Chapter 34 - The Guardian Ascension
Serena
By morning, Queen Adna and I stood at the entrance of the portal between Ehnrelil and Phanteon, waiting for the rest of the High Elders to arrive.
The twins were already with us, acting as both our guards and witnesses of the guardian ascension of their mother.
High Elders Asherah, Jhenniha, Hrista, and three more were already present. Though there were approximately twelve elders in Ehnrelil who were supposed to witness the event too, because of the great war and Geraden’s eventual fall, only six were left; all loyal and supportive of me and Queen Adna’s double rule.
We needed one more elder, and this one had already informed beforehand he will be attending.
Queen Adna called him High Elder Hadon, and upon careful digging of my memories, I remembered this fae to be one o
Chapter 35 - An Enemy within the CourtSerenaWith fluid movements, Nicolette gestured for Lady Hanhenna’s hands. She gave them, palm up. Then, the former guided these same hands to submerge inside the fount. Lady Hanhenna bent forward and lowered her head in the process.“Lady Hanhenna, please follow me,” Nicolette continued. “Respect, devotion, courage, strength, honesty, and equality.”“Respect, devotion, courage, strength, honesty and equality.” Lady Hanhenna echoed the words with sincerity.I watched them in silence, happy that I get to see the ritual this close.“These are our key values as a guardian. Accept them.” The water that submerged their hands started to glow.“I accept,” Lady Hanhenna replied.“Vow
Chapter 36 - DesperationAeroI went back to the castle with high hopes of the future: me, Serena, our children, and Elijah, Rhea and their children, living, surrounded by love, and running the kingdom in harmony and peace. It was the best vision of the future I could ever hope for.This was what I held onto to keep me sane; to keep me from trashing the whole castle or the mountains of Phanteon.When Elijah and I still talked, like a big brother, I concealed the chaos brewing inside me. I didn’t want him to worry. I didn’t want him to see how on edge I was with all these revelations popping in one day.But now, as I stood alone inside my chamber, the walls started to close in on me. I gripped the cushion of my sofa and with my retracted claws, tore some of it out and tossed it into the burning logs. The blazing fire thereafter covered
Chapter 37 - The Lost Alpha KingAeroGrandmother.She had to use that blatant term.I was supposed to be pissed off about it, but there was something inside me that stirred. Warmth. An affirmation that she was my blood. My family.As she was now, she indeed looked like a servant with her printed apron and her unkempt long locks, but the depths of her eyes showed a degree of nobility. Of strength and boundless knowledge.She was a luna through and through. And that intrigued me how she became a servant for General Halcynos. However, her past life wasn’t what I wanted to hear. It was my mother’s, so instead of indulging her query, I changed the topic.“Donna.” My real mother, I wanted to add but refrained. “Is she still alive?” The winds rushing over the hills died to ac
Chapter 38 – The QuestSerenaIt only took a short invitation for Adamar and Adaen to join us. They loved this kind of quest and in addition, they thankfully knew already who this fae hermit was. They said that he used to serve King Alduin before the realms were born and possessed a status of High Elder. He underwent an enlightenment journey too, but came out more than enlightened. He decided to live on his own thereafter. King Alduin gave him freedom, despite how indispensable the man was.I was surprised they know that much detail about him while I didn’t. I grew up in Ehnrelil too, but I hadn’t heard this kind of story from my mother, the other elders, or my fellow trainees.“You forget, our mother is a High Elder, Serena,” was what they explained.But of course, Lady Hanhenna... She existed as old a
Chapter 39 – Meeting the HermitAeroCall me overprotective. I don’t care. This is what I am, especially when dealing with my wife and my children.This quest, I expected, would lead us to danger in one way or another. Honestly, I wanted Serena safe and sound inside our castle instead, but she fuels me. She gives me inspiration. She pushes me to move forward, find my mother, and be done with it. Selfish as it may, I needed her presence in this quest.Luckily, so far, we encountered no danger as we trekked the fields and hills of Elaga. I expected Geraden’s foolhardy supporters waiting to avenge him, or maybe Sattus’s baby-eating monsters to attack us, but neither of these groups appeared.Instead, I came face to face with an Amazonian-wannabe woman whose spiky and likely poisoned-tipped arrows directed our ch
Chapter 40 - His BloodAeroWe didn’t stay any longer inside Calahiem’s cave. We hopped realms to Earth, to Florida specifically under Serena’s lead. I was cool with it since she was with me; however, my attention wandered to the people who came with us: Elijah, who joined us when we were at Ehnrelil’s plaza where a portal to Earth was nearby, Adamar who looked consciously silent since he returned to our group, and that woman—his so-called true mate who disappointingly joined us.Whatever happened between them during the time they left us, I could only imagine. But it definitely changed Adamar’s mood. With his poker face on, I couldn’t tell what he was feeling, but I was sure of one thing: this ship was a mistake.I could say this because he kept on tossing the woman glances during our travel—longingly, might I add&mdas
Chapter 41- Awkward ReunionSerenaThe ease of which we found Aero’s real mother, I could deem lucky, but I never thought it would all lead us back to Earth. For a daughter of the Alpha and Luna of the Bastion Pack, why would she hide on Earth? Or was this where she was banished by King Gideon?High Elder Geraden never spoke of the reasons after he gave us her address. Said that it was hers to share. He wanted to let Aurora accompany us though, for safety reasons he said, but I had a feeling the reason was far deeper than this. He was too secretive, too vague. I sensed something odd that instant.This was verified when we finally saw Donna.I was ecstatic to meet her, but I didn’t expect this kind of twist. Aero had a half-sister, and this time, it wasn’t some made-up truth. By blood, they were truly related.
Chapter 42 – A Mother’s SacrificeSerenaAn audible gasp escaped from my mouth, and I raced to cover it with my hand. I heard Elijah and Adamar wince. I saw Donna stiffen. Aero himself was frozen, his eyes constricted with surprise.“How dare you speak to our mother like that!” Aurora shouted, shooting daggers through her eyes as she stood face to face with Aero.The latter growled and returned her glares with equal force. “You don’t have the right to talk to me like that or slap me! I am your alpha king! I hold power over you!”“You are my brother first!” she cried out, her eyes welling up with tears. “And I implore you to listen. Our mother, she’s in pain too! Our mother suffered too!”I held Aero’s right elbow to stabilize him. Make him feel that