by Meg Xuemei X
My hard gaze skipped over the courtiers, who looked miserable as if they knew they’d failed in their task. Any other male would take pity on them and give them whatever they wanted, but I was still the heartless angel.
My wings stretched, brushing them aside, and my boot kicked the window.
A few faint-hearted patrons screamed and fled toward the stairs, their feet crunching over the shattered glass.
I shook my wings and flew out the window.
From the sky, I scanned the ground.
Rose wasn’t amid the crowd.
When I landed at the corner of a street near the teahouse I cloaked myself.
I followed the trail of her scent, for no smell of the crowd and city could cover it.
I rounded a few blocks, taking a left and then a right turn. The princess had walked by those streets. As I approached a bakery shop, I noticed a commotion inside and looked through the window, hoping she wouldn’t be caught in the thick of it.
A black-winged angel smashed an ice-cream cake onto the face of a cashier, who seemed to be a sub-human species. “You dared ask an angel to pay for this horseshit?”
His angel companion snickered.
“You should feel honored that we stepped into your substandard shop, dirtbag!” the angel yelled.
That type of misconduct was common for angels in any city on Earth when dealing with non-angel races. My fellow angels believed that they were entitled to do whatever they wanted because of their superior genes and conqueror status. No laws could bind them in any earthling city.
We laid claim to everything as we saw fit.
Even in the free city of Babylon, the shop owner was lucky the two angels didn’t burn down his store for displeasing them. The king’s horde had burned an entire earthling city, destroyed five towns, and executed a sample of all races to set an example to Earth natives for defying the angels.
Victoria’s army had also slain a whole village of Mysthians that dwelled outside the twilight realm before my brother had resorted to demanding the hand of Princess Rose in marriage.
The shop owner, an older subhuman race, came out, bowing and apologizing profusely to the two angels. I didn’t interfere or linger since Rose wasn’t inside.
The picture of Rose kissing her lover flashed before my eyes. Acid churned in my stomach, and rage burned through my veins.
I would gut him!
And I would make her pay!
Her scent wafted ahead, and I sprang forward.
Chapter 28
PRINCESS ROSE
“Greetings, Empress,” North said with a smile.
I wasn’t empress, not yet, but I didn’t correct him. We both knew that when I returned Mysth—if I ever returned—I would brush the emperor aside and take the power.
I would rule my people and get the realm into shape to fight the angels.
And North would be the new commander for the Dragonian.
I spotted a certain heat in North’s gaze.
His blue skin, cat-like illuminated eyes, and dark horns did not repulse me. I believed that he was comforted by that. Amid the Dragonian, he was considered the strongest male and most striking.
Yet he hadn’t taken a female to be his consort.
His father, the deceased former Dragonian Commander, had once made an official request to Emperor Oberon to grant my hand to his eldest son, North, to secure an alliance between the top two races.
My emperor father had rejected the abhorrent idea with overly harsh language.
Later on, my spies had informed me that the marriage idea had been North’s. He’d seen me when I’d ridden a horse out of the twilight realm.
The Dragonian had always craved to join the gene pool of the Mysthians. They still coveted us. It didn’t matter to us that they were a technologically enhanced species. We Mysthians would never breed with another race.
The Dragonian lifespan was longer than other species— they could live to three thousand years, probably because of their science. The lifespan of most earthling species was shorter than a hundred.
The Mysthians were the only immortals on Earth.
With the hope that the mixed offspring could gain our immortality, the Dragonian had once kidnapped a few Mysthians for their genetic experiments, only to find that every Mysthian was magically warded at birth. They couldn’t steal our DNA. My late empress mother had been about to go to war with the Dragonian for their crime and offense against us, but then she died giving birth to me.
North had been greatly surprised the night I’d gone to meet with him to propose an alliance. The Mysthians stood no chance to fight the angels alone, and the Dragonian were the most advanced species, second only to us.
If we battled the angels together, many of our people would perish. But North and I agreed that a chance of freedom was worth fighting for.
“We’re the new generations,” North had said. “Unlike our forefathers we’re open to new ways of thinking and acting. I’m glad you came to me, Princess Rose, and you can trust me.”
“Trust can’t be freely given,” I’d said.
“Then I’ll earn yours,” he had answered.
That night, North and I had sworn a blood oath to fight our common enemies and not betray each other. Together we would return Earth to the pure era without the angel plague.
The slimmest hope that the Mysthians would breed with the Dragonian one day after we drove out the angels had also reignited in him. I’d seen that in his eyes.
He could wait for eternity for that, and he didn’t have forever like we did, supposing we Mysthians survived the war.
I held North’s gaze.
“I’ve found the angels’ power source,” I said.
“You did well,” North said. “I knew you’d accomplish it.”
I didn’t need his praise or validation. I wasn’t a weakling.
I handed him the crystal in which I had recorded the angels’ wars, the intel of their advanced weapons, and the secret build of a spaceship, but I had erased the part regarding the Forbidden Glory.
