Arcane Attraction

P R O L O G U E — Aurora.

I slid into the milky water, the chill seeping through my body in a matter of minutes, causing goose bumps to cover the expanse of my skin. I could feel the warmer rays of the sun shining onto my face, doing little to battle the cold, but I let out a sigh, allowing my shoulders to relax as I sunk deeper into the water. 

I had not expected death to feel like this. I imagined it to be more painful. I had expected an ache in my chest, or a nervousness within my chest, but all that I felt was… relieved? The time had finally come. 

Only a moment later, I felt a breeze blow through my hair, and I instinctively knew that she was here. The overpowering scent of lavender that had filled the air was another giveaway. 

     “I was expecting you to come later.” 

My voice had a croaky edge to it, resulting in me clearing my throat before I pushed myself upright and forced my eyes to open. It took a moment for my eyes to focus to the light, my blinking making little to no difference. I was not surprised when I found her sitting on the edge of the pond with her feet in the water. 

    “Luckily for you, I’m not here for that.” 

I felt myself frown, forcing my eyes to wander across her features. I had no idea what I was looking for. Perhaps a hint as to what other possible reason she could have for being here? 

     “You know you’re the first Royal with no heir. The question is, are you aware of what the implications of that is?” 

I braced myself, seeing the way that her mouth dropped down in disappointment. I felt the all too familiar urge to attack her build up within me once again—after all these years, I still had not found it in me to forgive her. She could have given him another chance at life. And yet, she had chosen not to. 

     “You know just as well as I do that your passing is well on it’s way. You have lived a good life. Reigned over your people just as I well as I knew you would. But what is to happen to those people if you have no successor?” 

I averted my eyes, finding myself staring into the milky water once more. I had had enough encounters with the Goddess over the years to know that she would not have come here to point out a problem if she hadn’t already planned out a solution. She was just building the suspense. That was what she did. 

     “I’ve observed our people… And as magnificent as I find each of them, there is not even one that I have found fit to rule.” 

My eyes snapped up once more, feeling the weight of the insult that she had just delivered to all her kind settle heavily on my shoulders. Of course, her demeanour remained composed. She held my gaze steadily, pleased with the fact that she now had my full attention. 

     “I was quite disappointed in myself. I had made each of them so uniquely different that I had never thought to make a few of them similar enough to make them worthy of the throne. But then I thought to myself, where did I ever say that the successor had to be from our species?” 

I found my limbs moving on their own accord, pushing me out of the water. My body felt colder than ice, a numbness wrapping itself around my bones. It did not take a genius to figure out what she was going to do to, and I didn’t support it. Not even in the slightest. 

     “Are you insane? You will create an uprising. Marcel has already been threatening packs to vote in his favour as King. What do you think he’ll do when you put a fae on the throne?”

I did not miss the way that her lips curled upwards as she stood up in the same movement, doing so much faster than I had. She had not aged at all. Not even so much as a day. 

     “Believe it or not, I have thought of that. Marcel has turned into quite the problem lately, hasn’t he? He was forced into power too soon—does that not make him remind you of Ryder? But moving along, I’ve already thought of a solution that should limit his retaliations.” 

I let out a huff and started making my way out of the water, the refuge I had been seeking long forgotten. All that I now felt was betrayal towards her for what she was confiding in me. Did she really expect me to support this? 

     “And what was your brilliant idea? Because I can tell you right now, that Marcel doesn’t—” 

     “Let me finish speaking, Aurora. I’ve been allowing you to disrespect me for a long time now, but this is the end of it.” 

I clenched my jaw and forced myself to take a deep breath, waiting for her to finish the speech that she was here to deliver. She was now running her hand along the banister of the staircase, uncaring for the fact that she was not even on the staircase. 

     “To correct your earlier assumption, I do not plan on putting a fae on the throne. I knew that that would have been a recipe for disaster. I admit that Marcel was the best candidate, and that is saying something, isn’t it? The reason he will not be your true successor, is because I feel that his thirst for power will be the death of him. Doesn’t that sound familiar?” 

I kept quiet, knowing exactly who she was referring to. I was not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me react the way that she wanted me to, because I knew that she was baiting me, and like the fool I was, I knew I would fall for it at some point. 

    “But of course, a King without a Queen is nothing. And the reason that Marcel has never had a mate is quite simple, really. I have never deemed him worthy of one. And honestly speaking, he still is not. But I believe that there is someone who could change him in the same manner that you changed Ryder.” 

     “Why do you keep backtracking to Ryder? In case you have forgotten, I am dying. I don’t have a lot of time to dilly dally.” 

She returned to me and I was aware of the sudden spike in the temperature of the room. I knew that I had once again disrespected her, but I was not going to apologize. I could not help myself. It had become instinctive for me. 

    “I know that, Aurora. I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.” 

Silence followed her statement and I started wishing that she would leave. My dress was sopping wet, and the weight of it was becoming too much to carry. 

     “The girl I’ve chosen to be your successor happens to be human. She is also Marcel’s mate. She’ll be pitted against the best of our kind, and during these trials, you’ll be able to see why I’ve chosen her.” 

I kept quiet, waiting for her to say more, but nothing came. I took that as my signal to speak, and I shook my head aggressively before firing my questions at her. 

     “How is a human going to keep up with our kind? They do not even associate with us unless the circumstances are dire, and now you expect someone like Marcel—him, of all people? —to remain mated to one? How do you even expect us to find her?” 

I watched as her lips pulled upwards once more, and I became aware of the way that the air was cooling down, my hair blowing about. 

     “She’ll find you.”