by Owen Oakley
I go into the hallway, looking all around me. There’s no way someone could knock and make it down the stairs or to the elevator that fast. I sigh.
“Magical realm Sabine. Anything is possible,” I mutter to myself as I take the box inside.
After I place it on the bed, I pace and eye it with suspicion, but soon my curiosity wins. The perfectly crafted ribbon falls to the side and I tear through the gift wrap and open the box.
On top of what appears to be an outfit, gloves, and a pair of sandals is a card that reads:
Sabine, to make you comfortable.
I smile, seems like Roman is turning into a sweetheart on top of his already kind heart.
As I hold up the article of clothing, it unravels to reveal a beautiful sundress with brown and green designs. It’ll show a lot of flesh, in the cleavage area, but it was still amazing.
The sandals were tan and decorated with seashells on the arch of the foot, but the gloves are my favorite, lacy nude-colored with rhinestones.
I hurried to the shower, using the various of bottles labeled soap and ignoring the shampoo one. My hair was far too long to tackle right now.
Once done with my shower, I slipped on the dress, and the material like tulle, cold to my skin and very light, and it fit tight on my hips with a flare at the bottom— not too long, a plus and a plunging V neck that stops close to my navel area. I turned around in the mirror and gasp.
Roman made sure my ass was on display. The back is low, stopping above my tailbone.
I’ve always had a curvy body and big booty, but this sundress seems to amplify what’s already there.
I don’t complain too much; for one, it was a kind gesture and second, I was sick of the yoga pants and grey workout shirt. Small victories.
Another once over, and I was ready to head downstairs for breakfast. I take the stairs, remembering the way they escorted me yesterday.
There was no hurry to see Demetri again, everything about him repulse and excite me. It was rather confusing. My feelings toward Roman were sure, I liked him, but Demetri I was like a tennis ball going back and forward.
I have a slight headache, and I’m in no mood for another argument, but the thought of Roman being there ebbed the pain of being in the Lord’s company.
I descend from the stairs and the servers were up and doing their jobs. Some greeted me while others seem to stare or tend to their work.
I pause at the dining area’s doors when I hear voices. One of which I recognize very well, and my heart swells and a tear falls on my cheek. Aiden.
I step closer and press my ear to the door. Rude, but the voice I couldn’t let go. Why and how could Aiden be here if humans can’t pass through the mist?
He isn’t human! What the hell is going on around here? Or is there another way into Ardam?
“You understand this is your fault, right?” I hear Roman say.
“I did my job, protecting Sabine for eight years while you did nothing!” Aiden shot back.
“Yeah, and you almost got her killed board-casting her location. You’re lucky we could extract her before Tor, and his ratchet men got to her. If that had happened, I would have killed you myself!” Roman roars.
Who the hell is Tor? I lean in closer, grabbing both sides of the frame before I lost my balance. They’re silent for a moment until Aiden’s voice chimes in.
“Oh, I get it. You like her,” he says with realization in his voice. “Newsflash it won’t happen!”
Roman laughed the sound resonated from down in his stomach, but it was also cruel, and I didn’t like it. “You’re joking, right? Sabine’s mother asked us all to be there for her.”
They know my mother and didn’t tell me. Bastards. “My feelings don’t matter and isn’t there a wedding to plan with Yasmine? I need to RSVP soon so her mother can stop sending those fucking pop up glitter invites to everyone. My concerns are not yours.”
“Married?” I mouthed. Who is Aiden? I perceive nothing about the man I’ve been friends with for over eight years. A hole open inside my chest. I never had family and Aiden filled that void, but now I’m not so sure.
“That’s rich coming from an incubus that only fucks and feels nothing for anyone,” Aiden yells out. Chairs scrape the floor along with glass shattering noises, and that’s all the exit cue I need.
I back away, almost stumbling on the small incline in the perfect floor. Time to get the hell away, I’m not that hungry, anyway.
