Oceantide

by Everly Taylor

  I trailed behind them as we entered the classroom and forced myself to take my seat instead of attempting to join them. They always sat in the back and there were two empty seats by them. I thought it was strange that no one else took those seats, not even her roommate. There had to be a reason why.

  I thought the girl with the black hair would sit next to them as she did at lunch. I didn’t understand and it was just one more piece of the puzzle that was Una. I only hoped I would get a chance to find out everything about her, maybe even be more than just friends.

  Professor Chan entered from his back office and he looked angrier than normal. I wasn’t one to back down from anyone, but that man was one of the few that made me feel weak. He waited until everyone was seated and the first bell rang before he started his lecture.

  I tried to pay attention but my mind kept wandering. Thoughts about Una, and the guys. Wondering what got them all put here. I looked around the classroom at all the supernatural beings and wondered what they each did to be put here. Were there really so many people that were bad out there? Or were they a victim of circumstance, like myself.

  “Prince Adar,” Professor Chan’s gruff voice pulled my eyes to the front. “Would you like to tell me what you find more fascinating than my lesson?”

  “I’m sorry, sir. I guess I’m just tired,” I answered lamely.

  He glowered at me, “As a warning to every student in this class. I expect you to be ready to learn every single morning. I am the difference between you re-entering society and being stuck here for life.”

  I nodded and before I could apologize further he continued his lecture. This time I paid attention, not wanting to be called out like that again. I knew I wouldn’t get out of here unless I did what the queen asked, yet I wanted to learn what I could while I was here. From someone that wasn’t out for power, and evil as they come.

  I wanted to stop hating the part of myself that was magical, the part I hated because the queen twisted it so much that I forgot that there was a good part of magic.

  Professor Chan had helped in the short time I attended his classes. He was the only teacher in this place that gave a shit and actually tried to help. I thought many times of asking for his help to relearn the magic that was dark inside of me and make it light again. Every time I tried to work up the courage to ask him, I would lose my nerve at the last minute and always ended up leaving his classroom kicking myself.

  The first few times I tried to rationalize that I didn’t ask because he probably didn’t know anything about my type of abilities. Then as I listened to his lectures that encompassed all forms of magical and supernatural abilities I realized that he might be able to help. I no longer had an excuse and decided I would ask him today. If I could face down Una and her mates, I could face a professor. Granted, a very scary looking professor that reminded me of the darkest creatures my nanny had told me stories about, but still just a professor nonetheless.

  Finally, it was time to go and I stayed seated as I waited for everyone else to file out. Professor Chan looked at me from his desk and I felt myself start to sweat. His eyes were piercing as if they could look right through my soul.

  When I didn’t say anything, he asked, “Is there something I can help you with, Prince Adar?” His voice was so deep it was as if it reverberated through the floor of the classroom.

  I straightened my shoulders and fought the urge to run, “Adar, please. I prefer not to use the title anymore, sir. I was wondering if you could help me. My mother was the only one that taught me magic and it was always dark. I don’t want to be like her but I don’t know how to relearn everything again.”

  He threw his head back and chuckled, a smile creeped up on his face making him not so frightening. When he stopped he replied, “Adar, you have the answers you need inside of you. The magic only changes with the intent of your soul. You don’t need to relearn it, you just need to try.”

  What he said made sense yet I didn’t know how I would figure it out without practice, which was against the rules in this place. I questioned him as much.

  “If you want something bad enough, you won’t let anyone stop you,” he replied as if it were a riddle. “I do, however, have a few of the previous professor’s ancient grimoires and other books that might be of use to you. I can have them ready for you tomorrow morning if you would like to stop by my office before breakfast.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you,” I replied as he shooed me out the door so I wouldn’t be late for my next class. I felt a bit lighter after my talk with him. Everything felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I was glad that I had decided to take chances.

  Chapter 27- Una

  I wasn’t sure agreeing to talk to Adar was the best decision, but he had come to me after all. Wasn’t that what I wanted him to do? Why was I so nervous about it then? I needed answers, and talking to him was the only way I was going to get them and be able to move on. I just hoped that I could deal with whatever he had to say for himself.

  The guys had been surprisingly cool with my decision to meet with Adar, though we all decided our secret room was not going to be the meeting location. None of us still knew if we could trust him or not, or if he was just here to off me as I had overheard. Instead we picked a room that Beck had found, one that still was undiscovered by Frost, and would serve as a place without prying ears.

  After the last class of the day I noticed Adar hanging back, watching hopefully as he waited for me to come up to him. It was kind of cute how he was trying to not act eager, but clearly he was chomping at the bit to find out where we were meeting.

  I left the classroom, knowing the best way to be overheard was to say it right in front of one of Frosts lackeys. We waited for him in the hall, it wasn’t the best place to tell him about our meetup, but it was better than right in sight of the professor.

  He came out looking a little disheartened, and I could tell he thought I had ditched him. He glanced up as Jet and Beck started laughing over something and his eyes lit up as relief visibly flooded him.

