Chapter Twenty-one

Aurelia

Twenty-one years ago

My husband thought this was silly.

I thought he was an arrogant ass.

I had been willing enough to marry him quickly when our soulmarks were discovered to match. Finding my mate and becoming queen was like a dream come true. I was now elevated beyond almost all others. Only the other kings and queens of Celesterra would equal me. And only Night Kingdom truly matched the power of Day, ever in balance as the two kingdoms are.

And yet… it didn’t feel like that was true at all. Aelius was not a man to share power, I had discovered. I may be queen, but I felt just as powerless as I did before. I wanted to be involved in running the kingdom, to attend councils and help shape this world and its future.

Instead, I was told to sit back and produce an heir.

I refused to take this lying down.

No , never again would I allow myself to be forced into “my place” by a man.

I had grown up as a lady, but my mother was a princess of Dawn by birth. She’d been married off to one of her own father’s lords, while her brother ultimately ascended the throne after my grandfather. Mother had been kept away from court in Affaraon thanks to her duties to my father’s house, and so had I as a result.

I was the daughter of royalty, but hardly considered royal myself when so many others had higher places in line for the throne.

I thought becoming a queen would mean getting out from under the Bathala’s rule and finally grasping power of my own.

I refused to sit back and let it be taken from me once more. Refused to let my husband dominate me the way he clearly expected.

Fortunately, my upbringing would come in quite handy now.

I knew how to play the game of court politics, thanks to my mother. She’d spent years teaching me so I wouldn’t be vulnerable no matter where I ended up. I’d taken to her lessons well and had already begun the slow work of turning courtiers and other useful people to my side.

I knew it would take years to grasp the kind of power I desired. Working in the shadows naturally lent itself to secrets and schemes, and it was never quick. But it would certainly be worth it.

I may be Queen of Day, but the shadows the sun cast would be the tool that truly saw me grasping power.

As would my child.

I touched my stomach with a smile. An heir, raised by their mother to side with her over their father, would secure everything neatly for me. Aelius couldn’t be bothered to help raise our children. He’d already made that more than clear. So I would take advantage of his arrogance and ignorance, and take the opportunity to make his court my own.

For now, however, we had to abide by the traditions of Celesterra. With us expecting our first child, we were due to meet the Oracle and receive the prophecy that would define our heir’s life.

My own parents had told me the birth prophecy they received for me many years ago. Luckily, it had given me a hint of my own child’s glorious future as well. The Oracle had told my parents that the heir I birthed would change the world. The memory of it was enough to put a smile on my face.

Yes, I would raise an extraordinary child. One who would change everything for the better.

I walked with Aelius into the cavern the Oracle called home, one hand tucked into his velvet-covered elbow, while my other laid on my stomach to steady it. The fog was so thick in here that I couldn’t even see my feet anymore. Which was certainly troublesome while trying to navigate the uneven ground of the cavern with a rounded belly.

A foreign sense of confidence washed over me as we walked. It felt almost as if I was being called forward. Even as Aelius sneered and complained about meaningless traditions and old crones spitting nonsense, I nodded absently, my focus completely consumed with the sight before me.

The Oracle.

She was sitting on a cushion on the ground. There were two plush cushions in front of her, obviously meant for us. While I’d normally be concerned about getting down and back up with my sizeable stomach, I felt that same peaceful surety flow through my whole body, taking the worry away.

What was this? It felt otherworldly, most assuredly. And the Oracle did not have that kind of power as far as I was aware.

We sat down across from her, Aelius grumbling quietly as he assisted me in lowering to the cushion. But it was somehow as easy as doing so without my pregnant belly. Looking into the silver eyes of the crone, I was taken aback.

Those eyes, they were… knowing .

As if she could see directly into my mind and soul, and was taking every secret piece of me apart for her own amusement. Or her own gain. Whichever it was, it made me glare slightly at the old woman. But she just smirked back at me before she looked at my husband.

