The Balance

by C. L. Nelson

  The previous king never held any events or allowed any sort of interactions with the reaper community, so the throne room was only used when he entertained “special” guests like the poor females he seduced.

  The old gaudy red and gold throne is gone, and a simple, but elegant white throne with white gold trim stands in its place. Now the room is ready for the coronation ceremony and to hold audiences with the reaper community in the future.

  I am in my room pacing when someone knocks on my door. “Come in,” I said.

  One by one, all of my siblings file in the room. They are all in formalwear for the ceremony. Dashiel is wearing a navy-blue suit, Rhett is wearing a lavender suit, and Jarrett is wearing a gray suit.

  Emilia is wearing a strapless floor-length mint green dress that is fitted until it hits her knees and then flares out, pooling on the floor around her. It’s very dramatic, just like my sister. Her hair is blonde today, the most serious I have ever seen her hair.

  “You all look nice. What’s the occasion?” I asked.

  “Oh, you know, some chucklehead is being crowned the new King of the Reapers. No big deal,” Dashiel said, putting his arm around my shoulder and then putting me in a headlock.

  “Dashiel, seriously? That’s how you greet your new king?” Emilia asked. “King Kian, you look nice, but something is missing, and I just can’t seem to put my finger on it,” she said, cupping her chin with one hand.

  Jarrett stepped next to Emilia. “As usual, dear sister, we are on the same page. I know exactly what is missing from King Kian’s ensemble. GLITTER!” he said at the same time that he threw a handful of glitter on me.

  My mouth fell open and I immediately began brushing off the glitter, like if I brushed it off fast enough, it wouldn’t stick to me for the rest of my life. “Wow…Just wow. My first order as king is to outlaw glitter. You both suck.”

  They all laughed. Jarrett said, “You know you love us. Hey, it’s blue glitter this time. It matches your tie. I’m sure Charlie will love both.”

  “Speaking of Charlie, have any of you seen her today?” I asked while still trying to wipe the glitter off.

  They all shook their heads. “I haven’t seen her, but I have texted with her not too long ago. She said she is just wrapping up something and will be heading here shortly,” Rhett said.

  My newly appointed assistant/advisor stuck her head in the room. “Sorry to interrupt, but it’s time for the ceremony. Kian you will enter last as discussed. The rest of you can head into the throne room.”

  “Okay, thank you, Sloan.” I nodded in her direction. “I will see you all in a bit,” I said to my siblings as they left the room.

  ***

  The next time I see my siblings I am walking down the center of the throne room between two large groups of reapers. Sloan informed me that a thousand reapers were invited to attend the ceremony, and the rest of the reapers can stream the ceremony live on their computers, phones, and other devices.

  I look around and I recognize many of the faces in the crowd from reaper school, bumping into them during collections, or just from around the Waiting. I nod at them as I pass by.

  The one person that I am looking for, I can’t find. I don’t think Charlie is here. I looked at my siblings with the question on my face and they shook their heads. They haven’t seen her yet either. I frowned as I kept walking toward the front of the room.

  Ingrid and Ameny are standing in the front of the room. The two Ladies of the Waiting will be conducting the ceremony and will be crowning me as the new king. Ameny is dressed in a white gown with elaborate beading, and Ingrid is dressed in a white suit.

  No one has seen Fate and it is suspected that she is in hiding because she was involved in the disruption of the Balance along with Alaric.

  When I reach Karma and Destiny, I kneel before them as I was instructed to do.

  In unison, they both place their hands on my shoulder.

  “Reapers,” Destiny begins. “we are gathered here today to end one chapter in our history and to begin anew. Today, Kian Dullahan, blooded son of the former king, will be crowned with the full blessing of the Creators as your new king.”

  Cheers erupt from the crowd, but they are quickly silenced by a stern look from Karma.

  Destiny was about to continue talking when whispering started near the back of the room and continued toward the front of the crowd. I caught part of a whisper. They are talking about a female that just entered the throne room.

