Chapter 7 “The Queen’s Choice”
No one knows what I feel inside. I miss Grandma so much. She must be so scared and worried about me. What if she thinks I’m dead?
The thought tears at me, raw and sharp. I sit on the edge of my bed, my fingers twisting the thin silver thread they gave me when I arrived — the only thing in this world that feels remotely mine. The air hums softly around me, heavy with the scent of moon lilies and wet earth. Everything here is alive in a way that unsettles me — the walls shimmer faintly, and even the shadows seem to breathe.
No, I tell myself, wiping the tears from my cheeks. That can’t happen. I can’t let her think I’m gone forever.
I take a deep breath, the kind that steadies you right before you do something foolish and brave. I have to leave here. I’ll go to the Queen and ask for her permission to return to the human realm. It’s not like I’d be running away. They’d find me easily if they wanted to. I just want to see everyone again.
And Liam.
The name alone feels like a heartbeat under my skin. Liam has always been there — wild and loyal, with that crooked smile that could disarm even the worst of my moods. He used to find me when I got lost as a child, calling out my name until I’d laugh through my tears. I can almost hear his voice now, soft but determined: “I’ll always find you, Elera.”
He must be looking for me. He wouldn’t stop, not until he knew what happened. The thought brings both comfort and pain.
He’s the only true friend I’ve had since childhood, I whisper to the empty room.
As if on cue, the doors to my chamber open with a soft groan. I flinch. The sound echoes, unsettling in the stillness. Mira steps inside, tall and composed as always, her golden eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. She’s beautiful in a distant, untouchable way — like a star you can admire but never reach.
“You’re awake early,” she says, her tone unreadable.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I reply, trying to hide the tremor in my voice.
Her gaze lingers on me for a moment too long, as though she can see right through my skin into the chaos beneath.
“Mira,” I say before I lose my nerve, “I want to speak to the Queen.”
That gets her attention. Her expression doesn’t change, but her energy shifts — sharper now, guarded. “The Queen?”
“Yes.” I rise from the bed and face her. “I want to request permission to return to the human realm.”
She tilts her head slightly. “You know that is not how things work here. The Queen decides when one comes and when one goes.”
“I don’t belong here,” I say, more desperate than I intend. “Your world isn’t mine. Everything here feels… wrong. The air hums, the stars never move, and I can’t even tell if it’s day or night anymore. I need to see my family. My home. Please.”
For a heartbeat, something soft flickers across her face, but it’s gone before I can name it. “You were chosen for a reason, Elera. The Queen does not make mistakes.”
Chosen. That word again. It coils through me like smoke. I never asked to be chosen. I never asked to be taken. One night, the storm broke the sky open, and then — darkness. When I woke, I was here.
“I don’t care,” I say, taking a step toward the door. “I’ll speak to her myself.”
Mira’s golden eyes narrow, but she doesn’t move to stop me. “You are braver than most humans who come here,” she murmurs. “But bravery is not always rewarded.”
Her words chill me, but I keep walking.
The corridor beyond my chamber glows faintly, lit by floating orbs that pulse in rhythm with my footsteps. My reflection follows me in the glass-like walls, but it’s not just me I see — it’s fragments. Faces. Memories. Grandma laughing in the garden. Liam’s hand brushing mine under the oak tree. The night sky before the storm.
Each image flickers and fades as I move forward.
By the time I reach the throne hall, my knees feel weak. The massive doors before me are carved from obsidian wood, etched with moving constellations that shift like living things. I press my palm to the surface. It’s warm — too warm — and the stars seem to pulse beneath my touch. Then, with a low groan, the doors part.
The Queen’s hall is like stepping into another universe. Silver trees grow through the marble floor, their leaves shimmering like liquid light. The air hums with power — I can feel it, alive and aware, watching me. And at the far end, seated on a throne woven from starlight and roots, is the Queen herself.
Her beauty is terrifying. She looks young and ancient all at once, her eyes deep pools of silver that reflect everything and nothing.
“Elera,” she says, her voice calm and resonant, echoing through the hall like the wind over a lake. “You seek me.”
My throat tightens, but I nod. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Few mortals are bold enough to demand an audience with me. Speak.”
“I want to return home,” I say quickly before fear can silence me. “Please. My grandmother, my friend — they don’t know what happened. They think I’m gone. I can’t let them suffer.”
The Queen studies me, her expression unreadable. “And what makes you think you still belong there?”
Her question catches me off guard. “Because that’s my world,” I manage. “My family, my life—everything I am comes from there.”
She rises from her throne, and the entire hall seems to bend with her movement. “Everything you are?” she repeats softly. “Are you certain?”
I don’t understand what she means until I feel it — the hum under my skin, the pull of the air around me, the faint shimmer that sometimes dances on my fingertips when I’m upset. Things I’ve been pretending not to notice.
“What… what are you saying?” I whisper.
The Queen’s lips curve in a knowing smile. “You were brought here because the storm revealed what you are, child. You are not only human. The blood of our kind runs through your veins. You do not belong in one realm — you belong to both.”
The floor seems to tilt beneath me. “That’s not possible,” I breathe.
Her gaze softens, but only slightly. “You may return, Elera — but understand this. Once you cross the boundary again, you will never be the same. The human world will feel smaller, colder. And the bond that ties you to us will never fade.”
My heart pounds. I think of Grandma’s worried eyes, of Liam’s voice calling my name across the forest. I think of this strange place and how it calls to me in ways I don’t understand.
Two worlds. One heart.
And I have to choose.