THE FINAL
Hildevar and Alannah ran to Bella with tears in their eyes. They cried tears of happy relief and then reached out to Rogan, who hugged them fiercely.
“Bella, after you and Rogan disappeared, we thought for sure you were dead! The king has been mourning Rogan and his lost queen since you left. His mother is beyond comfort!” Hildevar informed them. Rogan and Bella exchanged looks.
They had spent the last month and a half introducing Rogan to her world. They had delayed going back several times, insisting that time ran so differently in both worlds that they’d hardly be missed. They were wrong.
“I am so sorry!” Bella told them as they sniffled, “We should have come sooner. How long has it been?”
“Three days,” Hildevar replied with red-rimmed eyes. “The Shadow King has disappeared as well. He is not in the Darklands, and there is unrest in the forest there.”
Bella shuddered just thinking about the king. “He’s gone for good. I sent him to another reality where he can’t hurt anyone.”
Hildevar’s eyes opened comically wide. “Bella—no! You shouldn’t have. This sends the balance off greatly! If he is no longer king, then that makes you--”
Alannah gulped. “You will take his place as ruler of the Darklands. It is written.”
“You are truly queen,” Hildevar said.
“But—but how can I be queen of two places?” Bella asked, and Alannah shook her head.
“We have never encountered such a thing. This is new. I cannot tell you, my queen—Bella.”
The group looked worriedly at the ground for a long moment until a gentle cough interrupted their musings.
“Hello there!” her uncle called out. He was dressed in his Sunday best and had even topped his balding head with a hat. Her aunt was wearing her best dress and was carrying a cake she’d made.
“Oh, guys,” Bella said, “This is my aunt and uncle.”
“Howdy do,” her uncle said jovially.
“Hi,” her aunt said shyly.
Alannah and Hildevar took turns giving them both warm hugs.
“You are the ones who raised her! We are honored!” Hildevar announced, and her aunt blushed.
They were all quickly ushered into the castle. Her aunt and uncle were bowled over by the luxury that was inside.
“He’s a king, right?” her aunt whispered, and Bella nodded.
“He is the king of the Southern Clan of Dragons. His father will soon pass on his crown and become regent, leaving Rogan king of all the clans and myself queen—when we are married, of course.”
Her uncle was shocked. “You’re royalty?”
Bella nodded. “Yep.”
“So we can come crash here whenever we want?” her uncle teased.
“Oh yeah! I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Hildevar and Alannah hurriedly showed her aunt and uncle to their guest chambers while Rogan scryed his mother and father. They were shocked to see him alive and well. Once Rogan explained their escape, his mother had pushed his father out of the way and asked for Bella.
Bella approached the bowl with trepidation. The queen was staring back at her, her face lined with sorrow. Bella’s heart ached. She had been so sure that they’d only been gone a few minutes. She hadn’t realized it had been days.
“You saved my son,” the queen sniffled. “Twice you have done this. This makes us family. I pledge my love and support to you.”
Bella felt a warm glow surround her, and she nodded gravely. “I understand.”
Rogan’s father approached, and he gave her nod of respect. “I, too, pledge my love and support to you.”
Surprise rolled through her as the oath suffused her. She stammered, “I—I—don’t know what to say.”
“Thank you is customary, though I think, for today, we will forego such niceties,” his father said imperiously, and Bella stifled a laugh.
“We will marry, mother and father,” he informed them. “But not for a year. We must—get to know each other better.”
Rogan’s father nodded. “You have only one year. If you are not married before then, grave consequences will be dire.”
A chill ran through Bella and she nodded. “I vow to marry Rogan after one year,” Bella found herself saying, and Rogan shivered as the oath took place.
“Blessed be,” the queen said and looked as if she wanted to sag in a chair with relief.
“I have always liked something about you, girl,” his father was saying. “You have a certain—fire.”
The queen slapped the king playfully on the arm. “Oh, hush,” the queen smiled wide at Bella. “We will celebrate three days hence to commemorate your journey.”
The bowl went dark, and Rogan hugged Bella. He smoothed back her hair and placed a delicate kiss on her temple. They had spent an entire month having so much fun on Earth. She’d introduced him to carnivals, movies, video games and different foods. They’d gone salsa dancing, indoor sky diving and even spent a day hiking in the forest. She’d learned many things about him, but the most important thing that she’d learned was that he had a big heart.
