赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“All right, how do you want to do this?� Lily asked. “Should we go over everything and then slowly choose a topic to explore further, or we could–“

“Loki is your brother?!�

“Oh, okay, so we’re just going to dive straight in... got it... Uhm... yea, he was my twin brother.�

“How could you not have told me that Loki was... I mean... he is considered the greatest enemy of Winter!�

“That’s exactly why I couldn’t tell you,� Lily sighed. “That and the fact that if I had told you before everything was revealed to you, you would have had a seizure or something.�

“Why?�

“Your Goddess, my Queen,� Lily paused, taking a deep breath and pushing it back out through her nose. “My mother... she insisted that the heritage of the wolves be kept a secret. After everything Loki did, she didn’t want the trust between werewolves and humans to be damaged.�

“I don’t understand... I thought she died before he did.�

“She did,� Lily replied, “but Loki’s rebellion lasted much longer than your history seems to remember.�

“What do you mean?�

“Well, your stories talk about Geri and Freki choosing to leave the humans and build Winter away from them because the humans no longer trusted the wolves. But that wasn’t the case. We lived among the humans, Loki killed many, and when Geri led the wolves against him, it wasn’t a quick fight. It lasted years. By the time it was over, the people Geri had fought to protect had already grown, died, or left.�

“What?� Ashleigh asked with disbelief.

Lily nodded.

“That play, the one that shows my death?� she said.

Ashleigh nodded in acknowledgment.

“I told you before that it was wrong,� Lily continued. “In it, your actors said I was searching for a lost child. But the truth is, Geri and I only had one child. When I went out that night, it was in search of Loki. He had sent me letters, begging me to listen to him.

“He told me that the Dark Queen’s voice was shouting in his mind. She had taken control of him, but he was fighting and thought he finally found a way to break free of her.�

“He led you into a trap,� Ashleigh whispered. “He never wanted to break free of her....�

“No, he did,� Lily replied sadly. “It was a trap, but it wasn’t because he didn’t want to be free.�

“I don’t understand,� Ashleigh said, brows furrowed in confusion.

“He knew exactly how to free himself,� Lily said. “He just didn’t want to go alone.�

Ashleigh’s eyes widened.

“He called me to the forest to do exactly what he did, to kill me,� Lily continued, her eyes cast down. “He was going to end his own life as well. But the Dark Queen realized what he was doing. She took control of him and tried to feed on me. She didn’t get far before Loki... finished it.�

“Lily...� Ashleigh whispered.

“Geri arrived at that point. He saw Loki run me through, and he saw me fall. Loki got away, and though the story in your play says he was killed that same night, it was months later.�

“I’m so sorry, Lily,� Ashleigh said gently.

“It was a long time ago,� Lily replied. “The point is my mother made the Lunas swear an oath to her. Therefore, they could not reveal the truth about the origins of the werewolf unless there was a dire need.

“An oath to a Fae Queen is bound in blood, not just their own. If they had told you before it was time, it wouldn’t have been just them that suffered.�

Ashleigh thought for a moment, and then it clicked.

“My brother, Caleb, Bell... Ren...� she whispered.

“Myka, too,� Lily said. “And Roman.�

Ashleigh’s eyes widened, and her jaw went slack.

“What did you say?� she asked.

“Roman,� Lily nodded. “He is the product of a Blood Moon mating between Tomas and Irina before she discovered her bond with Gorn.�

“Roman...� Ashleigh whispered with a shake of her head. “It’s bad enough he’s still alive, but now you’re telling me he is the son of the woman possessed by the evil ancient Fae Queen?!�

Lily shrugged.

“Life’s funny like that.�

“Okay, fine, whatever...we knew we were going to have to face him again anyway,� Ashleigh sighed. “Tell me about Irina, or rather, tell me what you said to Solana about Irina having never made it back to the ley line.�

Lily lowered her gaze.

“Part of my ability with the dead is seeing and talking to those returning to the ley line. I have seen every soul since my death that has crossed over. Very few stay behind. But Irina didn’t just stay behind. She disappeared.�

Lily paused.

“When the Dark Queen took control of Loki and tried to feed on me... I could feel my soul crumbling away into nothingness. I could feel the cold darkness crawling up my spine, reaching for my consciousness. It felt empty. That is what Irina’s presence in this world became after the Dark Queen took control.�

Lily turned to face Ashleigh.

“That is why I believe that her soul was consumed. Made into energy to fuel the monster.�

“How is that possible?� Ashleigh asked. “How could the Dark Queen feed off someone else’s soul.�

“She’s a Fae Queen,� Lily replied as though the answer was obvious.

“Okay... and?�

“What do you think an oath to the Goddess is?� Lily asked, one eyebrow cocked. “You pledge a part of your soul to her for her magic to give you what you want or need. Then, you fuel her magic with your blood offering.�

“But that isn’t... we haven’t...� Ashleigh wanted to argue that it wasn’t the same at all. But the truth was, she didn’t know if it was.

An oath made to the Goddess was not something to be made lightly. Breaking an oath had severe consequences. An Alpha could lose their abilities, their power over the wolves in their charge.

Knowing that the power of the Alpha came from their connection to the Fae Queen made it seem far more likely that what Lily said was true, which meant that every oath she had given had taken at least a small part of her soul.

“What happens to you when you break the oath?� she asked with concern.

Lily considered the question.

“If you break an oath to the Dark Queen, she consumes your soul slowly and painfully. Breaking an oath with my mother, the result depends on the offense.�

“My father broke an oath....� Ashleigh said quietly. “Does that mean he was... that the Goddess... consumed him?�

“No!� Lily shook her head. “No, you saw him, heard him after he passed. He was on his way to the ley line, to be reborn.�

Ashleigh closed her eyes and let out an audible sound of relief. She thought of his voice whispering to her among the chaos of the fallen alphas. His soothing words and calming presence had pulled her back from a very dark place.

“My mother doesn’t consume the souls of others. They just fuel her magic, and she has had no part in it for as long as I have been dead.�

“What do you mean?�

Lily took a shaky breath.

“My mother died shortly after I did,� she said. “I had felt the call the lines. But I chose to stay because I knew that she was dying. I wanted to wait for her. I saw her... briefly when she passed. I reached out my hand for her, but they pulled her back.�

Lily had a sorrowful gaze as she spoke.

“Solana, Talis, Lian... they made the shelter in the ley lines, keeping my mother’s soul tied to that life. She is gone, incapable of thought.�

“That’s horrifying....� Ashleigh whispered.

“It sounds worse than it is,� Lily replied. “But she doesn’t suffer or scream like the others. She is dormant within.�

Ashleigh furrowed her brows. Looking up at Lily with concern.

“Wait... what do you mean ‘scream like the others'?�

Lily tilted her head and looked at Ashleigh with confusion.

“The wolves of Autumn and Spring,� she replied as though it answered the question.

“I don’t understand,� Ashleigh said.

“Lian told you that Autumn had fallen,� Lily said. “Spring has joined them. But they weren’t killed. They were changed.�

“Changed?� Ashleigh asked, her eyes widening. “You mean, like, what’s happening to Myka?�

Lily nodded.

“The Dark Queen used your brother’s blood to finish her foul experiments. She has turned the remaining wolves of Autumn and Spring into strange and disgusting beasts. They have the worst of the fae and no humanity left in them.�

“But... you said the wolves, their souls are trapped inside?�

Lily nodded again.

“Screaming,� she repeated. “These creatures are crudely stitched together with scraps of the power from the ley lines. They do not hold a spark of life on their own. The wolf was killed, his soul trapped inside and used to fuel the body.