Yes. Let’s return to the birthday shenanigans,” I declared with excitement as he chuckled and kissed me gently.

The year has begun, and I’ve conquered a tiny bit of my insecurities for the better. Baby steps.

MOVE FORWARD

“Rainer.”

I stopped him from walking further, which made him let out of a huff of frustration. I knew he wasn’t directing it at me, but I wasn’t going to let him be in a grumpy mood on a night like this.

“Can we talk?”

“We’re going to be late.”

“The show starts in two hours. We aren’t missing anything,” I countered.

He looked over his shoulder to give me a look, but I stood my ground, which forced him to give in. “Fine.”

He walked over to my dorm bed and sat down. The creaking sounds of the bed always made me smirk because I wondered if it could handle Rainer’s fae weight. I decided to sit on the stool chair, just so I could face him instead of sitting next to him on the bed.

That would lead to other things if I wasn’t careful and then we’d truly be late for this event if I had to get back into this long, jeweled-up evening dress Seraphine had gotten for me the moment she heard we were going to the exhibit.

“Come sit here,” he mumbled.

“If I do that, we’re not talking,” I acknowledged.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say the sexual tension was through the roof right now with me enjoying how damn sexy he looked in his white suit with a gold dress shirt and white tie with tiny gold dragons.

His hair was up in a man bun for what felt like the first time, which made me want to strip and lick him right up.

Got to tame the addiction.

“Why are we having a talk?”

“You’ve been angry all week, but I figured it would go away by now,” I acknowledged. “Since it hasn’t, I figured we could address it once and for all.”

“You already know what’s pissing me off,” he declared.

“Do you mean the fact that the headmaster put Xavier in some of our classes when he originally agreed not to? Or are you referring to the fact your sister has to continue giving him therapy all year long because she’s making good progress with him?” I suggested the two obvious problems before a third one popped up. “OR is it because Xavier’s new partner for this year is your sister?”

“All three are shit,” he stubbornly declared.

“You’re not wrong about that,” I agreed and moved a few of my blonde curls from my face. “You realize your anger isn’t going to change anything.”

“I’m going to get us moved out of those classes,” he huffed.

“Rainer.” I moved my stool closer so our knees barely touched. Reaching for his hands, I lifted them up before squeezing them gently. “You don’t need to go to that extent. What are the chances the headmaster is doing this on purpose?”

“He is doing it on purpose,” Rainer huffed, though his eyes were clearly checking out my cleavage, which was pretty eye-catching in this golden dress.

“Then why are you going to fall into whatever trap he’s setting up?”

“He shouldn’t be acting petty when he knows his son is a dick. You don’t see Alicia defending him.”

“Alicia’s the colder parent, remember? She’s the type that just doesn’t have mercy on well…anyone.” I smirked at the mention before I continued, “Maybe his dad is seeing something we’re not seeing behind the scenes. At the end of the day, this is his school and though we may not need the education this school has to offer, it will benefit us in the long run, including Alicia’s training. We shouldn’t forgo it over Xavier. You’ll be with me in every class anyway.”

“Still doesn’t make it fair for you to be uncomfortable,” he grumbled, and I was suddenly in his lap.

“Hey?”

“You’re taunting me, and I can’t concentrate,” he muttered under his breath while holding me tightly against him. I giggled but let myself relax in his hold as I rested my head on his chest. One of his arms was hooked around me while the other rested on my lap.

“I just want to make sure you’re safe,” he finally admitted. “Wasn’t last year’s torture enough? You proved them all wrong. Showed them who’s boss and that you could overcome everything they threw at you. I’d never seen a woman strive so hard to prove a point, but you did that and more, which left them with no other choice but to accept you. Why is it that you have to deal with this shit?”

I lifted my head to look up at him as he lowered his gaze to me.

“You’re so damn precious and everyone knows it, even the damn king. He knows who you are, and yet he’s still trying to cause a mess for the sake of his son’s comfort. It just annoys the hell out of me.”

“At least you know how you’ll handle things when you’re king one day,” I suggested. “Though, I’m not sure if we’d make our own academy.”

“If we did, everyone would attend. It wouldn’t be split into two versions,” he confessed. “I don’t like that we’re separated when some of us carry both traits. Neglecting one only makes you weaker in a sense, and it’s our job to help our generation grow strong enough to face the world outside of the academy if there comes a time they want to explore that world.”

“You think we could manage to create something like that?”

“Definitely.” His eyes seemed to brighten a little like he could see the whole thing unfolding in his head. “No matter if you carry light or darkness, you’ll be able to mingle and learn. Classes would be based on what would benefit you as a whole, not solely specific to one element all the time. Of course, Fae Rose and Shadow Rose have many good traits, but there’s a lot I find that could be fixed or gotten rid of completely.”

“It’s something we can work towards,” I suggested. “I wish we could see a glimpse of the world outside of the kingdoms.”

“We will today,” he revealed. “The exhibit is happening in my kingdom, yes, but the phoenix exhibition occurs outside. It’s heavily guarded to make sure there’s no interference, but you’ll get a beautiful glimpse of it.”

“Really?” I squealed in excitement. “Now I’m really pumped up for it.”

“I’m glad,” he replied with a smile, but I noticed it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Are you that concerned about your sister?”

“She’s naive,” he muttered. “He’ll easily manipulate her.”

“You have to have some hope in her, Rainer,” I reasoned. “You had hope in me.”

He met my eyes and reached out to put his hand on my cheek.

“There’s a big difference, Sweet Rose. You may have tried to see the best in our people, but you realized that if you always allowed your heart to be open for anyone to kick, it wouldn’t be long before it stopped beating,” he reasoned. “My sister, on the other hand…her heart is so damn big, and she wants to save every single person. To understand why they think the way they think and see how she can fix them. Some people can’t be fixed, and when that happens, she gets upset and tries her best to figure things out. I don’t want her obsessing over trying to fix Xavier. He’s done his share of hate.”

“You don’t think Xavier can ever change?”

“He’s been an ass since day one when I met him. Sure, did he get it easy as a kid? Probably not. I can’t vouch for what has happened to him in his childhood, but from the many encounters I dealt with, he was a fucking jerk. He bullied me, and promoted others to rain on my parade. I may have known better and didn’t fall into his desires to make me feel inadequate as I grew older, but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t a big thorn in my side. People like that who’ve been jerks all their lives don’t just change. I’m not expecting him to change drastically, either, but why should my sister have to deal with that fucker? I just wish he’d be out of my life, period.”

“It’s only temporary,” I whispered. “I know it’s hard for people to change, and we’re not expected to hope they do. It’s our duty to focus on ourselves, and your sister is merely doing her job. She’s a professional, even if she’s naive sometimes. Let her do what she needs to do, and we’ll support her if she needs our support.”

I moved closer until my lips brushed his. “If Xavier wants to change, that’s on him. If he doesn’t, there’s nothing we can do to change it. The Universe will decide if he’ll continue to be a thorn in our side for some unknown reason, or if he’ll fall to his own demise by his inability to change himself. He’s on his last strike anyway. He can’t do anything to harm me, your sister, or anyone else, for that matter, unless he wants to be banished. Let’s just enjoy the school year and keep doing our own thing.”

He stared into my eyes for a long time, scanning them until he kissed me softly.

“You’re right,” he muttered before kissing my forehead. “I still hate his guts.”

“Which is allowed.” I giggled.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay.”

“Are you leaving my side any time soon?”

“No,” he declared.

“Then I’m perfectly fine.” I winked and gave him a deeper kiss. “Just stay by my side and continue to love and support me like you’ve always done. That’s all I need to cut through the vines of the trauma he left behind and come out victorious. That’s the ending I want him to see. That no matter the change in events, he’ll see just how powerful of a fae I’ve become without his help or acknowledgment.”

“You’re being more mature then me,” he grumbled as if he were insulted. I laughed and kissed him deeply, enough to make him growl against my lips. I gasped and realized I was on my bed with him on top of me.

“Does that bother you?” I inquired and watched him tug at his tie to loosen it.

“Not really. It’s kind of a turn on,” he said with a seductive smile.

“We’re going to be late,” I pointed out.

“I’ll be quick,” he assured me. “You know I keep to my promises.”

“Let’s see if that’s true,” I whispered with a taunting smirk, seconds before he claimed my lips once more.

We need to move on to enjoying life again.

EXHIBIT OF INSPIRATION

“Are we actually doing this?!” I shrieked and tried not to grip the magnificent red feathers for dear life. At this rate, I’d pluck a few of the mystical beauties which would only hurt the huge creature we were settled on.

“Are you afraid?” Rainer sounded beyond amused as he sported a boyish grin.

“Y-Yes! This phoenix is HUGE!” I emphasized and quickly pointed to the vast land before us. “And she’s about to jump off that cliff! What if we fall? I don’t know how to fly, Rainer. We weren’t made to fly!”

Now he was laughing his head off while the poor guard continued to listen to my panicked statements. Rainer hugged me tightly and looked to the guard.

“We’re ready to go!”

“I-I never said that, dammit!” I cursed and he laughed even harder while nestling his head against my neck.

“You better hang on, Sweet Rose. We’re about to take off!”

“Nope. Hell to the fae no! I take it back. I’m not about the adventure life!” I rambled but the phoenix creature was already rising off the ground and beginning to run towards the end of the cliff. “Rainer!”

“Trust me!” he cheered and held me a little tighter as we rushed off the cliff and headed downward. I was a screaming mess as we began to dive, the creature spreading out its wings as we seemed to dart faster towards the trees.

“AH!” I screamed like we were on a rollercoaster rich children got to go on, all while Rainer was cheering and hollering.

“Up, up, up, we go!” he declared and suddenly the red feathers of the creature ignited into brilliant flames. I shrieked, thinking the flames would devour us, but its warmth was like the sun’s rays during a windy day.

The bird screeched as the wind caught under her wings and lifted us up with grace. Within thirty seconds, we were soaring through the skies, our altitude tripled from the height of where we’d left. My blood was pumping like crazy while my ears rang after my screaming, but Rainer was still laughing at me, which annoyed the hell out of me.

I turned my body enough to elbow him in the gut. He grunted and began to cough while fighting to stop himself from going on another laughing spree.

“Don’t abuse me, Sweet Rose. Admit it. That was fun.”

“You’re an asshole!” I huffed. “You didn’t tell me the exhibit including riding phoenixes! I thought this was a bird statue!”

“It is a bird statue,” he reasoned. “At the beginning. The phoenix statue gets to decide whether you’re worthy to enjoy a ride on them or not. That’s why it’s rather sudden and the guards don’t interfere when you beg to get off,” he explained.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?” I groaned. “What if I hadn’t changed out of my gown during the second half to wear this short piece? I would have ripped it or something!”

“You would have been fine.” He chuckled and brought me back against his chest. “Though, it would have been hot to tear that gold shimmering material off of you and enjoy the naked scenery through the air.”

“You can’t have sex on a phoenix! That’s like…I don’t know. A sin!”

“A sin to which creator? Because Mother Universe is fine with us following the circle of life.”

“Having sex mid-air has NOTHING to do with the circle of life!” I argued back, which had him chuckling again.

“Just admit you’re having fun!” he declared like we were rejoicing. “Take a look already.”

I’d had my eyes closed for a good chunk of the time, but I decided to peek my eyes open, only for them to widen at the surreal beauty all around me.

The sky was now shifting to various colors, the pastel masterpiece giving off the impression that the sun was beginning to descend. Even at this height, you could see the first specks of stars that twinkled lightly while a glimpse of the crescent moon was seen further above.

Below was just as spectacular: the various colored trees, the gorgeous flowers, and the land that looked so tiny from all the way up here. The bodies of water were amazing to witness, some of the little lakes and rivers being turquoise with gold sparkles, while bigger bodies of water could go from an ocean green to a wonderful purplish blue.

The waters were so clear, giving us the ability to see the large whales, dolphins, and other water creatures that were normally hidden in the depths of the waters. Dragonflies and butterflies that were triple the normal size would flutter around the burning phoenix, while creatures I’d never seen or had names for would breeze by.

The air was clear of pollution; each inhale taken filled your lungs with the best quality of oxygen, and as we dipped lower, I caught onto other floral scents that tickled our nostrils.

There were mountains with hints of snow at the top, and extremely tall trees that were decorated with various colored leaves. I could feel nature’s strength around me, and the sight of everything boosted my mood to a new level of appreciation.

Never would I have gotten a view of this world - our kingdom - without the aid of this phoenix and the exhibit itself. All I’d seen was the walls and beauties our academy had to offer, but never what was hidden past the walls of our kingdom.

How such a beautiful place could be filled with darkness was a question I wished to get an answer to.

“Do you see the beauty of our world now?” Rainer’s soft voice drifted into my ear, and I turned my head slightly so I could see his pleased grin as he looked at the enchanting sky.

“Ya,” I whispered. “Why can’t everyone enjoy seeing the beauty of this world like us?”

“As beautiful as it is, the danger doesn’t lie in the land itself,” he whispered as he held me tightly in an embrace. “The dangers that lurk in the day and night are the fae who wish for nothing but spilled blood. They beg for war. For the cries of children and adults alike. The sight of chaos brings them great joy and the scent of death is only motivation for them to do more.”

He rested his chin on my shoulder as he muttered, “It’s why I feel the kingdom should have a strong alliance. One that can’t be broken so easily. Though the two current kingdoms are good with one another, the fae as a unit are still divided. If Purely Divine and Deadly Divine could put away their differences and see the true enemy before them, we’d come to understand that together, we could put an end to the silly politics that occur outside of our walls. That way, everyone could experience the sight of our own lands. Our kind would appreciate the true beauty of our world and not the hint of beauty we carry within our lands. It’s a goal that will take a long time to implement, but something that would be beneficial if it was implemented correctly.”

“Do you think we could accomplish such?” I wondered like I could daydream such a reality.

“I think we can,” he admitted. “It’s all about leadership. My parents are getting older, and the energy to change policies or create a movement of change gets smaller every year. Always combating old habits requires so much energy and encouragement. I think it’s something we could set out to do as royal leaders before we ascend to the throne and continue it once we’re on, but then again, who knows what truly lurks out there that are desperate to have us remain in our territory so we don’t see what they do?”

“You think there are fae doing bad things out there that they don’t want the kingdoms to find out about?”

“I’m sure of it,” he said with confidence. “There are always secrets in our kingdoms. The only problem is figuring out just how bad and dangerous that secret is to everyone else’s wellbeing.”

“You’re really going to be an amazing king one day, Rainer,” I commented, impressed with his maturity when he analyzed the outer realms of our kingdoms versus the interior. He wasn’t thinking of huge plans that would justify a change right away. He wanted baby steps that would ease our world into a stage of transition.

It would allow us to analyze the pros and cons of the new movement and get everyone on board before moving on to bigger changes. That was a mentality that leaders carried. At least, that’s the vibe and understanding of what a king would be like with the traits Rainer exhibited with precision.

“I agree with you, though I’d be an even better king with my queen by my side to give me strength and clarity,” he whispered. “With a good king is an even better queen who understands all sides of the world. Men have tunnel vision, including me, even though I try to see all angles, while women can see it all while balancing what needs to be done to fix the problems at hand. It’s exactly why queens are better suited for the front line while men are their back support in the lands of the fae. The humans don’t think the same way.”

“Do you think someone like me could be a queen someday?” I quietly asked as I rested against him. We stared at the vast horizon as the sun began to dip further.

“You already are a queen, Sweet Rose,” he whispered into my ear. “All you need is your crown.”

“But queens are powerful, majestic, and can react to any situation. I’m not close to reaching that level yet.” I knew not to doubt myself, but it was hard when I now could see just how vast a part of our kingdom was.

These were the lands my mom had to help take care of as queen, before she left it all to protect me from being frozen within the King of Light’s grasp.

“I think you don’t see it simply because you’re not pushed into those situations,” he reasoned. “To me, I believe you’re a queen who can react to any situation in your power. Plus, you’re powerful and majestic in your own way. Makes me love you even more.”

“You’re just flirting,” I huffed while he chuckled and lifted a feather. “Hey! Isn’t that the phoenix’s feather?”

“Yup,” he replied, and I had to turn in his hold to actually look up at him.

“You stole one of her feathers!”

“Are you mad?”

“Yes! You don’t want people tugging at your balls, now do you?”

He blinked at me, clearly shocked by my comment, but a musical sound of laughter came from our right, and we looked to see Seraphine sitting comfortably on a throne-like chair that was positioned on a bigger phoenix bird. Two guards stood with her, both of them holding bows as weapons and in red armor.

“I agree, Rosadette. Maybe you should take one of his balls and see if it bothers him,” she laughed.

“Mom!” Rainer pouted. “You’re ruining the moment here.”

“Oopsy. My bad.” She didn’t seem regretful at all. “I’m just minding my own business, enjoying the view.”

Rainer pouted, which made him look rather cute, while I asked, “Sera, are you enjoying the view as well? Where’s Emmanuel?”

“I am enjoying the view, and Emmanuel is actually afraid of heights. That big old baby. He’d wet his damn pants if I forced him on one of these. Unless we’re in the midst of battle, of course.” She rolled her eyes. “So I decided to enjoy it by myself this time. We’re the last ones to enjoy the phoenix tour so we get to watch the sunset.”

“Dad’s afraid of heights?” Rainer inquired as if it were the first time he’d heard of it. “No wonder why you used to take me on this every year.”

“Yes,” Sera replied. “To make sure you don’t become a shriveled wimp with one ball.”

He blushed while I burst into laughter.

“Good call,” I praised.

Sera smiled, looking between the two of us. “We’ll go ahead and give you some privacy,” she encouraged.

The phoenix screeched happily before flying a little faster so they were now ahead of us.

“I love how free-spirited your mom is,” I praised while Rainer grumbled, “She’s mean.”

“You’re just upset she ruined your flowing moment,” I acknowledged.

“But she did,” he huffed. “She did it on purpose, too!”

“Forgive her,” I teased. “She’s your mom.”

“Fine,” he mumbled, but lifted my hand and placed the feather in my grasp. “The same power that allows the phoenix to decide whether one is worthy to ride them is what allowed me to take one of their feathers,” he revealed. “They say if a male gives a female a phoenix feather, it unlocks the ability to call upon the phoenix’s essence in troubled times. You’re really good at fire elemental magic, so I figured it would benefit you if the legends are true.”

“Legends, or something your mom told you?” I reasoned with a wide grin.

There was his annoyed pout again, which made me giggle before I accepted the feather and leaned further into him. “Thank you, Rainer,” I graciously stated, grinning from ear to ear as I took in all the fine details of the flaming feather. “It’s absolutely stunning.”

“I’m glad you love it,” he quietly replied and kissed my cheek. I turned enough so we could share a deep kiss, and we turned our attention forward to see the last bits of sunlight before the nightfall.

“That was really a beautiful sight,” I commented. “I’m so happy we got to see it.”

“We have to thank Alicia for letting us go. It’s kind of nice, because my dad got to go with my mom this year. She’s been taking me since I was small.”

“What about your sister?”

“Hates heights to the point that she faints,” Rainer revealed. “Unless it’s combat-related, of course.”

“Does the fear just leave hers and your dad’s bodies when they know a life is at risk?”

“Essentially,” Rainer said in amusement. “I know it’s weird and it’s funny how they both have that fear and reaction when they’re not related by blood either, but they say if you’re closer to one parent, you start taking their traits.”

“Weird saying,” I replied, just as the phoenix screeched.

“Looks like it’s time to head back,” Rainer announced.

“That was fun,” I commented as I looked over to one of the twinkling stars. “I never knew there were black stars.”

“Hmm?” Rainer followed my gaze. “There are no black stars in our kingdom,” he acknowledged before we were suddenly dropping downward.

“What the-” My words were cut off at the sharp drop, a second before a black orb that would have been considered a meteorite soared passed us.

We couldn’t even react as it exploded, the blast sending us back as the phoenix screamed.

I shrieked while Rainer grunted and held me tightly, the phoenix attempting to recover from the blow. We were spinning and dropping swiftly, but the phoenix shrieked and further spread out its burning wings until it was soaring upward once again.

Rainer was hanging on tightly for both of us, but I opened my eyes and quickly scanned where the second phoenix was.

“Rainer!” I caught his attention as I pointed to the phoenix that his mother was riding upon. The guards were already creating barriers of magic, all while Sera was quickly looking for where we were.

Our eyes locked, and I noticed her worry, which forced me to look away and take in the next set of black meteorite-sized rocks heading our way.

“Shit! Rainer! We need to go up fast!”

“FASTANDO LEVERA PHOENIA!” he commanded and suddenly we were going double the speed as the phoenix wrapped its wings around its body and spun quickly like a dart aiming towards its target.

We missed the dark meteors once more, but the aftermath of their explosion jerked the phoenix with enough force that I suddenly slipped right out of Rainer’s grasp.

“AH!” It took me a second to realize I was falling.

“ROSADETTE!” Rainer screamed, the shrill sound echoing downward as my speed seemed to go faster. I was cursing in my head but fought hard to try to figure my way out.

A spell. A wind spell! To slow me down?!