“The first child of Day Kingdom’s King Aelius and Queen Aurelia comes.” She intoned heavily, voice creaking like old wood. “It is now time to hear the gods' message for their future.”

The crone looked back and forth between us as she pulled out items I hadn’t noticed sitting beside her. A silver bowl, inlaid with all sorts of runes, and a matching silver knife, similarly covered.

The Oracle held out her hand. “A blood offering to the gods, to receive their gift.”

Aelius held out his hand with a belabored sigh, and the oracle quickly sliced his palm, holding it over the bowl and letting the blood drip into it.

Then she turned to me. I held out my hand, nervous for only a moment before surety and peace overcame me once more. It truly felt like the gods were with me. Blessing me with confidence for what’s to come.

I wasn’t sure if I should feel pleased to be graced with the touch of the gods or exceedingly nervous about why the gods felt I needed it…

I winced slightly as the silver blade cut my palm. Thankfully, all Fae healed quickly, and my palm was as good as new just moments after the last drop of blood hit the bowl.

I watched the Oracle toss in a mysterious pink sand and mix it with the blood. She picked up a long pipe, pulling a drag of it before exhaling it into the bowl. As the smoke hit the now pinkish-red sand, it seemed to come to life. The sand danced playfully within the bowl, twirling around the smoke.

My eyes widened at the bizarre sight. I’d seen so many different types of magic in my life, but this was one I’d never witnessed before. It had to be exclusive to the Oracles. So much about them was kept secret. We didn’t even know what they were , really. The Oracles weren’t Fae, as they certainly aged somehow. One look at her wrinkly skin proved as much. What she was, was a mystery.

Not Fae. Not human. Just an Oracle.

A creature of the gods. Passing their messages along to their faithful.

The old woman picked up the bowl and began inhaling the concoction contained within. As she did, her silver eyes seemed to ignite. I flinched, even as a peaceful feeling swept through me. The Oracle’s eyes bored into mine, but it was silver fire that looked back at me. Silver fire that soon churned into silver ice. Back and forth it went, fire and ice dancing in a loop within her strange silver orbs.

The Oracle opened her mouth then, and began to speak the words that would change my life forever.

“ When the world tips to chaos, the star-blessed heir will rise.

Marked by three:

The sun, the moon, and the stars.

Three hearts to own:

Three tries to find, light and dark in balance.

Three to fight: corruption, greed, and pride.

Three to win: freedom, balance, and love.

The star must be eclipsed.

The light must hide, or all will be lost.

When the darkness claims the light, it will begin,

A new reign of light and dark to see the world saved.

When the fire falls, and the world turns to darkness,

A star will rise to light the world anew.

Until they are fully balanced, the scales will tip,

chaos unleashed, until the final coup. ”

Silence followed the heavy words, until Aelius snorted, “Nonsense, as I said. Let’s go.”

His snappish voice made me shudder as I fought the urge to claw his stupidly perfect face. Sometimes, I wondered how this man was my mate. It felt more like we were enemies at times, constantly battling one another for ground in our relationship.

The crone’s knowing gaze met mine. “Sometimes, balance comes in forms unexpected.”

I shivered, unsettled that the Oracle knew my thoughts. Telepathy? Or something else? Body language, maybe? Perhaps the gods still speaking through her?

Aelius looked at me and sighed, his face softening. We may battle for power, but the passion between us did make for often explosive times together in the aftermath. There was genuine affection there, even if it was often buried beneath other matters. We were mates, after all. It allowed for no less, really. And looking at him now, I could see he was thinking the same.

Maybe being his mate did make sense. We both wanted power and control. We just went about it in different ways. And we both loved one another, despite how challenging we found engaging with each other outside of the bedroom. But that did make it thrilling. I just worried that, in the long term, the struggle between us of love versus power would prove detrimental.

Aelius seemed to understand I wasn’t quite done with the Oracle and sighed. “I’ll meet you outside, my queen.”

