The True Queen- Book Two

Chapter Seventy-One: Rayana

Rayana collapses to the floor, gasping for breath, her body shaking. For a few moments, all she can do is blink and shudder as she tries to process everything.

Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, she looks up. She gasps and stumbles back reflexively as she sees the man from the vision approach her.

"Rayana," he says gently, coming to a stop before her. He is even more spectacular in person. There is a golden hue that surrounds his towering frame and his beauty is so pure and perfect. Gently, he holds out his hand. Ray takes it slowly and he helps pull her up from the ground.

Ray gazes up at him, her throat dry and unable to form words. Her mind still spins and it is making her dizzy.

"It is a lot to take in," he states, his voice deep and powerful. Ray can only nod as he pulls her arm so it is linked with his. She turns her head to look up at him.

"You're my father," she whispers. He nods his head.

"I am," he replies.

"What does that make me?" she asks.

"A demigod," he replies softly. "Before you stepped into these lands, anyway."

"What am I now?" she asks.

With a flick of his hand, a large mirror appears before them. Rayana gasps.

She looks like her but also not. Her skin has the same golden glow as her father's. Her eyes are also golden. Though she was already beautiful, now there is a strange perfection to it. Her skin is too smooth, her lips too soft and her hair too shiny and thick.

"What happened to me?" she asks in a whisper.

"You are a god," he states. Her heart skips a beat and she turns to look up at him. Her mouth opens and closes a few times but she can't think of what to say.

"How?" she finally whispers.

"When you leapt into our world," he begins, "it activated the god's blood." 

"So what happens when I go back to the mortal realm?" she asks.

"You will remain a god," he tells her.

"But what about when Kristoff kills me?"

His jaw clenches and his lips pull into a line. "That moment," he begins, "is a moment that must happen. It is set in stone and cannot be avoided. At that moment and only that moment, your body shall return to its mortal form."

Ray nods her head, biting at her lips and gulping as a lump forms in her throat.

"I suppose I will have to head back to that moment soon," she whispers. Her father smiles.

"Not necessarily," he begins as they start to move to exit the tree.

Ray's heart flutters as she gets outside and sees the beautiful world again. The delicate pink skies, the gentle breeze and the see of colourful trees and crystal clear rivers and lakes. A long sigh leaves her mouth and her muscles relax.

"This is a place where time both stands still and moves all at once. It is a place where every timeline in every world collides at once. There is no past or present and future. It is just here."

"How does that work? There must be a past because I am not where I woke up and there is a present because I am standing here and there is a future because we will move away from this point?" she says quickly. He chuckles at her confused frown.

"We move through these lands with a past, present and future," he explains, "but these lands do not move."

Ray just blinks and pretends to understand. He chuckles again.