It took me a second for the spell to rush into my mind and out of my mouth.

“WIVERA LA ROSE! SLOW AND LIFT ME UP!” The command was different than the spells we’d learned last year, but my descent slowed significantly as strong winds wrapped beneath me, like a cushion taking the plunge of my fall.

I was suddenly floating, which made me sigh in relief, but that was short-lived as three meteorites soared past me, one of them mere inches from me, before they exploded at the same time. My arms went up as my magic roared to life to protect me; my floating body became encased in a flaming bubble.

The protective shield saved me from the blast, but I was sent in random directions as the aftershocks came from the three directions. I felt like a ball in a pinball machine, unable to figure out where I’d end up next.

“ERA VERSA!”

The booming command held my ball of protection in place. The shield burst into tiny shards before my hand was caught in Seraphine’s grasp. She tugged me right into her hold, just as her phoenix dipped in time to avoid the next set of attacks.

“I have her! Retreat!” Sera ordered, and I looked up to see Rainer and the phoenix pull up from their dive. Rainer’s relief washed through me, which moved my heart because of his immense worry, but we’d have to focus on comforting each other later, once we’d gotten out of this situation.

His phoenix flew ahead, her body smaller than the queen’s as we seemed to race back to the cliffs.

“What was that?” I finally asked as Sera let me go and the two of us were standing while the guards were reporting the attack.

“Dark meteorites. They’re created by Shadow Fae. Forbidden ones not amongst our kind within the kingdom.”

“Why are they attacking us?!” I questioned with shock. “Even if these lands are outside the kingdom, they’re still a part of Rosadette Kingdom lands.”

“You’re correct,” she replied as her eyes scanned our surroundings. “However, some beings of darkness believe they can trespass. They normally do and we’ve never minded because no one has gotten hurt, but all bets are off if someone gets injured.”

“So they’re basically doing this on purpose?” I concluded. “They’re trespassing on our land during an exhibit that happens once a year and we can’t fight them?!”

It didn’t even make common sense to me as Sera sighed and nodded.

“Fae politics,” she stated like that was the true answer to everything that didn’t make sense. “We’re almost at the cliffs. Though, I’m sure Emmanuel isn’t going to be too pleased. We’ll have to meet with Alicia and have a talk with their leader. This doesn’t look to be a coordinated plan.”

“You believe it’s a job?” I inquired. “As in, one of their peeps plotted this?”

“Maybe.” She didn’t seem so sure as she looked to her guards. “Has the incident been reported?!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” they both declared.

“Reinforcements are heading to the cliff as we speak and all those who cannot defend themselves, including children, have been evacuated!” the second guard elaborated.

“The leader of the Forbidden Shadow Fae has been notified. He’s arriving to retrieve the criminals! He states no harm should be done to them as long as we’re all in one piece!”

“At least he’s taking matters into his own hands,” Seraphine huffed. “Let us speed up!”

“Rainer and the baby phoenix have landed, your majesty,” the guard declared. “Speed up, n-”

An ear-piercing noise cut him off. All of us cringed and slapped our hands over our ears in an attempt to block out the sound.

“Rosadette?!”

Ow. Ow. Ow! What is this noise?!

It was making my whole body grow hot and tingle literally everywhere, the prickling pain almost debilitating. The phoenix screamed and came to a dramatic stop, all of us falling onto her flaming body.

I groaned and forced myself up, the noise still going on and only worsening with my hands not covering my ears. Seraphine was trying to figure out where the noise was coming from, but my attention was on the five approaching meteors that were exactly on our path.

“INCOMING!” I screamed as loudly as I could and immediately moved so Seraphine was now behind me as I lifted my hands up. “PROTECT EVERYTHING OF VALUE! PESTRONDA!”

The rush of jolting magic pushed through my hands, flames of orange and red swiftly creating a shield big enough to cover one side of the phoenix.

No one else had a chance to complete a spell as the three of the meteors hit the shield directly, the impact pushing us back before the remaining two meteors soared passed us but exploded the next second.

The flaming shield rushed to protect us on the other side from the aftershock effect, but the phoenix screeched in pain as she tilted to one side.

I shrieked and immediately reached for the throne before I caught onto Seraphine’s hand. The two of us dangled while the screams of her guards caught our attention. Our gazes dropped down to see they had fallen right off the phoenix.

“Oh no!” I screamed and tried to think of something, but Seraphine raised her hand as her entire body glowed tremendously.

“RETURN TO MY SWEET LOVE! TELANDRA!”

The command echoed around us as their bodies suddenly disappeared.

“Where did they go?!” I asked.

“They should be with Emmanuel on the cliff,” she declared. “Amber! We must reach the land! Hurry!” The phoenix screeched a reply, which told me she was Amber. Her body corrected itself from the tilted position.

We fell back to the feathered surface, and I scrambled up and tried to make another barrier just in case, but nothing happened.

“Huh? Where’s my magic?!”

Seraphine gave me a confused look before her eyes widened as she snapped her fingers.

“Dammit!” She was up again and swiftly looking around. “Amber!”

The phoenix screeched and suddenly she was turning around. The jerky action had us falling onto our butts, and I looked to Seraphine in confusion.

“What’s happening?”

“She’s being summoned to go another way with dark magic,” Seraphine answered, looking worried as she bit her lip hard. “The sound wasn’t ordinary. It cancels out all magic in the area but takes a few seconds to reinforce itself.”

I gawked in horror. “W-What are we going to do? Where is Amber taking us?” I scrambled up once more and looked back to see we were truly moving away from the cliff. We’d been so close, and the sudden change in direction was making those who stood on the cliff point our way and wave in worry.

“Rosadette! Why are you guys going back?! The two guards are here!”

It looked as though Seraphine was trying to explain the problem through her connection with Emmanuel, giving me the opportunity to reply back to Rainer.

Big problem! The sound canceled our magic and now someone is summoning Amber! She can’t ignore it and we can’t do anything to stop her with no magic!

“Grab one of her feathers, Rosadette!”

What? Wh-”

“Just do it, Rosadette!”

I dropped to the floor and reached for the first feather that caught my attention. I tugged it with ease, the single feather coming into my possession without any resistance.

“We have to get off Amber,” Seraphine announced.

“And die?” I commented. “Are we getting reinforcements?”

“They can’t get off the cliff. The moment they do and enter this area, their magic will be canceled out and they’ll be sitting ducks.”

“What happens if we stay on Amber?” I questioned and watched her eyes darken.

“Then we’ll be screwed,” she firmly declared. “No one survives captivity by Forbidden Fae. They were cast out for a reason and their desire for revenge against our kind is centuries deep. Only those who forbid them would know the reasoning why. One of those individuals is your mother.”

She took off her heels and I slipped out of my shoes. We were currently over an ocean so if we jumped right this instant, we’d have a chance of falling into the waters.

Whether we survived the drop was the current problem.

“Didn’t the leader say he’s coming?!”

“Yes, but whether or not he can stop his own people without killing them is a problem. He’s the first and only one to ever survive being turned into a Forbidden Fae, and I’d rather we not test that theory on ourselves,” she declared and reached for my hand.

“I may have enough eternal magic to potentially cut through the disabling spell, but I can only teleport you.”

“Oh, no, no, no. Seraphine, we can’t lose you! Rainer would lose it! Emmanuel would cause war!”

“You’re not wrong, Rosadette, but we can’t lose you either. You’re the kingdom’s future.”

I already noticed the difference in my body, and my eyes widened when I realized she was trying to conduct the spell.

“Sera! No!” I tugged my hand out of hers, noticing my body was beginning to fade. “No, no, no! Seraphine!”

She gave me a hopeless look, her eyes suddenly side-glancing the opposite way. I followed her gaze and suddenly gasped as three new black meteors were heading our way.

She won’t survive! No. This…this can’t happen!

Seraphine turned away as my body continued to fade.

“I’ll be fine, Rosadette. If anything, make sure you take care of Rainer for me. He may have a hard time with this, and that darker side of him won’t be very pleased, but he knows I’d sacrifice myself again and again if it meant he’s happy.”

Tears formed in my eyes as I looked at the feather in my hand.

Call upon the phoenix essence. What if I use Amber’s essence?

I couldn’t allow myself to think as I rushed to hug Seraphine with my body that was almost transparent. She didn’t move, but I heard the slight sniff of a sob, and it only made me push against every bit of restraint inside me as the suddenly tingling from before returned with force.

“Reverse what’s been done and send Seraphine back to her love! TELANDRA!”

The sudden burst of magic crashed into Seraphine’s, which sent me flying back with a shriek before I crashed back into the feathered surface. I sat up to realize my body was back, but Seraphine swiftly turned around with wide, teary eyes to lock onto mine.

“Rosad-” She couldn’t finish as her body suddenly vanished like the guards had, and my eyes grew massive at the incoming meteors that were seconds away.

“BREEE!” Amber suddenly rose up and spread her flaming wings to full capacity. I fell back right into the throne chair and held it with all my might before Amber took a direct hit. Her shriek was heartbreaking as I screamed at the deafening explosion that hit us from three angles.

We were falling the next second, and I opened my eyes and watched Amber begin to fade into ashes.

“Amber! AMBER!” I hopped off the throne, quickly plucking another feather that seemed to stop it from disappearing like the rest of them.

In seconds, she was nothing but ashes, and I was falling downward. Screams left my lips as I tried to call upon my magic once more, but to no avail as I continued to plunge downward. My head looked up, only for me to gasp as one final meteor seemed to head my way.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!

“ROSADETTE!” Rainer’s voice was filled with anger, which actually made me roll my eyes.

Hey. Don’t go using that damn tone on me when I’m about to die, okay?!

“Why aren’t you here?! You’re going to die!”

No shit, Sherlock. You think I’m gonna let your mom, the current queen, die?! Are you stupid?!

“Move away from the damn meteor!”

I can’t, dammit!

My teeth bit hard against my lips as I tried to move or do anything to avoid a direct hit, but no type of hand movement was helping me.

“Rosadette!” Rainer’s calls were now desperate, and through the anger, I could feel the fear. The choking fear that suddenly made tears form in my eyes as I realized I was about to die and never get to see him again.

Never get to hug, laugh, or kiss him. No more training sessions or walks through the courtyard. No more evening talks on the patio, and steamy nights in the bedroom.

I was literally about to die, and we were arguing moments earlier. I’d never get to find my mom and introduce him as the one who somehow saved me from the darkness within myself.

I love you, Rainer.

His devastation was the most painful sensation to endure, but at least I wouldn’t be filled with regret. Lifting my hands up in a crossed position, I braced for the impact while both of my hands clenched.

“I won’t lose you.”

Something burned around my right ring finger, enough to make me hiss and my eyes dart open to watch a golden ring begin to form in that very place. A chain emerged and soon I was watching the prism crystal of my pendulum begin to spin its body in a circle in front of me.

The chain extended swiftly, all while the meteor was only inches from hitting me.

“Near or far, I’ll never let my Sweet Rose die alone! DEVERANTO!”

The spell echoed into my mind, and I watched in amazement as an outlined figure burst out of the Pendulum of ElaRasoda. The figure pulled out a sword, one that cut right through the gigantic meteor.

The two pieces exploded. The blast hit me, but my body remained in place. I could feel the cuts from the tiny bits of rock slice through my flesh, but I was far too stunned at the outlined silhouette before me to care.

The bulky man was tall, taller than anyone I’d seen with my own eyes, as he slid the sword back into its place. He floated in the sky, and I suddenly noticed the black outlined wings that kept him afloat.

My body remained as my pendulum continued to spin as if its spiraling movement projected the image before me. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I took in the familiar qualities. A part of the man’s image reminded me of Rainer, and yet those eyes. Striking eyes that didn’t need color to remind me of my own.

The word left me without a second thought.

“Father?”

Even with the mere outlined image of this figure before me, I could see how his lips curled with loving devotion and his colorless eyes brightened immensely at the word.

His body began to fade right there and then as he bowed his head.

“My duty has been fulfilled. Farewell, my daughter.”

He faded away, leaving black sprinkles of dust to fall in his place. My pendulum finally slowed, dropping against my palm and moving left to right until it stayed completely still. Lifting my hand to view the weapon itself, I noticed the new addition of the ring, noticing the tiny cursive writing that had my name and Rainer’s name written along the golden surface.

What? How…

My thoughts trailed off as a groan echoed against the walls of my mind. A feeling of exhaustion and dread trickled through me, which made me realize it wasn’t me.

RAINER?!

I tried to look back at the cliff, but I was too far away to even get a glimpse of the cliff, let alone my love. My body suddenly began to drop, which only ignited another array of screams as I plunged downward, but something told me to look upward.

Seven beings on dark flaming horses were heading my way, bows in their hands with their arrows positioned in a striking position. They pulled back on them, their hands cloaked in darkness like the rest of their bodies.

Only their glowing eyes had color - a bloody red that was focused solely on me.

The sight of them sent thrilling fear through me, but as they let go of their arrows, I watched the thin black weapons begin to morph into the circular meteors that were attacking us.

They’re the culprits behind the meteors? The Forbidden Fae?

The realization angered me. No, it infuriated me that they not only worked hard to take down the current queen of the lands, but they also hurt Amber and were now deliberately trying to kill me for no reason.

Their first attempt was stopped thanks to my pendulum and what seemed to be Rainer’s interference, but now there was no one to save me from their combined attack. If the meteors that were going to hit me any second now didn’t kill me due to their smaller size, they were racing after me to make sure they finished the deed.

How. Dare. They.

None of this was fair. This was supposed to be a celebration before we got lost in the weeks of classes. This was supposed to be my moment to prove to Xavier and all those who belittled me that I was a somebody. That I deserved to enter the second year of Fae Rose Academy, and specifically show Xavier that he fucked up.

This was my time to enjoy being happy. To be surrounded by a loving boyfriend who treated me like his wife, a best friend who put her life on hold for my sake, and mentors who wished to see me rise to the throne.

Was that all going to perish because of these random forbidden tycoons who were trespassing on OUR land? Beings of darkness who were forbidden by Mom and now sought revenge like I’d cause their problems.

I was nearing the ocean when the meteors suddenly exploded unexpectedly, which pushed me swiftly downward, injuring my arms and legs, which felt like they were on fire. My body went from burning to plunging into the coldest body of water I’d ever experienced, leaving me gasping water before I was suddenly drifting further into the body of icy waters.

None of this is fair.

My life can’t end like this.

I’m the heir of these very lands.

The spirt of my father came out of nowhere to save me at the brink of death.

My mother is the reason why I even breathe!

The Universe herself aimed to protect me even during the harshest times and climates.

All for me to die here? Now? With nothing to prove?

Life is not fair…yet I should be able to control that! Control this body of waters, control the flames of these creatures, control the very oxygen we breathe.

My body stopped sinking like I’d frozen myself in place, and my vision seemed to be clouded by darkness, but I was still wide awake.

I was livid. My body burned with so much energy it begged for release, and I could feel myself tremble. All the energy needed was an exit, and those seven Forbidden creatures were the perfect targets to feel my stormy wrath.

The scream that left me felt like a sonic blast; the water spiraled swiftly around me to the point where I somehow created a tornado in the middle of the ocean. My brief look to the ground down below made me realize I could breathe again, but it only reinforced what I was about to do as my stinging eyes filled with pulsating power. I looked up to see the Forbidden Fae tugging on the reins of the horses to try and stop them.

I suddenly noticed the feathers that were grasped in my left hand, and I looked to see both Amber’s second feather and her child’s were present. My grasp tightened on their delicate bodies and I watched as they glowed until fire burst through them and wrapped around my body.

My short gold dress was barely alive from the assault of attacks, but it didn’t matter to me as the wounds on my flesh seemed to be the perfect indicator that the ball of this unexpected fight was in my court.

My body was glowing with various markings, black lines covering more and more of my flesh as magic symbols emerged in gold and red light. The flames that ignited from the feathers suddenly wrapped around me until they sprouted outward from my back.

An internal tunnel of magic continued to move from my back and outward. The flaming wings that now kept me afloat within the spinning vortex were burning with a vengeance.

The pendulum in my hand began to glow, the ring absorbing more and more of my magic until the chained crystal began to shift in shape. I readied my stance while it transformed, my eyes on the nearest Forbidden that seemed to tremble when our eyes locked.

His screech was of an odd language, but it translated perfectly through my mind.

“Retreat!”

The way my lips curled up in defiance made the creature attempt to ready his bow and send an arrow at me, but the new weapon was ready to be used, and before he could gasp, the prism sword was now slicing through him and his dark flaming horse.

No scream left his body as he burst into sprinkles of darkness. The remaining six watched in horror and were suddenly racing upwards towards where they had come from.

With all this power coursing through me, they expected I’d let them off the hook.

You come to my lands and try to hurt those I care for? To spill the blood of MY people so you can leave with yours? I think not.

All I needed was one flap of my flaming wings to shoot me upward like a blazing rocket being launched into the sky. The once night skies were now covered with black clouds that trembled with roaring thunder as lightning flashed through the vast surface.

I could feel the ground below tremble - the anger of my lands roaring in encouragement. The spiraling sea crashed together, but suddenly spiraling pools of water surged up into the sky, and that’s what triggered the intense rainfall that was doing its job of slowing the remaining down.

There was no time to think, no room for an ounce a pity. These people pushed me to the brink of destruction, and they would all pay.

Want to know what death feels like?

My prism sword sliced through another Forbidden Fae, his screams of agony followed with a bolt of lightning that struck his body as I moved away, already onto my next target.

The others were now racing upward, their horses desperate to get their riders to safety but their effort would shortly be in vain.

Five went down to four, and then there were three. The elements all around me aided in my mission, and it made me grin with sick excitement to be destroying these beings who were surely stronger than me.

In this powerful element, no one would stop me until they got the message.

One of the three remaining turned around to try and slow me down, which left me laughing before I willed the clouds to be so thick that the remaining two Forbidden stopped in their tracks at the wall of mist that formed into a solid barrier.

The third Forbidden didn’t stand a chance when he tried to attack me. His head was sliced off while the rest of his body disappeared like black sand.

Only two were left and I readied my sword to kill them both with a final strike. I moved swiftly as the second individual moved before the first and outstretched their hands protectively.

The one behind screeched, but the translation hit me.

“DAUGHTER!”

My sword stopped right at the tip of the Forbidden’s nose, and I noticed her hollow red eyes that were filled with black tears as their gaze slowly looked to my prism blade that sizzled with electric force.

I turned my attention to the woman, noticing the black crown that seemed to blend in with her image, but what caught my hearing was the atypical beating of a heart. It only took me an extra two seconds to identify the other fast-paced hearts before my own, which meant one thing.

Pregnant.

My lips of glee turned upside down as I narrowed my eyes that darted between them. With a strong flap of my flaming wings, I moved back, giving enough space to see the two of them as their horses steadied themselves.

The woman hugged the female warrior, whose eyes were still locked on me in complete shock. She expected to die - no - was willing to die to protect her mother and unborn sibling, which was both brave and utterly stupid.

It angered me that this woman who potentially could have been a queen brought her family to attack us, but the woman opened her mouth to speak.

“Apologize. Regret. Told you are enemies. Evil. Came to destroy family. Please. Spare my daughter. Princess.”

I looked at the girl again as she looked back at her mother and shook her head wildly.

“Little brother! Mom! Will sacrifice to survive!”

“No. We wrong. Played. Misinformed by Light. Seek vengeance. For me.”

The two of them were clearly arguing as to who would survive, but their comments struck worry through me.

Someone on the light side told them we were enemies…

“Who told you?”

The two of them darted their heads back at me, shock registering on their dark expressions at my question. It took me a hot minute to realize why - my speech mimicked theirs.

“You. Speak Darkness. Blood Line. What Bloodline?”

“Rosadette.”

The daughter looked at her mother, and she somehow seemed relieved.

“Daughter of Savior. Daughter of Hope. Understand now. The Light is our enemy!”

“Who of the Light gave you such information?” I asked again.

“King of Light,” the woman replied, which made me think of Xavier, but that didn’t make sense.

“Xavier?” I inquired, but the woman shook her head.

“King. One of Ice. Controls. Uses. Deceives. Uses ice to manipulate victims. Cursed to live within others. Killed by his own curse. Instead, lives amongst the sorrow of others.”

The riddles didn’t make much sense to me, and yet it felt like something I could solve if given the right amount of time.

“Must unlock castle. Ice castle. Far away. Castle. Previous homes. Seek truth. Seek Savior who ran to lower lands.”

“Seek my mother,” I concluded, and the woman nodded.

“Truth lies in Bloodline. Hidden Light that is of Darkness. Manipulates but too powerful. Hides behind royal crown,” she explained.

“Are you sure it isn’t the son of Light?”

The daughter was the one to shake her head.

“See past the ice. See past the strings of control. Prince of Darkness is a victim. Not an enemy. Don’t fall for the illusion.”

Their eyes seemed to look behind me, and I turned my gaze in time to see a man double our size riding in a chariot pulled by dark horses.

Out of all of these Forbidden creatures, he was the only one to look close to human, his long black strands levitating with power as a black crown with purple jewels sat on his head. He looked pissed, but it almost didn’t seem solely directed at me.

