Chapter 25

AURORA

Rin didn’t waste any time in summoning Emelio, who promptly materialized before us as we stepped into the hallway. He greeted Rin with a respectful bow, his voice maintaining its usual calm and even tone.

“I gather something urgent has arisen,” he surmised.

“Indeed. We need to see Father immediately. He’s still in the palace, right?” Rin asked.

“He is,” Emelio confirmed, glancing towards the far end of the hall. “Follow me. I’ll ensure you get to meet him.”

“Good. And as much as I hate to do this now, I need Rayne there too. I have a question about yesterday,” Rin added.

“Of course,” Emelio agreed.

Soon after, we found ourselves waiting in the drawing room. I sat nervously in one of the chairs, my eyes darting around the room in a futile attempt to distract myself while Rin stood nearby. The room was vast, like most of the others I’d seen in the palace, with open windows allowing the blue curtains to flutter in the breeze.

But no matter how much I tried to appreciate the beauty around me, my thoughts kept returning to that butterfly. It had to be connected to whatever had targeted me, likely the same force controlling the witch and killing those creatures. But what kind of creature could wield such power?

The sound of the door opening snapped me back to reality. Rayne and Jekia entered the room. I took a deep breath, hoping this meeting would go smoother than the last two. My nerves couldn’t handle another heated argument. Every time one broke out, the lump in my throat seemed to throb with pain.

“Unusual for you to call a meeting like this. Something must have happened,” Jekia observed as he and Rayne joined Rin.

“I think so, but I’m not sure I’m connecting all the dots yet. I wanted to discuss it with you two,” Rin admitted.

Rayne noticed me sitting nearby. “I’m guessing Aurora remembered more about last night,” he speculated.

“Only a bit, and it’s still fuzzy,” I confessed.

“From what she’s told me, it seems like the witch used a dream spell on her. I’m still puzzled about how she bypassed my barrier. I’ve been setting them up since I was a Kit, and they’ve always been strong,” Rin explained.

Jekia nodded in agreement. “That’s true. I ensured you both learned to set up strong barriers early on for your protection. It’s highly unusual for anything to breach one. This is deeply concerning because it suggests you both could be vulnerable.”

“Not to intrude, but could another alpha do something like that?” I asked.

Despite my nerves, I forced myself to speak up. If I was going to stay with Rin, I didn’t want to be afraid to talk to his family.

“You should never feel like you can’t ask questions or speak your mind here. I welcome it,” Jekia reassured me. “To answer your question, yes, it’s possible another alpha could do it, but they’d need to be highly skilled in spells.”

“I don’t know of any alpha with that level of skill, except the other three rulers. And you’ve never mentioned them using spells much,” Rayne chimed in.

“True, they usually don’t, nor do I. We don’t need to with our Mages around. The most we use spells for is protective barriers, and even then, the Mages often help us,” Jekia clarified.

“While I doubt any of the rulers are involved, let’s return to last night. You knew the hag was being controlled and how to find the thing in her head. It was a butterfly, right?” Rin interjected.

“A butterfly?” Rayne echoed, sounding puzzled.

Rin turned to him. “You were with Aurora before I got back to my den yesterday. You passed through that forest, didn’t you?”

“I did. I’ve been all over it recently. Why?” Rayne responded.

“Did you see anything unusual, like butterflies that belong in the mortal world?” Rin asked.

“Butterflies in the mortal world?” Rayne mumbled. He pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I haven’t seen anything like that in the Northern Lands, and I’ve been roaming them for a while looking for you. I haven’t even seen the butterflies we’re familiar with.”

I glanced at Jekia, noticing his solemn expression. He must have known what Rin was talking about. He had to, after finding the one in the hag last night.

“You’re saying there was a butterfly in that area?” he quietly confirmed.

I nodded. “Yes. I was telling Rin about it before he wanted us to talk to both of you. It was right before Rayne arrived. A gold butterfly flew across the field and passed right in front of me, but it vanished before Rayne showed up.”

Rayne looked stunned. “I didn’t see anything like that, even when I reached the field. I didn’t sense anything unusual either,” he insisted.

“You’re sure about that?” Rin pressed him.

“I swear, if I’d known, I would’ve told you the moment you got back,” Rayne assured him.

Rin eased up. “I know you would’ve. I’m just trying to cover all bases, and I needed to discuss it with you because Aurora’s describing the same kind of butterfly that was in that witch’s head. I’d never seen anything like it either, and I didn’t feel anything unusual. That’s why I’ve been so on edge,” he explained.

“You have every right to be.” Jekia sighed, crossing his arms and letting his white tail swish around his legs. He looked worn out. “There’s something we need to talk about now, though I suspect you two might have had a hunch about it when you were younger, considering what happened to our old home. I don’t think any of this is a coincidence, especially when I think back to that time.”

“You think it’s all connected to what happened when we were kids?” Rin asked.

“I’m pretty sure it is.” Jekia looked straight at Rin and Rayne. “Do you two remember the stories I used to tell you when you were little?”

Both of them looked surprised, but Rin answered honestly.

“Yeah, we remember. We always loved the stories you and Mom would tell us.”