He’d told her of his dreams to be a great king, not due to power, but to unite the clans and all the magical beings across the realm. He envisioned a world where the beings of his realm worked together and didn’t fear one another. He also hoped that his kingship would change things a bit for women like Hildevar and Alannah. He told Bella that he was hoping she could lead the charge, as he didn’t want his people to be stuck in backwards ways of thinking.
He genuinely wanted his people to be ushered into a new age. He didn’t want a division between magic users and humans. He hoped to combine the best of both worlds to create something fresh and new, and he began thinking that technology and science would be the way to go.
Bella and Rogan had talked at length about the sciences of her world. Rogan had studied medical journals, technical manuals and other documents for hours on end. He was determined to remove the fear humans had of advancement and to pull his people away from relying solely on magic.
They would talk long into the night about their ideas, and they’d fall asleep in each other’s arms.
Bella realized that she did love him. She had probably loved him from the very beginning, but she hadn’t been able to see it then. He had loved her, too; he had told her how much he wanted her from the moment he saw her. Bella could envision a life with him. They did agree that she’d use her gift to travel from Rogan’s world to her own for school. She’d also made Rogan promise that he’d never stop her in her pursuit of knowledge or her career goals. However, she’d taken a keen interest in magic and wanted to blend both magic and science. To that end, they’d agreed to work together and to help create a better world.
They traipsed down the long hallway hand in hand. It was empty at that time, and Rogan smiled deviously at Bella. Bella laughed. “Oh no, you don’t!” she exclaimed.
Bella ran a few feet before Rogan caught up to her. He pushed her up against the wall and kissed her madly; his hands roamed her body, and she moaned.
“Remember,” she reminded him. “We’re waiting for our wedding night.”
Rogan groaned. “Oh, you torture me, love.”
Bella smiled. “We can’t consummate our love the traditional way, but there are—other things.”
Rogan grinned and picked her up. She laced kisses across her face and lips.
“You are a very—dangerous woman,” he told her, and she shivered from the thick fog of lust evident in his voice.
“And you are—a very dangerous man. I can’t think straight when you’re looking at me like that.”
“Well, you should surely get used to it. I will look at you this way for many, many years from now. You will always be beautiful and breathtaking.”
Bella felt herself grow warm. She kissed him tenderly across the lips and sighed happily as he set her back onto her feet.
“I love you, Bella, wife of Rogan,” he told her, and she smiled.
“And I love you, Rogan, husband of Bella,” she replied, and he kissed her once more. Her heart was filled a love she’d never thought she’d have.
*
Epilogue
The party had just begun, and everyone who was anyone in the kingdom was there. Bella looked out into the crowd from her throne and smiled. She looked over to Rogan and slipped her hand into his. They had agreed to the party as an honor to his mother. They were happy to be back and wanted only to please the woman who had given life to Rogan. Bella watched as everyone twirled and danced, the music filling the room pleasantly and the scent of delicious food, including Rogan’s favorite dish—popcorn, was filling the air. Bella spied her aunt and uncle in a corner talking animatedly to a man dressed in a long tunic and shortened pants. Her uncle was gesticulating wildly, and she could only guess at what they were discussing.
“Your aunt and uncle are fitting in quite well,” Rogan remarked.
“They are,” she agreed. “I think this makes up for their horrible vacation.”
Her aunt and uncle had been having a ball in Rogan’s realm. They enjoyed the hot springs, traipsing by the lake and hearing the strange and exotic call of nature. Her aunt spent some time in the kitchens, helping the servants whip up Bella and her Uncle’s favorite dishes. Rogan, for his part, was enjoying their presence, especially the pancakes he awoke to every morning. Bella jokingly told Rogan that Earth food was much more fattening than in his realm and that he’d have to “hit the gym” more often. Bella did show Rogan what an actual gym on Earth looked like, and he was supremely disappointed.
“They use machines to recreate work?” he’d asked, and Bella had shrugged.
“Well, yeah. We don’t have labor-intensive jobs anymore. Everything is digital.”
Rogan chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment. “So, you all sit in a room, talk to others in areas far away and who are not there presently, and then go home to watch a box that glows? And you all don’t believe in magic,” he’d quipped.
They’d experimented with their magic several times on Earth. Bella, ever the scientist, had been cataloguing their experiences in a notebook. She wondered if their powers were more or less powerful depending on the realm they were in. She was determined to find out.