His soft tone brought a smile to my face, and he caressed my cheek before leaving me to it.

That was more like it.

Once he was outside, I looked at the crone.

I didn’t know what had urged me to stay here… alone .

No, that was a lie. I did know. It was this damned sensation that kept pressing on me.

“You feel the hand of the gods, Queen Aurelia. They have a message not for your king’s ears,” the Oracle rasped out. I struggled to sit up straighter with my belly in the way.

“Not for Aelius to hear?” I asked, shaking my head in confusion. “Why ever not?”

As far as I knew, the Oracle always gave her prophecy to both parents. And there was never a second message mentioned. Let alone one that was only meant for one parent’s ears.

“Because you carry twins within you, Queen Aurelia. And Aelius cannot know. You must pretend to birth only one child.” The Oracle held up a hand, stopping the many questions on the tip of my tongue.

“Of your two children, you know only one can be heir to Day Kingdom, and that heir must be hidden from Aelius at all costs. He will kill the child should he find out about them when they are young and defenseless.” The Oracle informed me, leaving me in stunned disbelief.

Dread grew within my heart. Why would my husband kill our heir? Our child ? My child! My arms wrapped around my stomach protectively on instinct.

I would not brook any threat to my child—children.

By Tala, twins!

“How do you suggest hiding an entire child, the gods chosen heir , no less, from my husband?” I demanded urgently. “He will likely notice me raising two children! And he will certainly notice if I produce only one child, and it isn’t the heir. I don’t understand. Why would he be any threat in the first place? He wants children, especially an heir! It’s all he’s talked about since we first got betrothed!”

The Oracle’s knowing silver eyes grew sad, matching her tone as she continued. “You will see. He would try to make the gods choose another, but that cannot happen. Your heir is too important to the world. Without them, we face a fate worse than you can understand.”

I shook my head, thoroughly confused—not to mention terrified .

“You must use this when the time comes,” she demanded, shoving a piece of paper into my hand. “You now know as much as the gods can impart without threatening the future of this child. We cannot risk them. As a mother, you will seek to protect them above all else. I trust in that. As do the gods.”

The feeling of peace I had been experiencing intermittently, thanks to the gods' influence, suddenly evaporated, and what felt like pure chaos overtook me. A riot of destructive power that I struggled against feebly.

“This is what is happening to our realm.” The Oracle’s words reached me through the haze of chaos I was trapped within.

The feeling stopped abruptly, and peace returned, filling me up like a harmonious song as the chaos was banished. I sighed, relieved to be free of the chaotic deluge they’d buried me under.

“ This is what your heir will bring,” the Oracle insisted. “Do you see their importance? The gods cannot allow the schemes of those in power to take away the only chance this realm has.”

The sensation lessoned, slowly, until all I felt were my own natural emotions. I looked up from my knees to ask the crone more questions, but jolted as I discovered that she was gone.

I looked around the cavern, but she was truly nowhere to be found.

And I was left. Alone. With the ominous threats against my child and the knowledge that the gods needed them to fix whatever was wrong with our realm that was tipping it toward chaos.

I gulped, holding my stomach tightly.

“I love you, my children. And I swear to you now,” I clutched the paper the oracle had given me tightly, then slid it into my dress so no one would see it. “I will let no one harm you. Ever . Even if I have to kill my own mate to ensure it.”

* * *

“Ahhhhh!!!”

I screamed once more, pushing at the urging of the midwife, while my most trusted lady, Odelina, who’d come with me from Chryse when I left to marry Aelius, bravely held my hand while I squeezed it until her bones creaked.

“One more, my Queen! Push!” the midwife called, and my face crumpled as I let out a deafening scream, pushing with all my remaining strength.

The agonizing pressure finally stopped, and I collapsed back onto the bed. The wailing cry that filled the room had me looking up desperately, wanting to see my firstborn.

