The Queen's Mate

PROLOGUE

|The Angel Realm|

It was almost the brink of dawn when a hooded figure made his way cutting through the darkness in a cave-like passageway. He knew he had to hurry; the lives of millions upon billions were in jeopardy and he had to make sure to inform his king about the dangers lurking in the shadows for the entirety of the Angel Realm. It was a matter of life and death which could not possibly wait for another moment. 

His ragged breathing and quick footsteps through the dull and humid cave were evidence of his urgency as macabre images of what he had just seen flashed through his head at an unrealistic pace. Murders and mayhem, death and destruction; the fulfilment of a prophecy that was thought to have perished. He was shaken to his core by what he had seen in his visions.

Being a seer and a close confidante to the king came with many responsibilities. One of them was finding out about all dangers waiting to chastise the serenity and purity of the Realm of Angels. Another responsibility, was knowing the ongoing of the mortal world or, as known commonly, the Earth. 

At the moment, he was failing to uphold both the segments of his job and he worried that his lack of competence would result in a bloodshed like never before.

He took a sigh of relief when he finally came to a stop in front of a rustic door leading out of the passageway. He ran his tongue across his lower lip as his fingers twitched by his sides in mild restlessness. The hour was late and the king was going to be furious to see him entering his chambers through the secret emergency passageway.

But this situation was exactly that: an emergency.

Shaking his head and getting ready for the bashing he was about to get; he pulled a lever on the wall adjacent to the entrance. A bulky metal slab slid aside with a loud and harsh screech that could potentially wake the whole palace up, if only the king's room wasn't soundproof. 

As the slab shifted all the way, the dimly lit chambers of the king appeared in his vision and he stepped in. To announce his presence, he let out a loud cough as the king looked up from the papers in his hand and turned to find the most loyal advisor of the throne standing before him.

"Carlos? What even are you doing here at this hour?" He ridiculed. 

Carlos cleared his throat as he stepped away from the entrance of the passageway and waved his hand to put the metal slab back in its place.

"We are in danger, Your Grace." 

The king looked up in utter disdain, already fearing the worst. "What is it this time? What did you see in your visions?"

Carlos swallowed thickly and refused to meet the king's scrutinizing gaze. "The queen of the Demonworld. She has grown stronger, Your Grace. Her armies had half-faced men with rotten flesh, dragons and mares were at her beck and call and your son..."

The king's back straightened, alarmed. "What about my son? What about him?" He questioned impatiently.

"He is coming to fulfil the prophecy, Your Grace."

Those words fell on the king's shoulders like a ton of rocks. This couldn't be true...

"But the prophecy was declared void by you, thousands of years ago!" The king yelled. "How is that possible?"

Carlos looked towards the ground sheepishly. That was true; he was the one who announced to the realm that the prophecy was a lie, a sham plotted by the king's enemies and nothing more. He was the one who made all mortals and immortals believe that the king would not fall. 

"I saw this with my own eyes, Your Grace. The prophecy is real." He mumbled lowly.

The king scoffed and turned around to briskly walk over to the curtained window overlooking his kingdom as he gazed into the burning sun rising on the horizon.

"What else did you see?" He inquired in a dejected tone.

"The realm was burning, and the Elarmas had risen again."

The king turned back with a sharp glare set on Carlos' face. "Impossible!" He spat.

Carlos loathed himself for being the bearer of such tormenting news. The return of the Elarmas was horrifying for the future of the realm. It would mean ruination, unlike anything that had ever occurred in all of the universes.

"I'm afraid, it is not," Carlos replied sternly.  "The Elarmas will rise again and the Demonworld is coming for us, sir." 

"We are not ready for a two-frontal war, advisor! I will not send my armies into s*******r!" 

Carlos gave the king a sombre look. "We will have to fight, Your Grace. This war is inevitable." 

The king ran a hand through his face before angrily picking up an artifact and throwing it at the wall, shattering it. Carlos flinched visibly before bowing his head in respect whilst the king had his temperamental moment.

The king then took a deep breath and looked at his advisor again. "What do you suppose we do?" He questioned.

Carlos immediately looked up in surprise. He had never heard him sound so disheartened. He cleared his throat and prepared himself for an answer which he knew the king won't like.

"The princess is the key, Your Grace. She is strong enough-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Carlos jumped slightly at the sudden and loud interruption from the king.

"Your Grace-"

"My daughter will not leave the mortal realm because of this war. I sent her there for this exact situation. I want her to be safe in case something happens to me." He affirmed.

"She has a mate; she needs to find him. Once she does, the two of them can stop this war, my king!" Carlos insisted.

"Do not speak to me as if you know better!" The king spat bashfully making Carlos look regretful. "My daughter doesn't even know that she is the princess of this realm. I took away her memories so she could be safe between the mortals."

"Your daughter is also the queen of the supernatural beings, Your Grace. She created the better half of the Demonworld armies. She is the key to stopping this rivalry." 

The king looked unphased by Carlos' words. "My daughter was sent into the mortal world twenty-four years ago as a human infant when the Demonworld had become too much of a threat to us. I will never put her in such a life-threatening situation again." He spoke in a torn and heavy timbre that made Carlos realize that the king was more fearful of losing his daughter than losing the war.

He sighed. "Marcus, you have been my king and my friend since the day we were created by the Angel Supreme. She created you to rule the universe and create mortal life and me to advise you. She created Lilian-"

"I BETRAYED LILIAN!" Marcus yelled suddenly as his shoulders shook violently. "Lilian was my wife and I betrayed her. I sent her away and she created the Demonworld and now, she is coming to take her revenge. It is all my fault, but I will not let my daughter suffer because of it." 

"And what happens when your own son is successful in killing you on command from his mother? What do you think the princess will go through then? Lilian will stop at nothing to gain her place in this realm, again; you know it. What if she kills Eleanor too?"

Marcus snapped as he sped forward and gripped Carlos' throat in his hand. "How dare you?" He growled.

Carlos pried his hand away from his throat as he adjusted the collar of his coat and coughed. "I thought so." He muttered shaking his head and then looking at Marcus with determination. "You and I both know that bringing princess Eleanor home is the only way."

Marcus turned away dejectedly as his chest heaved up and down because of his own troubling thoughts. He did not have a clue as to what to do at the moment; he felt defeated. And the war hadn't even begun yet.

"How do you suppose that she will trigger her memories? We know well that her life hasn’t been all that merry in the past few decades; so how will a human girl remember that she is the ruling queen of entire supernatural races and that she is the daughter of God himself?" He spat, gesturing to himself as he waited for Carlos to reply. 

Carlos pursed his lips together in deep thoughts as he gave the king a grim look. "We should send Adonis to the mortal realm, Your Grace. He grew up with her. If there is anyone who can help her reconnect with her true self, it is him."

Marcus' orbs shone with sudden hope when he heard of the blond angel's name. Adonis was one of the finest and strongest angels in the whole realm. His free spirit was the reason that the princess and he got along so well. Carlos was right; if there was anyone who could bring the princess home then it was Adonis.

Marcus looked at Carlos with a blank expression. "Inform Adonis of his duties. I need my daughter back as soon as possible!"