Chapter 2

H ello, Father,” I said, placing a smile on my face and standing tall.

My father, Braxton Thibodeaux, was no one you wanted to meet in a dark alley. He stood almost as tall as the seven-foot columns that decorated the old castle. I guess that’s the only thing I inherited from my dad. His dark umber skin glistened against the inner ward's white walls. My father’s murky brown eyes sparkled with amusement as if he knew I had just got caught red-handed. His wide smile that struggled to contain his teeth opened and damn if I’m not crazy, but I found myself with a large one as well. It’s one thing about my father. Whatever mood you were in before seeing my father never lasted. I don’t know if he cast a spell on himself, making him likable, but whatever it was, it was working.

I retreated down the steps, and into my father’s waiting bulky arms. His velvety skin enveloped me in a hug. He smelled like the cinnamon and sweet oranges that were sold in Tou-Sin Square. My mother, who just caught up with me, comes to a stop when she sees me and my dad together. She stood there with a hand on her hip and arched one of her perfect eyebrows as she waited to see if I would come clean. I wouldn’t. I tried to shrug away from him, but not before he planted a kiss on my head and turned his attention to my mother, placing a kiss on her cheek.

They kept their public display of affection minimal to nonexistent. My parents were fated mates. The greatest gift the goddess had bestowed on their royals. Unlike the coven witches, royals were bound to another kindred magical spirit—a fated bond. And a royal who fails to find a mate by their twenty-fifth birthday would fall under the curse of glut.

Long after, the goddesses returned to the otherworld and, before the three sisters rose, watched over the covens and their descendants. As the years turned to centuries, the greedy offspring turned from their fate and became hungry for power, with no guidance or desire to follow the rules. They wreak havoc with their potent magic, killing the other royals and copulating with anything that breathed. After Qroarisa, Goddess of Vengeance, the family almost became decimated. The goddesses decided that power was better shared than hoarded. With their primeval magic, they cursed their bloodline, making sure that either they share their magic or suffer the consequences.

That was the first of our ancestorial stories that were drilled into us from a young age.

Fortunately for my parents, they met each other before the “Awakening.” The vexatious term caused my insides to distort. The Awakening was a pinnacle life event for witches. When we reach a certain age, our magic becomes more vehement as it reaches out to connect to its tethered mate. Coven witches, they are able to choose their mates or stay alone.

Heat blossomed across my face as I thought about the memory clearing my throat.

“Alright, lovebirds.” I shook my head as I watched the pair.

One of our maids slipped into the foyer and stopped in front of us. Her skin, which reminded me of gypsum, flushed scarlet red all the way to her ears. She bowed slightly, and my mother dismissed her. She scurried off without a second glance. Poor girl. My parents kiss will most likely spread around the castle. I can almost hear the loud pitch of her voice when she reminded us that intimacy in public was egregious, and we had an image to uphold.

“So, where have my two favorite witches been?” he questioned.

I looked at my mother, who peered at my father with glazed-over eyes. The tip of her nose was the color of berry Fae wine, red, as she bit back a smile and stared up at my father. She was almost in a trance-like state. Which always made me wonder about my mother’s reaction. We were taught about the effects of being with your fated mate, being overly infatuated, but watching my mother’s interaction seemed…wrong for a reason I couldn’t comprehend.

“Well, we just came back from a walk around the castle,” I said hurriedly as I switched the conversation. “I’m going to head for my room. I will be out of commission for a while.”

