Page 59 of Lightning Strikes

“No.” My mother murmurs and my father falls to his knees. “It’s impossible.” I step away from my parents and frown at Angela. Is she using magic? I wave my hand and don’t sense anything at all. What’s going on?

Angela frowns at my parents as she steps up top step and she looks over at me. “Do I get down on my knees, too?” She whispers and I gape at her.

My parents do not kneel or bow.

They are kneeling and bowing, won’t look up… Are they frozen?

“Katarina… How… How are you alive?”

Angela chokes, clutching the necklace around her neck and I focus on that, squinting when I feel theverypowerful glamour spell on the gem and I wrap my hand around her neck.

“What game is this, Angela? Why do you have a powerful glamour spell wrapped around your neck? Why are my parents bowing to you? What have you done?” I yell in her face and she falls to her knees, gasping for breath and shaking her head.

She blinks up at my mother and cries harder. “Katarina is my mother. Is she here?”

My mother covers her mouth with her hands as tears pour down her face. “Come here, sweet girl. It’s alright. Take off the glamour now, child. You’re safe.”

Angela shakes her head. “My parents gave this to me… Told me to never take it off.”

Mother nods and pulls her into her arms. I stagger back, frowning at this blatant display of affection. I don’t remember the last time my mother has ever touched one of us. “Take it off, child. Please.”

Angela’s shaking hands move to the back of her neck, working at the clasp, and as the necklace drops, so do I.

The heir… the true heir.

Queen Katarina’s daughter is here to claim the throne.

What the fuck is happening.

Her hair changes from blonde to lavender, her eyes glisten and glitter, shimmering from green, to blue, to yellow, and her aura burns to bright. Gold. Gold fucking everywhere. Glittering gold and blue butterfly wings snap out of her back, she screams as she arches, her body working hard to accept the magic… to change her for the first time. I can’t see her ears through her hair, but I assume they are now pointed. Fuck my life.

Her fae powers, herhigh fae,powers unleash and she screams once again. My mother holds her against her chest and rocks back and forth shushing her and kissing her head.

“You’re safe.” My father pulls them both into his arms and I shake my head. Trying to remember anything about the lost queen.

I knew they were all best friends, but I don’t know much more than that… Katarina and one of her consorts were traveling in the Earth realm when their guards lost communications and were never seen again. Then my parents were told of the prophecy, and Katarina left very specific instructions with the royal guards and advisors that if anything happened to her before an heir was born, then my parents would rule in their stead…

Does Angela know what really happened? Is she really, truly only thirty-six years old?

There’s no way… Her parents have been gone for centuries. This has to be some sort of ruse, a trick.

“Let’s get you inside sweet girl, you must be hungry.” My father helps them both stand and they completely ignore me as they step inside, surrounded by guards as my mother clutches onto Angela as if she’s her saving grace. Technically she is. She’s about to save all of us…

What the fuck is happening? I thought I was walking Angela to her death… well almost death… After she handed over my son.

Now… She’s the true heir of Faerie. Her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are going to be over the moon. They happily moved out of the palace when my parents stepped up.

Everyone is happy, healthy, thriving… For the most part.

Magic has been diminishing steadily from our realm for a while now… It takes dozens of high fae to power our realm instead of a solitary fae to control it all. Katarina was the last…

I only know of her, I was born a century after my parents took the throne. My brothers and sisters were born in quick succession thereafter… None of any of the high fae born in the past several centuries have been a true heir. Not even anyone from Katarina’s family.

I shake my head when someone slaps my back and Fern chuckles as he wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Well holy fucking shit, Prince. Looks like your baby is the next heir. Congratulations, you’re no longer important.” He claps his hands while laughing like a lunatic and skips into the palace.

Fuck… I didn’t even think about that. My son will be the next true king.

I stroll down the halls, following after my parents as I listen to the cries and murmurs seeping from the throne room. I lean against the bright gold walls as my mother shows Angela proof… We still have all of the original tapestries and paintings of her mother everywhere in the palace.

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