  Jet stepped forward before I could, “We haven’t decided to trust you yet, so don’t push your luck.”

  “Understood,” he nodded at Jet before turning to me. “So?”

  “Meet me on the second floor landing, the stairwell just outside of the cafeteria, in thirty minutes,” I replied quietly. He looked at me, confusion crossing his face but he nodded again and I turned and left. It wasn’t like I was trying to be a bitch, I just couldn’t say too much and risk being found out and followed.

  Taking the time to not leave class together and head straight to the room was an extra measure of caution. I would part with my guys, and then I would make my way to the hall and they to their room. With Adar finding his own way there, it greatly reduced the risk of someone noticing us meeting up.

  We took our normal table in the cafeteria, I noticed Ry was gone, but was sure she would be around sometime. I had let her know what was happening, so if she was looking for me for any reason she knew I would be back to our room when this was over.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Beck asked, noticing my hands twisting together.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Just a little nervous about what he has to say, that’s all.”

  “Whatever it is, we will deal with it, together,” he reassured me.

  “Thanks guys. I’m happy we found each other,” I gave them each a kiss. “So, talk to me about something else for a minute, I need a distraction.”

  Beck leaned over so his lips were barely brushing my earlobe, “Soon we will have you all alone again, and that pretty little pussy is going to be wetter than a tidepool.”

  Heat shot straight to my core as he kissed my neck and his words brought back the pleasure they had brought to me the night before. Jet chuckled as I bit my lower lip to stifle a moan as Beck nipped my shoulder.

  “Sure, laugh it up. Blue ovaries are a thing you know?” I playfully bumped my shoulder into his.

  “Y
eah, but it took your mind off it for a minute, didn’t it?” he laughed.

  I glanced at the clock. I needed to get going, “I guess it did.” I stood and leaned down giving them each a long hug, reluctant to leave them so soon, but it had to be done. “See you guys in the morning.” I sent them a saucy wink for the benefit of anyone watching, chuckling when Jet smacked my ass as I walked away.

  He was certainly becoming more playful, and in a good way. I guess Beck was bringing out the naughty in him, in the very best of ways.

  I walked toward the stairwell, making sure to check that no one was following before I entered. Adar already waited on the platform, looking out the window and turned as he heard me approach.

  “Hey, you came,” he breathed out. His insecurity was surprising to me, but I guess he might be used to being stood up.

  “Of course I came, I said I would,” I bumped his shoulder lamely with my hand. What the fuck Una, we weren’t teens playing squidball together. He looked down amusedly at his shoulder, but I spoke before he could comment. “Come on, this way.” I went up to the third level and exited, following the directions the guys had given to me to get to the room.

  I hoped to hell we didn’t get lost because I had never been back here before and getting lost was not my idea of a good time. Thankfully, I had a good memory and, so far, had been able to navigate my way easily. I never had this problem in the ocean. In my mermaid form I could use echolocation, or talk to the sea creatures, there was no such thing as getting lost. On land though, the walls blocked everything, and it was impossible to not lose your way if you didn’t pay close attention.

  “Where are we going?” Adar spoke up after a few minutes of turning down halls.

  “Almost there,” I replied vaguely. We fell into silence again as I led us around a few more turns and stopped at the end of a hall. It turned to our left, but if I had followed the directions correctly the room should be right here. Now we only needed to find the lever to get in.

  Adar looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Help me find the lever,” I said, as if clearing it up. Beck said it was a discolored stone and I might have to have Adar help me. But damn it, all of the stones were discolored. I looked up at the height that was just out of arm's reach, and sure enough, there was a stone that was tinted slightly more orange than the rest.

  I stood on my tiptoes to reach it, the tips of my fingers barely brushed against the stone though. There was no way I was going to be able to depress it. Adar came up behind me as I dropped back to my feet and his rich scent washed over me. My heart raced as he rested one hand lightly on my back and reached up to push the stone in. The scrape of stone against stone sounded as the door opened and I cleared my throat and entered the room. I needed to get myself in check.

  Quickly, I searched the wall again for the stone to close the door. This time I knew what I was looking for and the general location. The guys had told me it was in the same position as the outside one so I located it easily and pointed to it. Adar understood and I took a step to the side this time as he moved to push it, closing us in.

  “What is this place?” Adar asked looking around.

  “Somewhere we can talk without being overheard or interrupted. The guys found it a while back, this is my first time here though,” I replied.

  There was a pile of bent and broken steel chairs in the corner of the room, with a few sitting on all four legs next to it. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, at least we had somewhere to sit. I crossed the room and pulled out two of the seats, turning them so they faced each other.

  “You asked to talk, so you go first,” I prompted, taking a seat.

  He joined me and let out a long breath. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

  “The beginning is usually the best place,” I laughed.

  “Why did you save me?” he blurted out.

  “Because it was the right thing to do. All of my life I have watched the humans, wanting to be part of their world. Just because they are different from us, doesn’t mean their lives are not worth something. Then again, you're not exactly human, are you?”

