Chapter 22: Chapter 22

A few hours passed before Kathy woke up. From what she could feel, she was laying on a bed. How did she get there? She pulled herself into a sitting position but a dull pain stopped her in her tracks. She had forgotten about the wound which was now bandaged and almost healed.

The door was wide open and she slowly left the room. Not a single soul was found on her way. She recalled the last place she saw her family, the throne room then hurried to that place. Luckily, Hala and Aerial were there.

But something was off.

At that moment she couldn't tell what it was until she saw a figure on the throne, a person that wasn't Hala, everything came flying back to her.

The battle.

The defeat.

The aftermath.

April.

The pain of the betrayal came running back to her mind. All her life, she had been lied to and falsely loved by one person she could have given her life for.

Her heart thumped slowly as realization dawned on her. She had once again been used.

April.

Who was now signaling for her to come forward? But she couldn't, her feet seemed to be planted to the ground. Yet Kathy needed answers and let determination take her to where her mum stood.

"Why?" That was all Kathy could mutter. Hurt was painted over her features.

"Simple, I needed a child of my own. What's better than taking my sister's child?" April replied in a passive tone. Kathy looked for traces of the mum she knew and loved in the woman who sat before her but couldn't find any.

"Sister?" Kathy turned to Hala who looked back at her with numerous emotions oozing off her. Pain stood out as the greatest.

April crossed her right leg over the left, Calypso protectively stood by her side.

"Yes…" April turned to Hala, then said," Sadly."

"You see after I escaped from the wolves, I had to hide in a place I knew no one would find me or even think I would be. I fled to earth and used my powers to obtain a new identity, April Mallory," April explained.

Kathy's heart sank. Everything was a big lie and there was no April Mallory, to begin with.

"So, you knew all along who and what I was. Why then did you act like you were surprised when I started showing weird features?" Kathy spoke angrily. "You used me my whole life! Made me think you cared for me, loved me!"

April waved her fingers in a dismissing way.

"I truly did care. After all, I raised you for thirteen years. As a shadow magician, it was difficult for me to procreate, almost impossible even. I knew I needed to do something to get a child, preferably someone of my bloodline. My sister had just given birth then so I waited for the right time to take it," April said, staring at Hala.

Hala's eyes were heavy with tears she refused to let fall. Her sister had taken so much from her. Kathy realized that she could finally feel emotions again but she was in too much pain to feel relief.

"Lena, You took away my chances of raising my daughter all for what? Just so you could work out your barrenness?" Hala asked, teary-eyed. Aerial wrapped his arm around her shoulder, consoling her with anger oozing off him.

April, now known as Lena rolled her eyes then stood up slowly. She climbed down the stairs to the throne with Calypso trailing behind her.

"Relax, sister, we are family here, there is no need for all these hard feelings."

Hala growled and moved to lunge at Lena but Aerial pulled her back. She kept on struggling and fighting to get to Lena. Kathy watched the scene before her eyes with tearful eyes. She was in too much pain to react.

"You are despicable, the vilest and most evil person I have ever seen!" Hala yelled after she had worn herself out with constant struggling. She slumped against Aerial, panting from her struggles.

While Kathy was having a painful reality check, her mind played scenes from her whole life.

April bringing her home.

April kissing her good night.

April cooking for her.

April treating her injuries.

April telling her how much she loved her.

The last memory caused her to fall to the floor as the pain was too much to bear. Tears flowed freely from her eyes and she stared at Lena who stared back with cold eyes. Kathy knew then that she had truly lost her mother. She let Lena's emotions come to her and there was no love or even guilt. All she felt was hatred that choked her.

"Oh, quit the drama, we have a ceremony to prepare for," Lena announced, walking back to the throne with Calypso quietly behind her as usual.

Kathy didn't know what to do or even say. She had many questions that needed answers but most importantly, she needed to know one thing.

"Was Mark really married to you?" She asked, walking back to Hala who accepted her with open arms.

"No, he was a sorcerer that fell in love with me. I asked him to pretend to be my husband in exchange for unlimited intimacy. It was a win-win situation," Lena replied with a shrug.

"Were you aware of what he did to me?" Kathy asked in a low tone, dreading the answer to the question. Hala squeezed her arm slightly in encouragement, a small gesture telling her that she was with her. After Hala recovered fully from the attack, Kathy told her family everything about Mark.

"Yes, it was a small price to be paid. He wanted you and there was nothing I could do about it."

An appalled look appeared on Kathy's face at the absurdity and wickedness of Lena's statement.

"Nothing? You evil being! You let a grown-ass man force a fifteen-year-old girl into sexual acts and you tell me that there was nothing you could have done. What kind of a monster are you?" Kathy cried out, getting up and walking to Lena. "You do not deserve to be called a mother. No wonder your womb wasn't blessed with a child, you do not deserve one!"

Kathy felt the slap before she heard it, Lena had slapped her. Hala stood up as Kathy held her face, and ran to Lena but Calypso grabbed her and threw her to the side. Hala fell to the floor with a crash. Aerial lunged at Calypso intending to cause damage but with a wave of Lena's hand, he was frozen in place.