“Sabine! Would you care to join us?” Demetri’s voice booms through the door to the other side where I was standing,
Holy shit.
He was there the whole time and knew I was spying. Why in the hell hadn’t he broken up the argument before it got physical? Idiot.
I still have time to run, but he already knows I’m here. Decisions.
I wince as I open the door.
The room looked a disheveled mess. Chairs turned over, they slid the table out of place from their near altercation, and all three men were on their feet.
I feel like I was on a runway trying to reach them, and their once furious expressions fade as they watch me.
I survey the room to find Aiden, but he isn’t here, there’s only a gorgeous man with pale translucent skin, with fangs, glass sharp cheekbones, pointed auditory perceivers, and a military cut; like Tom Cruise had in Top Gun. He had an alluring and mystic presence about himself, close to a vampire but with a more welcoming personality.
Fae. One thing that’ll come in handy is that I know my supes. Before I wrote a fantasy series, I did extensive research. Now I don’t presume to know them all but the common and most popular ones I know like the back of my head.
“Hi Sabine,” the stranger said, only it wasn’t an unknown voice. It was Aiden’s voice.
My breath catches in my throat, not wanting to believe my ears. I jump back at the sight of him. He’s still a fantastic dresser, and attractive in a Fae way.
This is insane. The fucker used a glamour spell. I guess looking like a Fae in the city of NOLA wouldn’t fly.
“Sabine,” Demetri calls to me, forcing me to tear myself away from Aiden or whoever he is.
“Yes.” But I gaze back to him. I’m upset, but it’s all fascinating.
“Why were you eavesdropping? Even someone like you should know that’s impolite.”
I give him an incredulous look. They’ve got to be kidding. Deceivers and kidnappers are lecturing me. I laugh to myself.
“Sorry. Didn’t want to interrupt, things sounded heated in here,” I say, looking around the room and between the three.
Roman snapped his head around to Demetri. “Hold on. You knew she was out there the entire time?”
“Not at first,” he admits looking at me, “but then I smelled magic, just a small whiff, nothing to concern me. But then the emerald green and gold magic started seeping underneath the door,” he says with a half-smile.
He’s beautiful, and his smile was enough to cause a pool between my thighs. I smile when I see he’s in a better mood.
Aiden’s and Roman’s eyes widen, looking at me.
“She’s a Nymph,” Demetri tells them as though I’m not standing here.
Sure, enough I look down and all around me is emerald green and gold swirls of magic, I guess.
Roman sniffs the air around me and smirks. “She’s a Nymph alright. A full Nymph too.”
Aiden or whoever he is joins in sniffing the air. “Dryad, nice.” He smiles at me, and I stare back at him. Do they not know sniffing people is offensive?
“Just out of curiosity, what does my magic smell like?” From what I already know, and my little time here is that everyone’s magic smells different.
Demetri’s magic smells sweet and light, compared to Roman’s magic that smells like cinnamon and spice. Aiden’s magic is silver and has an expensive and rich aroma, that of chocolate.
“It smells woodsy, like nature,” he says, struggling to find the right words. He notices my frown, with hi
s brows furrow he tries again. “Aha mixture of flowers and sandalwood,” Roman sniffs the air again as he describes it.
Sandalwood and flowers, I can live with that.
“You want me to believe you’ve sensed nothing different about yourself?” Demetri asks me that sounds much like an accusation than a question. Yes, if by different, he means taking off these gloves and letting all hell break loose.
“No,” I try to keep my tone even.
“Over the next couple days, hours even you’ll undergo physical changes,” he says, letting his eyes roam over my body.
I hug myself to control the shiver he causes and try to hide my reddened cheeks. His intensity only adds to his beautiful features.
“What changes?”
He shrugs, which is never a good sign. “Nothing that you won’t like,” he purrs.
Lord help me I’m caught between a sexy incubus and a beautiful and powerful crazed mage both on my to-do list if I were able.