Jekia nodded. “I remember that. But one of those stories was more than just a tale. It’s been a long time, but the story I told you about The Foolish Faerie Prince was true.”

Rin was putting the pieces together, and so was I.

“You’re saying the Golden Queen is real, and those butterflies are hers?” he asked for confirmation.

“I think they are,” Jekia confirmed.

“But why? Why would she be attacking people now? Has she always been doing this?” I asked.

Jekia shook his head. “No. She was quiet for a long time because her kingdom was sealed off from the rest of the Northern and Southern Lands. It was a safety measure since it bordered both,” he explained.

“But if she can do this, and she was behind what happened when that mountain troll destroyed our home, then she must’ve broken the seal somehow. She wouldn’t have been able to do anything to us if it was still there,” Rayne reasoned.

“Unless someone broke it for her,” Rin suggested.

“We can’t be sure of that yet,” Jekia told them. He sat down on the couch and continued, “I had Emelio check on the Golden Queen after what happened when you two were five. I never believed that the lycans could’ve pulled off everything that happened on their own. Our information networks were too complex for them to infiltrate. Yet somehow, they managed to take one of the Faerie leaders hostage and use his wife to kidnap your mother and both of you without anyone realizing what was happening until it was too late. I smelled a rat right away.”

It all made sense. If this Golden Queen was involved, then she could’ve manipulated all of those events.

“Did the lycans that attacked your family free her from that seal?” I asked.

“I thought so, but Emelio told me that wasn’t the case, at least not in terms of freeing her. While it was confirmed that she did help them with their plan and told them how to execute it, including how to use a spell to transport that troll, she and her kingdom remained sealed. I think Kamelle wanted to free her but didn’t have the power to do so. Also, since then, we haven’t heard anything from her, so there was no reason to keep an eye on her, though I admit I told her story because I wanted to keep her in your minds, just in case,” Jekia explained.

Rin looked skeptical. “Even if she is real, how could she have that much power? From what you told us, she wasn’t royal or a beta. She was born to a servant. Even though that Faerie Prince married her, he couldn’t have given her enough power to challenge the alphas, especially one like you,” he reasoned.

“I’ve told you many times not to underestimate anyone, Rin. While it’s true that alphas and betas are usually born as they are, there are special cases where they can be made. For example, your mother is an omega, but she was made one ~after~ she was born. She blossomed into what she is, though we also believe it was dormant within her all along. Aurora is another exception when it comes to betas. Even though it wasn’t dormant within her, she easily evolved into a beta after meeting you, though she still has a lot to learn about her own evolution. In short, this Faerie queen evolved too. She’s a rare female alpha,” Jekia explained.

That one surprised me. “A woman can be an alpha?”

“It’s rare, but it does happen sometimes,” Emelio confirmed, appearing beside Jekia.

“So, let me get this straight. You’re saying this Golden Queen is real, and she evolved into a powerful female alpha over time,” Rayne summarized.

“Exactly,” Jekia confirmed.

Rin was furious as he processed this. “And when were you planning to tell us about this?! You always knew she helped those lycans almost kill us, but you weren’t going to tell us the truth about it?!” he raged.

Jekia seemed to have expected this reaction, and he stayed calm as he responded.

“There was no reason to bring it up yet because I expected both of my sons to stay here until you were older and more experienced. Your running away has messed up what I’d planned for you both.”

“You knew I wasn’t going to stay, and you didn’t bother to come after me for almost a year, so don’t try to pin this on me!” Rin snapped.

Emelio shot him a playful grin. “We weren’t too worried about giving you that freedom. I could always find you and check on you. Plus, Musket stepped in soon after you left and taught you a lot. We thought it was best to let you be for a while, to figure yourself out,” he explained.

“I knew you were hiding things from me,” Rayne admitted, sighing.

Rin looked just as defeated, but he wasn’t ready to give up. He just shifted the conversation a bit.

“So, what’s our next move? Do you know if she’s escaped, or is she just messing with us?” he asked them.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. But I’ll be honest, it’s going to take some time to get answers. The Golden Queen has been trapped in the Veil for a long time, so records about her are hard to come by. I’m planning to request a meeting with the Watchers to discuss this in more detail,” Emelio replied.

“Which means we need to be patient for now,” Jekia chimed in. He looked at each of us in turn. “I’m not one to limit your freedoms, but I’d like you both to stay close to the palace unless you’re with me. I don’t need to remind you of what almost happened last night. I’m sure you both want to protect Aurora as much as I do. So, please, think about doing what I’m asking. It’s for her safety.”

Rin clearly wasn’t happy about this, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. I felt the same way. If we wanted to stay safe, we had to stay put.

“Alright,” he conceded. “I’ll stay, but only to protect Aurora.”

I could tell this was the last thing Rin wanted to do. From the short time I’d known him, I could tell he craved a life of freedom, a life where he could be himself. I didn’t think his family would ever suppress that, but I believed his birthright made him feel trapped. Being with his family was one thing. Being forced back into the role of an heir was another.

But the reality of our situation pushed all of that aside. This Golden Queen was real, and she was a powerful, magic-wielding alpha. Had she really escaped, or was she just biding her time, slowly working towards her freedom?