Chapter Fourteen

AVA-MARIE

This couldn't be happening.

Oberi surged into a gallop, and we left the others behind us as we burst through the double doors of the Warden's shitty manor. This place was warded up the ass, so we had to get off the property in order to cast a portal and get out of here. I held on to Charlie, clutching him tightly so he didn't fall off. He lolled in my arms like a rag doll, spent of all energy, and my panic grew to an immeasurable rate as the flames raged around us. My fury at what Danielle had done to Charlie made the fire grow larger, consuming the mansion and turning every bit of it to smoldering cinders. I hoped Esther, Naya, Mad Dog, and Deuce had extremely painful deaths, because that's what they deserved for hurting my husband.

We passed the bodies of dead guards stationed around the manor. Oberi leapt over them like they were nothing, and she was right, because they did mean nothing if they had helped cause this. The Elvish Associates had taken them all out so we could get inside the mansion.

In the distance, dots had appeared in the sky above tall, golden skyscrapers. They were only growing closer. I saw wings, and even from here, I could make out the expression of my most hated enemy. The Warden and a whole angel army was on their way to capture us.

Go ahead and try. I had burned this mansion to ash without bothering to blink. I was more enraged than I ever had been before, and I knew if anyone got in my way now, I'd put them in the ground before I gave up a second more of Charlie's life.

Max was waiting for us once I was past the manor's open gate and on the empty streets of Celestial City. She gazed at the blood soaking Charlie's shirt and didn't ask any questions. She pulled a pocket mirror from her jacket and projected it forward. A portal bloomed ahead, and Oberi charged through it just as I heard the Warden give a cry of frustrated rage.

Oberi stepped out of a mirror that led to the palace hospital wing, followed by our friends. The portal snapped shut behind us, preventing anyone from following. Now that we were in a safe place, I put my hand to Charlie's heart so I could heal him.

My fingers glowed white as I surveyed his body. The light grew in intensity as I forced my powers through his systems. I hadn't noticed before when I had healed the vampire bite and regrown his hair, because the poison had been so small, but clearly it had grown. A sickening feeling overtook me as I found the poison sifting through his bloodstream. It was sticky as it clung to the inside of his throat, his stomach, his lungs, a vile substance that tasted disgusting and foul.

When I prodded further, my entire soul quivered as I recognized something familiar— the sting of inferichite.

"I can't heal this," I said in terror. "There's still poison in his blood. It won't clear."

"What do you mean?" Eddie asked, an edge of denial in his voice. "You can heal anything, princess."

"Whatever the poison is, it's made with inferichite. My healing abilities aren't driving it out," I raged. "All I can do is survey the effect it's having on him."

"Let's try to clear it together," Marcus suggested. "Fuse our demigod powers with your healing magic. The poison has to leave, then."

My heart started in hope, because that was the only thing that I figured would work. Marcus moved forward, along with Kallie. They reached up to put their hands on top of my own as I rested them against Charlie's torso. I could feel their abilities mending with mine as I used simultension to join our powers together, and drive the poison away.

I felt my windpipe closing off from air as I realized that wasn't working, either. The inferichite was stubborn. It had latched on to Charlie's demigod magic, and was using it to resist our own. The poison drained him whenever I tried to remove it, sucking energy from his organs and weakening him further than he already was. We couldn't destroy the inferichite in his system without killing him, but at the same time, we couldn't heal him at all if there was still inferichite in his body, either.

"Stop," I demanded, and my friends drew back. "His body can't handle it. If we keep going, it'll make everything shut down."

"But…" Marcus had gone paler than a ghost. "If we can't use simultension, then how are we gonna make him better?"

I didn't have an answer, and that made me nearly go insane.

Let's get him in a bed, Oberi offered. Then we can evaluate further.

She sounded very worried, which concerned me even more. If Oberi didn't understand what was going on or how to fix it, with all her experience and wisdom, then who would?

We hurried inside the hospital, where a variety of doctors and nurses walked around the wing's lobby. When they turned and saw Charlie, many of the Elves started screaming.

"What is wrong with the prince?!" a doctor demanded. Charlie threw up again, and more blood splattered out from his mouth and onto the floor.

I nearly passed out. That was a lot of blood to lose, and he didn't have much more left to give. Marcus pulled Charlie off of Oberi and laid him on the floor, turning him on his side so he didn't choke.

I didn't have to ask for a wheelchair, because Kallie had already brought one. She helped me off Oberi, and the second I was in my chair I was wheeling toward Charlie. I tried to heal him again, and again, but the inferichite pushed my magic back and refused to allow me to chase the poison out.

Two nurses wheeled out a gurney, but I screamed, "Leave him alone! No one can heal him like I can!"

I didn't trust doctors, not after my spinal injury. They'd fuck him up more than he already was.

Ava, we need help with this, Oberi demanded. What we're doing isn't working!

I knew we did, but it was equivalent to sawing my torso in half to allow anyone to touch Charlie when he was in this dire of a state.

Elves placed Charlie upon a gurney as he continued to gurgle up blood. He wasn't conscious, but his face was ashen, and his body wracked with tremors. The poison was getting worse by the moment.

"He's been poisoned. I need a private room. Someone fetch my brother and my mother immediately," I barked.

"I—" the doctor stuttered.

"I am the princess of Ilamanthe! You will do as I say!" I screeched.

Not a damn soul dared to ask me any more questions. They wheeled Charlie into a large room filled with surgical equipment, potion vials, herbs, and everything else we could use to treat this. Charlie was moved from the gurney to a bed, which could be prepped for surgical purposes if we needed it. A nurse drew his blood to test it.

"I need to know what properties are in that poison. I want a full report the minute you get the results back," I ordered.

"Yes, princess," a nurse replied, and she ran off to the lab with a tube of Charlie's blood.

The doctors and nurses rushed to get Charlie hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor. Doctors cut off his bloody clothes and threw them away, until he was covered only by a thin sheet. He shivered, and as I touched his skin again, my fingers grazed his ice-cold arm. He shook underneath my touch. Even though he was out of it, his body was still reacting to the effects of the poison.

Oberi changed into a phoenix. She flew to the bed, landing at Charlie's side. She fluttered her wings and skimmed her beak over Charlie's chest, using her healing magic to observe him.

My heart withered and turned cold in my chest as Oberi said, I do not have the power to heal this. It is beyond my ability. Charlie's body cannot work against the inferichite, so any magic I may use to heal him is useless, because his system will not respond.

"That's impossible! You brought me back from death!" I demanded. "You can cure this!"

I cannot do that again, Oberi argued. What I did for you, I was only able to accomplish once, and was a different kind of magic. It was a gift given to me by the gods to save one of you if death came, and death has already happened. My healing magic is strong. But I cannot heal what I do not know, and this poison is strange to me. I have never met it, not in all my eons of existence. I have never encountered a poison that prevents me from healing the body, as this substance turns the system's own organs against the host, and fights us off besides. Anything we can do will be countered by the poison.

"There must be something," I insisted.

I'll try to use my magic to stop the poison from working, in order to buy us time, Oberi stated. If I resist against it, you can work on finding a cure.

It wasn't enough. One of the nurses called out, "Edwyrd and Abigail will be posted at the door, should you need them."

"Fine." Where the fuck were Ez and Mama? They needed to be here!

A second after I thought that, they stormed in. They didn't ask questions, just went to Charlie's bedside immediately and hovered their hands over him. Their Anichi magic glowed as they surveyed the situation. Ez's gaze darted from Charlie's face to his abdomen, while Mama squeezed her eyes shut in concentration.

"I need help. I don't know what this poison is, or what the active ingredient may be, but it's got inferichite in it," I pleaded. "We can't force his body to get rid of the inferichite without killing him, but the poison is killing him, too. Even with all our power, everything we try just backfires."

Their hands stopped glowing as they drew back their healing magic. Ez sent Mama an anxious look, which she shared.

"What?" I asked.

"It's a combination poison," Ez said thickly. "It's got inferichite in it, which prevents you from helping, but I can sense it's been mixed with noxite, too, which means me and Mom can't do anything to get rid of it, either. No healer can."

The Warden had really thought this through. His soul belonged to me, the next time we dared to meet.

"What if we all try together?" I suggested. "I'll use simultension to fuse your magic with mine. I'm invulnerable to noxite, and inferichite doesn't affect you. Maybe if we work together, we can overpower it."

"It's worth a shot," Mama said, and the three of us grabbed hands. We made a circle with our conjoined grasps, our arms hovering over Charlie's form.

I tried. I wrapped my magic around my brother's power, and my mother's, with so much force it nearly yanked their abilities out of them. My mother was a powerful elemental, so I shouldn't have been able to do that so easily, but I found even her magic crumbled like melting snow the minute I demanded it show up to serve me. I pushed our magic into Charlie's veins and attempted to force the poison to leave, but despite my best efforts, it wouldn't budge.

Ez let out a rasping sound and dropped his hand from mine. He put a hand on the wall to steady himself, as if I'd gone too hard and too fast.

"It's not working," he said. "The inferichite is preventing you from getting rid of the noxite, so we can't get past it to heal him."

Mama went to check Charlie again. Her fingers roamed his chest, and her eyes darkened. "The poison is manifesting into a growth, like a cancer. There are tumors spreading all over his body, and they're getting bigger the longer we wait."

No. No, no, no. I wouldn't let this happen.

We kept trying, and an hour passed, but there was absolutely no effect. If anything, Charlie only seemed to get worse.

"The blood draw is in, princess," the nurse replied breathlessly as she hurried in.

"What did it say?" I asked. She gave me the paper without a word, and I read over the results quickly.

Inconclusive. Of course. Just like inferichite, the properties and chemical compounds inside the poison weren't anything recognizable on Earth. The Warden had probably gotten all kinds of awful ingredients from his buddies in hell, then put it all together to make this terrible poison. And if the ingredients used in the poison didn't grow here, that meant we probably didn't have anything on this planet that could counteract them.

I threw the results on a nearby counter and demanded, "Get Marcus in here."

He must've been standing right outside the door, because he heard my voice and came in. "What do you need?"

"There's noxite in the poison as well. You're a Curse Breaker, so you can take it out," I said. "That way, Mom and Ez will be able to get past the inferichite, because I can't, and they can remove the poison."

Marcus leaned over Charlie. He grasped Charlie's arm and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate.

A few moments later, Marcus buckled to the floor. Ez rushed forward to hold him up, and I demanded, "Well?"

"I can't get rid of it, though I tried," Marcus insisted, rising back up again.

"You've drawn noxite out of people before!" I cried.

"Yes, but the inferichite is fortifying it, which means I can't do a damn thing unless we get rid of the inferichite first!" he yelled back.

I made an angry noise and pushed him away. "If you're not going to help, just go."

Marcus didn't argue, but he also didn't seem upset with me. He did as I asked, thank the ancestors, and gave me some space.