I looked back at the woman to see the daughter shake nervously.

The mother frowned but spoke, “Amethyst. Return to Father.”

She looked at her mother before glancing at me, and I decided to move to the side, giving her a clear path to the man that awaited them. I caught his lingering gaze, but I didn’t give him my attention as I forced the world around me to calm.

Amethyst gave one last glance to her mother before she began to move but stopped to look at me. We stared at one another for a long moment before I watched her bow.

“Mercy. Thankful. Ally.”

She whipped the reins of her horse, heading to the chariot and entering the back bench after the horse she rode faded away.

That left me with the mother, whose horse walked a few steps before she stopped parallel to me. Her eyes bored into mine, before she, too, bowed her head.

“You have our loyalty. We trespassed out of spite. Our family…home was threatened. We aimed to seek revenge when time was right.”

She lifted her head, so those red hollow eyes met mine once more.

“Patience is key. Act naive to the truth before you. Only playing dumb will begin to unravel the hidden evil. The danger beneath the light. Melt away the ice of the dark lands. Retrieve the Savior identical to you. Do these things, and Amethyst will find you to share the truth.”

I nodded in understanding, sensing a group of energy heading our way.

“You should go. I don’t want harm to come your way unnecessarily. I’ll hold your warning close to my heart and act like a naive fool. When the time is right, I hope to see you again. The real you,” I declared.

She bobbed her head slightly before she whipped her reins and was at the chariot. The man offered his hand to her, and I noticed her shock and hints of relief in his act of compassion that she surely didn’t expect.

He helped her to sit by his side, and I noticed the long gaze he gave her before placing his hand on her stomach. He seemed pleased before he looked at me.

His eyes told me he was intrigued by my power as the cloud began to disperse and the troubled waters were now calm and tranquil.

All the man did was deliver a firm nod in my direction, and I replicated the move. With a slash of the reins, the chariot was passing by me and they were heading towards a spiraling void in the dark sky until they blended into the surface.

The sword in my hand burst into tiny shards as the crystal pendulum began to fade back to its pouch. All that was left was the gold ring on my finger, which left me curious as to why it had suddenly appeared with my name and Rainer’s.

“ROSADETTE!”

My tired eyes caught onto the approaching four individuals: Alicia, Camilla, Vixen, and Xavier.

Seeing Xavier made me frown, but I was confused by his worry.

Confused by his fear.

Returning to look at the ring once more, I worried about Rainer and if he was okay. My eyes began to close as the flames that kept me up all this while began to extinguish. I didn’t have any energy left to care as my questions flooded my mind about what had just occurred.

So many questions. So few answers. All I knew was that we had to figure out how to melt the ice of the dark kingdom and locate my mother.

That meant I had to become stronger. Was this proof of my potential?

What about Dad? Was that my dad’s spirit? How was he able to save me?

My body continued to fall, but a voice called from above that suddenly slowed my descent. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but my consciousness was too weak to hang on.

Please, Mother Universe. Help me find out the clues to this unfolding mystery.

TEMPORARY BREAK AND WORTHY OF PURGATORY

“Another three months?” I quietly stated as I sat on the medical table. “We’re going to miss the entire school year at this point,” I reasoned.

Alicia gave me a look while Seraphine sighed.

“Rosadette, you’re lucky to be alive,” Alicia stressed as she crossed her arms over her chest. I knew she was going to give me yet another lecture about how important it was to rest the mind, body, and soul, especially with as unique a fae as I was, but I was tired of being here.

This recovery nonsense was only a little easier since I was now allowed to walk without crutches to Rainer’s room without the nurses freaking out that I was doing something ‘illegal’.

Visiting your future husband is illegal. Hmph. I have to stop saying he’s my husband. Unless they piss me off. Then all bets are off.

“I understand,” I voiced before she could start her lecture. “Yes. My actions of being a superhero caused me to be unconscious for two months and I basically had to learn how to walk again because nineteen-year-olds don’t go summoning the land itself to destroy enemies that were trying really damn hard to kill us. However, this is the year we’re supposed to learn all the combat skills and basically become epic Purely Divine students. But you’re now telling me I need another three months of therapy and Rainer many need more than that?! The whole damn school year will be done by the time we recover and then what? We’re going to be left behind while our peers head into Year Three?”

“You won’t be left out, Rosadette,” Alicia assured me. “Neither you nor Rainer are going to be held back. What you two seemed to accomplish is an act that should be rewarded with a medal of fae honor. The headmaster and all the students have learned about the incident and it was a unanimous decision to allow you past this year.”

“I don’t want it to be given to us,” I huffed. “Neither would Rainer.”

“I’m aware of that,” Alicia assured me. “What we’ve decided is that we’ll play this by ear. If you’re strong enough to partake in the midterm exam next semester, you’ll be given the approval to participate. If you’re still dealing with leg function issues, you’ll have to wait until the final exam to participate. We’ll reassess a week before to determine if you can partake. I’m not necessarily worried about you, but Rainer will need at least three to maybe four months to recover,” Alicia explained.

I bit my lip hard, trying not to feel so unsettled that Rainer would sense it. He was probably still sleeping after the mental magic training exercises he had to do twice a day. He absolutely hated them, but he could definitely see the difference in summoning his magic.

“Let’s just focus on a day at a time, Rosadette,” Alicia suggested. “Even though this semester is about combat, you and Rainer are extremely advanced. I’ve taught you many of the moves you’d be taught in class. As for the curriculum portion, you two can take the written portion here. Vixen volunteered to take notes and Camilla will have them copied for you and Rainer to study on your own time.”

“What about-” I tried to bring up the incident yet again, but there a knock on the door before a guard opened it and bowed. “My apologies, Your Majesties. Queen Rose. You are needed to review an incident at the school.”

Alicia frowned before she rose up. “Again? This is the third time this week,” she complained and glanced over at me. “Rosadette, we’ll continue this discussion tomorrow. Try to get some rest and remind me tomorrow to take Rainer’s and your weapons to charge up under the full moon.”

“Alright,” I quietly replied, my shoulders sinking at yet another interruption. I wondered if someone was doing it on purpose since the last week had been full of interruptions that forced Alicia to leave unexpectedly. It was only today that she came with Seraphine, which was unexpected.

“I’ll stay behind for a while longer,” Seraphine voiced out. “Let me know if this issue will lead to a late night. We can always reschedule our discussion for tomorrow.”

Alicia nodded. “I’ll keep you posted,” she said with a light smile.

They exchanged another nod, their eyes communicating more than just a look before Alicia bid farewell and walked out of my recovery room. The remaining two guards with red armor bowed and closed the door once more, leaving me with Seraphine.

We were quiet for a moment, as if we needed the extra time to filter through our own thoughts. Eventually, Seraphine decided to speak up first. “How’s the therapy been going?”

“Slow,” I commented as a deep frown formed on my lips at the thought. “Learning how to walk again is far harder than when you’re a kid. As a kid, I forced myself to learn by trying to chase butterflies or reach places in the corner of the closet one of the families let me stay in during the winter season. Back then, it was hard and frustrating, but I didn’t really cry or worry about the idea of having to walk. When you’re an adult learning, it’s a pain in the butt. The therapist talks to you like you’re stupid. It’s not like I don’t know how to move my legs. My legs just won’t respond to the signals my brain is attempting to send to them. Blocked receptors don’t mean I’m stupid.”

A huff left me as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Adding the fact that all they do is keep praising me for saving you, the queen and Rainer’s mother, they feel like it’s some sort of honor to help me recover. Or maybe they’re trying to get a raise. Who knows?”

I shook my head and let out another grunt. “It’s just frustrating, and though I’m happy I can walk short distances, I’m still struggling with long-distance. I know the therapy for the next three months will focus on rehabilitation and getting me on a treadmill to aid in practicing running exercises, but time is ticking.”

“Why are you in a rush to recover, Rosadette?” she asked and looked into my eyes.

I hesitated with my answer, looking at the door as if our words would leak right through and give whoever dared to listen valuable information to someone who could potentially use it against us.

Seraphine snapped her fingers, and the walls of my room shimmered with gold. I looked back at her as she put her left hand on her chest and whispered, “I vow to keep whatever is stated in this room at this very instant between us. May the Universe be my witness.”

I could feel the wave of magic that coursed in the room and wrapped around her body. Seeing she was willing to keep my theories between us helped ease my anxiety over the matter.

“Please allow me to help you,” she whispered.

I gave her a stern nod before I looked at my hands, my eyes lingering on the ring that remained on my right finger. I’d been keeping it hidden from Rainer because I didn’t want to bother him with my worries, but it gave me strength whenever I noticed it.

“Someone on the light side is against us.” I got straight to the point, which had her a little surprised by my abrupt statement. “I don’t know who it is. I thought it would be Xavier, honestly. However, I don’t think he’s capable of tricking the Forbiddens.”

“The Forbiddens who attacked us were tricked?” Seraphine questioned with worried eyes. “King Rose stated there was a mere misunderstanding and they thought we were a threat.”

I shook my head while absorbing the new information.

“Why would the Queen of the Forbidden Kingdom, if we can call it that, come out with her daughter, the princess, while pregnant, with her guards to view what was happening in our lands?” I summarized the question.

Seraphine’s expression grew serious as she took in my words.

“The Queen of the Forbidden is pregnant?”

All I did was nod, and that made her frown further. “A prince.”

“How do you know?”

“If someone wished for her to be killed by you, the baby must be a male.”

“Why would they be worried over a group that was apparently forbidden from the lands?”

Seraphine seemed uncomfortable talking about it, but she looked into my eyes. “Only you and Rainer can know about what I’m going to say,” she whispered. “Rainer knows a bit, simply because he’s royalty and I trust he won’t talk about it publicly, but this information is sacred and normally passed along through royal lines. Seeing as your mother wasn’t able to do so, I’ll take the role.”

“I understand,” I replied.

“There’s a prophecy where a Forbidden Dark Prince falls in love with the Princess of Light and Darkness. One who rules the kingdoms and yearns for unity. The Forbidden were once a part of the dark kingdom lands, and one of the reasons why they were allowed to live among our lands was thanks to your mother and father,” she revealed. “Your grandfather on your father’s side banished the Forbidden due to their appearances. They don’t look normal, like you and me. Their figures are ones you’d see in horror stories and fairytales, but they are fae. We don’t talk about them in classes for their own safety, but many believe it’s because they were banished from the lands.”

“Why were they accepted into the lands only to be banished?” I inquired. “It makes no sense.”

“When your mother fell in love with your father, she showed him that the Forbidden Fae weren’t a threat. They merely were misunderstood and spoke a language many didn’t quite understand. Your father didn’t believe at first, but a man who was one of his strongest knights was ‘taken’ by their people and somehow survived. That man is the current King of the Forbiddens. The one you may have seen in the chariot,” she explained. “However, when your life was threatened, your mother encouraged the Forbiddens to run to the lands where they would be safe just in case things went south with the King of Light, which is exactly what happened. With the loss of the dark kingdom to the frozen ice and us migrating over to this kingdom, we were too far away to aid them. We only venture to our lands that are close to the dark kingdom for two occasions. One is the festival, and the second is during the second year exams.”

“Wait. We’ll get a chance to be close to those lands during the final exam of this year?” I inquired.

“Yes,” she answered. “I doubt King Rose will change it. However, that all depends on what’s bothering you, doesn’t it?”

I thought about it before I nodded. “I think King Rose may be up to something,” I announced. “This may be a crazy theory, but it may make sense as to why Xavier is kind of the way he is.”

“Let’s hear it.” She smiled and gave me her full attention. “Again, it will remain between us.”

Her reminder made my lips curl as I took a deep inhale and let it out.

“The Forbiddens told me they were informed that we wanted to hurt them. They were basically set up, which would make sense because no way would a pregnant queen come this deep into the lands unless her own kingdom was threatened and her husband, the king, wasn’t present. They referred to my mother as a savior, which lines up with you just informed me about, and they told me that we must figure a way to melt the ice kingdom and discover my mom. I know that if I become stronger, I may be able to find my mother somehow, but melting the ice of the dark kingdom may be tricky.”

I took a moment to gather my thoughts before carrying on.

“The queen told me that I should be patient, which may make sense now that Rainer and I are basically out of commission for the school year, but I feel that our out of commission status backfired on our lingering culprit, which I believe is King Rose. She kept stressing one of light, but I’m aware from Xavier’s mention of it that King Rose is of Darkness.”

Seraphine was quiet for a long moment before she commented, “King Rose is of both.”

I was going to continue, but the revelation caused me to pause. She nodded at my shock before continuing, “As is Alicia. To be honest, we all carry hints of our opposite trait. I’m of light, but it doesn’t mean I cannot use dark magic. Duality can be born, like with yourself and Rainer, which is far more dangerous and powerful than myself, my husband, Alicia, or King Rose. However, because my rose is with Emmanuel, it not only gives me the bonded ability to communicate with him through thought and feel his emotions, it also grants me the ability to use a bit of his dark magic, just as he is able to use a bit of my light magic when push comes to shove.”

“Then when I got temporarily cursed with that dark spell and Xavier said his father could aid me, he was saying it because he believes his father is of darkness when he’s the opposite and hiding it?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Alicia’s dominant magic is shadowed, but because she’s been a queen for such a long period of time and needs to use pure light magic to help the land grow and thrive, her capability in that department has grown exponentially. It’s also the reason why she’s rather cold-hearted or not as emotional. She has to ensure her body is balanced. Her colder personality is based on her shadowed self, while she feeds the land light magic. This information stays between us.”

I nodded, and she added, “Rainer can know as well.”

“He’d figured it out, wouldn’t he?” I suggested with a slight grin.

“He would, but frankly, with how connected the two of you have become, I believe it would be hard to hide it.” Her eyes dropped to my finger and I followed her gaze.

“He didn’t give me that.”

“I’m aware of that,” she declared with a wink. “He would have told me.”

“I haven’t told him about it yet,” I confessed. “I don’t know how it showed up.”

“Do you understand exactly what occurred when you were about to get hit by that meteor?” she inquired with great interest.

“Not really.” I’d repeated the incident over and over in my head and couldn’t grasp exactly what occurred to summon my father’s presence. “My pendulum came out of nowhere and was attached to this ring. I heard Rainer’s voice at some point, declaring he wouldn’t lose me, and then my father was there, slicing the meteor in half. I think it was my father. It’s not like I’ve seen a striking image of him. Why is that, actually?”

“Due to the whole incident with the frozen Kingdom of Darkness and us transferring over to your kingdom to keep it safe, a spell was placed on the lands to get rid of the initial memory of the incident. Many believe it to be a legend, and people know of the princess of the lost Kingdom of Rosadette. However, no one knows the true tale of it all but the royals who still live, which is a very few individuals. Due to this spell, all images of the King of Darkness, King of Light, and Queen of Rosadette were removed to not trigger anyone’s memories until the queen’s return. Upon her arrival, the spell will be broken, and the memories will flood in. The creator of that spell was a Fae Witch who hoped that the dark kingdom would be unfrozen upon your mother’s arrival. She still lives, but I believe she lives down in the lower lands. She was very close to your mother. I believe her name was Shin.”

“Shin!” I exclaimed. “We met her,” I declared before slapping my hand over my mouth. “Uh. You didn’t hear that,” I muttered against my flesh, which made Seraphine laugh.

“Alright. I’ll pretend I did not hear that,” she assured me. “To answer your question about what occurred and why Rainer needs six to eight months of recovery, it’s because he conducted a forbidden spell called Soul Strike. It’s one Emmanuel knows how to perform, but it became forbidden for a reason.”

“Soul Strike,” I repeated the name. “Why was it forbidden?”

“Soul Strike calls upon your soul traits and morphs it into a physical form for a few seconds to defend someone or the individual themselves from a threat. The summoned trait is then forced back into the individual, but it leaves a sort of void in its place.”

“A void?” I scrunched my face in worry, especially with the uncertainty of the topic. No matter how many times I asked, no one could really explain to me why Rainer was struggling with summoning his magic.

I’m sure because Seraphine was his mother and the queen, they couldn’t hold back on the detail - and the fact that her husband knew how to use the same trait.

“Think of it like popping a balloon. No matter how many times you try to fill it up, the air will escape. You have to patch up the spot, but in comparison to throwing some tape and calling it a day, it takes months for the opening to heal. A part of it ‘patches up’ on its own thanks to the summoned soul trait returning to its place, but due to the abrupt pull, it leaves a wound behind and the magic flows out of those openings. When you try to envision it, the soul is very small, so you wouldn’t think tiny holes would make a huge impact, but it causes drastic problems on the body, especially the mental state where you harness your thoughts and magic abilities.”

“So…was Rainer lucky?” I inquired. “And in trouble?”

She smirked at my second comment before she sighed. “Yes, he was lucky. Other than his father, no one has survived the spell, and thus the reason why it’s forbidden. Rainer must have found it in one of the ancient books in his father’s study but never brought it up to ask. For him to perform it is surprising, but he could have died if he wasn’t so lucky that the trait returned and covered a decent portion of the wound.”

“That’s complicated,” I admitted.

“That’s why he’s in trouble,” she said with a grin. “I just have to wait until he recovers.”

“That…sounds scary,” I concluded. “Just make sure he can walk, breathe, and doesn’t lose any fingers,” I suggested.

Her smirk widened to a smile as she returned her gaze to my ring. “I can’t fully answer why that ring showed up when he used it, but I’m sure he’d be able to answer that if you asked.”

She uncrossed her legs and grew serious once more.

“Back to your speculation. You may be onto something with King Rose, but we’re still investigating.”

“Wait. So you guys noticed something?” I gasped.

“I know we seem rather laid back as royals, but we like to catch onto things and see how things play out,” Sera commented as she further leaned into her chair. “Alicia has noticed Xavier acting weird since term two. She assumed it was due to the stress of your wilting rose, but she noticed that King Rose has been having talks with Xavier.”

“Talks.” I didn’t like the sound of that.

“I would call it lectures, but Alicia noticed these discussions were in an ancient language that Xavier shouldn’t possibly be able to communicate in.”

“Meaning…” I was trying to understand what conclusion this information would lead to, but I wasn’t quite sure myself.

“Alicia thinks King Rose has been attempting to trigger Xavier’s soul trait. The one that belongs to the late King of Light.”

“Why would he do that?” I inquired. “What would that do?”

“We’re not sure as of yet. He may be trying to acquire information that only the previous King of Light knew or he may try to shift those traits into physical qualities in Xavier.”

“Wait. So basically, he wants to try and shift what makes Xavier…well, Xavier, and replace it with the traits of the last King of Light? Not necessarily like reincarnation because their souls have already ascended, but to try and mimic who the previous King of Light was so it may trigger the memories of their past?”

It sounded crazy and yet the sudden revelation made perfect sense.

Seraphine nodded slowly while her stern eyes darkened.

“However, Alicia doesn’t think her husband is doing this on his own accord.”

“You think he’s being manipulated?”

“That’s a possibility,” Sera replied. “It would have to be someone who has a born trait in manipulation. We’ve been thinking of the possibility of them also having a strong enough glamor to act as one of the guards, but that’s a slim possibility since we’ve started scanning our guards in the new year.”

“What about if it’s someone who attends the academy?” I suggested. “When did the king start acting ‘different’ or conducting these talks with Xavier?”

“Since the second term started. A little after the test you successfully won,” she revealed.

“Hmm.” My brain was working overtime to try to mesh all the information gathered together to formulate a potential enemy. “What if this person knows who I am? As in, they know I’m the only heir of the Rosadette kingdom. They must know about that, as well as realize that Xavier was failing at controlling me. Maybe they expected that I’d drop out after the humiliation I experienced, but instead, I came back stronger than ever and proved my worth. That was unexpected, and thus they decided to move on to another plan. Maybe they’ve been trying to control King Rose, but what if they can only do it for a short period of time or he’ll notice? So they take the opportunity to lead him to do these talks with Xavier and try to conjure up the traits of the late King of Light. He could have done that, and maybe something occurred to trigger Xavier’s breakdown. It would make sense if the attempts to trigger the traits of the King of Light and the sight of the rose having one remaining petal triggered Xavier’s ‘I’m going to freeze you’ rampage, which would explain why he said he was the one to freeze my mother. Technically, his past self’s trait did.”

More dots were beginning to connect as the words left my lips.

“Recently Xavier has been getting treatment, right? Therapy. This therapy has to happen more often, right?”

“Yes,” Seraphine replied. “If it may add to what you’re formulating in that mind of yours, Xavier is partners with Vixen this year. Since Xavier is a bit of a training freak, they’ve been training during the evenings and nights while the days have been reserved for school and therapy. At least, that’s what Alicia stated.”

“Then it makes sense!” I declared like a lightbulb had turned on in my head. “When you read about fae psychology, it explains that you can only truly be manipulated or reach a state similar to sleepwalking when you’re in light sleep. Deep sleep with the combination of magic can stun the individual into wakefulness. What if whoever is controlling King Rose can’t get through to Xavier anymore because he’s so drained from all the therapy, school, and training they do afterward that when he sleeps, he goes straight into a deep sleep? The frustration of it all could lead to this person having to make another plan, like setting up the incident at the exhibit with the Forbiddens! All to try and get rid of me?”

