The Ivory Queen
Chapter 117

***Aurora***

“Surprise,” Taylor giggles, her big blue eyes flashing red as she waves the syringe in her chubby little hand.

I drop the child in my arms, my hand pressing on my neck where she injected me. Taylor picks herself up and smiles innocently at me.

“What did you do…” I ask, feeling the energy drain from my body.

“Uh Oh. Luna, looks mad,” Taylor says in a childish voice, squeezing her stuffed bunny.

Enraged, I try throwing a fire ball at her, but I barely manage to make my palm smoke.

They’ve taken my powers. I still had twenty minutes before I would regain them thanks to Gwen’s serum.

Celina stumbles to her feet, desperately trying to put some distance between herself and Emma who slowly sits up, a cruel smile on her lips. Emma’s wounds heal completely on their own, her b***d no longer spilling out.

“Who are you?” I demand, my gaze shifting between Emma and Taylor.

Before my very eyes, the little blue eyed girl morphs into a brunette woman in her mid twenties with green eyes.

“Hi, I’m Taylor,” she chirps in the same little girl voice I had once adored. “But you can call me Ira,” she adds, her voice maturing to that of a woman’s.

Emma gets up, also shifting into a another brunette with similar features as Ira.

Tais.

“I think you know who I am,” Tais smiles.

I glare at her and she pouts.

“Oh don’t be a bad sport,” she giggles.

We hear footsteps approach from behind us and Karina emerges from the trees, Adeline and David trailing behind her.

“David?” I ask, the b***d draining from my face.

This can’t be possible! How could he do this to us? To his own son and daughter? He helped us look!

He looks at his feet in shame, saying nothing as I stare at him in shock. Beside him, Adeline is oddly quiet, her face expressionless. I was not at all surprised of her involvement, but my head was still reeling from all the information I was processing at once. A fourth person emerges form the woods and my heart sinks.

“Oh William!” Tais chirps, coaxing him over to her with a wicked finger.

He obeys like a puppy and walks over to her, planting k****s all over her face in a greeting.

“William….” I whisper, shaking my head in disbelief. He too had tried to comfort me when Oliver was taken and he had worked tirelessly to protect the border… Or so I thought. “H-how could you…?”

I stare at him in confusion, not understanding how any of this was possible when Tais bursts into laughter.

“He thinks I’m his mate,” She snickers as he plants more k****s on her cheeks lovingly. “Stupid wolf. Little does he know, Emma and Taylor never existed. And quite frankly, William doesn’t either anymore. He’s been under my spell for five years.” She strokes his face and he leans into her touch. “Don’t fret, Luna. Much like your mate, the poor fool has no idea what he’s doing.”

William…another victim of Tais and Ira’s crimes…

I think back to all the times I had let Emma and Taylor into my home and spent time with them. I had saved Taylor and still didn’t detect her magic. I had forgiven David and urged Oliver to let his father back into his life. I had even let Adeline pour Oliver a drink as an olive branch all those weeks ago. How could they all betray me? Nothing was making any sense! All of these people had been working right under my nose. How could I not see it?

Tais rolls her eyes as I mentally kick myself for being so naïve and stupid. “No time to waste on your self pity. We have work to do.”

She nods to her evil minions and I feel a burning sensation on my arms as Adeline and David place silver shackles on my wrists behind my back. I try to open my walls for Reyna to come through but I can’t seem to reach her. Whatever serum they used put my wolf to sleep. I was truly powerless. Sending mind-links was impossible and my only hope was the little fly I could no longer detect but knew was still there watching.

I glare at David. “How could you? It’s your son and daughter!”

“Shut up,” he growls, stuffing a rag in my mouth to silence me.

He finishes tying me up while Michael, who has freed himself from my vines, struts over and lowers himself. David lifts me up despite my protests and throws me onto Michael’s back. Karina and William shift, Celina placed on Karina’s back while the witches climb onto him.