Charlie vomited up another spray of blood, which dribbled down his chest and constricted his airways, choking him. Blood got all over the white sheet, and on Oberi's feathers. She didn't react, merely let out a wary coo. A doctor moved in, checking the heart monitor.

His heart rate was faint.

"He needs a blood transfusion! He's already lost a quart or more!" I barked.

"We can't run the transfusion without first attempting dialysis," the doctor responded. "There's a chance the dialysis machine can clean his blood and get rid of the poison. If we give him new blood now, his body could become overstressed with the introduction of the transfusion and the poison, and reject the donation, not to mention the new blood will become tainted with the poison once it's introduced."

"Well get it on, then!" I shouted. Why were we sitting around talking about it when we needed to take action? I placed my hands on Charlie's arm, and my Spirit magic observed how his body responded as the doctors did their best to start dialysis. Ez and Mama leaned against the wall, waiting for me if I needed them.

I didn't like how worried they looked.

The Elvish healers tried everything. They used every antidote they had on hand, from the serpens spelunca antivenom to all kinds of spells and potions. Other Anichi healers arrived to help, but like Ez and Mama, their magic was useless against the combination poison in Charlie's blood.

Not even dialysis was working. The machine filtered out the toxins in his blood, but the poison kept reproducing itself, so it did nothing to get rid of it.

Charlie was having trouble breathing. His rasping gasps for air made me feel like I was choking. They'd given him a medication that managed to stop the vomiting, at least, so he wouldn't drown in his own blood if we put him on a ventilator.

Do you want to leave the room? Oberi asked warily as they started prepping the breathing tube for insertion.

"Fuck no." I wasn't leaving him alone even if the world started ending. I held his hand and watched, refusing to shut my eyes or look away as they inserted the breathing tube and fitted a mask over his face, because I'd be damned before I allowed him to go through this alone. There was a lump in my throat that reminded me of how painful the bruise from my own breathing tube had been when I'd survived the Infernal Underground, but I pushed that memory aside, because it was useless to me now. No trauma, memory, or pain was worth anything if it didn't help me save Charlie now.

Once he was stabilized, the doctors switched to experimental antidotes that had never been tried before, and could be dangerous. It was a sign of how desperate they were.

It didn't help. Nothing did a damn thing to stop the poison from advancing. The Warden had created this new formula just for us, and there wasn't a cure for it. The doctors had given Charlie so many medications and treatments I was worried it was making him worse.

Surgery was discussed, but it was discarded as an option almost immediately. They couldn't perform surgery to remove the growths— in the time we'd been working, the poison had wrapped itself so tightly around his organs that if they tried to cut the tumors out, the surgeons would kill him in the process.

Oberi was doing her best, and my Spirit magic could tell that her abilities were slowing the growth of the tumors. But although she could slow the poison's hold, she couldn't prevent it completely. We'd have lost Charlie already if she wasn't doing her best to hold it off.

Charlie was clearly fading. His skin had turned ashen, and his lips had gone gray. His body sagged into the mattress with all the appearance of a corpse long since dead.

The doctors and nurses stood in a circle, unmoving. They weren't sure of what else to try. Mama held Ez, who was trying to wipe his face and not let me see.

I took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled.

"Leave me," I demanded coldly. "All of you. There's nothing more you can do."

Saying nothing, the crowd dispersed, leaving me alone with my Familiar and my husband. My shoulders shuddered as I barely contained my rage.

Useless. They were all useless. If Charlie was going to make it through this, it had to be up to me. Everybody else needed to leave me alone so I could figure out a solution.

I surveyed his condition again. My expression dropped the moment I laid my hand on his chest and used my Anichi magic to assess the situation. At this rate, Charlie would be dead within the hour. And there was jack shit I could do to prevent it.

But that was shitty thinking. I didn't give up, because I was stubborn, and Charlie was, too. We'd pull through this, like we always did. I just had to come up with a way?—

The door banged open. My teeth gritted together as I heard Cameron's voice cry out, "Let me in!"

Cameron entered, and his approaching footsteps made it clear he wasn't going to take no for an answer unless I shoved it down his throat.

I wrenched my wheelchair so I could turn myself around. "Get out of here, Cameron. I don't want you here, and neither does Charlie."

Cameron's face turned red with rage, but his anger was pathetic compared to my own. I'd like to see him try to get his way.

"How dare you attempt to keep me from seeing him. I have the right to say goodbye to my son!" Cameron bellowed.

What a coward he was. Charlie wasn't gone yet, and I'd be cold in my own grave before I allowed him to slip away. Where was Cameron's spine? Charlie needed his dad to fight for him, like I was. He needed his dad to not give in.

It was clear the only person in this room who would go to war for the incredible man lying in this bed was me, and I couldn't be distracted by some simpering Elf who pretended to have some kind of claim on the son he'd created and forgotten.

"You want to show up and be a dad now when he's dying?" I spat. "He's needed you in the past few months, and where have you been? Partying and fucking off and doing ancestors know what else."

"You won't speak to me that way. I am his father!" Cameron demanded.

"You are nothing because I say you are! I am the Holy Mother to the Elves, the symbol and messenger of Idril and Carolyn on this earth, and you will not command me!" I bellowed. "You are not welcome here!"

"But—"

"LEAVE!"

Cameron might've had more authority than me as the Crown Prince, but he listened to my order all the same. He ducked out with his head bowed low, tail tucked between his legs.

I had no regrets about throwing him out. He was pitiful and would only get in my way.

Was that really necessary? Oberi asked dully. She'd been holding off the poison's growth for some time, and was getting tired.

"You tell me." I went to lay my hands on Charlie again, but they fell to the mattress as I heard more footsteps behind me, this time, lighter and slower.

My hands bunched in the sheets as I snapped, "I said no one can come in here."

"You have authority over all in Ilamanthe, child, save for me."

The gentle voice that met my ears gave me pause. I turned my chair again. Emperor Cassiel was standing in the doorway, not demanding I let him approach, but instead, asking to be invited in.

"Are you here to say goodbye, too?" I asked harshly. I wouldn't let anyone do that, because this wasn't the end. Not yet.

"Of course not. I know who you are, princess. You will not deny your beloved Charlie the comfort of having his grandfather at his side in this time of need."

My lip quivered. "You can come in."

Cassiel strode toward me with a gentleness I could never imitate. He took a chair beside me, near the head of Charlie's bed. "You have half the staff quivering in fear. You are as terrifying as a lioness, or perhaps, a wyvern defending her mate."

I had to be terrifying— be mean, be vicious and ruthless and all these terrible things. No one else would go to the lengths needed to save Charlie, and I had to protect him from whatever happened. He was vulnerable right now.

"It's my job to defend him when he can't defend himself," I said. "It's always been that way."

"Who are you protecting him from?" Cassiel asked quietly. "The Warden? The world? Himself?"

I didn't know. Because the worst had already happened, and I hadn't been able to protect Charlie from the people who'd already hurt him the most.

For the first time that day, I broke down into tears. Cassiel put his warm hand over mine in comfort.

"What am I going to do?" I wailed. "We've tried everything. It's hopeless!"

Oberi dropped her head and made a low note, but Cassiel didn't crumble. He looked… sad, and definitely worried, but he wasn't panicking.

"There were many Elves who said that about me, when I was bitten by a serpens spelunca many years ago," Cassiel said lowly. "And yet here I am decades later, because Aponi refused to give up when all others did."

I didn't say anything, because I was still crying.

Cassiel went on. "When I was bitten, there was no antidote or cure for such a venom. Everyone who had been bitten by a serpens spelunca died, and there were no exceptions. Healers and alchemists tried for many years to find a cure for the venom, and failed miserably. But my wife succeeded, and she created an antidote that saved me and thousands of others when it had never been done before. Do you know why?"

I shook my head, and Cassiel said, "It is because she believed she could. Everyone told my wife that it was hopeless, and that she couldn't cure me, but Aponi refused to give up. She worked on that potion tirelessly until she found something that worked. She saved my life, and that hope blossomed into love."

"Love isn't enough to save people. If it was, so many people I loved wouldn't have died," I wept.

"But like Aponi, you are not the kind to give up and let this poison take him," Cassiel pointed out. "My wife saved me from the venom. You can save Charlie, too. You are an extraordinary demigod, princess, the best of our people. I know you will rescue the prince from this fate."

Cassiel rose from his chair. "I will leave you be, so you can concentrate."

He left the room, and I was alone again. It strengthened me that Cassiel hadn't said his goodbyes. He truly believed in me and knew I could save Charlie. His presence had been comforting, and it'd cleared my mind enough so I could think.

Cassiel was right. I could do this. I just needed to pull myself together, so my Familiar and I could figure out a solution. Oberi wavered, close to falling off the bed.

"Oberi, stop," I said weakly. "If you keep trying to resist the poison, it'll kill you, too. Then I'll lose both of you."

I will not die permanently. I will simply become deceased, then regenerate a few minutes later, Oberi insisted, though she sounded exhausted.

"It still weakens you every time you die and come back. You need to save what's left of your strength. I may need your help yet."

Oberi pulled back her magic, and I felt the poison surge forward. It was advancing quicker than ever because Oberi wasn't holding it back, but I don't think it mattered. Charlie had already suffered too much damage to his organs, anyway. Even if I got the poison out of his blood, he'd still be in danger, because his entire system needed to be healed now for him to recover.

My fear turned to rage as I thought that none of this would've happened in the first place if Danielle hadn't gotten involved. I should've killed her before I left the Institute, but I'd waited too long to make her meet her end. If Charlie died, I'd find a way to portal to hell, locate Danielle, and kill her all over again. And I wouldn't stop. Somehow, I'd find a way to resurrect her again and again, and slaughter her in increasingly gruesome ways to make her pay, until her soul ceased to exist due to the suffering.

She'd still be getting off easy. Nothing could be as painful as me losing my husband. She had no idea the damage she'd just caused. An eternity of torture wouldn't be enough to satisfy my longing for revenge if she took him from me.

No. I wasn't allowing that to happen. Charlie belonged to me, and nobody, not Danielle, the Warden, or the gods themselves would steal his life. Whatever fate had planned, I was the one who got to decide if he lived or died.

And he would live, if I commanded it. He wouldn't leave me here.

"You don't get to die unless I tell you that you can," I whispered to him. "So hold on, and keep fighting this. I'm going to figure this out."

Charlie let out a wheezing breath, like he'd heard me. I steeled my nerves. Right now, Charlie wasn't my husband, or the love of my life. He was my patient, and my patient was going to expire unless I put my mind to work and outwitted the Warden yet again.

And speaking of the Warden…

The Beast appeared in a corner of the room, skulking around the area and seeming arrogant as all hell. My lip lifted into a snarl when I saw him, but I wasn't the only one who saw him this time. Oberi was a part of me, and although my bipolar didn't affect her, she could recognize what I saw. She didn't react, but allowed me to process as I needed to.

The Beast's face curled into a sick smile. "Looks like I've finally found something that works. After Cellblock 9, I didn't know what it was going to take. The four of you are particularly difficult to exterminate, but I've gained the upper hand."