I couldn’t afford to let him have a second thought and bail out on me now if he knew we were helpless against the angels as long as they had the Glory. Before the final battle came, if there was absolutely no hope, I would let him and his people have the option of choosing fight or flight.
As for me and my people, we would never surrender.
We’d rather die than kneel to another species.
“Your scientists will develop the new weapons with mine in my labs,” I said.
“As agreed,” he said, then paused before continuing, “You’ll have to learn to trust me, as I trust you, for this alliance to work.”
“You don’t need to doubt my faith in our alliance,” I said as I pulled out my drawing of the Forbidden Glory. “You know what this is?”
“Flaming swords protecting the Forbidden Glory,” he said. “The oracle described this.” His eyes grew so intense I was afraid they could burst into fire at any time. “You saw it?”
“Yes,” I said reluctantly.
North inhaled sharply. “It does exist.”
“What else did your oracle say of it?”
“It can annihilate worlds in mere seconds,” North said. “It can wipe out anything and everything. It can erase time and space.”
I had seen how it had eradicated one whole superior race.
I had experienced how it had taken me to deep space.
The Dragonian oracle had passed the test as the truth-sayer.
“What else?” I pursued.
“It has weakened the Earth Goddess,” North continued, his illuminated eyes closed for a second. “It has come to hunt her, so she’s hidden her great earth magic.” His eyes flashed open, fixing on me.
I kept my expression warm and firm toward him. “Did the oracle say how to destroy the Forbidden Glory?” I asked.
“The oracle talked riddles,” North said ruefully. “And it offered a different version than your Mysthian
prophecy.”
I gazed into his eyes and held my breath. “What do you know about our prophecy, North?”
“The Earth Goddess hid her magic in one of her descendants,” he said, “and everyone believes it’s you.”
“And you believe that, too?”
“You’re the Morning Star of Mysth.”
“I don’t feel the great earth magic in me.”
North held my gaze. His look was gentle, as if he wanted to spare me the horrific truth. “It is said the earth magic will only manifest in you during the most critical crisis.”
“Have you heard of the attempted assassination on me a few days ago?” I asked.
“Yes, Rose.” He swallowed. “I’ve arranged with my people in the angel king’s palace to watch out for you at all times.”
I pulled my cloak from my neck and showed him the line of bruises. “They almost got me,” I said. “They almost strangled the life out of me and drowned me.”
North clenched his fists, his eyes burning with rage and worry. “I’m sorry, Empress. I couldn’t be there to protect you.”
“I am not yours to protect,” I said.
“You’re my ally,” he said. “The Dragonian can’t fight the angels alone, so your survival is most crucial to us—and to me personally. You should retreat earlier than we planned.”
“I showed you the bruises on my neck because I didn’t want you or anyone else to have false hope. If the destructive magic had been in me, I would never have allowed the angels to do this to me.” I licked my lips. “When my life was leaking out, I didn’t feel a wink of the promised earth magic in me. It didn’t defend me. I’m not who everyone thinks I am. I’m not that descendent. If there’s truly one who exists, you should lead the search for her or him. You also need to get this message to my generals and have them search for that magic bearer in the twilight realm or elsewhere.”
North looked uncertain. “It can’t be. You’re the last of the Mysthian royal bloodline.”
“My great-parents were the first fey. Maybe one of them had an illegitimate offspring somewhere,” I said. “Putting false hope in me might get everyone killed in the end.” My eyes suddenly burned. “If I had the magic, I would have destroyed the Forbidden Glory.”
“But you faced it and still lived!” North said, hope rising again in his eyes and replacing the despair. “The legends say—”
“I don’t care what the legends say,” I cut in. “We must destroy the Forbidden Glory. Our imminent task is to bomb the angels’ vault to rubble with the Glory still inside.”
That was my easy way out, and North seemed to see through that.
“I doubt our Earth weapons can destroy it,” he said. “They can’t even hurt the angels, who are still flesh and blood. You must find the Sky Power as the oracle instructed. Your Mysthian prophecy foretold your coming to lead the fight against the winged beings with the great magic in you, but the Dragonian oracle finished the incomplete prediction: only when the Earth Magic and Sky Power become one will the flesh save Earth and all earthborn.”
I sent him a doomed, bitter look.
Then the ancient angelic inscriptions on the doorframe of the angels’ vault swirled in my head:
All who enter shall perish. Except the chosen son and daughter.
Another riddle, and there was no light shed on it. The light had gone out of Earth when the angels trespassed through our universe.
“Find the Sky Power,” North repeated softly.
Was he going to realize that what he’d requested was ridiculous, let alone impossible? “Do you even know what the Sky Power is?”
“I’ll find the final clue from the oracle and get back to you,” he said. “As I said, the oracle is full of riddles and undecipherable inscriptions.”
“That’s encouraging to know,” I said sarcastically.
“Even if you can’t find it, we’ll go as planned. I’ll retrieve you a week before the wedding. And we go to war with the angels, to whatever end.”
