Dark Queen: The Cybelline Prophecies

Chapter 39

Once upon a time, there was a little girl whose fate seemed to have been written by lady fortune herself. From birth, her parents adored the first gurgle from the perfect, green eyed little angel. She was their everything and nothing was spared if it could bring her joy. They lived in a great big house on a large estate, where butlers, maids, and footmen saw to their every need.

But fortune was fickle, and what she created, she could destroy without mercy.

One cold night, the little girl had a strange dream when she was asleep in the back of the family Mclaren. She dreamt of a boy in a lonely tower, who held her hand and promised to follow her forever. She promised she would go back and marry the little boy, after all, she was his knight.

She would wake up in a hospital and forget the boy and his eyes that seemed to have inked her image into his very soul. Instead she would wake up to a world where everyone she loved had died. Her father, mother, and grandmother had all left her behind.

The world, which had once been a warm and friendly place, now turned cold and murderous. Greedy relatives took her money, some even tried to kill her. She escaped and at a young age, was recruited by a shadowy organization that made her the most feared operative in the world. It did not come easily and the road was littered with the bodies of friend and foe alike. She had closed herself off from the world that had abandoned her and learned not just to survive, but to conquer.

She realized that she could rely on no one and nothing. Friends could betray her. Family could harm her.

And love? That was the worst of all sins. People in love made mistakes that are often always fatal. She told herself to never forget that.

And as Cybelline was thrown off the cliff, she smiled ruefully to herself.

Since meeting Ithos and his family she had broken many of the rules she'd made herself. She made friends and she had a family again. And now she was falling to her death.

But it was worth it. She would do it again.

She closed her eyes again, her ears no longer hearing the whistle of wind as her body hurled towards death.

Her blood seeped from every pore of her body, and when it touched the invisible banyan ring on her hand, the band seemed to brighten. The ring that had brought her to this world began to glow, the etchings of the branches waved as it touched her blood. 

Slowly at first, then quickly, it began to absorb all the blood it could, greedily absorbing all the blood it could reach.

From above, two additional bodies followed. It was the bloody bodies of Ithos and Myrai. Their blood fell and was absorbed into Cybelline's ring.

Light flared. A pair of black wings, laced with red, unfurled itself from Cybelline's body. They grew longer and larger than her body. Her fall slowed down until she was floating.

Dark light emanated from her body, encircling her, Ithos, and Myrai. It was three times larger than the dome the mage had made, if anyone had seen it up close, they would see the strange markings from Cybelline's wings on the power barrier. It carried the three to forest floor.

Then, as sudden as the barrier had shown up, it disappeared in a flash. But Cybelline, ithos, and Myrai were nowhere to be found.

......

The sound of water woke her up. She opened her eyes to a brilliant blue sky. There was no searing pain anymore, the feeling that she was being torn apart inch by inch had receded. Now, there was only a dull ache. She took a deep breath and frowned, she smelled rich dark earth and the sharp, lemony scent of fresh grass.