"Fuck you. I'm smarter than you, you smug bastard. I'm better than you, I'm stronger than you, and you've never beaten me yet," I sneered. "You're not going to win this time, either."

The Beast raised an eyebrow. "That may be true, but you have more to lose than ever before. I suggest you get moving. There isn't much time left."

The Beast gave a cruel laugh as he disappeared once again, and Oberi tilted her head. I didn't know you were having visions of the Warden.

"My psychosis finds weird ways to fuck with me, Oberi. It doesn't help us now."

She let the matter drop, and I went back to figuring out what to do. Since I'd tried everything but praying, it might as well be a last resort.

Goddesses, I pleaded, reaching out to Idril and Carolyn. I am your Holy Mother, an Elvish mystic of your temple. Help me save your son, and rescue the prince from certain death.

I didn't get any sort of response, energetic or otherwise, because I don't think they heard me. I wasn't sure they could help even if they tried.

Coyote Spirit and Whale Spirit were most likely too far off, in the middle of fighting a battle with the dark gods. I didn't think they'd show up, either. Coyote had a hard time crossing the boundary from the spiritual realm to Earth the last time we'd spoken, and at the time, his power had been limited in helping me more than giving advice.

Even so, I tried anyway. I prayed to them, and prayed and prayed, and got no answer.

After moments of sitting in silence, I dug in my pocket. I withdrew my mother's compass, which I carried with me always. It was one of the very few things I still had from the Institute.

I lifted the compass to my mouth, to whisper into it. "Lindsey and Miranda, are you there? I know you can't cross the divide, but I need assistance. My husband's been poisoned, and we aren't sure how to heal him. Nothing's working. Send us your aid, if you're able to do what you can from the Ancestral Lands."

I clutched the compass in my hands, and watched as the arrow wildly spun out of control, pointing me toward nothing. I wasn't sure what I was waiting for— an audible response, a message, something. But what happened next was certainly something I did not expect.

Two spirits began to rise from the compass. They appeared at first to be a glittering mist, rising from the compass' face and hovering around the room. Then, they began to materialize.

The shape of a dire wolf, nearly the size of a wolven, took form in the room. It had massive muscular shoulders and a proud stance. Riding on the wolf's back was a tiny, furry creature that looked to be a cross between a sugar glider and a bush baby. The creature had big ears, two curled horns on top of its head, and big blue eyes— a kurble. As their spirits became solid, the wolf's coat became black, and the kurble's pure white.

The kurble chittered. He let out a trill as he waved his bushy tail.

I smiled, and extended my hand to the creature. "I know you."

The kurble jumped off the wolf's back, soaring through the air to land on my hand. He scurried up my arm, then raced across the bed and sat on Charlie's stomach. He sat up on his haunches, rubbing his tiny paws over his nose and furry ears.

I can hear them both speak, so I will translate, Oberi noted. They are spiritual guardians that protect your family from the Ancestral Lands. Lindsey and Miranda sent them. The wolf is here to guard the room against any dark spirits that may interfere. The little one, to help you heal.

"How did they cross the broken boundary?" I asked. The wolf began stalking near the door, raising his lip in a low growl, while the kurble let out an indigent squeak.

Your mother has a special attachment to that compass, and your family's guides can come through it. These creatures have a connection still remaining on this Earth that other ancestors do not, allowing them to cross the boundary. The little one is very powerful, and the wolf has strength of his own, but they cannot stay for long. We must hurry, Oberi insisted.

"What must I do?" I asked the kurble. Oberi waited to hear what he had to say. The kurble gave a chitter, and whatever he'd said had even surprised Oberi, because she nearly toppled over in astonishment.

"What? What did he say?" I demanded.

Oberi peered at the kurble out of one eye, as if she wasn't sure she was hearing things correctly, before she said, The poison is a substance they know well, one that grows in the Eternal Torment. It latches onto the host, creating tumors that feed off life energy until the host dies a painful death. In order to heal Charlie, you will need to destroy the poison and the organs that it is attached to at the same time, then regrow new organs in their place. I will keep him alive while you are doing this, so the organs have time to generate.

I thought about the practicality of this. Demigods could make something out of nothing. We could create our own energy, and I had the specialty of healing, so why couldn't I make Charlie new organs, too? It was part of my demigod magic, so in theory, I had the capability.

It was similar to Charlie's illusion magic. He didn't just make illusions, he made them into real physical objects. He'd regrown Sprigs when he was just a dying plant, and gave him sentience. I couldn't make a body out of nothing, but I could regrow what was already in front of him. I needed to remake him, craft his organs so they were brand-new.

Still… I didn't know of anyone, demigod or otherwise, who had done this before. Not in history, or even myth.

"How do I do it?" If we fucked this up, Charlie was definitely not coming out of this.

You have already done it, Oberi marveled, with a shocked look at the kurble. Once before, when your father was in the hospital. You replaced his lungs. This is not a tool you can use on just anyone. This is magic that you may only perform on someone you deeply love.

Memories of my father suffering from pneumonia flooded into my mind. I was still in high school, and hadn't even gotten my magic yet as far as I knew, but I remembered how I'd laid my hands on his chest the night before he was supposed to die, and the bright light that I'd seen just before passing out.

No wonder my father hadn't had any breathing issues since.

Tears threatened to spill as I realized the blue eyes I'd seen that night in the hospital had been this little creature's. He'd come to help me heal my father then, as he had arrived tonight to help me heal my husband.

"We need to recraft everything," I insisted. "It's the only way to help him."

We can do it. The guardian can help us, and we can pull from Charlie's abilities as a demigod to give us fuel. The small one will help you get past the inferichite, because as an ancestor, he has the ability to push it aside so you can do your work, Oberi stated, looking to the kurble for confirmation. The little creature nodded sharply. You must clean out everything— all the medicine, potions, and antidotes. Everything must go, and the failing organs must be destroyed with the tumors, so his body can be remade anew. Nothing can be left behind.

"Will this kill us?" I questioned. When I had healed Ez from sepsis, it had taken all my strength, and this was way worse.

You are much stronger now than you were before. Your will is more powerful than this poison, and it will not take our lives, but we must act now, Oberi insisted. His heart is failing.

The heart monitor was barely showing a pulse. It wouldn't be five minutes before Charlie would be gone.

"Okay. Let's do this," I said firmly. I sprawled my hand over Charlie's torso. Oberi laid her beak on my knuckles, and the kurble pressed his tiny paw into the back of my hand. I didn't think I'd be able to feel him, since he was a spirit. Yet I felt his soft paw caress my skin as a light began to shine throughout the room that was brighter than any I'd ever seen before.

I started with Charlie's heart first, because might as well. I sought the poison that was taking his heart over and was unable to move the tumor wrapped around it, even with everyone's help. So, I commanded the organ to die. I felt Charlie's heart wither and blacken, disintegrating into nothing at my command as the tumor died.

When the heart faded away, so did the poison, because it had nothing left to hold on to. The inferichite wasn't able to cling to anything, and therefore, lost its power.

The sound of the heart monitor going flatline absolutely rattled me, but I felt Oberi's magic pulsing, and I knew she was using her power to keep Charlie's blood pumping. I ignored the noise of the machine and focused my attention instead on making a new heart.

I was skilled in healing, but I didn't understand most systems, or how the body worked. I didn't know the various chambers or vessels I needed to create in order to fix him.

No matter, though. When I told his body to form a new heart, it did. A new organ magically formulated there, replacing the one that I'd destroyed. Charlie's body knew what it needed, and knew what to do, forming a new heart at my command. When I pulled back my healing magic, I found with relief that the new heart began beating on its own, without my assistance.

When I was certain that his heart was better than new, I moved on to the blood and replaced that, too, giving him an entirely new life force that was fresh and clean of the toxin. Without the poison in his blood, it couldn't spread to more parts of his body, which was a benefit. All we had to do now was clear out what was already there.

I moved on to Charlie's lungs next. The ventilator breathed for him as I disintegrated his old lungs, growing new ones. His lungs materialized almost immediately, and I knew it was because I had experience replacing this particular organ from healing my father. Once that was done, I fixed his stomach and intestines, which were hoarding a massive sticky glob of poison. It took time to clear out, and sweat began to bead across my forehead as I replaced his entire digestive system, starting from scratch.

I heard the wolf give a snarl from the other side of the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as the wolf jumped in mid-air, snarling and snapping his jaws as he tossed an invisible foe into the wall. A piece of stone broke off the wall, though I wasn't sure what hit it. It looked like the wolf was battling some dark force I couldn't see.

Dark spirits have arrived to stop you, sent by the Warden. They don't want Charlie to heal, Oberi rasped. The wolf is fighting them off.

Didn't care. That wasn't my job. The wolf continued to growl, and he threw the invisible force into the door as I moved on to healing the rest of Charlie's organs. Medical supplies were knocked aside, and a cart was tipped over as the wolf fought off the evil entities.

The wolf chased the dark spirits into the hallway. Marcus will deal with it, Oberi stated, though her voice was strained. We're almost done, Ava.

Thank the ancestors, because I couldn't keep this up. His liver was the only organ left to be healed— I'd replaced all the others. It was going to be the most difficult, because the liver was what filtered all the body's toxins, and most of the poison had ended up there due to his poor liver trying to metabolize the poison and failing. I felt my magic wavering, on the edge of failure, but I yanked on Charlie's demigod magic to support me. His power came surging through the minute I asked, and I used that energy to give me strength as I faded the infected liver into nothing, and forged a new one in its place.

I searched his body avidly for more poison, and didn't find any. The kurble chittered happily, and Oberi said, It is done. The poison is completely gone.

I sagged in my chair, on the edge of delirium. I'd regrown what had been damaged. But would it be enough?

I began sobbing as I watched color return to Charlie's complexion. I reached out to touch his skin and found that it was once again vibrant and warm. "He's going to be okay!"

Yes, he is, Oberi said wearily. We have cheated death once again.

I bawled into my hands. The little kurble scurried up my shoulder and sat there to give me a kiss on the cheek. The wolf approached from the side, giving a satisfied growl.

They must return to the Ancestral Lands now, Oberi noted. But they will be around, even if you cannot see them.

The kurble gave another trill, and the wolf grumbled lowly. Their spirits faded from my eyesight, though I sensed their presence lingering throughout the room.

Oberi hopped off the bed and changed into a husky, I will find assistance. He is healed, but he will need rest… as will we.

I couldn't move. I was too busy weeping in relief.

Everyone had rushed in the moment Oberi had retrieved them. There were questions from a lot of people on how I'd done it, and I gave the most basic of explanations, because I was honestly too overwhelmed to go over everything.

I told my parents about the spirits that had arrived to help me. Needless to say, both of them were completely floored by the arrival of our family's guardians, and shaken up. They took a private room in the hospital to console each other, grieve, and rejoice as I returned to Charlie's side.

