Meeting Aggie

31.

I stuttered out my next few words. "Damn. So, uh. Um. Uh. Sorry?"

I mentally chastised myself, frustrated by my inability to find the right words. All I could grasp was the profound impact it would have had on me if I had never known about my sister's pregnancy and then she passed away.

Apollo pinched my arm. "She meant to say, how are you feeling?"

Iris shrugged and opened a random door. "The peasant who got her pregnant was not only a low-leveled fairy, but he was also part werewolf. That could've angered anyone. Her autopsy said she died of natural causes, but fairies have longevity. We can live well past five hundred years with no issue."

She ushered us into the room and closed the door behind us. It looked like a fairy training room with enchanted weapons and items everywhere.

She sat in a circle surrounded by red and white roses. She beckoned me forward and told Apollo to stand on the other side of the room and wait.

I followed her movements and sat in the circle. "How do you think she died?"

She held out her hands, and I grabbed them. Her light brown eyes glowed as she took a deep breath. I allowed the subject to drop to focus on what was important for now, but I still wanted to know the answer.

Her voice darkened as she spoke. "In order to fully unlock your fairy side, you must be recognized as part of our kin since you weren't born here. In order to proceed, I will need your blood. Do you accept?" I nodded, but she barked at me. "Verbal consent, Agatha."

"Yes, I accept."

Iris made eye contact with Apollo. "Throw to me the dagger on the shelf to your right."

Apollo grabbed the dagger off the shelf and threw it. Iris grabbed the dagger swiftly, but it nicked her palm. I think that may have been the plan, as she next swiped the dagger across my right palm.

A sharp hiss escaped my lips, betrayed by the pain. Squeezing our palms together, she allowed our blood to mingle and drip into the center of the circle. The pooled blood emitted an eerie, dark pink glow.

"I, Queen Iris Rivermoon of the Fairy Kingdom, recognize Agatha Youngblood as the future ruler of the supernatural empire and born of fairy blood."

The rose ring glowed brighter then died down. It healed the dagger's wounds on our palms as well, for which I was grateful. Iris and I stepped out of the circle.

She gave me a sad smile. "To answer your question, I think she was poisoned. We have the best healers, but even they determined it was natural causes. I don't think it was."

Apollo walked up to us. "If you really want to know, Aggie could confirm what caused her to die."

Iris raised her eyebrow. "Really now? How so?"

I raised my eyebrows at him. "I can?"

Apollo nodded. "Angel. Vast power. You can examine the body or resurrect her temporarily. Up to you."

I rubbed my chin. "True but scary. I've never done anything like that before, but I'm willing to try."

Apollo scratched the back of his head. "As long as we have Queen Iris' consent, I'm sure it will be fine."

Iris shook her head excitedly. "I would love to speak with her. I don't mind that at all."

"Would she?" I blurted out, my words slipping out before I could filter them.

"Perhaps. If you had witnessed her final moments, you would have seen the fear etched in her eyes."

I shut my mouth after that. Even if it wasn't intentional, I was being insensitive. At the back of my mind, I wanted to blame Remiel for my sudden attitude change.

A majority of my attitude reflected my anger and hatred toward how I was treated because of my witch side. I was looking to blame everyone but myself.

Iris led me and Apollo to her sister's grave in the cemetery where all the other fairies were buried. It looked similar to the cemeteries in the human realm, but the markers were white and blue with different colored flowers surrounding them.

They also remained polished and new, rather than disintegrating with time. Each grave showed a name, an epitaph of cute quotes or kind words, and the birth year and death year. Nearly all of the dead fairies lived to be over three hundred or four hundred.

Some of them lived well past the five hundreds like Iris said. Her sister's stone said one hundred twenty. She didn't even make it halfway. The gravestone read "Princess Celeste Rivermoon—befallen queen of the fairy kingdom."

"Befallen? That's terrible. Who the heck is responsible?" Apollo scoffed.

"Her lover phrased the epitaph, and as someone who was grieving, I agreed to it. Looking back on it, I regret the decision." Iris chuckled.

I made noise in disagreement. "I don't think it's terrible. I think there's more to the quote than what we're understanding."

Iris nodded. "Could be. I mean, she was meant to be the queen, not me. The entire kingdom loved her more, and I was fine with stepping down."

Apollo clasped his hands together. "We can't revive her if you guys keep chatting about her. Aggie, are you ready?"

I turned to him. "Why can't you revive her again?"

"There's only so much I can do as a god. I feel like you forgot that I'm betraying my family by helping you." Apollo glared at me.

I wasn't sure how I forgot, but it was true. Apollo risked a lot coming with me on my journey of unlocking my other forms.

It would behoove me not to extend the favor to help me unlock other forms and risk him destroying even more bonds on Olympus.

I nodded. "My apologies. Awaiting your instructions."

Apollo took my hand and urged me to sit. He motioned for Iris to sit as well.

"I don't appreciate my new dress getting dirty, but anything to see her again." Iris sighed deeply, dropping to the ground.

Apollo rolled his eyes and looked at me.

"Aggie, take her hand. Iris, envision your sister so Aggie can have a visual," he instructed, his words sparking suspicion in both of us. Despite our skepticism, we followed his command.

In an instant, a vision unfolded before me, revealing a woman who stood in stark contrast to Iris. Where Iris possessed a rich, brown complexion, this woman had fair, porcelain skin.

Her light blue eyes, distinct from Iris' warm brown gaze, shimmered with an ethereal glow. Observing the sisters side by side, it became evident that their wings, adorned with the same opulent hue, were the only I deduced that they must be fraternal twins, their differences speaking to their unique identities.

Just as I absorbed this revelation, a rugged, groaningnoise rumbled beneath the ground, injecting an air of uncertainty andanticipation into the atmosphere.