The Mate Inside

"I live inside you, Thea. My soul has resided inside you for years."

"I-I don't get what you're saying."

I was stumbling to find the right words.

"You weren't breathing at the time of your birth. At the same moment, I was losing consciousness, going into what you can refer as hibernation to recuperate from the toll the war had taken on my body. Leaving this kingdom without a functioning king right after the battle was not safe, so I decided on transferring the king's crest to you. I guess something wrong happened considering how instead of the crest, part of my soul got shifted to you."

"Come out."

The burning pain in my chest I had come to hate returned the moment I said those words. It was followed by painful heaving for a minute or two before my back arched and I felt something clawing its way out of my chest.

"Why do I feel this pull towards you?"

"It's because we share souls, just as mates do."

"Are you my mate then?"

What I heard next made my blood run cold,

"A king can never have a mate, Thea."