The Eclipsed Throne (Book 1 of Throne of Magic Series)

Aurelia awoke the next day to the smell of fresh coffee wafting from the kitchen downstairs. If there was a way to get her awake and moving, that was it. Nothing was better than a fresh cup of coffee to thaw the morning chill.

She sat up, stretching her arms and observing every sensation of her body. If the death of Nonna had taught her anything, it was how to find the little signs - your body weak, sore, or shakiness in the hands - that meant the inevitable. Finding nothing, she shook off the uneasy feeling and headed downstairs for her cup of coffee.

Aurelia had lain awake last night staring at the mysterious key given to her by the strange woman at the hospital. The more she studied it, the more it looked like any ordinary key, as if the woman had wanted to distract her from the sadness that had enveloped her like a dark cloud ever since Nonna’s passing. It had almost seemed like some sort of ploy to get her mind off of the test results that were supposed to come in a few days.

Had it worked?

Aurelia busied herself with stirring some hazelnut creamer into her coffee when the sounds of her mother walking down the stairs caught her attention.

“Can I make you a cup of coffee?” Aurelia offered, turning to face the stairway, a hopeful tone crossing her voice. Despite the distant relationship between the pair, Nonna’s death had made everything more difficult. Though she wasn’t close with her mother, kindness was the only way she could see the pair of them making it through. Most especially with the impending doom of Aurelia’s test results.

Aurelia’s mother, whom everyone called Evora, was already dressed and ready for the work day. Her long, freshly blown out chestnut hair was in loose curls around her shoulders, dressed in a dark blue business suit. Her job at the law firm took up most if not all of her time, and she liked it that way. She could not be more different than her mother, Aurelia’s beloved Nonna. Where Nonna preferred the woods, gardening, and knitting by the fire, Evora chose the city, business clothes, and endless work. Seeing as Aurelia followed in Nonna’s footsteps, Evora and Aurelia were more casual acquaintances than mother and daughter, and they had long accepted it.

“I can make it,” Evora said as her heels clicked against the floor. She reached over to pour coffee into her coffee cup. Despite the love of her job, her eyes had dark circles underneath them, matching Aurelia’s. She did not get along well with her mother, it was true, but Nonna’s death still took an immense toll on her.

Evora paused to take a sip of the coffee. Black - no sugar, no milk, and still piping hot. “I made an appointment with another doctor–” she paused. “A healer, today. They have excellent reviews. A partner at my firm recommended them.”

Aurelia paused to look over at her mother, standing there, so nonchalant and professional despite being in her own home. It was as if she was talking to a coworker more than her own daughter, yet Aurelia expected nothing less. “But why? My test results will be in shortly–”

“The appointment is this afternoon.” Evora interrupted as she glanced at her watch. “Which, I should be going. I’ll pick you up around three.” And with that and her heels clicking, she breezed off to her car.

Aurelia sighed, reveling in the warmth of her coffee sliding down her throat. She knew the overwhelming amount of appointments her mother booked her were just her only way of showing Aurelia that she cared, but oh, was it exhausting. Everything was exhausting now. She felt like a shadow of the person she used to be. So magnificent and strong, now an empty shell. She wasn’t even sure if she recognized who she saw in the mirror anymore.

Aurelia walked over to the windowsill, observing the trees sway in the breeze. Maybe this healer would have better answers than the last seven. Maybe, just maybe, she would be okay after all. The thought made her stomach twist in fear of the alternative.

What if there truly was no way to cure it? What would happen to her mother then?

Aurelia’s stomach filled with dread as the truth settled upon her shoulders like a heavy weight. There was little between her and facing the truth she was now living in despite how much she tried to ignore it. Even her desperate attempts at preoccupying herself with the odd key she had been given did little to distract her.

It was true, the doctor she was going to see today might say she had little hope, like all the others had. But the alternative scared Aurelia even more. What if they say something different? What happens if they give her hope?

Aurelia wasn’t sure she could handle any more hope. Not after Nonna.

