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Archdemon Empress Luna

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When she opened her eyes wide, Luna flinched when she began to see colors and energy fields forming shapes around beings, especially Apollyon's mother.

Frozen in place, she can glimpse them so clear and crystal that she felt she was losing her mind.

Black silhouettes danced like flames, creeping around her the crown of her head and shoulders.

The expanse of her exposed skin felt strange like she could feel this malicious gaze coming from Empress Ourania's aura resting on her.

Auras didn't feel like spirits such as this one.

Something she couldn't pinpoint was attached to Apollyon's mother.

Why was her aura dim and a bit sinister?

Tempted to give in to her fear and tell Apollyon and his mother about what she felt, Luna banished this eerie sensation by herself and tried to purify the energy around them.

It might just be a dark entity coming close to Empress Ourania's aura. But it didn't actually come from her.

There was no need to alarm them if she could handle it.

Bringing forth her Archdemon Magic, she willed for a small dark cloud that she could only see and infused it with a stronger power to feed on this unknown entity in Empress Ourania's atmosphere.

She watched the black cloud formed its mouth into an 'O' above Empress Ourania's head to slurp the shadows around the menace in her aura, but nothing happened.

Surprised, her summoned cloud's eyes were as wide as its mouth as it flew above them in a panic, wondering why his task didn't work as it should be despite the strength of its suction.

It almost swallowed Empress Ourania's hair in her mouth.

From an outsider's perspective, Apollyon's mother gathered her long auburn hair and drew it to the right side, and safely tucking them over her shoulder from the strong warm winds.

Luna wiped the sweat on her forehead with her palms and gave up after her little cloud did it three more times.

The ominous shadows in her aura remained.

She snapped a finger, and her summoned cloud vanished into dark tendrils of smoke.

Luna brought her attention back to the conversation at hand.

Empress Ourania sat quietly as she waited for Apollyon to finish his outburst. "There is no need to be wary about sharing yourself to me, Apollyon, if you would only allow yourself." She crossed her legs and rested her hands primly on her knees. "I am your mother. I wouldn't force you to do anything that you don't want."

That's good." Apollyon nodded in agreement, and Luna could hear the sarcasm in his words. "I would not allow anyone from the Summer Courts to pressure me into things, either."

Empress Ourania casually dabbed the corners of her eyes with a dainty handkerchief.

"Since, I'm already here, I should talk about myself." Maintaining eye contact with his son, she added, "You are determined to shut me down when I asked you questions about yourself and your adventures."

"I don't understand why you are expecting a happy reunion in the first place when you have disowned me based from your actions." Apollyon responded without bitterness. "I might be a part Fae but nothing in my life is a fairy tale. I had my share of hardships. You weren't there to support me when I needed you and I have lived with that. It is what it is."

" I was trying to be polite and put you at ease since this is your first time in the Summer Realm." Her mother pointed out. "This was also the first time since we talked since I left you in the Vampire Realm—"

"—so that I could fend for myself against the Blood Beast which possessed me--"

"—which I couldn't do anything to help you get rid of it." Her mother cut him off. "You must have preferred that I die along with King Gwythyr, right?"

"I didn't prefer it." The stark shadow on the delicate skin under his eyes made him appear emotionally exhausted. "It was a fact I believed to be true for the rest of my existence with the Blood Beast."

Empress Ourania gave her another one of her frosty glances before shifting them to her son, "Your wife suggested that we should move on to the present. But every time I say something, you keep on connecting it back to the past, Apollyon. You said that you have no emotions for me but it felt like you have a suppressed resentment in your heart. I want us to talk about it, one-on-one, but you don't want to." Apollyon met her gaze head-on now that she was more offensive rather than defensive, "You stubbornly bring your Empress into the picture when this issue was between you and I. You are using her as a shield to hide from me because you hated dealing with me. Isn't that it? In your mind, I was already dead!"

Luna was tempted to roll her eyes at Empress Ourania.

Why was she constantly bring her up again when she kept her mouth shut all this time and left them to argue?

Did she have an issue specifically with her, or was she just jealous because Luna has Apollyon's loyalty with her?

"Yes, you are right." Apollyon gave him a half-shrug. "You are already dead to me. And it isn't my habit to bring back dead. That will only haunt me for the rest of my immortality."

Luna's mouth fell open, shocked that her husband can dare say that in front of his mother without holding a part of himself back.

He must have really hated his mother to remind her of her shortcomings over and over again.

At least, there were no more tears except anger scrunching her lovely face.

Chills ran down Luna's spine when she heard Empress Ourania's laughter. "Then, if being a ghost is the only way I can return to you, then I will haunt you until you welcome me back as your mother. Apollyon."

"You don't know how much I love you and miss you but King Gwythyr, your father, was determined to keep us apart!"