A Kingdom of Bloodshed (A Crimson Court Series)

*¬*Chapter Thirty Nine*¬*

    ...Eternity. It rips the world from around me as colours and feelings and sounds I've never heard appear. That world, that in-between place where peace and time are endless, has returned. Taking in the surroundings and this place of endlessness I am tempted to stay here forever. Spinning in place I absorb the colours and feelings of being free. Truly free. But that sensation doesn't last long when I hear a familiar voice call out to me.

"Hello Thea." Whirling I see Myra standing before me. Her hair cascading down her back in loose curls, hands buried in her pockets. "Myra? I thought I'd never see you again."

She smiles and strides forward. "You weren't supposed to but, you've activated the Crown and therefore have called upon me for my powers."

I frown, "But I don't need your magic. I have my own. I also have demon blood in my system. That was a shock to learn about."

She chuckles, "Indeed it was."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it wasn't the right time nor did I think it would ever be important enough to bring up. But I guess you can never trust a demon to keep their mouths shut about anything."

I laugh, "Indeed." We are silent for a moment as we regard each other. "So what now?"

Myra smiles and brushes a loose strand of hair from my face. "Now you must decide. Do you accept the power of your bloodline or do you reject it?"

I frown, "What happens if I reject it?"

She sighs, "Would you like me to show you?"

⤗

         Death. Eternal, unrelenting death. That's what awaits everyone I love, should I reject the Crown. Sauron will destroy this world by summoning a legion of his own demons and they will wipe us out. Every last one of us.

Watching my loved ones die one by one takes my breath away; it shatters the fragile wall of my ribs and sends me to my knees, screaming for it to stop.

"I don't want to look. I don't want to see!" But she keeps showing me. Myra sends the images pelting into my brain until all I see is death. Arrow is cut in half like she's no more than a block of cheese. Ryder is pinned to the ground while demons eat him alive. Raven and Fin are turned to ash by dark power. And Kaz?

My beautiful, unrelenting mate is beaten down until there is nothing left in him. His magic is depleted until all he has left to use is his sword. He swings that until his arms fail, and then that's when they hit him. The demons tear him to pieces as he roars my name into the afterlife.

"If you reject the Crown you needed to see what would have happened."

The tears are spilling down my cheeks, they stain my face as I rasp, "I wasn't going to reject it. I just wanted to know if I had a choice."

Myra frowns, "You weren't going to reject the crown?"

"No. I want to save my people, my family. I just wanted a choice. I needed to make this decision on my own."

She strides forward, her hands cupping my cheeks as she whispers, "I'm so proud of you, my child. You are a worthy being for this Crown. You will make an amazing High Lady one day. Now say it, quickly, as time is running out." I hold her wrists and whisper,

"I accept you. I, Althea Alinac, accept you Myra as my extra strength and my source of unlimited power, to be used for good and save this world. To rid it of evil and send the very demon back to where he belongs."

Myra sighs and places her forehead to mine, as she closes her eyes she whispers, "Be careful Thea. Once we are joined, there is no undoing this. We won't see each other again. The Crown is powerful and dark too, it may corrupt you. Don't let it. Know your limits."

Then, as if an invisible breeze sweeps through the place, Myra begins to turn into ash. Her body floating away into the endless expanse around me but her voice still whispers to me; calling out, Remember who you are Warrior Blood. Don't lose yourself.

Breath.

One singular breath exhales from my lips before this beautiful place around me begins to tilt and squeeze, as a vacuum of life sucks me back towards the reality of what I was leaving behind.

⤗

            Breath.

I take a singular breath and taste the salt in the air. The iron that stains the ground. One breath before the Crown, that's nestled in my hair purrs: Hello beautiful Queen, time to rise.