In Another Life by Carys Jones Page B

which endured now, even with the prospect of her demise looming in the air like a foul stench. Marie would always find the light in the darkness and cling to it and now Sebastian embodied that mentality, wishing with every fibre of his being that at any moment she’d wake up and return to him.
     
    *
     
    “They will expect you to commence with your royal duties as soon as possible,” Orion explained.
     
    “Royal duties? Like what?” Marie was still trying to make sense of this strange, fantastical world she found herself in.
     
    “Royals usually greet their subjects from the throne room.”
     
    “The throne room?” Marie’s heart beat quickened slightly as she imaged how opulent such a room would be, given the grandeur she had already witnessed within the castle.
     
    “It’s quite a sight to behold,” Orion’s eyes twinkled as he sensed Marie’s excitement.
     
    “Members of the royal family sit upon the golden throne and meet their subjects as they are presented with gifts. Then, it is common for newly crowned royals to walk through the streets of Azriel whilst rare flowers are thrown upon them.” 
     
    “It sounds amazing,” Marie gushed. “But like I told you, I’m not a princess.”
     
    As she spoke her gaze drifted over the sumptuous fabric of the dress she was wearing. All colour within it was impossibly bright, as though a rainbow had been stitched together to create it.
     
    “At least entertain us,” Orion urged. “Azriel has been in shadow since your departure. Cast your light upon your subjects, let them feel the warmth of the sun again.”
     
    “But everything here seems so wondrous,” Marie noted. “The golden buildings, the vast castle, the emerald grass. This doesn’t look like a shadowed world.”
     
    “Trust me,” Orion walked across the room to the balcony which overlooked vast open fields of swaying grass. Marie joined him and let her gaze drift out across the vista.
     
    “All of this was once a great, bustling city of gold which towered high up in to the sky,” he gestured to the endless space ahead of them stretching off towards the horizon.
     
    “Azriel was the most glorious of all the cities, people travelled from miles around to bask in its glow. But as the light at the centre diminished, so did the town. Now, Azriel is but a little village. Had you not returned when you did, we would have eventually disappeared all together.”
     
    “How is that even possible?” Marie failed to understand how one person could control the fate of an entire city like that.
     
    “The royal heir is the life blood of Azriel, we are bound together. Upon the throne, you could live forever.”
     
    “Forever?” Immortality existed in books about brooding men with fangs, nowhere else. Or so Marie thought.
     
    “As you nourish the city, the city nourishes you.”
     
    “Then why did the King and Queen die?”
     
    “They didn’t die,” Orion sighed. “They were killed.”
     
    “By insurgents,” Marie remembered. “But how can that happen if they’re supposed to live forever?”
     
    “Sitting on the throne isn’t without its dangers,” Orion warned. “There are those that want to see Azriel fall.”
     
    “I don’t want to put a huge target on my back by sitting on some throne!” Marie drew her arms protectively around herself.
     
    “That was a different time,” Orion assured her. “We would protect you. That’s what my training was always for. We learnt to harness the magic within the city to help protect both ourselves and when you returned, to protect you too.”
     
    Marie was sceptical but couldn’t help but feel intrigued to see the throne room first hand.
     
    “Shall we go?” Orion offered her his hand which she elegantly accepted. As their palms connected a surge of energy swept through her body, making every nerve tingle. Marie’s cheeks flushed as she tried to hide how she was feeling.
     
    “I promise that you won’t be disappointed when