REDEMPTION: Queen of Souls (TORMENTED ROYALS Book 1)

by L. N. MALONE

  Ahh the pretty blonde is the last one to introduce herself. Again, I suddenly feel the room start to heat up then a low growl escapes from the King’s chest and the room seems to go back to normal. “My name is Spade. I do not like long names so just Spade please. I am part Succubus and part Vampire. I am the one who Blows Shit up and I am on the team with Blane. Ahh, and to answer your question earlier. Yes, I can read minds.” She says then blows me a kiss before sitting down.

  “Don’t piss off Armand” Mirella scolds Spade for her dramatics and Blane laughs a bit. I thought to myself how these people seem to be more friends than the knights I am used to. So far, this place has not been what I was expecting, and I am grateful for that. Armand stands back up to address the room and I surprise myself by realizing how much I am looking forward to what he has to say.

  I hear the King take in a large breath quietly and then surprises the whole room by saying “Brothers and sisters I would like to introduce to you my future bride. Princess Akasha.” Wait what? What the hell is he talking about? I ask myself and apparently, I am not the only one confused. Gasps went around the room. No one seems to have expected that. I look around the room and notice each person seems to be speechless just starting at the both of us and blinking rapidly.

  Before anyone could fully form a solid thought, the double doors fly open and slam into the back of each wall upon impact. A woman dressed in a very low-cut white dress with a slit all the way from her foot to her upper thigh on both sides. Her straight chestnut hair is down and flows like tiny whips in the air. “I had a vision of your majesty.”

  “What have you seen Iris?” Armand says.

  Suddenly her body goes rigid, and her eyes turn white. She starts to shake a bit then suddenly in an ear pitching voice she says.

  “Pain brings love. Love brings life. Life brings power. The prophecy that was once thought lost is now upon us. The forgotten Queen Mother shall rise again and bring peace. If the enemy do not kill her before the rising.”

  The girl named Iris drops to the floor, and her eyes went from all white back to her normal brown and Luke rushes over to help her up. I see Marella immediately starts writing down what Iris said. Everyone else is in the room is still. “Let us sit. It seems we have some things to discuss.” I heard Armand instruct everyone. Each person sits and starts talking all at once. Some about the prophecy, some about my news. I suddenly feel stiff as a board and seem to be in a trance of some kind. “Spade! Read Akash” I hear Armand’s demanding voice with worry creeping in. He sounds so far away; I think to myself. “She is in a bit of shock. I do not believe you told her y’all were to be wed and I fear she is freaking out a bit” I hear Spade say. Armand reaches over and touches my hand, and the tingles begin again immediately. This seems to break me out of whatever panic or shock I was in. I look over to Armand with questions in my eyes. “Why?” I can not help but ask him. “It is fated for us Akasha. I will explain more after the meeting if you can hold off just a bit.” I do not like the thought of waiting with my thoughts running wild however, I know that he more important things to handle at the moment.

  “Iris. Are you better dear?” I hear Armand ask her and I can hear the concern in his voice.

  “Aye. I am Sir thank you.”

  “Good. Now what do we know about this prophecy?”

  Rico stands and says “The original Mother Queen has passed on due to unknown reasons. She was the original creator of vampires as well as some demons. It is said that Lucifer had a soft spot for the Mother Queen since she long ago helped him with the war with the soul eaters. As payment for the help she provided, Lucifer crowned her Queen of the First circle of Hell. Limbo or the Soul Realm are more common names now a days. Her creations can reside within the walls of her kingdom to not disturb the souls in limbo. However, since her passing, it has been foretold that the Mother Queen would be reincarnated. She will first be a powerful witch then turned by love. She has her mother’s spirit inside her to an extent however only her true mate or chosen one’s claiming can activate the mother’s spirit into the Mother Queen she is destined to become. The Queen Mother is destined to bring the others together and unite all creatures as one while creating peace between others and humans. It has been a story told from generation to generation.”

  “Iris was this the vision you spoke of when you came in?” Armand asks her.

