Discovery of a Queen: Chapter 17

Once we make it to the gym, I nudge Caleb through the bond again. He’s not here yet, so I usher Dante into a mixed space that can be used for both spellcasting and shifting, along with regular gym activities and battle simulations. I then let Caleb know what level we’re on. I don’t want to waste any time, feeling oddly amped up. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!

My dragon rolls her eyes at me.

Wow. Okay. That’s how she wants to be, huh? Fine. Mentally sticking my tongue out at her, I turn my attention to Dante.

“You have one huge advantage none of the rest of us have,” Dante starts. “You’re a queen. You can sense demons well before the rest of us. Not only that, you can harness magic and shift. Remember that. Hone each skill. I assume you are truly one with your dragon?” I nod. “Excellent. We won’t need to focus on that. Instead, I want us to focus on breathing.”

Breathing? I feel as though I’m a sulky, pouting child, but I thought this was going to be a lesson in physical combat.

“Concentrating your breathing will ensure that you have the stamina needed to ensure victory. It will help you manage pain, harness your magic, and focus your attacks for optimal damage.” Okay, I like the sound of that. “Have you meditated before?”

“I meditate daily.”

“Excellent. You’re already halfway there. I want you to breathe like you’re meditating. Calm your heart rate and center your mind. You’ll need to do this quickly on the battlefield, but we can practice this to ensure you’ll be able to do it at a moment’s notice. For now, I want to make sure you’re in the proper frame of mind.”

I take several deep breaths, blanking out my mind, focusing on centering myself. I stay like this for several heartbeats, letting a sense of calm wash over me. “Good. Now close your eyes and focus on my aura. I want you to learn to read my moves from my aura alone. It will become second nature, and you won’t need to focus to do it.”

I do as Dante instructs, concentrating solely on his aura. Like all other vampires, his aura is a deep burgundy color. I’d never thought to use my ability to see auras to sense someone’s attacks, but it makes sense. An aura tells me a lot about a person—if they’re lying, what species they are, if they’ve been tainted by a demon, if they’re sick.

I’m so busy focusing on Dante’s aura itself, I realize too late that he’s moved. I can’t defend myself fast enough, and my eyes snap open to see he’s about to hit me. My hands fly up to protect my face, but he’s not aiming there. My breath leaves me with a soft grunt as I fold at the waist. He hit my diaphragm. The bastard.

“Eyes closed, Alpha.” Dante’s voice is stern, cold. “Do not focus so much on trying to read my aura for my feelings. Try to read my intent.”

Well, how the fuck do I do that?

I sigh in a manner that clearly indicates to Dante that I’m very put out by this whole experience. He chuckles softly as I close my eyes again. I inhale deeply, clearing my mind. Read his intent. What does that even mean? How am I supposed to do that using just his aura? My dragon is silent, apparently she’s just as confused as I am. Awesome.

I shake out my limbs, bob my head, roll my shoulders, and crack my neck. Okay. Focus. Clearing my mind, I once again allow Dante’s aura to light up my mind. Instead of fixating on it, I relax into it and allow it to wash over me.

Left!

I throw my hand up and block a strike aimed for my head.

Jump! I dodge a sweep of his leg to knock me off my feet.

His aura flashes ever so slightly in the direction he’s about to hit me. I can feel the strike coming and know just how much I need to turn to avoid getting hit. Feeling more confident, I decide to turn the tables. With my eyes still closed, I go on the attack. Since this training session is meant to be solely physical and not magical, I refrain from using my magic…outwardly. Instead, I use my magic on myself, just like I did when I fought Morgan. I use it to make me stronger, faster, and more accurate. Adding my magic to reading Dante’s aura feels like I’ve dived into his mind without the repercussions. I’m easily able to dodge his attacks, countering in ways he isn’t expecting.

Finally, I have Dante pinned to the floor. He lightly taps my leg to indicate that I’ve won. Slow clapping starts near the entrance to the training room. My eyes pop open, and I see Caleb leaning against the wall near the door. He’s got that stupid grin on his idiotically handsome face that makes my stupid heart rollover. He claps again as he pushes away from the wall, his eyes gleaming as he stares at me with every step he takes.

“Well done, Ayla.” Dante’s voice jolts me out of whatever the hell spell Caleb had me under. I shake my head before grinning down at Dante. “You did well. Now you just need to work on getting into that same space as quickly as possible. Demons won’t just sit around waiting for you to find that sweet spot in your mind.”

I place my hands over my face and groan. “I know. I’ll work on it. Now that I know what I’m looking for, it should be a lot easier.”

“How far out can you sense a demon?” Caleb’s deep Scottish brogue pulls my gaze over to him. “My mother had been able to scan all of Europe with a single thought. How far out can you go?”

