Chapter 98: MONSTER'S ÁLFHEIMR MADE

Alma's POV

I waited for him to come. That witch's last words stayed stuck in my head like she had left a curse with them.

“You were rejected by your father.” Her words carried another message I refuse to believe. I know my mum took a whole lot of the fall because of me, and that includes her life.

But I never thought that the man I have known all my life as my father might not be my father after all. How come I never thought of it?

My mother was denied of the gemstone, or should I say the gemstone rejected her, which means she was already pregnant at that time and she had only met my father after she was banished from her kingdom.

The chamber door pushed open as my father walked in. He looked like a shadow of himself. He looked messed up, like he hadn't left the door of the dungeon where his wife and the other queens were being held and tortured.

“Leave us alone,” I said to the guard that escorted him in. He immediately bowed and left as I made my way to my father, needing to see his face.

I wanted to see every look in his eyes. I wanted to see through all the secrets.

“I see you desperately want to stand by your lovely wife,” I said, my voice dripping with venom.

“Alma, when are you going to stop this madness? Can't you see the damage you have done?”

I promised myself I would keep him safe. I promised myself I would let him watch me prove the prophecy wrong. But every time he stands there and questions me.

Every time he stares at me like everyone else, it hurts, because he was the only family I have left.

“You were there when I trained my ass off. You were there when I stayed up all night studying through every book. I was the good daughter.

I did everything just the way I was told. But what happened? The stone rejected me!” I said, my voice carrying the weight of anger, pain, and resentment.

“Do you know how I felt when I did all of that but had to hear about my mother from the mouths of others? No, you don't! So don't stand there and look at me like that.”

“Alma, your mum died just so you could live. Do you know what your mother's last words were? She wanted you to live. She wanted me to take care of you and raise you right, and I kept to that promise.”

I laughed at his words. A pain-filled laugh.

“You did? How? By marrying the woman of your dreams while my mother remains like she never existed? By leaving your wife to fill my head with dreams?

You never fucking kept any of your promises!” My voice echoed around the chamber, my gaze never leaving his.

“You lied to me,” I said, my voice finally dropping to a whisper as my tears finally began running down my face.

“Why didn't you tell me you weren't my biological father?” He didn't act surprised that I knew, nor did he deny the fact of my words.

“You knew all this while and you kept it away from me,” I said in-between a laugh.

“It was your mother's last wish. She never wanted you to know about a man that abandoned her, knowing full well she was with his daughter.”

“I am fucking sick and tired of everyone telling me what or how I am supposed to live my life. I fucking lived with the pain of mourning my mother on each and every birthday that came by. And now I was fucking abandoned by my father!”

I laughed. I let the pain squeezing my heart darken something far deeper inside me. Then I felt the little empathy I thought I still had, at least towards someone, fade at that spot.

“Well, the prophecy was right about one thing. I am a monster that Álfheimr created, and I am going to show them what they have made of me,” I said, every single word, with my gaze never leaving his.

I called back the guard who had brought him in when he didn't say anything except silence and blank stares.

“Take him away. Make sure you lock him right next to his precious wife. It seems that's where he belongs,” I said and angrily began walking away.

“She loved you. In all, she loved you. Even sitting in your dungeon with your cursed magic, she still blamed herself for the choices you made. She saw something in you, but you let her down.”

My feet only slowed down to hear what he had to say, but they were of no value.

“I never asked her to pick me over her daughter. Now, if you would excuse me, I have a ritual and a new army to awake."

Alda's POV

“So let me get this straight. There is a portal that you could summon to get to the elf realm?” Mike asked Elba before handing her another bar of white chocolate.

I couldn't help but enjoy the sight in front of me. Elba practically went from always being so serious when we were in the elf realm to her giggling like a child just because she ate chocolate.

“I can't believe that she could be such a child. I mean, how many more of those is she planning to eat?” Siofra let out in total annoyance as she folded her arms on her chest.

“Can't you see?” I quietly said, nodding my head towards a giggling Elba as Mike said yet another thing to make her smile. And I could also swear I saw a flush of color on her face when Mike reached out, wiping the chocolate from the side of her lips.

“See what? That a hundreds-of-years-old goddess is sitting on a hospital bed in the human realm acting like she is lovesick? Oh, please!” Siofra said with total disgust written all over her face.

“I wouldn't put it that way, but I think it's really cute. I mean, it means that wherever our soulmates are, we could always find them, even if it means being realms apart,” I said, my gaze never leaving the sight in front of me.

“Aah, Alda, you do know that these two have only known each other for less than fifteen hours or so. And what makes you think your human friend feels the same? I mean, he's just a doctor who stumbled upon something that has always been a fantasy in the human realm,” Siofra said with so much doubt in her voice, but looking at her, I could tell she has never been in love.

“Have you ever fallen in love before?” I asked, not really expecting a reply from her. “Yes, I know they just met, but I could literally feel the connection between the two, and if I was Mike and I saw something I knew all my life to be a fantasy come true, I would also be curious. But Siofra, it takes more than getting to know someone before you can feel that free around them,” I said, shifting my gaze to her.

I watched as she stared at Elba for a while before letting out a sigh.

“Elves do have the ability of recognizing their life partners on the first meet or so. But if that is it, then Elba's love story will be another tragedy loading,” she said, her dark gaze meeting mine, and her words had me all confused.

“What do you mean? Can Elba not stay even if she wants to?” I asked.

“I don't know. First, let's not forget the fact that she is still Almaruda, and once she gets back her powers from my sister, then she should be back to being the cursed goddess of loneliness she was, and she will be dragged back to the sea. She would really be stupid to be having any affection for him knowing it wouldn't last,” Siofra said, but I didn't think of it that way.

I thought it was sad. Being cast under the sea to live with nothing but sea dragons and other sea monsters that could be waiting to devour you was already enough punishment. But moving her mate, as I would love to call it, all the way to a different realm and then having her meet him knowing she could never be with him was a far greater punishment.

“We need to find an open space. Somewhere we could open the portal without having it suck up buildings or putting anybody in danger,” Siofra said, dragging me out of my thoughts.

“Well, as far as I know, the only place that could be possible should be in a desert. There is no way you will completely find somewhere with that space you're looking for, but speaking of which, how deserted should the space be?”

“I don't know, only Elba can answer that. She has been inside the windstorm tornado, so she might as well know how strong it is,” Siofra said, and that only made my blood run cold, just thinking of the fact that we are supposed to enter that stormy wind to get Siofra's body.