Seraphine looked deep in thought for a few moments before she muttered, “If you died, it could have triggered another trait awakening in Xavier and maybe even Rainer.”

“Which would lead to them fighting and potentially killing one another?”

“I wouldn’t admit it to Rainer, but Xavier is slightly stronger than him. If the exhibit incident hadn’t completely drained him in an effort to save you, the two of them fighting would surely lead to Rainer’s death,” she predicted. “Xavier would then be in an extremely weakened state, which would make it even easier for whoever this individual is to tamper with the traits one more time and unlock whatever information they need before killing him.”

“Whatever this information is, what if it’s something that can destroy all three of the kingdoms, or give this individual enough power to rule all three?” I suggested. “If they kill me, Xavier, and Rainer, there’s no one to claim the rightful thrones, right? Unless Vixen could rule?”

“Vixen wouldn’t be able to rule Rosadette kingdom. Maybe the dark or light kingdoms if the land reacts, but not your family’s kingdom. Essentially, if you die, that’s it, unless your mother has another child, which is a very slim possibility since she swore to be only your father’s.”

“So are they trying to simply kill me?” I suggested.

Seraphine stared at me for a long moment. “There’s the very small potential that you could control all three of the kingdoms.”

“Define ‘small’ potential?”

“Small as in a one percent chance, but large enough for me and Alicia to believe it’s quite possible. You’re of light and darkness. The essence of your parents is within the land of darkness and the land of Rosadette. You were present and cursed with your mother by the King of Light, which means his energy was embedded in you as well. We haven’t brought it up since it’s nothing but a theory, but after your display of power at the exhibit, we worry that whoever is behind this now knows just how dangerous you can be. You may not have noticed, but the land has been growing more powerful recently.”

“The land? Meaning our kingdom?”

“Ours and the Kingdom of Light where Fae Rose and Shadow Rose are located. We’ve noticed the difference. The energy of the plants is stronger. The magic coursing throughout nature has become the strongest its been in years.”

“Why would that be connected to me?”

“It started when you arrived here, from Alicia’s analysis. As to why we know the difference, it was the day you were humiliated at the arena. The land energy dropped significantly that week. We also noticed a dip when you were sick with a fever.”

I was a little speechless at her knowledge about what occurred with me, which had her grinning from ear to ear. “I’m Alicia’s best friend. When something troubles her, she informs me, and we try to problem solve it together. Intriguing enough, a person by the name of Rosadette Campbell is a real mystery to crack down on.”

“Oops.” I shrugged. “My bad.”

She giggled, which helped bring down the tension in the room regarding everything we’d just discussed. If we were really onto something, then not only was I in danger, but so were Xavier and Rainer. It also meant we had an enemy lingering in our midst and had no idea who they were or what they looked like.

“What are we going to do?” I questioned. “This is a little worrisome.”

“We will be patient, like the Forbiddens encouraged. Whoever’s weaving up these incidents will take a break before doing something that can give them away. Your theory proves a few things and means Alicia needs to stay around the kingdom more often to watch over King Rose while Vixen should continue the therapy and evening training until the end of the semester. Seeing as this medical rehab center is for royals only, that narrows down anyone trying to sneak in. All we’ll have to look out for is your exams, if you do wish to participate.”

“Do you think I should?” I inquired.

The way her eyes twinkled in amusement told me she already had a game plan.

“You have a plan.”

“I do. It may get ugly, but if I can plan it correctly with Alicia’s aid, everything may fall into place to reveal the culprit.”

“Guess I’m taking the exam,” I concluded.

“Only if you’re able to walk properly,” she commented.

“I’ll work on that.” I pouted my lips. “I feel better. Never would have thought talking this through would give us a solid plan.”

“I agree. I’m also thankful you see me worthy enough to relay your concerns.”

“Well…you may be my mother-in-law one day, right?”

Her childlike smile flooded her expression as she clapped her hands. “YES! That would be so delightful. Then Emmanuel can’t stop me from spoiling you with clothes!”

“With clothes?” I questioned and saw that mischievous glint in her eyes.

“I went on a little shopping spree when you stayed with us over the summer, but Emmanuel’s being a dick and won’t let me give them to you until I know for sure you and Rainer are marrying. SO stupid! How am I supposed to know when Rainer’s going to get the balls to propose to you? Ugh!”

I blushed while my lips curled in a wide smile.

“Guess he’s taking precautions.” I giggled.

“He just needs to rub his ass on a tree and let me have my fun. So mean. It’s not every day that one gets an amazing daughter-in-law. Rainer gets so serious at times, like his father, so it’s good he has someone like you to balance him out. Ah! I better go visit Rainer and make his evening a living hell.”

She clapped her hands like she was about to do an evil deed of torture, which left me feeling sorry for poor Rainer and hoping he was asleep.

She rose up and looked at me. “Let’s see how the next three months go. After the new year, we can collaborate and determine what steps to take to find this culprit. For now, focus on your recovery and learning the spells written in the books and notes given to you. You’ll need it for the exam.”

“Okay,” I agreed and smiled in relief. “Thank you, Seraphine, for listening to me.”

“No. Thank you, Rosadette. Your fresh insight has helped us see a different perspective we were clearly overlooking. Your mother was a good problem solver. We should start bringing you into our meetings to figure problems out.” She winked and headed to the door. “Get some rest. The next three months are going to be a rollercoaster.”

“Yes, Seraphine,” I replied and watched her leave. Once the doors closed, I sighed and looked to the ceiling.

This year isn’t going as planned, but maybe we’ll find the culprit who deserves purgatory.

FORGIVE BUT NOT FORGET AND LAST TIME?

“Why, why, WHY!” I heaved while running for dear life with the golden rose brooch in my grasp. “See, Rosadette? Why do you have to be an overachiever?! You could have easily pretended like you weren’t recovered and miss the midterm exam like a good girl, but no! You wanted to prove to everyone that you’re alive and kicking. Stupid!”

I skidded as I turned to my left, attempting to find where the golden checkpoint would be within the halls of the rather empty school. The only students here were the ones taking part in the midterm exam and any lingering students from Shadow Rose Academy who needed to pick up the results of their exams that happened yesterday.

I could have avoided all of this. Seraphine and Alicia asked me three times whether I’d be up for the midterms. If I passed, it would make the final exam easier, and in case Rainer hadn’t recovered by then, I’d be granted the chance to take the exam solo due to my participation in the midterms.

It seemed like the most logical thing, and I expected we’d do something simple like one-on-one combat or some silly trial that involved us surviving some sort of environmental crisis.

Instead, one student was chosen to carry the golden item and would have to survive being chased by the rest of the students. Those students would have to either disable one another or go all out and try to steal the golden item from the chosen individual before they found the checkpoint.

The ranking would be based on how many disabling points a student acquired, and whoever managed to reach the checkpoint with the golden item was an automatic perfect score.

Who wouldn’t want a perfect score?

It didn’t seem hard at all, and I didn’t mind the short distance adventure since my plan was to disable a whole bunch of students and call it a day, but silly me.

I just had to be the one chosen to carry the golden item.

Now with the clock ticking, I had to find the checkpoint before I ran out of time or I’d lose with no disabling points to my name.

Then if Rainer is unable to do the exam, we’re both screwed.

I knew how lenient Seraphine and Alicia were being, but ever since my talk with Sera and our speculation regarding King Rose, he’d been acting rather erratic. He wasn’t pleased that Alicia was willing to “assist” him with the school workload, and that she wanted more romantic time at home.

It also seemed that Vixen had suggested Xavier stay in the guest bedroom in their kingdom since she didn’t recommend him being alone with his parents and most of the guards attending to their protective duties.

Xavier only agreed because it made sense with the increase of guards needed for his parents, Emmanuel, and Seraphine since the incident, but little did he or even Vixen know they were aiding our plan to stress the fuck out of this hidden manipulator.

Whether it was working or not was difficult to determine, but we’d continue to play the waiting game until then. I couldn’t wait till this was all over. To have a school year that seemed relatively normal, which I wasn’t sure was possible within the realms of the fae.

Turning another corner, I felt the tug of magic coming from an approaching room.

Maybe that’s where the checkpoint is!

Skidding to a stop, I pushed off the doors wide open and froze as the sound of the room hit me like whiplash. The entire room was filled with fighting students - all of whom stopped and looked in my direction.

Their gazes went from my eyes to the golden trinket in my left hand and back up to my eyes once more. I nervously laughed as I reached for the door handles.

“Well, well, well. I think I came to the wrong room, you know? Uh…don’t mind me. I’m just going to close the door, and y’all can continue trying to kill one another,” I summarized with a sweet smile.

“GET HER!” one of the males in the room commanded, and they all charged towards the doors. “Shit!” I slammed the doors shut. “SEALANDO VE!”

The shortened spell activated in time for me to jet, the rattling sound of the wooden door giving me leverage to escape as fast as my legs could carry me.

It wouldn’t be long until they maxed out on their power, my body still weak from last year’s incident at the exhibit. I’d learned how to channel my magic to my lower limbs, which was why I was able to run at full force here and now, but the only thing I struggled with was jumping really high.

A little magic boost helped out, like commanding the wind to aid me, but it was something I was still working on during my rehab sessions that would end next week.

Turning the corner, I shrieked when I heard the loud screams of the students cut through the air of the halls, which forced me to push even harder. I sensed another spike of energy coming down from one end of the hall, but I debated whether to take the risk like I had last time.

My eyes took a peek as I was about to pass the hallways with the growing energy force, but my eyes caught onto two things: Camilla with her partner pinned to the wall - literally making out like the world was ending - and a golden ring with the glowing word “checkpoint” hovering near the top of the hall ceiling.

I forced myself to a hard stop, which landed me flat on my face as my legs gave out.

“Oomph!” I groaned and quickly put my head up in annoyance, feeling blood running down my nose. “Damn legs! We’re in an exam!”

“R-Rosadette?” Camilla called out to me, and I looked to see her shock as her partner stood behind her, looking curious as to why I was here.

“THERE! ARGH!”

I looked back to see the crowd of students at the end of the hall charging my way, which had me scrambling up and racing down the hall towards the golden ring checkpoint.

“CAMILLA! I NEED YOUR BACK!”

“What?” Camilla looked utterly confused.

“EXAM! I HAVE TO GO UP! UP!”

Her whole expression was full of bewilderment as she looked up to try to see what I was pointing at.

“MIDDLE! Move to the middle! Let me borrow your back!”

I was sprinting at full speed, which would only give Camilla five seconds to figure what the hell I was saying before I crashed right into her. She cursed and moved to the middle where I was approaching and suddenly dropped on all fours and lowered her head enough to make herself the perfect platform.

“YES!” I screamed and pushed the ground with all my might to leap onto her back and then push off of her. “WINDARA LEVEH!”

A burst of wind spun all around me, giving me that final push as I lifted the golden brooch to the ring. The moment it touched, there was a loud ringing noise.

“The exam is officially over!” a mechanical voice announced throughout the halls.

“I did- AH!” The winning magic that kept me afloat had finished its duties, which left me falling right back down.

“AH! Don’t squish me!” Camilla screamed and literally rolled over towards her partner. My body was suddenly caught, leaving me to blink in confusion before I turned my head to see the man who caught me.

My confusion turned to a frown as my eyes locked onto cold blue ones.

“If you’re going to look so dissatisfied with me, at least thank me for catching you,” Xavier grumbled.

“You can let me go,” I said with a monotone voice. “My butt would rather suffer like the rest of my body.”

He rolled his eyes and muttered something about me being a pain in the ass, but slowly lowered me to the floor.

“Well damn. The ice prince of Fae Rose Academy isn’t being a giant jerk,” Camilla declared as she was helped up by her partner. I took a quick look at him. His silver hair was short and spiked to one side while the other side was shaved down.

He wore the school uniform but had a leather jacket on instead of the usual blazer, and his wallet that must have been in his pocket was connected to black chains that hung out on his left side.

He looked like the typical bad boy in any romance, and yet he was so perfectly handsome that he could easily be a magazine model for gothic attire.

Or for anything, for that matter.

“Hmph. I’m only helping because I’m running away,” Xavier grumbled and gave Camilla a side glance.

“Running away from what?” Camilla asked, and there was the sound of doors bursting open at the end of the hall. We all seemed to look to see Vixen, her eyes so filled with annoyance that Xavier cringed.

“Bye.”

He was running in a flash as Vixen screamed, “XAVIER ROSE! Get the fuck back here!”

The crowd of students at the end of the hall literally parted ways like the Red Sea in the bible scriptures of humans, leaving the perfect path for Vixen to run after Xavier, who was long gone.

“I actually feel sorry for him,” Camilla commented as I rose up.

“I don’t, but I guess he deserves it,” I suggested. “Hmm? Hey. Where’d your boyfriend go?”

“He’s not my boy-” She paused and realized the bad boy in question was literally gone from his spot. “Oh that fucker! He took my tickets! DAMMIT!” Camilla was running down the same path as Vixen. “YOU OWE ME FOR MY BACK PAIN, ROSADETTE!”

“Okay. Love you. Bye!” I called back and noticed the approaching footsteps from behind me. Alicia was approaching us with a clipboard in her hand.

“The midterm exams are officially over,” she declared and looked at me. “Congratulations, Rosadette. You gained a perfect score.”

“Seriously?” I gasped, totally remembering that this was an exam.

“But she cheated!” one of the girls near the back of the crowd commented. “She used her friend’s back to reach the ring!” It took me a second to realize it was Ella. I’d honestly forgotten she existed, which wasn’t really my fault since I hadn’t been in class for the last six months.

She passed Year One. Wow. What connections did she have?

Alicia blinked a few times before she looked at her clipboard as if to get the student’s name.

“Ella. What’s a common statement I’ve used throughout this year in class?”

The girl fell silent as everyone turned to her, which led to the male next to her raising his hand like we were in a classroom.

“Romeo,” Alicia picked.

“In a changing environment, you must use anything to your advantage. Especially if it’s going to lead you to victory,” he stated with ease.

“Thank you, Romeo. Bonus points for stating it exactly as I did yesterday.”

She returned her gaze to Ella to carry on. “Camilla was a bystander and couldn’t see the ring because she was not a part of the exam. She couldn’t ‘aid’ Rosadette by getting the ring due to her inability to see the target. However, she moved into Rosadette’s path, which could have shifted into an obstacle for Rosadette if she hadn’t altered her environment by telling Camilla she needed her back. Camilla could have turned right around and stood right there with her back facing Rosadette’s, which would also block her path. Rosadette took a chance that her best friend would understand what she needed, and that’s altering your environment to give you an advantage and is exactly what led Rosadette to victory. Therefore, it’s absolutely fair.”

She wrote something on her board before adding, “You’ve lost two points, Ella. If you’re going to falsely accuse your classmates, make sure you have evidence to prove your claims.”

She returned her gaze to me. “Rosadette, you may leave. Congrats on your perfect score. Your bonus gift is to keep the golden brooch. It empowers the purity magic in the individual wearing it and can give a triple boost in battle.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” I bowed my head in gratefulness as I looked at the brooch with pride.

“Everyone else, pay attention as I begin to call your names. I will be going from highest to lowest collected points. When called, step forward and come receive your graded paper. Your midterm is again worth fifty percent of your final grade.”

I decided to take the opportunity to leave and quickly bowed my head to Alicia before heading down the parted path. I couldn’t help giving Ella a smug look, still shocked to see her around.

I swear she was expelled. Ugh. I swear, the bitches are always the hardest to get rid of.

Shaking my head, I forced myself to walk faster until I reached the royal path towards the castle. I’d have to take the courtyard garden route if I wanted to get to the underground path to the private medical rehab center.

I could have easily gone to my dorm to rest a little bit after that hell of an exam, but I wanted to spend time with Rainer. There was a good chance he’d be a little all over the place thanks to the switch of meds he was taking that were now concentrated on helping him conjure his magic back to a reasonable level.

The side effects of those were giving the patient a tipsy feeling while making their body feel heavier. Rainer was being a champ with all the medication switches and dealing with the slight side effects and after-effects, but he was getting better, which was what mattered the most to me.

I’d yet to confront him about the ring, which made me feel a little bad as a girlfriend, but I didn’t want to add stress to his already stressful recovering process. Just because he was being a champ about all of this, it didn’t mean I should add to the problems.

He’d gotten into this rough shape because of me. The least I could do was support him as much as possible and eliminate any type of stress.

Reaching the royal courtyard, I paused at the sound of the ice cream truck.

“Oh? Ice cream! I know Camilla mentioned there being an ice cream truck on the property, but I didn’t think it was legit. Hmm. I want to try what she was talking about. Fortune chocolate ice cream sticks or whatever,” I quietly rambled to myself as I spun around to try and locate the truck.

“Why are you such a cold-hearted jerk?!”

I stopped in my tracks at the sound of Vixen, my head turning to my right to see a hint of her figure in between the cement wall of the building and a floral wall of leaves and roses opposite it.

The spot was secluded enough, but it was her loud voice that gave her location away. I inched closer to one of the pillars, looking around to make sure no one else was around before I focused on what she was arguing about. I realized Xavier stood a few steps away from her - his back against the wall as he tried to look completely bored.

“You’re not the first to say it. You defiantly won’t be the last,” Xavier muttered.

“You’re going to make a rose wilt a second time?!” she snapped.

Second rose? Wait. Xavier has another rose?!

The news was sudden but then I realized he didn’t have to let anyone know about his ‘fated romantic life’. However, the revelation had my ears perking up to catch every bit of juicy information as Vixen went right along.

“How can you be so cruel?! You’re just going to break her heart?”

Xavier rolled his eyes before they looked at Vixen with anger. “It’s none of your business.”

“It’s totally my business!” she snapped back. “You’re my business until the end of this school year so stop being a jerk and answer me!”

“What am I supposed to say?” he inquired and lifted his arms up. “You make it seem like I get any choice in whose rose I claim. Do you think I expected it to be Ella’s? Fuck no!”

WHAT?! Xavier got Ella’s rose? Out of all the people! No wonder why she’s still here!

“Then what are you going to do about this?”

“Let it die,” he casually muttered and lowered his arms.

“You can’t do that!”

“Why the fuck not?” he countered.

“You can’t go breaking girls’ hearts and think it’s okay!”

“But it’s perfectly fine for me to be forced to love a woman I hate?” he offered. “Listen. I’m tired of being lectured by you! You’re not my fucking mother. I’ve put up with you because I’m forced to do so. You just love to wiggle yourself into everything and are just another thorn that’s stuck in my side. If you really think Ella is someone worthy of my time, let alone attention, you clearly haven’t studied me long enough to figure out who I am.”

“Bullshit,” she snapped and walked up to him. She poked his chest as she screamed, “I know more about you from the last six months than you’ve even figured out about yourself!”

“Then enlighten me?” he suggested. “Because I’m pretty sure you don’t know shit if you expect me to pamper Ella, a woman who isn’t even close to fucking perfection, and love her.”

“Alright, maybe Ella isn’t the one for you, but you haven’t given her a moment to try. Look what you did with Rosadette! You let her rose wilt and die when you actually liked her!”

“Wrong,” he huffed. “If it wasn’t for your meddling I would have forgotten about her, the rose, everything. As if I like her.”

“Oh please!” Vixen huffed. “You liked her from the very beginning. I know how you met. How she punched you in the damn face. You were intrigued by her and though she wasn’t the best fit for your cold-hearted personality, she was interesting to you.”

“She wouldn’t fall for someone like me, who didn’t support her when she was being humiliated, or who constantly brought her down. She couldn’t reach my standards, so why does it now matter whether I was interested or not. It was never meant to be.”

“Never meant to be my foot,” Vixen declared. “If it was never meant to be, you wouldn’t have gotten that rose in the first place! My brother knew the moment he saw Rosadette that he loved her. Fate could have easily tossed her rose his way, but no. You got the golden opportunity. You went down to the lower lands to test her and got punched in the face when you threatened to kill her best friend! The only good act you did was get her a bunch of clothes and lingerie, which I assisted you with at the last minute! How can you do a kind act like that and suddenly fuck it up?!”

“Why does any of this talk matter?” he questioned, looking bored as he moved her hand away from his chest. “I lost her! I let her rose wilt and die. Why are you suddenly pestering me as if this is something new to discuss? I let her get away from my grasp and soon she’ll be your sister-in-law. You might as well thank me.”

“Stop avoiding what you know I’m trying to get at.”

“Just get to the fucking point, Vix. What lesson am I learning in this unnecessary yelling therapy session when all I want to do is be by myself for one fucking minute?”

“Why haven’t you once told her or anyone else about the voices?!”

The comment left him silent as he just stared back at her like he hadn’t heard her question.

“Uh hello?!” She waved her hand in his face.

“What?”

“I just asked you a question.”

“I know, and I don’t get what you’re implying.”

“You paused right at that moment cause that little dark voice is talking to you, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grumbled but actually tried to walk away. She grabbed his hand, which only led to him twisting her around and slamming her right against the wall.