"You are no match for me or my people," Lena said, rolling her eyes. She lifted her hands and Aerial dropped to the ground like a log of wood.

Kathy still felt the sting from where she was slapped. It all felt like a dream she wished to wake up from. Lena stood up and climbed down the stairs again.

She stood in front of them and said, "There is no need for this disguise anymore."

Kathy frowned, knowing where she was driving at. With a snap of her fingers, Lena transformed into someone totally different. She had blue eyes like the rest of the royals with black hair. She looked exactly like Hala. She was younger and prettier than April Mallory. And just like that, April Mallory was gone, becoming a memory in Kathy's mind, a figment of her imagination. Lena left the room, taking Kathy's hopes with her.

Kathy collapsed into Hala's hands as women cried in each other's arms, mourning their losses caused by the same person.

"That's enough!" Aerial whispered to them. "She doesn't deserve your precious tears. Now we plan for a way to take back the throne before the ceremony which would surely take place in a week due to traditional activities."

Hala nodded, not being able to say anything else, but Kathy had a lot to say.

"What ceremony? How did all this even happen? Is there even a way out of this?" Kathy rushed out, still in Hala's arms. She was scared of letting go.

"The takeover. Surely that is what Lena was talking about. I can't tell you how this happened but I can tell you that we will get back what was taken from us," Hala spoke but even the determination in her tone could not ease Kathy's worries.

"How do we take back the throne and make that witch pay for everything she did to us?" Kathy asked again. Revenge was all she wanted and she didn't care how she would get it. All her life, the betrayal from April, no Lena was the most painful thing that had ever happened to her.

"The wolves can help. They have a vendetta against Lena after she killed their Alpha King," Aerial said.

Kathy's eyes widened in shock and dread. Her heart clenched with the pain she didn't understand."Alpha king Asher is dead?"

"No, his father, King Theron. That was why Asher took the throne at such a young age of thirteen."

Kathy nodded in understanding. King Asher has gone through a lot, no wonder he looked so cold. Still, she wondered how the wolves would get in with how tight the security was.

"I see the questions in your eyes but fret not Princess, we will figure out away. How does your wound feel now?" Hala asked her.

"Better, I can barely feel it now. Why weren't we healing during the battle?"

Hala sighed and said," Lena found it and used it during the battle."

That was the worst news Kathy had heard all week long. If discovered, the secret Hala told her about would bring Lunae to its knees. And Lena had found it.

"Oh, mother, that is terrible!" She exclaimed.

"The good news is that she only knows of its existence due to a sample given to her by a witch. While she kept us in the greenery, she kept on asking where the plant grew but we refused to tell her," Aerial said to Kathy and that calmed her down a bit.

Ipomoea alba, otherwise called the moonflower or moon vine, was lethal to Lunae people. Ironically, it was planted by the goddess to help the humans protect themselves in case her people turned into tyrants. Only the royal family knew about it and where it was planted. For years, decades and centuries, the royal family kept unknown guards at the birthplace of the moon vine, the only place where it could grow, Western Africa. But if Lena was already aware of its existence, it wouldn't be long for her to know its location. She only had to dig deeper, literally.

"What do we do now, father?"

"Before all this, I sent messengers to the royal pack. By now, the Alpha King is aware of our state and who is responsible. He will surely come to our aid. All we can do now is stray her away from the clues and hope she doesn't find out the location of our doom," he told her.

"If only it was that easy."

The words had barely left Kathy's mouth when the door opened and Calypso came in.

"Come with me," he said to Kathy and Hala.

The castle changed a lot in less than a day. There was so much tension in the air that they could chisel through it. The maids moved more timidly and scared. They were no Lunae warriors insight as Calypso imprisoned them in the dungeons. The shadow magicians had cast their gloom over the kingdom.

Kathy sent a look to Hala who shrugged in reply as it was impossible to use the mind bond due to the aftermath of the moon vine used on them. Calypso separated both women despite their protests and took Kathy to the Queen's chambers now occupied by Lena.

Lena was sitting by the window when Calypso let her in. Kathy stood quietly by the door not saying a word. She tried to feel something for the woman sitting in front of her but she couldn't feel anything, she was numb.

"Sweetheart, you used to be so talkative, what happened to you?" Lena asked, feigning ignorance. Due to the complete change in physical appearance, it was kind of easy for Kathy to accept that the person in front of her was no longer April. Everything was different but she chose to keep her memories in her mind. To her, April and Lena are two different people, even if she was lying to herself.

"What do you want?" She asked Lena who smirked.

"I want you to join me," Lena replied, going straight to the point.

Kathy scoffed. "In your dreams."

"Having someone with your powers on my side, I can achieve so much."

Kathy raised a brow at her statement. Powers she couldn't use very well during the battle.

"I would rather die than join you."

Lena let out a dark chuckle.

"I tried to be nice but as usual, you royals would rather be forced. I have my ways of persuading you," Lena said, rubbing her hands together with an evil look on her face.