Chapter 73 THE RITUAL CAN'T BE DELAYED!

Chapter 73 THE RITUAL CAN'T BE DELAYED!
HAVEN

“Auren's supposedly dead mother!" Imogen exclaims and Aunt Mira nods.

“The King's supposedly dead mother." Aunt Mira confirms with a small nod. “Having children with the previous dragon King was never part of her plan, not to mention twins. That's why she killed the younger baby in her belly before it could be born, then pinned the blame on young Auren and place a curse on him.”

" What!” We all ask in unison, equally shocked.

She nods. " The curse isn't just a curse. It's a means to keep him weak. Isolde had everything planned centuries ago. She placed the curse on him not to kill him, but to weaken him as time goes by so that by the time she's prepared to start her mission, he won't be a problem.”

“So you are telling me that your sister and the mastermind behind this entire apocalypse with Eurolys at the forefront is actually Auren's mother?" Draven asks, his expression surprised. " Queen Isolde died centuries ago, before the previous king married Amelyn’s mother.”

Aunt Mira chuckles and leans back into her seat." There's still a lot of things happening you don't know yet. Isolde is beyond evil and by the time she's done with this realm, there'll be barely a single piece of good energy.”

\~~~

" You can share your pain, you know?” I tell my husband, joining on the balcony of the West Wing, overlooking the gardens.

He's barely spoken a word since the funeral and I'm worried. I'd prefer a raging Auren to a quiet one. This quiet version of him, all silent and just passing out strict orders is not now I know my husband, and it leaves me worried that I can't predict him in such a mood.

He killed a noble earlier in court today for something as trivial as making a mistake while reading reports and had another locked up for no reason at all. Everyone has been on eggshells around him lately.

" Auren,” I call softly, placing my hand on my still flat belly and moving closer to him. I put my free hand on his shoulder and lean in to him. " Talk to me! I'm your wife and I'll like to think I know you better than anyone else. This is not you, Auren. This ruthless, violent, and merciless monster you've become in the last two days is definitely not you.”

He scoffs. " If you think I'm anything but the things you just mentioned then you couldn't be any more wrong, little flame."

The silence that follows is deafening. I don't know what to tell him to ease his pain, no matter how much I crave to take it away from him.

" Once upon a time, she was everything I lived for,” he breaks the silence, voice calm but filled with raw unfiltered pain. " After my twin sister died during birth and my mother cursed me, I didn't care much. I was too young to understand what a curse meant anyways. Then she died and Amy’s mother joined our family. Soon she was pregnant with Amy and I was elated beyond words.

“I still remember the first time I held her in my arms after she was born. I vowed then that I'll do anything to keep her safe. After my father died and I took over, my life was just politics and politics and fucking politics. She was the only normal occurrence in my day. Some days when I'm too busy at court and barely have time for my own self, she'll make me dinner and say ‘Kings need to eat too, Auren. You can't rule the continent if you're not strong enough.’ She's the reason I bothered finding cures to the curse. Without her, you would never have met an Auren."

He sniffs and my heart breaks. He's so broken at Amy's passing that I wonder how he'll feel when I finally put to birth and leave.

As if reading my mind, he turns to me and pulls me into a tight hug, burying his tear stained face in the crook of my neck. How come I didn't know he's been crying?

" Don't leave me, Haven. I wouldn't be able to survive another loss. Please don't do that to me,” he murmurs, his voice breaking at each word and he finally lets go and cries into my embrace.

Fuck!

Ten minutes later, I straighten the covers over a sleeping Auren and place a kiss on his forehead. He cried on my shoulder for a whole five minutes and refused to let go. I somehow manauvered us to the bed and lay down with him till he finally fell asleep.

Even in his sleep he kept begging with me not to leave him. But the sad truth is I have to. No matter how much I don't want to.

With one last look at my husband, I turn off the candle lights and step out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

I head to the gardens for some air and the desperate need to clear my head.

The leak in the portal is becoming worse as time goes by. The undead are spreading everywhere, causing more casualties and turning more and more people into members of their army. And my supposed father?

I feel the urge to gag when I think that some asshole playing puppet for a witch is the man who fathered me.

Color me ashamed!

“Long time no see, Queen Haven?" The familiar voice I can't mistake anywhere rings out in the silence of the night.

I sigh and fold my arms. “What do you want Damodar?"

“Came to see my second favorite fae. The first is your mother," he chuckles to himself. “Well, I heard you brought her back from whatever boring realm she hid herself and a ton of her people in, so I went to pay her a visit. She seemed so worried about you, so I promised I'll check on you to see how you're doing."

I fight the urge to roll my eyes and the desire to turn around. “I don't need anyone to check on me. I'm not a child."

“You do if you can't decide if you want to move on with the plan or die with your husband and loved ones."

It's Tyren's voice that has me turning around and there he is, standing beside Damodar, arms folded and face tilted to the side.

“Uncertainty will cause you a lot of distress, Queen. Do you want your family to end up like Nara and Amelyn? They all died trying to fight those things."

I sigh because I know he's right. But then…

“I'm pregnant," I tell him. “Can't the ritual be postponed?"

He shakes his head and my heart shatters.

“Your mother can help you with the pregnancy. She knows will transfer it to their fae nursery where the baby will grow to full term and then be handed to your husband. But the ritual cannot wait."

“He's right," Damodar nods. “The undead are escaping the portal like river water during a flood. The negative energy is too much and will overtake everything if we don't do something soon.”

I don't feel disappointed.

I expected something like this, but I was hoping for a miracle. Is it bad to want to carry my baby full term and feed her my first milk before heading into suicide? I place my hand on my stomach and fight back the tears threatening to fall.

I can't be weak now.

Tyren places his hand on my shoulder and I raise my head to meet his stare. " You might think me cruel, but this baby will have no place in this world if we delay anymore than necessary. A lot of lives are at stake and you are our only hope.”

I sniff. " I understand. How long do I have?”

" A month. Spend it as much as you can with your husband. It will be the last you see him." And with that, both men disappear into thin air.