  He looked at me surprised, “How did you know?”

  “One, you would have been completely unconscious that day on the beach. My sister's song is a powerful one, and even the strongest human can’t overcome it. You were awake though when I pulled you onto the sand. I knew then there was something different about you.” I thought about the pull I had felt toward him, the one I still did and I shifted in my seat. This was not about what I felt or didn’t feel, it was about getting answers.

  “And two?” he interrupted my thoughts.

  “Two, you have to be something more than human considering you were sent to a supernatural prison. That is unless you were sent here for reasons other than to be reformed?” I questioned, giving him the opportunity to come clean. My gut twisted as he watched me closely, both hoping and not that he would just own up. If he did, then I would trust him more, if he didn’t then I wouldn’t start to like him anymore than I already did.

  “I was sent here for both. Though there is really nothing to be reformed. I did nothing wrong, other than stand up to my mother.” he sighed and ran his hand over his face. “I’m just going to come straight out and tell you, the truth is normally better anyways. My mother, the queen, tried to shape me my whole life. Studying magic with her, though anything from her was dark. That’s the part of me that is not human. I have magic. I was no longer interested, no longer willing to do her dirty work and so she framed me for my father's death. Everyone in the kingdom believed her and she had me sent away before I could even defend myself. It was her way of getting what she wanted.”

  “Which was?” I asked.

  He held up a hand, helplessly. “Power, money, the kingdom, you.

  “Me?” I asked, surprised. What would a human queen want with a mermaid?

  “My mother has this thing, a mirror. It has magic of some sort, but I’m not really sure how it works. Only, one day I was spying on her, trying to figure out what was her latest evil plot when I overheard her asking it who was the most beautiful in all the lands. She was pissed when it didn’t reply with her name, instead of showing her, as it usually did when the swirls slowed, it revealed an image of you.”

  I let out a small gasp, “How?”

  “I’m not really sure, I just know that I immediately recognized you from the beach. She could tell I knew who you were, or at least had some idea. I refused to help her kill you, so she had my father poisoned and sent me here. Imagine my shock when I saw you were actually here.”

  “You really never intended to hurt me?” I asked. I had thought at the very least he would have initially considered it.

  “I could never hurt you Una. Hell, I think I have been in love with you since that day on the beach,” he muttered just loud enough for me to hear.

  “Love? Adar, you don’t even know me,” I scoffed.

  “As I said before, I know everything there is to know,” he replied gently. My heart shuddered and thumped harder in my chest. What the hell was this guy doing to me?

  “Not wanting to kill me still doesn’t make you any less of a pompous ass,” I snapped, relying on other things to keep me angry with him. To keep me from feeling anything toward him.

  “What, because I’m a prince?” He fired back. “You’re one to talk, Princess Una.”

  “At least I don’t let the title go to my head, and forget that others have feelings too.” I bit out.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You know damn well what it means. That princess you led on to believe you guys were going to be a ‘thing’,” I made quotations in the air. “Only to snub her and choose her other sister, who is a lying deceitful bitch!” I was so frustrated that he couldn’t see the truth when it was right in front of him.

  “You are related,” he whispered in surprise.

  “Yeah, those mermaids you discarded like some beached whales, are my sisters.”
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br />   “I get you’re angry, but it’s not what you think. My father was pressuring me to find a bride, for the good of the people he said. I met with Darya and I actually liked her. It wasn’t love, but I thought we could have an amicable marriage. One my father hoped would unite two kingdoms, even though I didn’t realize at the time one of those kingdoms was in an ocean,” he laughed dryly. “Anyways, I arrived at dinner to have my mother announce my engagement to your other sister, Mira. I had no idea it was going to happen, but knowing her power, I didn’t argue.”

  “You must have argued at some point, I heard it was broken off,” I retorted.

  “Yes, after weeks of pleading with my father, it was called off. Thankfully. No offense to you, I could have never lived with Mira. I saw something in her too similar to my mother, and I didn’t want any part in that.”

  Emotions warred inside me, clearly he had no ill intent with my sisters, nor did he toward me. It was much easier to let myself dislike him though than it was to admit how much I actually did.

  “So, what now?” he asked hesitantly.

  I eyed him as I considered my options. I could either tell him to fuck off, it was too late, or I could do what my conscious was telling me, and trust him. Fucking conscious. “Now, you help me.”

  “Help you?” he repeated.

  “Are you a parrot? Yes, help me. You have magic, and I need magic. I am trying to get a friend who is a prisoner here, free. And you can help me.”

  “Isn’t everyone a prisoner here?” he questioned.

  “Yes, smart ass. But not like her. She is being held in the caves, and used for pixie dust,” I informed him, his eyes widening in surprise. “Whoever is holding her has a binding spell on her, so even if we could get her out, they can call her back. We are working on finding out who it is, so we can break it and get her out of here when we leave.”

  “When you leave?” he asked.

  Shit, I said too much. “That’s not important. What’s important is breaking the spell. Can you help us?”