Vengeance of a Queen: The Resurrection of Queens, Book 2

We’re all eager to hear what else Fayden has to say. The curiosity saturating the room is palpable. Was it Sun Tzu who said something along the lines of understanding one’s enemies? The more you know the better you’re able to kill them. Pretty sure that’s a direct quote.

Fayden breaks me out of my musings. “As I said, corrupt mortal souls turn into demons when they die, ending the reincarnation cycle. As a demon gains power, they become stronger, and if they aren’t taken out by a sin eater they eventually become an archdemon.

“Sin eaters came into being to help reset demons and bring them back into the reincarnation cycle, which explains why they were hunted. That’s some insane power. They were meant to help maintain the balance. The more corruption there is, the more the balance is tipped in that direction. If a supernatural other than a sin eater kills a demon, the soul is destroyed, not reset.”

I’m…not sure how I feel about that. Even though it’s now a demon soul, it was once a human soul and could be reset to be mortal again.

“They don’t originate in hell and never step foot there,” Fayden continues. “They can turn into a demon at any time. There’s really no point in the cycle where they are ensured to become enlightened.”

I’m pretty sure I hear crickets. Everyone is trying to process. How had so much of this information just disappeared? Why would the gods allow that?

I understand why Kelly is a sin eater, whereas her mother and grandmother aren’t. We’re going to need her to seriously kick demon ass. We also now have an explanation for why the gods are essentially useless.

“Let’s hit the pause button for a bit,” Ayla says. “I know we still need to go through information on the prophecy and my sisters’ locations, but let’s make all of this a little more digestible.”

“We still haven’t found any answer as to who the Härja are,” I state. “We know they are the same species as the gods, but…aside from that rift, how did they change so much? What are they now?”

Kelly hums in agreement. “Are they still the same species, and if so, do the same things that kill the gods kill them? Do we even know if the gods can be killed? Are we simply supposed to stop the Härja from getting out of Hell, or do we actually need to kill them? We’re assuming we need to kill them, but it’s entirely possible that’s not necessary.”

“I have found a reference regarding weapons that can kill the gods,” Connor chimes in. “We’d have to confirm that they’ll be effective. That is, if the gods are willing to share that information.”

“At this point they’d better be,” I argue. “We’re pawns for them in this little chess game. Everything we’ve learned has been through some third-party source, not directly from them. They can do us this one solid.”

The table is silent. Shock registers on a few faces, but for the most part, everyone seems more contemplative.

“I’m mildly surprised you didn’t just burst into flames,” Dante teases with a laugh. “I’m sure we all feel the same way to varying degrees, but voicing it outright like that takes some serious balls.”

“Not really.” I shrug. “They’re all about free will. That comes with the allowance for being frustrated with them.”

“I think there are still some serious holes in our information,” Fayden says, breaking the silence caused by my last comment. “I’m sure most of the real information has been lost to time. Even Darcy, an original, doesn’t have all the answers because it’s been so long.”

“Most of my memories from that time are hazy at best,” Darcy admits.

“How do we want to move forward?” Ayla inquires. “Do we want to do a bit more digging into the weapons Connor mentioned, or do we want to go right for my sisters?” She turns to face Kelly. “Have you been able to make any headway on how to wake them once we’ve found them?”

“I have a few ideas” —Kelly shrugs— “but until I see them, I won’t know for sure what your mother did to them and what’s required to wake them.”

“I think it’s best,” Malcolm reasons, “to dig a little more into whatever weapons we can get our hands on that may help tip the tide in our favor. It’s paramount we try to keep Hell from releasing the Härja, but we should also be prepared for any eventuality. The prophecy is pretty vague in regard to whether or not we’re actually going to have a serious battle.”

Caleb nods before responding, “I agree. I want us all to have as many backup plans as we can get and be as ready as possible. That means training every single day until we leave to find the weapons and Ayla’s sisters. It means making sure that our defenses are the strongest we can make them, that we have all the supplies we’ll need, everything.”

Ayla has an amused smile on her face. “And here I thought I was the queen in charge of this operation.” She cuts me a look. “With Olivia, of course.”

I laugh and wave her off.

We spend several hours planning the next week or so out. It’ll take Connor at least that long to do more research on the weapons and hopefully discover their whereabouts. In the meantime, the rest of us have what seems like an insurmountable task on our plates—getting ready for a war we’re not sure we can ever be remotely prepared for.

Later that night, Ayla, Kelly, Darcy, and I are in Ayla’s sitting room. We need to just be girlfriends again for a small amount of time. Our sisterhood is what will get us through this, I have no doubt about that. We’ll stand, and possibly fall, together. Always.

“I think one of us should try to reach out to Brigid,” Ayla murmurs as she leans back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling. “She might not give us an answer about those weapons, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?”

We all mumble our agreement.

“And I think it should be Liv who tries,” Kelly blurts. My head whips around so I can drill her with my most intimidating glare. The bitch just ignores it. “Given how outspoken you’ve been, I think it may be best.”

