Imperial ((Imperial) Web of Hearts and Souls)

by Jamie Magee

“We are one soul, as all soul mates are. We were made for each other.”

  “That was so long ago…are you sure that He has not long since forgotten your request to save our race?”

  “He has not forgotten.”

  “Then why did He let these horrible things happen?”

  “He let nothing happen; we’ve done this to ourselves, but He is a graceful and merciful Creator. Even though we have followed another path, He is still weaving us together. He is still protecting all that is precious.”

  “So He does not want to end our race? Use my line to become like Silas?” I was so confused.

  “Not that I am aware of,” Vade said with a slight grin. “Say it again.”

  I blushed. “I love you.” My soul pulsed violently as the words left my lips.

  “Love you,” he said with a smile. “The kings that have crossed us will perish one way or another. The two of us, right now, right here, have made our lines invincible. All those under our watch can now hear the call of this emotion. They can feel it if they so wish, and those that do will be the fiercest Escorts that have ever existed, for they will fight for the right to never lose this.”

  “Like our Fated.”

  “Like our Fated,” he said with a proud grin.

  “I still have to untangle Silas. Maybe now that he can feel this, he will rise with us.”

  “Perhaps.”

  “I have to do something. I can’t have him hurting our lines.”

  “For all we know, there has already been a chain reaction that he has felt, that they have all felt.”

  “Turn the springs on so I can see.”

  “Not yet,” he said as his breath caught in his throat.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I feel words coming to me.”

  “Seriously? Don’t tell me that there is another doom waiting. What did the kings want anyway?”

  He seemed bothered that I turned the conversation back to them, but he answered anyway. I guess his words were not quite free.

  “They wanted to restore Donalt.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me,” he said with a clench of his jaw. “You see, Donalt and Xavier are idiots.”

  I laughed aloud for no reason, threw my head back, feeling bliss—even though a second ago I was ready to hear of doom. Is this what love does? Makes all the darkness seem pointless in the grand scheme of things?

  When I looked at him again and suppressed my laugh, he grinned. “Say it again.”

  “I’m in love with the stoic King of Anger. Vade is my eternal soul mate, we are the first, handpicked to love one another.”

  His lips found mine, and hungrily I grasped his, tasting that sweet sensation of mint. I almost lost myself, but I pulled away. “Idiots. Beyond the obvious, why or how could they ask such a thing?”

  He leaned in and pulled my bottom lip to him, biting it slightly before kissing it. “I really don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

  “If you talk about it now, if we resolve it, then we can lock ourselves away for moons to come.”

  “Tempting,” he breathed as his hands moved up my thighs before grasping my waist and pulling me further onto his lap. “All right, both Donalt and Xavier have engaged in human wars. They have thought it best to shield themselves with spells, words with great intent. Immortality in one form was not good enough for them, so they sought it in many.”

  “Why?” That kinda seemed like a waste of time to me.

  “I think they did it for show at first, that they thought if they used those spells the people would not question their immortality in that form. But now, there are souls that are unraveling said spells. Donalt wanted us to give him power to regain strength—full form.”

  “Full form?”

  Vade wrinkled his nose. “In the flesh, he looks like he is a million; half his skin is gone.”

  “No way.” One thing for sure about the seven kings was that they were built like gods, beautiful creatures that had no flaws to be seen.

  “I guess that is what happens when you toy with your power.”

  “He had the nerve to ask all of you for that?” I asked in utter dismay.

  “You have no idea,” he seethed. “Donalt swore he was needed, that if he was taken out of our circle that fear would seize creation.”

  “Has he forgotten that he has failed to do his job for eons now?”

  “Apparently. He also has forgotten that I am not a fool. That this king has been awakened.”

  “They still don’t know that you are aware, that they have stolen our mist, or that I have returned, do they?”

  “Not a clue.”

  “What about Fielder, though?”

  “He didn’t have the chance to say a word. The death of his petal was trivial compared to the likes of Donalt.”

  “Was a conclusion reached?”

  “Mine was. I wasn’t giving Donalt a damn thing. Not sure where the rest stand. They have weaved themselves so deeply that I doubt they even know what the beginning goal was. They’re so high, complete addicts, that they cannot think clearly or long enough to remember their point.”

  “I really thought they had hurt your Fated, that Silas was involved, that they were calling you there to kill you, to overpower you.”

  His expression changed once more; the angry king was gone, and there was a sense of bliss in his eyes.

  “They were stopped.”

  “By one of yours?” I questioned.

  He breathed in deeply as his eyes closed. “Glory, you’ve felt what you spoke today for the first time in your core in the past, haven’t you?”

  I turned crimson. Often when Vade held me, that girl on the inside would escape to the surface and bask in all that Vade was. That was the only way I could appease her whilst I played the role of queen for the rest of the world. “I suppose it was under that armor of wrath, that in my core, the soul I share with you, that emotion was there.”

  “I knew that it was.”

  “Then why didn’t you say it to me?”

