Empyreal Dragons

Chapter Eleven

 Red Crest Kingdom 

Aaron looked at his brown eyed daughter in disappointment. 

It should have been a joyful day for Aaron as Clarissa finally gave birth to the next heir of the Red Crest Throne... Aaron now had his child ... his child... that he grew to dislike after hearing one word about them. 

Clarissa gave birth to a daughter a few months ago and the disappointing part was that the daughter honestly wasn’t as pretty as Aaron expected her to be. No... his daughter was NOTHING like what he wanted her to be. 

He expected his child to have grey eyes and smooth dark brown golden skin.

 A buoyancy about her to expand throughout the room as she could compel others with aura. With high expectations of his children from when Reyna was pregnant with his son, you could only imagine how annoyed he was when his child came out to be not only a daughter, but a plain daughter at that. 

Sighing at everything that has been going so wrong within his life, Aaron started to remember everything that happened to day that Clarissa finally gave birth to their child. 

Aaron remembered the day clearly of when he broke everything inside of his bedroom chambers due to the news that his “son” that Clarissa claimed was growing in her stomach came out a girl... a daughter... NOT AN HEIR. 

“I THOUGHT YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE CARRYING A SON!” Aaron remembered yelling at Clarissa

Clarissa, as she was still recovering from her child birth, only looked at Aaron fearful that he might kill her for lying to him. Yes she lied, but it secured her position as the Official Wife and Queen of the Red Crest Kingdom. The lie wasn’t in vein. 

“I-I thought that I was too.” Clarissa claimed lying 

Aaron knew that Clarissa was a manipulative woman, which is a good quality for a Queen to have, if they had intelligence to back up their spiteful words. Unfortunately, Clarissa was only a manipulative woman who didn’t have any intelligence in her small useless brain. 

As if the memory was supposed to be short and simple, Aaron's brain came back to reality as he played with his daughter's hands, he glared at her. 

“If your mother didn’t convince me that she had more than just stupidity to offer, then you wouldn’t be alive today. Everyday your mom reminds me why I should’ve killed her instead of Reyna. So don’t be a f**k up and I won’t kill you.” Aaron said throwing his daughter hands away from him 

His daughter looked into her father’s eyes but just stared blankly at the man. She couldn’t see faces, figures, or even details. All she could see was just a blob of anything. 

Aaron rolled his eyes. 

Shouldn’t babies sense a scary person? Scatter brained i***t, Aaron thought as he sighed looking at his dumb daughter. 

“Aaron?” 

Hearing a soft sounding voice, Aaron turned his head to see where the noise could have came from and saw Clarissa there looking at him. 

“What is it?” Aaron asked 

“We received word that Eva has made it into the Lovech Kingdom. Once again I will ask you Aaron, can we trust Eva Rose?” Clarissa asked 

Clarissa remembered that the last time she asked that question, Aaron didn’t answer her question, instead he simply ignored her making her feel stupid in front of all of the guards surrounding them. 

Clarissa didn't like to feel useless, but in her new position as the Queen, she realized just how much pressure and worthless tactics backfires on the Queen all the time as the Queen is supposed to be the cover up for the King. 

How did Reyna Rose do this for 15 years?!

Aaron turned his head back to his daughter and smiled evilly. 

Princess Andrea... the name of the next heir to the Red Crest Throne... couldn't feel the evilness in the air when he father was holding her hand earlier, but she could feel it now. 

Princess Andrea could sense the evilness in the air as tears began forming in her eyes from the feeling. Clouds of darkness began to fill the space around her father as Aaron was now covered in evilness. 

Danger… 

Aaron stood up from the bed that he was sitting on playing with his daughter as he walked over to Clarissa. 

“No.” Aaron answered 

Clarissa widened her eyes in shock. 

Did Aaron just say that they cannot trust her? IF they can’t trust her, why did he bring her into the kingdom as a guest?! WHAT IF SHE TELLS PEOPLE EVERYTHING WE SAID TO HER ABOUT REYNA?!

“AARON! THEN WHY?!” Clarissa yelled out scaring her daughter who was now fully crying 

“Shut your scatterbrained daughter up! You will see when the time comes.” Aaron said as he pushed past Clarissa and walked out of the bedroom and into the hallway. 

