"And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done."
-Revelation 20:12-13
Breathe By: Lauv
The world had become a cold and uninviting place for the kingdom of wolves in the weeks following Azalea's death.
Thunder cracked across the sky, unleashing a torrent of freezing rain and hail upon the wolves as they huddled together, desperate for warmth, deep within Colorado's wilderness. Owen watched the lighting streak across the sky from where he sat on the cliffside, his grey fur a beacon but he couldn't find in himself to care. His sister had loved storms, and for the first time since she died, he felt close to her. The loss of the young heir took a toll on the pack that was unexpectedly alarming. Without her, it was hard to convince the wolves to stay, especially if Azalea's mate was to continue leading them. Owen's muscles rippled and burned as he writhed on the ground, until finally he lay bare and gasping on the rocky surface. Broken sobs poured from him, punctuated by the sharp sting of hail upon his skin. Ignoring the pain, he curled himself into a tight ball.
He must've fallen asleep because when he woke he was not alone, and someone had placed a blanket over his naked frame. His teeth chattered as he wrapped the warm and semi-dry wool around himself, looking around hazily. It didn't take him long to find his caretaker from where she stood watch over the cliffside, her eyes closed and her head tipped to face the rising sun.
"I can see from my kindred's memories that your queen loved these storms. But I always favored the first light of day as it broke over the land."
He started as she suddenly spoke, her eyes opening but still depthless, dark and empty. Thinking back, he supposed it wasn't really Elizabeth leading them anymore, but the errant goddess possessing her. And that knowledge alone was beyond frightening. No one knew what to do with her now that she had awakened. There hadn't been time before Azalea died for her to explain just who she was or why she was here, and now she held the shredded remains of the pack bond in her clutches, like the strings of a puppet. She only had to tell them to leap and they would be forced to ask how high.
"You think me a monster." She turned her head to catch his gaze and he fought the urge to flinch back.
He hadn't thought he could miss Elizabeth's presence, but he did. Persephone's movements were almost mechanical in her vessel's skin, like she was unaccustomed to the way the body worked and functioned. It was unsettling, the way she wore Elizabeth's skin, especially since Elizabeth had been alive with what she felt, and now it was like looking into the dead and empty eyes of someone who no longer existed. Yet her body lived on and something much more sinister had root inside her. There was just nothing when you looked at her. No emotion, no soul, no hope.
"I do not think anything of you, Master. I only wish for my sister back." He quietly replied, watching her blank expression.
"You needn't call me that abhorrent name, child. I have not enslaved you."
"But you have." He retorted without thinking, his voice bitter. He knew he should stop while he was ahead, but anger and grief reared it's ugly head and everything spilled free of him. "We are powerless against you. You are an enigma that we lesser beings cannot even begin to hope to understand. I am sure that my sister had plans to explain you to us, but now that she is," he caught himself, swallowing harshly. "Gone, I'm sure you can understand how dangerous you are to us and everything we have worked for, not to mention the torture our kind has endured for generations." He laughed sardonically, shaking his head.
"Elizabeth abandoned her responsibilities and now you hold our lives in your hands. However powerful you may be, I hope you are at least compassionate enough to understand the ramifications should you try to use us as a weapon for your own gain." He hadn't intended for it to be a threat, but the words left his mouth as one nonetheless.
She watched him in that unwavering way for a long moment, and for a second he swore a flash of something akin to feeling crossed her gaze, but it was gone before he could identify what it was or what it meant. Her jaw clenched in a way that reminded him of Elizabeth, and he couldn't help but wonder how much of this deity truly made up the former "Queen in the North." His chin rose in defiance as she approached him, flinching back when she snapped her fingers. Thick pants and a long sleeve shirt took the place of the blanket, along with a heavy duty jacket that only the finest of vampires could have afforded. Heavy boots and warm socks covered his numb feet and he was reluctant to admit his thanks.
"Thank you." He muttered under his breath, barely catching the slight curl of her lips before she turned away.
"Come."
Apprehensive, he followed willingly. They crossed into the darker part of the wilderness, where the foliage grew too thick to pass through, but this did not deter her. With a wave of her hand and harsh command, the trees groaned and the angry rose bush pulled back its thorns, revealing a narrow pathway into the woods. Despite his outburst of anger, Owen was in awe of the way she commanded the very earth to do her bidding and it was then that he realized how little this pack of wolves must seem to her. A chill fled down his back when she began to speak, her voice weaving a tale of near incomprehensible quality.
"My mother had an affinity for earth that could not be rivaled. When the time of my abduction came, the earth grew dry and barren. Even with the death of thousands on her hands, she refused to grow so much as a single blade of grass until I was returned." She fell silent as the narrow woods opened up into a hidden thicket, the sun streaming through the trees and across the ground. He noticed immediately that there was a large mound of dirt in the middle of the clearing and shifted nervously.