Roman saunters beside me and let his eyes trail down my body. He grabs my hand, sending me into a twirl, my dress fans out at my feet along with my emerald green and gold swirls of magic. I laugh feeling carefree at the moment.
Demetri snarl at the two of us, and with haste I step away from Roman, dropping my hands to my side. “You are a vision Sabine,” he says, ignoring Demetri’s clear warning, he wraps me into a hug. “Where on earth did you get this dress?”
I give him a coy smile and bat my lashes. It’s a cheesy thing to do but what man doesn’t like it? But my face flatters and his arched brows tell me he was looking for an actual answer. “Wait, you didn’t get this for me?”
His smile fades too. He looks over to Demetri, who sips his coffee then to Aiden who gives him an eye roll. Oh shit! Ugh, yeah.
I turn to Aiden and say, “Congratulations on your engagement.” His cheeks turns red followed by a scowl over to Roman, who’s biting back a smile until it spills out and he barks out laughter while hitting the table with his palm.
“Thanks,” he replies with a lack of enthusiasm. It’s weird hearing a familiar voice come from a stranger’s face. You’re adaptive Sabine, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s been lying to me for years about what I am, and who he is.
Moments later the servers bring in breakfast, but not before they straighten up the commotion left by the guys.
The plate in front of me consist of Pancakes, ham, an assortment of fresh fruit—the most perfect and biggest strawberries I’ve ever seen, and they taste like candy— eggs, toast and orange juice.
I can handle many things, but tense silence isn’t one of them. “Is this the normal food that you all eat here?”
Roman breaks into a wide grin, showing his straightened and blinding white teeth. “No, it isn’t, but I sure thank you for being here so we can enjoy it. This one here,” Roman says, as he hiked his thumb over to Demetri, “has us on a strike diet. Fae cooks are the best.” He shot Aiden a smirk and Aiden’s hand tighten around his fork.
Ouch, that was a low blow.
“What kind?” My curiosity was overflowing.
“The kind that doesn’t concern you,” Demetri answers in a clipped tone.
I let my fork fall and sound out against my plate with a high- pitched clink. “Since you’re in the mood for answering questions,” allowing the sarcasm to drip from each word. “I have several questions that need answers, hmm, let’s say now.”
Demetri dab the corners of his mouth with his napkin and places it back on the table.
“Where shall we begin?”
12
I had only gotten through two questions, and my head was ready to explode. Demetri told me he knew my mother, and she blessed he, Aiden, and Roman with protecting me from a man named Tor. Aiden also added that my mother was not just a Nymph but a goddess, THE Nymph goddess. He didn’t care to elaborate much about Tor only that he was dangerous, and I noticed each time he spoke the man’s name he tightened both fists.
“So that means you already knew I was a Nymph,” I say more as a statement than question.
He shakes his head. “I don’t know who or what your father was or is so I couldn’t determine that. It was only a fifty-fifty chance that you were something else, a full Nymph or half breed.” I nodded in understanding. “It’s sporadic that one is a full-blooded order, if both parents are different species.”
The concept was heredity and gene based. Although supernatural beings were more complicated. My mind scrambled around thinking of more questions to ask, now that the most pressing ones were out of the way.
“What was her name?”
Roman brightens. “Mona.”
I use her name, but it feels foreign there, and I know mom wouldn’t be any easier.
“What happens now? Am I supposed to live here and hide from this Tor guy forever?” I have a life and leaving it behind makes my stomach lurch.
“You can’t go back Sabine; you must remain here. This is your home now. Earth was an incubator for you. Regardless if Tor and his people found you or not, you were never meant to stay there.”
“Why do they want me? I’m nothing special?”
Something wasn’t adding up. I was born and lived on Earth for twenty-five years. Why didn’t they come sooner? And what in the hell was my mom doing on Earth, anyway?
“If this were my home, why was I taken to Earth of all places? Why not stay here or another Realm? None of what you say makes sense.”