The first thing I saw was the telltale glow indicating the gods’ chosen heir, and my breath caught. The next thing I saw was that, aside from the glow around him, he was shining brightly. Silver starlight emanated from him, confusing and alarming me thoroughly. Our heir should have inherited the power of sunlight.

I was already worried enough about what would have to happen next. The confirmation of his status as heir alone was enough to make me want to weep. I couldn’t handle yet another thing to worry over.

“Let me hold him,” I demanded, struggling to sit up.

“You still have another child to deliver, Aurelia.” Odelina reminded me gently, using a cloth to wipe the sweat from my forehead.

“I think there’s time. Just for a moment.” I reassured her, squeezing her hand quickly. I turned to the midwife, blinking when I noticed she was standing, holding my babe and staring down at him with a shocked expression.

“Give him to me. Let me hold my heir.” I demanded again, though my voice cracking didn’t help. Only Odelina knew what was going to happen, there was no way for the midwife to understand my desperation to hold him.

But the midwife only looked up at me with wide eyes, stammering, “It’s—it’s?—”

“What?” I snapped, my exhaustion and the physical pain still humming through me, on top of the emotional pain of birthing my child only to have to part with them immediately. I didn’t have time to deal with this woman’s stammering nonsense.

“It’s a girl,” she finally whispered, watching me with huge eyes as what she said finally hit me.

“What?” I barely got the word past the lump in my throat. “But—but I saw the glow. The gods chose them as heir.”

I looked up at Odelina, who looked back at me, nodding slowly, confirming I hadn’t imagined it. “They did, Aurelia. Your daughter is the heir.”

“No woman has ever been chosen before,” the midwife said, staring down at my daughter with wonder.

“Give her to me. Now,” I told the woman, who looked up quickly and flushed before moving to hand her over to me.

She placed the wriggling girl in my arms, her fists batting outward as I shushed her, rocking her slightly. Tears came to my eyes as she opened hers, and wide blue eyes stared back at me.

Aelius’s eyes. As blue as the sky itself.

Aelius, her father , who would kill her according to the Oracle. I knew Aelius’s wish for a male heir. He was traditional, believing women were unsuited for power—thus keeping even his queen out of council sessions. No wonder the gods feared his reaction.

Why a woman? Why now? They said she was important, but why did she have to be a girl? Just to make things more difficult for her? It seemed so unfair. Now, she would have to be raised far from the mother who loved her.

But my little girl just giggled up at me, completely unaware of what was to come. The spell the Oracle gave me had one intent: to hide her from any who would dare look for her. I watched the wisps of starlight emanating from her.

So different from any heir of Day before her. In so many ways.

I didn’t know what this power meant. Asteria had clearly blessed her, instead of Hyperion. I had no idea why or what would come of it, but the gods clearly had their reasons, and they weren’t for me to guess.

Pain hit me then, and I realized the other child was coming. I quickly handed my baby girl to Odelina, who took her carefully. I nearly sobbed when I saw her back for the first time.

There, in the middle of her tiny upper back, was a soulmark. The rays of the sun expanded from the top of an upside-down crescent moon, while stars dangled underneath it. Another thing she would lose with what would happen next. I mourned for the future, for what could never be.

All thanks to Aelius.

I let my anger fuel me, and with a scream, I pushed. When the little boy was put into my arms, I smiled down at him—just as the gods had clearly smiled down on me.

I would be forced to give up my daughter, but the time would come for her to return. And until then, they’d provided me with a warrior, one who would help me prepare for his sister’s coming.

I moved him into the crook of one arm and took my little girl with the other. Basking in this single moment where I could have both here, safe in my arms.

“Aurelia,” Odelina fretted, and I nodded, a sob fighting past my lips. Aelius would come for an update on his son, his heir , all too soon. She couldn’t still be here.

“Asteria. Her name will be Asteria.” A hush met my declaration. I looked up to Odelina, who looked uneasy.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? The gods could take offense,” she asked, but I shook my head.