  “I would have a million times over, but I was told not to push this fragile soul that was given to me. To let her bloom in my arms, or otherwise she would run from me.”

  “Creator.”

  “You had to feel it, Glory, really feel it, feel it so intensely that the world could sense it. That was the first step in an evolution.”

  “At least you knew I felt it before,” I said with a ridiculous girlish smile. I literally had no defenses up at this point. I was one with that girl inside now.

  “The Creator knew as well.”

  I furrowed my brow to question him.

  “He told me exactly when to send my energy out with yours.”

  I felt my soul seize.

  “I thought the timing was bad, not because of how we felt about each other, but because the world was horrid. The other kings were already showing signs of addiction. You went from a timid girl to a wrathful sovereign. But nevertheless, I obeyed Him. I suppose one day we’ll know why He thought that was the perfect time…”

  “Vade, don’t stop now. Is this it? What you have been hiding?”

  His eyes shined. “Yeah.”

  The springs around us began to ripple, and the images that appeared took my breath away.

  Chapter Seventeen

  A mist is absolutely breathtaking. As it leaves the sovereign, it is a pure light, imitating the stars in the heavens. It lingers there for some time, then guided by a divine hand it drifts through the heavens and finds the soul that is seeking it, then a vessel to be created within.

  I was seeing mists across the springs. One mist was brighter, stronger and held the slightest tint of purple within it. I assumed it was the Fated that we had let loose just before our tragic fight.

  Vade lifted me, then stood behind me as we watched this history unfold together.

  When Vade and I sent our energy out, it would always linger together, drift together, then divide like a shooting star acros
s the heavens. That was happening now and it was breathtaking.

  But that was not all that I saw. After the shooting lights of the mists descended below, there were two that remained in the heavens: one of mine, and one of Vade’s.

  These two mists danced around each other for what seemed like forever. They would move close, then jerk away…they would float side by side, then drift apart…then all at once they divided to the opposite sides of the heavens, refusing to descend with the others.

  A wave of energy vibrated the air around their separate places, then the light purple energy turned darker in each and they soared through the air at the speed of light at each other. I cringed, thinking I was about to watch the death of the Fated that had never fallen to their host. I was wrong.

  The mists collided with a stagnant force, then a beaming light came from that source, hiding the stars, hiding the darkness.

  Vade’s arms tightened around me as I watched this mist pulse with a raw power, as it turned dark, then light, and finally rested with a rich metallic shade, the shade that reminded me so much of Vade’s eyes, the deep gray with light beaming through it.

  This couldn’t be; this was unprecedented. How could two from darkness bring forth such a beautiful sight?

  I couldn’t ask the questions that were racing through my mind, for all I could do was watch with wide eyes as our mists, now one, began its descent as its path divided the heavens with a bold steak of light.

  The mist found its host, a woman with a powerful heart and calm thoughts.

  I witnessed the birth. I saw our daughter take her first breath.

  “Where is she?” I breathed, stepping closer to the stream, wanting to go to her this instant. I had to see this precious creation, this symbol of love, this symbol of the perfect devotion and love that Vade and I had not only for each other, but also for our lines, for the souls we were created to protect.

  Vade’s arms seized around me; they were not peacefully holding me. I knew this embrace. It was the one he used to hold me in check right as my emotions assaulted the universe. Why? Why was he holding me back when I felt bliss?

  Then I saw it. Then I understood. She was stolen. My precious little girl was stolen—and the king of fear, Donalt himself, had stolen her.

  I bellowed a scream like no other and fought to reach the springs, fought to reach her and pull her from his clutches. I was going to rip Donalt into shreds, burn each shred, then resurrect him just so I could kill him again.

  Vade’s hold on me did not fail. His energy encased us, and the raging storm my soul let out beat against it as a stagnant force, enough force to end time for every single dimension below. Vade was the only thing standing between them and absolute destruction.

  My wrath refused to die or waver. I kept seeing those dark eyes of hers, a perfect combination of Vade’s and mine, her ivory skin, how just like Vade she was so calm; she was so much of him and so little of me, but she was ours.

  I began to feel weak, to quiver, and as my knees buckled Vade fell with me to the floor and turned me in his arms. I felt his hand holding my head to his chest as his lips rested at the peak of my forehead.

  “She exists because we love each other, Glory.”

  The word I feared that had caused me so much turmoil was now my saving grace. It was forcing me not to see her as a prisoner, as a stolen part of my line, but as a child, a child made of love.

  I told myself I would make this up to her, one way or another I would make this up to her.

  “Name?” I breathed, feeling the storm calm around me, but Vade refused to let either of us out of the essence he was shielding us in.

  “Monroe.”

  “How long, Vade? How long did you know she was taken—and why have you done nothing?”

  He lifted my chin and caressed my tears away. “He told me when to send our energy out. That last fight we had, it wasn’t about your line feeding properly; it was about you. I wanted you to take care of yourself, for your energy to be as strong as possible because I felt this coming. At the circle of kings, right after you were taken, the Creator showed me our mists, those two dancing above, daring to join but then shying away. I took it as a promise that you would come back, and when you did that energy would find the power to collide.”