  “No Sire. I had a vision of Jayson. There was fire and death everywhere. He is becoming powerful with stolen magic. That is the vision I saw.”

  “Two visions in the same hour? You must be exhausted. I will only ask one last question so you can rest. Which one is first?”

  “Jayson” is all she said before she collapsed into Luke’s arms.

  “Luke. Please take the Seer to her chambers for rest. She needs to recuperate and send a medic over just in case more is needed. I believe this may be the first of many visions and she will need her strength.”

  I let out a sigh thinking how this day has not gone as planned. I worry for the Iris. I may not know her; however, I have seen the pain and the toll the visions can take on a seer’s body. I turn to see Armand trying to process everything that has happened, he seems so calm and collected however his emotions are dripping with turmoil. He looks my way and gives me a smile before addressing the room.

  “Attention!” He says loudly in a commanding voice. “We have much to discuss. Jayson is getting bolder. We do not need him getting any more power than he already has. You all know your skills; I need you to use them. We need everything we have on him. His friends, his accounts, business dealings. I need everything! Please report to me by the end of the week with all the information. Any questions?”

  Everyone is silent for a bit. Then Mirella asks “What about Akasha? What did you mean Bride?”

  He pauses for a moment before he says, “I believe we need a stronger link to the humans. We need them and that is why our borders line up so closely to each other. Without them we die off. However, we have things we can also offer them. Things such as land for vegetation and protection as well. As we know Jayson has created fires across the land, however what we did not know was humans are starving due to lack of crops because of the fires. We cannot let the humans starve to death. If we do, we die as well. I am hoping that if we build the relationship between the two species, we can begin to fully prosper. A wedding between two royals I believe will be a fine beginning.” I hear his words and even though it all makes perfect sense, the fact he did not think to speak to me first makes my blood boil.

  As I look over at everyone, I see nods of acknowledgment and agreement. Armand stands up and offers me his hand. I rise and to my own credit I keep my head up high and nod a goodbye to Armand’s circle members. As we walk out, I can feel me losing control of my power and it seems Armand can to because he flinches and looks down at our hands. Ice has formed along my fingertips and he gives me an apologetic look that does not ease my nerves.

  We finally make our way out of the room and the moment the door closes behind us I turn on him. I yank my hands off of him and try to control my emotions. I am fully aware of how much destruction I can cause when I lose control. I know my face shows the anger I am feeling, I cannot help but lash out. “How dare you! How dare you to not discuss this with me before! I am not some pawn!” I scream and then stomp off not caring that I have no clue where I am going but know that I must get out of here, so I do not lose control.

  Eight

  Chapter Eight

  Armand POV:

  I watch her stomp away and I immediately know the mistake I made. Her anger should not have surprised me, I should have spoken with her before. I sprang marriage on to her so soon after she got here as well as in front of everyone, how could I be so stupid, I think to myself. I sigh a tired sigh and wonder if she even knows where she is going. I know I should probably follow her, and if it was anyone else, I might have. However, I felt her start to lose control of her emotions and with that I felt her power flood over
me. Her power is stronger than I myself have ever felt. Mirella and I will have to speak about her training. I am sure that Mirella has it under control however I want to keep a close eye on her progression.

  I sigh thinking about how now she is running away from me. Luckily, I know that if she needs me, I will sense it like before and I will go to her. Wait… I will sense it…. and then it clicks…. why I have been feeling these strange tingles. How when I heard her whisper, I could also feel her worry as if it were mine. The realization slammed into me. She is not just me fated mate. The woman whose brother killed my daughter is my chosen! Every being has a fated mate, however only a vampire can have a chosen. A chosen mate is similar to a fated one however it is said that a chosen mate was chosen directly by the original Mother Queen’s spirit herself. A fated mate will feel the tingles and knowledge of each other, but a chosen mate will share emotions in the beginning. Then as the bond grows a claiming must take place. It is broken into three parts, first each person’s soul must accept each other, then blood has to be given. Once those two parts have been completed the physical relations will seal the claiming. Once the claiming is complete their souls meld together and the mind link connects them, along with shared powers and much more. I can not believe I did not notice it before. Well, shit isn’t fate lovely! I say to myself as I walk towards my office.