“Let’s move.”

I hear a hoot in the distance and the owl descends from the dark sky, slicing its own portal into the fabric of reality. We walk through the portal and I quickly realize we were in unclaimed territory somewhere to the North of River Moon. We walk for a minute until we come across a large oak tree with a thick trunk. Tais pulls a few branches in a specific sequence and the earth directly in front of the tree gives way to a dark passage.

They’re taking us underground. I don’t like small dark spaces!

Panic stricken, I writhe against Michael’s back as I try to scream. David holds me down, his hands gripping my arms.

“Don’t make this hard, Aurora. I don’t want to hurt you,” he warns.

Is he f*****g kidding me?

I take several deep breaths but I can feel the fear building up in my chest. To my right Celina wriggles about on Karina’s back, wanting to comfort me. The stupid gag makes it difficult to breathe and I start to choke on it.

“David, get a grip on that girl!” Tais growls as we continue walking down a series of torch-lit corridors.

David places his finger on the gag and takes a deep breathe.

“I know you’re scared, but just breathe. It will be over soon,” he says, gently stroking my hair as tears spill onto my cheeks.

I turn my head, refusing to be comforted by this man and his lies. Instead I focus on my surroundings, attempting to figure out where we were. Several cells line the halls, each one containing one or two rogues pacing back and forth, drool dripping from their snouts. From the rows of cells, I deduce that we’re in a prison of some sort, but what prison? River Moon had the dungeons but this didn’t appear to be them, so where else could we be?

`We turn down the main corridor until we come upon what looks like a circular room, a mess hall perhaps, repurposed for some sort of ritual. Torches and candles light up the entire room. Herbs, mortars, spell books and pots of all shapes and sizes sit on a wooden table on the eastern side of the room and a large black stone table takes the up the majority of the space in the center. The Soul of Insanity stands upright on a sword stand in front of the table and as we come closer, I notice the table and the sword are carved with similar runes. More rogue filled cells line the edges of the room and much to my horror, I see Rosalie curled up in one of the cells, holding her belly protectively.

I writhe some more, catching her attention and she starts to cry. Tais and Ira climb off William’s back and he shifts back into his human form. David picks me up and places me on of the stone table, William doing the same with Celina.

David’s works quickly, spreading my legs apart and tying them to the two ends of the table. Adeline comes over and helps hold me down while David unshackles me and ties my arms apart and over my head to the table so I look like the Vitruvian Man.

When David pulls out a switch blade and starts to rip through my shirt, tears fill my eyes, begging him to stop. He doesn’t though, working through the fabric of my shirt to reveal my black bra. He averts his eyes as he cuts through my bra, exposing my bare chest. I scream against the rag in my mouth as he works down to my jeans and panties, cutting the fabric away.

“Hold still!” Adeline hisses as she holds down my writhing body.

The same process is repeated on Celina, although she gives them more of a fight and receives a few slaps to the face. Tais approaches me, wiping away my tears as I glare at her.

“I get the feeling that you’re mad at me,” she pouts, her fingers traveling down to my medallion. She lifts it up and removes the center jewel from it. “Would you feel better if I was Emma?” she smiles innocently.

Ira takes Celina’s center jewel and both are fitted onto the hilt of the sword, completing its design. Karina shifts into her human form and takes the blade from its stand. Tais brings over a bowl of green fluid and removes the rag from my mouth.

“Drink this,” she says, pinching my jaw open and pouring the liquid into my mouth.

When I spit it out at her, she digs her fingers into my hair and slams my head against the stone table, little black spots blurring my vision as pain surges from the back of my head.

“I won’t ask twice,” she hisses, pouring more into my mouth.

A little disoriented, I swallow the liquid and take a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart

“There, see? That wasn’t so hard was it?” She chuckles.

In the background, I hear William chain Michael to the wall, the latter willingly standing still as the silver shackles are put on him.

