219 Chapter 219 Volatile Choices

"Ok," Aella said, "But will me getting pregnant and having a kid get rid of these pheromones?"

"You're not upset about your mate and children dying while you live on?" he asked, surprised.

"I will deal with that when it happens," she shrugged. "I don't have a mate, and I don't particularly like kids, so the idea doesn't really bother me at the moment. I may change my mind on that later, but for now, I'm only concerned about these damn pheromones."

Bob nodded carefully, taking her empty glass and wiping the counter again. "Aella, have you considered why the realm gave you that ability? I know that your kind has it naturally, and that you weren't taught how to control it as you hit maturity, but your version of it is far stronger than any other of your kind. Do you think it might not have something to do with the fact the realm has chosen you to protect it?"

"You mean, that I have these blasted pheromones on purpose?!"

"I didn't say that exactly," he said quickly.

"But you said that there could be a reason why I had them," she insisted. "If this realm thinks it will get a buttload of kids from me, it has another thing coming!"

"I didn't mean that," said Bob, shaking his head. "Aella, you are supposed to be in charge of keeping the realm safe, right?"

"Yes, that is what the realm wanted," she agreed.

"Then why would the realm intentionally make it difficult for you to do your job, by not giving you complete control over yourself?" asked Bob. "You need to get this problem under control by dealing with the realm itself. Now, for having given you this advice, the realm will probably cut me off and I won't be able to have my bars here, but you insisted."

Aella stood up and slammed a couple gold coins on the counter. "You're right. I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner," she growled.

Bob just waved at her as she turned and headed for the door.

"Do you really think the realm will kick Bob out when you ask it about your pheromones?" asked Precious, glancing back at the bar as she rushed through the door and flew straight up to avoid anyone on the streets.

"I don't know, but I'm tired of this game it's playing. REALM!" she shouted, floating in the sky high above the demon lands.

"King," responded the realm immediately in a calm voice.

"What game are you at?" she shouted, clenching her fists.

"What game are you referring to?" it asked.

"If I am to be your king and oversee the entire realm, then how do you expect me to do that with these pheromones?" Her voice dropped from shouting to a quieter pitch, but the anger was still there.

"There is so much more to me than making everyone around me want sex!" she screamed in rage. "I want them gone and I want them gone now! I should be able to control what influence I have on others I interact with!"

"But Aella, if I don't force you to have a child, you never will," stated the realm, unaffected by her anger.

"Why is it so important to you that I have a kid?" she screamed.

"If you have a child, it will be a hundred percent gargoyle and all children that come from it will also have gargoyle in them. You are the last full-blooded gargoyle in existence. Any child you have will be full gargoyle regardless of who the father is. If I don't force you to have a child, then the race could be lost forever."

Aella floated there, unable to comprehend what the realm was saying. How was it her job to continue her race? She never signed up for that!

"There are other ways to get more gargoyles than me having kids!" she growled finally.

"I assume you mean with the world tree? I have entertained that idea, but it would be very invasive for you."

"I was chosen to be your realm guardian. Nothing in that was continue the gargoyle race! Besides, since when am I full gargoyle?"

"Aella, you are my realm guardian. You wish your title to be King, so I allowed it. But if you are the last of your kind, then those on the realm may start to see you as something different from them," explained the realm.

Aella started laughing, wiping tears away. "I already am different from them!"

The realm didn't immediately respond, so she continued. "I can fly at will, teleport all over the realm at a whim, control air, fire and earth, as well as shadows, and soon I'll control water. There isn't anyone else in the whole realm like me! Trying to force me to have kids with someone is only causing me a headache and preventing me from being able to do what needs to be done for the good of the people on the realm. How can I talk to someone without getting turned on by their bodies? This is stupid!"

She floated there, waiting for the realm to respond or say anything, but it seemed to be done talking to her.

"If you won't get rid of these pheromones, then I will go around burning everything!" she screamed, turning her body into flame as she allowed her rage to consume her.

Precious flapped his wings and got away from the reaching grasp of her flames. They wouldn't hurt him, but he wasn't willing to test that theory.

"You won't have a realm left!" she warned, turning her gaze down to the people below her.

"You wouldn't," said the realm finally. "You've put in too much effort to bring them here and set them up."

She smiled and flew down, picking up speed as gravity helped. If the realm wouldn't get rid of her pheromones, then the realm itself would suffer. She was done caring about these people who didn't want her to help them any longer. She gave them homes and they complain about something else. Nothing would ever be good enough for them. She couldn't die, but they could.

Logic and the voices in her head tried to speak up, to convince her not to do this, but her rage had taken hold and she was done with trying to convince people.

"Aella!" cried a voice off to her side, and she slowed a little to see who would be crying out to her at this height.

Frederik was flying as fast as he could towards her. Aella narrowed her eyes. The realm had sent him, since he was the one she had considered making into a mate. But if she would outlive him, then why bother forming a relationship to suffer that pain later? Turning her head back towards the city, she was getting close enough to make out forms walking around.

"Aella, wait! I need to talk to you!" cried Frederik. "It's important Aella!"

Gritting her teeth, she glared at the unsuspecting people as her rage demanded she burn the city to the ground, but instead she turned to face him as he flew up to her, panting and out of breath.

"The realm sent you, didn't it?" she yelled.

"It told me what you planned to do and I got here as fast as I could," he said, huffing and panting.

With a renewed scream of rage, Aella turned back to the city and hurtled even faster towards the ground. She could no longer see figures on the ground, as flames completely consumed her. She would reduce this whole realm to ashes and see if it still wanted her to spit out kids to bring up the population.

Suddenly, a flash of light blinded her and she floundered in the sky, clutching her face in agony. Her flames went out and she found herself falling as the pain of her eyesight being taken dulled her wrath. Noises came to her as she drifted in and out of consciousness, confused as to how she could be so out of it with her healing abilities. The air around her seemed to whisper something, but she couldn't make out the words. As she gently came to land on the ground, she wondered how her fall was slowed.

"I'm sorry, Aella," said a voice. She knew that voice. "I couldn't let you harm anyone. The realm said you were hormonal and needed to be stopped…"

"Hormonal?" she laughed. "Is that you Alfred? Why can't I see anything? I should have healed by now, right?"

There was silence, and she could hear footsteps as someone shuffled their feet.

"My light seems to have done more damage than I intended," said Alfred softly. "I had to stop you. You would have taken out the whole city!"

"I intended to do more than that. Am I still making pheromones?" she asked.

There was silence again, which only seemed to confirm that she was. Her anger seemed to kindle deep inside, where her fire was, but for some reason she couldn't access it.

"Your abilities are locked away for now," said the realm in her ears. "I don't think you will make a very good king until after you've had kids. If I remove your pheromones, you will become sterile. I will have children from you, before I unlock your powers again."

Panic surged through her at the words of the realm. Did this mean she wasn't healing? Were all of her powers locked away? What about Precious?