The Pure-Hearted Princess and the Kiss of Darkness
Kataleya Rossi: A Love To Claim Chapter 1

- KATALEYA ~

The aftermath is always silent.

Whether it is a battle, an argument or the spiralling of one's emotions, it ends with complete silence.

But it's simply outward silence because the storm within me cannot be suppressed. It refuses to be silenced.

When my powers subsided, I was instantly taken away, in hopes that no one noticed. But that type of power cannot be hidden. It wasn't. Many people felt it and it's the worst possible time for it to happen. At the summit of all places!

I now sit on a sofa in one of the upstairs rooms, in a drawing room. The crown, shield and sword belonging to the Asheton Queen- me, sit beside me as I stare vacantly at the patterns on the Persian rug. Aunty Raven, Winona, Delsanra and Mama are here, whilst the rest are handling matters. I've seen most of my family, but Dad is one of the few who had to handle the mess I made.

"It's going to be alright, our Asheton Queen," Delsanra says as she crouches before me, brushing my hair back and offering me a smile.

I smile back, but I am still unable to form words, not sure how to express all that I am feeling.

Sure, we assumed I could be the queen, but for it to become reality brought the weight of what this means with it. Enrique...

Just the thought of him makes it hard to breathe.

His confession lingers in my mind, playing and replaying again and again until I'm consumed by it.

He loves me. He made my world complete, then tore it down.

That redhead's expression and the way Enrique went with her, something isn't right with her. She's... not normal. Why?!

I demand an answer to my question and I will get it!

"Kat... calm down," Mama's soft voice makes me look up at her and I realise my aura is rising, and my heart is racing wildly.

"It's not something we have to tell our Kat often. I wish she could let out her frustration. Maybe somewhere without all these nosy people around?" Aunty Raven suggests to Mama as she comes over.

Mama nods. "I understand, but there's too many people here, and nowhere we can go. Right now we have to try to remain calm."

"Kiara is right. Kataleya is the second ruler, and that's something that will panic people. With the final ruler's rise, the veil will break... at this rate, we are looking at a few short years." Delsanra voices the concern that I know is on everyone's mind. It's crossed my mind too.

"Do you think I could have prevented my coming into power from happening so soon?" I whisper thoughtfully if I could... Did I cause this?

"Oh no, my angel, no..." Mama sits down beside me and hugs me. "You can't control when your power would have manifested."

"She's right," Winona murmurs.

I inhale Mama's scent, wanting to curl up and cry, but the tears are not coming.

I close my eyes, trying to calm myself.

I feel... numb.

"Things happened when they were meant to," Winona adds, with a gentle smile. "We're all here for you, Kataleya."

"Thank you, I know. Everyone has been supportive as ever..." I whisper.

There's a light knock on the door and Royce enters. He smiles at me." Mind if I have a word with Kat? Alejandro, Rayhan and Liam are in the other room. I'll bring Kat in a while." "Of course," Mama says.

"I don't think that was a suggestion, but an order from a king," Aunty Raven teases.

Royce smiles at her. "I apologise."

She shakes her head. "Don't apologise. I was only messing."

They leave and I look up at him. He slips his hand into his pocket as he walks over to me and takes a seat beside me, leaving a gap between us as he turns to face me. "How are you feeling?" he asks quietly.

"About this Queen thing?"

He nods. "Everything, really. But we will deal with Escarra. For now, how do you feel about coming into your powers?"

I shake my head. "I don't know. I mean, I feel in control, but it also makes me feel that we will play a huge part in the final battle and that when the time comes, am I going to be enough? I mean..." Will I be there for the final battle? I foresaw my death.

He takes a deep breath, exhaling as he nods, before holding out his hand to me. I hesitate, confused, before slowly placing my hand in his and he encloses it with the other, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I think we all feel that, and not just you and I. I'm certain your dad, Leo, everyone feels this. We don't know what we're going to be up against, but I'll tell you this. In that battle against Apophis, you were incredible. The power difference before and after we come into our own is incredibly vast. I'm just thinking about how much you would be able to handle now." He smiles at me, trying to lighten my sombre mood.

"That's true... we're all preparing for something bigger..."

But...

"Look, don't think about that now, because when the time comes, we are going to be together. All of us, alright?" I nod slowly, feeling a wave of sadness. "Yeah... I guess I will focus on the present."

Enrique...

I look up into his grey eyes, suddenly feeling heartbroken.

