A/N

Hello, my beautiful stars! As promised, here is another update from the Kingdom of Sidus! Don't forget to vote for this chapter! Enjoy!

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A WISH. I thought of it more as asking for something that seemed impossible, out of this world, or something we want so badly that we desperately beg, plead, cry out in order for us to have it. Wishing is bittersweet. I have this negative belief that when wishes are granted, resentful consequences would follow. Nobody could simply take and take... and take. Something must be lost or sacrificed in exchange.

"What did you wish for, Freya?"

Amaree made a wish. The blue ball of fire was Amaree, fighting for her destiny even when her lifetime had long been over.

"Memor esto voti tu una nocte nativitatis."

Remember the vow you made on the night of his birth.

Lykos revealed that to me when he possessed Galax's body. Those words were echoing inside my mind until his voice became distant, swallowed by the current of a sudden vision.

Mavis who appeared bewildered right in front of me, began disappearing into ashes. The Duke's hold on my shaky hands left me out in the cold as my surroundings morphed into the darkness.

Forthwith, I found myself in cold oblivion. My whole body started trembling as my soul's energy depleted. Vicious snarls echoed from where I stood, hence, I crossed my arms, clutching my body as if I could protect myself from the unknown.

There was nothing I could see but a dark space with no path as if I had gone blind.

"Apollo!" I screamed.

I felt trapped and isolated, hearing danger coming near me with each passing second. The bearer of those snarls were surely walking in front of me. I could hear their movement clearly and I called the beast in me to take over but she was nowhere in sight.

Four red orbs flickered before my eyes and I stumbled on the ground, pushing myself backwards as the stench of wolves surfaced. I needed to remind myself that this was only a vision. Courage should win over my fears in order for me to escape this tragedy.

"Who are you?" I seethed, crumpling my fingers on the ground while gathering what seemed like sand in it.

A large, black wolf bared its fangs, saliva dripping from its mouth. I recognized whose wolf it was. The solipsistic beast.

I couldn't believe he was out of his cage, out of the Duke's body. Behind him too was my own egotistic beast. Her silvery fur activated my hidden fear.

Beasts only howl.

They were feral, diabolical, and sinister creatures. Both of them gave me the impression that they were impossible to tame. For once though, I thought of reaching out my hand, wanting to feel my wolf's fur the way Apollo did.

She was the other piece of me, but I no longer recognized her. It felt like we were strangers staring at each other. More so, she was a wolf and I was the deer she was preying on.

Blast! The she-wolf jumped right at me, pushing my back on the fine sand. All four of her paws caged me on both sides as the male wolf went around us in circles.

"Ego adsum."

That voice... it sounded like the blue ball of fire. I surrendered to the wolf's entrapment, easing the throbbing of my chest and concentrating on the message coming from who I assumed could be Amaree.

"Ego adsum." I am here.

Right there, magically appearing before me were her toes shining; her slim body forming in white and silver dusts; her fair arms glowing in auras of gold... and her majestic blonde hair falling right below her hips.

Her face was the last to be unraveled before me... her features looked exactly like mine except that she had a glow of mirth and at the same time melancholy in her blue eyes. It might sound as though I was glorifying myself because we had obvious similarities... but god, she was beautiful. She was ethereal.

A small, winsome smile slipped from her bow-shaped lips.

"Postremo nobis non occurit." We have finally met.

She was looking down on me beside the wild beast above me. Effortlessly, she ran her fingers through the silver hair of my own wolf. The lodge in my throat suddenly vanished as I watched her taming my wolf as if she was the master of it. Unbelievable.

The wolf purred, gently brushing her furry cheek against Amaree's arm. A soft whistle resounded right after, summoning the most dangerous wolf I had ever seen in my entire life-- Apollo's beast.

I doubted it would work for a second there as the solipsistic beast ignored it for a short while. Withal, the vagabond wolf silently made its steps forward, urging a soft gust of wind to blow as he obediently followed the lady's command.

Amaree's long fingers touched the wolf's crown of fur without further thought. The feral wolf closed its eyes as if basking at the familiarity of her touch. The beast that even the powerful Duke of Therion couldn't tame had been benign with this soul appearing before me. Surreal.

"Lykos ubi est?" Where is Lykos?

Her question had me pondering on it as well. They must have been separated even to this day. They were not meant to be together according to Mavis' reading.

"He has been searching for you, Amaree." I lay there on the ground, uttering those words to appease her wondering mind. "He said, the time has come..." I continued, recalling the words from the King.

A somber emotion glazed her magnetic eyes. Shaking her head, she said, "Nondum." Not yet.

"Ad ultimum memorias tibi reserare meo, ut redire eo. Non possum non meminisse ullum ex eo."

"You have to unlock my last memories in order for him to return. I cannot remember any of it."

That alone surprised me, putting me in a crestfallen state. I thought she had the answers but she seemed as lost as I was. I wanted to cry, feeling all of these troubles encapsulating me ever since I became aware of their existence.