I wanted to interfere, but my body remained still as I fought hard to see where this would go.

“If you didn’t know what I was talking about, you wouldn’t have just reacted,” she muttered and didn’t show an ounce of fear while staring into Xavier’s eyes. “You’ve only told one person about the voices, which was your father, who dismissed them as stress. You’ve had constant instances where you try to say one thing, but it comes out the exact opposite. You think people are only tools not because you’ve been taught that way, but because your very brain is wired that way, like a defense mechanism. You see the potential in every individual, but it pisses you off when you see that they will surpass you. That’s exactly why you could never accept Rosadette. It’s exactly why you wished to see her crumble. The voice only supports your negative thinking and because it’s happened for years, it can change your entire response in under a second.”

“Your stupid theory is wrong,” he snarled, his hands only tightening around her arms, which made her flinch in pain.

She held her ground as she countered with, “Why did you rush to help us when we heard Rosadette, Queen Seraphine, and Rainer were in danger? Why did you assist in conjuring the horses needed for us to get to where Rosadette was so that your mother could create the portal to get us as close to where Rosadette was located in the shortest amount of time? Why did you try to stop your dad from holding Rosadette and Rainer back due to their injuries when we were going to go against Alicia’s request to allow them time off to recover? Why are you acting like a damn villain in all of this when in reality, you’re a lonely fucker who doesn’t know how to properly communicate, is influenced by a dark voice that I’ve yet to figure where it comes from, and can’t admit that he’s intrigued by someone romantically until he’s letting their roses wilt!?!”

“I’m not romantically into Ella!”

“Is that all you got from my whole statement?!” she snapped.

He let out a grunt and let go of her.

“I’m done.”

“We’re not done!”

“Just leave me alone!”

“You always push people away because you don’t want them to be hurt. You think you’re a bringer of bad luck, and you’ve believed that since you were a kid. You built up your cocky exterior when you got bullied to the point that you cracked your skull open. The kids circled around you and laughed, and that memory has haunted you your entire life! The voice started then, didn’t it?! If so, why? What was cast on you to make that voice grow into another entity that controls you like a damn robot?”

He didn’t say anything as he spun around to try and leave again but she grabbed onto him.

“Stop fucking running!”

He didn’t say a word, but his body spun and his fist was an inch from her face. It stopped right there and then, and this time I noticed how dangerously black his eyes were. The change in shade didn’t bother me, but it was the sudden shift in his aura that threw me off entirely.

I quickly tried to trace the foreign energy, realizing there was actually a trail, but if I dared move from my spot, they would realize I was eavesdropping.

“Go ahead,” Vixen provoked. “Punch me! You were willing to freeze Rosadette after hurting her, right? What am I?”

His fist shook as if he were fighting against another force. When he continued to remain there, Vixen made a bold move by inching closer to his fist until her nose pressed against it.

“You shake because you’re fighting off something. A power. An essence. Something that doesn’t belong, Xavier. Now, what is it? What are you hiding, or more importantly, who is using you as a puppet in all of this?”

“No…one is controlling me,” he grumbled.

“Then punch me. If you’re able to control yourself, do exactly what you were about to do,” she encouraged. “I’m just a nobody like everyone else. I’m just a hindrance who is weak and will be of no use. Why are you stopping, then? Or is the you beneath that ass of an ego and spike of fear stopping you from hurting me?”

He pushed her out of the way, and her body fell to the side as he punched the wall where she previously stood. He punched it hard enough to indent the cement, his fist turning red instantly as it began to bruise and even bleed in some places a few seconds later.

“Go away, Vixen.” The way he said those words weren’t as an order, but a threatening warning. “I’m done with therapy.”

“Xav-”

“If you don’t leave, I’ll tell my father to replace you.”

“You wouldn’t after all the progress we’ve made!”

“If it means getting you out of my damn life, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

“You know I can tell when you’re lying!”

“Then you can tell how serious I am, even if it’s a damn lie in this moment!” he snapped with fuming rage. “Take the week off. In fact, you can have a lovely vacation until the exams for all I care. I’ll still follow whatever these rules are with me staying at your family’s castle, but that’s it. I already aced our exam earlier so you don’t need to attend the final exam. I’ll get the perfect score we need and then we’ll go our separate ways. Feel free to ask for a new partner for I’ll do exactly that. Then you don’t need to deal with me, just like I don’t need to deal with you. Now fuck off.”

Vixen rose up, looking like she was about to argue back but he grumbled, “I could easily tell your brother I tried to hurt you and he’d make sure I never saw you for the rest of the school year. I’ll do it if it means you go away right this instant.”

Her eyes widened in shock before they were flooded with anger and tears.

“You’re going to go that low to try and get rid of me,” she huffed. “Go rat on yourself to my injured brother who’s dealing with his own problems just so I get out of your way?”

She laughed as she clenched her hands into fists.

“You’re disgusting.”

“As if such words bother me,” Xavier huffed. “Try again. I love compliments.”

“You just want to be unhappy, don’t you?”

“If it means you don’t fall in love with me, sure,” he concluded, which made her eyes widen as he looked at her. He moved from his spot, just to step right into her personal space until she was back against the wall and he was towering over her.

“You should know never to fall in love with the bad guys. The villains. The jackass of Fae Rose Academy who belittles all those who are deemed unworthy, and fights to break down those who stand close to the elite status of power. Go ahead and blame it on my childhood head injury or the bullying I endured. Blame it on the voice in my head that begs for me to find Rosadette and stab her right in the chest. Why not? Put the responsibility on my fucked-up mentality and the fact I can’t be given the opportunity to love the person I want for my bad luck in love and life itself plagues me every single day. Blame everything on the psychological, physical, and magical circumstances so I don’t need to take ownership of breaking your fucking heart into shreds.”

She swallowed hard as he whispered, “If Ella’s rose wilts and perishes, I’ll be forced to wait for another female to step up to the plate, and I beg the fucking Universe that it’s not you because we’re far from compatible. I may harness the power of light, but my heart is filled with darkness and is completely opposite from the compassionate beating heart that races like you’re in a marathon when you see me.”

He leaned in so close that their lips were inches apart.

“Stop falling for me, Vix. It won’t end well. Either do your job as my therapist and partner or leave me to fuck my own life over.”

He pulled away, that smug smile forming on his lips as he looked down at her like he’d won the fight. What was unexpected was Vixen reaching for his tie, tugging him forward, and kissing him smack on the lips.

I was gawking in shock as Xavier’s eyes widened for a second, and I almost missed the way they seemed to become a bright ocean blue with white rings around his irises. It was gone in a few blinks, but she broke the kiss and stared at him long and hard.

Which was then followed with a slap to his face.

My shock couldn’t get any worse as I merely stared at the stunning scene unfolding before me while Xavier’s cheek grew redder by the second. He slowly looked back at her, as her frustrated tears fell down her flushed cheeks.

“I, Princess Vixen, will fall in love with whoever I damn want. As for whether we’re compatible or not, I don’t give a flying hoot if we are. If you think I’m going to give up on you like everyone else who can’t see past the fake ass of a prince persona you’ve pulled off for years just to push everyone you care about away from what you truly fear, then here’s your wakeup call. I’m not ditching!”

She got right into his face and poked his chest like before.

“So go right ahead and tell Papa Dearest to switch me. Go on and tell my brother that you’re a dick as usual and tried to hurt me. Do whatever the fuck you want, but I’m going to crack down on whatever is making you think the way you think, and when I finally solve this mystery named Prince Xavier Rose, then you’ll see how it feels to be vulnerable. To be brought down and dismissed while the Universe is desperate to give you the happy ending I’m sure your heart is begging for.”

She moved away from him before she began to walk away but stopped.

I could see the tears running down her cheeks as she fought hard to continue her hard front. “Go ahead and let Ella’s rose wilt. However, I’m not going to stop caring about you. Even if it’s deemed unprofessional. I’ll make sure my rose is the next to sit on that damn platform and when that happens, be warned, for I’ll make sure I’m the happiest girl in this damn kingdom and force you to be stuck with me until you give in to getting the help you deserve.”

“Me…deserve help,” Xavier huffed.

Vixen looked over her shoulder, and she whispered, “Ya. Even you. The Grinch Rose of the Purely Divine Kingdom with a heart of darkness that’s begging to be cracked open and bathed in light.”

She turned around and shook her head. “It’s times like these where I truly pity you.”

Those were her last words as she began to walk away - turning to her left and heading down the path to the maze.

Xavier stood there for a long time, and I was going to leave, but he turned around and suddenly punched the wall again. The impact was harder this time - cracking more of the wall while his hand was further bruised up and bleeding.

He muttered under his breath before he pressed his forehead against the damaged wall, hitting it firmly and whispering. “Dammit, dammit, dammit!”

I wanted to interfere, but I was also afraid. If he knew I was here, I could get in a whole lot of shit, but at the same time, the agony on his face…was real.

“Why do I keep doing this?” he finally whispered. “Why, why, why? Why can’t I get shit right? I’m a perfectionist. I deserve to be with someone. To be loved. To have a powerful partner. To one day rule. I am worthy, yes? That’s what I’ve been taught. Been told. Been encouraged again and again by that damn voice in my head. I don’t need my parents’ wise words. Or friends or comrades. No one can understand someone as smart as me. Someone talented like me. That has to be it, right? That’s why Rosadette gave up on me…cursed me. Hah.” He actually laughed, and yet it was the saddest sound I’ve ever heard.

“Fuck. Why is the Universe punishing me like this? Do I deserve a world of solitude? A world of anxiety and regrets? Why am I always left questioning my motives? Why am I always misunderstood? Rosadette could have got me, but no. I fucked all that up. Pushed her away. Humiliated her. Fought with all my power to not acknowledge just how powerful she was. I was ashamed. Not of her…of myself for not being stronger. Not being capable of being her equal. Look where that left me. Stuck with that bitch Ella who can only come at night to bother me with useless banter when all I want to do is sleep.”

He punched the wall again, and then again, and I caught onto the tears that began to form in his eyes as he stared at the wall with hopelessness.

“Why is everything slipping away? Mother has pulled herself out. Dad is far too busy trying to make sure she’s pleased and he hasn’t ruined his own marriage because of me. I lost my chance with Rosadette, who’s now with Rainer. Ella is a selfish bitch who whines during the day and just irritates me until I force myself to sleep. I’m on the brink of being banished. One wrong move and I’m out of my own kingdom…a kingdom that actually took me in….parents who couldn’t even tell me I was fucking adopted. Fuck…” He punched the wall again, enough that he hissed and pulled his hand back to view the true damage. He stared down at his bloody fist, tears streaming down his face as he fought hard to keep it together.

Like a thin thread that was on the verge of snapping.

“I almost punched Vix. I almost hurt her…just like I did Rosadette. Why do I hurt anyone who has a chance of getting close to my heart? Is…is Vixen going to leave me? Is she going to stop the therapy sessions? It’s a good thing, right? Ya…it has to be. No more of her annoying rants. No more of her coming to check on me every thirty minutes. No more of her constant lectures or words of wisdom about what I’m truly suffering from for the day.”

He seemed to pause to swallow a lump in his throat, more tears falling down his cheeks as his shoulders sank.

“No more talks. No more fights. No more of her trying to outsmart me like she does every single time. No more reading those stupid books that are actually interesting. Or telling me about her life as an adoptee. If only she knew of my birth. If only she could help me find the courage to seek the truth from my own mom. Fuck…” He shook his head and turned around. “I don’t need her. Yes. I don’t need her or anyone… This is how life will always be. Lonely. Difficult. Challenging. If I’m a villain in their eyes, so be it. That’s how life has always been. Fight or flight response. To be bullied or become the bully. If you’re the bully, no one will try and tear you into pieces. All this pain I’m feeling…it’s nothing.”

He leaned against the wall as if he were suddenly tired.

“I bet the Universe is laughing at me. How pathetic I look. Crying. Men don’t cry. So fucking stupid.” He banged his head once more, and slowly slid down to sit on the ground as he fought to compose himself.

“I’m fine. Everything is fine. You can’t fix what’s already been said. What’s already been done. Can’t apologize for being a bully when I was small. Can’t apologize for hurting Rosadette when it was never my intention. She’ll never know about the meltdown. Vixen can’t tell her because it’s a conflict of interest. I haven’t been able to apologize since she’s been in the recovery clinic for months. Mother’s still mad at me for what I unintentionally did. Father can’t even stand being in the same room as me for long. Now I just pushed Vix away…and Ella’s rose is already on its last petal. Will seeing the rose bare trigger another reaction? Trigger that urge to hurt Rosadette? I should just run away. No. I can’t run from my duty as a future king. I still have to find a queen. To give my adoptive parents their lives back after centuries of serving this kingdom. Man…why can’t I gather the courage to tell them I know? Why can’t I figure anything out? Why is this so hard? Why can’t I just give up?”

He put his head in his hands, and he finally began to sob.

“I just want to be happy. Why is it so hard to be happy? I don’t want…don’t want to be a villain in this damn world anymore. Why can’t I fix this?! Do I need to die to get this damn voice out of my head? For the Universe to give me another chance at life or to end this suffering of no one understanding me? Dammit. Life is so fucking hard.”

He sobbed harder and I tried to blink away my own tears away as I desperately fought the urge to pity him. He didn’t deserve my pity. My emotion. My shed of tears.

He hurt me. He deserved every bit of sorrow he was experiencing.

Or did he?

The sound of the ice cream truck cut through the air once again, and Xavier quietly laughed. “I was supposed to get that royal ice cream thing. I always miss out on the good stuff. Typical.” His sorrowful laugh followed before he sobbed harder.

I turned around to walk away, and slowly took the steps to leave him be. I just kept walking, but the entire time the scene that just occurred played over and over again. I finally came to a stop in the middle of the hall, unable to move further as I wondered if he was still there.

Still sitting in that spot, weeping like he’d lost someone dear to him. Was that what it looked like to lose yourself in your own demise? To realize all the wrong you’ve done, but acknowledge that there was nothing you could do to stop it?

I knew everyone had the capability to forgive someone, but could they ever forget? I’d never be able to forget what he’d done to me. The fear it invoked. The nights where I shivered until Rainer’s arms wrapped around me in comfort, and the anxiety that plagued me at the thought of being near him.

It was just another reminder that he didn’t deserve my pity. He shouldn’t be given a second chance. So many others don’t get the privilege of another chance. They were more than worthy, deserving, and kinder than Xavier, but they were cut off from such opportunities.

Why should I give him a chance?

My mind wished for my legs to move, but they suddenly gave out, which had me shrieking and falling to the ground. I looked at them with menace before I tried to push some of my magic to my lower limbs like I was taught but it was no use.

“Seriously?” I huffed in pure annoyance and suddenly wondered how the hell was I going to get out of here.

The sudden approaching footsteps left me rigid, and I didn’t dare look behind me even though I knew the sound was getting louder and closer from that direction.

When a pair of white shoes reached my vision, I had no choice but to look up to see Xavier. His face was masked like always, the tear stains and even red eyes completely gone. I scanned his body slowly, attempting to seem as if I were trying to determine if he was real when I wanted to check on his bloody hand.

It was still bloody, but the wound itself seemed to be healed just a bit - enough for it to not bleed.

“What are you doing here?” he coldly questioned. “You’re in my way.”

“There’s plenty of space in the hall, Xavier,” I bitterly commented back. “I’m just going to chill here, that’s all. It’s going to rain.”

“Says who?” he asked.

“Uh…” I trailed off and mentally begged that it would actually rain. The sudden sound of thunder made my eyes widen and look to the side to see a glimpse of the dark clouds rolling in.

Oh shit. Did I do that? But I can’t control these lands. It had to be an error of judgment.

Xavier had followed my gaze to see the clouds rolling in, but he turned his eyes back to me and grumbled, “Where were you going?”

“You can’t go there,” I huffed. “Only royal individuals with permission can go.”

“The rehab center,” he concluded, which made me frown while he rolled his eyes - again - while he seemed to be intrigued by my legs.

“Are you recovered?”

“Not your business,” I dryly commented. All he did was nod before he suddenly scooped me up. “H-Hey! I didn’t give you permission to carry-”

“For once in my life, can I just do something right?”

His words were actually quiet, so softly spoken that I could have easily missed them. I looked right up into his eyes, but he looked forward as he turned around and headed to the path.

“Why are you helping me?”

He didn’t answer.

“If you think this is going to make you feel better, it won’t. I never asked to be helped.”

Again. He said nothing.

“You helping me won’t change a thing.”

“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” he muttered. “Now can you shut up?”

“No.”

He groaned and stopped momentarily, but then he looked up and noticed how dark the clouds were. “Hmph. You’re lucky.”

He kept walking, leaving me to decipher his comment to whatever he was trying to imply until we reached the back entrance of the medical rehab center.

“How did you know how to get to this part?”

“This place isn’t solely for Rainer’s family. They aid royals from the light kingdom as well,” he commented and lowered me onto the bench that was next to the door.

Turning around, he began to walk away.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“Home?” He stopped just to give me a look of pure irritation. “What else do you want? I’m not in the mood to deal with children.”

“This child can kick your damn ass,” I commented. “Hmph. You’ve probably never dealt with children and never will.”

He didn’t say anything, but his gaze lowered to his feet as he mumbled, “You’re right. I’d be lucky enough to marry, let alone have kids. So true. I’ll never deal with kids. At least real ones and not immature brats like you.”

“Don’t insult me!” I huffed.

“I’m leaving.”

“Why would you think you’ll never marry?” I suddenly asked, which made him stop again. Lighting coursed through the sky as thunder boomed the next second.

Xavier just stood there, until he finally grumbled, “I’ll be lucky to live long enough to find someone who’d love someone like me.”

I paused in my attempt to counter his statement, those words tugging at my heart like it had to see him cry.

“Xavier?” I mumbled hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

“Just fine,” he quietly replied. “Go be with the man that can actually cherish you.”

That’s all he said as he began to walk away, just as the rain began to fall.

“Xavier…” My voice was but a squeak as I watched him walk away, the rain beating him hard and drenching his entire body.

Seeing him from afar, he didn’t look like the man I despised for making my life a living hell.

Instead, I was left feeling sorrow for him, for he’d done a good deed and I was unable to gather the guts to thank him. To show gratitude to a man that hurt, belittled, and wounded me.

I should have just gotten up and headed inside, but I sat right there - my eyes watching his image fade in the distances.

Deep down, I hoped that he’d recover from what I’d witnessed earlier, but one thing worried me the most.

Why does it feel as though this is the last time I’ll see him?

WILTING IMPOSTER

“Rainer,” I groaned against his lips. “We have an exam.”

“And I missed you, so hush.”

I actually laughed before hugging him tighter. “How does it feel to be out of bed?”

“A fucking miracle,” he growled. “I swear if I had to lie down for another twenty-four hours, I’d cry.”

“That’s overexaggerating,” I commented. “You wouldn’t cry.”

“True, but I’d complain about it the whole time,” he huffed.

I leaned back to look at the new glasses he had to wear. “Why do you have to wear glasses though?”

“The doctor explained that my magic isn’t at an optimal level to reach my eyes. If they do, it may fizzle out. You know how magic flows to our eyes and fingertips when we cast spells? The glasses will aid in being the extra push for the magic to flow outward versus fizzling and causing damage to my retinas,” he explained. “It’s only temporary. If I’m good, I’ll be able to take them off. They make me feel odd as hell.”

“They make you look like a sexy professor,” I commented.

“Does that mean you’d let me have my way with you before this exam?”

“No,” I snickered. “Nice try, though.”

“Ugh,” he huffed and hugged me again.

“Are you that horny?”

“We went from doing it a lot to nothing for a good eight months. I’m depleted! Why aren’t sexual needs a part of the health care plan?!”

“Uh, because you’d have to receive that from a nurse, silly.”

“Well, they could have put the option for wives to fulfill their husband’s needs.”

“So I’m your wife, huh?” I teased and pulled back in time to see his blushing cheeks.

“I didn’t say that!”

“Sure, sure.”

“It was the-”

“The drugs. Yes, yes. The drugs always make you say romantic things.”

All he could do was pout at my comments, which made me lean up to kiss him. “I have to ask you something.”

“What?” he asked, giving me his full attention. I lifted my hand to show him my hand, the ring that I’d been keeping hidden beginning to reveal itself until the gold jewelry was fully opaque.

His eyes widened before he looked at me.

“W-W-Where did you get that?”

“It appeared on my finger when you did the forbidden Soul Strike thing and summoned my father from the dead to protect me,” I explained. “It was connected to my pendulum and seems to do exactly that whenever I activate my pendulum magically. I asked Seraphine but she said I should ask you, and before you ask why I didn’t tell you earlier, I didn’t want to burden you while you were recovering.”

He seemed nervous as he looked away from my questioning gaze. I reached up to grasp his chin, moving his head so he had no choice but to look into my eyes. His whole face was flushed.

“Was this supposed to be a promise ring or something?”

