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“I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but they had good intentions even if they might not have handled it the best way possible,” she says, walking over and stopping in front of me.
Her finger hooks under my chin, gently forcing my head up until our eyes meet. Her eyes soften momentarily before she squares her shoulders and stands tall and proud before me.
“One day, you will be the queen.” She holds up her hand when I open my mouth to protest, and I snap it closed again. “I know you don’t want to be queen. Trust me, I know the feeling.”
“What?” I ask, unable to understand what she could mean by that.
“You think you’re the first to be afraid of your powers? The first to worry you’re not the best fit or that you might mess everything up?” she asks, tilting her head to the side as she watches me.
Her words don’t make sense, though. I look at her and try to imagine her facing what I am, but I can’t. How could I when she’s so good at it? The kingdom thrives under her rule; the people love her, and while her powers might be great, she’s in control of them.
“From the moment I was born, I knew I would be queen, much the same way Garrett will. People think it’s an honor, and while it is, it’s not without its challenges. I was young when I started to develop my powers, much younger than most when I mastered them, and then I had a whole new set of powers nobody had ever heard of before. I was expected to master them even with no guidance.”
She casts her eyes up toward the ceiling, and I see the weight she carries. Right now, she isn’t the queen; she’s just a girl who was once afraid, the same way I am.
“I made choices that I wish I could take back. People died for those choices, as you well know. But one of the lessons that has stuck with me most through all my years wasn’t one about powers, politics, or even the kingdom.”
Her eyes look far away, and her lips pull up in a small, sad smile.
“Being the queen is full of tough choices, and sometimes you will make the wrong ones. It’s unavoidable, no matter how hard we might try. As the queen, you must make the tough choices, following not only your gut but your heart as well, and should you fail, you must learn to live with the consequences of those choices. Growth is only achieved through pushing past our boundaries, just beyond comfort is a chance for change. It’s scary to think about, but it’s necessary,” she says like she’s reading the words from a book. It's as if it’s a quote she loved enough to memorize, but something about it feels personal. I wonder if maybe someone once told her this when she was doubting herself.
“I understand their desire to keep you safe, I feel it as well. You’re like a daughter to me, Serena. I’ve loved you as if you were my own from the moment you were brought to the castle. The fact that you’re mated to my son is a bonus that makes it more official, but bond or not, I would still be here whenever you needed me. Because of that love, I also trust you to stand by your choices. Someday, you will be the queen, and I know, without a doubt, you will be the best queen the kingdom has ever seen. You, Serena, are what this kingdom needs to survive.”
Her words stun me not only because of her faith in me but also because they imply that I might somehow be better than her. I want to argue with her, tell her it’s not possible, but something about the way she looks at me feels like she’s seeing into my soul. She’s not asking me or saying it’s possible; she’s saying it as if she really does know it.
The earth that holds me falls away, and I drop to my knees. The weight of her words and my worry for the guys feels too heavy.
Rosalynn drops to her knees before me, gathering me into her arms in a hug I didn’t realize I needed so much.
“I have faith in you, Serena. One cannot truly appreciate the light if they have not seen the darkness. I’m not afraid of what lies within the shadows, and I don’t think you are either. Whatever Draven is doing, I think you’re the only one who can help us. The realm needs balance. It was never meant to only be Anolas, we were meant to live together. I always knew that, but you showed me how easy it could be.”
She squeezes me, and I cling to her momentarily before she pulls back to meet my gaze. Her eyes shine with an emotion I can’t name as she presses to her feet, reaching down to offer me her hand.
“I think you have somewhere to be?” she asks, and that’s all the motivation I need to accept her offer, whatever it might include.
Leaving Serena is our best option.
I know it is, but still, something about it doesn’t sit right with me as we race toward the village.
It’s too dangerous. Lyle’s voice sounds in my mind, and I have to bite back a growl at his words.
I know that, and you know I know that based on the fact that you can see in my mind right now! I snap in annoyance. Just because it’s what’s right doesn’t make it easier. It doesn’t make the way she looked at us and begged us not to leave sting any less.
He doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t have to; with this bond, I can feel what they do, and none of us enjoyed leaving her.
Despite the distance to the village, it doesn’t take us long to reach it, thanks to our beasts. I smell the smoke even before we clear the trees; the breeze carries the scent of wood and other burning things. Things I don’t want to think about but know regardless. But worse than that are the sounds, I can’t tune them out even if I wanted to. Screams fill the air, some in fear, others in pain, and above it all are the howls and cries of both shifters and something much more terrifying. I whine both from the pain and terror of their cries and from the uncertainty of what we’re about to face. The cries of the beasts are like nothing I’ve ever heard before, and I’m not too proud to admit they send a shiver down my spine.
They aren’t natural.
Serena’s seen them before; they’re the reason she was sent away. They haunt her nightmares, and I’ve seen the effect they had on Garrett and the queen as well. The second we clear the last of the trees, I see why.
At least a dozen of them are visible even before we reach the village, and that’s just what we can see from here. The beasts, or chimeras, as the queen called them, are huge. They vary in size and shape, looking like twisted mixes of various beasts, but even with our larger-than-average sizes, we pale in comparison, as most of them easily clear the houses they so easily tear apart. Some parts are easy to pick out, like tails and claws, ears, and patches of fur, but the way they mix makes it impossible to know exactly what they are other than deadly.
Above all else, every single one is made for killing; it’s clear from their rows of teeth, sharp claws, and size. Even if it not for their appearance, it’s hard to deny when that’s exactly what they’re doing.
As terrifying as all of that might be, it’s not the worst part. No, the worst part is their cold white eyes. They look dead, as if unseeing, unfeeling. Simply looking at them has my skin crawling.
This is bad.