The doctors had taken the breathing tube out and unhooked him from all the monitors, as it was clear he didn't need them. He still hadn't woken up, but I wasn't surprised. He'd been through a lot and needed time to recover.

I refused to let anyone help me. The doctors wanted to monitor me and check me over for any damage that may have been caused by the extent of my magic, but I wouldn't let them. They could worry about me once Charlie woke up and we knew he was all right. I wasn't leaving his bedside until his eyes opened, that was for sure.

"Please leave me alone," I snapped, pushing Ez's hands away. He was trying to check if I was good, which was unnecessary, because I was certain I was fine.

"Ancestors, Ava, you're impossible!" Ez snapped.

"Would you stop acting crazy and let people help?" Kallie demanded. She'd been arguing with me to let the doctors do an evaluation for fifteen minutes, and was getting more pissed by the second. "There's no reason to act ridiculous now. Charlie's fine."

"We think he's fine. We don't know for sure if my spell had any side effects," I worried.

Kallie rubbed her face. "If you don't get looked at, Charlie's gonna be pissed when he wakes up. He hates it when you don't take care of yourself."

"Fine by me." I wasn't the patient here.

Marcus stormed in. He carried a vial in his hands, which he shoved into my lap. "Ava, drink this."

His tone was so aggressive that he was the only person I didn't argue with. I looked at the contents through the glass vial and figured it was a simple healing potion. I uncorked the bottle and drank. I found it tasted like grapefruit juice.

When the potion's effects kicked in, I instantly felt pain ebb away that I didn't know was there. I'd been so hyped up I didn't realize I was experiencing any flare-up symptoms, in my spine or my body. Now I noticed, and they were aggressive. My muscles ached as if I'd moved the universe itself to fix Charlie. Guess I kind of had.

"Thanks," I said, handing the empty bottle back to Marcus.

"I brewed it myself. I figured you would need it," he said. "You don't have to worry about it counteracting any of your medications. Everything I put in there is safe."

"Well, I really appreciate…"

I staggered in my chair, because all of a sudden, I started getting very sleepy. I registered that the potion had left a faint aftertaste, one of a sleeping herb I recognized.

Marcus smirked. "I might've slipped in a sedative. Nighty night."

"You little bitch," I grumbled. That's all I got out before I slumped in my chair and went to sleep.

I must've been sleeping for a few hours, because when I woke up, the morning sun was beaming through the windows. I'd been moved to a separate room in the hospital and given my own bed.

Marcus was sitting at the edge of my bed with a wry smile. "Rise and shine."

I scowled as I roused. "That was a dirty trick."

"We had to put you down and give you a time out. You were out of control, even after you fixed him," Marcus said. "Ez checked you while you were sleeping, and he said everything's all good. We had to make sure. Sorry, not sorry."

"How's Charlie?" I asked. I was concerned the organs I gave him might suddenly fail, or some other catastrophe would happen.

"He's up and talking. He's already been looked at, and he's in perfectly good health," Marcus informed me. "We told him what happened. You can see him soon, but first…"

Marcus' gaze shot across the room, and I lifted my head to see he wasn't the only one here. His parents were in the room as well, looking rather worried.

I gave Marcus an inquisitive look. "What's going on?"

He wrung his hands. "We know what you're going to try to do, Ava, and we all agree it isn't worth the risk. I've asked my parents here to help talk you out of it."

"And what exactly do you think I'm going to do, Marcus?" I demanded.

He drew a deep breath. "You replaced Charlie's organs. Now that you know what you can do, we're afraid you're going to try using this power to replace the nerves in your spine."

I might as well get on with replacing my heart, too, because it nearly stopped beating at the suggestion. I'd been so worried about Charlie, the thought of replacing my own spine hadn't crossed my mind.

But now that Marcus mentioned it, it wasn't such a bad idea. The angel surgeons had fucked up my spine during surgery, all while my healing magic was trying to repair the damage, and everything had healed wrong. Now I'd utilized power that went far beyond any average healer. Why couldn't I use it to replace the feeling that I'd lost? I certainly had a better chance of going up against the Warden if I was agile on my feet.

Marcus knew that, too, so why was he acting so apprehensive?

I looked at Nadine and Lucas. "Forgive me, but why are you here? If I have a chance to repair my spine, shouldn't I do it?"

"That's what we want to speak with you about," Nadine said gently, taking a step closer to my bed. "Marcus told us that healing magic has failed to repair your injury thus far because supernatural forces were involved. As we understand it, your own healing magic set the injury, and therefore, no magic has been able to undo the damage your demigod power already caused."

"We've never seen healing magic like what I performed on Charlie before, though," I said. "My power is stronger now, so I should be able to overpower whatever spell I used to set the injury in the first place. I could make a full recovery and walk again! Isn't this great?"

I turned to Marcus, but he had a solemn look on his face. My voice turned cold. "You're acting like this is a death sentence rather than a beacon of hope."

"It's not going to work," Marcus stated firmly, like he was certain of the fact. "I don't want to shatter your hopes, Ava, but I also know it's dangerous to even attempt such a spell. My parents can explain better than I can."

Lucas cleared his throat. "When Marcus was very young, our enemies used his own power against him. Enemies of ours used Marcus' magic to cast a curse, which prevented us from telling him about his demigod abilities, until he learned of them himself."

"Marcus has told us about this curse before," I said. "What does it have to do with me?"

"We tried many things to break this curse," Nadine admitted. "We even tried to use Marcus' own powers to break it, the same way our enemies used his powers against him. But nothing worked. We were able to determine that once a demigod uses their magic on themselves, even their own power cannot reverse the spell— whether the demigod intended to cast the spell or not."

"Please, Ava," Marcus begged. "We're only trying to help. What you did to help Charlie was incredible, but if you try to reverse what your demigod magic already did to you, you only risk doing more damage. When a demigod casts a spell like this on themselves, that spell will always remain permanent."

I got that he was worried, but wasn't he taking this a bit too far? Marcus was a warlock, and I was an Elementai. We didn't know if my powers would have the same effect as his. He was too scared to brave the risks, but wasn't it at least worth a try, considering the potential reward? If I could regrow all of Charlie's internal organs— nerves, blood vessels, and all— then I didn't see why I couldn't fix a few nerves in my spine.

My lips set into a thin line. Marcus and his family had my best interests at heart, but they didn't know the lengths I'd go through to test my limits.

"Thank you for your concern," I said evenly. "You have nothing to worry about."

Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so relieved to hear that, Ava. I knew you would listen."

Eh, only sort of. I'd learned from Kallie how to twist my words, and I wasn't exactly lying to him.

Nadine looked a little shocked, like she expected me to push back. The woman didn't even know me, but I sensed she had a bit of fire in her back in her day— probably still did. She relaxed a moment later, though.

Lucas gave a kind nod. "Then we'll leave you to rest. Thank you for your time, princess."

"I'll be right back in," Marcus assured me. He led his parents out into the hall, and his muffled voice came through the door as he thanked them for coming to speak to me.

Nadine and Lucas' warning shook me a bit, but not enough to rule out the option completely. I didn't get what the big deal was. The least I could do was try. I was alone, and no one was here to stop me. I might as well see if gaining back my ability to walk was even a possibility.

I placed my hand on my stomach, right above the area where my spine was damaged. With my healing magic, I could feel the foreign rods in my spine, and sense the bundle of nerves that had been completely damaged. All I had to do was disintegrate them, then regrow them.

I decided to test it only on one nerve, in case Lucas and Nadine's warning held any real merit. Better to be safe than sorry.

My healing magic curled around a singular nerve, and I felt my power burn it away. I thought it would be ungodly painful, because I was literally destroying a nerve, but I didn't feel a thing at all.

Of course not, because there was nothing left to feel. That was almost more terrifying than the pain.

I concentrated on replacing the nerve, like I had with Charlie's organs. My hand glowed a bright white, until my power seemed to smash up against a brick wall I couldn't penetrate. I tried again and again to replace the nerve, to regrow it, but nothing worked.

I started to panic. Nadine and Lucas had been right. I couldn't counteract the botched spell that had healed my spine in all the wrong places.

Please, don't let there be any more damage, I prayed.

I pinched my upper thighs— hard. There was still a dull sensation there, like always, but it seemed weaker than ever before.

Marcus was right about the risk. I had done some serious damage that was now irreversible.

I had the thought that I could destroy the rest of my nerves that weren't firing right, to alleviate some pain, but that would also impair any and all sensation I had left in my legs, and I already had so little left. If I kept going with this, I was really going to hurt myself.

I hated to admit it, but I was glad Nadine and Lucas came to warn me before I did anything stupid I couldn't undo. I wasn't trying this again— that was for certain. Otherwise, I'd lose the little feeling I had left.

I hated that tears rushed to my eyes and ran down my cheeks at the realization that there was no way out of this. I'd accepted that I wasn't going to walk again a long time ago, but I couldn't help there being a small prayer of hope tucked away inside of me that one day, something would be able to fix me, or I'd be able to fix myself. That prayer dried up and withered away as I realized the truth.

I was never going to get better. This was permanent. I could perform miracles to heal other people, but I couldn't heal myself. I could replace Charlie's organs, but I couldn't replace what my own magic had set in stone without me being aware of it.

I was such a powerful demigod. But my demigod magic couldn't do the one thing I was most desperate for it to do, and that wounded me incredibly. I was helpful to others, but useless to myself. All these magical spells, potions, and medications I'd tried to fix my spine were nothing but disappointments. They were all the same, leading to identical undeniable outcomes.

I wiped my tears away and struggled to take in a few shaking breaths. You never stopped grieving when you were disabled, for the life you could've had, the life you desperately desired to live but would never receive. I'd given myself hope there would be a chance I could go back to the girl I had been, but I'd learned already that girl was dead and gone. I needed to accept myself now for who I was, not the person I wished I could be. I had to love my body the way it'd turned out to be, not hate it for not being the body I wished for.

I was worthy even though I was in a wheelchair, and stronger than anyone else in this palace. It was okay the spell hadn't worked. I accepted my body for what it was. I'd done my best, given it a good try, and that was all I could expect from myself. Though this treatment hadn't worked, and so many others hadn't either, I knew it would be okay.

I was still me. That was all that mattered. Charlie and my friends loved me no matter what, and I loved me, too. I didn't need to make myself into something different to earn that love. I could still be sick and receive it generously.

Even so… there would always be a piece of me that wanted things to change. But that piece of me didn't have to believe I was worth any less because of it. And it wouldn't, because that wasn't the truth. I was valuable just as I was. I had to acknowledge that.

A few minutes later, I'd pulled myself together and Marcus returned to the room. "Ready to see Charlie?"

"Finally." I wasn't waiting a second longer. Marcus helped me from the bed back into my chair. I found that I was too tired to roll my wheels, or even use the button on my chair that would move me forward, so Marcus pushed me.

Okay, so they were right to knock me out, because casting the spell on Charlie had affected me more than I thought. While we were in the hallway, Oberi came flying in from a separate ward. The phoenix landed on my chair, a bright sparkle in her eye.

