Soul

AURELIA

Aurelia found herself back in the armory, waiting for the king. She shook her head at her own foolishness. Her fear of him had faded, along with her former timidness.

She’d keep up the act, but she was no longer the same naive girl.

The door swung open with a bang, and there stood the king, looking every bit the victor. But it was his queen who had saved the day.

His appearance had been more effective than he’d anticipated. The sight of him had frozen them in their tracks. If he’d fought, even if he’d won, it would have made him look weak.

But his mere presence had been enough to instill fear, a fear that would spread to anyone else who dared to cross him.

He walked over to his queen and kissed her passionately. When he felt the cold metal against his fingers, he pulled back to examine her attire.

“Chain mail?” he asked, sounding puzzled.

“I wore it for protection, my king,” she answered, looking at him with soft eyes. “It’s quite heavy. I don’t know how you and the soldiers manage.”

“We don’t wear it all the time. And in real battles, we fight in our wolf forms. Maybe we should get you fitted for some. I sense a war coming, and you can’t shift.”

The idea of physical combat hadn’t even crossed her mind.

She was small compared to the wolves, even the female servants. She’d only trained once, and her powers had been her only means of survival.

They were her lifeline. She didn’t need anything else.

Of course, they were useless against the fae, but she’d learned other spells for that. They weren’t as powerful or effective as her gift.

Her abilities as a wolf were slightly above average, but only for her age and size. She was no match for any member of the royal army, let alone the king and his advisors.

“But if we’re attacked, you should hide, Aurelia. You’re the queen, a target. And you’re not strong enough to fight,” he said, his voice firm, almost concerned.

Aurelia felt a spark of anger at his words.

“Of course, my king,” she replied, lowering her head.

He took her hand and led her back to their chambers. Kenna helped her change into a new gown. Aurelia looked at her old dress, the fabric torn and clawed.

It was beautiful, yet ruined. Just like her.

Once Kenna left, Aurelia ran her fingers through her golden hair, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

If she looked closely, she could see the fire in her eyes, the hunger for more. She didn’t recognize the woman staring back at her, but she welcomed the change.

It made her feel alive.

She’d lost control recently, but she was stronger, wiser, better because of it. The marks on her neck didn’t disgust her as they would have a few moons ago.

She wasn’t ashamed of her desire for her mate. It was natural. And she admired his strength. Maybe she could understand him, now that she had power of her own.

A tiara adorned with precious gems was placed on her head. It was a simpler version of the crown she’d worn at her coronation, and she loved its golden beauty.

She decided to visit her father again, to see if there were any updates on their plans. It wouldn’t be long now before everything was as she wanted it to be.

When she arrived, she saw Ella, lying on the ground with her eyes closed. The wind gently caressed her skin, and she took a deep breath. Aurelia watched in confusion.

“She’s drawing power from the earth,” Cirillo explained, appearing behind Aurelia. She should have been startled, but her newfound confidence made her brave.

“She’s preparing for the upcoming war.”

Ella slowly sat up and opened her eyes, looking at the young queen. A warm smile spread across her face as she stood and walked over to them.

“You did it? You stopped the revolt?” she asked, her eyes wide with surprise. Maybe she hadn’t believed Aurelia was capable of wielding such power. Well, she wasn’t.

“I’m so proud of you. You’ve come so far.”

“Indeed,” was all Aurelia said.

“There’s one more thing we need to do to defeat the king. Do you know how he became immortal?” she asked.

“He traded his soul for it,” Aurelia answered, remembering his words.

“He made a deal with Hades. We want to reverse it. There’s a way. You just have to go to the underworld and agree to the deal.”

“What’s the deal?” Aurelia asked.

“Your soul in exchange for the power to kill the king,” Ella said, watching Aurelia closely.

But Aurelia didn’t react. Her face was blank. As if Ella hadn’t said anything. Ella tilted her head, waiting for a response. She was so close to getting everything she wanted.

“It will make you more powerful, and once the king is gone, you’ll join the council. We’ll rule together. Maybe we’ll even have a queen someday.”

Ella was trying to sweet-talk her, but she believed that queen would be her. She wanted her people to survive, and who better to lead them than her? She’d already taken on that role.

The wolves would obey, knowing their king was dead and the fae were superior.

The young queen simply wasn’t cut out for it. But with the power she had, she could be controlled or eliminated. She wasn’t immortal, after all.

“Okay,” Aurelia said, sounding unsure to Ella.

