Chapter 38 Reverie
Reverie
Oren burst through the shattered stone first, blackened wings of shadow spreading behind him without him even realizing it. It brought a tear to my eye how similar he was to his uncle in ability and temperament.
Nathan’s flames died the moment he saw me—replaced with awe so raw it made my chest ache.
Zeke and Zane skidded to a halt beside him, their Draxon eyes glowing like Starfire.
Jet whispered, voice hoarse, “Holy shit… she’s… she’s crowned.”
All of them looked like they’d been in a horrible battle. Clothes torn and blood covering them.
Mom entered the chamber with Grumpy, Pops, and Dad circling her protectively.
And when she saw Rue, Mom froze.
She was wearing the twin swords Zeke had gifted me on each side of her hips. They’d been lying beside me before Trent took me. Her eyes found Selene pinned to the wall by my power.
A tremor went through her. Not fear but of pure, unadulterated hate.
Selene hissed, “Adelaide—you bitch—don’t—”
Mom didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward, and my fathers stepped back, giving her room.
I lowered my power just enough for her to approach—the queens inside me humming in approval.
Mom stopped inches from Selene, looking her dead in the face. “For my daughter and my Sly,” she whispered.
Then she pulled Ashfang from its sheath and drove it straight into Selene’s throat in one clean, unflinching strike.
Her skin cracked first, thin glowing fissures racing across her throat and jaw.
Smoke curled from the wounds, followed by a low, rising hiss as if the fire inside her had been waiting for this exact moment to breathe.
She clawed at the blade, but her fingers blistered instantly, flesh blackening before our eyes.
Heat shimmered around her, the air bending and buckling.
Then she ignited.
Flames roared out from the wound, swallowing her neck, her hair, and her scream.
Her body arched, burning from the inside out, edges collapsing into glowing embers that drifted away on the air like falling stars.
The last thing to crumble was her glare—still hateful, still locked on Adelaide—before it disintegrated into ash and scattered across the floor.
Ubel screamed, but Zane’s fire and Zeke’s ice hit him at the same time, pinning him helpless until Oren’s shadows wrapped around his wrists and throat.
Mom cleaned her blade with a steady hand. She spoke, voice not trembling in the least. “Thank you, my queen. I’ve waited a long time to end her.”
The Ancestors whispered through me, satisfied.
The chamber settled.
The light dimmed.
My feet touched the ground again—but the power didn’t vanish.
I walked forward, glowing, part goddess, part woman.
All queen—and everyone bowed.
I approached Mom and drew Frostbane from its sheath.
Then turned and slid it into Ubel’s chest with a sound more like shattering glass than tearing flesh, the blade’s icy magic racing ahead of the steel.
His breath hitched—one sharp, shocked inhale—before a plume of white mist burst from his mouth, frosting the air between us.
The cold spread violently, spiderwebbing across his skin in jagged crystalline patterns, freezing him from the inside out.
He tried to speak, but his lips had already turned blue, then pale, then translucent as the frost consumed him.
A heartbeat later, the ice surged outward in a brutal snap, encasing his entire body in a glassy shell.
Cracks formed instantly—hairline fractures shooting through him like lightning—until with a final, brittle gasp, Ubel shattered.
He broke apart in a burst of glittering shards, scattering across the stone like crushed diamonds, the remnants of him dissolving into drifting frost that vanished before it touched the ground.
“That’s for killing one of MINE!”
I turned, tears rising again, as the ancestral glow softened around Trent’s still form. Handsome beyond belief even in death.
“Rest now,” I whispered. “I’ll see you when this life is done.”
And I could swear I heard him reply, “Live well, little Bellator. I’ll be waiting.”
We carried Trent’s body as we walked out of the chamber—Rue leaning heavily on Sly, Mom at my side, my men surrounding me like a shield.
I was shocked to see a giant creature I thought was a myth, dismembered and dead, right outside the room.
I looked to Oren in question, and he just smiled that arrogant smile that filled my heart with love. “A small problem we had to get through to reach you.”
I arched one brow, “I’d like to hear the whole story at some point.”
“You absolutely will since I’m the hero of the tale.” Zane puffed out his chest.
Zeke rolled his eyes, “Of course you were.”
We stepped out into the open air, just as dawn was breaking across the mountains.
And all of Aurathia seemed to be waiting.
Fellats—dozens of them, summoned by Pantar and Mila—bowed low, tentacles rippling like banners. Pantar pushed forward, giving a deep, reverent rumble.
The Varruk warriors, towering and fearsome, slammed their fists to their chests the moment they saw me.
Kharox—the one who had chosen me first—stepped forward and bent one knee, then ran a single claw down his sternum.
All of them looked as if they’d been involved in a battle of epic proportions.
It seemed I’d missed some things while I was in the chamber.
“My queen,” he growled.
Behind them, warriors from the caves of Nyberie gathered in ranks, eyes shining with awe.
My people.
My realm.
My birthright.
A sound broke the moment—
“Bestie!” Chloe ran through the warriors like a hurricane, throwing her arms around me and sobbing into my shoulder. “What the fuck? Why didn’t Trent take me too? Doesn’t he know we’re ride or die besties, sisters from different misters, bound for eternity by our love for Dale and Brennan?”
Nathan grunted, clearly irritated, but for once, he kept his mouth closed, smoothly stroking his hand down Dale’s feathers.
I laughed through tears, hugging her tight.
Behind her, I saw Mom and my fathers embracing Rue, tears streaming down their faces. Their Faction was whole again for the first time in years. I gave Chloe one last squeeze before letting her go and approached them.
When Rue saw me coming, he met me halfway. I nearly collapsed into his arms.
“I can’t believe I have a daughter.” His voice was thick and broken. “My girl…a queen.” He lifted a strand of my hair, then ran a finger over my cheek. “I’ve missed so much, and all of this was my fault.”
“No!” I hugged him tight. “You tried the only way you knew to fix things. The Dark Factions were the ones to pervert your cure.”
He whispered nonsensical words as he rocked me in his arms, and the rest of my parents joined him. After a few minutes, they took him away to be alone, away from the crowd, where they could comfort him and each other. I knew they had a lot of time to make up for, and I was beyond happy for them.
I felt the warmth of them surround me, tired of waiting for my attention. Each of them touching me, somewhere: a hand on my waist, a shoulder, a cheek, a kiss pressed to my hair.
For the first time since my very first life—
I was ready to embrace my men and live the life Kratos/Trent/Torren had given his life for us to have. The name didn’t really matter; it was the soul that gave everything to me.
A ripple of wind swept across the mountain as every creature, every warrior, every soul bowed.
The Ancestors whispered one final time through the echo of dawn: “A QUEEN WITH SIX HEARTS. A REALM RESTORED.”
I stepped forward, my men flanking me, Chloe crying, Deshawn and Oliver fussing over her, my parents radiating joy, the Fellat and Varruk roaring their allegiance.
The sun broke the horizon.
And a new reign began.