Ava Galliano: The Last Dark Queen

The Past Is A Scary Place

Five Years Later

High King Charles,

It is with the utmost concern that I send you this letter. Your daughter must return home due to several alarming events. Last month, I was informed that she slaughtered a family guarding our border. Moreover, it has come to my attention that approximately five years ago, she massacred an entire tavern in the neighboring town.

For reasons unknown, she appeared intent on locating the full-blooded human we have kept here for safekeeping. Alarmingly, she allowed my son to feed on this full-blooded human. Despite our attempts to contain the situation, she has relentlessly tried to save the human, and we currently have the child’s body on ice, as her hybrid blood seems to have preserved the child from the spirit realm.

She has been sent to ensure that my son is quarantined. I would advise you to retire her yourself, and I will ensure she is wiped from our system.

Headmistress Ellie.

Charles read the letter over and over, each pass feeling like a lead weight pressing down on him. He struggled to process the information conveyed by Ellie. Instead, the book from five years ago consumed his thoughts. Had the past truly foretold his future? It felt like a dark prophecy unfolding before his eyes.

In a fit of rage, he tore the letter to shreds, the fragments scattering like his hopes and dreams. Grabbing the old basement key, he descended the creaky wooden stairs once more, his heart pounding in his chest.

He opened the book that contained the passage Ellie had referenced and read it repeatedly, until he could recite it word for word. Each line resonated with a dreadful familiarity, echoing the blood that stained his hands. What have I done?

Frowning, Charles reached for his phone, his mind made up. He arranged for the current assistant to be killed and replaced, the gravity of his decision weighing heavily on him. With purpose, he had the car pulled around front and began the long journey to retrieve his daughter.

When he finally arrived at the address Ellie had marked in her letter, the metallic scent of blood hit him like a wall. He could feel the primal energy of her wolf, almost bursting at the seams, desperate to break free—a sensation he hadn’t encountered in a long time. Charles had kept his distance from her life while she was at the academy, unaware that she had spent those five years with Zuki. He had convinced himself he understood Zuki, but he was blind to the truth: Zuki would act upon his desires, regardless of the consequences.

As Isa exited the house, Charles sensed her displeasure at his presence. She walked by him in silence, sliding into the car without a word. Sighing, he followed her inside, immediately regretting the decision to close the door behind him. The air was thick with the stench of blood, yet not a single drop marred her skin. She had created life from her blood for the first time, an act he had vowed to prevent. He couldn’t let what she possessed spread to others.

He tapped on the window, and the car began to move, the tension thickening in the confined space.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Isa,” he said, attempting to bridge the silence.

“Whatever,” she replied, her tone laced with indifference.

They rode in silence all the way home, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavily in the air. As the gates of the house came into view, Charles filled the car with his light, a warm glow that contrasted sharply with the darkness of the events that had transpired. Once he ensured that Isa had fallen into a deep sleep, he allowed himself to semi-relax. This was always the hardest part of the memory wipe: the draining process left him feeling hollow, as though a part of his very essence was being siphoned away. It was remarkable that he still possessed so much power after performing the same spell countless times over the past two thousand years.

Carefully, Charles carried Isa from the car to her newly decorated room, a sanctuary he had designed to welcome her back. He tucked her in as if she were five years old again, memories of her innocent laughter echoing in his mind. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he watched her sleep, a bittersweet smile tugging at his lips.

“Isn’t she still so beautiful?”

Charles jumped from the bed at the sound of Zuki’s voice, a chill running down his spine. The spell had worked, and he felt a surge of vitality, as if he were twenty years old again. The power he had drawn from the human had done its job—Zuki was finally free to roam in his own body once more.

“How?” Charles demanded, his heart racing.

“Well, it took some convincing, but Ava actually helped me with this.”

“You said you would stay away from her.”

Zuki leaned back against the wall, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. “Well, considering this body has never left hell since the day you pushed me down there, I have kept that promise. You did not forbid me to visit my dark queen in my many other forms.”

“What have you done?” Charles felt a sense of dread creeping in.

“Nothing.”

Zuki’s smirk widened as he sat down in Charles’ place on the bed, brushing a loose strand of hair behind Isa’s ear with a tenderness that made Charles’ blood boil. He thought about the havoc he had wreaked in her life, a cruel game of fate that he had orchestrated. It was tragic that she wouldn’t remember any of this. Zuki reveled in the idea that they could look back on this day, laughing at how foolishly they played their parts.

“I’m getting tired, Zuki. When will this game of cat and mouse stop?” Charles sighed, fatigue lining his voice.

“A cat does not stop playing with the mouse just because it died.”

“Why?” The question hung in the air, heavy with implications.

“Because she is my dark queen, and I still love her.”

Charles felt a surge of anger at Zuki’s words, a fierce protectiveness for Isa bubbling within him. He had fought hard to shield her from darkness, yet here it was, lurking in the shadows, waiting for its chance to reclaim her.