When they didn’t protest, I counted my blessings. Sailing up the old gray stone stairs, my thick thighs protesting after the long trek home, which probably gave me a good chafe. Taking a sharp left, I headed to my wing of the castle. The stark white walls gave way to burnt orange walls that held some of my paintings and drawings my parents allowed me to showcase. I hightailed it down the long corridor, passing my gold and white sitting room to the right. My second prize possession was my personal library filled with magic books that dated back to when my ancestor, Goddess Youna, walked the earth. Not stopping, I pushed through to the last door, my heavy wooden door, and I was greeted…with chaos. The colorful array of dresses and garments litter the floor. My underwear drawer, which was once neatly organized, was now ransacked as some of my panties hung from the black four-poster bed. I’d forgotten I pushed the little writing desk to the far side of my room, and the light wooden chair toppled over in my attempt to make space for me to climb out the window. I would neither confirm nor deny that I caused this mayhem. Kicking some of the clothing to the side, I barreled past my lilac walls with my white Oushak carpet that covered the barely seen oak flooring. A light breeze sent the thin white curtains fluttering as I made my way to my bathroom.

I threw open my bathroom door and closed it. Not wanting to take a chance of having my mother or Ms. Kincaid waltzing into my bathroom, I sent my magic out to magically lock the bathroom door. My magic was like a warm kiss from a lover, subtle but powerful, as it swept through me and flowed out of me like the river, I once swam in. Covering the bathroom door with its soft green hue, it simmered and dispersed when it re-enforced the door with a click. A soft sigh left my mouth as more of my magic shot out to start the shower I needed. I could feel the salt from the river that coated my hair. It left my brown skin ashen, like I had just taken a run into the flour bags in the kitchen pantry. Ms. Kincaid surely had a fit when I ransacked the pantry one summer when I was six.

As I got into the warm shower, my magic prepared for me. The warm water fell down from the makeshift waterfall, draining into the tub. I stood under the water, every inch of my tall body covered. My hair, which swept my butt when dried, touched the back of my upper thighs as the water made the coily curls flatten against my skin. Using my favorite lavender soap, I scrubbed myself until the salt was gone from my hair and my skin. My magic dissipated as soon as my foot hit the warm bathroom tile.

My father refused to allow the coven to study outside of the village to learn about plumbing, possibly the only thing worthwhile from humans. His excuse was, “Why do we need plumbing when we have magic?”

On any other day, the housekeepers would use their magic to prepare my bath and get me ready for the day. But nothing feels better than doing it yourself. When I was prepared for bed, I broke my magic hold on my bedroom door. The pink and deep red shade of the setting sun filtered through my large bedroom from the window as I looked to see Seraphina and Lucifer, my dragons. Old dark trees covered their blue and red shiny bodies.

A low whine came from the dark shadows of the wooded area. It sounded like Sera was hurt. With my breath hitched in my chest, I searched the area. And when my eyes landed on the spot, I finally saw my two dragons. I froze against the windowsill. If anything happened to my babies, I would kill whatever hurt them. My magic warmed and waited, ready to transport me to the area, until I saw Luc’s shiny blue scales shimmering in the moonlight, unlike Sera’s red scales that blended in with the dark shadows. Luc stood behind Sera, his mate, as she presented herself to him. Her spiky tail laid at her side.

At least someone is having a good time.

My mother said Youna blessed me with them as a gift because they saved my life when we first met. At ten years old, I was adventurous and loved to see how far I could push myself. One day, while visiting the Pourciau farm, Del and I decided we could climb the biggest tree that surrounded the back portion of the farm. To no one’s surprise, I was winning as I ascended the tree without a care in the world. The tree’s rough bark dug into the soft flesh of my unprotected hands and the inside of my legs. Pushing myself up the ancient tree, my instincts told me I should have stopped a few inches back and declared myself the winner, but I was a hardhead. The need to be at the top crippled the fear I had when I looked to see Del struggling to match my pace. Del gasped, which caused me to glance back and notice her pale skin was the color of the red hydrangea that surrounded the trees.

Of all the days for this to happen, I had my emerald ring on as punishment for almost burning the coven’s drunk with my powers. So, no magic to help me out of this situation.

My eyelids shut closed and waited for the pain that would land me in the infirmary for the next couple of weeks. However, it never came, as my back connected with something soft enough to break the fall but hard enough for it to draw a soft oomph from my mouth. A low grumble shook my slight frame, causing my eyes to spring open. Turning to the nightmare tree, Del was flushed against the tree trunk. The red flush she had was replaced with a deathly sick look that painted over her tearful face.

