Page 22

Chapter

Twenty-One

A ZALEA

As the nothingness creeps through me, I surrender myself to the oblivion of sleep.

Little do I expect to wake up in a different reality, or perhaps a nightmare.

The air feels off, surreal and out of place, as if I’ve been transported to another world.

Confusion envelops me as I struggle to make sense of my surroundings.

I find myself placed down on something soft, my body sinking into the comfort beneath me, as a woman walks away, her lavender-colored robe trailing behind her like an ethereal veil.

With dark hair braided down her back, she stands by the door, peering out through the crack.

At first, it feels like I’m trapped in a dream, a haunting vision of losing my child.

The room is dimly lit, casting shadows on the walls with its orange hues.

It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust, and as they do, I realize that I am in what appears to be a nursery.

Soft beige and pink colors adorn the crib I am sitting in, while the distant cries of people echo through the darkness of the corridor.

The room itself is adorned with breathtaking scenes of sloping mountains covered in snow and skies as blue as sapphires.

Forests fill the walls with their lush greenery, creating a sense of serenity amidst the chaos outside.

But the chaos is undeniable, as loud noises reverberate from beyond the door, causing me to clutch my ears and scream in response.

And then it hits me - this place feels familiarbecause it is none other than Landeena Castle, my home.

This is not a nightmare; it is a memory, one that I find myself trapped in.

The banging outside grows louder, causing the woman to rush back into the room and hastily shut the door.

My screams mingle with the silence that follows as the banging stops in the corridor.

The woman turns, her back pressed against the door, her arms bracing against the wall.

In her eyes, I see the fear of a mother, my mother, Queen Tatiana.

“Tatty, it’s me. Open up,” a voice I’ve grown up with calls out from outside. My mother steps aside, allowing the woman to enter. She bursts into the room, brandishing a sword in her hand.

“We are under attack. Garret, where is Garret?” the woman, Marissa, asks, clutching my mother’s arms.

“I don’t know. He was in bed. I heard her wake up and came to check, then as I was leaving I heard gunfire,” my mother explains, her gaze shifting to me.

Marissa’s eyes also flicker towards me before she rushes to the wardrobe, grabbing blankets and revealing her blood-stained maid’s uniform.

She thrusts a pink blanket into my mother’s hands.

“Go. Take her out the window. I will find Garret,” Marissa instructs, her voice filled with urgency.

“I can’t leave you,” my mother protests, but Marissa shakes her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“You need to run,” Marissa insists, attempting to pass me off to my mother. But my mother backs away from me.

“Who are they?” my mother asks her, and Marissa shakes her head.

“You need to run,” Marissa tells her, but my mother shakes her head and grits her teeth.

“Who are they, Marissa?”

Marissa whimpers and tears flood down her cheeks, my tiny hands wipe her face before patting her cheek.

“Ma Ma, don’t cry,” I tell her. She smiles sadly at me when I realize something. My mother knew I called Marrissa Ma ma, but Tatiana, my true mother, was Mummy.

“Marrissa answer me! Have they come for us?” my mother asks, and Marrissa sniffles.

“You need to run,” Marissa insists, attempting to pass me off to my mother. But my mother backs away from me.

“They don’t know she exists. If I run, they will hunt me and find her. Go, I will hold them off,” my mother declares with determination.

“Tatty, no!” Marissa cries out, grabbing hold of my mother’s robe as she tries to flee. Yet my mother spins swiftly grabbing Marrissa’s face in both her hands, her eyes blazing a storm and I can sense her aura even in this dream state, wild, furious and explosive.

“Take her to the Valkyrie Kingdom. If it is safe, give her to her mate,” my mother commands before rushing out of the door. But just before she disappears completely, she turns back and stops, casting a forlorn look in my direction. “Keep her safe.”

“Tatty, no!” Marrissa pleads.

“Keep her safe,” my mother says, and Marrissa jolts as my mother’s command rolls over her once again.

“Don’t you fight it. You owe me this much,” my mother says, and Marrissa shakes her head. Tears stream down her face and she halts in her efforts to stop my mother.

“What about Trey? Our sire bonds!” Marrissa asks, and my mother freezes. She looks over her shoulder and smiles sadly.

“You’re both sired to her, your bonds will break, but her tether to you will keep you alive. Trey will look for you. He will find her, you make sure you keep her alive until then,” my mother says.

“What are you going to do?” Marrissa asked her.

“I need to get to Garret and the Eclipsarion,” my mother answers just as her aura erupts with power. It’s as though the very room around us starts to shake.

“You’ll never make it, Tatty,” Marrissa pleads, a violent desperation in her voice.

“I have to try, but if I don’t, the ballerina is the key,” she tells Marrissa, still emanating that incredible power.