Ellathoria had planned the entire attack on the castle to force Aurelia to lose control of her power. The darkness inside her grew stronger every time she used it.

And Ella knew that Aurelia would only agree to this if the darkness was in control and wanted more. Losing her soul would feed the darkness, the emptiness.

So Aurelia’s indifference was exactly what Ella had expected. Soon, she’d have everything she wanted.

“How do I get to the underworld?” Aurelia asked, her gaze shifting between the two of them.

She had aimed the question at Cirillo, knowing he was the one who could travel between planes. But she was still puzzled about how the king had managed to do it twice.

“When you return to your body, you need to find a sacred place or a place where someone has died. That will give you a strong enough link to the underworld.

“Once you’re there, you have to connect your mind and spirit and let the underworld pull you in.”

It sounded complicated and vague at the same time. How was she supposed to connect her mind and spirit to the underworld? She hoped it would make more sense when she was actually there.

Her father wouldn’t lead her astray, after all.

Then, she was pulled back into her body.

A sacred place? Or a place where someone died?

She left the chambers and saw Henri at the end of the hall, flirting with a servant who looked nervous.

Aurelia had never seen the wolves interact with the women in the castle like this before. She guessed the wolves just fucked them and nothing more.

Kenna was safe though, once she became the queen’s servant. The king had made sure of that.

A small smirk spread across her lips as Henri noticed her and cleared his throat. The servant quickly bowed to the queen and hid her face before scurrying off.

“My queen,” he greeted her. His expression only faltered for a moment, realizing it was just the girl with the least power in the castle, aside from the servants, or so he thought.

Things were changing.

“Did you need something?” he asked, his tone a bit harsh.

“Do you pray? To the gods?” she asked, tilting her head. He narrowed his eyes at her but nodded. “So there’s a temple or—”

“If the wolves in the castle want to pray, they get on their fucking knees and pray. Hallerian is the holy place near the capital,” he answered.

She sighed. Getting any information was a challenge. No one wanted to give her answers and she had to be careful with her questions so as not to raise suspicion.

That night, she lay in bed, trying to figure out a solution. It wasn’t easy to ask where exactly someone had been killed.

Magic was precise. Even asking where they buried their dead could get her in trouble.

To her surprise, she felt the king’s presence as he entered the chambers. He rarely came to bed before she was sound asleep. His body pressed against hers as he gently wrapped his arm around her.

She turned in his arms and saw his sleepy face.

His eyes were half-closed as he looked at his queen. He had memorized every detail of her face, and now he noticed the smallest changes.

He saw darkness creeping into her; he had no doubt it was from the difficult tasks he had given her. The innocence that once radiated from her was fading, swallowed by the abyss.

He remembered her face wet with tears, how much it had hurt him to see her so vulnerable and weak. He shouldn’t have cared. He shouldn’t have paid it any mind. But she was his queen.

Aurelia snuggled closer to him, allowing herself to feel truly comfortable in his arms. Her worries seemed to melt away. His eyes slowly closed and she knew he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

She didn’t need to find sacred ground or a place where someone had died. The man lying next to her had been to the underworld. That was enough to connect her to it and cross the planes.

She did as she had been instructed, breathing in and out and focusing on traveling to the underworld. And she did just that.

“The hybrid queen herself,” Hades announced, studying the powerful fae wolf who stood confidently before him.

Hades would occasionally watch the living, keeping up with the potential future residents of the underworld. Maybe there was a war or a revolution.

He hadn’t granted the king immortality lightly. In fact, it was a gift he gave to no one.

For some reason, he was bound to the deal, almost as if he had no control over it himself. But he would never admit that to anyone.

Now, the queen, his mate, stood before him, ready to trade her soul to reverse the king’s immortality. He was curious about how she had convinced the king to agree.

He doubted Queen Aurelia was the one pulling the strings, despite the immense power radiating from her. Her father was up to something; he could tell.

But it wasn’t Hades’ place to judge. As long as the deals were honored, he didn’t concern himself with the affairs of the living world.

“You know why I’m here?” she asked. “My father made a deal with you.”

“Yes, indeed. You’re here to fulfill it. Are you sure you want to do this?

“Giving up your soul is a big deal, especially for a queen like you. You may not have the title now, but you’re gaining power every day. Is this really necessary?”

He wasn’t sure why he was trying to talk her out of the deal. It was as if his words weren’t his own. But he didn’t dwell on it. After all, he could see she had made up her mind.

“I’m sure,” she said.