“The Lycan’s flame.”Ashryn the Great holds up something that burns. I look around and see I am in a room. Metal equipment of various lengths and sizes are littered around and Diane is here too. Her hair has been let down and it looks so silky it’s almost like a curtain but she has curls to them. There’s a frown on her face.She does not look happy. King Ashryn turns to look at her and he frowns, concerned,“You don’t like it, my love?”Diane’s frown falls as her husband addresses her and she sighs.“It’s beautiful. Powerful, dare I say it, but you know this isn’t safe right?”I nod along with her. Ashryn was a good king according to what I read but this might just be the only mistake he made.I feel the Lycan’s flame power up as he commands it to. The air becomes charged with energy, the kind that makes you feel like you’re breathing better and the world has suddenly become a million times clearer. I find it weird that I can feel this but I can. I can see my hands even.I am standi

Queen Diane helps me hold my hair back as I retch. Sea water gushes out of my mouth and what follows is relief. I always feel horrible when I vomit, yet this makes my body feel freed. Something in me chills as I come to a conclusion but that isn’t what matters right now. “Someone’s been using the Lycan’s flame.” I look up at the queen and blink back the tears at the side of my eyes. My body is still a body after all, but what I saw just now…. “You’ve known all this while haven’t you?” She shakes her head and rises. The Queen I see in those memories and the one who stands in front of me are so vastly different that I almost feel scammed. Where is the fierceness I saw in her eyes? The pride of being able to command spirits of every shape and size? The assurance of capability she exuded? “I suspected something like that was happening too, but I know it isn’t. No one could have used the Lycan’s flame, not after what I did.” Something in me curls at her words. It doesn’t just curl,

“Tell us the truth, Cain.”Adelaide sounds cold. Like the wind in winter.When I look at her I can see it’s the concern she feels for me that’s making her sound like that. The concern and the suspicion in her eyes.She knows something new and I hate the fact that this has to happen in front of Rafie. I wouldn’t have minded showing it to her alone, but Rafie is a wild card. I don’t know what to do with him.“I have other things to do, Cain. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”At the sound of Rafie’s voice, I feel something in the air change and memories tingle the back of my mind. To have a King care for you is a deep and violent thing, sometimes they cause you harm without meaning to. I consider how much harm this will cause if I do tell them, but the truth is that it will cause more harm if I don't.“The first time it happened was when Lyros used his magic to heal me.”Adelaide tenses up immediately and I take a few steps away from her just to put distance between us. I don’

She blinks and when she looks at me, it’s with a bewildered expression on her face. Her voice is almost a whisper when she speaks but I hear her clearly.“Excuse me?”My words get stuck in my throat but I say them all the same.“I said I'm sorry. I apologize for what I did to Cain…. I wasn’t meant to do that. I panicked.”Adelaide blinks yet again and she releases a disbelief-filled huff of air. Her expression tells me everything I need to know.She’s surprised and she can’t believe her ears, but she’s also scared.“You’ve never apologized for anything in the past.”Her voice is in that whispery-like timbre again and I nod.“Some things have changed since we first met.”Adelaide stares at me and I can see the disbelief when it enters her eyes. That courage she’s known for, the courage to be brave even when she knows it can be provocative, that courage rises in her and she scoffs.“Nice try. An apology won’t make me forget what you did.”“But it’s a start isn’t it?”Adelaide freezes a

“How is this….. happening ?” Lyros grins but doesn’t reply to me. He simply keeps on walking and sticks his hand into his pockets. People stop to look at us as we pass by and they’re not just people, they’re humans. We were in Raleigh a second ago, so unless Lyros is deceiving me with an illusion, then we really did just leave the border and step into the human world. That should be impossible. Normal Lycans can barely leave unless they are banished by their King, and werewolves cannot leave at all since there hasn’t been an Alpha King in forever. Walking through the border shouldn’t be something anyone can do, but Lyros has done much more than that. We’ve crossed thousands of miles in a mere second. “Excuse me, Miss.” I flinch and the female in front of me looks startled. She has creamy white hair and has her phone in hand. Her clothes are human clothes and she’s so clearly human I cannot deny the fact. “I just wanted to say you look really pretty. I like your dress.” I mana