"Memor esto voti tu una nocte nativitatis." I uttered those words hoping for Amaree to be enlightened. "Remember the vow you made on the night of his birth." I told her, seeking for answers even when the lady seemed confused.

"Lykos said you made a vow on someone's birth. Was it Galax?" I questioned. "Or did you have a son with the Warrior King?"

Heaven and earth must have collided inside her mind. What I said might have opened a small peak at the door of her memories. I confirmed it when Amaree froze as soon as she heard the word 'son.' It did not take long before tears started foaming her blue eyes.

The beasts beside her snarled at me as if I had done their master wrong. The silvery lace of fear overcame my senses once more and I squinted my eyes, chanting to myself that I wouldn't die here because it was only a vision.

Minutes passed and when everything seemed silent, only then did I open my eyes, upset to see the same oblivion. My beast was no longer above me, and I took it as an opportunity to raise myself from the ground and to seek a way out of this vision.

The tunnel-like darkness had a light peeking at the end of it, and as soon as I was up on my feet, I ran towards it even if I knew I was being chased, hopeful that I would be released from this nightmare.

"Sapphiro non amittant." Do not lose the sapphire.

Those words halted my endless path towards the light. The sapphire? The urge to feel the gemstone touching my chest won over the fear of being hunted by the most ruthless wolves.

"Inveniam vos Elise." You must find Elise.

The soul of Amaree suddenly flashed before me, removing my hand from the sapphire pendant, holding it at her own will.

"Ostende ea sapphyro et dic ergo illi, ut fit." Show her the sapphire and tell her that it is done.

With that statement she peacefully closed her eyes and I stared at her body being consumed by the cold blue fire. A blinding light forced me to shut my eyes, fatigue consuming my worldly body.

"Freya?"

I gasped as the currents crashed once more, transporting me back to the present moment.

"Elise!"

I was running out of breathe, losing my strength but I had to make it known. "She said... I need to find... Elise."

The Duke supported my back with his arm. "Aye. We will find her." He calmed me down, helping me get up from where I sat.

"Mavis, you may stay or you may go. I will have to escort the Duchess to her chamber."

The seer curtseyed to me and the Duke, worry marring her small face as she responded, "Aye, Milord."

I was too weak to even stand on my own. Noticing my frailty, the Duke carried me and I buried my face on his chest, wrapping my arms around his neck as we went down the stairs carefully. "Why do these visions drain my energy?"

It was a question I murmured to myself. However, the Duke of Therion was generous enough to answer. "Half of your soul was lost when you died in the lake. Each time you enter a spiritual dimension, you bring only half of your soul. Either mine or yours."

"When I breathed life into you, part of mine was transferred to you. The souls apparently have not fully merged."

I was still in a trance after escaping the vision that I wasn't able to ask him how a mortal could resurrect his own kind. The way he explained things seemed like he had knowledge of the supernatural possibilities that no ordinary wolf would know.

"You mentioned Elise." He said, stopping his steps as we reached the door of the Mistress' Chamber.

"Tell me what you saw in your vision." The Duke of Therion said as we entered the room.

I slipped my hands away from his neck, needing to feel the sapphire in my palms once more. Its security was top priority from now on, I said to myself. I had to guard it equivalent to my own life.

"Aye. I will tell you everything." I conceded, knowing I had nothing to lose now.

"I should probably start with Lykos."

• • •

That fateful evening, the Duke was all eyes and ears on me. I told him every little detail of what I knew about Lykos and Amaree. He did not seem quite stunned by some of the facts and stories I shared. Right then, I knew he was no stranger to these things as well.

We were sitting at the crevice of the large lancet window in the Queen's Chamber when I told him the second half of my revelations. And as I ended describing my last vision, we were both surrounded by a deadly silence.

An eerie atmosphere denoted the extraordinary situation the universe brought us into. Another set of possibilities which could bring us either agony or freedom had come to light. Whatever fate was brewing on the other side of our world, I knew it would put us in a very difficult situation. My worst worries came from the fact that I'd seen Lykos stabbing Apollo in one of those visions.

"Just a nightmare." I whispered to myself. I kept on affirming that it was no vision at all... that it was a mere nightmare.

I was completely lost, replaying the nightmare over and over again in my head as if I was torturing myself with the bond. I sat there, staring at my curled toes. The temperature of the room was getting colder. I forced myself to shut my eyes, suppressing a groan, until a warm touch cupped my chin. The Duke turned my face, daring me to look at him.

"Do you believe in the past life?" He suddenly asked, inching his face closer.

"I do." I said, knowing everything that I was seeing and feeling about Lykos and Amaree. I had been having this gut feeling that I was a reincarnation of the lady.

"Amaree's emotions are entangled with mine. The connection between Lykos and I is also a strong one... I don't know why but I can sense it naturally in my heart unlike--"

"The bond?" Apollo completed the sentence for me and I nodded.