Although I know that I am not giving up, it still hurts... so much...

"Hey... we're all with you." He cups my face, brushing my tears away, just as there's a light knock on the door.

I almost turn away, about to wipe my tears but he doesn't remove his hand.

"It's just Sky," he says as the door opens, and she pops her head in followed by Malevolent.

"Kat..." she says, her eyes glittering as she runs over and wraps her arms around me. Tucking her legs under her she sits beside me and pulls me close. Malevolent purrs against my ankles, rubbing against me.

"I am going to chop his dick off and cut it into as many pieces as there are Caribbean islands," Skyla threatens.

"That's rather a lot of pieces..." Royce muses, and I can't help but smile tearfully. "Do you know how many islands it consists of?"

"That is true..." I agree.

"I don't know, but fine if there's a lot, even better! I'll shred it into that many pieces then because I doubt his d**k won't be enough to make that many slices." "Sky!" I gasp before giggling.

Royce shakes his head. "I fear for my own right now."

"No, you don't need to. That belongs to me, and I need it in full."

I smile, glancing between them. Their journey wasn't easy either...

"Things will get better," I murmur to myself. My wolf seems to be prowling restlessly in my mind.

"They will," Royce says, smiling at me.

"They will for sure, and that douchebag will spend the rest of his life regretting what he did. Trust me, mistakes you make don't go away." Sky smiles at me, but I know she means her own too...

I hug her tightly, "Thank you, Sky, for being an incredible sister," I whisper.

"I mean, I try." She rolls her eyes and I smile.

I love her.

I feel better...

"Come on, let's get you to the other room." Royce stands. Sky nods as she helps me up and takes my hand, and just like when we were children, she leads the way and I follow.

I pause at the door and look at my three items.

"Do I leave those?"

"No one will be able to move them, they can only be handled by the

Asheton Queen," Royce explains. "If they're anything like the Solaris ones."

"Oh."

That makes sense...

We go into the adjoining room where all my family who had attended the summit are gathered.

Dad, Uncle Liam, Raihana and Leo are the four I haven't seen since I manifested. After what happened, they had all disappeared to do damage control.

Now, as I'm calmer, I just feel more self-conscious as they all observe me.

"What hot drink would you like, my darling?" Mama Mari asks me, motioning to the cups of hot drinks they have to the side.

"None, thank you..." I reply. I don't think my stomach would be able to handle anything.

Dad doesn't say anything, but he comes over to me and hugs me. I close my eyes, hugging him back. He caresses my hair silently, comforting me, and I appreciate it.

There is nothing like a father's embrace. He continues to hold me for a while until Azura clucks her tongue.

"Ok, Alejandro, let me hug her too."

"Now I really don't want to let go," Dad retorts, but he lets go of me and I smile at them both, although Azura is frowning at him.

She then smiles at me and beckons me over. I walk over to her and sit beside her as she wraps her arm around me, and I rest my head on her shoulder. Sky takes the other side and I'm glad they were both here when I came into power... These are my girls.

"So, it's pretty much out as we had way too many smart fuckers out there. They know it happened, but not who," Leo says to me as he smokes his cigarette.

Uncle Marcel sighs. "Well, I know it's not ideal, but this might get them to act a bit faster and take things far more seriously than many are right now. They do need to realise that the danger is approaching. They need to realise this threat is no joke and we all know some are pretty difficult to handle."

"Well that aside, how do you feel uncle, knowing your son is going to be king very soon?" Rayhan asks Uncle Marcel, earning himself an ice-cold frown from Leo.

"Proud, very proud." Uncle Marcel smiles at Leo, whose frown only deepens. I guess he's still not happy with what Dad did.

"Kat..." Raihana looks me over, smiling sadly, and I wonder what's going through her mind.

Mama suddenly gasps, her heart racing as she turns to the door.

"He's here..." she whispers, hushed, and my own eyes widen.

We don't need to ask who; somehow, Mama always knew when he arrived.

Dad scoffs. "About time the fucker showed up," he says just as the door opens and a man with glossy black curls, burning red eyes and a frame that towers above us all fills the doorway.

His thick lashed dark red eyes fall on me, worry and concern clear in them. "Cherry Blossom..."

I stand up, my eyes filling with tears. Oh, how I missed him!

I rush over to him and he closes the distance between us in two strides, pulling me into his arms.

"Dante... I missed you."