IN FULL COLOUR - Dark Fantasy

Axel

The Kingdom of Midnight and Moons had been the first to fall, a stone plunging into the calm sacred pool of power, sending ripples of distrust into the world and the six remaining kingdoms.

Fae turned against their allies, new ties were formed, and old ones broken. And with that, came the first whispers of war. The great war erupted two years after the destruction of Midnight and Moons and lasted an excruciating seven years.

The Fae Kingdom of Beasts and Fur was the first to fall during the war as they were the biggest threat and easiest to spot with their magnificent massive beasts. Their king had been a brute of a man himself, who had taken three wives, all of them perished and the great king impaled with a wooden pillar in the old square of his fallen kingdom. None of his beasts were spared for fear of a potential uprising in the future. Minotaurs, Centaurs , Fauns and Griffins were hunted down by the thousands. Their fur and hooves kept as trophies; their bodies burned to ash. And only five kingdoms remained.

Slowly after the annihilation of one of the strongest, most fierce kingdoms on earth, other, smaller kingdoms started going into hiding.

The Fae Kingdom of Rain and Rivers were the next to fall, strangled by the reins in the hands of the Fae King of Death and Blood, who used vampires with unique abilities to fish them out of the depts of the oceans. Vampires, the nether fae of the Death and Blood kingdom grew in power by feeding off strong, powerful creatures. Their energy and essence were harvested through their blood and the vampires sucked them dry to steal every drop of magic once gifted to them by their magnificent rulers.

Some vampires could see into the future, some could read minds, others could manipulate time. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with and all eyes turned to the southwest where they resided and farmed human beings, and all sorts of other creatures to be fed on.

Two of the remaining kingdoms allied in an attempt to break the evil which festered within the Death and Blood kingdom.

The Kingdom of Shadows and Whispers and the Kingdom of Light and Lightning. Together they rose up and fought against the evil king, losing many lives as a result. But after six years, the king was brought to his knees and the vampires scattered. Some were caught and executed, but many fled, hiding amongst human settlements.

And then, there were only three kingdoms left.

The Kingdom of Shadows and Whispers, the Kingdom of Light and Lightning and the Kingdom of Dreams and Seduction.

No one knew what had happened to the Queen of Dreams and Seduction, or to any of her followers. They had either crept into a hole somewhere, hiding, OR they were laying low, waiting like a predator in the dark for the right opportunity to pounce once all other kingdoms were weakened, on the brink of extinction.

And unfortunately, the latter was exactly what happened.

As the Kingdom of Shadows and Whispers, bid their allies and close friends goodbye and made their way back to their home in the untamed dark forest of Marillia, in the Northern tip of the continent, stirring and conniving began in the Kingdom of Dreams and Seduction.

The rotten queen had granted them eight short months, just enough time to start breathing again, burry and mourn their fallen and start rebuilding their city. Then she struck. In the dead of night, without warning. Many creatures were slaughtered in their beds, others butchered while trying to signal the alarm and pretty soon, chaos erupted. Mothers and babes were crying in the streets, entire families wiped out and the royal bloodline, Coyne and his family hunted down and killed on site.

A glass fell, shattering on the stone marble floor of Dire Mountain’s conference room, in between the legs of Coyne as he leaned forward in his chair, hands now in his hair, shaking.

No one moved.

Not a single person bothered to clean the shards of glass up. That would have to wait. The raw agony and pain in the young king’s eyes were devastating. So much so, he clamped them shut, but still a tear escaped and dripped onto the water and glass beneath him.

His shoulders were shaking, and it looked like he was having difficulty to breathe, so Alpha Blake ordered us out and suggested we continue with the rest of the meeting in the morning.

The room emptied, but King Coyne remained seated, hunched over and crying over the loss of his family and his kingdom.

I pitied him then but couldn’t stop myself from blaming his nether fae for ruining my life and the life of my sister.

Gabrielle

When the men were finally adjourned, Axel came straight to my room. He entered silently, shoulders hunched and took a seat next to me on the edge of my bed. He didn’t say anything and kept staring at the floor. Whatever news the king had brought must have been upsetting.

I knew he wasn’t ready to talk about it and needed time to process all of what had been said, so I inched towards him and hugged him from behind, wishing my warmth and light to seep into him. To grant him the comfort he so desperately needed.

As I held him, his blackness changed. Dark blue, violet and finally a forest green. I pressed my lips against the side of his neck and kissed him, my arms still holding him tight. I could feel some of the tension dissolving, so I kissed him again. And again.

I kissed him until he leaned into my chest, tilted his head back and gave me access to his mouth.

That night, we made love again. Axel’s kisses were more desperate, hungry and his movements greedy and possessive. He needed me. He needed the release, and he needed the comfort of a warm female body next to his.

I felt his pain even though he hadn’t marked me yet. It was overwhelming and raw. Deep-rooted memories of his own, mixed with new thoughts, emotions and doubt.

We would work through it some other time together, but for now, we didn’t need to talk. We only needed the company of each other. To know that we were not alone.