Page 45 of Shaped By Darkness

Being the queen is a heavy burden when done correctly, because it's not about you but your people. For my mother, that now includes Serena's other mates, not to mention the fact that she always looked at Serena as the daughter she didn't have.

I don't have children, at least not yet, maybe not ever, with the way the world is right now, but I can't imagine watching their heartbreak and being helpless to stop it. For the first time in my life, I've found an answer my mother doesn't have, and that's terrifying.

But maybe she can at least help me understand or find a way to approach Serena.

What's the worst that could happen? At this point, everything I've tried has ended in disaster.

I can't lose her, not again. I'd be willing to do just about anything to make sure that doesn't happen. Even going to my mother for advice about a girl, something I never thought I would have to do.

"What's wrong? You know I might be the Queen, but I'm your mother first." This time her smile is more genuine, and despite my problems, I can't help but return it, even if it's only half-hearted.

I stop pacing, dropping down into her throne, something that anyone else might reprimand. She doesn't so much as bat an eye, instead more worried about my problem than a piece of furniture or a title.

Serena would be a queen worthy of taking over for her. She's the only one I can think of that deserves to take her place, and not just because she's my mate. No, she's built the same way as my mother. She worries about everyone around her because that's who she is, not because it's what's expected of her.

I'd known since the moment I met her that Serena would be my everything, my queen. She's the only one I would letsit beside me, even before we were bonded, and now… I'd kill anyone who dared try and take her place.

But in order for her to be my queen, she needs to survive.

"Serena has a death wish. Last night, I followed her into the woods, the Forgotten Forest. She went alone to look for Lyle, and she found him!" I rub a hand down my face as my imagination assaults me withwonderfulideas of might could have happened had he stumbled upon her. "She won't give up, Mom, and I get it. I searched for her for years, but this isn't the same, and she knows it."

I'm yelling, my voice echoing off the high ceilings of the room, but it's got nothing to do with her as my mother, and one look at her lets me know she doesn't take offense. She always seems to understand, and I know she has no issue putting me in my place should she have a problem with something.

"It seems the same to me."

Wait, what?

There's no way I heard her correctly… right?

"What?" I force the word out through my confusion because surely I've misunderstood.

With a chuckle and a shake of her head, she moves to the front of the table, pulling herself up to sit on it, facing me. I'm sure some would think it's not very 'queenly' behavior, but something about it calms me down. Right now, she's just my mother.

"She loves him. She loves all of them, and they love her. You told me yourself the reason Lyle was turned was because he took the hit for you. We all know what losing a mate can do, and though they might not have seen it, well, it's not hard to imagine. Lyle knew what that would do to Serena." Her lips pull down in a frown, and I see the sadness that swims in her eyes. I wasn't lying when I said I wish there was a way to save him.

He was meant to be bonded to my bonded. It doesn't hurt the same way for me, but it's painful, nonetheless.

"But he can't be saved. We've tried everything and then some for years. If there was a way to save them, to reverse what Draven does, we would have found it by now. Our people wouldn't have had to die because of him." I'm standing, staring down at her, my voice harsher than I mean it to be. I shake my head, trying to push my anger aside; it's not her I'm mad at, and she knows it.

Because of Draven and his chimera serum, we've lost at least three hundred citizens, and that was just those I had personally dealt with over the years.

Every single one of them has had to be killed if we encounter them.

My mother nods, folding her hands in her lap. The epitome of calm and collected.

"We have tried everything, everything inourpower."

I open my mouth, ready to snap back about how impossible it all is, before I quickly snap it closed again.

She's right.

Our powers aren't the same as Serena's; there are very few people who have access to the magic she does...

I get it!

"You think Draven uses his darkness?" I'm on my feet again, but this time I need to move as energy courses through me. The very idea of us being able to best him lights a fire inside of me.

"I'm not sure. Nobody is, but I think it would be wise to consider it. Nobody has been able to stop him or figure out how to stop him. That's his one major difference, so it's well worth exploring. Unfortunately, Serena is struggling with her powers, and I don't want to push her. I don't want her to fold under the pressure, which is why I haven't said anything, and I won't."

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