No, we cannot trust Eva, Aaron thought to himself as he graced the hallways with his presence and anger.

Despite her feelings, Eva will always protect her blood. Aaron knew that and decided to bring Eva into the palace to see what exactly Eva was capable of so that they could test her mental combat. 

What could I do? What are her strategies when it comes to pinning people against each other? 

How much intelligence do you need to battle a strong woman like her… not a lot apparently Aaron realized as he watched Eva’s every move, listening to every word she said to interpret what every word meant, and stayed by her side to see what brought her peace of mind. 

Bringing her into my home was not for vein, as I now know what Eva will do to protect her own daughter...

Lovech Kingdom

“Hello daughter.” 

To say that I am shocked is an understatement, Reyna thought to herself as she looked at the woman in front of her.

Even after all these years being apart from her, Reyna saw that she never aged a day. 

The woman’s well kept natural curly but yaki textured hair laid down at her ankles now as her curls defined themselves with the sun’s light. The long white dress she had on was dragging at her bare feet while hugging her viscous curves as her body showed an hourglass figure. 

Her light brown skin looked as if it was shining among the universe as her gold undertones popped out through the oil slots in her skin. Her deep rosewood eyes glistened as the beauty held radiance larger than any. 

“Reyna, do you know this woman?” Dragnior asked Reyna as he looked her up and down trying to get a sense of what’s going on

Dragnior looked at the woman in front of them with awe at her beauty but with worry as the woman approached Reyna weirdly. The woman was smiling with her perfect teeth sparkling as she stared at Reyna.

 Reyna looked scared, which was weird for Dragnior to see after she just put a room full of dangerous men in their place while threatening to kill one of them!

There was silence around us as Reyna and Eva just stared at each other. Eva’s smile stood plastered on her face as she began walking towards the couple in front of her. 

“S-She’s m…” 

“WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT STUTTERING?!” Eva yelled at Reyna

As if Reyna’s brain never forgot about any of her mother’s teachings and strict lessons, Reyna straightened her poster, raised her head up sharply and took a deep breath. 

“She is my mother.” She said harshly to Dragnior 

Dragnior looked shocked at Reyna’s sudden change in demeanor. 

What's going on?, Dragnior thought to himself as Eva started to get closer to the couple. 

Dragnior’s face twisted up more and more at the bold woman. 

Who is she and what is doing to Reyna? Dragnior felt weird as he began asking that question more and more to himself, who the hell is Reyna? 

“Good girl.” Eva said as she was now face to face with Reyna 

Looking at her ageless face as Eva stared into Reyna’s eyes, Eva sighed in relief as she rolled her eyes. Putting both of her arms out, Eva grabbed Reyna into a hug and pushed her face into her shoulder. Reyna's knees felt weak at the encounter. 

“Do you know how scared I was?!” Eva yelled into her shoulder 

Feeling drops of liquid fall onto her cheeks, Reyna didn’t even notice until now but she was crying in the face of her mother. 

No one understood it, and no one knows what it is, but if there was anything that Reyna and Eva had in common, it was their undying love for each other and the connection that they have. She probably felt when I died that day in front of the Red Crest, Reyna thought to herself as she wrapped her arms around her mother. 

“I was scared Reyna! Aaron said that you were dead, DEAD REYNA! I didn’t wanna believe it, but when I felt my heart stop one day, I knew… I knew that there was something wrong with you. Reyna what the hell! I didn’t teach you how to kill a man just for you to end up the one being killed!” Eva yelled at her

Reyna sighed at her. 

Eva has taught me a lot but the reason why I hate her was because she left me with these corrupted people called royals. I hated them and when I needed my mom the most to make me feel safer, she decided to not be there because she left me thinking that I was protected. Protected by the same man who killed me. I hated her for doing that to me, Reyna thought to herself as she stared at her mother 

“I know mom.” Reyna said in between sobs 

Her mother laughed while still crying. 

It wasn’t like my mother to cry. I’ve only seen my mother cry once and that was when she cried in my hands while I was 5 years old saying to me “I am so sorry for having you when I had nothing to give you, nothing to provide you, not even a penny to my name.” 

