Recognition

Victor POV

I let my aura flow towards Soren so that he calms down because Ghost is right and Soren hates it when he's challenged. No matter who it was.

"You're right, Ghost," I said before Soren could say anything. "We really need to decide on the next in command. A lot of decisions have been put on the back burner by all the situations we've been through."

Ayla is feeling guilty because she knows that Ghost only did what we asked, and she thinks she could have done more to help him.

"But this isn't the place for something like that. I'll arrange a meeting in the afternoon with the Heads of Houses and also with the leaders of the strongest Packs in your Kingdom." I continued speaking.

Ghost looked at Ayla intensely, I know he wanted to say something to her, but he just bowed and kept quiet. There's no point in trying to talk now because Soren won't listen to the voice of reason, no matter how much it comes from me or Ayla, he'll probably think we're against him, and he'll feel more intimidated by two people talking.

I think Ayla must have noticed because she shook her head slightly in the negative as she looked at me. I see her take Soren's hand and that calms him down.

"Come on, my love. We have many things to do, our wedding is almost here." Ayla said in a sweeter voice.

Soren took a deep breath and turned to Ayla, his expression softening.

"I can't wait for it to happen," Soren said and stroked her cheek with his free hand.

Ayla smiled sweetly, and I was impressed by this new face of my mate, the one who can control the situation with expressions and words. I'm proud because I know this skill will come in very handy when I'm ruling and deciding things.

"Then let's go, our guests should already be waiting for us," Ayla said, keeping her tone soft.

Soren nodded, seemingly oblivious to the argument he'd had with Ghost. I don't know if Strïth noticed Ayla's maneuver, but I hope that if he did, he wouldn't intrude.

I walked a little further behind them, not wanting to disturb Ayla's handling of the situation. Ghost continued walking two steps behind me. As soon as we left the Imperial Wing, the Royal Guard surrounded us, bowed briefly and each took their place in the defense formation. It took a few minutes before we reached the Hall of Thrones.

I can feel the Fairies' aura resonating beyond the hall and I know they're not doing it on purpose, it's natural, as this race is connected to nature, so everything reacts to their presence, even more so when their Queen and King are present.

I see Ayla stop and take a few deep breaths, I turn my face slightly towards Ghost, and he comes closer, not quite touching my mate, but his aura grows stronger. I'm sure Soren and his aura fluctuate slightly, but he quickly controls himself, and I know it was Strïth who took over. He certainly wouldn't let Soren hurt Ayla, even if he didn't mean to.

I see him raise his right hand and Ayla takes a few seconds before accepting it, so I go to the other side of my mate and do the same. We can't enter the hall separately, otherwise, it would look like we're fighting and that's definitely not what we need right now.

The leader of the Royal Guards opened the side door, and we entered, the hall was brighter, and you could feel life flowing everywhere, and it was a party in itself. There are several fairies there, men, women, and androgens, each with a different element.

Their clothes are flowing and slightly transparent, and they all have a different beauty, as their skin is not just white or black, but can vary according to the element the fairy symbolizes.

The Queen has long black hair, slightly slanted eyes, an apple-shaped face, red lips, and full breasts, wearing a flowing, almost transparent dress in shades of red, with precious stones embedded in the fabric, as well as having a supernatural glow as if the light wanted her to shine even brighter. She doesn't have a crown, but her hair is softly adorned at the corners with a brooch that sparkles like the purest diamond.

Next to her is the King, who is the same height as the woman, with black skin and long blond hair. His chest is practically bare, with a light V-shaped plate in the center that shines like gold, while tiny threads that look like paint are sticking out of his skin. The underside is held up with a gold plate and the shiny blue fabric flows down to the floor, spreading slightly, and you can see that he is barefoot. And the woman doesn't have a crown on her head, it's just adorned with golden touches.

I see them bow and then all the fairies do so, there's no way the hall is completely silent because some of the fairies have their wings, these are still children, who haven't learned to master this part of their body.

Then I feel something different coming from Ayla, I see her tilt her head to the side, staring at the rulers and they both return her gaze as if there was a silent conversation going on there.

It's almost like how she looked when she had to choose the soul stone in Ishtar's vault, it's been a long time since that happened, so I let go of her hand and Strïth did the same, Ghost is worried and I can feel his distress.

'Calm down, Ghost, something like this has happened before. I explained to him via mental message.

I heard him take a deep breath and Ayla walked to her seat, in a trance, her movements followed by the Kings.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Ayla spoke, her voice resounding through the hall. "I cannot measure the pain you feel, for I will never be able to carry a child..."

All the fairies did the same in surprise and looked at their rulers.

"Although the music is cheerful, the undertones show their true feelings," Ayla explained.

For the first time, I see something other than stoic on the faces of the rulers, I see recognition, respect, and admiration, something that I believe to be historic since the Queen and King of the Fairies have a reputation for being immutable, some would say that they were walking statues and something like this had never been reported.

Although the fairies always praised their rulers for their feasts and how fair and kind they were to their subjects, even on official visits to their kingdom, they hadn't seen this side of their rulers.

"Your Imperial Majesty is wise, has an ancient eye, and is very observant." Novus the Queen's voice rang out, showing all the deference she was feeling. "We are grateful for your words, and I feel your pain for your condition."

"Everyone should be offered a choice... whether to continue a pregnancy or to terminate it. No one should have that choice taken away from them." Bracken added. "We understand that not every soul is ready for this world, but your kind words are very welcome."

Ghost's words begin to echo in my mind, about what Ayla can be and this is one more thing that shows that the Lycan is telling the truth, because, as much as Soren and I are the Emperors of the Vampires, we have never achieved such a feat.

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