"You look much better," I said, and she reached out to preen my hair.

Marcus gave me some healing treats. I am in tip-top shape thanks to his astounding Alchemy magic, she replied. I hope you had a nice nap.

"Splendid."

Marcus wheeled me into Charlie's room. Happiness spread across my form as I saw he was sitting up in bed, appearing perfectly well. Emperor Cassiel was there. He gave me a kind smile, as if to say he knew I could do it.

Charlie felt my presence and immediately reached out for me. "Pidge."

I took his hand as Marcus moved me to his bedside. "Oh, Charlie." If he could call me by my favorite name, all was right again in the world.

"You regrew my organs." His thumb moved over the back of my hand, and I didn't bother to resist a delightful shudder.

"I do what I want."

"Still… that's incredible magic. I'd say it's hard for me to believe that you pulled it off, but nothing's off-limits to you. Thank you so much for saving me."

"I'd never let anything happen to you," I promised. "Whatever happens, you'll always be safe if I'm there."

Kallie walked in, eating a bag of cookies. "Hey," she said. "Have a nice sleep?"

"You butthead! You let Marcus spike my drink with a sleeping tonic! I know you were in on it," I snapped.

"From what I hear, he had to, because you were being purposefully difficult," Charlie said firmly. "I'd ask what you were thinking, but you obviously weren't. Pulling off big magic like that then not letting the doctors make sure you're healthy is beyond not okay. You're in big trouble."

I huffed out a breath. "We can talk about that later. What the hell did Danielle do to you? When we burst in, it looked like you were having some kind of fancy dinner to satisfy her disgusting fantasies."

My blood nearly boiled out of my veins at the memory of her curled up on his lap. That was my place, and she'd taken my man.

"I kept her talking," Charlie said. "And if I'm being honest, what she told me isn't good."

"What'd she say?" Kallie asked, already appearing on edge.

Charlie seemed very frightened, which always scared me. Not much terrified my husband, so if he was concerned, we all should be. "Danielle told me the Warden doesn't want to attack Ilamanthe yet. It's like he's biding his time, because he needs the Elves for some kind of purpose. The more Elves that die in battle, the less he has to use for whatever awful idea he's got planned. He doesn't want to exterminate them; he wants to imprison them. It's why he hasn't attacked the city yet. That, and it sounded like he's threatened by us demigods. That's why he had to lure us away from the city, onto his own turf."

"If that's true, this goes beyond the war," I said. "It's not about winning and defeating the other supernatural nations. It's about taking control of the Elvish race and using their magic. For what, we don't know. We need to figure out what the Warden needs the Elves for, because whatever he's planning, it gives him even more power than he already has."

"He could capture the Elves easily if he makes more demigods and creates an army for himself," Marcus said in terror.

"He can't," Charlie said. "Danielle told me that he's tried, and they die every time, plus he gives away some of his power on each attempt. The demigods he has are the ones he's got."

"Well, that's good, because we killed them," Kallie said, crossing her arms. "But it's definitely concerning that we don't have an idea of what he wants to do with the Elves, and he needs us out of the way to do it."

Cassiel appeared contemplative as he took in all this information, leaning closer to listen.

"That's not the worst thing," Charlie warned. "Danielle said the Warden can't die."

Marcus gave a psh. "He's an angel, of course he can't die."

"It's more than that. Danielle said she watched the Warden fight the dark gods. They were trying to kill him and take over, but they couldn't, because no matter what they threw at him, he survived it all. Apparently, his magic was so strong he put them in their place, and they had to listen. He was able to defeat and control multiple gods without a scratch on him," Charlie said.

I scoffed. "She was obviously lying. That, or she was so stupid that she believed whatever came out of the Warden's mouth."

"It makes sense, though," Charlie argued. "Nothing we've seen other people do has come close to even hurting the Warden, let alone killing him, and the dark gods wouldn't be working for him unless he has an edge over them. Otherwise, they would've killed him and taken The Mission for themselves by now."

"This is a problem, because if the dark gods can't kill him, we don't stand a chance, either," Kallie insisted.

"But how did he get so much power?" Marcus wondered. "I've never heard of any supernatural who literally can't die and are invulnerable to all attacks. Angels, Elves and vampires are immortal, but they can still be killed. It doesn't even sound like the Warden can be wounded without recovering."

"Maybe he's like Oberi," I speculated. "Even if you get him down, he'll just regenerate, and come back to life."

"Great," Kallie grumbled. "Like we didn't have enough problems on our hands. Now the Warden is basically a god himself."

"Exactly," Charlie growled. "If we want to kill the Warden, we need to learn how to kill a god… and I don't even know if that's possible."

Nobody in the room said anything, because it might not be. I didn't know of any stories or legends which told of a god dying, in any supernatural religion.

But I hadn't heard any legends about a supernatural regrowing organs, either, and I'd done just that for Charlie. I knew, deep in my gut, that I'd kill the Warden one day. I was certain I would. Impossible things were possible for me. I just had to learn how.

"Is Ilamanthe safe now that the Warden knows our location?" Marcus asked. "I can't imagine what's so important that he's holding off going after our city."

"I think that's the point," Charlie said. "He's trying to capture all these other cities first, and we're the final boss. Ilamanthe is still protected by demigods, but I'm certain he's already working out another way to draw us out so he can take the city for his own. It sure doesn't help that we're losing soldiers to The Mission, as that weakens our defenses by the day. Soon the Warden will be done with whatever he's doing with the Elves, or get impatient, and come for us here. We should be very, very afraid."

Cassiel finally spoke. "If he wants a fight, then we'll give him something to fight. Our wards are strong; I'd like to see him try getting through them."

Cassiel started for the door, but Charlie asked, "What's your plan?"

"I'm going to fortify our wards right away, as well as order a city shutdown," Cassiel stated. "No residents will be allowed in or out of Ilamanthe. Only your team and our military will be permitted the use of portals."

Cassiel left the room to get to work.

"The Emperor will keep the city safe," I said, and I squeezed Charlie's hand. "Let's focus on getting the rest of the Divinity Keys. Then, once the Elven Gate is open and the Elves are safe in the Blessed Haven, we can deal with the Warden once and for all."

Overdoing it put me back a couple of days. I had to stay in bed for most of the week to recover, because I was too tired to get out of it. My spine felt like it was on fire for days, and it'd been hell dealing with the agony. No medicine or healing magic had worked to make it go away. I'd had to let it pass on its own.

I got in trouble with Charlie for not letting the doctors help me. I wasn't allowed to practice any magic for the rest of the week. He didn't even let me attend demigod training, which I thought was really unfair. He'd commanded me to stay in the Jacuzzi tub all afternoon and eat chocolate-covered strawberries instead.

I mean, not a bad trade-off, but still. I wanted to help. I'd upset my dom, but if my actions had put us any closer to saving the world, I'd have to suck it up and take the luxurious punishment.

Charlie didn't go to demigod training, either. He was still recovering and spent most of his time in our suite resting.

My bachelorette party was on Saturday, but I was concerned about leaving Charlie alone in the suite… even though he was never really alone, because there were guards and servants stationed everywhere.

Of course, I'd thought that before, and Danielle had sunk her claws into him.

"I don't want to go. What if you need me?" I protested. I was doing my hair in the vanity mirror, because even if I wasn't going outside the palace, I still wanted to have big fluffy curls.

"Eddie is right outside to grab me whatever I ask for, and if I need you, someone will come get you right away," Charlie promised. "This is your bachelorette party. You shouldn't miss it. You need a chance to have fun."

Kallie had been planning this party for weeks, and I guess it would bum her out if I had to cancel. "Okay, fine. I'll try to relax."

I tied a big white bow into my hair, and Charlie said, "Have a great time, pidge."

"I will. Be back in the morning."

Kallie and the girls were planning on keeping me all night. I could only imagine what those sluts had planned. I smoothed down my slim white dress before Oberi escorted me out the door in her unicorn form.

Women cheered when I entered the Ladies' Court. The entire area had been decorated in black and pink— our wedding colors. Balloons and banners were hung over the area, and near the pool was a table that was laid out with fruit parfait cups, a chocolate charcuterie board, and a champagne bar.

"Congratulations, bitch. You're getting married again!" Kallie slipped a sash around my shoulders that read The Bride and fashioned a mini-veil into my curls underneath the bow.

Opal, Abigail, and Ivy were here, along with a variety of Elvish girls I'd met. Everyone was here to celebrate my wedding, and I couldn't be more honored that all my friends had come by to support me.

We started the party by having a tea party and playing party games. We played a fun truth-or-dare game that was bachelorette party themed, where everyone had to draw a card. The prompts were hilarious. Ivy had to give Kallie a piggyback ride while making donkey sounds, Abigail and Opal had to swap bras, and Oberi had to do a belly-dance— which looked completely silly in her unicorn form. She shook her big butt more than anything, and she knocked a poor Elf girl over. My card said I had to get into an embarrassing position and take a group photo. By the time we'd worked our way through all the cards, my stomach hurt because I was laughing so much.

After the game, we got massages and spent some time relaxing in the hot tub and sipping on our drink concoctions. I'd mixed raspberries into my lemonade and felt really refreshed. I watched Oberi swim around the pool in her narwhal form while I sank further into the water. Charlie was right. I needed this.

"Isn't this so wonderful?" Abigail asked, toasting her glass to the party. "Your wedding is going to be a celebration fit for a fairytale."

"It feels magical and all, but I don't know if I can believe it's a fairytale quite yet." I was a princess, but I was also a mob wife, after all.

"You should!" Opal burst. "You guys are everywhere! I can't turn the TV on without seeing a story about the proposal!"

All the Elvish tabloids had front-page articles about our upcoming wedding. Pictures of Charlie and me were on every page. I knew Cassiel must've put them up to it.

The fanfare was nice and all. It was crazy, seeing how obsessed people were with us. The Elves actually acted like they knew us personally. I'd been in the spotlight as a daughter of a chieftain, but I'd never had this much attention.

"Ilamanthe is so different from Malovia," Kallie said. "In my country, the monarchy looks the wrong way and the fae press rips them to shreds. The Elves don't think their monarchy can do any wrong."

"It's a difference in culture," I responded. It was in fae nature to criticize and complain constantly; they had high standards that no one on this earth could attain, but they still expected perfection even when it was impossible to achieve. Elvish society was run more like a mob, where any disapproval of the monarchy was dealt with swiftly, either through condemnation of society or… literally.

When we got out of the hot tub, girls started handing me gifts. I unwrapped a rainbow popsicle dick, designer makeup, a silk robe with slippers that I could use to get ready on my big day, and a bridal emergency kit, with all the little things I could need at the last minute before I walked down the aisle.

"This is great, you guys. You really know how to make a girl feel special," I swooned, surrounded by wrapping paper.

"Hold on. We've saved the best for last," Kallie teased, turning a corner.