My mouth dropped open to heckle her, saying I couldn’t hurt myself even with my ring on. Yet the words died on my tongue as the hard surface vibrated underneath me. I caught Del out of the corner of my eye as she made shooing noises out of her thin lips. Her body remained firmly planted against the tree. At what Del was shooing, I’m not sure, but I took a chance and looked. The grassy, muddy mixture normally found in this area was replaced by smooth blue iridescent scales that occluded half of my view. My clumsiness kicked in as my body rolled off the blue object, and my back hit the muddy grass with a thump. When my eyes finally opened, I was greeted by Seraphina, sharp teeth inching closer to my body. The bright redness of her eyes shined like the red rubies my father kept in his office. She was decorated with spiky scales over her head, which continued down her back to her barbed tail. If I had fallen on her, I probably would have died right then. If only my magic wasn’t drained by my ring, I wouldn’t be so afraid. That’s what I said to myself as warm liquid drenched my legs, my underwear, and the white tweed skirt as I urinated on myself. This is how I died, not fighting or saving the day, but by being eaten by dragons in my now soiled skirt. My parents would die from secondhand embarrassment.

As Seraphina drew closer, I prepared myself to be eaten. My chin held high, and my eyes stared at Seraphina's advancing razor-sharp teeth as her mouth stretched wide. She stopped right as I felt the smooth skin of her snout rub against my stomach and inhaled deeply. I had long forgotten about Lucifer when he gently nudged Seraphina with his blue snout. Unlike Seraphina, Lucifer was the color of sapphire with spiky scales that littered his head. Contrasting the fiery pits of Seraphina’s eyes, Luc’s was bright yellow, like the canaries I once saw traveling with my father in the western Sahara. Later on, I learned Luc’s scales on his body appeared smooth until provoked, then those scales rose and became just as sharp as Sera’s.

Lucifer was definitely the nicer dragon out of the fated pair. He followed Sera and rubbed his snout over me and lightly rested his gigantic head on the ground next to me. I didn’t know what else to do but to reach out and pet his giant head like a dog. It wasn’t long before Sera laid next to me and placed her horny head close to me as well. That’s how Mr. Pourciau and Del, who escaped, found me on the muddy ground with my urine-soaked clothes, petting my babies.

If I had thought wetting myself was funny, then seeing Mr. Pourciau run to save me takes the cake. He came running, huffing and puffing as his pudgy stomach juddered and swung from side to side as he yelled stop to the two dragons. I fell into a fit of giggles as I watched Mr. Pourciau and Del stumble when Luc turned his head around and bared his pointed teeth at them. It wasn’t until I pulled my damp, muddy body from the ground and told them what happened that they unglued themselves from their fence. Both were two sweaty messes as they scampered into their home.

Sera and Luc hadn’t left my side, not even when we walked home with my now yellow and dirt brown outfit.

I used the term babies loosely since Sera was seventy-seven years old and Luc was eighty-two years old at the time, according to Sir Reid, when he contacted the only person who was familiar with the era when dragons roamed the earth freely?—

PSSSSTTT!

My head swiveled as I searched for the annoying sound.

“Princess Kaydian! Down here,” the voice, unfamiliar to me, whispered shout.

The dark blue sky was barely visible, casting everywhere that didn’t have the floating magic lamps into a pitch-black shadow, including Luc and Sera’s forest. With my eyes squinted, I could hardly see the person in the bushes who was disturbing me.

“Well, come out of the dark before I send my magic to find you!” I yelled out into the shadows.

Rustling from the tall Oakleaf Hydrangea bushes that lined the side of the castle wall under my window drew my attention. Whoever was in there must be a mad person. My stalker jumped out of the bushes, and I rolled my eyes instantly. Why does this night have to end in misery?

“Oh, hello, Raynaud.” I tried to hide the annoyance in my voice.

