His Beauty, My Beast

The Proposal

Nia's eyes blazed with fierce determination as she summoned the last of her energy. Her faerie powers surged, illuminating the darkened throne room with an ethereal glow that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly rhythm. The air vibrated with her magic, making it hard to breathe, as if the very fabric of reality was being warped by her will.

Metro and Amber took a step back, their eyes widening in terror as they realized too late that Nia's powers far exceeded anything they had ever seen. She felt like... death. Nia's blue light enveloped them, wrapping them in tendrils of fiery energy that seemed to burn with an inner light, like a thousand tiny suns exploding in slow motion.

Metro's face contorted in agony as he tried to scream, but his voice was silenced by the intensity of Nia's magic. His only thought as he died was that he was happy he took Khalil with him. His body began to wither, his skin charring and blackening as if burned by an invisible flame that left no ash or smoke behind. His eyes bulged, their whites turning a grotesque shade of gray as they melted like wax in a furnace. Amber's eyes bulged even more, her mouth open in a soundless scream, as she too was consumed by the inferno of Nia's making.

The room was bathed in a fiery glow that seemed to sear the very stones; the air was thick with the stench of burning flesh, and the sound of crackling energy seemed to shake the foundations of the palace. Nia's magic raged out of control, fueled by her love for Khalil and her determination to protect him, like a wild storm that could not be contained.

As the last of her energy faded, Nia collapsed to the ground, her body trembling with exhaustion, her skin deathly pale, and her eyes sunken with a faint glow that seemed to flicker like a dying flame. Jewel, who had shifted into her wolf form, positioned herself over Khalil's paralyzed body, her eyes fixed on the remaining enemies with a fierce snarl that seemed to dare them to come closer.

With a fierce battle cry, she charged at the nearest soldier, her jaws wide open, revealing razor-sharp teeth that seemed to gleam in the fiery light. The soldier tried to defend himself, but Jewel was too fast, too powerful, her fur matted with blood, and her eyes blazing with a fierce protectiveness that seemed to border on madness. She tore through the rest of the enemy's ranks with ease, her claws ripping through armor and flesh with equal ease, leaving a trail of mangled bodies in her wake.

Nia's vision began to fade, but she saw Jewel standing back over Khalil, her body a barrier between him and the remaining enemies, her fur fluffed up in a menacing posture that seemed to say, "Come and try to hurt him; I dare you." With a final surge of energy, Nia reached out with her mind, linking with Jewel's in a bond that seemed to transcend words and language.

"Protect him, Jewel," she whispered, her voice barely audible and her thoughts faint and flickering like a dying flame. "Don't let them hurt him. Keep him safe."

Jewel's eyes locked onto Nia's, and she nodded, her jaws open in a fierce snarl that seemed to say, "I will protect him with my life." The enemies tried to approach, but Jewel was a wall of fur and teeth, refusing to back down, her eyes fixed on them with a fierce intensity that seemed to say, "I will rip you apart if you try to hurt him."

The delegation from Elyria arrived in Ravenwood, their faerie magic announcing their presence. With their powers, the remaining wolves that were now surrounding Jewel and Khalil were burned into a crisp rainbow of colored fire, much like Nia’s blue energy. Taylor, Queen Valtira's second-in-command, stepped forward, a delicate vial in hand.

"Greetings," Taylor said, his silver eyes locking onto Khalil's still form. The faeies were dressed in all white shirts and pants with crowns of leaves and sticks on their heads. They all had long, braided hair.

“Who the f**k are you?” Jewel asked the newcomers. She sensed the same magic in Nia, but she could see that they controlled it.

"We are here for her?" Taylor said, pointing to a weakened Nia, who was not focused on anything but her unconscious mate, who was suffering as his body shook uncontrollably.

“Over my dead body," Jewel announced, still in her Lycan form. She glanced outside and saw smoke coming from the bodies of the enemy pack, who had been burned to a crisp by the delegation.

“That can be arranged, mutt," one of the delegation faeries said, eyeing Jewel’s size. He had never seen a Lycan wolf before and was not impressed. The legends made them much bigger than they actually were.

Taylor's smile was calm and collected. "We mean no harm, princess. We're here to help our new faerie control her powers and break the curse that afflicts her. Now that she has activated her power without our queen’s help, she will die. Surley, you have started to see signs. Blood at the mouth, her wings in dust. That is how it will start, and soon she will wither and decay. It is the sign of the maddening curse of a faerie untrained away from faerie magic." She held out the delicate vial. "This potion will heal your king, but it comes with a condition."

Jewel's eyes narrowed, her fur standing on end. "What condition?"

"Nia must accompany us to our kingdom," Taylor replied, her gaze flicking to Nia's unconscious form. "Our queen can help her control her powers and break the curse that afflicts her. She is not too far gone yet."

Jewel's growl was low and menacing. "You think I'd trust you with her life? You're faeries, just like her. I've read all about your history. You're probably the ones who cursed her in the first place."

Taylor's expression remained serene. "We're not the ones who cursed her, princess. And we're the only ones who can help her now. Time is running out. The curse will only grow stronger, and Nia's powers will kill her. It’s your choice.”

Jewel was about to tell them to go f**k themselves until Nia spoke out.

“I accept the terms. Heal him, please," she whispered, turning her attention to Khalil. Surely she did not trust these newcomers, but she could feel her own mate bond with Khalil fading away, and what use was she to anyone if she or he was dead? If she could save him and be healed in a kingdom filled with faeries of her own clan, she would take it and keep an eye out at the same time for threats.

Now that she was able to somehow link Jewel, she could always report anything if she was in trouble in case she could not get through to Khalil. Jewel was now in charge.

Jewel looked down at Nia before looking back up at the delegation.

“If they can save him and save me in the process, I will go with them. Just tell Khalil to link me when he wakes up," Nia linked to Jewel, who growled.

“We don’t know these people. We don’t know if they can be trusted. Khalil will murder me if something happens to you," Jewel linked Nia. Nia sighed, running her fingers across Khalil’s face.

“I will take that chance. I refuse to not try. He is your brother and my mate. We have to try," Nia pleaded with Jewel. Jewel, hearing the desperation in Nia’s voice, softened her resolve.

"Fine," she said out loud, but she will be accompanied by five of our soldiers at all times, and I will need your location.”

“Why, so you can come kill all our species when you wish? Wage war on us like you did this pack," one of the delegation members spoke out, eyeing Jewel, but Taylor raised his hand, silencing the member.

“I accept your terms, and so does our queen?" Taylor spoke out. He knew his queen would have issues with the deal, but he would accept the punishment on his own if it came to it. The new faerie belonged to her own kind. Plus, she looked familiar, as if Taylor knew her from somewhere. Nia kissed Khalil’s cheek.

“I'll be back as soon as I can," she said. She accepted the potion from Taylor, who tossed it to Jewel, and opened his lips, pouring it into his mouth. Jewel told five soldiers to keep an eye on Nia at all times and to never leave her side.

“I cannot walk. Please help me," Nia asked Taylor, who bowed slightly. Taylor reached to pick up Jewel, but as soon as she touched her, Nia’s wings sprang to life, wide and large.

Taylor stood back, eyes widening at the revelation. While his queen’s wings were large, Nia was certainly larger. Twice the queen’s size, in fact. Was this new fairy meant to be the new queen?