“It’s an engagement ring,” he revealed, his face even redder before he turned right around. “I got it custom made. There’s a strong fae blacksmith who creates jewelry and caters to royals with intense magic capabilities. However, he’s booked for a good few years. He only had an opening a little after New Year’s last year so he asked me what I wanted, and I needed a magical item that was connected to you. That was when you’d just gotten the pendulum, so I borrowed it so he could infuse some of its magic into the ring. He crafted it with that and my magic so that if there came a time I wasn’t around, you’d be able to use my dark magic like most bonded couples can do.”

He took a steady breath and turned around to face me once more.

“You’re really powerful, Rosadette. I know you don’t really see it yet, especially since this year has kind of been a failure in the learning department because of my risky move, but I knew you’d be more independent in this relationship. You don’t need a knight to come to save you. You especially don’t need me to come to your aid when you’re in trouble. You can protect yourself, and I want you to continue having that source of power while still having my support magically. I wanted to propose…but I was hoping to do something first.”

He looked to the floor as he twiddled his thumbs. “I haven’t gotten to do that yet, so…I guess the ring decided you needed it more than ever back at the exhibit incident so I can’t really blame it for being summoned to protect you. Without it as a sort of channel of energy, I probably would have died since I didn’t do that spell correctly. I didn’t think when triggering it, but I don’t regret trying to protect you either.”

He looked up to stare into my eyes.

“You’re my light in the darkness, and I’d sacrifice myself in a heartbeat if it meant you’re alive and safe.”

“Silly,” I whispered, reaching up to hook my arms around his neck as tears fell down my cheeks. “I need you in my life, too. Or who’s going to be the light at the end of the tunnel when I’m lost in the darkness?”

He smiled slightly, blinking back his own tears before he pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Can I keep the ring?”

“It was always meant for you.”

“But does that mean you need to get another? I don’t want you to spend time and money on a new one.”

“Do you like this one?”

“Very much,” I whispered.

“Don’t you want something that sparkles with diamonds?”

“Nope. I’m fine with this.”

“Then I don’t have to get a new one,” he assured me. “Though…are you okay with waiting a little longer?”

“I’m fine with waiting for as long as we need to,” I assured him and leaned back to look into his eyes. “Aren’t your parents going to think we’re too young to marry?”

He laughed. “No. Fae who find their roses get married rather young. There’s not much of a delay seeing as they’re going to spend centuries together.”

“I forget that your parents are probably centuries old,” I quietly reasoned.

“Yup. They’re old, old, old. I try not to think about it or it gives me a headache,” he reasoned and claimed my lips.

“What was that for?”

“I haven’t been able to thank you.”

“For?”

“Taking care of me when you could for the last eight months. You had to deal with your own recovery, and yet you’d still walk in crutches to come to see me, before recovering and staying with me whenever you could. You also did the midterm exam when you didn’t have to. I just want you to know I appreciate the sacrifices you made for me and it just proves how much you deserve to be loved.”

Deserve to be loved.

The words reminded me of Xavier’s walking image as the rain pounded against his body. It was a brief thought, but I actually wondered if he’d been okay since then.

“You know I’d do it all over again if it means I get to be in your arms,” I voiced with affection.

“I know.” He inched closer until our lips brushed. “I’d do the same for you, Sweet Rose.”

We kissed long and hard, our movement going from slow to urgent. I’d missed kissing him. Enjoying the heat of his body against mine and moving to the tune of our combined pleasure.

The door slammed open and we broke the kiss to see Vixen stomping into the room.

One look at her told me she was mad, mad.

“Where’s that cold ass-of-a-prince!” she demanded. “I swear. If he skips on today’s session, I’ll use the damn fae army to find his ass before proceeding to shove a stick up it!”

Rainer and I blinked back at her in pure confusion before she looked our way. From her professional outfit of white and gold with her lab coat, I could only assume she was working.

“Sis,” Rainer groaned. “Can you not barge into people’s rooms when they’re trying to enjoy a moment of sex?”

“Rainer!” I slapped his chest, but he didn’t even care as he looked at Vixen, who gave him the ‘I don’t care’ look.

“I have more important things to do!” she stressed and looked at me. “Oh. Rosadette. I borrowed your golden rose brooch thingy. You left it in Rainer’s recovery room.”

It took her mentioning it for me to realize she was wearing it in combination with her dress.

“I completely forgot about it,” I commented. “You can totally borrow it. Not like I need it. We have to go check in for our exam.”

“Why are you here, Vixen?” Rainer questioned, clearly annoyed that she’d ruined our ‘moment’.

“I’m trying to find Xavier,” she announced and crossed her arms over her chest. “He’s canceled every appointment we’ve had since midterms. He could have easily just called it quits, but no. Every day I go in and he’s ‘unavailable’. I talked to King Rose and he doesn’t want me to quit simply because Xavier’s being stubborn.”

I frowned at her words, remembering that the last time I saw him was during the exams.

“But someone has seen him, right?” I inquired.

Vixen looked our way and shook her head. “No one has seen him. He’s basically locked himself in his room or some nonsense. It may have been my fault, but I didn’t think he’d simply isolate himself from the world. He has to take his exams, but I can’t find him. It’s like he put a spell on to make it so no one can locate him. Alicia’s actually worried for his safety, and King Rose is giving me today to find where he is, or he’s going to get the guards to break into his room. He doesn’t want to invade Xavier’s privacy since he’s an adult and he’s probably dealing with depression or something, but this is getting worrisome. Xavier’s an ass, yes, but he’s not the type to suffer…well, alone.”

“What happened to make him suddenly emo?” Rainer questioned, looking genuinely concerned. “I know you two got in a fight.”

Vixen let out a long sigh.

“Xavier is such a complicated individual. It’s like he’s a Rubik’s cube that keeps on changing and you’re not given enough time to solve it.” She looked at me hesitantly before she whispered, “He’s been trying to apologize to you. I mean genuinely apologize for being an ass. No one has ever really taken the time to try and understand him. He pushes people away on purpose. It’s an effort not only to protect those he cares about from himself but whatever he believes will bring harm to those who are important in our kingdoms.”

“He’s been an ass for years though,” Rainer commented.

“You’re right,” Vixen acknowledged. “However…” She bit her lip in worry. “I’m not supposed to share this, but I think there’s a third party involved.”

“Third party?” Rainer arched an eyebrow while he kept an arm around my waist to keep me by his side. “Are you going to try to say someone is controlling him, forcing him to be that way?”

“Yes and no,” Vix replied before she began to pace. “Hear me out, cause it’s one of my theories I’m still working on and haven’t brought up with his parents.”

She paused in her pacing to watch us nod in agreement before she carried on.

“When I was first assigned to Xavier, the one thing that stood out to me from the report regarding the incident in the training room was his statement about freezing the Queen of Rosadette. That didn’t make much sense to me because he wasn’t alive all those years ago to commit such a deed,” she elaborated. “However, there are times when Xavier shows kindness in his eyes. It’s there, present, and wishes to project itself into an action, but it’s as if something is triggered in his brain to do the opposite. Throughout the year, we’ve done brain scans, magical scans, I even tried to analyze his sleeping pattern during a sleep study, but I can’t find a solid problem within his brain.”

“You’re trying to say it’s not a mental problem,” Rainer confirmed.

“It can’t be. Everything is normal physically. His IQ is high, and the way he perceives things is well structured. Literally, it makes no sense that he wants to act one way but does the other. If he’s doing it to protect himself, why? What is he protecting himself and those he cares about from?”

“Maybe he’s having hallucinations or something?” I reasoned.

Vixen shook her head. “No hallucinations, no delusions, but there’s one main problem I’ve discovered.”

“What?” we asked.

“Xavier’s been hearing voices since he was a child,” she revealed. “I’m not sure if it’s multiple voices or a single commanding voice, but it’s something he’s seemed to keep a secret until he blurted it out a few weeks ago to me. I didn’t really understand it because every test result has proven he’s mentally well. There’s no internal problem.”

“Internal…” I repeated the single word before something seemed to click in my mind. “What about external?”

The two of them looked at me as I bit my lip in worry. “I’m going to say something weird, but maybe it’ll make sense. What if someone…or even something, is manipulating Xavier.”

“All these years?” Rainer prompted. “That would be impossible. It would have to be someone close to him, which honestly, are his parents, and even they have pulled away from him recently. Alicia’s only been in the castle recently to be with King Rose, which means he hasn’t been spending time with them at all.”

Vixen came to a dramatic stop as something seemed to click in her expression.

“Magic artifact!”

We both frowned at her sudden declaration as she spun on her heels and seemed to pace even faster while the words rushed out. “What if it’s a magic artifact that’s causing all of this? One that is negatively influenced with magic. Maybe dark magic? No matter the elemental factor, what if this artifact belonged to the King of Light who passed away centuries ago after killing the King of Darkness, like stated in the royal tales?”

She came to a stop once again, her eyes widening before she looked at us in worry.

“What if the King of Light never died?”

“Sis.” Rainer looked at her hopelessly. “He’s dead.”

“You don’t know for-”

“Xavier is the adopted son of the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Light. He carried a bit of the trait of the King of Light, just as I’m adopted and carry some of the traits of the King of Darkness. They’re both dead.”

She seemed shocked by the sudden information, but it only made her eyes widen as her jaw dropped. “What did you say?”

“Xavier carries the traits of-”

“Before that?!”

“Xavier’s adopted?” he offered.

“When did you find that out?” she questioned.

“I’ve known since I was a kid. His parents never told him because of how cocky and cold he was. Didn’t want to make him feel inadequate or whatever. Not my place to tell him and figured his parents would inform him eventually. We’re not the reincarnations of the late kings. Their souls ascended already.”

“No, no, no,” she whispered. “Royal souls don’t ascend.”

“What?” we both questioned, and she quickly moved to the door and slammed it shut. The walls glowed white, the barrier thick as she turned around to stare at us with worried eyes.

“No one has told you where royal souls go?”

“No?” we nervously stated as we exchanged a look.

“It makes sense now. O.M.G! Why didn’t I think of this earlier? We have to find Xavier. Like…it’s an emergency!”

“Why?” Rainer stressed as he let go of me to walk over to her sister, who looked like she was about to have a breakdown. “Vixen. Talk to us. Why?”

“Our parents wouldn’t know about this because they’re not of true royal heritage. As in, they don’t have a line of kings and queens. They had to take up their roles because of the circumstances, so they probably don’t know this.”

“Know what?” I pressed. “And how do you know?”

“As a therapist at an early age, I used to talk to many elder individuals, especially Fae Witches. They’re one of the oldest faes in our existence who can live thousands and thousands of years. They even leave their bodies and can travel into parallel universes when death approaches so that they continue to grant their vast knowledge to the next generation.”

Like Shin.

“When royals die, their souls don’t ascend. They’re inputted into the magic artifact passed down from the last ruler!” she exclaimed. “It’s a tradition done when you’re sworn in. Upon your death, your soul is transferred to that chosen artifact and the new ruler wears that piece of jewelry until their death.”

“Alright, but if that’s true, wouldn’t King Rose have that?” Rainer offered. “And my dad would have the King of Darkness’s magic artifact.”

“Yes, but what if Xavier got it somehow? The artifact is something that can be worn, yes, but it’s something that can’t be seen by just anybody. Meaning, it has the ability of hiding itself. So what if Xavier somehow managed to get this artifact and has been wearing it all this while, and King Rose has no idea because he thinks he’s wearing it!”

“Even if that theory is possible, what does that have to do with the late King of Light?” Rainer asked.

“You know how they’re sworn in?” she began. “The process is supposed to push the previous soul through. Meaning, when Dad claimed the magic artifact, the King of Darkness’s soul would be pushed through to ascend, and he’d leave behind what he believes will aid the current king. However, there’s one big problem!”

“They’re not of royal blood,” I spoke up and drew both their attention as it suddenly made sense. “Emmanuel and even King Rose don’t carry the blood or even a single trait of the royal family. This means, when they were sworn in, the soul was never pushed forward to ascend.”

That had Rainer’s eyes growing wide before he whispered, “That means their souls are still within the magic artifacts.”

“Bingo!” Vixen exclaimed and pointed to us. “That’s the influence! The external influence. That’s why when Xavier lost it at the realization that he was going to lose Rosadette, he tried to freezer her! It wasn’t Xavier. It was the magical artifact that was controlling him!”

“But how can we know for sure he has the artifact?” I inquired. “We need to go to King Rose and ask ourselves. We need Alicia there, too. Maybe even Mom and Dad,” Vix reasoned and paced quickly. “If Xavier’s wearing that artifact, we have a big problem.”

“Why? Can’t we just take it off and he’ll be out of its control?”

Vix stopped and bit her lip, as if she were trying to remember something. “There was something that the Fae Witch had said. Like a time limit. A soul can’t remain in an artifact for a long period of time, and I mean in fae years, which is centuries. If they’re not handled with care and are neglected, they begin to build anger towards the carrier. Not only does that risk the individual…oh fuck.”

“What?” Rainer and I said with worry. All of this couldn’t get worse.

“The person who wears the artifact has to be magically attuned for it to be activated, right? Has to be a royal with some sort of trait related to the bloodline. If what you said earlier is true, Xavier has the trait of the King of Light. Meaning two very dangerous things. One, the magic artifact could have been taking bits of Xavier’s magic to strengthen its core, waiting for that prime moment for it to either completely take over Xavier or option number two.”

“Which is?” I pressed.

“Find a way for Xavier to be killed.”

“Why would the artifact want to kill…” Rainer trailed off and his eyes grew wide. “No, no, no. That’s not possible.”

I looked at him in confusion before Vixen enlightened me with the answer, “If Xavier dies with the magic artifact on, his soul will be transferred to it, and the King of Light will be able to ascend… However, I don’t think he’s going to ascend.”

“He can’t stop himself from ascending?” I reasoned.

“With enough magic power, he can do whatever he wants,” Vixen stated with fear in her eyes. “He can easily navigate himself back into Xavier’s body and jump-start his heart. Then he’ll be in full control of Xavier, and automatically be the next king who can rise to the throne even before he graduates.”

“We need to go tell the others,” I voiced. “We need to find Xavier.”

“Rosadette! Where’s your pendulum?”

“In my room at the dorms. I had to charge it under the full moon last night.”

“Grab it! Pendulums have a way of predicting the future. You’re pretty in tune with it. We could ask to see where Xavier is. Rainer, get Mom and Dad. I’ll go get Alicia and we’ll head to the office to see King Rose.”

“Alright!” we responded. With a quick kiss to Rainer, I was running to my dorm room.

It didn’t take long to arrive, my eyes locking on the pendulum with ease.

“This is going to get ugly. I should change,” I muttered as I walked over to the pendulum and picked it up. I shivered at the flowing magic, always feeling its force after a good charge under the moon.

Placing my hand beneath the crystal, I watched the chain beginning to glow until it synced with my gold ring. Spreading my right fingers out, I watched the pendulum dangle as I calmed my racing heart.

“Please. Tell me where Xavier is. He’s in danger.” I whispered the words as I closed my eyes and allowed my mind to calm. I felt its movement as it began to spin around and then settle into one direction. I lowered my head and opened my eyes to see it swinging from South to North.

What does that mean?

“Since you’re moving stronger south, maybe that’s the direction I need to go. Let’s try it.”

I turned right around, only to crash right into someone.

“Oomph! Ugh. Rainer? Did you follow me-”

Dust hit me in the face, enough to make me sneeze before I tried to use my hand to move the powdery white stuff away.

“What the hell?!” I huffed and snapped my eyes open to see Xavier standing right there.

“X-Xavier! Why did you just throw dust at me?” I snapped before I noticed his eyes.

Black with icy rings of white around his irises.

“Xavier?” I blinked a few times, my vision going from single to double. I could see his growing smile, one with corrupt intentions, as he lifted his hand up to show a silver ring that was glowing with a dark aura.

I couldn’t focus on it long enough as my world began to spin and I suddenly lost my balance. I fell right against him, a sluggish groan leaving my lips as my consciousness withered away.

I was picked up, my body swaying back and forth as if we were walking away.

“To think you somehow survived my frozen spell. Only means your mother is alive somewhere. You’re the perfect bait. Now all I need is to kill this stubborn child. Easy. That lover boy will finish the deed for me.”

His laughter was the last thing I heard before the darkness took me.

GLIMPSE OF HOPE

“ROSADETTE!”

The constant calls in my head were impossible to ignore, and yet, I couldn’t do anything to get out of this fog. I’d tried and tried, listening to the shouting voices and the clashing of swords. I wanted to fight. To aid in what was happening and figure out a way to somehow save the man I’d despised.

He’s…innocent. Controlled. No one will know until it’s too late.

This wasn’t like the past where the Kings of Light and Darkness were fighting over the woman they loved. No. This was a grudge that was centuries old, and Xavier was about to be the victim in all of this if I didn’t wake up.

The screams of anger grew louder, and the clashing of metal seemed closer, but it all seemed to fade away until I felt like I was suddenly in someone’s arms. I was smaller, younger, and when I opened my eyes, a beautiful woman with bright purple eyes with silver rings looked down at me.

Her red lips beamed at my awakening as my body swayed back and forth.

“My sweet Rosadette. My child and the land’s future queen. Were you dreaming happily?”

The giggle that left me was as if I were but a baby, and it only made her expression brighten as she leaned down to brush her nose against my tiny one.

“You’ve survived so much, my Rosadette. You’re but a baby and yet you’ve somehow survived this journey with me. Your father would be so proud. So for all those who need it, you just have to believe in your power.”

I looked up at her as she pressed a kiss to my forehead and lowered me into a basket.

“One day you’ll understand. You’ll be able to bring those of Purely and Shadowed Divine into one place. The evil that fought hard to freeze us…to get rid of us, may return, but I know you’ll be safe here. Protected by Mother Universe herself.”

My mouth opened as if I were yawning, and my eyes seemed to grow heavy.

That made her smile, only this time, tears filled her eyes while her hair draped down like a curtain all around me.

“I’m sorry, my Rosadette, that I must go into hiding and pray that you’ll survive this. Know that I love you. That you’re the only light I have left. Every moment of darkness that tries to take me, I’ll think of you and fight to remain like a statue until you’ve grown into a powerful woman. You’ll find the path you need to take, and you’ll know to discover the truth hidden beneath the ice.”

My eyes began to close, and a tear fell onto my cheek.

“I love you, Rosadette. The sole princess of our kingdom. The light of my world. Find me in the frozen ice. I’ll be waiting for you.”

My mind slipped away.

“ROSADETTE! ROSADETTE!”

Someone was shaking me, strong enough to make me groan in annoyance. I felt so drowsy, my body aching as if I’d crashed into a wall and hadn’t moved for a week.

“Sweet Rose, open your eyes.”

The familiar voice reminded me of Rainer, and it was close enough for me to open my eyes and see his face looking down at me with worry. I noticed the multiple cuts to his face, which alerted me that he was hurt, but my brain was going at a sluggish pace when I tried to react.

“Easy. The dust is still wearing off,” he reasoned.

“Is she awake?!” Vix exclaimed while sounding out of breath. “Your parents better get here fast. I can’t hold Ella back!”

Ella? What’s Ella doing here? Weren’t they after Xavier? What’s happening?

Rainer frowned, clearly picking up on my thoughts. “Maybe this will help,” he commented, a second before his lips laid upon mine. I wasn’t sure what a kiss was going to do to aid me in figuring out what was going on, but suddenly everything seemed to flash before my eyes.

Me lying upon an ice table before a statue of a woman.

Lit magic candles and Ella walking into view with a wild smile on her lips.

Xavier on his knees with his hands behind his back.

Rainer and Vixen rushing in to try and aid us.

Battles between Xavier and Rainer…

My eyes widened to see that Rainer had stabbed Xavier in the stomach. That was enough to push a jolt of energy through me as I broke the kiss and accidentally head-butted him when I tried to sit up.

“Ow,” he groaned.

“Rainer! Y-You killed-” I began but was cut off.

“He didn’t kill me.”

I turned my head to see Xavier was right there. He was sitting next to me, his hand over a clear wound that was still bleeding. He looked pale, but from the lack of color in his eyes, he was giving off the impression that he was injured enough to be close to death.

“Nice try though.”

“Fuck off,” Rainer grumbled before he helped me sit up. “Are you okay? How’s your head?”

“Hurts like hell. What’s going on? Why is Ella here? Actually, why is Vixen shielding us from Ella?” I was asking these questions while absorbing the scene, completely shocked and confused as to where we were and why we seemed to be in a bubble of white light with Ella standing on the opposite side with a stream of black that was fighting against Vixen’s defense.

“It’s a little long to explain, and we’re waiting to get out of this ice oasis.”

“Ice oasis.”

“The frozen kingdom. The previous dark kingdom,” Rainer revealed.

“You told her about that,” Xavier muttered as he fought to get up. He grunted in pain, still gripping the wound that was beginning to bleed even more than before.

“Why are you getting up, idiot?”

“How am I the idiot when you stabbed me? Like, what were you trying to prove?”

“You were possessed by the fucking King of Light of the past!” Rainer snapped.

“Okay? Did that mean you had to stab me?”

“You were going to kill Rosadette!”

“Well…” He paused. “It’s not like I, as in myself, Xavier, was going to kill her.”