Surely she's not going to kill me, right?
The goddess laughed suddenly, but it was empty, devoid of humanity. "Do not fear, this grave is already taken."
She whispered another command and the dirt caved in, rippling like water as it crumbled into a six foot deep and almost as wide rectangle. He held his breath as it rose again, carrying with it a body. The creature slumbering in the depths of his mind opened its eyes as she came into view. Owen's fists clenched and his hatred for the goddess burned hot, stinging his eyes. His sister's body lay in the soil, surrounded by tiny tendrils of what looked like vines embedded in her skin, slithering like green veins beneath her skin. Her white hair flared out around her delicate frame, like a halo.
"What have you done to her?" He snarled, his skin tightening. It was only thing to bury her without allowing her family the courtesy of saying goodbye, but another all together when her remains were toyed with. Her throat was a mess, a gaping hole of gore and horror, leaving his heart in splinters. The sight of her near translucent skin, bloodless and devoid of life and the foliage feasting on the remains of her body made him sick.
"You are angry." She stated, watching him closely.
"If you have defiled her body in any way, I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure that today, is your last day." His voice was cold as it had ever been, and not at all lacking in promise.
"Look closer." She merely responded, gesturing to her body.
Everything in Owen screamed at him to turn on his heel and run away from this terrible place and the horrifying state of his decaying sister, but as much as he loathed himself for it, he couldn't resist his curiosity. Air whistled through his nostrils as he carefully stepped up to her body, kneeling down. He was grateful that her eyes were closed and that the undamaged parts of her face were peaceful. His brow furrowed as he ran the length of her body, stopping suddenly on her chest, his eyes widening in shock.
She was breathing.
Too slow to be alive, but it was true, air was moving in her lungs. He looked to the goddess with tears in his eyes and a sob at the back of his throat, no longer caring if she thought him weak for it. She knelt down beside him, her features softening into something shockingly warm as she gazed down at Azalea, her fingers brushing over her cheek. At her touch the girl seemed to breathe deeper, her skin losing a little more of its sickly pallor. "I have lived for eons, both in my life as a goddess and my lives as a curse, and I have never known a love such as this. For reasons unknown to me, your sister had to die for me to understand the importance of human life, and for that I am truly sorry. But she lives. As we speak, her soul is searching for her body."
Owen listened to her speak, his heart in his throat. He didn't know what to say or how to make sense of what she was saying. Did this mean that they'd gotten the prophesy all wrong? He knew that it had spoken of a union between Elizabeth and Azalea, but maybe it had actually been a ritual for an awakening. He vowed to hunt down the original prophecy once she was healthy, but for now he could focus on nothing else.
"She....she lives?" He couldn't believe it, his gaze searching the one of this mysterious woman for any sign of deceit, and finding none.
The Queen of the Underworld smiled, and it was kind. "She lives."
🖤
Raynia felt the very moment her daughter's soul left her body, even from across the country. It was a sickening blow that had her doubling over in agony, vomiting up life-giving blood onto the rickety floor of the old cabin she and Vienna currently inhabited. Her vision flashed red and she allowed her knees to buckle, her head in her hands and her breaths coming out in shallow gasps.
"My baby."
She wailed brokenly, her sensitive ears only barely catching Vienna's footsteps as she entered the room, her expression grim and her sightless eyes shiny. It was no secret that she'd never gotten a long with her niece, but she had never wished her to die.
Raynia felt her sister's arms wrap around her shaking frame resisted, breaking free from the other woman's hold.
"Did you know?" Her voice was raw as she forced herself to stand, her white hair in tangles around her face as she looked upon her sister with revulsion, crumpling her emotions into a tight ball at the back of her mind.
The witch shook her head, her expression near impenetrable, masking the hurt she felt inside. "You know I would've stopped it if I had. Raynia," she hesitated briefly, indecisiveness flashing across her features as she briefly glanced in the direction of the unconscious man in the room. "We can't let this deter our course. We must get him to Calista before Ravenna's men close in."
"You think I care about him? My daughter is dead, Vee. Do you truly have no soul?" Raynia's anger and grief lashed through the room as she hissed.
Vienna flinched. "I may not have doted on the girl, but I was there when she was born and I love her in my own way." Raynia didn't say anything for a long moment, but when she did her voice was as cold as ice and just as sharp.
"I have hidden in the shadows for too long and now my own has paid for it. I am leaving. Do not try to stop me." Her head tipped in the direction of their charge. "I have no need of the trădător now that my daughter is dead. Do what you will with him. Goodbye Vienna, I hope one day you can find peace." She walked out without a backward glance.
A lone tear trailed down Vienna's cheek long after her sister had gone.
"What have I done?" She asked herself, her voice echoing back at her in a broken sob.
Enjoy! 🖤