  I sat down at my desk and called Luke as well as Mirella in to discuss my newest discovery. The news will be hard on Mirella as she does not handle change well. I hear a knock at my door, and I give my normal “Enter” response. Mirella and Luke make their way in and I motion for them to sit. “We have a new development where Akasha is concerned. I wanted to speak with you both first before I discuss it with her as well as the others.” I pause giving me a second to gather my thoughts before I continue. “Luke, you and I discussed the possibility that Akasha might be my fated mate, however that is not the case. She is not my fated mate, she is in fact my chosen.” They both froze with shock. I can tell they did not expect that announcement.

  “Are you sure?” Mirella asked when she got her wits back.

  “I am.”

  “What are you going to do?” Luke asks me and I can hear the concern in his voice.

  “The only thing I can do. I will discuss it with her and let her decide on her own if she would like to commit to the claiming. I will not force this upon her, it is too important.” I look over to Mirella and address her directly, “Mirella, I know how hard this must be for you.”

  She laughed and she surprised me when she said, “No, Armand, it is not hard. You were right, she is not to blame for Julianna, and I know that. I have been watching her and she will make an excellent queen.” I nod in agreement. I am about to continue when I had a strange feeling of worry that was not coming from me. I realized it came Akasha. I waited a moment to see if I felt it again, then I felt her worry again. First it was just worry then fear. Not just any fear she is terrified. She cannot breathe. “Akasha is in trouble.” I say and then without a second longer of hesitation I run. I run directly toward her scent following the invisible golden string that links me to her. She is in the library! Just as I open the door, I see her there. She is lying on the floor. Her dress is ripped from the top and I see a bruise already forming on her cheek. Looking around I do not see anyone however I smell a hint of perfume. Channel! Ahh, Lisette must have been in here. I must have forgotten to have Luke take her fingerprints off the door. Luke and Mirella walk through the door worry written across their face. “Lisset, was here and Akasha is injured. Find out what happened and message me immediately.” I addressed them both as I lift up Akasha and carry her to her room.

  I lay her down onto her bed and call the on-call Doctor to come look at her. Less than five minutes pass and I hear a knock on her door. “Enter” I say. Dr. Finchwood comes in and I explain the situation. He quickly checks her over and calls for nurses to clean her up while we make our way to her formal living area allowing them some privacy. “She will be alright. Just a few bruises, nothing to worry about. I believe she just fainted from stress and anxiety, not any of the actual wounds.” I feel my body relax not even realizing how tense I was. “Thank you, Dr.,” he nods and leaves. The nurses advise me they are done, and I sit across from her and watch her sleep. I send a message to Mirella asking is she or Luke have any updates. As I wait for her response I lean back and think about everything that has taken place. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of messes and I need things to settle. *Ding* Lisette overheard an argument between you and the Princess. She followed Akasha. Lissett asked if the rumors of an upcoming marriage between the two of you was in fact true. The Princess told Lisette of the engagement and Lisette lost control. Somehow the Princess stopped her attack with blunt force. Lisette is currently in the infirmary with a broken arm getting blood to recover. Well, I suppose that explains what happened. Lisette will be enraged for a while. I message Mirella back with instructions to have Lissett meet her and I in my office in an hour. This needs to be addressed quickly and honestly, I should have spoken with her before I made the announcement. Lisette has been a companion of sorts on and off for many years. She deserved to know ahead of time. I sigh realizing another mistake I have made these last few weeks. I look over to Akasha who is breathing is a steady rhythm and I know she is still fast asleep. Unable to help myself I lean over and take her hand. The tingles that dance along my skin have started to become a form of comfort to me. I lay my head down next to her and I hold as I hope she feels the same comfort.