“Let him go,” I snap. “You wanted me. That was the deal. Let Oliver go.”

“And we will,” Ira giggles. “After we take all of your b***d.”

What!? That wasn’t the deal!

“You lying bitches-“

“Ah, ah, ah,” Ira scolds, waving a finger at me. “We didn’t lie. We just didn’t tell you how much we needed.” She claps her hands together in excitement. “But fear not, that little cocktail you drank is meant to help keep you alive. You’re still of use to us when this is all over.”

An alarm goes off, signaling the arrival of midnight and the solstice. “It’s time. Karina, you’re up,” Tais orders, everyone stepping back to give Karina space to work

Karina grabs the Soul of Insanity from its stand and walks slowly towards me, pressing the blade against my chest without drawing any b***d. Her dark eyes fill with pure hatred. This was not the woman who raised me. She was long gone. This was a woman determined to see me cease to exist and it was terrifying to see.

“You look just like her,” she whispers, a few tears spilling onto her cheeks. “You were a constant reminder of what we lost because of her. Because of you.” She starts to laugh a little before her face hardens. “But no more,” she hisses, pressing the blade into my chest, making me hiss in a pain as a few drops of b***d spill onto my chest.

She lifts the sword up to my arms and presses the blade against my wrists, her eyes never leaving mine. Time seems to slow down as Karina slices through my skin, b***d spewing from my veins. Rosalie cries out, begging her to stop hurting me but my own screams drown her out. I writhe in agony as Karina slowly makes her way down my body, cutting and slicing until my b***d pools around me and my eyes grow heavy. Its suddenly freezing and my body refuses to stop trembling as more b***d spills from my wounds and onto the table. Celina wriggles and protests but can do nothing to help me, crying out as I struggle to keep my eyes open.

Moving on to Celina, Karina makes the same incisions on her body until Celina too is covered in b***d. I desperately try to stay awake but my exhaustion finally takes over and I lose consciousness.

—

A sudden warmth envelops me and I wake up surrounded by a sea of sand. A bright light blinds my view and I raise a hand to shade my eyes as I hear a g***n besides me, only to find Celina laying next me.

“Celina?” I tap her shoulder, jolting her wide awake.

She looks around in confusion. “Where are we?”

I shrug, taking in the view myself. We were in the middle of what appeared to be a sandy desert with a volcano sitting off in the distance. Despite the bright red sun dancing in the sky, the air is not arid or hot, but cool and refreshing. On the horizon, we see what looks to be a temple made of solid gold surrounded by plush green shrubs, fruitful trees, and a small stream. The sun shines brightly and if I look closely, I can see dragons flying across the sky.

Dragons?

Getting up, Celina and I decide to investigate this strange realm.

Hot coals line the path leading up to the temple and as we approach it, we notice beautiful fire carvings in its walls. The temple was a cubed structure with an arch on each wall and fire pit in the center. At the top of each corner of the temple, a torch was lit. I grab Celina’s hand as we climb the steps of the temple and stand before the fire pit, a burning flame currently blazing in the center.

“Where are we?” Celina asks again.

“You are in the Realm of the Sun,” a deep voice from behind us answers.

We spin around to find a tall man with golden locks of hair and sky blue eyes looking at us. He wore white robes with gold accents and gold jewels that complimented his tan skin. In his presence, I felt the urge to kneel and so I got on my knees, Celina doing the same.

“Who are you?” Celina asks.

“You are just as much my daughters and creations as you are the Moon’s. It was my light that gave you your powers. I am the Sun,” he responds.

“Sun God,” I murmur to myself, feeling dread settle in the pit of my stomach. “This is you’re kingdom..”

He chuckles softly, his laugh making my cheeks flush and I muster up the courage to look up at him.

