The Queen of the Underworld

Darkness wrapped around me like a second skin.

I wasn't falling. I wasn't moving. Just floating in nothing.

But it wasn't the kind of darkness I knew.

Not the freezing kind that bit at my skin in the slums. Not the suffocating, crushing kind of nightmares.

This was different.

Warm. Soft.

Like an embrace.

Like someone was holding me.

A voice whispered through the silence, gentle and soothing.

"My sweet child… sleep."

I didn't fight it.

I woke up to warmth.

Not the kind that comes from a fire or the sun, but something softer. Safer.

Fingers ran through my hair. Slow. Careful.

My body tensed.

That wasn't normal.

I blinked.

Dim, silver light filled the space around me. It wasn't bright like the Academy's lanterns, or golden like the city streets. It was softer, like twilight stretched forever.

I took a breath. The air smelled fresh, like rain on stone. And something floral. Something familiar.

I shifted.

Something solid was beneath me.

And someone.

I wasn't lying on a bed anymore.

I was in someone's lap.

I froze.

Every instinct screamed at me to move. To roll away. To fight. To run.

But I didn't.

Because when I looked up—

I knew her.

Not by name. Not in a way that made sense.

But in the way memories slip through cracks in time.

She had dark, flowing hair, threaded with gold. Her features were unreal—high cheekbones, full lips, and deep violet eyes that held something I couldn't place.

She wasn't just beautiful. She was ethereal. Otherworldly.

And I had seen her before.

Something inside me stirred. Like a door unlocking in the back of my mind.

A memory flickered.

Blurry. Faint.

But real.

I saw flashes—

Running. Someone holding me, cradling me close. Her voice, whispering something I couldn't understand. Fear in her eyes. A promise.

Then, the feeling of being left behind.

My breath hitched. My chest ached, like I was missing something I couldn't name.

And before I even thought about it, before I could stop myself—

I spoke.

"…Mother?"

My voice cracked. Barely above a whisper.

She inhaled sharply.

And then—

She pulled me into her arms.

The warmth of her embrace was instant, fierce, like she had been waiting forever just to hold me again.

I didn't understand it.

Didn't know why my throat burned. Why my hands trembled.

But for just a second…

I let her hold me.

I let myself believe it.

That I wasn't alone.

That someone had been waiting for me all along.

But the moment didn't last.

Reality came creeping back.

I pulled away slightly, my breath uneven.

"Wait—" I forced out. "Who… who are you?"

Her expression shifted. Something passed through her gaze—something deep, something sad.

"You don't remember me," she said softly.

It wasn't a question.

I shook my head. "Why do I feel like I've seen you before?"

She didn't answer right away.

She just watched me, like she was searching for something.

Then, finally, she smiled. A small, sad smile.

"You were always a curious child."

She reached toward me and placed a hand against my cheek.

And the second she touched me—

Everything rushed back.

The blurred images sharpened.

The memory slammed into me like a wave.

Running.

Her arms wrapped around me. Holding me tight.

A voice, whispering a promise.

"You are loved. You are protected. We will meet again."

I gasped, my mind spinning.

I had seen her before.

I had felt this warmth before.

She was the first person I had ever seen.

The first person who had ever held me.

A lump formed in my throat. I swallowed hard.

"…What is this place?" I whispered.

She took my hand in hers, squeezing it gently.

"Welcome home, Kael."

Her violet eyes softened.

"You are in the Underworld."

And my whole world tilted.