  An hour passes and even though I do not want to leave her I know I must meet Lisset and Mirella in my office. Lisset is perched up on my desk and Mirella is scowling off in the corner when I walk in. I look over Lissett and she that any injuries have healed, and she is looking as fresh as ever. She is wearing her signature red gown with a large slit on the side leaving nothing to the imagination. Her long and dark chestnut hair is down with a bit of a wave in it setting off her blue eyes. She is a beauty and although she is not my chosen and I can not help but wonder if that is why I could not get close with her.

  “Thank you for bringing her down Mirella. I want you to stay as witness.” I tell her so she knows not to leave as well as a way to make it known to Lissett that his meeting is on record. Mirella nods in understanding and I take my seat at my desk. I want to get back to Akasha quickly, so I need to make this fast. I do not want her to wake up alone.

  “Lissett, please take a seat. I understand you and I have some things to discuss. I am also in a bit of a hurry, so I need to make this quick. As you seem to have heard already, I want to address my engagement. Princess Akasha and I will be married, and she will rule beside me. What you have heard is true and arrangements will be made soon.” I watch as emotions play across her face. I can see confusion, jealousy and then anger cross her face and know she is not taking the news well at all. “Lissett, you and I have been over for a while, and we were never exclusive. I need you to understand Akasha will be Queen and you will treat her as such. Since this was a shock to you, I am not going to bring this up to the circle for judgement and punishment. However, please understand any act against Akasha from here on out is an act against me.” I stand as I say the last sentence and walk around the desk and offer my hand to help her up.

  “Do you understand Lissett?” I wait for her to nod in agreement. “I am glad we got that settled, now I must say goodbye. I am in a hurry and must be off. Mirella will show you out.” I say as I head to the door. Lissett does not seem happy about the news and I can only hope that she will get over her issues soon. As I make my way out the door I look over to Mirella and say, “You know where to find me if needed.” A nod of understanding is all the response I need for me to rush back to Akasha’s side.

  Nine

  Chapter Nine

  Akasha POV:

  I awake in my room and notice that the light is hardly shining through the closed curtains. What time is it? When did I fall asleep? My mind starts to r
eplay the events from yesterday. Meeting the circle members, the engagement, the prophecy, the argument, the brown-haired goddess in a red dress that tried to suck my blood… oh goodness what have I gotten myself into. So many things running through my mind that I startle when I look down and see Armand asleep beside my bed holding my hand. I find myself comforted by the knowledge he is here with me. I watch him for a minute taking the time to appreciate his amazing features. His bone structure and sharp chin. Wavy hair I can help but want to run my hands through. Goodness, he is beautiful. I know I feel the pull towards him however, I am also at war with myself. I should not give in to desires so quickly, however I cannot seem to help imagining him and I in devious acts of pleasure. Get a grip Akasha, I scold myself. Looking at him lying there he looks so peaceful. I try to stay as still as possible, so I do not disturb him. I soon found out my attempts were in vain because he must have felt I was awake because suddenly his head pops up. His eyes look directly at me as he says “Akasha” in a husky whisper. I nod and give a small smile so he can see I am ok. I clear my throat a bit and say, “I need some human minutes please.” My voice is scratchy, and I feel as though I could drink a lake. I must be dehydrated. “Of course, let me help you up,” he says as he extends his hand. Using his hand as leverage I lift and move to the side of the bed. My body is sore and aches a bit. I start to stand but my legs are a bit shaky. Armand grabs my waist on both sides, and I react by using his shoulders as a way to hold myself up. He gives me a brief grin and says “It is ok. I have you and will never let you go” his words both comfort and frighten me a bit and I wonder how deeply he means what he says. As he leads me to the restroom, the achy muscles and sore face help me lose my train of thought. He leaves me at the door after I insist that I can handle the last bit alone. I finish my business, brush my hair and teeth, then wipe myself down as best I can. I exit the room feeling a little more relaxed and less sticky and uptight. When I exit Armand is waiting just outside the door to help me back into bed. I am struck by how gentle he is being with me; it is almost as if I am made of Porcelain.