  I turned and looked over my shoulder. Charlie is standing in the back of the room with a smile on her face. She looks stunning. She is wearing a dress that hugs every curve of her amazing body as it flows to the floor and then trails behind her. The dress is the exact color of her eyes, a gorgeous ice blue. The dress dips low enough in the front to reveal her ample cleavage.

  Her long dark chocolate locks fall to her waist on one side in large curls. She appears to have on some eye makeup and her lips are vibrant red. She looks so sexy that I nearly get an erection in front of the Ladies of the Waiting. I had to bite the inside of my mouth hard enough to taste blood to control myself.

  Her voice drifted into my head, Sorry, I’m late. My commute was a nightmare. She winked at me and then went to stand with the crowd in the back.

  “Darkling, please join us in front. You shall witness the ceremony on behalf of the ethereals and the infernals, a necessary and currently missing part of the ceremony,” Ingrid said.

  Panicked whispering spread around the room at the mention of Charlie’s heritage.

  “Everyone, please calm down,” Destiny said and waited for the room to fall silent. “This darkling has existed for thousands of years and is not like the others of her kind.”

  Charlie walked down the center of the room as I had. I could feel her power from here. As she made her way down the aisle, she spread feelings of serenity and joy throughout the room.

  She joined my siblings in the front of the room, giving out hugs to each one of them.

  I’m jealous. I wish I could go to her now and wrap my arms around her. I must have made a move to get up because Ingrid is pushing down on my shoulder pretty hard.

  Ameny cleared her throat, turning all our attention back to the ceremony. “Kian, do you swear to uphold the Balance and govern the reapers to the best of your abilities?”

  I look her directly in the eyes and say, “I do.”

  “Do you swear this in the presence of your species, the reapers, The Ladies of the Waiting, the representative of the infernals and the ethereals, and the Creators?”

  I nod my head. “I do.”

  Ameny smiles as she and Ingrid remove their hands from my shoulders and grab either side of the platinum crown. “Then with the full blessing of the Creators, we crown you King of the Reapers.” In unison, they place the crown on my head.

  “King Kian, please rise and face your reapers,” Ingrid said.

  I get to my feet and turn around.

  “Reapers, we are pleased to present you with your new king!” Destiny said.

  The crowd burst into applause and cheers.

  The ceremony concluded and everyone in attendance was invited into the banquet hall for a feast. I made an appearance and socialized with the reapers for about an hour before I excused myself.

  I found Charlie hanging out with Emilia and Jarrett. I grabbed her hand and nod at my siblings. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” I pulled her out of the hall into a nearby courtyard. Once we were alone, I wrapped her in my arms and held her in silence.

  It’s dark outside. The day has come and gone. The temperature is still warm, and the sky is clear, as it always is here in the Waiting. Millions of stars twinkle above us.

  She turned my hug into a slow dance, and we moved together to our internal music.

  After a few minutes, Charlie breaks the silence. “So, Kian now that you are King of the Reapers, what are you going to do now?”

  “I’m going to Disney World!” I laug
hed. “Actually, I would love to spend a week straight in bed with you,” I said, pressing a soft kiss on her mouth.

  “Get a room!” someone called out from a second-floor window.

  Charlie and I turned around to see who said that, but I already knew that it was Jarrett and the rest of my siblings. I asked them to distract Charlie.

  As Charlie trades witty insults and comments with my siblings, hundreds of reapers silently astralocated in and out of the courtyard in under a minute, filling the courtyard with lit candles.

  Charlie either sensed the commotion going on behind her or could see the candles flickering because she stopped talking to my siblings and turned around.

  I am down on one knee with a ring in my hand.

  She looked completely shocked as she covers her mouth with her hands. She dropped her hands to her chest as I started talking.

