Ava Galliano: The Last Dark Queen

Seven's Game

Isa hated traveling by air. Despite possessing powerful magic that could potentially transport her across vast distances, it was one of the many skills she had yet to master. Instead, she found herself confined to those flying metal buckets filled with unsuspecting humans, hoping her father wouldn’t track her this time. Slipping on her sunglasses, she followed her chauffeur through the bustling airport, the noise and chaos blending into a background hum.

Nineteen eighty-two was a beautiful year; the music and fashion made Isa envious. In her world, unless you hailed from a royal family, the customary colors were drab—beige, brown, and black. The original family shield was black, a color that Charles and Isa wore with pride in the most exquisite gowns. Other royal families flaunted their vibrant reds and whites, showcasing their unique heritage.

This trip had been a delightful surprise for Isa. Charles allowed her two weeks a year of what he deemed unchaperoned leave. Or so she thought. The assistants were becoming increasingly adept at their duties, a fact that Charles had engineered meticulously. He wanted to monitor his daughter's movements without her awareness, always keeping a watchful eye.

And so, Isa boarded a plane bound for Australia, driven by a singular purpose. For the past seventeen years, amidst council missions and royal duties, she had been following one boy.

Seven was acutely aware that Isa had been tracking him across the globe. Once she caught his scent, it was only a matter of time before she followed him everywhere, and that was exactly what he had planned. Seven was a high priest from the spirit realm, skilled in the art of stealth, playing a dangerous game that danced on the edge of fate. He sensed that something beyond Isa’s memory wipes was at play, a disturbance in the spiritual balance he needed to understand. His goal was to convince Isa to aid him in his cause, but she had never once spoken to him—only observed from the shadows.

To keep the game entertaining, Seven decided to have a little fun. He would pose as an ordinary human on the earthly plane, subtly tipping the balance of reality, knowing Isa would pick up on it immediately. This year, his target was a boy named Aaron Smalls, a genius with a remarkable story. Aaron had managed to hack into high-security systems using a computer from nineteen forty-seven—an impossible feat that should have deterred Isa from following him. Yet, as he watched her stroll out of the airport, he knew the details had only piqued her curiosity.

Meanwhile, Charles was acutely aware of the little game Isa was playing, though he remained ignorant of the true identity of the person she was so obsessively stalking. If he had known it was Seven she was pursuing, he would have put an end to it seventeen years ago, sparing them all from the impending chaos.

After freshening up, Isa left her hotel room, determination coursing through her veins as she set out to hunt down Seven. She knew his general whereabouts in the world, but pinpointing his exact location within Australia was proving to be a challenge. With a few savvy hacks, she had uncovered his bank details and discovered a plane ticket to Sydney. Without hesitation, she booked her own ticket, eager to explore a country she had never visited before.

Stepping out in front of the hotel, she scrunched up her nose at the overwhelming odors wafting through the air. The foul smells of the city would make it difficult to pick up his scent.

For the entire two weeks, she poured every ounce of her energy into the search, but despite her efforts, she had repeatedly failed to track him down. Normally, it wouldn’t take her this long; Seven had clearly made this year's challenge more difficult. Just when she was about to give up on her last day, as she returned to her hotel room after a long day of fruitless searching, his unmistakable scent hit her like a tidal wave.

Following the trail, she turned the corner and spotted his familiar blonde head sitting at a café.

Growling in frustration, she ordered a coffee and settled into a chair a few tables away, her eyes fixed on him. Seven was engaged in an intimate yet heated argument with a stunning redhead.

“What are you still doing here? You know she’s here, right?” the redhead pressed, her voice laced with urgency.

“Of course I know,” Seven replied, a hint of exasperation in his tone. “But it’s been years now. Don’t you think she would have talked to me by now?”

“She’s dangerous, Seven; you need to be more careful.”

“She’s your sister, Claire. Why don’t you talk to her?”

Claire leaned closer, her expression serious. “It’s not her time; no one is ready for her return. Please, be careful, Seven. We can’t afford to lose you before the war even begins.”

With a soft hand, Claire caressed Seven’s cheek, casting a fleeting glance at Isa before storming off, her frustration palpable. Claire had only recently awakened from her deep slumber and was not pleased with the turn of events. She had secretly hoped that someone would have managed to kill Isa during her absence, or at the very least, that their father had constructed a prison to contain her. The thought of her sister roaming free in the world was infuriating.

Seven watched Claire leave, a smile creeping onto his face. As a spirit elder, he understood the gravity of Isa’s potential and the destruction she could unleash if fully released from her mental prison. This was a plan he had meticulously crafted, a dangerous game that could shift the balance of power.

He summoned the waiter, settled his bill, and discreetly left instructions to distract Isa while he slipped away. Her two weeks were nearly up; she was due on a plane at midnight, and time was running out.

The waiter executed his task flawlessly, bumping into Isa’s table just enough to give Seven the precious seconds he needed to slip away unnoticed. When Isa glanced up, her glare directed at the waiter, Seven had vanished without a trace.

Growling in frustration, she focused her senses, following the boy's scent that now led her to an old apartment building not far from the hotel. The realization struck her like a lightning bolt: if he was this close, she should have detected his presence much earlier. She felt the familiar heat of anger rising within her; Seven was clearly toying with her, and the thought only fueled her determination.

As she watched the apartment building's doors open and close, letting patrons in and out, her frustration mounted. The casual indifference of the people around her only heightened her sense of urgency. With a swift decision, she took the stairs, her footsteps echoing against the concrete as she ascended to the top floor. The building had at least ten stories, an unexpected blessing given her current mood.

"There’s no way any creature would survive a ten-story drop," she muttered to herself, her thoughts swirling with a mix of anger and anticipation. She could almost taste the thrill of the hunt, the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she pushed herself to climb higher.

Each step brought her closer to her quarry, her resolve hardening. She was done being a pawn in Seven's game, and she would confront him head-on. As she reached the top floor, she paused, taking a moment to regain her composure.