“Hello, Princess Kaydian,” he said as he stepped into the light where his sleepy brown eyes shone. “I was finished with the garden and wanted to see if you would like some help with your…Peony.”

By the Goddess!

My eyes shuttered closed as I shook his words out of my head. Raynaud Dando III was the head gardener’s son who had just recently started working for us. Before that, we attended the same school together, but in different areas. The Royals and the Coven had separate classes and connecting buildings. Raynaud was a homely looking fellow. He had soft doe like brown eyes that overtook his plain features. His nose was a bit hawkish on his wide face, but by far, it was not the worst-looking nose I’ve seen. There was a ruby tint to his ivory skin. Raynaud's gray garden suit was smeared with dirt and grass. When we first met, he would follow me around carrying my books until the professors caught him roaming the Royal section of the school. When he couldn’t follow me anymore, he started bringing me gifts and leaving them with the housekeepers to sneak upstairs to give me. He was a sweetheart…just a tab bit simple. The more I stared at Raynaud from my window. I knew I wasn’t annoyed to see him because he had become my biggest helper. What he lacked in looks, he made up in…being a good fuck.

He’s made me scream all eight goddess names more times than I can remember, even if he couldn’t make me come. Not that anyone can because the goddess gave that special moment to our fated mates only. But I couldn’t stop myself from trying to ease the ache.

Sex among the coven witches wasn’t something we shied away from, but it had to be behind closed doors.

“No, Ray, I’m quite busy right now. Maybe you can ask me next week.”

“But Kay?—”

The look I leveled him would rival Sera’s fiery glare.

“Princess Kaydian.” Raynaud shuffled on his feet. “It’s been a minute, and I just wanted to make sure your n-needs are being met.”

Maybe I’m a terrible witch as I leaned over the window seal, allowing my full breast to be pushed up in my blue nightgown. His ivory skin turned red under the lamp’s soft, dim hue.

“I’m sorry, Ray. Have a good night.”

Quickly closing the window finalized my answer. My white curtains fluttered after I gave one last glance at Sera and Luc, making sure the two rambunctious duos were okay. I waited a minute and then glanced out the window. Ray was almost clear across the lawn as he made his way to the other side of town. The bitterness in my mouth made me wince. I hated being mean, especially to Ray. He would make a wonderful mate for someone one day.

It would be wrong for me to rob him of finding true love. All for what? To be in a loveless relationship with someone as screwed up as me.

I wasn’t that cruel.

To be the last descendant of Youna, Goddess of Fertility, and haven’t found my other half, which, among Royals, was a fate worse than death. In the back of my mind, I knew the coven was counting down the days until I went mad from the curse of glut. I didn’t care… at least for today.

A soft knock on my door made a curse fall from my lips.

“Kaydian, can I come in?” My mother’s voice called out. I guess my mom was here to reign in my punishment.

“Come in, Mother.”

My mother had changed out of her tweed suit and into her cashmere robe. The tawny-colored robe complimented her golden soft skin. She already had her bonnet and house slippers on. And Ms. Kincaid wasn’t by her side as usual.

“Can we talk?”

“Yes, of course.”

She approached me as I sat on the cold white sheets. Her back was straight, and her head held high in the air. Even when she’s in her bathrobe, a regal air surrounds her. I don’t believe my mother knew how to relax as she sat down next to me, her mouth painted with a small smile.

“Let me help you with your hair.”

“You want to help me with my hair?”

The perplexed look on my face must have bothered my mother. Her smile slipped just a tidbit. And I opened my mouth to apologize, but the sad look in her green eyes told me the damage was already done. So, I nodded instead and turned with my back toward her like I’d done so many times before when I was younger. Nowadays, we barely have time to say hellos. Dividing my hair into two parts, she quickly made work of my long, coily curly hair.

“When are you going to make Ms. Kincaid cut your hair, Kaydian?”

“Mmm, maybe when never come around,” I joked. If we were facing each other, I would have poked out my tongue at her.