“You really are stupid,” Rainer concluded, which made me sigh as I lifted one of my hands slowly to try and signal them to stop.

“Alright. You can argue later when we’re not on the brink of being dead. How are we getting out of here and who’s our current enemy?”

“Ella,” Vixen commented. “Guys. I can’t hold-”

She didn’t finish as her body got pushed back. She shrieked and went flying into the floor, merely feet from us, but suddenly black swords emerged out of nowhere, lifting into the sky and angling down to where Vixen was fighting to get up from.

“Vix!” Rainer screamed as I gasped. I fought to get up, just as Rainer did the same, but the swords rushed to their target, and Vix screamed as her arms went up in defense.

My next gasp got stuck in my throat, and Rainer’s sharp inhale followed with a soft whisper. “W-Why?”

“You FOOL!” Ella screamed, and I noticed how her eyes were completely onyx and she wore a sort of attire I’d never seen before. Its white surface was stained with blood and dirt, but it looked to be a uniform you would see the rich kids in back home that worked with the government or something in the lower lands.

My eyes registered what was unfolding before us as Vix lowered her arms to see Xavier.

“X…Xavier?” she whispered.

He grunted before he took a step forward, followed by another - three dark swords deep in his flesh. He somehow reached the altar that was a few steps away, where Ella stood in fuming anger.

Xavier then chuckled as he looked at Ella.

“Didn’t I do exactly what you wanted?” he choked and watched her eyes widen as he lifted his left hand and revealed the same ring I’d seen before passing out.

“You pushed your magical essence from our family artifact into Ella after I brought Rosadette here. You expected Rainer to kill me, and then my soul would go into this bad boy to be trapped for all eternity seeing as there’s no one who can rise to the throne and have kids.”

He coughed out blood as his body shook. “But I knew why you brought Rosadette. Why you manipulated my dad to tell the Forbiddens that Rosadette was an enemy and to kill her, Rainer, and Seraphine. Wow. You’re a mastermind. You have to be to make my entire life a living hell.”

He dropped to his knees then, his shoulders moving up and down as he heaved heavily.

“Xavier!” Vixen scream and tried to run to him, but a barrier was blocking her path. She hammered at it, but it wouldn’t budge. “Take this barrier down!”

Ella looked up to see the wall of dark purple. I realized there were four panels, boxing him and Ella inside. Xavier suddenly tried to get up, and Rainer called out.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“Doing…what I should have done the moment this damn voice began controlling my life,” he whispered. His hand outstretched to Ella, and the sudden spike in magic made her eyes widen.

“Don’t you da-”

“Retrieve what’s been locked within this family heirloom. Suck in every stream of their essence, from myself and the woman before me. Seal their souls within its chambers and release every bit of magic they carry! IMPRISONADA TA WE!”

Ella’s scream was a loud shrill as her back arched and a dark shadow burst out of her. We watched in horror as the dark aura morphed into someone that looked similar to Xavier, only he was older, and his eyes showed nothing but hate as they looked at me.

“DIE!” The command boomed through the ice walls as its spirit raced to attack me. Rainer was in front of me in seconds, but the black aura was tugged back before it could reach us. His spirit was tugged right into the ring before Xavier slipped it off and dropped it to the floor.

He wrapped his hand around the hilt of the sword that was in the middle of his chest, and we watched in sheer horror as he pulled it out with a painful grunt.

His blood poured onto the ground, spilling onto the ring before he slammed the sword into the ground, leaving it standing in place before he worked on the second one.

“X-Xavier!” Vixen was hammering the barrier wall while Rainer and I rushed to reach the wall, fighting desperately to break it with whatever magic we had left.

Xavier was pulling out the final sword, his body shaking as blood continued to pour onto the ground beneath his feet. The barrier that held us back was beginning to crack, but at this rate, Xavier would die from mere blood loss.

He slammed the final sword into the ground, the three swords put in a way that made a triangle with the ring in the middle. He dragged his feet back, fighting to remain standing as he breathed heavily while looking at the ring in disgust.

“Years,” he breathed. “I read every book to get rid of you. To be stronger. To find someone or something that could finally seal you in the eternal abyss that you wholeheartedly deserve. All I wanted was to be accepted. To…have friends… To be looked upon as a good being who wished to grow powerful enough to relieve my parents of their duties. You masked yourself in me. Wired me to your tune. You controlled me…and were going to do anything to get what you wanted. To kill the heirs of the three kingdoms.”

He pointed to the ring as tears spilled down his cheeks.

“You failed. Those centuries of plotting your act of revenge didn’t work. You wanted the last laugh, but guess what?” he heaved and began to weakly chuckle. “I…I, Xavier Rose, got the last laugh. I played my role as a villain, and now…I’m a hero. I beat you…and if I die…so be it…for I protected what I was supposed to all this while. I…I…”

He fell to his knees, but he fought to finish. “I was able to make Rosadette’s rose go to Rainer. Was able to save…save Ella from your grasp…and you couldn’t kill…couldn’t kill the one person who tried to understand. That one person…I actually liked. What a fucked-up mystery.”

He lifted his shaky hand and closed his eyes.

“The blood of my past. A past regained in a few simple traits. Allow this blood with the dark swords of the King of Light’s magic to seal him within this ring forever. May the tradition be broken…from…today onward. I…Xavier Rose…heir…heir to the throne…seal this spell with my blood. Dela RaVe Bloodana Rue.”

We watched at the swords began to glow from black to pure white, and the blood boiled until the ring itself began to crack and then melt in the intense heat. In seconds, it was nothing but a puddle of melted metal, and that was when the barrier before us shattered.

“Xavier!” Vixen rushed to his side as he fell onto his side. I rushed over to him as Rainer quickly moved to check on Ella.

“Xavier?! Xavier?!” Vixen was shaking him, but he didn’t respond, his eyes open but the light in them fading away.

“Fuck.”

I looked to Rainer and I noticed Ella’s wide, colorless eyes.

“She’s dead,” he revealed and slowly laid her down to the ground. He met my worried gaze before he got up and rushed to my side. We watched as Vixen called to Xavier, shaking him furiously while tears ran down her cheeks, but he didn’t respond as the last specks of life seemed to leave him entirely.

Out of my entire life, this was the moment where I felt utterly hopeless. I stood there, with the ability to make the world itself shake, unable to save the man I thought was evil.

He’d brought me into this unknown world, to push me away into the direction he knew I was meant to walk upon. I’d grown from every experience, even the bad ones that felt like they would suffocate me. I’d found my heritage, learned that my mother was alive somewhere, and was protected by the spirit of my father. I’d found the roots of my creation, and now had a place to call home.

I was loved by a man who I’d experienced the good and the bad with, and was accepted by his family, who wanted me to embrace my strengths and achieve my goals.

All because of this selfish, cold-hearted man, who ended up being the true victim in all of this.

“Wake up!” Vix begged as she cradled him in her arms. “I…I won’t yell at you. We don’t need to do therapy anymore. I’ll go away if you want me to! Just open your eyes, Xavier,” she begged. “I’m sorry for arguing with you. Sorry for not trying harder to understand you. Don’t do this. Don’t die. You…you never deserved to die. We didn’t know. No one knew. You have to live as the hero you were trying to be behind the scenes.”

She pressed her hand on her chest, tugging on the broach until it ripped from her dress. “This has magic. Can’t I retrieve your soul like you did with the ring? Can’t I save you?” She pressed the golden rose to his wounded chest, but nothing happened as she sobbed heavily.

“I didn’t tell you,” she cried. “You should have had my rose next. Then you’d never be lonely again. Never be sad or afraid of the unknown. I’d understand you. Translate your hateful words. I’d get your language, so you wouldn’t have to be misunderstood anymore.”

She pressed her forehead against his. “I’m sorry, Xavier. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you straight up that I loved you. I’m sorry that I failed you. So sorry.”

I walked around them to kneel down into the pool of blood, my arm outstretched to lay my hand upon Vixen’s. “I’m sorry, Xavier.” The apology left me as tears swarmed my vision. “For not seeing through it all. For not being willing to forgive. For turning a blind eye when I could have reached out to help you.”

I sensed Rainer kneel next to me, and he reached out to place his hand on top of mine.

“Xavier.” He struggled to speak as he blinked his eyes. “Way back when we were but children, we actually got along. You were mean at times, but it was your way of getting to know people. One day, that suddenly changed, and we became enemies. I never tried to see why. What the underlying problem could have possibly been. I should have tried harder to understand you, but I didn’t.”

He closed his eyes and whispered, “You lived a life of a villain, but now you’ve died as a hero. You’re a man worthy of being a king…and I wish…I wish I had the power to bring you back to life, just so I could tell you that.” He opened his eyes as tears spilled down his cheeks. “I’m sorry for not understanding you…and thank you. Thank you for protecting Rosadette in your own way so that I could be bonded to her.”

The three of us sobbed quietly, and I looked to the alter as my eyes closed.

Is this how loss feels? As a Purely Divine, a being that’s held up as a being of beauty and power, is there nothing I can do? Mother…you said I should believe in my power. Then…let that power prove itself right here and now. Bring justice to Xavier and reveal what we need to see. Let me prove that I can help change destiny. Give me the strength to change this reality.

Warmth began to swarm our extended hands, and we opened our eyes to see the golden trinket begin to glow brilliantly. The glow suddenly expanded, spreading along Xavier’s body as the golden rose sank into his chest.

We pulled our hands back as a beam of power shot out from his body into the ceiling of the ice castle, and the spark of light was so strong, I was forced to close my eyes as the intense warmth washed over us.

It dimmed slowly, and we opened our eyes to see the castle was no longer frozen in place. The dark navy-blue walls were covered with silver sparkles, the very floors of black marble and the furniture around us looking fresh and new.

The sun shone through the stained glass windows, flooding the place with colorful light, and leaving me to realize this spot had to be a place of worship.

“Xavier?” Vix’s quiet voice caught my attention, and I looked to see his chest move up and down as his eyes squeezed shut. His appearance was different, his hair now long white strands with blue highlights, and his skin a little tanner. His outfit was still torn from the fight, but his wounds were healed. All that was left was a golden tattoo of a rose against his chest, one that looked like the broach I’d won from the midterms.

“Xavier!” Vix shook him a little, and he let out a grunt before he poked an eye open to look at Vix.

“Why are you waking me up?” he whined. “So sleepy.”

“You’re alive!” she cried, which only made the poor guy scrunch his face in confusion.

“You’re ugly when you cry.”

“Fuck you!” she snapped and slapped his chest.

“Vixen!” Rainer and I hissed while Xavier groaned. “Abuse.”

“Oops. Sorry! Dammit!” She pulled him into a hug, and we caught onto the rushing footsteps that came from behind us.

We looked back to see Seraphine, Emmanuel, Alicia, King Rose, and Camilla. All of them came to a dramatic stop before their eyes went wide in complete shock.

None of their gazes were focused on us, which left me a little confused, but a soft voice drifted from in front of us.

“To rule a kingdom, you have to carry a level of strength few individuals carry.”

My head swiftly looked to where everyone else was staring, and my eyes widened at the sight of the woman from the dreamy flashback I’d just experienced.

“However, to be a ruler of kindness, you must learn to forgive, accept your mistakes, and strive for peace. Even if it means discovering what is hidden beyond the surface.”

There stood a woman, an outstanding woman with long blonde hair, purple eyes with silver rings, rosy cheeks, and red lips. She wore a white dress, with roses that designed the trimming of the strapless material, and she wore a wonderful veil that was attached to a white crown decorated with various stones.

Her eyes locked onto mine as her lips further curled.

“The goal of Year Two was not solely combat. The purpose was to unlock the truth of what’s been hidden from our kingdoms and bring us together in preparation for Year Three.” She paused to look around at us before she nodded.

“Congratulations on passing Year Two at Fae Rose Academy. You’ve deemed yourself worthy of not only taking the throne upon graduation but preparing for Year Three. The year of truth, recognition, and preparation for war with our real enemy.”

She paused to take a deep breath.

“The Lower Lands.”

TO BE CONTINUED.

Coming Soon - Dec. 4TH. 2020

https://books2read.com/FAEROSEACADEMY3

TURN THE NEXT PAGE TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER OF BLOODY ROSARY ACADEMY.

BLOODY ROSARY BLURB

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, let your powers grant me Safe Haven.

Blessed Art Thy the blood that courses through my veins, from the womb of my Fae Mother and blood from my Vampire Father.

Holy Mary, protect me, for I have two sides to choose from.

One of holy matrimony that calls to the world of perfection and grace.

The other, of darkness and bloodshed, the pulsating desire to grow powerful outweigh the temptations of tranquility and equilibrium.

Let me make the right choice, for I am bound to both, but can only be with one.

Please, do not forsake me.

I pray that this choice to attend Bloody Rosary Academy will benefit the hidden proposition within these very beads of thou rosary.

I offer my body, rare blood, and magic powers to seek the truth of my birthright within those very walls and find the culprit to my parent’s demise and my orphan livelihood.

Shelter me at the hour of their death and let me the final victor.

Now, and for the next four years.

Amen.

PROLOGUE: FORGIVE ME, FATHER, FOR I HAVE SINNED…AGAIN AND AGAIN

“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been two minutes and forty-five seconds since my last confession, which wasn’t in this tiny brown box but in my mind since I see no need of being here between a wooden separator and a priest who has probably committed more sins than me in the last twenty-four hours.”

My bright red lips curled up in innocence as I blinked my golden-orange eyes at the furious man dressed in white, sitting opposite from me in the tiny confession box we were forced to enter once a week.

The poor soul had to deal with my sorry ass every week, always assigning me to be the last one in the small group of females that resided in this section of the church. Each week was the same as the last; this priest never gave up on his hidden mission to do more than listen to some young fifteen to eighteen-year-olds confess the list of unholy crimes they had committed within these stained glass window walls.

It was amusing because if it wasn’t for my trust issues, I would have been just like the other girls, who did everything that these superior adults told them to do, brainwashed into believing that God would descend down from the heavens and deliver us everything we asked for.

Surely, they didn’t read the fine print that states that God helps those who help themselves. That didn’t include pleasing whoever asks to be pleased in the hidden corners, on the wooden benches, and in the confessional box that was designed for prayers of forgiveness and not screams of ‘holy’ pleasure.

I was reminded of the first time our priest, Hendrick, tried to convince me that he was going to perform the ceremonial Holy Kisses that would remove whatever demonic spirit had possessed me.

That demonic spirit was straight-up my personality, and you didn’t need to be a genius to figure that one out. In fact, everyone in this building had known from when I was taken in at thirteen that I was a dangerous child who didn’t take nonsense from anyone.

Did my circumstances mean I had to be treated like a slave? To many that were taken in by the church, apparently so, but I wasn’t an ordinary orphan. I was a jack of all trades and these silly adults that fought secretly to tear me down were also afraid of my wrath.

Hendrick was still the boldest one in the ring of adults, and it just amused me because he really didn’t realize who he was playing with. I wasn’t into old men, and as much as the idea of having a man enticed me, the opportunity wouldn’t be given to me in these walls.

I deserved someone who had the balls to strike back against the foolishness that happens in this sinful world and not someone who took a comfortable seat contributing to it.

“Lucinda Delphine.” The vibration of his growl only made me sigh dramatically.

“Hendrick. We go through this every week. I don’t understand why we keep doing this to one another. If you don’t have the balls to withstand my demonic attitude, I don’t see why I’m forced to carry on with confession,” I explained. “Besides, you saying my full name like you’re my parent isn’t going to magically change my ways.”

“You are an ungrateful bitch,” he hissed.

“Now, now, Hendrick.” I leaned in forward, knowing damn well how it got on his nerves. “This is the confessional box. You shouldn’t be using such vocabulary. God’s watching you now. And just as a reminder, between the two of us, you’ve lived longer and committed far more sins than I. Therefore, you’ll reach hell a lot faster than me. So why not quit while you’re ahead and really start to repent for your sins?”

The sliding part of the window revealed his red face. His eyes blared with fury, but I was shocked at the sudden movement, a blade slicing my cheek before the tip of the blade pressed against my neck.

Oh. That’s new.

“I’m tired of you, Lucinda.” His voice was venomous, but my focus was on the stinging of my cheek as blood began to reach the surface. “You think because of your heritage in that royal family that you can walk around these walls with your head held high. You’re in our favor. You should be on your knees, praising us for our act of kindness in taking you in. We could have left you on the streets, and I assure you, that demonic power of yours would be put in her place.”

His words made me snicker, and I felt the first roll of blood running down my cheek. My eyes closed for a mere second, and his gasp was followed promptly with the soft weight of something falling into my lap.

Opening my eyes slowly, I looked to see the silver blade below. My fingers wrapped around the hilt and I lifted it up to inspect its beauty.

“A very rare weapon indeed.” My voice was lower now, a seductive nature to its harmonic tone, all while my tongue grazed along my upper lip, feeling the tips of my sharp fangs that came out to play.

I smiled, my piercing eyes that were surely red with menace now locked on Hendrick as he shivered like the fucking coward he was. The single drop of blood that had left my wound was now a replica of the blade I held and now poked his flesh, just above his jugular vein that pulsed rapidly.

The sight made me eager to see how his blood would taste. But I knew that because of the many deeds this man did daily, his blood would taste bitter with memories of the innocence he’d stolen from many girls in the same predicament as I.

No. Not the same predicament, but the same circumstance that forced us to remain within these sacred wells of matrimony.

I didn’t want to see his past, nor give him a hint of pleasure with my thrilling bite. I was tempted to take every bit of blood within his wrinkled body, leaving him lifeless so he couldn’t hurt another innocent soul who had fallen victim to his bullshit and lies.

“Dagger of Levana,” I hummed in delight while my eyes observed those brown circles widen at my words. “What? Is it because I sleep in class that you’ve assumed that I wouldn’t know what this dagger is?”

It made me giggle quietly, hoping to prolong this moment of confession so he could see the side of me I dare not show many.

If I did, they usually ended up dead…by accident, of course.

“This dagger was used in the 1900s, to exorcise demons that had resided in human children. It’s one of the few weapons of the Vatican and is supposedly kept safe within our walls from those who desire the power to get rid of demon shifters. It can also work on wolves due to the pure silver, but now that I can observe it for myself, this thing wouldn’t hurt a damn fly.”

I sighed and began to twirl the dagger between my fingers.

“From the legends, a mere slice with this blade will not only destroy the demon within the child but releases a venom that causes the victim to be unable to move for an hour, giving the wielder enough time to proceed with a cleansing ceremony to ensure the demon will never return to their previous host. Without a body, the demon will fade and return to the likes of hell.” The story intrigued me because I couldn’t believe that these individuals merely did a cleansing ceremony during that time of vulnerability.

“What were your plans for me, Hendrick?” I inquired with a sinister smile. His eyes only widened as I allowed my body to completely relax and opened that other side of my core that brought harmony and grace within my being.

The warmth of the sun dawned against the skin of my cheek, and I felt the pulsating power in my eyes, which were surely glimmering gold from the sudden shift.

The place where he’d sliced with the knife was now healed to perfection, and it felt good to use my magic after sitting in hiding for so many months.

Now I’d really spooked the poor man out, his skin beginning to pale as fear embodied his structure and eyes.

“Have you no shame? I’m sure you know by now what I am. Or at least about the vampire part of me. Did no one tell you of my fae traits?” Now my voice was a tender, high-pitched sound, and my giggle made the tiny plant that was on the tiny ledge next to the door handle suddenly grow.

I grinned at the sight, noticing the way Hendrick followed my gaze to see the miraculous growth of the recent decor piece. Sister Ara had said something about wanting to add a tiny plant in the confessional boxes, to help get rid of the stench that sometimes - or all the time - lingered in the small space.

The poor woman was naive, oblivious to the fact that the adultery and sin that occurred in here were the culprit of the lingering smell.

She hadn’t had sex, so how would she know?

I’d done the deed a few times already. My innocence had been given to one of the choir boys who gave off the innocent facade. He was a vampire hybrid, one of royal blood that was hiding temporarily within these walls.

Due to his family still being alive and the church doing him a favor, he couldn’t be toyed with by those of authority that hid their secrets beneath praise and worship.

I never got to learn about his other half, since he always had an excuse revolving around perfect timing when it came time to show a glimpse of his growing potential. Either way, he was a good once in awhile fling to have, and I gained the experience I needed.

Or lost my purity that seemed to be a valuable possession to this sicko priest and others wearing the holy garments of our Savior.

“Let’s pretend this never happened,” I concluded, moving the blood-shift blade from his neck and allowing it to float from side to side in front of his face. “Don’t play with me, Hendrick. You can try and make my life a living hell, but you can’t get rid of me. I’ll be of age in a short few days, and then I’ll make my way out of your life, like everyone else in this place. I suggest you begin to be a little nicer. It would be sad to hear about a priest being arrested after years of rape and sexual assault.”

I innocently smirked and flicked my hand to the side, the blade stabbing into the wooden wall before it faded into red smoke.

One thing I’d learned was to ensure I never left a trace of my blood. I didn’t need these power-hungry addicts trying to find any sort of weakness of mine to use against me.