I was curious. What could it be? But then my jaw dropped open, and my breath was stolen from my lungs as Kallie came out from behind the corner, bouncing in on a big, blow-up, six-foot tall penis.

"Meet Perky Peter," Kallie said proudly, and she stood the blow-up in front of me. "He's very happy to see you."

Tears came to my eyes and almost spilled over as I gazed at the magnificent monument to masculinity standing before me. By the ancestors. It was so beautiful. I'd never received such an outstanding gift.

"I love it!" I wrapped my arms around the blow-up and squeezed it as hard as I could, smushing my face into it.

"Geez, don't pop it," Kallie grumbled. "It took me thirty minutes to blow it up with air."

"It ain't the longest your mouth's been on one, cupcake," Ivy quipped, and Opal spat out her drink.

"Did you think about what you're going to get the prince for a wedding present?" Abigail asked, nibbling on a piece of chocolate. She handed one to me, and I took it, chewing on the caramel.

"I'm not sure. I know he's got something big planned for me," I mused.

"Is it in his pants?" Ivy asked. Opal giggled as she cleaned up the mess she spat out with a napkin.

"Most brides do boudoir photos, but… oh." Abigail's face fell, like she hadn't realized what she'd said until she'd already spoken it out loud.

"I know," I said regretfully. "It'd be nice to dress up in lingerie and take sexy pictures for him, but he can't see them. So that idea's a bust."

"Maybe you can in your own way," Kallie offered. "His hearing still works, after all."

Inspiration hit me like a flooding wave, and a satisfied smile spread over my face. I clinked my glass together with hers. "Kallie, you are a genius."

The girls took turns hopping around the edge of the pool on Perky Peter. Ivy bounced a little too eagerly and went floundering into the pool. I laughed so hard it was difficult to breathe.

As the afternoon grew long, the door to the Ladies' Court opened, and in walked my Grandmother Eleanor. Grandmother saw me clutching Perky Peter proudly as I wheeled around the snack table and gave a long, drawn-out sigh. "Ava, my dear, it's time to move the party on to other events. I expected you fifteen minutes ago. You need to pick out your wedding dress. The wedding is two weeks away."

"But I can't find anything I like," I whined.

Not for lack of trying— the Elves had brought me dozens of wedding dresses to try on since I'd gotten engaged, and I didn't like all of them. They were all extravagant, gorgeous, beautiful… but they weren't me. I knew my friends were tired of watching me try stuff on and wanted me to pick something already, but they didn't understand. This was my wedding, and I wanted my dress to tell the world who I was, not only as a person, but as the future Empress of Ilamanthe. My dress would be the topic of conversation throughout the empire for years to come, so it had to be just right.

"I think I may have a solution," Grandmother offered. "Though it's only an option. I won't be upset if you say no."

I was intrigued. "Where is it?"

"In my sewing room. We can go there now, if you wish."

"Okay!" I balanced Perky Peter on my lap and attempted to wheel forward clumsily. It tottered off and bounced on the ground.

Grandmother rolled her eyes. "I am not allowing you to accompany me to my room while you are in possession of that obscene object."

"Come on! Everyone should see how grand he is!" I objected.

She narrowed her eyes. "Leave it, Ava."

I grumbled, but propped Perky Peter against a wall and promised him I'd be back later. My friends followed me to my grandmother's suite, which was a few halls down from the Ladies' Court. When we stepped inside her quarters, my grandfather was at the kitchen table, hunched over a group of artifacts. He waved, and I suppressed a giggle. It was a missed opportunity my grandfather hadn't seen me carry in a six-foot blow-up dick. He probably would've fallen on the floor.

"Here it is," Grandmother said as we entered her sewing room, and she turned on the lights. "What do you think?"

I was in complete awe. On a dress form in the middle of the room was the most spectacular ball gown. It was ballerina pink, sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline, a tulle corset with silk ties, and layers upon layers of a full, poofy skirt. Rhinestones, pearls and silver gems decorated the front of the dress, making the entire gown shimmer.

It was stunning on the dress form. I couldn't imagine how it would look on me.

"I was making it as a graduation present. It's one of the few things we took from Kinpago before we left," Grandmother said. "But perhaps it's meant for your wedding instead."

"It's pink!" Kallie exclaimed.

"It's perfect!" I gushed. I wheeled myself toward the dress and caressed my hands over the poofy skirt. "Oh, thank you, Grandmother. I couldn't have imagined a more stunning gown."

"It's certainly fit for a princess," Abigail agreed.

"Do you think the Elves will care about the color?" Ivy worried. "It's far from traditional."

Kallie scoffed. "Ava could wear a paper bag to her wedding and the Elves would worship her for reinventing style. She can do no wrong by them."

"Definitely," I agreed. "White's not my color, anyway."

"Yeah, we all know you ain't no virgin," Ivy teased.

I circled the dress, looking it over. I put a hand to my chin. "Well, the dress is almost perfect."

"What does it need?" Grandmother asked, already grabbing a notepad and pencil.

"Well… I've been reading about tactile wedding dresses," I confessed. "They're gowns for brides who are marrying blind spouses. These dresses usually have more textures to them than regular wedding dresses."

It was one of the reasons I'd been having such a hard time finding a dress. I wanted something Charlie could see in his own way, not something everyone else would love. He was my groom. I wanted to look pretty for him more than anyone else.

"We'll add a skirt with a raised texture pattern, a few embroidered flowers, and more beading on the bodice, and alter it so it fits your chair properly," Grandmother suggested. "If we get your mother's help, and ask the Elvish seamstresses to step in, this dress can be altered and ready by your wedding day. We'll have your first fitting tomorrow."

"Thank you so much, Grandmother." I reached out to hug her. "I can't believe you made this just for me."

"Of course, my dear," Grandmother said, stroking my hair. "Anything for your special day. Ancestors know I won't allow my granddaughter to get married in anything but the best."

I spent the rest of the night goofing off with my friends in the Ladies' Court. We didn't go to bed until almost two in the morning. We all crashed in one of the attached suites, which had a ton of beds in it. I fell asleep holding the blow-up dick, because I loved it that much.

I woke up a couple of hours later, when everything was still dark. I hadn't meant to, but my earlier idea had gotten me so excited I guess it was hard for me to stay asleep.

The other girls were still out of it. I smiled. Time to put my plan into motion.

I got into my chair, then silently rolled out of the room and down the hallway to an isolated bedroom in the Ladies' Court where nobody was around. I shut the door, locked it, and pulled myself onto the bed.

One of my bridesmaids had given me a vibrator as a gag gift, but the joke was on them, because I was going to use it. I turned it on, grabbed my phone, pressed record, and slipped the vibrator under my panties. I made sure to put my phone by my mouth and be as loud as I dared.

When I was done, I saved the recording to a file, attached it to a text message, then sent it to Charlie.

I could barely contain my excitement. When Charlie woke up, he was going to get a big surprise.

The moment I woke up the next morning, I felt Charlie prodding at my mind.

Come see me when you're ready.

He was my dom and I always obeyed him, but he gave me permission to come when I was ready, so I wasn't going to show up until I knew he couldn't take it anymore. I smiled and giddily buried my face in the pillows.

I wasn't going to go running his way, that was for sure. I could edge him, too. I took my time enjoying a late brunch with my friends, gossip over lattes and a bit of shopping in town before I finally moseyed my way back to our bedroom by one o'clock. Oberi remained at the Ladies' Court to sunbathe, promising me she'd be back later.

I'd barely rolled in our bedroom door before Charlie grabbed me. He lifted me into his arms, spinning me around the room before he growled, "I leave you alone for one night and you send me a recording of you getting yourself off?"

"Uh-huh." I looped my arms around his neck and asked, "What are you going to do about it?"

His tone darkened as he said, "You're supposed to come when I call."

"You didn't give me a specific time, so how was I supposed to know? I came eventually."

"And you're gonna come again." He carried me through the mirror that led to the Sanctuary, and when I saw what waited inside, it gave me a thrill.

In an open area by the bed there was a sling hanging from the ceiling, suspended on several anchors. It had a spinning swing seat, as well as adjustable straps that had fabric cuffs for the legs and ankles.

A sex swing. Now we were talking.

He spent all that time this morning that I'd used to make him wait setting up the room. I could only imagine what he had planned on doing to me.

He threw me on the bed, then went tearing off my clothes without any further conversation. My breath raced as he slipped me into a lace lingerie set. It left absolutely nothing to the imagination— the bra was a strappy underbust band, with tiny triangles that barely covered my nipples, and the panties were sheer, a double-strapped waistband with a thong-cut back. I might as well not be wearing anything at all, and that was just fine by me.

He was more unrestrained than he usually was, tossing me around as he dressed me like his personal doll, and I was enjoying it. There was no time to be gentle or romantic, because all either of us wanted right now was to be rough.

Once I was dressed, Charlie put me down in the swing, then immediately went to fasten the cuffs. He velcroed two cuffs around my ankles before reaching out for a nearby rope and tying my wrists together. Once they were bound, he fastened them into a larger singular cuff and pulled tight.

"You need to slow down. You're still recovering." I didn't want him to push it and end up overexerting himself.

"I'm well enough to do this, trust me. That little recording of yours made sure of that," he said roughly. "Lean back."

He didn't give me a choice, because he pushed my shoulders backward. The swing adjusted, and I felt completely weightless as I laid backward, the seat and the cuffs supporting my weight as I was suspended from the ceiling.

Charlie got down on his knees and immediately planted his face between my legs. My eyes rolled back in my head as I felt his tongue on my core, and I gasped in extreme pleasure. His tongue on my apex instantly made me breathless, and wanting more.

As the feelings within me welled, Charlie suddenly stopped. He got up, going to the dresser I wasn't allowed to touch. I nearly whined, but he grabbed a vibrator that was a similar shape and size as he was. He inserted the toy as he continued to massage my clit with his tongue, and ancestors, I couldn't understand why it felt so damn good right now. I don't think it ever had before, and we'd had some pretty incredible nights.

"You act like you don't turn me on and drive me crazy," Charlie said as he tasted me. "Why are you such a bad girl?"

I couldn't respond. I was already too far into delirium. I found myself crying out with small whimpers, and Charlie breathed, "Make those sounds, pidge. Just like you did last night."

My head lolled, and my breasts heaved as I gasped for air. He kept edging me, getting me to the brink just before I was about to come, then he backed off— again and again.

"Let me come," I pleaded. This wasn't fair.

"You didn't come when I called, so now you get to see how you make me feel."

I might've felt regret for being such a brat, if this wasn't so blissful. I was almost crying by the time he backed off again— tears leaked out of my eyes.

"Are you going to behave next time? Or are you going to pull another stunt like that?" Charlie asked roughly.

"I won't. I promise," I begged. "Let me come, please."

"As you wish." Charlie tossed the toy aside, got to his feet, and unfastened his pants. He pulled on the straps and the swing adjusted, so that my legs were at a ninety-degree angle toward the ceiling, my back tilted toward the floor. My head hung completely upside down, my hair trailing against the tile.

