The Ivory Queen
Chapter 106

***Valentina’s POV***

I lazily open my eyes only to force them closed again as bright light burns into my irises. Taking deep breaths, I try to remember what happened to me.

…Karina… I was stabbed by Karina…Does this mean I’m dead?

My body was no longer in pain and I feel warm sand surrounding me, cradling my body in comfort.

Sand? Where-where am I? I think to myself.

I muster up the courage to open up my eyes to confirm my looming fear and am stunned by what I see.

I’m at the beach, my body nestled on the shore, warm water trickling over my hair. The bright sun shines on me, kissing my tan skin and I bring a hand up to shade my eyes. I look around and see a familiar cave opening in the distance.

Oh goddess, I am dead.

A storm of emotions builds up in my stomach as I let this realization sink in.

I’m dead. I’m really dead.

I look around the empty beach, recognizing its familiar beauty. I was home. After 18 years, I was finally home again. Suddenly the reality of my situation didn’t seem so scary. I had craved my return for so long, missing the bustling city and my people. My familia. I get up and dust myself off, walking towards the cave Emi, Teo and I used to explore as kids.

When I reach the entrance, I see a small figure with their back to me hunched over in the corner, seemingly interested with something in their hands. I stare at the person, their tan skin youthful and glowing. They were barefoot and wearing only a pair of red swim trunks.

“H-hello?” I call out to the figure but they don’t respond.

Holding my breath, I walk into the cave, maneuvering over stones and barnacles with careful steps until I’m only a feet away from the small figure.

“You’re all grown up now, Valentina,” the figure speaks.

Their back is still to me, but I recognize their voice instantly. I feel my chest grow heavy, a sob caught in my throat.

“Emiliano?” I croak, tears welling up in my eyes. “What-“

“Te vez linda, hemanita {you look beautiful, little sister},” he says, finally turning to face me.

He appears to be in his twelve year old body, his signature innocent smile hanging on his lips.

“I-“

“I’ve missed you,” he says, cupping a small hermit crab in his hands.

“I’ve missed you too,” I sob.

He rushes towards me, pulling me into his arms. My entire body trembles as tears pour out of me and I grip his arms to keep from collapsing.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” I cry into his bare chest. “I thought I was alone.”

“You’ve never been alone, Vale. I’ve always been with you. Always,” he coos, stroking my hair with such tenderness.

I hold onto him, afraid to let him slip through my fingers and we hug for what seems like hours before he finally pulls back. He wipes my tears with his thumbs and k****s my forehead.

“Am I dead?” I ask, looking around the cave. “Am I finally home? Where are Mom and Dad? Where’s Teo?”

He gives me a sad smile and shakes his head. “No, not quite anyways,” he sighs. “You’re in limbo.”

“Limbo?”

He smiles sheepishly, crouching down to place the hermit crab in a small pool of water.

“Not quite dead, not quite alive,” he shrugs as he stands back up. “You’re somewhere in between.”

“For how long?” I ask.

“As long as it takes for you to figure out if you want to stay or leave,” he smiles.

“Well in that case, I’m staying,” I reply and he frowns at me. “Don’t look at me like that, Emi.”

His frowns deepens and he lowers his gaze down to the hermit crab crawling along the bottom of the pool.

“Well that’s disappointing,” he says, a hint of irritation in his voice. He turns his back to me. “I expected more from you.”

“I’m tired Emi,” I whine. “I’m tired of fighting. I just want to come home.”

He slowly turns back to me, tears filling in his eyes. “I want you to come home too.”

“Then why can’t I stay?”

He shakes his head, a single tear rolling down his cheek and he forces a smile.

“Because it’s not your time yet…” he says. “You still have a job to do…”

Suddenly, the cave disappears, morphing into a bedroom. Two beds occupy the room but only one of them is being used. I walk toward it, peeking down at the tiny inhabitants and smile. A five year old Chava lays in the middle, Aurora and Mia tucked safely under each of his arms.

“This is my favorite memory,” Emiliano calls out from behind me.

I’m shocked to see him as an adult now, a well groomed mustache living on his upper l*p and brown curls hanging loosely on his forehead.

“Mia woke up crying and Aurora couldn’t soothe her. She didn’t understand why her sister was crying. But Chava…” he smiles proudly. “He knew. He came in here, scooped her up in his arms and carried her to Aurora’s bed. He held them both until they all fell asleep. I found them like this when I got up for training,” his says, the smile on his face contorting into a frown. “I left them too soon. I could heal many things, but I could not heal the broken soul of my wife,” he murmurs, walking over to the bed and stroking his son’s hair. “I made a lot of mistakes in my life time and that is a burden I carry with me even in death.”

“Emiliano, I-“

“Chava was a beautiful boy and she corrupted him. She darkened his heart,” he lifts his eyes up at me, a mix of anger and anguish in them. “Karina was my mistake… I’m not asking you to fix it. I’m simply asking that you not make the same one as me.”

The room morphs into the River moon forest, Celina and Mia fighting off a group of rogues. I feel my chest clenching as Celina tears into a rogue’s throat, ending his life in seconds. Her eyes are full of desperation as she fights and I know she’s looking for me.

Across the forest, Danny defends Diego’s unconscious body from a pair of rogues.

“Your family still needs you, Vale,” Emiliano says, gripping my hand. “It’s not your time, yet.”

My heart is torn. I love my family but I had been fighting this war for years and I was exhausted. I wasn’t sure I had any fight left in me.

“I don’t want to be alone anymore,” I whimper, fresh tears spilling on my cheeks.

“You’re not alone, Vale. You never have been.”

I lean into him, resting my head on his shoulder.