Rising up, I stretched and looked over to the plant.

“I like this one.” Picking it up, I held its dark red pot and looked back at Hendrick. “I’m keeping this.”

He knew I wasn’t asking for his permission, but he nodded his head while beads of sweat ran down the side of his face.

“Thank you, Hendrick. Don’t worry about next week’s confessional. I won’t be around.”

With those words, I walked out and strutted down the aisles of the church, staring at the black pews and red carpet below. No one had even been able to answer my question about why our church was the unique one with black benches, but I was positive there was a hidden meaning behind it.

I just wasn’t going to be the one to stick my nose in that box of not-my-business.

Kicking the heavy wooden doors open, I entered the quiet hall and took a deep inhale of the less stale air. Letting it out, I sighed in relief.

“Feels good to be a confident bitch,” I praised. “Thank you, my Savior, for adding a little spice in whatever concoction you mixed to create me. You knew your girl would be dealing with some trifling men that are still called your children. Too bad they can’t be spanked with some thunder. Maybe then they would fear those commandments you wrote.”

With a shake of my head, I began to skip down the hall, carefully holding my new plant that I was going to place next to my bed.

Now that I reminded myself of my soon departure, I’d have to figure out how to fit a plant in my bag.

I sang a recent hymn we’d learned last night as I made my way back to the sleep corridors. I hadn’t reached our door before it opened and my blue-haired friend popped her big head out to see me skipping towards her.

“Do you sing loudly on purpose so the whole hall can hear you?” she inquired, not looking the least concerned about the volume of my singing.

“I was whispering,” I replied. “And no, I don’t.”

“Whispering to you is like being in the back row of the church choir. I can only imagine what loud singing would be for you. Oh, wait! I recall that. You shattered the two-thousand-dollar stained glass window and blamed the predicted apocalypse that never happened! Right, right.”

I came to a stop in front of the door, my grin so wide it showed my white teeth.

“Pearly, my dear. You know everyone thought the world was going to end that time. It was a foolproof plan that worked, and I got out of working for sleezebags that want sex to cover up an accident. God will forgive me.”

“I’m sure he will.” She lowered her eyes to my plant. “Did you steal the confession plant?”

“Uh.” I thought about whether my actions just broke a commandment or not. “Does it count as stealing when Hendrick sliced me with a blade after I pissed him off?”

Her pink eyes grow wide before she grabbed my arm, tugged me inside, and slammed the door behind us.

Before either of us spoke, her blue locks began to glow, the ends of her shoulder-length hair beginning to change to purple as she whispered, “Conceal our words from the enemies that lurk in the dark.”

That was one of the forbidden spells we’d learned after secretly breaking into the spell library, ‘borrowing’ a bunch of books, and studying them thoroughly before returning them back to their rightful places.

That was around Christmas time, which was usually the time when the church was extremely busy. Everyone would come and give praise, especially before New Year’s Eve since we all knew things were a little sinful during those times before we all vowed to change our ways in the new year.

Do we ever keep our resolutions? Nope.

“What?!” my best friend, Pearl Indigo exclaimed. All I could do was grin, admiring her extremely loose white gown she wore to follow the rules of the church.

Pearl wasn’t as lucky, like me, when it came to family circumstances.

She didn’t have two dead parents that left their massive inheritance behind with a note that stated she’d claim their entire legacy at eighteen. I did.

She was a wolf shifter, a rarity in these times since our world was dominated by two strong forces: vampires and fae.

The wolf race was dying out, and her pack had to make the decision to go into hiding or fight for a rightful place in the supernatural war of dominance.

Sadly, the wolves came third, and their defeat was why they were near extinct and hiding in the mountains, attempting to grow their numbers once more.

Pearl’s pack had gone into hiding but decided to leave Pearl behind. She was only ten at the time, and all she could recall was waking up at the door of the church where Sister Ara found her.

Her last name, Indigo, was given to her since no information was left about her last name. Whatever her family had done had left Pearl with no memories of who they were.

It was like having a blank slate, but Pearl had never asked for one.

Nor did she deserve to be left orphaned and in the church’s care.

Thankfully, we were the same age, and I’d arrived only a few days later. Since then, we’d been practically sisters, and no one dared mess with her.

The last guy who tried died a horrible death…by accident.

She was 5′3″ with caramel skin. You’d think she was Native Indian, but her striking, abnormal blue hair made many question what her cultural background was. Her pink eyes only added to the peculiar combination, and when she used magic - something wolves shouldn’t be able to do - her hair would begin to shift into a plum purple.

Her weapon of choice was a bow and arrow, and she definitely knew how to shift, but she didn’t do it often unless it was the full moon. Her wolf was lovely, protective in nature but loved cuddles, making her a fun cuddle buddy during winter when she felt like shifting.

She’d become my ride-or-die within these walls, and with my approaching exit and ownership of my family’s fortune, I knew she was coming with me.

That was non-negotiable.

My longer-than-average silence time rewarded me with Pearl’s analytic gaze while she placed her hands on her hips and tapped her right foot to emphasize her impatience.

“See, what happened was I had to deal with weekly confession at this ungodly hour of the evening, and Hendrick, as usual, decided I was getting on his nerves when he insisted that confession was going to be a little longer this evening.”

“Oh, he better have not laid a finger on you!” Pearl was literally tossing her oversized gown in the air, revealing her black shorts and a black sports bra. “I’ll go kill him now.”

“Do you think before you act?” I pondered out of curiosity, placing my new possession on the counter near my bed.

Pearl growled, but I rolled my eyes. “Easy, sweet Pearly of the wolf lands. Thou shall not kill,” I stressed on the commandment. “Unless necessary.”

She gave me a judgemental look and I rewarded her with an innocent shrug. “It’s true. Remember, God helps those who help themselves. Even if there’s a little murder in between the holy trenches.”

“We’re all going to hell,” she groaned.

“We’re technically shifters. I don’t think the same rules apply to us,” I noted. That was something I had to look into because from what I was beginning to find out, we all had different Almighties.

Pearl was the perfect example. For her, the Moon was a symbol of their Savior or Higher Creator. The power the Moon had on them was empowering at its full glory and weakest when it was not there at all.

From the legends written about her kind, the stronger their beliefs and connection to the Moon, the more powerful they became. Adding the fact Pearl could use magic and believed in the Moon even with our livelihood in the church, I knew once she struck eighteen and had the opportunity to train herself, she’d be a badass.

Not like she wasn’t a threat to begin with.

My eyes lingered on her outfit, and I smirked. “Do you wear those all the time?”

“Any time I leave this place they’re on me. Only I can take them off, so let Mr. Can’t-Keep-My-Hands-Off-Anyone try it. Then I’ll have fingerprint evidence and he’ll enjoy his time in the heart of prison. You heard there’s a new virus outbreak, right? Only a matter of time before it hits him in those closed walls. Then we’ll see if he’s so intrigued by my best friend!”

“I’m glad we never fight,” I concluded and bobbed my head. “It would be a battle I’d lose with honor.”

“You’d do it gracefully and all watchful eyes would pity you by default,” she whined.

“No. I’m sure they wouldn’t pity me,” I argued.

“Please. Remember the last time Eleanor tried to piss you off and ended up throwing milk on you when we were enjoying lunch outside on the picnic benches? We were sixteen.”

“I remember that.” I grinned. “She wasted such valuable milk.”

“Instead of getting angry, you gracefully fell to the floor until everyone was crowded around you and calling the damn healer to ensure you were okay. She got two weeks in the confinement room, and after that, she was moved to another church for apparently going crazy.”

“Is that what happened?” I stroked my chin in wonder. “That sucks.”

Pearl looked at me in devastation before her emotion turned to hopelessness. “You’re telling me you also don’t remember breaking into that confinement room with that big old scythe of yours and threatening to reap her soul and feed it to Lucifer himself.”

I cringed, now recalling that phase of ‘I rule this church so don’t play with me’. Puberty for a vampire included becoming a cocky bitch who didn’t fear death.

Only I remained that way, with a little bit of kindness left behind for my actual friends and those I respected.

That Eleanor girl had pissed me off. She’d bullied me since she’d transferred from another church after being a thorn in their side. She didn’t stand a chance here, especially when she decided to pick on me.

Too much to chew with my sassy attitude.

Poor girl left with a mental diagnosis, but I didn’t really blame her when she got a dose of my scary vampire side and scythe.

At first glance, I wasn’t scary.

Standing at 5′5″ with golden-orange eyes, magenta roots that blended into golden strands with tons of white tinsel locks to make my hair appear like a hair dye gone right, and my flawless, peachy white skin that never harbored a single pimple, I looked more like royalty than an orphan child.

I was the sole royal child of the Delphine family. Maybe that was why I was blessed with perfection.

With our usual long white gowns, it was hard to see my figure of perky breasts, small waistline, and thick thighs. I was fitter than most here, still able to maintain my fast runner rank, and when I didn’t eat mine and half of Pearl’s food on days when we were served vegan food, my six-pack would put on a show.

On the holy holidays like Easter and Christmas, we had to wear our white veils that hid our hair, giving the impression of pure nuns walking down the aisles before mass to prepare to sing in the church choir.

It was easy to conclude that my appearance fooled everyone. They usually became shocked, which morphed into borderline psychosis.

I sighed and pulled off the white dress, revealing my red bra and red panties.

“You didn’t even wear shorts?” Pearl gasped.

“No one can touch this,” I slapped my right ass cheek before dragging my hand up my hip and to the side of my waist, “without perishing. How else would I have survived all this time?”

“Yet, you gave your virginity to Tommy Hilfiger,” she groaned.

“Tommy Hill,” I corrected. “He’s sweet. We were curious, and he knows how to make a girl cum. That’s all I need.”

Pearl shook her head. “No, girl. You need Jesus,” she corrected. “And a whipping while you’re handcuffed.”

“A girl can dream.” I laughed. “However, we’re not going to find any bad boys in these walls.”

“Do you even want a bad boy?” she questioned as she crossed her arms over her chest and watched me walk over to the drawer to pull out my set of red pajamas. “Let’s be real. I know you only were with Tommy for sexual lust, which made no sense to me, by the way, because you never bit him. He’s a total good boy.”

“Good boy on the outside, dangerous on the inside,” I sang. “But not bad enough for me. You’re right. Also, if I bit him, it would have gotten a whole lot messier. You know the whole notion revolving around biting, sharing memories and emotions with another, carrying the burden of another’s baggage. It’s as if being cursed to survive on blood wasn’t enough of a punishment for whoever cast the first bite on humans.”

“Dracula?”

“Myth,” I brushed off that silly tale that was made to fool humans and make a bunch of money over and over again in the box offices when they made multiple remakes of the fake tale.

“Well, at least it’s better than Adam and Eve. See what happened when Eve tempted Adam with the apple. Now humans have to deal with bleeding from their vagagas.”

I had to pause and look back at her.

“Are you still calling our holy grails ‘vagagas’?”

“Uh, ya.” She looked at me like I was an idiot. “Who calls their pussy a holy grail?”

“It is,” I said without a hint of shame. “That’s where the flowing nectar of a man pools and upon God’s blessing and divine timing, a child is made.”

Pearl burst into laughter. “Bitch, that’s not how it goes! Did you forget about the race to the egg story?”

“Irrelevant,” I declared with a smirk on my face. “Listen. Let’s all agree that this,” I dramatically used my hand to wave at my lower region while practically hip-thrusting to emphasize my point, “is just as addicting to men as dick is to us.”

“O.M.G! How are you eighteen?”

“Seventeen and three-fourths, Pearly,” I corrected, on the verge of giggling. “Thank goodness I don’t need to deal with human struggles. Imagine losing a bunch of blood every month which would leave us no choice but to frequently feed at least every other day AND deal with memories, emotions, and burdens of strangers. That would drive me into insanity! The horror.”

“Vampires have it hard,” Pearl sang. “Don’t forget you’re only half.”

“Apparently, from my results, I’m actually 45% vampire, 55% fae,” I revealed.

“What tests told you that bullshit?” Pearl laughed. “You need to get reevaluated because they switched those numbers. I’d say 55% vampire if not 90% because your fae side comes out once a year to smell the flowers and ask the Universe for extra sunshine in the summer.”

“She grants me it each time I ask.” I wasn’t even mad at her statement which was 99% true. My fae side loved to lurk in the shadows of my soul, only coming out to taunt those that pissed me off before tucking back to bed and ignoring the world as we knew it.

Only during the peak of summer did she choose to come right out, soak up the sun for one solid day, and ask the universe for a longer summer. The next day, I was back to my sassy, ‘don’t mess with me’ self.

If anyone got to enjoy the kindness of my fae side that day, it was truly a blessing. Pearl got to experience it every year, and each time, she’d retell how kind-hearted I was compared to my usual personality.

A saint! Immaculate soul. Healer of all fae. All the praise that I soaked up.

“Back to the first topic!” Pearl reminded me as I headed for the washroom. “What was that about the slashing of your cheek?”

“He thought it was a good idea to use the Dagger of Levana on me.”

“Is he stupid?” she bluntly asked, looking as unamused as ever. “He actually thinks you’re possessed?”

“Apparently.” I lifted my hands in defeat. “Vampires that don’t bow to humans of authority are apparently possessed by the Devil, Lucifer himself, and need to be exorcised into paralysis and purified with holy kisses and rods for an hour.”

“So it didn’t work,” Pearly concluded.

“Nah,” I replied and turned around to point at my cheek. “He cut my cheek though.”

“He’s a fool.” She put her hands together in prayer. “Dear Father. Please forgive my best friend for committing a formidable crime.”

“Jeez, Pearl. Have some damn faith in me,” I whined. “I wouldn’t waste my time killing him. He’s not worth it. All I did was threaten him with a bloody sword, take his plant, and walk away. We’re only going to be here for a week anyways. The moment the clock strikes twelve on my birthday, we’re leaving. The lawyer comes this week to have me sign the papers.”

“Thank you, Heavenly Father! We’re leaving this shithole!”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to use our Father’s name in vain and swear in the same sentence,” I acknowledged.

“Let’s admit it. We suck as Catholics, okay?”

“That’s something I can agree with.”

She bobbed her head in pride. “Aren’t you a little worried about the blood thing?”

“I didn’t leave a trace,” I replied.

“Ya, but now he knows you can use your blood and shift it into a weapon.”

“True, but what is he going to tell the heads? I sliced her by accident after she subconsciously rejected my request to feel her up, and her blood suddenly became a blade and she threatened my life? Please. That sounds even more insane than the idea of me being a hybrid.”

“Valid points.” Pearl nodded and stroked her chin. “Alright then. Crisis averted!”

“No one is stopping us from leaving this place. I don’t know what it’s going to be like to claim my family’s heritage, but maybe I’ll be able to find some clues about their deaths.”

Pearly gave me a heartfelt smile. “I’ll help you any way I can once we’re out.”

“My ride-or-die bitch,” I whispered.

“Always and forever.” She winked. “Now go shower. You stink.”

“Oh, sin and lust.”

“Eww.” She stuck her tongue out in disgust. “I swear, that’s exactly what the box smells like every damn day. Yet, Sister Ara believes a damn plant is going to make it smell like the sacred scriptures of the library.”

“I’d rather smell bleach than the stench in there,” I concluded. “I’m gonna shower.”

Pearl nodded and walked over to the mini fridge to pull out a blood packet for me. “Fresh delivery!” she announced. “I know you like it not too cold, so at least by the time you’re done showering, it’ll be the perfect temperature.”

“You’re a gem.” I put my heart to my chest in awe. “Thank you. I was going to ask Sister Ara, but it slipped my mind. “

“Like everything.” Pearl rolled her eyes. “I never would have thought a vampire fae would have problems with her memory.”

“Sadly, I’m one of those.” I giggled. “Oh well. Made me unique.”

“The best form of supernatural supremacy. Uniqueness.” Pearl winked. “In you go, and don’t go taking a year while singing the entire Taylor Swift album.”

“Admit it, you’re just not a fan,” I concluded.

“Beyoncé is a legend.”

“That’s obvious.” I turned around. “That’s why you had no complaints with me singing her classics.”

“Human music is overrated.”

“You can’t even tell the difference between supernatural music and human music.”

“Truth, but I’ll figure it out. I have a plan,” she said with pride.

“Ya, ya. I’m going.” I walked into the washroom, ready to close the door, but paused as I watched Pearl gather our white gowns and throw them in the hamper. She was honestly a sister to me, one who’d gotten me through the really tough times.

The only one to see me struggle while I projected to the world that I was a fierce force to be messing with.

“Pearl?” I whispered.

She lifted her head to look at me. “What?”

“You’re the best,” I praised.

“Oh boy. You’re going to get all sentimental and shit. Please go throw some warm water on yourself and drink your blood because you’re getting soft.”

I laughed. “Bitch.”

“Best Bitch the Vatican Rose Church has ever seen!”

“We’re going to hell,” I concluded.

“We know that, dammit! Save me a spot next to you. Maybe that will give me some sort of benefit in the toasty pits.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’ll be Lucifer’s favorite. Duh!”

“Certainly,” I said it like it was a fact. “Teacher’s Pet of Mischief and Misery, with my trusty sidekick, Ball Kicker!”

“That’s a horrible sidekick name!”

“I tried!”

“You failed me!” She pressed her hand against her chest like I’d insulted her. “Be gone while I pick up the pieces of my shattered heart.”

“Trusty Sidekick of Overdramatic Foolishery,” I corrected.

“Now we’re talking!” She was up and tossing her blue locks back like she’d won Miss Universe, Supernatural Edition. “Shower!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

I closed the door and locked it. Turning around, I pressed my back against the wooden door and smiled.

Forgive me, Father. For I have sinned…again and again. But to be truthful, my sins have led me to someone I can still call family.

ABOUT AVERY SONG

Avery Song is a reverse harem author who specializes in paranormal, fantasy, and urban romance.

She especially loves writing strong main characters and is excited for all the books that are approaching.

ABOUT QUINN ASHWOOD

Quinn Ashwood is the alter ego of a USA Today Bestselling Author.

Her works revolve around the Urban Fantasy world, mixed with bits of Epic Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.

She cowrites with International Bestselling Author, Avery Song.

The duo is ready to take the Young Adult World by storm!

~Books by Avery Song~

THE SUPERNATURAL SPY ACADEMY SERIES:

S.S.S YEAR ONE

S.S.S YEAR TWO

S.S.S YEAR THREE

S.S.S YEAR FOUR

S.S.S YEAR FIVE

S.S.S. YEAR SIX (OCT.2.20)

SPELL TRAVELER CHRONICLES

Witchling Academy- Semester One

Witchling Academy- Semester Two

Witchling Academy- Semester Three

Witchling Academy- Semester Four

Witchling Academy- Semester Five

Witchling Academy- Semester Six

Witchling Academy- Semester Seven

Witchling Academy- Semester Eight (Oct. 23.2020)

JADE STORM TRACKER SERIES

The Tracker Hive Academy- Semester One

The Tracker Hive Academy- Semester Two

The Tracker Hive Academy- Semester Three

The Tracker Hive Academy- Semester Four

The Tracker Hive Academy- Semester Five (Nov.27.2020)

The Tracker Hive Academy- Semester Six (Apr.2.2021)

ACADEMY FOR ALL THINGS SCORCHING

Blazing Academy - Semester One

Blazing Academy - Semester Two

Blazing Academy - Semester Three (Oct.16.2020)

Blazing Academy - Semester Four (Feb.19.2021)

WILLOW’S FORBIDDEN PACK

Wolf Awakened (Oct.6.2020)

COWRITTEN WORKS:

SUPERNATURAL CAPTIVITY SERIES

Supernatural Inmate

Supernatural Outlaw

Supernatural Villain (Oct.9.2020)

Supernatural Savior (Feb.5.2021)

SUPERNATURAL MARKED MONARCHY

Psychic Prison - Book One

Psychic Royalty - Book Two (Sept.11.2020)

Psychic Monarchy- Book Three (Nov.13.2020)

DESTINED IMRISONEN TRILOGY

Arrested By Magic

Escaped By Destiny (Sept.4.2020)

Freed By Power (Jan.8.2021)

FOR THE FAEIRY ABSOLUTES

Celestial Prison

Celestial Prison 2 (Oct.30.2020)

Celestial Prison 3 (Feb.19.2021)

ROYAL CONFINEMENT FOR MALICIENT SUPERNATURALS

Shattered Princess

Shattered Princess 2 (Jan.1.21)

Shattered Princess 3 (Apr.9.21)

FOR THE PURELY DIVINE SERIES

Fae Rose Academy - Year One

Fae Rose Academy - Year Two

Fae Rose Academy - Year Three (Dec.4.20)

WILLA SILVER ACADEMY INVESTIGATOR

Daggers and Smoke - Year One

Daggers and Smoke - Year Two (Nov.20.2020)

Daggers and Smoke - Year Three (Mar.12.2021)

THE SUPERNATURAL VAMPIRE FAE CHRONICLES

Bloody Rosary Academy - Year One

Bloody Rosary Academy - Year Two (Sept.18.2020)

Bloody Rosary Academy - Year Three (Mar.5.2021)