I gazed at the Duke's eyes, searching for a hint of jealousy or hurt but there was none. He didn't care about the harsh comparison of our bond against my emotions for Lykos. There was this aura of confidence and trust encompassing him. No ounce of fear was lacing the Duke's aura at the moment.

"Aren't you afraid that these circumstances might come in your way and ruin your future?" I conspicuously put the query out there.

Apart from wanting to have a glimpse of his thoughts, I asked this to ascertain myself that he was going to help me willingly to decipher what was really going on. It was no longer just me involved in this scenario. He was in the seer's reading too.

"If I am truly Amaree's reincarnation, then I would soon be meeting Lykos in this life. That would put me in a pedestal, Apollo. A choice probably has to be made in the long run. You are my fated in the present but in my visions, you might be put in a competition with the past. Heaven forbid, but I could see bloodshed in the near future."

My body trembled at the appalling thought.

"The silvery lace of fear." He said, pulling himself away. I stared at him as he looked out in the window. The dark winter night sky was not as entrancing as that from the other seasons at all.

"Your fears will manifest if you believe in them." Apollo continued. "I want you to put your trust in me, Freya. There is absolutely nothing that could destroy me. I have told you this before, that you are my only flaw."

His confidence was petrifying but at the same time he said those harsh words oblivious of the fact that the last statement hurt the bond we shared.

You are my only flaw.

"That is in no way of convincing me to trust in you, Apollo. If I am your flaw, then I am your curse. I will bring forth nothing but chaos in your life. How can I trust that you won't abandon me in the end? Curses are supposed to be countered, not embraced."

An air of sorrow crushed my spirits once again. Too many things were weighing too much inside my head. What I said was true. He had always thought of me as his bad luck... his curse. And what we were starting to go through in the early days of our union only proved my point.

"I don't want to be your weakness... your flaw or your curse. Nobody in this world wants to be anybody's curse." I reiterated, needing to see him eye to eye.

"Our souls are bound to be together in this lifetime. And I never knew I'd say this but... if you die because of me, it would be my end too. Our soul contract from the heavens would be more than enough to destroy me. I am Freya and not Amaree. Half of me would die even if I reunite with Lykos again."

The Duke of Therion seemed to be in soliloquy, only gazing at the pitch black sky as I spoke. This connection between us seemed to have raised to a higher level of co-dependence and commitment.

My sanity and my soul heavily relied on him, and I would not second guess that we were on the same boat. Only my heart was facing a crossroad. Amaree's essence in me was yearning for the Warrior King I barely knew, while mine was tied to the Future King of Sidus.

"Be my strength then."

Chills ran down my spine. The Duke was declaring his solution as if it were that simple to be who he wanted me to be. His strength?

"You can nullify any curse or bad luck with your mind. I have done that before I wed you. Our mind is more powerful than you think, Freya. Believe it or not, you were the one who taught me that when I saw you sitting on the Queen's Throne. You can be anyone you want to be. Be my strength instead of my flaw."

As I listened to him with a flabbergasted expression and a growing lodge in my throat, I realized what he was staring at, and how complex his mind most certainly was. The moon was full, shining on its own as the stars were visibly covered by thick mantles of clouds.

"If I matter more to you and if you trust me now. Be my strength and I will conquer everything that comes your way-- be it an obstacle from my heavenly enemy or a phenomenon from your past life."

It was easier said than done. How could one choose between a love from the past lifetime and a soulmate in the present? It seemed problematic and unfair. The decision would always result in unbalance and despair.

It was getting harder and harder to breathe with each passing second. "Then how can I be your strength? How is that going to protect you from the potential harm?"

He didn't even wait for a moment as if he already had the answers, waiting to be served. "You did say he is a threat to me. That he stabbed me from the back while you were in my arms in a vision, a dream, or a nightmare. Whatever you wish to call it."

"Hmm." I responded as he finally pulled away from his lingering gaze at the magnetic silver-dusted moon.

"If that time comes-" He paused, capturing my gaze.

His eyes glowing in flecks of godly gold and silver appeared before me. This was one of the rare occasions that he showed me his eldritch persona.

Who are you, Apollo?

"Kill him before he kills me, Freya. That is what it means to be my strength."

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A/N

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry for not being able to update right on schedule.

As I have said before, I am going through a very tough time in my life. It's been very painful with each passing day. But I am moving forward towards healing. I really appreciate your kind words and concern for me. Don't worry too much, I know that soon it will all get better.

Well, going back to the story... Most of the chapter are dialogues between our characters but what do you guys think about the current happenings? And what are your predictions and theories? I am really curious. Let me know in the comments.

On a side note... I will re-publish my first completed book here on Wattpad entitled Guilt of Bliss. I will be re-posting 5 chapters a week. It's a billionaire story (yeah sadly I went through that phase. I was only 17 when I wrote it 😂) and I cringe at times when I re-read it. Maybe I will be able to re-write it in the future. But if you're interested. Go check that out.

Love,

Lady Therese