“I know you’re tired, manita {slang for sister},” he sighs, pulling me into his chest and stroking my hair. “I know you want to come home… So if you want to stay, I won’t blame you. I won’t be upset. I’ll bring you home myself and we’ll welcome you with open arms.”

I sob into his chest. I wanted to come home.

“But if you choose to live, you’ll return here one day knowing you left your family prepared to live with out you. You won’t have remorse… you’ll be at peace.”

“Emi don’t do this,” I snap. “Why do you always have to make everything so hard?!”

He chuckles softly into my hair. “The most important decisions are often the hardest ones to make.”

I think long and hard.

Celina. My Celina. She’s was so fragile. I had seen what grief could do to people and I feared my death would turn her bitter as it did Chava and Karina.

And my Dieguito. He had just found love. After years of being bullied by his fellows wolves for loving who he did, he finally found a man to love him back. Goddess, he was so afraid when he came out to Danny and I all those years ago, he was shaking. Celina held his hand the entire time. But little did he know we knew all along and that we loved him. It didn’t matter to us. He was still our beautiful little boy.

And Daniel. My handsome soldier. He was Emiliano’s best friend in the Royal Army. He had seen things I could never understand but he never let it darken his love for life. He always made me laugh when I felt the world was coming apart. His smile was best, a smile that could make you burst with a joy. Would he still smile if I was gone?

I pull away from Emi’s arms and look at my family battling for their lives.

Would the battle ever end? If we won, more creatures would soon try their hand at tearing us apart. And if we lost, we would be torn apart. What was the point in living if I would constantly fear for my family’s well being? What was the point of carrying on when it could all come crashing down at any moment? I had lost so many people in my life, was I prepared to lose more?

I turn to Emiliano, my decision made. My brother smiles at me, the sparkle in his chocolate eyes warming my heart. I had missed those eyes.

“You’ve made you’re decision?” He asks, though it’s more of an statement.

I give him a slight nod and he k****s my forehead.

“I’ll be right here waiting for your return. I promise,” he smiles, pulling me once more into a hug.

“How did you- ”

He laughs, his shoulders shaking with every chuckle. “I know you…I knew you would make the right decision.”

I give him one last squeeze before pulling away from him and squaring my shoulders. “So… what now?” I ask, wiping my last few tears and smiling at him. “How do I-“

He lifts his index finger, the tip glowing turquoise. “I send you back.”

I nod and he slowly approaches me, reaching his hand out towards me. As he gets closer, I feel panic kick in and I grab his wrist before he can send me back.

“Wait! Will I- Will I remember this?”

He shakes his head.

“Okay… then… then I love you, Emiliano.”

“I love you too, manita. Please make sure they’re alright.”

I nod my head as his fingertip touches my heart, turquoise light blinding me.

My lungs burn as I suck in air, my body screaming with pain. I feel someone smearing something on my wounds and it burns. I open my eyes, straining to see the silhouette of a figure scrambling to cover my wounds with some sticky substance.

“That’s right, wolf. Stay with me,” a voice says. “Don’t die on me, damn it!”

I wheeze, struggling to get air into my lungs as the voice chants some strange words at me. A few moments pass and the burning slowly starts to subside.

“Atta girl,” the voice soothes. “That’s it.”

I narrow my eyes to slits to see who my savior is and growl when I realize it’s the witch Aurora befriended. She’s covered in b***d, a nasty gash slicing across her forehead and her dress tattered and torn, revealing bleeding wounds.

“Hey, I just saved your life!” she snarls back. “Don’t be an arse!”

She’s right…

Ashamed, I lick her hand and she strokes my fur. “It’s okay,” she murmurs. “I know you’re scared.”

I take in my surroundings and realize this tiny witch somehow dragged my body away from the clearing where Karina and I fought and hid us is a secluded area with thick brush to cover us. Large leaves with with sticky black gunk are placed across my wounds. I try to get up but the pain makes me realize my mistake and I whine.

“Shhh!” she hisses. “Those wolves might hear you!”

We hear rustling in the distance, and she curses under her breath, her eyes darting around in search of the source. Suddenly a silver wolf with golden eyes pops its head through the brush and howls. We hear several more wolves come running and a white wolf pushes past the silver wolf.

“Mami!” Celina cries. “Oh goddess, you’re alive!”

I whine as she comes over to my side, leaning her head against mine and licking my face.

“I’m here Mami,” she whimpers.

She places a paw on my shoulder and I feel a tingle electrify my body. I sigh in relief as the wound in my chest closes.

“Where is your brother?” I ask, getting up and shaking my fur.

As if on cue, my son and husband emerge through the bushes, Eric close behind them.

I sigh in relief, happy everyone is okay. From the corner of my eye, I watch the witch pick herself up, wincing as she dusts herself off. She was in pretty bad shape, the gash on her forehead bleeding heavily.

Without thinking, I push past my family towards the witch and bow my head to her, hoping she understands.

“You’re welcome,” she smiles.

I sit on my hind legs and lift a paw up towards her. She laughs before choking on some b***d and spitting it out. She wipes her b***d with the back of her hand and smiles sheepishly.

I place my paw on her shoulder and she gasps when we both feel a jolt of electricity run between us. Her wounds stop bleeding and slowly, her skin begins to to stitch itself back together. She sighs contently when the last wound closes and I stare in amazement at her.

Did I just…?

I turn to see many other stunned faces looking back at me.

But Emiliano was the healer… not me…

I don’t get much time to question my new found gift when Eric’s panicking voice interrupts my train of thought

“Where is Rosalie?” He asks, shifting into his human form. “She- she …. Where is she?”

Oh no….

“What does he mean?” Celina asks. “She’s not in the safe house?”

I feel tears in my eyes.

“Karina took her.”