Entangled Souls

Published by EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ® at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2023 Faedra Rose

ISBN: 978-0-3695-0762-4

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Lisa Petrocelli

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

This series is dedicated to my soul mate, the Dark to my Light.

You are my everything—my always and forever.

I love you.

ENTANGLED SOULS

Soul Mates, 1

Faedra Rose

Copyright © 2023

Chapter One

Astra

I am unlike the White Queens that have come before me—there’s something wrong with me. Born to reign over the Northern Continent from the Crystal Throne, I’m supposed to be the Bastion of Light, Scion of Purity, and the Heart of Goodness… I was born to be the moral compass for my people, but I fear that I’m not. I fear that I can’t be, no matter how hard I try, because deep down inside me exists a truth that I’m afraid to admit.

I fear that even giving it credence will only cause it to take root, and grow like a weed—wild, rampant, and unchecked—to choke the sacred garden of my soul and poison my heart. But the seed is already there. I feel it like a fleck of Darkness, just waiting patiently for its time to bloom and reveal me for the traitor I am. And more than that … I’m afraid that I want to find out, and be found out.

Today is the Day of Love, a day where we all celebrate the driving force that keeps us together, like a celestial glue that anchors our hearts to one another, as friends, family, and lovers. From the lowliest servant to the crown that sits atop my head, we all take this day to thank the Goddess for this gift. Love is what keeps us going. It’s what keeps us fighting each and every day. It’s what separates us from the Southern Continent and its bleak and Eternal Darkness.

The River of Souls divides us physically, acting as a barrier. When we die our souls will join the river, and wrest against the poisoned souls from the South for all eternity to keep the North safe, prosperous, and peaceful. Our deaths, therefore, are as meaningful as our lives. For in death, we protect all that we love. We keep the sacred balance so that all those who come after us may enjoy what we have.

On the Day of Love the people of the North bring tributes to the North bank, to honor all those who have passed, and to thank them for their undying service to those of us who live on. Some travel for weeks from all corners of the North to be here on this day. And I too must participate in the observance.

Each year a royal procession leaves the White Castle and the White Queen has the sacred duty of commencing observance. I will lead my people in song and prayer, so that the souls who ensure our safety know they are not forgotten, nor unappreciated.

The Day of Love also serves as a reminder to us all, that the Goddess sacrificed a part of her Light the day the barrier was created. That Light now lives on in me. I am the living embodiment of the Goddess here on the Continent. Within me resides the truth of her existence, and the people’s final hope. She is our mercy against the Dark.

If there ever comes a day the River of Souls should break, and the souls of Darkness spill into the North like a plague, only the White Queen’s sacrifice can cleanse the land and save her people. It’s why the White Queens are always armed. Despite our purity and peaceful ways, it is our duty to protect. And like a key in a lock, only by the queen’s own hand can the sacrifice be made. My life for the many—that is the burden I carry. And some days it feels heavier than others. Today is one of those days. Today, I feel its crushing weight, and yearn to be free of it.

It’s selfish and immature, and beyond preposterous, but I feel it all the same. I may wear a crown, I may have been raised and educated a princess, and crowned a queen, but I’m still just one soul—and a lonely soul at that. I have come of age, and soon I must take a husband so that I can ensure the Passing of the Light. But my heart stubbornly shirks the responsibility thrust upon it. It wants to be wild and free, like a bird on the wing. It wants to fly and explore, and experience more than what duty has so rigidly planned for it.

They say duty is the death of love, and that love is the death of duty. But I dance the fine line in-between these two truths. I must follow duty for love—for the love of my people. The price of this duty is the death of love. My love, or at least any opportunity for it. I will marry, carry a child, and pass on the Light as is my sworn duty. And in that commitment I