She cried in my hands for hours before she could finally pull herself together. I always thought of my mom as an asshole that only cared for her own well being, but that’s never been the case because she always cared for mines and mines only, Reyna thought to herself as she enjoyed the sight of her mother 

Pulling herself away from Reyna, Eva wiped away her tears before she looked at Reyna once more. 

“I saw the 6th Mistress Clarissa as the Official Wife of Aaron. Please Reyna, tell me what the hell happened? Why did my heart stop on that day?” Eva asked her

No longer being able to control my tears, they kept falling as Reyna looked everywhere but in her mother’s eyes. 

“Your heart stopped… because my heart stopped beating mom.” Reyna said lowly 

Reyna heard a huge gasp before a loud thud consumed her ears. Looking at her mother, Eva was on my ground sinking into her knees as her head bowed down low. Her eyes wide in shock as she looked frantically into Reyna’s face with fear and tears. 

“No… no you couldn’t have died. Reyna I’ve forbidden you to die before me,” Eva said as she moved her hands out to claw at Reyna’s arm “You weren't supposed to die Rey. You were supposed to have the family, the babies, the wealth and not have to worry about anything ever again in life. I gave you the life that prohibited you from struggles, from sadness, from… death.” 

Reyna's eyes started to feel swollen at all the tears that were pouring down her face. 

I know that my mother loves me deeply and that her love for me is real because of the connection that we share. The shared blood of the Rose women are strong as we can feel each other’s pain and happiness, Reyna thought. 

Grabbing her mother’s shoulders, Reyna pulled her up from off of the ground that she sunk herself into and tried blinking away the tears that stayed in her eyes. 

“Mother, you have once told me that life is unfair, it is unfair in the world of living men and women. I wasn’t guaranteed to have my position forever, even with your influence.” Reyna said to Eva 

Eva looked frozen in guilt as Reyna forced her to come onto her feet. Using the body weight of her muscles, Reyna began pulling her mother’s weight from off of the ground. 

“Aaron wanted me dead as he got Clarissa pregnant with his child. She claimed an heir in front of me, hopefully he got the baby he wanted…” Reyna said as she felt more tears falling from her eyes 

Eva felt sad, but then thought about Rein’s words. Aaron got another woman pregnant under the nose of his marriage to the kingdom in front of the eyes of the holy people! 

Aaron is disgusting, Eva thought before another thought popped into her mind. 

“Rein… REIN?! WHAT ABOUT MY GRANDSON?! WHERE IS ZAHN?!” Eva said looking into her daughter’s eyes 

Please don’t tell me anything happened to him, please tell me that she delivered her child safely before anything happened to her, Eva thought as she looked into her daughter’s eyes for hope . 

Reyna started to feel pressure hinting to show herself from behind her eyes as her head started to hurt. Her heart began to ache in sorrow as her thoughts were now only filled with her dead son. 

But through the connective blood that the Rose women share, flashes began to fill Eva's head automatically as Reyna's emotions echoed within the same emotional pattern as Eva's. 

Eva saw it, through the blood that runs through the veins of her and her daughter, through the connection that was shared between the women as the blood of the Rose began to pump, Eva saw it. 

A vision… an image… of her daughter having a sword stabbed through her stomach where her baby bump laid. Eva's mouth opened in horror. 

Tears were now falling onto the ground and her heart ripping itself from the cavity that held it in place. Eva saw a vision of her daughter dying by the hands of the man who she believed would protect her daughter forever, Aaron. 

Aaron wasn’t lying when he told Eva that he really killed her daughter, but Eva couldn’t believe that. For her all powerful daughter to really die by the hands of a useless King that wants control but contains none himself, Eva’s blood started to boil in anger. 

Feeling like a useless mother and a horrible parent, Eva’s body fell to the ground as she began crying more. Crying hard at the lack of attendance in her daughter’s life, crying for the sadness of the unborn grandson, and crying because her daughter died by the hands of a monster who lived to brag about the tale. 

“Dragnior.” Reyna said looking over to him 

Dragnior's face was clouded with sadness as he looked from Reyna and her mother Eva. These two women looked so strong and so powerful, just for them to cry with sadness on the ground of a kingdom who doesn’t even care about it’s King. 