“How do you figure?” My brow rises. Maybe learning she’s a sin eater has scrambled her brain a bit.

“Being so out of tune with something that’s so fundamental for us makes it difficult to connect with your true source of power. I know you’ve been training with your magic, and Ayla has been trying to teach you how to fly, but have you really been able to tap into your power base since your queen powers emerged?”

I take a moment to think about that. While I’ve never felt stronger, Kelly has a point. I’ve seen firsthand the kind of power Ayla wields, and I haven’t tapped into anything even remotely the same caliber. Are my feelings about the gods causing a disconnect with my abilities? The thought makes me feel a bit bitter.

“I see your point,” I finally admit. “I’ll try.”

They all smile at me. “I have some tea that will help. It’s meant to put you in a clear frame of mind when you fall asleep. It’ll be easier to reach out to the goddess that way.”

This woman and her tea. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “Thanks, Kel.” To my surprise, she hands over a small packet of tea. “You just…carry this around with you?”

“Something told me I might need it.” She shrugs. Okay, so she just casually carries around random tea packets. What else does she tote around? The thought of my friend being some magical drug dealer makes me snort.

“Well…” I stand and stretch. “I may as well get to it. I’ll have Malcolm watch over me.”

“Don’t stay up too late playing hide the pickle!” Ayla yells.

“What the actual fuck is wrong with you?” I laugh and shake my head as I leave the room, their laughter following me out.

I stare at the little packet in my hand as I make my way to my room. I can do this. I can totally do this. I’ll just casually slip into a coma and then talk to a goddess. What could go wrong?

I groan and pull on the end of my braid. Just don’t insult the goddess while talking to her, I remind myself. That should be easy, right?

As I step into my room, my gaze lifts to find a very naked Malcolm sprawled on my bed. The little hussy in me sits up to cheer, but I beat her back. As much as I’d like to just maul that man like the cat shifter I am, I want to actually do this whole goddess talk thing right away.

I strip out of my clothes far more slowly than I should, given I’m not going to be entertaining the heat in Malcolm’s eyes, but it’s fun to just watch him watching me. His entire attention is riveted to every move I make. He looks at me like he wants to eat me whole, and I’m here for it.

“We’re going to have to hold off.” I sigh and hold up the tea. “I need to have a little chat with Brigid.”

Malcolm glances from me to the packet, his brow raised in question. “Do you now?”

“Yup. Need to have a heart-to-heart and then ask her about those weapons Connor is researching.” I flop onto the bed next to him. “Can you magic me a cup of hot water?”

“You do it.” I knew he was going to say that. He’s been pushing me to use more and more magic for even the smallest things so I can practice.

I allow the magic to swirl inside me as I think about what I want it to do. I picture a steaming mug on my nightstand, willing my magic to make it so. I release the magic out into the world and then glance at my nightstand.

Breath rushes out of me in relief. It’s there. I touch the side of the mug, and it’s damn hot. I may have overdone it a bit, but I stick the tea bag in the mug anyway. It can steep while it cools.

“What’s the tea for?” Malcolm’s voice almost has me jumping out of my skin. I can’t believe I was so engrossed in making a cup of hot water for myself that I forgot he’s next to me.

“Kelly said it will help me clear my mind when I fall asleep so it’ll be easier to communicate with the goddess.” Malcolm nods. “It’s probably best if you supervise. I’m not sure how far under I’ll go.”

“Of course,” Malcolm agrees. “I wouldn’t have you do this without me watching over you.”

My heart flips and my chest warms. It’s nice knowing that I always have someone in my corner. My sisterhood with the ladies aside, having Malcolm there without question is a surprising relief. I know Ayla and the others will always be there for me, but we have divided priorities, and I wouldn’t blame them if something had to come before me. With Malcolm, nothing will ever be more important that I am, just as nothing will ever be more important than he is.

We snuggle for a bit before I reach out to test the heat of the tea. It’s cool enough to drink now. This is it. I glance at Malcolm with a small smile as I lift the mug. “Bottoms up.”

I wake up in a beautiful field, the sun a gentle caress against my skin. I blink several times as I look around. Ayla mentioned she’d woken up among some trees, so I expected to do the same.

It is surprisingly calming here, and I feel my spirits lift a bit as I continue to look around. I’m not sure if I need to go searching for Brigid or if she’ll come to me. The field stretches out as far as the eye can see, so I linger a bit because the last thing I want to do is get stuck here if I go looking for a goddess.

After waiting a bit longer, I finally decide to start walking, picking a direction at random. I feel more relaxed as I move forward. The sun sinks deliciously into my skin, and a light breeze swirls enticingly around me. Aside from the trees Ayla described, I’m not sure what I expected from this, but it certainly hadn’t been the feeling of peace.

“Peace is what you need, my daughter.” The light, feminine voice echoes around me. I turn to find the source, but no one is around me. Weird. “You hold too much fear, too much anger, and too much anxiety within your soul.”

“Well, why don’t you come out and talk to me to ease some of that?”