“Asteria has blessed her, and she will look out for her where I will be unable to,” I assured her confidently.

“What do you mean, my Queen?” the midwife asked, and I looked at my trusted lady, who nodded solemnly.

In a flash, the midwife fell dead to the floor. An unsavory business, but better a quick death than her telling Aelius anything.

Odelina wiped the blood from her knife before returning it to her skirts. “I’ll have those loyal to us remove the body quickly.”

She popped outside, likely to grab the guards belonging to my cousin. Without Beltane, I would be lost here in the capital. He was one of the very few aware of the truth. And he would be ready when the time came. In the meantime, he would help my son where he could.

Aelius would be furious that he wasn’t the heir. But he was a prince, nonetheless. He would have to fight harder to prove himself, but I would raise him to understand why and what the stakes were.

“Arien.” I smiled at my little boy. “You will be Asteria’s warrior. She will wear the crown, but you will be her blade.”

Odelina came back in, and sure enough, Beltane and several of his most trusted entered the room. His men went to remove the body while he made his way over to me.

“Odelina filled me in,” he informed me softly. “A female heir?” I nodded in confirmation, and he whistled lowly. “Things are certainly changing.”

“They are.” I agreed, a smile growing. “But it must be a necessary change. The gods were very clear.”

He nodded in understanding and smiled down at my babes. Asteria giggled at him while Arien just batted him away before reaching his hand out toward Asteria. Their eyes locked on one another, and Asteria reached out until their little hands touched. Tears filled my eyes, and I wanted nothing more than to take them both and run in that moment.

“Aurelia, I should get her out of here while we still can,” Odelina interjected quietly.

I closed my eyes, biting my lip to contain my sobs as reality set in. I forced myself to nod. “Hold them for me for a moment?”

Beltane quickly grabbed Asteria, looking more emotional than I expected. “Let me at least say goodbye.”

A tear leaked out against my will, and I smiled sadly while Odelina took Arien for me.

“Can you bring me my jewelry box?” I asked her, and she nodded, confused, but shifted Arien into one arm as she went to grab it.

Once she brought it back, I quickly searched through my necklaces, finding silverium and star opal pieces I could use. I grabbed them and, using my magic, reformed them into something new. It wouldn’t fit her now, but when she was grown, she would have a piece of me, of her home and family, along with the soulmate she’d be kept from.

“Here, make sure the family you’re taking her to gives her this when she’s old enough to wear it,” I instructed, handing the finished piece to Odelina, who agreed solemnly.

I took Asteria back from a teary-eyed Beltane, holding her to me as my stray tears fell onto her baby-soft cheeks.

“This is not the last time you’ll see me, my little star,” I told her, sniffing back my tears so I could get through this. The pain inside threatened to rip me apart. I wanted nothing more than to keep her with me. To raise her to be the amazing woman I knew she’d become. To have the opportunity to keep her safe and happy myself. But instead, I was forced to hand my daughter to strangers.

I’d have to trust them, humans at that , to raise her right. To keep her safe . I nearly scoffed. They couldn’t keep themselves safe; how could they be trusted to keep my precious little girl from harm?

It was impossible to just hand her over and hope for the best. But the gods had made it clear that I was to make the impossible happen.

I would have to ensure she was protected somehow.

Resentment for Aelius rose fiercely within me. This was all his fault. My daughter being taken from me was a direct result of the threat he presented to her life.

“We will see one another again, I know that in my heart,” I promised, choking back tears. “Know your mother loves you more than anything, and that she will be fighting for you every moment we’re apart. You will come home to an army and court ready to see you in your rightful place. I swear it. ”

A hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked up to meet my cousin’s eyes. He nodded, and my face crumpled as I handed Asteria to Odelina, giving a parting kiss on her forehead, “I love you, my little star.”

As Odelina escaped out of the hidden door leading to the planned escape route, I collapsed into heaving sobs.