My mother chuckled, and I would have loved to see the sparkle in her green eyes. These were rare and bittersweet moments since she was always sidetracked with her queen duties. I loved those times, even though they were so far and in between. She produced lavender-scented hair oil and rubbed it onto my scalp. When she was done, she took my silk headscarf and wrapped my hair.

“I know you don’t want to cut your hair, but it’s laying on your butt. Soon, it’s going to be tripping you when you walk.”

I turned around and gave her a half-cocked smile. “You’re so adorable when you're mothering,” I taunted while playfully pinching her cheeks.

She rolled her eyes at me. “Kaydian, I came in to talk to you as well.”

Oh yeah, time for the real deal.

“Are you taking your Stoneseed root?”

Stoneseed root was used to dim our unquenchable desire to procreate, especially our line of descendants. I religiously drink the bitter tea mixed with the healer’s magic to help prevent my dear ancestral gift, which left me like a panting dog if I didn’t drink it every month. It’s also what my mother took and her mother's mother. Although I was thankful for it, I hated that I couldn’t experience my magic when it was at its purest when I was with my mate, with no strings holding me back.

“Yes, I’m due for another cup tomorrow.”

“Good, and judging from that garden boy steaming off from beside the castle, you need to stay on top of it,” she said as she dug into her robe pocket and handed me the bitter tea packet.

My face was feverish as I opened my mouth to refute her claims, but she cut me off.

“Listen, I was young once. Before your father and I were ready to be serious, we fooled around the Bayou a bit. Plus, you weren’t exactly discreet. I knew I taught you how to close a door with or without your magic.” I don’t think she saw how I tried to hold back the acid that threatened to come up. Her lips pulled in between her teeth as she bypassed the fact that she’d heard me having sex. There was something unsettling about my mother knowing that information. Her eyes filled with sparkles as she looked off into the distance. “Yes, I had fun. I even found a half-troll in the swamp, and…well, I learned something valuable that night. But that’s neither here nor there. I know we’re hard on you, but it’s because we expect more from you.”

I blinked and blinked again. My mouth went to open, but I couldn’t come up with anything. From my silence, she might have mistaken it for a need to remind me of the tale she drilled into my head.

She continued, “Don’t tell me you forgot, Kaydian…”

Of course, I wouldn’t forget.

My mother used to tell a fairytale that seemed so far-fetched, even for her, almost every night. The short end of the story was one of the goddess’s descendants will bring “unity” to all the supernatural community. I used to soak up that story any time my mother would tell me it. However, as I got older, I found it harder to believe that this would transpire. Thanks to my father and the implementations he enacted throughout the North American supernatural community, the mere thought of unity seemed like a mockery.

“Of course, I couldn’t forget the story you told me almost every night until I was in my teens,” was the first thing my stunned mind could think of as I processed everything she had just spilled.

“Good, because—” my mother said.

“The sooner you come to terms with it. The better,” I said, cutting her off before she could venture down a path I wasn’t in the mood for. Shaking her head, her sigh of defeat filled the room.

I continued, “And let’s not glide over the fact that you had sex with a mixling! I—that’s forbidden!”

“Hush, that’s between you, the troll, and I,” she said as she got up from the bed. “Yes, I’m glad I had the experience, but nothing beats your father.”

She laid her hand on my cheek. The soft touch of her velvety skin soothed my heated cheek as a warmth washed over me in waves, leaving my eyelids fighting to stay up. Finding the little groove in my bed, I fought the yawn that I struggled to keep inside, but it ended up winning the fight.

“T-Tha…” I tried to get out before another yawn broke free from me. “Thank you for helping me.”

“You’re welcome, my emerald moon,” she said as she walked toward my door. “Will you think about going on a date with one of the royal heirs?”

My eyelids grew heavy as my mother’s frame doubled and tripled in my watery vision.

“Mmmm, maybe. One date won’t hurt,” I thought I said before my eyes drifted close, and all I could hear was her light steps retreating out of the door.