“Can we go back to the carriage and go home?” Reyna asked 

Drangior shook his head okay as he walked over to Reyna. Reyna grabbed her mother as she put her arm around her mother’s waist and pulled her up so that they could go.  

Lovech Kingdom; Palace Entrance 

As the carriage reached the gates of the palace, Dragnior felt a little more at ease as he reached his home and the life that made him happy, being by himself. 

He didn’t expect anything that happened today to happen. 

From Reyna putting his commander in check to Reyna finding the woman gave birth to her. Dragnior was shocked at today’s event, but he learned more things about Reyna that he didn’t even know. She could command people to follow her words and strike fear into many. She almost killed a man today right in front of me… with just a simple word. 

Dragnior glanced over to Reyna who was looking out of the carriage open window space in sadness. Dragnior looked at her and asked himself once more as he no longer knew the person that sat in front of him, who the f**k is Reyna?

Reyna was oblivious to Dragnior’s thoughts as she kept looking out into the blue skies. Everything around her felt like it was in peace in this simple moment, but she knew that her life was very chaotic. Everything was falling to s**t right now, Reyna thought as she looked over at her mother. 

Eva was now pulling herself together as she didn’t like crying or showing weakness in front of anyone. Eva was always hard on her daughter because she didn’t want her daughter to become her weakness. 

She didn’t want someone to kidnap or torture her daughter because Eva could feel her pain and would want to drop all plans to save her… Eva couldn’t do that. Eva couldn’t do that. 

That’s why she raised her daughter to be strong and powerful. Powerful enough for everyone to fear her badly enough to not do anything to her so that Eva wouldn’t have to worry about anything. 

But, Eva was wrong. Eva ended up now losing her sanity as her daughter was killed and brought back to life by who knows how and her grandson gone forever. 

Everyone inside of the carriage was quiet and stuck within their own thoughts, finding their own faults in the situations that were going on around them. 

“Sir! We are here.” The carriage rider said to the quiet people 

As the carriage came to a stop, everyone in the carriage started to come out with sad faces and no clue as to what was going on. Eva in particular was confused because she didn’t understand why her and her daughter was being dropped off in front of the King’s palace. 

The deal was for Eva to find flaws within the kingdom by being inside of the King’s presence and seeing first hand exactly what was going on, but who would’ve thought that they brought her here themselves. 

“MOM!” 

Hearing Zahn’s voice, Reyna turned her head and immediately smiled at a bundle of joy that was running to her from outside of the palace doors. Running with a smile on his mouth and happiness surrounding him, Reyna held out her arms for a hug as Eva looked between the young boy and Reyna confused. 

Reyna had a son? No... she couldn’t have had a son because I would’ve felt it, Eva thought to herself 

Pulling him into a hug, Reyna hugged Zahn tightly like he was the last thing she had to live for. The last thing to have her gather up courage and keep going in life, Zahn. 

Zahn buried his head in her shoulder as he used his dragon nose to smell her. Reyna was sad and confused. 

Zahn frowned, did she not like the kingdom? 

Reyna slowly let go of Zahn as Zahn’s eyes went over to the strange lady behind his mom. There was a strange woman in front of him that he didn’t know. 

Smelling the woman, Zahn eyes widened as he began instinctively on guard. Zahn... he couldn’t smell anything from the woman. 

His eyes turned gold in defense believing that she was there as a threat and Eva’s eyes widened at the boy's eye color changing suddenly and to a weird color. 

What is wrong with him? Eva thought as she looked at her daughter who seemed to not notice as she didn’t give a response to it. 

“Who is she, mom?” Zahn asked Reyna

Mom? Eva questioned 

Reyna sighed. 

“We will talk about everything inside. Let's go in.” Reyna said 

Dragnior nodded his head and agreed. This was not a talk to have outside of the palace walls. 

Zahn grabbed Reyna’s hand and began walking back to the brown chained door of the palace while Dragnior followed behind them. Eva not wanting to leave her daughter behind followed after the imagined family. 

They all looked so good together that you would’ve thought that Reyna married this man, Eva thought.

Following after her daughter, Eva still thought about the plan she made with Aaron. 

The plan that could ruin the Lovech Kingdom. The plan that could ruin everything that Reyna came to love... it could ruin her daughter without even knowing it. 

The plan to destroy the Lovech Kingdom from the inside out.