That was what I wanted to hear. I placed a hand on his arm and promised softly, “To whatever end.” I watched the light in his glowing eyes brighten like fire in deep night.
“I need to go now,” I said hoarsely and wondered if Femi and Philomena had charmed Prince Seth so completely that he’d forgotten I ever existed.
But it was best that he hadn’t noticed my absence, I thought dryly.
The building suddenly trembled as if a blunt force had smashed into it from all sides. The windows rattled. The perfume bottles hit the floor above.
North and I traded an alarmed look.
“I thought this was a safe hideout,” I said.
“I thought you weren’t followed,” he said.
“Your lookout confirmed there was no tail,” I said.
Lexa and a Dragonian warrior, who had taken up their places by the door while North and I conversed, ducked out of the cellar, their blades raised before them.
“Get down to the tunnel, Empress.” North moved toward the desk and pressed under it. “We’ll exit at Babylon’s border. A vehicle will be waiting for us there.”
A hidden door leading to the underground opened beneath the half-window.
“But my guard—” I said.
The scent of pine, finest wine, leather and sweat hit my nostrils.
Before I could issue a warning to North, the High Prince of Angels uncloaked himself.
“She’s going nowhere with you, Dragonian,” Prince Seth hissed. His long sword flashed in his hand.
Chapter 29
PRINCESS ROSE
The perfume shop trembled as if a brutal force slammed into it from all sides. North and I stared at the rattling window.
Clang. Splash. Pong.
Dozens of bottles must have dropped to the floor above.
North hurried to the desk and hit a button under it. “Get down to the tunnel, Empress,” he said. “We’ll exit at Babylon’s border. A vehicle will be waiting for us there.”
A hidden door leading to the underground opened beneath the half-window.
The scent of pine, aged wine, leather, and sweat drifted toward me.
Before I could issue a warning to North, Prince Seth had uncloaked himself.
“She’s going nowhere with you, Dragonian,” the High Prince said, his long sword swinging in his hand.
He had tracked me down.
Now I knew that even if I fled to the end of the Earth, he would still find me.
North drew a blade that could cut into the flesh of an angel. The Dragonian rebels had been scavenging weapons from those rogue angels who were scattered in the Earth cities outside Atlantis.
I’d seen North fight. He was a great warrior, but he wasn’t at the level of the Prince of Angels, not even close. Seth would kill him before he even made a move.
Even if I joined North to fight the prince—
I moved, cutting in between them. “Seth, I can explain,” I said, sweat dripping down my temples.
“Explain after he’s dead!” the prince said.
“Then run your blade through me,” I said.
“You’d defend him with your own life?” The words spat through the prince’s clenched teeth.
I’d never seen him so enraged, except for when he’d spotted the assassins who had tried to harm me.
My heart pounded in fear, yet I didn’t back down. “Seth, calm down,” I said. “North and I were just talking!”
The angel narrowed his eyes. “First name basis with a Dragonian?”
“I called you Seth as well!” I said. “And you’re an angel.”
Fury accelerated in the angel. “You compare me to him?”
“I just want you to cool off so I can explain things!” I shouted and pulled out a chakram from my sleeve.
Seth gave my chakram a passing glance and snorted.
He didn’t think I stood a chance at besting him with it, but he’d never seen me use it before. It wasn’t a regular weapon. It was a magic one made
just for me.
But would I use it on Seth?
“Get out of my way, Rose,” the angel warned.
“Get down to the tunnel, Empress,” North also shouted. “I’ll seal it after you.”
Seth and North would duel. I didn’t need to worry about Seth, but North would be a bloody corpse and I’d lose the Dragonian as my ally.
All of my efforts would be for nothing, if North died today: the future war against the angel horde would be lost here.
So the choice was made for me: I had to fight Seth off with North.
The prince saw it in my eyes. Cold mercilessness frosted his. I’d never seen him becoming a glacier in a heartbeat before and I couldn’t help but shiver.
Even if I begged and offered myself unreservedly, slept with him right then and there, it wouldn’t change a thing. It wouldn’t save my neck.
Now I completely understood why the High Prince of All Angels was so feared.
Princess, you must leave now, Lexa called me telepathically. We’re fighting a company of angel sentinels. We can’t hold for long. Go!
I’d blocked out the noises from outside the perfume shop when the prince had materialized, and now the sound of fighting flooded back in and magnified in the room.
Steel against steel.
Blades stabbing into flesh and bone.
Shouts and curses and screams.
I looked at Seth, then North. The blood drained from my face.
I was done. North was done. The alliance was over.
“You’ll go with me now, Princess,” Seth said, looking at the Dragonian leader over my head with a vicious snarl. “I’ll come for you later, Dragonian!”
Before Seth could reach me and before North could move to combat the Prince of Angels, the door to the cellar toppled down.
Three angels charged in, their blades dripping blood. So they’d broken through the defenses Lexa and North’s team put up.
The sentinels wore helmets with the symbol of three black skulls, which was Victoria’s house insignia. They looked taken aback at seeing their high prince facing down the Dragonian leader with me between them.