She found herself on the couch, drifting in and out of sleep, her mind restless with the impending doom of the healer and the test results that would dictate her future.

Eventually her eyes fluttered closed, her body relaxing from the tense state that she had been in the past few weeks, and she felt her body float away, shifting from conscious to unconscious, when she saw flashes - moments - of what felt like reels from a movie.

It felt as if she were in a dream as she observed a flicker of a castle, set upon stone and ice, of a man, with hair as black as coal, his crown emblemed with the moon, his eyes such a vibrant blue as he leaned forward to embrace her, his hand caressing her cheek as he slowly leaned down to kiss her.

Another flash caused him to disappear, Aurelia’s floating body now in the middle of thick vegetation, the trees surrounding her blocking out the light of the sun, no sign of escape. She stepped forward in her dream amongst the fuzzy landscape and suddenly saw a glimpse of someone who looked just like her galloping on a horse, a man leaning against her in desperation as they sped through the trees.

There was another flash and Aurelia was transported once more, this time amidst a battlefield of hundreds of the dead, the sound of cries of the wounded filling Aurelia’s ears. She felt her heart begin to race at the sight, the smell, the cries of torture, and she awoke from her dream, gasping for breath.

She sat up, her eyes wide as she took in her surroundings - no longer a battlefield, nor vegetation, but the same living room she had grown up in, with not another person in sight.

For a moment, her mind returned to the strange man that had stepped towards her, looking at her with such admiration and love…

Who was that?

Aurelia shook off the dream, taking a deep breath and turning on the TV to distract herself until her mother got home.

Evora arrived at home exactly at three o’clock - which was just how she did things. Not early, not late. Exactly on time.

“Aurelia,” Evora called into the house. “Let’s go.”

Aurelia hesitated a moment before she stood to head towards her mother, her dread of the next few moments surging. Taking a deep breath, she made her way down the stairs and hopped in the car, her stomach twisting with nerves.

She watched as her mother swiftly pulled out of the driveway and sped off to the appointment. Though she would never tell her mother, she did not feel hopeful about whoever they were going to see. Every professional they had met with had told them of how likely it was that Aurelia would carry the same disease as her grandmother.

Evora glanced over at Aurelia as if she could sense the anxiety coming off of her in waves. “It’s just another opinion,” She offered, peering at Aurelia over her designer sunglasses. “With Nonna…” Her voice started to crack and she cleared her throat as if it were just something caught in it, not the emotion she always wanted hidden.. “With Nonna, we didn’t have enough time. We didn’t get enough opinions. We were too late to save her, but…” She sighed. “I’ll be damned if I don’t try.”

Aurelia glanced over at her mother and silently placed her hand over Evora’s. “It will be okay.”

Evora, who was naturally quite the pessimist, did not respond.

Aurelia grew more skeptical as they drove through the city towards the railroads, the area littered with crime and the place one never ventured at night. The storefront they parked in front of looked more like a fortune-telling shop than anything to do with actual medicine and the shops on either side had been completely ransacked.

Aurelia felt as if she had been transported into an apocalyptic world and glancing over at her mother dressed in a tailored pantsuit and heels, she could hardly believe Evora would ever bring her to a place like this.

“This is it,” Evora said as she hopped out of the car, straightening her business pants and fixing her hair as if she were going in for an interview. She gave Aurelia a quick look over before starting to walk inside. “Come on.”

Aurelia hurriedly stepped out of the car and followed her mother into the odd store, keeping her face neutral despite the concern that overtook her body.

The inside looked exactly like the outside. There were shelves covered in crystals and sets of tarot cards littered all throughout the store. The far end of the shop was covered in bookshelves, with books regarding crystal magic, chakra and astrology readings, and an entire section filled with boxes of all sorts of herbs. Various crystals and decorative beads hung from the ceiling, catching the light from the sun and refracting the rays onto the walls and floor. The extremely warm temperature inside with the mixing herbs made breathing feel almost like they were underwater.

Evora, however, did not seem deterred. She walked to the back end of the store where she rang what looked like a doorbell, twice.

