Ivan's Queen

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten - Goodbye & Hello

"Ayla wants to see you." Benno states as soon as I step out of my room that morning.

Nodding, I ask both my guards to guide me to where she is. We make our way upstairs and into one of the towers where I find her sitting by a window and looking out at the vast land below. Her bright green eyes find mine as I close the door and a warm smile graces her lips as she pats the cushioned seat next to her.

"I'm leaving in a short while. The situation with the villages has been handled so I won't be visiting as much anymore." She starts, making me frown sadly.

"Really? You can't stay a little longer?"

She chuckles before resting her back against the window pane. "I rule the Vampire Kingdom with Asher, remember? I'm needed there."

"I understand." I smile, wanting to hear their story. "Are you happy with him?"

"More than happy." She smiles tenderly as a rosy blush graces her cheeks.

"Can you tell me the story of how you two met?" I ask, curiously.

She nods and her eyes take on a faraway look. "I was eighteen and had recently discovered my gift of teleporting. However, I was practicing without supervision one day and ended up teleporting to the vampire realm. I was far from home in an unknown place, my family wasn't with me, I didn't know how to go back and I was terrified. Two days later, Asher found me while travelling back to the castle. As soon as our eyes met, there was this indescribable pull and we knew that we were mates."

Her soft smile fades and she looks down at her hands. "He took me back to his castle and when I told him how I got there, he refused to let me go back home. I just wanted to let my family know that I was alright and that I had found my mate. But he told me that it was dangerous to travel – that vampires have been warned not to use any of their gifts, especially ones that involve transporting themselves. His cousin had betrayed a powerful witch and she was wreaking havoc in their world at the time. Gifts that were once our strength were now our weaknesses because she had found ways to attack us, even kill us, while we were using them."

"That's awful!" I clench her hand as I feel dread swirl inside me.

"Days turned into weeks which turned into months and I ended up adjusting to living there with the hope of seeing my family one day. But one day, I visited the courthouse and was attacked. The same witch killing people took control over me and forced me to master the gift of teleporting. One night, she made me teleport but stopped it midway." She bites her lip and sadness shines in her eyes. "I was attacked during it. Thankfully, Asher had slipped into my room and teleported with me but the damage had already been done. My beasts involuntarily shifted to help me and my wolf got out first instead of the two of them together. Asher killed her...but the witch had struck my wolf just moments before. Because of that, I can't shift into my wolf anymore."

"Oh, Ayla." I whisper, draping an arm across her shoulders and hugging her when she smiles sadly.

"It's not so bad. I can still feel her and talk to her. I just can't shift as she was damaged because of it." She sniffles as I wipe away a lone tear. "It's taken a long time for me to stop feeling guilty."

"She chose to protect you, it was her first instinct. You shouldn't blame yourself for that, Ayla." I rub her back soothingly as I try and calm her down.

"It's hard sometimes when my vampire can come out and she can't." She whispers before resting her head on my shoulder with a sigh. "Anyways, after that I slipped into a coma because my wolf was in shock and pain. When I woke up, I was told about my wolf's condition. Asher was very sweet and supportive though. He took good care of me after I was released from the hospital."