I gather my strength, pulling power from the old magic that still clings to this castle. From the stones that remember her bitterness. From the shadows that fed on her loneliness.
The wolves sleep beside her, content. Arrogant. Thinking they’ve won.
They have no idea what I am. What I can do.
They think I’m gone.
But I was never trulythere.
I reach out, carefully, delicately. A whisper in the darkness. A familiar voice in her mind.
“My queen…”
She stirs, just slightly.
“My queen, I’ve missed you.”
Her eyes snap open in the darkness. I see the fear flash across her beautiful face. The recognition.
But underneath the fear… there’s something else.
Longing.
Because as much as she fears me, I amfamiliar. I am the voice that was with her when she was truly alone. I am the companion who never left, never judged, never demanded she be anything other than what she was.
And right now, stripped bare and vulnerable, she is desperate for something…anything…to hold onto.
Something that makes her feel likeherselfagain.
“You called,”I whisper.“And I came.”
“No,” she breathes, but it’s weak. Uncertain.
“You’re lost, aren’t you? Without your walls. Without your power. They took everything from you.”
“They gave me…”
“They took your SELF,”I hiss.“They stripped you bare. Made you weak. Made you need them. Is that really what you want, my queen? To be some needy, desperate thing?”
She’s trembling now. The wolves still sleep, unaware.
“You were feared. You were powerful.”
“I was alone,” she whispers.
“You were STRONG. You were in control. You knew who you were.”
Tears slip down her soft cheeks. And I wish I could lick them, feed off her pain…
“Now you’re just an omega. A womb for their pups. A body for them to use.”
“That’s not…”
“Isn’t it? Look at yourself. Claimed. Marked. OWNED. Where is the sovereign who made kingdoms tremble? Where is the woman who bowed to none?”
She’s sobbing silently now, and oh, it’sbeautiful.
“I can give you back what they took. Your power. Your certainty. Your SELF. All you have to do is let me in.”