The one thing that Rogan did not like was trains. Bella loved the entire experience, but for Rogan, it was uncomfortable. He enjoyed riding in cars and even made the exception for a luxury RV once. He likened the experience to “riding in a carriage.” He had begun studying the mechanics of the car but was appalled at the use of oil to run the engines. He was even more puzzled by fossil fuels and climate change.
He’d walked into her aunt’s kitchen one day and sat down, a serious expression on his face.
“You all destroy nature? How is it that nature allows this?” he’d asked in wonder. Bella surmised that in his realm, maybe his world was alive, like a giant organism. But he’d pointed out all the storms and earthquakes happening in more frequency around the world, and he’d wondered if Earth too was somehow alive.
Bella had smiled at that. She never would have thought of those kinds of things. Rogan was a seeker of knowledge and constantly questioning things around him. She loved his intellect, his curiosity, and a small voice inside her wondered what it’d be like…once they were intimate. She blushed hard whenever she thought of such a thing. Hildevar and Alannah had filled her in on the basics, but she wondered about how it would feel, and how it would be to have him on her and in her. The thought alone made her body hot and wet and her cheeks flushed. Instead, she concentrated on the revelry around her.
A large storm had come, and the angry dark clouds were rolling in the sky outside the windows. The temperature had gone from pleasantly warm to cold in very little time. Those inside the party didn’t seem to mind. Everyone danced, laughed and ate, grateful for the safe return of their king and queen. Rain began to pelt the windows and, though it looked to be a bad storm, Bella felt cozy and warm in the heated ballroom and her padded gown.
Servers had begun circulating her aunt’s strawberry shortcake dessert with cream and wafers to her aunt’s delight. Everyone had declared that “the Earth realm’s food” was tasty. The storm outside increased ten-fold, and Bella looked out the windows, her eyes searching. She often found rain to be relaxing and loved the sound of it on many days, but the way the rains were coming down made her feel that something was amiss.
“Rogan,” she began.
“Hmm?” he answered, groggy from all the food and drink.
“Don’t you think that storm is strange?” she asked, and he looked out the windows at the pouring rain that slipped through the darkness.
“It is only rain, my love. Are you cold? I do think there may be a draft about. Perhaps I can get you a warm fur to throw over your shoulders--”
Bella shook her head. “I really don’t think this is a regular storm, Rogan,” she insisted. The rain increased slightly more, and Rogan paused, his mind considering. “It is a lot of rain,” he agreed.
“Are we okay with this kind of weather? Will it flood?” she asked, and Rogan shook his head.
“Our spellcasters have touched the land to keep it from flooding. But the rains—they are heavy.”
They both watched through the windows and listened closely to the hit of the rains slapping the glass. It seemed to increase more and more. Bella looked over the party goers and was happy that none of them were yet alarmed.
“What should we do?” she queried, and Rogan thought a long moment. He gestured to a spellcaster on his left and whispered in his ear. The spellcaster nodded and hurried along on some task only he knew.
“What was that about?” Bella asked, and Rogan looked to her, slight concern marring his face.
“I alerted the spellcaster. They are checking the magical lines now,” he told her.
Bella let out a breath and looked over at the windows. She could feel a distinct chill in the air now and she shivered. She shivered a few more times and then felt a warm fur hit her shoulders. She looked up to see Rogan dropping the fur around her. She smiled, and he sat in his throne once more. Rogan’s mother and father were above them on the dais. Bella gazed up at Rogan’s mother who smiled gently.
Bella had come to like the woman very much since her return. She found that she was engaging, funny, brutally honest and intelligent. Like Rogan, his mother also had a generous heart, and Bella found herself looking at the woman as a mentor. Rogan’s father didn’t seem to be as bad as she had initially pictured him. He was a bit arrogant, yes, but he was also incredibly intelligent, witty and loved his son and his wife fiercely.
For once in her life, Bella felt—complete. She reveled in the feel of the soft fur against her skin and wrapped her hand around Rogan’s large warm hand. She looked back out at the rains and furrowed her brow. The rain was slowly turning into sleet. She glanced back at Rogan and then back at the window. Had anyone else noticed? The party was still in full swing, and conversation still flowed pleasantly. Her aunt and uncle were mixing and mingling, and even Hildevar and Alannah were enjoying a glass of her aunt’s “soda pop punch.”
The sleet began to freeze even more, and Bella felt the cold slither along the window panes. She tapped Rogan and pointed outside. His jaw dropped. It was freezing outside. Literally.