  “Charlie James, you nearly knocked me out when I first met you, literally. Since then, you have shown me how strong, intelligent, stubborn, loyal, and determined you are. There is no other female that I would want by my side as Queen of the Reapers. I love you more than I thought was possible. Will you please do me the great honor of marrying me and allowing me to be your husband?”

  Chapter 30

  Charlie

  Holy shit! Is this happening right now? I am like the least romantic female in all the realms and even I am blown away by this proposal.

  I only had my back turned for a minute and when I turned around, there were thousands of candles around the courtyard. It was breathtaking. Everywhere I looked was lit up with flickering lights. Then I looked at Kian and he was down on one knee, holding a spectacular oval diamond ring with light blue stones around the diamond.

  My heart is beating so fast right now that I would be worried if I wasn’t immortal. My brain is running through thoughts at the speed of light.

  “What about creating an heir? I thought that was required of the King,” I asked.

  “Doesn’t matter. The Creators can strip me of my position if they feel the need.”

  “But don’t you want kids?”

  “I want you, Charlie. We can adopt if you want.”

  “Do you even have a last name?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, it’s Dullahan. Charlie…”

  “Wait, I have heard that somewhere before.” I quickly run through my memories. “Isn’t that the name of like the Irish headless horsemen?” I started to laugh. “It is! Finlay told me a story about the dullahan once.”

  Kian frowned and looked up at the second-floor windows where his siblings were. “Unfortunately, I was outvoted when my siblings and I were deciding on a collective last name.”

  “So, Dullahan was not Alaric’s last name?”

  “Creators, no. We refused to use the last name of the monster who killed our mothers, but we wanted a shared last name. We voted and Dullahan won.” He shrugged.

  “Well, I love it and would be honored to join the Dullahan family,” I said

  “Is that a yes?” He asked, a huge grin spreading across his face.

  I smiled and nod vigorously. “Yes!”

  “Thank the Creators! You had me worried. I was starting to sweat with all your questions. Give me your hand, angel.”

  I held out my hand and Kian slid the ring on my finger. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. Wrapping my arms around him, I pressed my lips to his, kissing him deeply.

  Cheers erupted from the second-floor window. Dashiel, Rhett, Jarrett, and Emilia applauded and cheered.

  To my surprise, Finlay was also up on the second-floor cheering for us, his arm wrapped around Emilia’s waist. I have no idea when or how he got here, but I am glad he is here for this moment.

  “Congratulations!” Rhett called down to us.

  “Welcome to the family, Charlie,” Dashiel said.

  “Yay! I finally get a sister!” Emilia clapped her hands together.

  Finlay blew me a kiss. “I am happy for you, love.”

  “Charlie, there’s still time to change your mind.” Jarrett laughed and winked at me.

  Kian glared at Jarrett. “Alright everyone, show’s over. We will see you all tomorrow. Goodnight.”

  “Thanks, everyone. I love you guys.” I said as I waved goodbye to them.

  Kian’s siblings and Finlay left, and we were alone. He pulled me back into his arms and held me tightly to him. “This is my second favorite place to be,” he said.

  “In the courtyard?” I asked.

  “In your arms,” he corrected.

  I laughed. “You are so corny. What’s your first favorite place?”

  He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “Between your legs.” He tilted my head up and kissed me.

  I caught his bottom lip with my teeth, nipping it before saying, “What a coincidence, that is also my favorite place for you to be.” I held him tight and glimmered the both of us to his bedroom.

  He spent the next two hours between my legs. His fingers between my legs. His tongue and lips between my legs. His hips and thick length between my legs.

  I love looking at him without any clothes on. Don’t get me wrong. He looks fantastic in his business casual or a suit, but the body he hides under those clothes is phenomenal. The first time I saw him naked nearly dropped me to my knees. Sheer stubbornness and strength of will were the only things that kept me on my feet.

  His broad shoulders and narrow waist perfectly complement his tall frame. He isn’t massively bulky like a bodybuilder but instead had delicious lean well-defined muscles. His washboard abs lead down to his fucking sexy as hell v-shaped Adonis belt that points me in the direction of his thick length.

