“What the…?”
Everything around me went dark. I could no longer feel Kade’s hand in mine. I was about to cry out, or blast out with my own energy, when the darkness lifted and I was suddenly standing on a sandy beach. Swallowing hard, I blinked rapidly, trying to figure out what had just happened. The ocean spanned out into the distance, and it was purple. In fact, there were tendrils of purple floating all around me. Mecca! I was standing in a world of visible mecca.
I turned slowly, needing to see everything. Low clouds of purple mecca rolled through the trees, through the sand, through me. A splash of red caught my attention, and I took a stumbling step closer. Her red silk dress, which was what had caught my attention, was blowing in the mecca breeze as she closed the distance between us.
The Red Queen. My mother.
My heart started pounding hard in my chest, the lump in my throat making it very hard to breathe. I didn’t move. I couldn’t move. She kept walking toward me, until finally she stood only a few feet away, looking as real as the last time I’d seen her alive.
“It’s not possible,” I murmured.
She smiled warmly, something she had never done in real life, then she reached out to touch my face, but before she could place her hand on my cheek, I flinched and stepped back.
“You’re dead,” I said, my voice robotic.
This must be some magic, some spell to trick me. Either Sabina or Isalinda, the winter queen, were trying to mess with me.
The Red Queen’s hand lingered in the air for a moment, before she let it fall to her side. Her expression remained the same, but her eyes, which I was realizing now were the same shape as mine, looked misty. I couldn’t stop staring at her, despite the fact I’d seen her many times before. Now that I knew the truth, it gave me an entirely new perspective. She was my mother … but she also wasn’t. You needed more than DNA and blood to be able to claim maternal rights.
She must have seen my anger, the coldness I could feel locking down my features. She didn’t step closer as she said, “I am so sorry, Arianna. I wanted to tell you the truth a thousand times, to have you by my side where you belonged, but I couldn’t. I … I had no choice.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You always have a choice. How could you not tell me at least that my father was an evil fae? Look at the mess you’ve left the shifter world in.”
She pursed her lips, giving me that icy, queenly stare I was used to. “I made a mistake in trusting him, but everything I did, I did for you, so that he wouldn’t find you and kill you.”
“How are you here? Where are we?”
I looked around again at the purple world.
“I knew Luca would betray me one day, so I had Sabina tie my soul to the mecca. I don’t think she realized what she was doing. I worded my request very carefully. She would not have known that in the event of my death I would become one with the mecca. It was a way I could live on and keep watch over you.”
I chewed my lip … she was talking about soul magic, a magic as dangerous as time magic, from what Violet had told me. “I need to fix it. Your magic spell backfired, and when you died your energy caused the mecca to shift the balance, leaving the fae realm empty. I need to even them out to avoid war between the two lands. Not to mention this imbalance could destroy both worlds.”
She raised one eyebrow. “It didn’t backfire. That’s what I intended. Let the fae get what they deserve.” She crossed her arms and I growled.
“This isn’t a time for grudges! Our people are suffering because of this. You need to help me fix it. If you really care about me, then help me.” I would plead if I had to. The Red Queen had always been hardheaded, but she was showing me a softer side now, so maybe my emotional manipulation would work.
She looked off into the ocean, the purple waves were like jewels as they crested across the surface. I thought she was going to refuse me, but then she said, “Okay, Arianna … I owe you that much.”
Relief crashed through me. “Thank you.”
She nodded, and then clasped my hand. Her touch was cold but still somehow warming. “I just want you to know that I never knew how to be a mother. I was raised by nannies and … I never knew—” Her voice broke and tears lined her eyes. I stood there frozen. Never in a million years did I think the Red Queen was capable of crying. Especially over me. Feelings I didn’t want to deal with were crashing into me, and the worst part was I could empathize with the Red Queen’s position.
If it hadn’t been for Calista, I wouldn’t know how to give Winnie motherly love either. The wolf world was all about duty first and family second.
On a whim, I pulled her forward into a tight hug. “I forgive you.”
Sometimes that was the best thing to do, for both parties involved. As if those words alone were powerful enough, something snapped and I was slammed back to my feet, Kade yelling beside me.
“Where were you?” he growled.
I couldn’t answer, I was too busy gasping as I realized I could still see the mecca, floating in purple clouds all around. It was especially strong between Kade and me. Turning back, I stared at Violet, stunned by how different she looked. Her skin was no longer a pigmentless white, nope, now it was the shimmering pearly sheen that her wolf fur contained, almost like purple swirls of mecca were embedded in her skin, and everything about her glowed.
“You’re glowing,” I whispered. “So beautiful.” My head swung to Kade, hands clutching at his shirt. “I can see the mecca. Is this what’s it’s like for both of you?”
Violet was the one to answer, a grin stretching across her face. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I could only nod, over and over, like a maniac. My brain was fried though. I could see the mecca and I had spoken with my biological mother. Only I wasn’t sure how to process it all. Breathing deeply a few times, I finally released Kade’s shirt and gripped his hand again.
“I’m ready. Let’s send this energy back.”