Aurelia turned away and browsed the various items scattered throughout the store, her eyes landing on one table in particular. She stepped forward, unable to keep her eyes off of all of the different types of crystals - the colors both vibrant and muted, with all sorts of shapes and meanings. It was as if she was in a trance as she leaned forward to touch one, but right before her hand landed, someone cleared their throat and made Aurelia jump back.

Aurelia tore her eyes away from the enchanting crystals and turned to find a young woman in purple floor-length robes, her blonde hair down to her waist, with crystals adorning her neck, ears, and wrists. Her eyes were a piercing blue, almost purple, and her hands were covered in tattoos. She was exactly the type of woman Aurelia expected to find in a place like this.

“You know, you might not want to touch those until you know exactly what you’re dealing with.” Her face turned up into a smile as she turned to look over at Evora, who finally looked as skeptical as Aurelia was.“You rang?”

Evora nodded. Though Aurelia could tell she was uncomfortable, she excelled at hiding it. “I believe I made an appointment with….Celeste?”

“Ah! Of course.” The woman said. She turned towards Aurelia once more. “I should’ve known it was you.” She winked at Aurelia before beckoning for the two of them to follow her through a door Aurelia hadn’t noticed before, hidden behind all sorts of odds and ends.

Evora ignored Aurelia’s worried glance as the door opened up into a steep staircase that was crammed within the stairwell. The three climbed for a few moments, the thick air suffocating, before arriving at another door.

“Here we are,” The woman announced, opening the door to a cozy, warm living room with a roaring fireplace. It was just as colorful as downstairs - with a bright purple rug, an orange sofa, and candles on every flat surface. There were less crystals hanging from the ceiling, but it made up for it by having an entire bookcase filled with every color and kind imaginable.

“My office is right back through here. Do you mind if I take Aurelia now?”

Aurelia glanced over at Evora. She ignored Aurelia’s panicked smile as she met the woman’s gaze. “Yes. I’ll be here.” She pointed towards the orange sofa by the window.

“Very well.” The woman said, leading Aurelia through another door on the other side of the room, this time into a room with a desk, another sofa - sapphire blue this time - with more crystals, a chanting bowl, and endless candles.

What could this woman tell her of her illness?

The woman smiled as she sat at the desk. “First, let me ease your fears.” She motioned for Aurelia to sit at the chair in front of her desk. Aurelia hesitated before sitting down.

“I just don’t understand how you’re going to help me.” Aurelia confessed to the woman, twisting her hands in her lap.

“Perhaps telling you what I do might put you at ease,” The woman offered, settling into the chair across from her. “My name is Celeste and I practice work in reading energies - energies that your body radiates, unbeknownst to many. That is how I heal – through energy.”

Celeste stood and brought over various crystals from around the room, setting them in front of Aurelia. She arranged the crystals on the desk so that they were in a semicircle around the space Aurelia was sitting. Aurelia watched skeptically as she listened to the odd woman, unsure of what to expect from the encounter.

“For example, when surrounding an individual with crystals whose existence vibrates at the frequency of a particular healing force, it is able to transfer healing energy into your body. This has to do with the health of your chakras - your energy centers of the body which, though hardly mentioned in medical literature, are tied to both your mental and physical wellbeing.” Celeste gestured to the room around them.

“Instead of looking at the medical illness at hand, I look at everything behind the medical illness at hand.” She leaned forward to hold one of Aurelia’s hands in her palm.

“I can attempt to recognize the root cause of the problem through more alternative methods. From there, I can try to heal the root cause, not just the illness that is presented.”

Aurelia hesitated, pulling her hand out of Celeste’s hands. “What you’re saying…I’m not sure this is what my mother and I are looking for. My grandmother contracted an extremely rare disease and the likelihood it is passed down to me is…basically certain. They are worried that I might begin exhibiting symptoms much earlier. I might have months left to live. I’m not sure some sort of alternative medicine therapy is going to do much.” Aurelia’s eyes fell upon a poster on the wall that advertised fortune telling and she internally scoffed.