“I—” I stop to think. The last time I let my spidey senses out to check for demons, I had only been looking for them in New England. “I’m not sure, to be honest. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to stretch my senses out that far. I typically only check within a few hours’ traveling distance, so I know I have an out.”

“Why don’t you give it a try?” Caleb comes over and lifts me off Dante. He places me gently on the floor so I’m lying on my back, then he sits cross-legged next to me. “My mother said it was like visualizing a map in her mind. She’d then let her magic flow over the map and see what bounced back.”

This is the first time Caleb has opened up about his mother. Given how powerful he is, it’s not surprising that she was a queen. My mother had covered most of Ireland, the U.K., and Western Europe, at least after my sisters and I had been born. She hadn’t mentioned another queen in the area, and I can’t recall feeling one either. Had she died before I was born? I make a mental note to ask Caleb about his mother as I close my eyes.

I’m going to go big, so I picture a map of the entire world. This way I can truly get a sense for the range of my power. I release the hold I have on my magic, allowing its shiny rainbow light to playfully leap away from my body, thrilled to be given a duty.

, I whisper to it.

It jumps into action, soaring out of my body and into the world.

. My dragon gently nudges my mind as I wait.

I feel something. It’s too small to be Malick’s legion, but it’s gathered in the Southern U.S., near the Texas-Mexico border. There are more blips to the north near Chicago. A particularly strong blip bounces back from Washington, D.C.

my dragon growls. Of course there would be at least one archdemon in the Capitol. Surprisingly, most of the demons I’m able to pick up aren’t associated with an archdemon. Typically, lower-level demons can’t really function well on their own. They need the guidance and dominance an archdemon provides. Otherwise, they either waste away, think zombie here, or they go rogue and run the risk of exposing everything.

A massive blast, this time from Alaska, makes me grateful I’m already lying down. Malick’s legion. I can’t be sure, but my gut is telling me the enormous surge of energy, as well as the sheer number of lower-level demons, means that’s where his little base camp is. At least for now.

My magic doesn’t stop there, however, it continues to spread. I’m able to see demons…everywhere. Holy. Shit And what the fuck is that in Antarctica? I shiver. I don’t want to find out. Let’s not poke that bear.

“Malick is in Alaska right now,” I tell Caleb as my eyes focus on his face. “He’s got an even bigger legion than he had in the Rockies.”

“Fuck.” Caleb’s eyes harden. “How far were you able to see?”

“The whole world.” I’m such a terrible person for enjoying the shocked silence that follows.

“Everywhere?” Dante’s voice is filled with awe. “I’ve never heard of a queen able to search the entire planet.”

“Neither have I.” Caleb’s gaze searches my face, a frown tugging at his lips. “If you’re more powerful than past queens, we’re going to need to worry about more than just Malick. Every damn archdemon and lower-level demon is going to want a piece of you. Either to destroy you or use you.”

“It’s a good thing I’m beefing up then. Between the magic practice lessons and the physical training sessions, I’ll be able to take down any demon that comes at me.” I mock jab the air in his direction. His frown only deepens.

“Dante, can you give us a minute?” Caleb doesn’t bother to look over at the vampire, who simply nods at me and leaves the room.

“What’s going on?” I sit up and scooch until I’m sitting cross-legged in front of him, my knees touching his. “You look worried about all of this. It’s a good thing I’m powerful. If we want to destroy Malick’s legion and any other legion that comes knocking, I need to be at the top of my game.”

“I’ll need to move the Council’s headquarters here,” Caleb mumbles to himself.

“I’m sorry. What?” I make sure to use my best impression of a mother who is amused. “Move the Council headquarters? Where? Why?”

“Here.” Caleb’s eyes meet mine and hold. “If you won’t leave this community, the Council is going to have to come here. It’s the only way to ensure you’re properly protected.”

“We don’t take too kindly to the Council ‘round these parts.” I muster up my best deep Southern accent. “It wouldn’t end well if y’all were to settle here.”

“I’m serious, Ayla.”

“So am I.” I sigh and stand up, pacing the room as I talk. “Look, it’s a sweet gesture. But it simply won’t work. Kelly’s mom got passed up, and the Council still hasn’t told us why, so the witches are salty as fuck. After everything the shifters in this area have been through, without any aid from the Council, they aren’t keen to trust you. Plus, they’re loyal to the witches now, so if one of us holds a grudge, we all do. Especially knowing the Council’s little habit of collecting rare and powerful supernaturals.”

“We don’t collect anyone!” Caleb stands and crosses his arms over his chest as he glares at me. “We protect rare and powerful individuals who would otherwise have a very large target on their back. It’s easier to fight off what’s hunting you if you have the numbers than on your own.”