“Indeed,” he says. “You may rise, child. I have something to show you. Both of you”

Without looking back, Sun God turns on his heel and starts walking down the coal lined path towards the stream. We rush to catch up, our short legs no match for his long graceful strides. When we reach the water, he simply points to the flowing stream before stepping aside so we could look.

We watch the water curiously but only see our reflections.

Confused, I look up at Sun God. “I don’t understand.”

“Patience, child,” is all he says.

I turn back to the water, looking a bit closer in case I missed something. The clear water suddenly ripples and in the waves, an image starts to form. Two little girls with dark brown hair and greens eyes sit in a field of poppies, smiling and giggling. The picture begins to move like a movie, Celina and I entranced by the events unfolding.

The little girls play a game of tag when suddenly, an army of werewolves appear in the horizon lead by a gold wolf. Frightened, the girls race back to their small village, explaining what they saw to their family. In a hurry, the family pack their belongings when the door to their home comes crashing down, three wolves snarling furiously at them. An older woman, presumably their mother, stands in front of the girls protectively as one of the wolves pounces on them.

The woman fights the wolf while the girls cower in fear under the table. Much to our horror, after a terrible fight, the woman suddenly stops moving. One of the other wolves towers over the table, ready to attack when a man enters the house and lunges himself on the wolf. Taking advantage of the situation, the girls scramble out from under the table and rush to a nearby window. The older girl throws her sister out into safety before climbing out herself as their savior takes their last breath.

Tears streaming down their faces, the two girls grab what little they could carry and race toward the woods. As they look back at their village, the gold wolf breathes fire from its snout, setting their houses ablaze while other soldiers drag woman and children out of their homes, killing them mercilessly. Frightened, alone, and grieving, the two little girls seek shelter in the trees.

The images slowly fade, our faces once again reflecting in the water.

“Hatred poisons the spirit,” Sun God sighs. “You will not win this war with hatred for it is the very thing that perpetuates it.”

“Then how?” Celina asks. “How do we stop them when they’ve always been ahead?”

“Tais and Ira have long forgotten what it means to let light into their soul and as such, have weakened themselves. Hatred does not feed your soul, it slowly consumes it,” he says, pointing to the water once more. “To defeat those witches, you will need to remember what it is you are fighting for.”

We turn to the water, a young girl with hair black as night dancing in a man’s arms, her belly swollen with life. The man spins her around and my breath hitches when I realize her face looks exactly like ours.

“Mom…” I whimper as I watch the couple k**s. “Dad…”

Our father showers our mother with k****s, holding onto her belly lovingly. They were so in love. He kneels in front of her, kissing her bump as she giggles.

Emiliano and Valentina burst into the room, the latter jumping onto my father’s back and laughing hysterically. Emiliano lifts my mother in his arms and spins her around.

They were all so happy…

The images morph into series of scenes from Celina’s life. Danny holds a one year old Celina upright, letting her hands go as she stumbles on her feet. Slowly, Celina takes a step, and then another before falling into Valentina’s arms as she cheers for her little girl’s first steps. Next, an older Celina and Diego roll around in snow together, laughing and smiling before engaging in a snow ball fight.

The scene changes again, this time showing parts of my life I cherished dearly. We watch a large oak tree form in the water, Emiliano and 4 year me sitting on its branches eating mangos and swinging our feet happily. The tree disappears, turning into an open field full of colorful butterflies Chava created. Mia and I race through it, a kaleidoscope of butterflies taking flight all at once. It was his Christmas gift to us many years ago. The three of us vanish, the water shifting one last time to my first k**s with Oliver all those months ago at the fort, our bodies fitting perfectly against each other.

My eyes fill with tears at these happy memories that slowly start to fade into the water. The realm slowly begins to crumble and I start to feel pain across my body.

“Don’t let your hatred poison you. Seek light,” Sun God’s voice booming from the clouds. I turn to look at the place where he was once standing, realizing he had completely disappeared.

“Remember who you love,” His omnipotent voice adds. “Remember who you are fighting for.”