Memories

Chapter 14

Azula's POV

Our other half of our army had finally arrived and now we had to train. Balthazar was looked over the army with a very observant eye. He was forming our long range and close range fighters mentally. When the other half of the army joined, Yulen met his three mates. Bloom was a pixie who was an amazing archer, with the best aim I've ever seen. Stark was a vampire, that I wasn't too comfortable with at first. He wasn't old enough to have been alive when his kind attacked my people, but I still can't push that prejudice aside. For my son I was going to try. Kora was a witch who specialized in ley line magic. Ley line magic pulled from the Earth, not needing any higher beings to worship to use it. The three had already been mated to one another for a couple of years, and were slightly surprised when they met Yulen. Yulen was the youngest in their mating, and although he was happy to have met them, he voiced to me that he wished it was after the war. 

All three of my kids have now met their mates, and they were all going to follow the Fae tradition of waiting to mate till they were of drinking age. Thankfully Lui's mate and Yulen's mates all understood, and were more than happy to have a long courtship. It will allow them to take their time and get to know their mates, but it will also, hopefully prevent them from rushing into mating. With the war in a couple of years, who knows how they will feel as it nears and I don't want them to rush into something they may not be happy with. 

Seeing our army fully formed, had me wondering if it was too small to face against our enemy. I hated not knowing their numbers. We still had two years, so who knows how large their army will grow. Deckland was using dark magic, meaning he wasn't using living people like we have to use. It left me unsettled. 

Unable to sleep, I stood on my balcony wearing my robe, as Balthazar slept on the bed. He's been pushing himself once again. Our little getaway was a great way to recharge our batteries, but I feel we'll run out of juice well before we get to the war. We had to take it one day at a time, but it seems that a single day was crammed with a year worth of things to deal with. I leaned my elbows on the balcony railing as a breeze picked up a strand of my hair. Fall was on the horizon, meaning this year would soon be coming to an end, bringing us that much closer to the war. 

We have tried the last eight years to find Deckland and put an end to this madness before we get to war, but it feels our time has been wasted every time we have no results. I was at a loss on what to do. The time was drawing near and so far we had nothing that we could do to stop it from happening. I couldn't help but feel terrified, and feel like a failure as a ruler and as a mother. My kids shouldn't be worrying about possibly dying on a battlefield, especially so shortly after having met their mates. My people shouldn't have to go through another war either. It wasn't fair to them, that we failed to protect them. 

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't sensed Balthazar had woken up and came to stand behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist, "What's wrong my love?" "I can't sleep," I whispered. I then told him where my thoughts were. "I too have been feeling the same," he confessed with a sigh. "I'm not going to stop searching until we find him. Even if it's down to the last second. Better late than the alternative." 

I nodded and leaned into him. "You should get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow," he said to me. I sighed and nodded, "I know." He lead me to the bed and removed my robe. I laid down with him, and rested my head on his chest. He placed a kiss on my head, before sleep consumed me. 

When I woke up, I was the only one in bed, and I could smell breakfast being made. I got up and got dressed. I went to the kitchen and saw Balthazar cooking. He's gotten really good at it over the years and it was a really nice sight to see first thing in the morning. 

"Good morning mo ghaol," I said with a soft smile. "Good morning my queen," he said before lowering his head to kiss me. I looked around the empty kitchen and dinning area. "Where is everyone?" "The kids are with their mates, no clue where your brothers went, and Mokoto took Sarshay and Jenson out for the day to enjoy their animal forms. So it's just us, meaning I get to avoid Lui's criticism towards my cooking."