  We both fell asleep, completely blissed out. I tucked myself against him, his arm around me. My head was on his chest, one leg flung over his.

  ***

  I awoke before Kian. I clearly wore the poor guy out last night. I tried to extract myself from him and get out of bed, but he held on tighter and pulled me closer.

  “Where do you think you are going?” he mumbled, his voice thick from sleep.

  “I have to go see Karma and Destiny about the souls that were meant for the bodies I inhabited during my incarnations,” I said.

  “Later. Stay,” he said while rolling over and trapping me under his arm and leg.

  I laughed. “You should probably get up too. You are a king now. I am sure you have things you have to do.”

  He groaned. “You’re probably right. You better be back in my bed right after dinner,” he said before capturing my lips and kissing me until we needed to come up for air.

  I reluctantly pull away. “As you command, your majesty,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “Your punishment for defying the King of the Reaper is a spanking while bent over my bed and then a hard fucking, so please defy me,” Kian said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

  “You are such a harsh king,” I said, kissing him before getting out of bed. “I will see you at dinner.”

  I put on black dress pants, a white, button-up shirt, and red pumps before glimmering to the palace belonging to the Ladies of the Waiting.

  I am meeting with Karma and Destiny to ask them to recycle the souls that were wrongly sent to the Pit. The souls are no longer salvageable. Years of torture have damaged their souls beyond repair.

  The only solution is to recycle their souls, completely erasing their past experiences. The recycling process cleans and renews their soul. They come out the other side as a completely new soul that is ready for their first incarnation.

  The only ones besides the Creators that are able to recycle souls are the Ladies of the Waiting. They must unanimously agree that recycling the souls would not affect the Balance. I am hoping that getting Destiny and Karma to agree will be enough since Fate has been missing since Alaric cut off her limbs and everyone found out about her involvement in my unsanctioned reincarnations.

  I meet Karma and Destiny in the stasis chamber where souls are put into stasis until t
heir next incarnation is ready. The room is large but not as large as you would think for how many souls it houses at any given time. Souls that are not made corporeal don’t take up a lot of space. When put into stasis, souls are compressed to fit into small vials.

  The stasis chamber is lined with ornate cabinets where the souls are stored. The room is entirely white. It is so white that it hurts my eyes like looking at fresh snow in the afternoon sun.

  “What do you want from us, darkling?” Karma asked, direct as usual.

  I smiled at her. “Hey, Karm. Nice to see you too. Are you always this grumpy because you don’t get to kill things anymore?”

  Destiny gasped and looked from me to Karma, like she is shocked by what I said and expects Karma to lose her temper.

  Karma was glaring at me like she wanted to take a swing at me, but then she threw her head back and laughed loudly. When her laughter died down, she said, “I like you, darkling. You got balls. When things calm down, I would love to spar with you.” She clapped me on the shoulder. “I miss having a worthy opponent, and please call me Ingrid.”

  Destiny visibly relaxed. “And please call me Ameny.”

  I smiled at both of them. “Only if you call me Charlie.”

  They both nodded once. Ingrid wrapped an arm around Ameny’s waist. “So, what can we do for you, Charlie?”

  I tell them about the souls that were wrongly thrown into the Pit and tortured, leaving them broken and beyond repair. “I have come to ask you to recycle them, so they may start anew.”

  They were both frowning by the time I finished pleading my case. “I am sorry, Charlie. We would love to help them, and it would probably help even out the Balance, but Fate needs to be involved in the decision. It takes all three of us to recycle a soul.”

  My face fell in disappointment. “Fuck. Is anyone going to do anything about her? She isn’t stable,” I said.

  “Unfortunately, our hands are tied. We have to let events play out as they are meant to happen,” Destiny said. “We wish you the best of luck and congratulations on your engagement.”