I'd told Charlie before I wanted him to fuck me while I was hanging from the ceiling, upside down. Looks like he'd put his mind to it and figured out how. Good boy.

Charlie placed my legs against his torso, so my ankles were laying on his shoulders, then shoved his dick into me. I let out a moan, and he began railing me like never before. The springs that the swing was suspended on added for extra bounce, and gave even more power to his thrusts. I felt like I was flying as he slammed into me, and I closed my eyes to experience the sublime release. I was tied up and bound to this swing, but had never been more untethered. This swing was amazing. It made me feel free. We had complete freedom of movement with it, and with the cuffs holding up my legs, I had more support than I typically did. His cock went deep, and I felt myself begin to convulse. The sight of him fucking me, with my legs splayed across the front of his suit, and that dark look in his eyes… I lost it. My eyes closed as my body hit its peak, and waves of pleasure broke out all across my form, so powerful I felt myself reeling.

When I came, Charlie chuckled lowly under his breath and uttered, "Good girl."

With a strength that required everything in me, I managed to open my eyes. I let out a few loud moans, and my head turned to the side.

The Beast. He was standing in a darkened corner of the Sanctuary, watching what we were doing. Ugh, what was he doing here? This place was for me and Charlie only. It was off-limits.

The Beast appeared completely disturbed. His lip curled as he observed us with a look of complete revulsion.

I couldn't help it; I let out a deranged laugh, locking eyes with him as my gaze told him silently that I didn't give a shit about him, and for all his efforts to stop me, I was completely unaffected by his pathetic attempts to destroy my life. It was hilarious to me that the Warden could do nothing to me here, and arousing that I was able to do whatever the fuck I wanted, when I wanted, and he wasn't able to stop me.

"What's so funny, my good little bad girl?" Charlie asked, and he fucked me harder.

The Beast faded from my sight, and I managed to strain out, "I just love how you make me feel."

Charlie's controlled breaths turned into ragged pants. "Good, because I can't hold back any?—"

Charlie didn't have the ability to finish the sentence, because he came. He gasped and held on to me tightly, and I came again, mixing our two climaxes into one powerful harmony. His feelings ricocheted through our bond, and I rode them with delight as he came down from his rapture.

Charlie staggered away, then put a hand on the wall to steady himself. I noticed through our bond his consciousness flicker for a moment, and I became concerned.

"Please sit down," I pleaded. That had been a lot of activity, for him still recovering.

He stumbled to the bed and sat to take a few deep breaths. "It was your fault for getting me so worked up."

"I'm sorry, baby," I crooned, but I really wasn't. Not after all that.

"It's okay. I forgive you," he said with a sly smile.

I was still hanging upside down, and by now, I could feel the blood draining to my head. "Um… can you get me down?"

"Sure." Charlie slowly got up and refastened his pants. He released the cuffs binding my limbs and picked me up out of the swing. He carried me through the mirror and out of the Sanctuary, then set me on our bed.

"Can I leave my wrists tied in the rope?" I begged.

"For a little bit," he said. "I want you in that lingerie a while longer."

He laid beside me as the Mediterranean breeze blew through the open balcony, filling our bedroom with warmth. His fingers skimmed over my skin absentmindedly as we talked, which we liked to do after we played. We could converse for hours, talking about anything and everything. If we didn't have any responsibilities, we could lay here all day.

Charlie moved closer to me, then winced as his ribs laid on a hard object stuck in the covers. "Ouch."

He shifted on the bed and dug under the covers. He pulled out a notebook with a thick spine, and said, "A book? Why is this here?"

"Oops. I was writing in that yesterday," I apologized. "I must've left it in the bed. Sorry."

"What's this?" he teased, flipping the pages. "A diary of our adventures? Should I call a servant to read it out loud?"

"Don't." I laughed. "It's not for anyone's eyes but us."

"Oh?" he asked curiously.

"It's a notebook, containing three lists," I said. "One list is for all the places I want us to travel to, once the war is over. Another list is for all the places I want us to have sex— all the positions, and all the different toys I want to try. That list is pretty long."

"You'll have to read it to me sometime," Charlie said, sounding amused. "I have my own ideas I'd like to add."

"I'm sure. We'll be working our way through it for the rest of our lives." It sounded so delicious. I couldn't wait.

"What's the third list?" Charlie asked curiously.

I frowned. "The last list doesn't even have a full page."

"What's on it?"

Might as well be honest. "It's a list of people I want to kill."

Charlie didn't even flinch— or react at all— like my answer was something as benign as a list of clothes I wanted to buy, and not a murder sheet. "Who's on the list?"

I blinked as I mused on the names. "Before we killed them, it was Mad Dog. Naya. Deuce. Esther."

"And at the top?"

My voice was cold as I said, "The Warden."

Charlie was far from surprised. "You want to kill him more than the rest of us."

"Absolutely." My teeth gritted as I thought about how much I hated him. "I dream about it all the time— how amazing it would be to finally kill him. When you're making love to me, I laugh, because even though it's wonderful, nothing on this earth would make me feel as good as you do, other than taking the Warden's life. Murdering him would be ecstasy. I've got a few pages with ideas, theories on how we could take him out, ways we could put him in the ground."

I sighed. "I don't think any of them would work, especially now that we know he's invulnerable to almost anything, but I'll come up with how to kill him someday. And it's fun, because even though it's not realistic, picturing fantasies of how I can make him suffer gives me satisfaction. It delights me."

"It's one thing to keep it in your head, but why put it on paper?" Charlie asked.

"I have this kill list because I want to end people who hurt us, before they hurt anyone else. And I need to remind myself that even though we live in paradise here, I can't forget that I need to make certain people pay."

"The Warden's horrible, but it's not your responsibility to get rid of him, pidge. At least, not your responsibility alone. We can do it together."

I said nothing. Charlie asked, "Is that all who's on the kill list?"

I paused. "There's a name on the list you might not like."

"Who?"

"Your dad. Cameron Wahkin."

Charlie's brow furrowed. "Why is my dad on the list? I don't forgive him for what happened, but killing him is a little extreme."

I turned on my back, sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "He acts like you should forget about your childhood. Even if leaving you behind was out of his hands, it's okay for you to be upset that it happened. I don't like that he believes you can just move on and forgive him. Especially when he doesn't want to put any work in to fix it."

"You can't kill my dad, pidge."

"I wasn't going to. I wouldn't hurt you like that," I said softly. "But he makes me feel that way, so he's on the list."

I scoffed. "He might be the only person who makes it off of it."

Charlie lifted me into a sitting position on his lap. "Whatever is going on with you, I'm here for you. You're never going to suffer through it alone."

"I know." I put my forehead to his and happily breathed him in. "No matter what I'm going through, I'll always have you."

I was vaguely aware of a soft knock, and a small voice that asked, "Princess?"

The door creaked open. I heard a soft, strangled gasp. I looked up and saw that Abigail's face had gone pale as her eyes locked on the ropes around my wrists. She gave a terrified glance to Charlie, spun her wheelchair around, then hurried out of there.

Ooh. I'd forgotten Abigail was coming by today to escort me to my bridal fitting. She'd come in at a pretty bad time.

"What was that?" Charlie asked as he heard the door sharply shut.

"Abigail saw us with the ropes," I said as I held my wrists out for him to untie.

"Do we care?" Charlie asked, and he loosened the ropes before he pulled them off, setting them aside. "She's your lady, and loyal to you. She's not going to spread it around."

"Yeah, but that's not really the point," I said. "You should give me a moment with her."

"As you wish." Charlie nipped at my ear. "Can't say I won't listen to that recording again though, and be back for more later."

I giggled, and he helped me change into proper clothes before placing me in my chair and leaving our quarters. He had something to do for the wedding, but he wouldn't tell me what. I was already bubbling with anticipation at what the surprise might be.

I rolled myself into the living area of our suite and noticed that Abigail was already there, looking meekly at the floor.

"Could you have someone get us some tea and snacks?" I asked. "We need to talk."

Abigail didn't hesitate. She ducked out to speak with another servant, before venturing back in. I was already waiting at a small round table for her. I didn't say a word as an Elvish maiden brought us chai tea and a plate of decorated spiced cinnamon cookies, leaving the room with a bow. Abigail poured me a cup of tea, though she didn't make one for herself.

I ate a cookie before I said, "We should talk about what you saw."

"I am your lady, and I serve the crown," Abigail said in a flat voice, glancing at my wrists where the ties had been. "It is not my place to question anything the prince does, and I understand my position. I should've waited for you to call me in before entering, and I didn't, as I forgot my place. Forgive me. You have no need to explain anything."

"I'm not obligated to explain. But I want to." I put the cookie down. "You're worried he's hurting me. As you said, you are my lady, and you've sworn to care for me. So I want to show you that I'm not being hurt."

Abigail visibly swallowed. "Permission to speak freely, princess?"

"Of course."

"You may believe that he's not hurting you, but I don't see how such a thing can ever be good, especially not for a woman," Abigail insisted. "This… bondage is dangerous. It's… it's not a real relationship! He's using you in a sick way!"

She nearly burst while saying the words, and I reached out to take her hand. "It is, and it's safe. He's not using me. This is something we both enjoy."

"Has he convinced you of that? I bet this was his idea," Abigail spat.

"This is something we've done for a while, and everything's consensual," I insisted. "It seems terrible because you don't understand. I want to know what you've assumed, so I can answer your questions."

Abigail looked increasingly worried. "My princess, there are rumors about the palace. Not about you and the prince, but about… others who participate in such activities."

Where was this going? "Rumors about who?"

Abigail drew her hand away from me and began twisting a napkin in her grasp. "Well… Prince Cameron is an upstanding gentleman, and as far as I've heard, would never consider anything so heinous."

She dropped her voice and leaned forward. "As for the Emperor… there are whispers of what he and the former queen used to do in their bedchamber alone… and what is said truly shocks me."

Okay, so Cassiel and his wife had been into some kinky shit. I could see where Charlie had gotten it from. Cassiel seemed like the type of person who could go to some really dark places if he wanted to. He was noble and gentle on the outside, but I bet he'd done a bunch of twisted things to remain on the throne. If he was anything like Charlie— and I knew the two of them were a lot alike— there was a monster inside of him he didn't let out unless he had to. But when the monster unleashed, he enjoyed every minute of it.

If possible, Abigail's voice became even lower. "In fact, there are even those that say she died because of it."

"People make up silly rumors about BDSM all the time, because they don't understand it," I told her. "I'm certain that's not true."

But yet… holy shit. What if it was? So what's why Cassiel's wife had died before her time. He'd fucked her to death.

What a way to go. I could only be so lucky.

"You think this was Emperor Cassiel's idea, and he told Charlie to do this?" I did my best not to laugh.

"Yes, but you're insinuating that's not the case," Abigail stated.

"It's not. Some people can take this lifestyle too far, and it can get abusive. But for other people, it can actually be a safe choice. It's all about how well the couple communicates."

