Power and The Queen

Chapter Twenty -six. 🟢

She was back here again. At this rocky place, likely in the mountains. For the past few days, she was brought here every time she closed her eyes, but this time she would wait it out. Everything reminded her of her journey to her home, but she kept moving, no matter how much it terrified her.

The mountains were cold to strangers but comforting to their own. She was their own, which was why she kept moving in comfortable warmth. She knew this was not real she has seen enough visions to know when the life force was stronger or when it was weak.

On instinct, she stopped, standing still on what felt like a flat surfaced rock, staring into the darkness. That was all she saw, darkness and more darkness. She waited while her breathing evened out to a normal pace. She waited for what she knew not. She just waited. Her King always said 'If you wanted the truth, wait for the end, the truth is always revealed in the end'.

The sharp blue light growing from the ground to the heights of the sky in the distance was not too much of a surprise. She was ready, and she saw it. It imagined she was called upon, but she knew better. This was a sign, and it made her happy that at least they were halfway successful.

The blue light suddenly vanished, blinding her again, yet adding strange colours to her vision. At most, it left her confused. She felt a chill air blow around her but made no move to hug herself. She is of the mountain, it cannot harm her. The wind whistled in her ears while performing its dance around her. She turned around, gasping for air, suddenly feeling threatened.

Something was here, something stronger than the lights. It broke her vision, whatever it was. That had only happened once when Queen Artemis wanted to shut her up. It sent shivers down to places she deemed unreachable for years.

The air got colder, and she tried as much as she could to hold her ground, but there was nothing natural about this. Slowly adjusting to her vision was the moon. She gave thanks to the gods for their aid. Before then she could see nothing, only feeling, but now she could see that the rocks were gone, and she stood on the sand in some kind of forest.

Dry leaves and twigs covered the floor, but she stood there searching for what they wanted her to see. She was panting all the same, wondering where this fear came from. The moonlight could let her see the steam of her breath as she tried to control herself.

Everything was still and quiet except for the whistling wind. Her eyes roomed around the trees and through the twigs she found nothing, but yet she felt her heart in her throat and her breathing was still heavy.

"She's coming." a small, cold voice whispered, but she could hear perfectly clear.

Could it be she just heard the tree spirits? She looked again and this time she saw white, almost silver, fur glittering in the moonlight and she was sure the enormous animal was a wolf. Something dripped from her jaws; was it saliva or blood? The moment she noticed the wolf, the wolf stared as if at her soul gnashing its teeth while growling, and then her eyes glowed bright red.

Dominica jerked up from the bed, and immediately Balthamos words filled her ears.

"When you meet her, you will know it."

Zirkias was dead now, the Queen was right, and the King would acknowledge her sacrifice. She wondered if it was worth it because since his death she constantly got terrifying visions leading to this one thing. A part of her felt the Queen should have let him be, but she never liked Zirkias. She never even met him.

Something had to be done. They were in danger. She felt it, but she did not know the source. She climbed off the bed and put on her cloak, moving out immediately to the temple with only one thought in her head.