“Literally every rare or powerful individual the Council has ever come across has either mated into the Council or has been ‘recruited.’ You collect them, Caleb. Hell, one of your closest men is someone you’ve collected. A dire wolf, Caleb? Are you trying to tell me that you didn’t try to sell him on the Council or force him to join once you realized what he was?” By this point, I’m frantically talking with my hands. My arms are flying viciously through the air as I speak. “You say that you let your envoys mate into different packs and covens, but from what I’ve been able to gather, they usually end up leaving with the Council, not staying with their community. Especially if one or both of the mated pair have a rare power.”

Caleb snarls and reaches for me, but I flinch back, not wanting him to touch me. “They all choose to come with us.”

“Do they really though?” I press. I’m not convinced. The Council seems to have too much power. While the threat from the demons is real, it isn’t large enough to warrant this kind of mass collection of rare and powerful supernaturals. “The Council is this juggernaut that just plows over anyone and everything in its way. You might think that you’re giving people the choice to join, but there is no choice, Caleb. And you aren’t going to move the Council here. I won’t allow it. My community won’t allow it.”

“The Council coming here isn’t up for debate. I’m having the headquarters moved here immediately, end of story. I don’t understand the issue, Ayla.”

“No one person is supposed to have the kind of power you do. The whole point of multiple queens was so this wouldn’t happen. I understand that I’m the last one left, but the Council wasn’t supposed to end up like this. All the former queens are rolling over in their graves. Yes, they each had territory, but they were always in communication with one another, and no one queen was to be above any other queen, regardless of the size of her community or her strength.

“I’ll put it to a vote with my community, but I’m certain I know the answer. They won’t want the Council coming here. If you try to force the issue, there will be a huge problem.” My tone is quiet and deadly as I finish.

“Oh yeah?” Caleb sneers. “What sort of problem?”

“I’ll bloody challenge you myself.”

I take my time walking back to the packhouse, having left Caleb stunned in the gym. I meant every word. I will challenge him if my community doesn’t want him here and he insists on moving the Council to town. That is not a unilateral decision, and the fact that he thinks it is has me seeing red.

I acknowledge the issue the Council presents for the both of us. I don’t want to be with him because he’s the head of the Council, and our discussion today demonstrated for me that my unease and animosity toward the Council goes far deeper than I realized. The Council spits in the memories of all the past queens, and that doesn’t sit right with me. Being the head of the Council has inflated Caleb’s ego and made him think that he’s the be-all, end-all. Not even I can boast that.

No. If I need to challenge him for his position as head of the Council to get my message across, I will. I’ll appoint someone else or dismantle the whole damn thing if I need to. I’m so lost in my thoughts, I don’t see Xin approaching me until I almost run the poor man over.

“Alpha.” Xin bows. “I wanted to provide you with an update on the move.”

“You don’t have to bow, Xin. I like to think of this as a sort of democracy.” I chuckle. “I’m not interested in being a dictator.”

“Of course, Alpha.” I shoot him a look and he grins broadly at me. Sassy bit of goods. “We’ve been lucky enough to find homes for all of our members.” I gesture for him to walk beside me. “I plan to step down as head of the nest. I believe Dante will serve as a better beta for you.”

I’m shocked. While I certainly like Dante, and we click, I assumed Xin would continue as my beta given his experience with queens. But I suppose I shouldn’t be all that surprised. The bond between a queen and her community runs deep. It might feel like a betrayal for Xin to serve as my beta despite his former queen’s death.

“If you’re sure that’s best. I trust your judgment, Xin.” I glance over at him, and he appears relieved. “Though, I need to confess, I don’t know the bonding process between a queen and a nest.” I smile sheepishly.

“It is a simple process and only involves the individual who is going to be your beta. Once I have transferred power over to Dante, he will need to bite you and share his blood with you. Then you’ll have the same bond with him and the nest that you have with the rest of your community.” Blood sharing, while I don’t judge, is not my thing. But I’m happy to do it to ensure the safety of the nest and the rest of my community.

“When do you plan to transfer power to Dante?”

“I want to give the nest a week or two to settle in. They’re all aware of the change, but I also don’t want to make things too difficult for Dante so early into his leadership.” Xin places a hand on my arm, halting our forward progress. “Ayla, I know you need to interview the members of the nest. There are a few who are extremely traumatized from their dealings with demons. If you would allow me to pull those individuals aside for you to have a private screening, that would probably be best.”

My heart aches for those individuals. “Of course. It’s no problem at all. We can do the interviews on a separate day so they have time to prepare if needed. There’s no way for them to hide anything from me, but they might want time to just brace themselves. I honestly just need to look at their aura. It’s nothing invasive.”

“Understood. Thank you, Ayla. We are excited to be part of such a caring and strong community.”