"How? Explain it to me." Abigail's eyes flashed. "As far as I'm concerned, all this is about is a woman being subservient to a man."

"This lifestyle isn't dependent on gender roles. A man can be submissive to a woman, in this kind of situation, and couples with queer identities can participate, too. If you'll have an open mind, I can tell you more."

Abigail held a breath, then let it out. "Very well. I'll listen to whatever my princess has to say, because I want to understand the situation, and be sure you're safe."

I leaned back in my chair. "Charlie and I are full-time dominant and submissive. We know our roles, and we live them out at all times, including outside the bedroom. If I listen to what he tells me, then he rewards me."

"But is this something you need to do?" Abigail asked.

"For my mental health, yes. But also, no. I can be Charlie's sub, but I could never be anyone else's. I love this life and the dynamic we have, but he's my one and only, and I could never be intimate with another person like this, because even though it's a lot of fun, it requires me to be excessively vulnerable. And he's the only man I could ever be that open with."

"And how does he… dominate you in a respectful way?" she questioned.

"We've created our relationship to be respectful by default, because we both have our needs, and if we don't get what we need from this, it doesn't work," I said. "He needs me to trust him. He needs me to know that he's going to respect my boundaries, and take care of me after he pushes my limits. This kind of situation doesn't work if he doesn't love me and I don't love him. What we have is a power exchange, where I'm giving him something valuable, and he's giving that back to me. I know some people are into this kind of lifestyle for just the dynamic, but that's not us. I'm his equal, but I'm also his submissive. And he never pushes me to do anything I don't want to do. I have full control."

Abigail seemed to muse on this. "How does this lifestyle work, in a practical sense outside of the bedroom?"

"I have rules I have to follow," I explained. "Charlie set them for me, but we discussed them beforehand, and I agreed to all of them before we actually put the rules into practice."

"Rules?" Abigail seemed slightly repulsed. "What kind?"

"Well, for example, some of the rules are very straightforward. I have to take a nap after lunch every day, so I don't get too tired. My nails always have to be done— because I like doing them, and because Charlie appreciates it when they're nice. I have a set bedtime, and a time to wake up. I have to eat three meals a day, and when we're being intimate, I do my best to do as I'm told. He'll give me commands to follow, then reward me with pleasure when I listen."

"Does he tie you up every time?" Abigail questioned.

"No. We don't always get kinky. Sometimes we just have normal sex. And sometimes the rules change due to circumstance. For example, I wasn't feeling well over the past week, so I had to rest more. One of my rules is I have to make Charlie's coffee for him in the morning, because even though the servants can, I like doing that for him, because I consider it my thing. But because I was sick, he told me I had to stay in bed while he made his own coffee, and that made me very grumpy."

I gave a shrug. "A lot of our rules fly under the radar. In public, people wouldn't think I'm being submissive. They'd just think I was doing something nice for my spouse, or taking care of myself. Charlie has a lot of rules for that. He wants to help me improve in life and meet my own goals, as well as keep me relaxed. So the rules he sets center around that. The whole point of having rules is for me to enjoy having to follow them, so I can get pleasure out of pleasing him, and he can focus on making me happy."

"What if you break a rule?" Abigail wondered. "What happens?"

"I would say the punishment suits what rule I broke. For example, if I skipped my nap that day, I would have to take an extra long one the day after, to make up for it."

"He doesn't hit you, does he?" Abigail asked softly.

I felt absolutely repulsed by the thought. "No. Charlie won't physically hit me in any way. Plus, spankings don't work on me, because I see them as a reward instead of a punishment. They turn me on, and that's the opposite of being disciplined. A lot of the traditional punishments don't have any effect. For example, putting me in time out would just make me think something exciting is coming later. And that's another reward. He's got to get creative to want to deter me from misbehaving. Also, he never withholds attention or sex from me. That's abusive, and I'm the kind of person who needs sexual contact to stabilize my moods and keep me grounded."

"I know it's not my place to ask, but what about in the bedroom?" she whispered. "I know some couples like striking each other with…"

She shuddered, and whispered lowly, "Paddles."

Angelic purity culture had really done a number on this poor girl. I wanted to help her, because even though it wasn't my obligation to teach her about safe, kinky sex, I didn't think anyone else would. Ivy had been a big help to me when I'd started exploring, so now, I wanted to pass on that knowledge.

"We haven't used crops or whips yet, but I'm into the idea. Charlie's hesitant, because he doesn't enjoy striking me, not even in a sexy way. But I get a vote, and I'm sure with enough convincing I can push him to try it." I raised a coy eyebrow. "He might be the head of our family, but I'm the neck that turns his head, so to say. And I know my opinion has a powerful influence."

"So who's really in charge, him or you?"

"Him. He's the boss, always. But he always takes my thoughts and feelings into account, so in the end, I typically get what I want, anyway." I sighed. "And sometimes I don't make the best choices, so it's easier on me for him to make those decisions for me. Especially when my bipolar is out of control, because when my mind is all over the place, it's hard to keep centered. He becomes my center."

"So are they rules, or more like guidelines?" Abigail asked.

"If he gives a command, I'm obligated to follow it," I said. "For example, the other night, I really didn't want to do any stretching exercises for my physical therapy. But Charlie said I had to, and I'm submissive to him, so I did as he asked. But I felt better afterward, because I hadn't realized my muscles were really sore, and I needed to stretch them in order to get the muscles to release. Charlie did, because even without our bond, he can sense micro changes in my behavior that I don't necessarily notice. Then he can direct me toward what I need. I'm not the best at taking care of myself, so I need the extra guidance and help."

"This sounds like you have to do all the work and he gets off with no responsibility," Abigail grumbled.

"Oh no, he has rules, too," I explained. "One of his rules is he can't come home to me later than seven o'clock, because the time from dinner until we go to bed he's promised exclusively to me, and that's my time to have him to myself. Unless it's a Thursday, of course, or a Sunday."

"What happens then?" She sounded terrified.

"Thursday evenings are friend days. He'll go out with Marcus or Chancey, and I'll see Opal or Kallie, or go see my family. On Sundays we have alone time by ourselves, so we can recharge for the week. But honestly, we don't use a lot of that alone time on Sundays, because we like spending the free time we have together."

I took a sip of tea and continued. "He also has to be open and honest with me at all times. He's not allowed to conceal things from me. He has to be patient, and not let his emotions overtake him when I'm not doing as I'm told— because sometimes, I don't. I try to obey his orders as much as I can, but I'm a brat, and I like being one, and he likes my bratty behavior. I know when to push his buttons and when to behave. Sometimes I'll mess up just because I want his attention, and he knows that. So there's a balancing act we both ascribe to. But if we really don't like a rule, or it's not working for us, we can agree to throw it out. It's a constant work in progress. I like my role because I get pampered a lot. Charlie spoils me, and I show him I appreciate that by being submissive to him. It works for both of us."

"But do you belong to him?" Abigail insisted. "In a way that's possessive, and not loving?"

"I don't love the idea of ownership, but he owns my body, and I own his, so to say. I'm not his property, but his treasure. He knows that he belongs to me, and he's dedicated to my needs, wants, and desires in all areas of life. And he knows that I adore him, and will do what he asks because I do. We're both committed to improving ourselves, because you can't maintain this kind of lifestyle without growing together. It takes work, like all marriages do."

Abigail nodded. "I see. Although I don't quite understand, I think I can acknowledge this isn't hurting you. And if this is what you truly want, and your choice, I have no business getting in the way of that."

"We're really in a good place," I said dreamily. "This setup works well for us, because we know what to expect out of each other and ourselves."

"I'm glad," Abigail responded. "All I wish is for my princess to be happy."

I finished my tea and said, "I don't mean to intrude, but you've never been with anyone, have you, Abigail?"

"No," Abigail said sadly. "I prefer the female variety, myself, but I've never even been on a date. Or been kissed."

"It'll happen at the right time," I promised. "And when it does, all that waiting will have been worth it."

"I hope so," Abigail said sadly. "It was really hard, being a lesbian in angelic culture. I had to hide all the time, and pretend to be someone I'm not. I've suppressed so much of myself that it's difficult for me to even admit that I like girls in private, because it still seems wrong. It goes against what the Almighty One says, and that feels like a sin."

"It's never a sin to be who you are," I told her. "What Charlie and I have isn't so different than the relationship between you and me."

"How so?" Abigail asked curiously.

"You are my lady-in-waiting, and you serve me. You listen to my commands, and follow my orders. I have authority over you, but that doesn't mean I get to treat you however I want," I said. "You and I have to trust each other, like Charlie and I do."

"Okay. I think I get it now." Abigail nodded. "You're serving Charlie, but he's also serving you. And trust grows as the connection deepens."

"Exactly. You shouldn't be afraid to be who you are, Abigail, at least not in Ilamanthe. People are accepting here."

"It's just…" She took a deep sigh. "Whenever I find myself having feelings for another woman, I just see my father's face, and those feelings instantly feel filthy. He would be sickened by me if he knew who I truly was. He doesn't want to have someone like me for a child."

"What your dad wants isn't important, because this is your life, and you deserve love," I insisted. "To trust that Charlie will take care of me, I have to trust myself. And you need to trust that your heart is leading you in the right direction."

Abigail straightened her shoulders, as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her. "Thank you, princess. You are very wise."

"I've just been through a lot of stuff," I explained. "Wisdom comes with the territory."

"Indeed." Abigail turned her chair. "We need to get to your dress fitting. Your grandmother is probably very cross that we're late again."

Cross wasn't the word for it. I was fully expecting to get yelled at the minute I arrived. Being a princess meant nothing when your grandmother thought she ruled over all.

I could sense Oberi was waiting for me at the dress fitting, and getting a little impatient. She wanted to see me in my dress and gush over how pretty it looked. We left Charlie's quarters and ventured into the hall, on our way to my grandmother's suite. My guard, Eldin, followed behind.

I went to say something more to Abigail, but stopped when a figure crossed our path and stood in our way. I gasped in a mixture of shock and relief when I recognized who it was.

It was Professor Hemlock. Her clothes were tattered and dirty, and her face was covered with dozens of bruises and cuts. Her hair hung mangled and ratted around her thin jaw, and her skin gave off a gaunt, sickly appearance.

She was alive. I couldn't believe it! She must've escaped the Warden!

"Professor!" I was so happy to see her. I wheeled forward to give her a hug. "You're okay!"

Hemlock didn't respond to my gesture of affection. Instead, she reached into her robes and pulled out a thin, bloody dagger, her mouth sinking into a snarl.

I halted my chair, and my insides flipped inside my abdomen. "Professor?"

"You must die!" Hemlock screeched, charging toward me. Abigail screamed. I found myself frozen, unable to comprehend that my favorite teacher was actually attacking me.

"Princess!" Eldin cried, charging forward to save me. She drew her sword, and I shut my eyes tight as Hemlock raised her dagger high, aiming to bring the blade down upon my throat.