The Luna's Bodyguard [a mature werewolf romance]

Ch 53: All Hail the Queen

OPHELIA

"Aurora," I cried out, swinging upright. Reaching for her, as I always did when I had a bad dream.

Not so that she could comfort me, but so that I could comfort myself with the knowledge that she was there. That she was safe. That it was just the cruel imaginings of my tormented brain that insisted she was hurting, stolen, gone.

My fingers curled around empty air. Gone, indeed.

A strong hand steadied my lower back. Another brushed against my forehead, testing my temperature. I was sitting amongst the scatterings of a five-course meal, wine spilled from goblets and morsels from plates, making my legs sticky where they rested against the tabletop.

Naked, on a tabletop. Not too far off my humble beginnings, I thought wryly, before a handsome and very intimidating knight dropped to his knees before me, grey eyes spitting sparks.

"You're a fucking idiot," Fallon snarled. "What were you thinking?"

Nate's presence was solid and steady behind me. "Fallon," he warned.

"Plunging that blade in your heart is no different than skewering mine," he said, jabbing his chest so hard I could feel his pain echoing through the bond. "I swear to the Gods, if you pull that shit again, I -"

"Enough!" Nate barked, all command.

I was crying in earnest, now. I could have sworn I'd heard her voice as I came to, but the room was empty, save a couple of limp bodies. One of which was nearly headless.

Reginald. I felt a surge of pride, but it was quickly trumped by guilt and grief.

"She was here, wasn't she?" I asked, sniffing as I curled into Nate's chest. Fallon's face crumpled at the sight of me brought so low, and all the bluster slipped away, leaving the vulnerable boy in his wake.

I didn't know how, exactly, but I could sense Aurora's passing. It was like the atmosphere was a field of springy grass and her footsteps had left the faintest impression.

Something deep in my chest hummed in recognition. I felt my eyes widen as I poked and prodded at it, taking its measure.

"She is not the girl you remember," Fallon said, not unkindly. "What we saw today was nothing like your memories. Aurora was cold. Calculating."

"But not merciless," I protested, turning over his newer memories with budding awe. "Perhaps Addy can fill in the gaps."

We all turned towards the black-clothed witch hovering by the doors. Her expression was cruel but her eyes were uncertain.

"Neither of us are truly alive anymore," she said shortly. "We are made."

"Of the world. For the world," I responded, the words welling from something deep in my chest. The magic that Aurora planted deep inside, to pad my tired, bruised heart.

Something dark flickered in the Witted One's gaze. "Yes. Now you understand why I did what I did. The necessity of pledging your child to our cause. With him, we can —"

"Silence," I commanded, waving my hand sharply.

Him. The gender of my future child, so callously revealed, was yet another choice that was thoughtlessly taken from me.