Rogan gestured to his father and walked up to his throne. They spoke briefly, and his father stared out the window, aghast. The queen followed their stare and was taken aback by the building amount of snow. Rogan gestured to a spellcaster once more, and the spellcaster hurriedly rushed off.
“Let us not alarm our guests,” Rogan said quietly in her ear, and Bella nodded.
“How do we handle this?” she asked, and he breathed out heavily. “I do not know. Let us see if it holds up.”
As the snow continued to build, Bella had an inkling that the cause of a summer freeze was not a natural one and that a supernatural reason was at play. One of the guests noticed the freezing cold, and soon, a ripple went through the crowd, many of them beginning to panic, having remembered what happened the last time at a royal function. Rogan stood and demanded calm.
“I do believe that we have a situation. My father, the queen, my future wife and I are working to see what is happening. Please let our servants escort you to the royal carriages to deposit you to your homes.”
A nervous twitch ran through the crowd. Servants came out in masses and began escorting everyone out. Before most could leave, however, a tendril of smoke shot through the air and landed in the middle of the floor.
Bella groaned. “Not again.”
The tendril became an enshrouded figure; its arms were tucked into its body and it twisted and struggled. Every guest moved back, afraid of what it would be. The figure began to burst out of the tendril that began to crack, like skin. Bella could see a hand, then a foot, then a glimpse of cheek and finally the entire being was revealed.
The being had long fangs, red eyes and pointed ears. “A blood drinker,” Rogan said, and a few guests screamed and ran for cover. The blood drinker bowed reverently and kneeled.
“My queen,” it rasped, and Bella inclined her head respectfully. “As you are now the ruler of the Darklands, I have been tasked by the creatures of the forest to petition you. We are dying, and it is unknown why, my lady. We ask for your help. The Darklands are no longer—they are—they are without reason, my queen.”
Bella listened for a moment and then considered. She shivered when she thought of the creatures the Darklands housed. She instinctively feared most of them, but even so, she was their ruler. And they needed to be ruled.
He finished, and Bella thought a moment. “I will go to the Darklands, and I will see why such things are occurring.”
An emotion akin to happiness flitted across the blood drinker’s face. “I thank you, my queen. We will be grateful. Many of us do not have food, milady.”
“I will arrange for wild seeds tempered by the spellcasters to be sent to the Darklands. I am sure we can figure all of this out.”
The blood drinker was bowing so low and gratefully that his head was hitting the ground. Bella wanted to laugh from the absurdity of it all. She never would have guessed months before that she would sit on a throne as queen. She chewed her lip and looked out of the window. The snow drifts were quickly building up, and winds howled with a fury. Bella looked over at Rogan and stood. Most of the guests had begun departing, and she was glad for that. Cold pushed at her from the outside. She touched the pane and continued gazing out.
“Let us retire to the war room,” Rogan said, and his father and mother quickly agreed.
Bella said nothing as she continued touching the window, a thought occurring to her. She turned.
“When I sent the Shadow King away, I left a void there. Only a void I can fill. So, since I would not come to the Darklands, I suppose it came to me.”
Rogan glanced at Bella a moment before pacing the floor. “You cannot go to the Darklands, my love. You barely survived the last time.”
Bella nodded. “Yes, but I wasn’t queen of the Darklands either. I was just plain old Bella Rose. Now, I am queen, and I have a purpose in being there.”
“She’s right,” the king interjected. “The creatures there are sure to respect that she has come to survey her kingdom and not sent a servant in her stead.”
Rogan shook his head. “I do not agree to this madness.”
Bella grabbed Rogan’s hand and caressed the tips. “I am queen to both lands, ours and theirs,” Bella gestured outside. “A good queen dedicates herself to her countrymen and her land even if it is the Darklands,” she shuddered.
A muscle ticked in Rogan’s jaw. “So what do you plan on doing?”
Bella smiled. “I will go and see what the problem is. I am queen, after all.”
Bella’s tone and cocky smile belied her nervousness. She was queen of a forbidden place that housed the realm’s most dangerous creatures. She didn’t know how she would handle that. She glanced at Rogan, and he wrapped his hand around her own.
She would figure out how to be a queen one day at a time.
THANKS FOR READING!
AUTHOR MESSAGE TO YOU:
Hiii
Thanks so much for reading my novel. As a special thank you, I have included book 1 from my bestselling “Dragons World” series in this download. All you have to do is turn the page and discover a whole NEW world full of dragons and more magic.
Be warned this one is a little spicy ;-)
Enjoy
Serena Rose x x