Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Nyssa tips her head back to stare at the inkiness above dotted with large twinkling stars. “You should call it the Midnight Realm.”
I can’t help but laugh, and she looks at me curiously. “You’re quite the romantic with a name like that.”
She grimaces and looks back up at the sky. “I’m the least romantic person in the universe. I’m just saying… it’s perpetual midnight here.”
“Hmm.” I point off to the eastern horizon where it seems as if the sun might be rising but really, it’s just a sharp display of my powers. “The city of Calashte is that way. My friend, Truett, whom you met, lives there with his people.”
“His people?”
I shrug. “That’s a loose term. Not quite a family, tribe, or clan, but the fallen angels and their descendants who settled and populated that area. Truett is the oldest and thus looked at as a de facto leader.”
“But you said it yourself tonight. You’re the sole power in the Underworld.”
“That would be true.” I nod toward the west. “The city of Llandam is that way, and just south of it is Dras-tea, which sits at the edge of the Black Ocean.”
“How big is this Midnight Realm?” she asks, and I don’t correct her on the name. I kind of like it.
“It’s fairly contained to what I’ve pointed out. When we were expelled from Heaven, there were only about a thousand of us who were tossed into the Underworld. We grew slowly because Dark Fae have difficulty procreating. But we’re talking thousands upon thousands of years, so we’ve pushed outward from Otaxis. The cities are pretty much run by the nobles, which are the original fallen. Below them are the gentry, and below them, the common fae as well as daemons who choose to live here with their Dark Fae parents. Would you like something to eat?”
She shakes her head. “What makes a Dark Fae noble, gentry, or common?”
“The amount of power they have. Original fallen were gifted stone magic when they arrived and are the strongest. They are the nobles. Gentry are progeny of Dark Fae and have powers as well. Common fae are also progeny but don’t have much in the way of powers. Wine?”
Her eyes come to me, and they narrow. “This isn’t a date.”
I can’t help but snort. “No, it’s not, nor will it ever be. You’re my servant. I’m being polite, since I’ll be having some.”
She shakes her head again and turns her attention back to the city.
“Suit yourself.” I return to the living area. Laid out on a buffet table is a tray of meats, cheeses, and fruits as well as carafes of wine. I pour myself a glass and ignore the food as I ate just before the meeting. I was offering her food as I figured she’d be hungry, but I don’t want her to consider me kind in any way.
Nyssa comes in from the balcony. “I know you’re recently crowned and Kymaris ruled before you, but was Satan before her? Or is it Lucifer? Or Hades? I’m confused.”
I sip my wine before moving to one of the leather couches. I settle onto it and motion Nyssa into a chair where she sits primly on the edge, hands clasped.
“Kymaris was the original ruler of the Underworld. Names like Satan, Hades, or Lucifer are written in many works and portrayed as overlords. Maybe your First Dimension histories and bibles and stories didn’t like the idea of a female ruler. Interesting enough, though, Lucifer is actually an original dark fallen, but he escaped to the First Dimension eons ago and lives in the Florida Keys with his wife.”
Nyssa’s jaw drops over that little piece of information, but she recovers. “So Dark Fae can go into the First Dimension? Why couldn’t Kymaris?”
“Kymaris could. But she wanted to obliterate the entire veil separating the worlds so everyone here could leave. She wanted to decimate the humans and take over.”
“Why?”
“Fae hate humans. God loved them more than us. Or at least, that’s the history that’s been handed down. Kymaris wanted free of this place so she could take back what God denied her.”
“You were her next in command. You approved of her plan then, but not now?”
Fair question. “It didn’t matter if I approved or not. She was my queen, and I followed her rule. I choose to rule differently.”
She points a finger at me. “There’s a story there as to why that’s so.”
A story that’s so complicated and at times shameful, it calls for a radical change of subject. I flip the spotlight back on her.
“I have to say, I’m fascinated by how readily you’ve accepted your fate. Most people who come to the Underworld have a hard time believing this isn’t just a horrible nightmare. I’ve watched people go over the edge of the bridge, screaming on the way down but believing they’ll wake up safe in their bed when they hit the river. Not you, though. You accepted it from the start.”