Suddenly, I can feel the vibrations in the floor beneath my feet, see the cracks forming in the walls as if they were made of porcelain, and hear the rumble of thunder as her magic explodes from within her.

Her aura pulsates around her like a living thing, wild and untamed, crackling with energy that seems to dance across her skin.

With one swift motion, she pulls out a hairpin from her hair, letting it cascade down past her shoulders in a waterfall of silk.

The hairpin doesn’t stop there though; it transforms into something marvelous - vines that wrap tightly around her wrist before elongating into the thinnest sword I’ve ever seen.

The air fills with the metallic scent of bloodlust as my mother opens the door to the corridor, as Marissa’s face pales beneath my mother’s commanding gaze. In one swift movement, my mother grabs Marrissa, draws me close and kisses my forehead gently.

“Now run,” she whispers fiercely to Marrissa.

Then she pulls away swiftly, leaving us alone with only her words echoing in our ears.

The door crashes against the wall behind her as she disappears into the chaos without a trace.

The room shakes with every step she takes, like an earthquake is about to hit us any second.

“Mummy! Mummy!” I scream, watching her leave me when Marrissa hushes me, trying to quiet my cries for my mother. She sets me back down in my crib. Marrissa grabs a small bag of items and quickly stuffed them into the bag before tying it around her shoulder before tossing the window open.

As she does, the door bursts open and a hunter rushes in.

Marrissa and him square off when she dives for her sword, and slashes through the air.

The sword bites into the man’s shoulder and he falls to the ground before she brings the sword down again, spraying the room in blood.

When she is done, she drops the sword before rushing over to me where I stood clutching the railing of my crib screaming.

“Hush, Ivy. Hush,” she murmurs, and I quiet down watching as she goes to the window before cursing and slamming it shut, she looks around nervously before looking at the man on the floor.

She quickly rushes over, shutting the door before ripping at his clothes and pulling them on, before she tugs my nightie off before putting new clothes on me and wrapping my tiny body in a blanket.

“Ma Ma, where is mummy?” I whine. My little hands shake as I grip her shoulders.

“She went to get daddy, my love. She’ll be okay.

Daddy is strong. Daddy will protect her,” she whispers, her lips pressing a tender kiss against my cheek.

With caution, she opens the door, peering out into the blood-stained hallway strewn with lifeless bodies, a haunting testament to the brutality that has unfolded.

“Close your eyes, my princess, and cover your ears,” she instructs in a hushed tone, her voice tinged with an undercurrent of urgency. I obediently nod, burying my face in the crook of her neck and pressing my hands firmly over my ears.

Darkness engulfs me, muffling the sounds of my own sobs as I cling desperately to the hope that this nightmare will soon fade away. But the anguished screams that reverberate through the castle halls only intensify when Marissa starts running.

She dashes forward, her shoes screeching against the polished tiles, causing me to bounce in her arms. With trepidation, I open my eyes and peer over her shoulder as she deftly turns a corner, only to come to an abrupt halt once more.

Men emerge from behind her, their sinister intentions evident in their menacing gazes.

Simultaneously, more men appear at the other end of the corridor, closing in on us from both directions.

In a desperate attempt to outmaneuver our pursuers, Marissa twists and turns, her body contorting looking for an escape.

With unwavering determination etched across her features, she makes a split-second decision and leaps off the balcony, clutching me tightly against her chest. The impact jars the breath from her lungs and a cry escapes her lips before she quickly regains her composure.

For a few heart-stopping moments, she struggles to rise, clutching onto anything within reach to steady herself. Her eyes scan the chaos unfolding below us as men clash in a brutal display of violence and death. And then, with a fierce resolve, she turns her attention elsewhere.

“I need you to be absolutely silent, my darling,” she implores, her voice threaded with urgency.

I nod in understanding, my wide-eyed gaze locked onto hers with unwavering trust. With a swift movement, she locates a hidden laundry chute within the wall.

Without hesitation, she stuffs me inside, cocooning me in darkness and safety as she prepares to face the horrors that lie ahead.

“Close your eyes Ivy, hands over your ears. Ma ma will be back,” she says before shutting the door. I stare into the darkness of the laundry shoot before hearing Marrissa’s voice.

“Cedric, it’s not what you think. Listen to me,” Marrissa pleaded.

“You killed the Queen! My Queen!” he roars.

“No! Listen to me,” Marrissa says, and I clench my eyes shut when I hear the fighting begin. The snarls and growls are horrendous.

Time slips by, I don’t know how long passes, but the noises grow louder, the screams more tortured when finally the door opens and Marrissa is reaching in for me.

My heart lurched in my chest and my breathing sounded loud to my ears.

Marrissa was covered in blood, even her face, and I backed away into the corner scared of her.

“Come on, it’s me,” she coaxes.