  “Has her essence been cycling through lives this whole time? How has he hurt her?” I knew our Fated had lived several lives in the dimensions below at this point, and the idea that this precious child was all alone down there was too much. She was different from the others: she was not an old soul that had chosen the path of an Escort; she was a new soul, a new beginning.

  “No, our energy carried on that dance until quite recently. She has only lived fifteen years at this point.”

  That was too long, as far as I was concerned. “There is no telling what Donalt has said or done to her, Vade. We have to go, we have to go now.”

  “Shh,” he said, caressing my cheek. “Her host, her Earthly mother is very wise. Donalt came to her some time ago, swooned her. Even gave her two other children that she loves deeply, but when Monroe was born she sensed that something was very different about her. She sought a Witness to protect her, to take her out of The Realm that Donalt had them all living in. That Witness has guarded her fearlessly, and now he has the help of our Fated.”

  “Silas,” I said with wide eyes.

  He nodded once. “I turned back to the springs and saw Monroe’s Earthly mother speak to Silas. She trusted him because she said she could sense her daughter in his presence.”

  “Donalt doesn’t have her?” I clarified.

  Vade nodded to the streams. There, I saw our precious daughter sitting in a field of flowers with two other children. I knew this place was not the place that Donalt took human form in. She was far from him in that sense.

  All at once, Monroe looked up, right into our waiting eyes. She edged forward ever so slightly as her dark eyes grew the slightest bit wider and a ghost of a smile that her father was known for echoed on her lips.

  The children with her grinned widely and waved in our direction.

  “She can see us!”

  Still not trusting my control, Vade did not let down his guard just yet. “Those children, and many more like them, are the mist of lights.”

  I couldn’t look at him; I was staring into Monroe. “I heard them,” I whispered.

  “She is safe, Glory. I will smite anyone who dares to harm her, but right now this distance is needed.”

  “No. No way.”

  “She is in transition, her powers growing into form. Even if we were there from day one, she would have to leave us now and walk with that light, understand that side of her energy.”

  “She thinks her father is Donalt. I can’t let her think that.”

  “Look at her, Glory. Do you think she does not know the truth?”

  Monroe’s eyes were intently on me. It was hard to tell.

  “There are more reasons than her transition. This web, these spells that the other kings are twisted in, that our Fated are fighting, it all ties together. We have to use caution, we have to think of the future and the moment we are in—for I have yet to figure out how tangled we are.”

  “Donalt has openly claimed her,” I bit out.

  “And that is his demise. Those words were his own death sentence. The other kings will plot to take her, and when they do they will destroy themselves as well.”

  “I’m not letting my daughter stand in the midst of that war.”

  “She is the end of that war, Glory. Why do you think it took her so long to fall? She was walking with the Creator. She is the only one that can clearly see the web we are each in…and she is telling you now to wait.”

  I shook my head no.

  “Listen,” he whispered.

  I heard no words, but I did feel a message. “She is telling me to become stronger.” I questioned her with my eyes. “Why?”

  “Glory, in all truth you are still in the care of the Reaper, and y
ou have only lived moments without your armor of wrath…”

  “Seven—she is saying seven. Is she one of the seven?”

  “No…you are the queen of the seven, the one that paved their path, the one that will shield them now.”

  “What? No. She is saying seven lights, or seven couples in balance with light and darkness. I’m too excited to understand her.”

  He reached for my face to urge my eyes to him. “You are my light, and your energy is as bright as the sun. That is how we created her.”

  “I’m the Queen of Wrath. I know how dark my energy is. How dark my soul is,” I argued.

  “That darkness comes from two sources. One will never fade, as it is a part of me. The other part…comes from you, from a past you have not yet overcome. Instead of using it as a gift, you divided yourself. You will guide the seven that will restore not only our race, but also our reality to the point where The Fall will open and all souls can travel through once more.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Seven kings, seven lights. I was the only king that sought to rise above what I was, sought to grow illumination, so instead of having a light fated to destroy me I was given a light that was fated to love me. The others have lights that will fight them, destroy them. In the end, if I do not falter, if you do not falter, together we will guide the seven new kings and queens of deadly emotions. We will be the warriors that protect our daughter, all those she will bring forth.”

  “But our Fated are fighting Donalt and Xavier—right?”

  “In a sense, each king will be brought down by a Fated connected to the pair of us. Once that defeat is in place, they will rise to be the next sovereigns and we will guide them.”

  My head was spinning. How did I go from the weakest sovereign to the one that would lead the demise of the kings that stood against me?

  “I love you,” Vade whispered, stealing an innocent kiss from my lips before speaking again. “Monroe needs you to be strong, needs you to come to life fully, to overcome your past and rule without the armor of wrath, but the gift of emotions. She wants you to do that now so that when her transition is over we can be together.”

  I moved my eyes back to the stream. Monroe’s dark eyes were still peering up at me. She nodded once.