Celeste followed her gaze and tilted her head, thinking for a long moment before responding. “If you think about it, fortune telling is simply another way of reading energies. It takes a trained eye to see them, but it is not as difficult as one makes it out to be, and it is certainly not as trivial as you may think it is.” She leaned forward to hold Aurelia’s hand once more. “Let me show you.”

Aurelia remained skeptical. There was little - if nothing - she expected from the woman sitting across from her. Everything Celeste was saying did not align with anything Aurelia had grown up believing as a lover of science, yet Aurelia knew she could not disappoint Evora by leaving before her appointment was finished. If this was what she had to do to give her mother peace, so be it.

”Very well,” Aurelia said, leaving a skeptical hint in her voice. It was better if Celeste knew she hadn’t changed her mind, really, at all, but she would force herself to make it through this, anyway.

Celeste, however, grinned anyway. “Excellent.” She closed her eyes as she placed Aurelia’s palm in between her two hands. Focusing, her hands tightened around Aurelia’s as she began her practice. The crystals around their hands stirred for a moment before going still again. Whether it was from Celeste or this ‘energy’ she went on about, Aurelia couldn’t tell.

After a moment, Celeste opened her eyes once more. Her eyes were now a vibrant purple tone from before, and she seemed to stare off in the distance before focusing once more on Aurelia. Aurelia, though mildly disturbed, remained calm as she observed the woman before her.

Celeste cleared her throat, taking her hands back and placing them on her lap. “Aurelia.” She pronounced slowly. “It means golden in a certain Latin interpretation.” She paused, fixing the crystals around her that had moved out of place.

“You are the golden heir. You will walk the line of light and the darkness. This is what will make you more powerful than all that come before you. With great power comes great responsibility. Use it wisely.”

Aurelia internally scoffed. She had imagined the woman telling her whether she would get married and have children, not some vague interpretation that could really be told to anyone, in the end.

“Okay.” She finally responded, unsure of what to make of it.

“Now, for the other part of today’s work…I will be analyzing your energies - utilizing your seven chakras - to see where this disease is potentially manifesting. Then, I will see if I am able to do crystal work to heal the chakra, which, in turn, will heal your well being.” Celeste smiled, her purple eyes still glowing. “Stand up, please.”

Slowly, Aurelia stood up from the chair and moved towards the center of the room as Celeste moved around placing and lighting candles, arranging crystals, and lighting various herbs. The already warm and strongly smelling room became even more so. The air felt as heavy, as if she were wading through thick smoke. Celeste herself held a bundle of sage, which she lit and wove around in a circle where Aurelia was standing. She gently made seven shapes down Aurelia’s body - one for each chakra. After this step, she worked her way through seven separate crystals in light of measuring each chakra.

Taking a deep breath, Celeste began murmuring words underneath her breath until the sage had burned down to the stalk. Slowly, she sat what little was left of the sage down on the desk as well as the seven, unique crystals. Turning to Aurelia, she nodded. “It is complete. Please sit.”

Aurelia took a seat, watching Celeste warily.

“The chakra in question is your heart chakra.” Celeste placed a hand over the center of her chest as if to motion to it. “This chakra represents love and compassion and one’s sense of wholeness. When it is out of alignment, it can manifest into the most serious physical health issues, and can make one feel lonely and isolated emotionally.” Celeste smiled gently at Aurelia. “Now, what I can do–”

She paused, a dark cloud crossing her face. “No, actually.” Her smile disappeared and she stood abruptly from her desk. “No, I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I mustn’t….” She hesitated. “I can’t mess with fate.” She motioned for Aurelia to stand up. “Come on. You must leave.”

Celeste took Aurelia by the arm and practically dragged her out to Evora. “I’m sorry. I can’t help your daughter.” She said shortly. “Please never come back here.” She turned and walked back to her room quickly, only pausing to take one final glance at Aurelia.

Aurelia could have sworn she saw a look of fear.