“Your mother wanted to distance you from all of this, wanted you to be normal and safe.”
“But I’m not. Far from it. Did she even die during childbirth? When I was eighteen, I looked at my records, and it said she died during childbirth and that my father didn’t want me. Is that true?”
The men stare at each other, and it only angers me more. My whole life has been a lie, and now I’m among more liars.
Aiden clears his throat. “Sabine let me explain,” he starts.
“And you can’t explain shit to me! I don’t even know who you are! For eight years you’ve lied to me, befriended me under false pretenses. You’re all liars.”
“There’s a prophecy,” Demetri starts before anyone can say anything else.
“Dem? She doesn’t need to know about that right now.”
“No, it’s okay I want to hear it.” They’ve been keeping plenty away from me, now is the time for answers. I needed them.
Everything in Roman’s eyes tells me it’s something I don’t want to hear, but what’re a few more bombs dropped on me?
“Tor seeks to take over all the realms. Rule them as one. A prophecy speaks of a Nymph who will rise and intertwine with Tor the Warlock and create utter chaos among the realms and then Earth. If he gains access to the nymph, he’ll do just that.”
Damn, my dreams! Keep it to yourself, Sabine. “So? That could be anyone.”
“Exactly,” Roman agrees.
“This Nymph is special with unique and dark powers. The bringer of death with just her presence.”
I swallowed hard, averting my gaze. “And you think it’s me?” I ask, my blood runs cold and I refuse to look in his direction.
“My uncertainty remains, but I’ll do whatever to see it doesn’t come to past,” he says with seriousness laced in his voice.
That settles it my secret stays in the vault along with those fucking dreams. “What am I supposed to do here? I had a purpose back home. Here, I don’t,” I announce changing the subject.
With my old life snatched from underneath me, I don’t doubt that any of my readers think I’d gone off the map.
I’m sure by now my car will be repossessed, home placed on the market, and my things auctioned or sold. A single tear spills from my eye.
I hate these people. My life wasn’t extravagant, but it was mine, and mine alone. Whatever excitement I had about this place was long gone.
They’d taken my life away from me and labeled me as evil. No job with two outfits; this would be a joy.
&
nbsp; “You’ll begin training as soon as possible. Being able to control your powers and learning your gifts are essential. Tor has already taken over five magical realms except for this one, and I won’t allow him to take it away. Be ready.”
“And this guy is looking for me?”
“We can’t be sure, but if you aren’t the dark Nymph, you have nothing to worry about.” He eyed me, but I give him nothing in return. “Our job is to help and protect you as much as we can,” Demetri says with no expression.
Something tells me he doesn’t want to help me.
“I’ll help her with her training,” Roman says with his hand raised and wearing a grin.
“Really?” Demetri challenges, leaning back in his chair. “Tell me what you would teach her?” Even I was interested in knowing what an Incubus could teach a Nymph.
“Easy. I’d teach her how to Channel, control, and use her powers. The same as you. Or do you have something different in mind?”
“I do,” he says, tapping his slander fingers on the table. “I’m taking her to meet Traci.”
Both Aiden and Roman’s mood seem to lighten at the mention of Traci’s name. They both stared in the distance with googly eyes. I roll my eyes at them. Men.
“You’re going to love Traci. She’s… something else,” Roman inform me all while licking his lips.
“I’m sure,” I say with a smile, hating this woman on principle. Looking over at Demetri who was staring at me as usual but this time it wasn’t in a way that made my knees weak but with a predatory gaze.
“Could you please stop staring at me, it’s unnerving,” I say.
His thumb slides across his lower lip. “You’re hiding something.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” he says, leaning into the table bearing down on both hands. “And I will find out what it is.”
I get to my feet and start for the door, having had enough of information for today.
“We leave in an hour,” Demetri calls to my back.
My mother must have believed that I was the Nymph demigoddess from the prophecy; otherwise, she wouldn’t have sent me away and used a ruse to keep me away from this world.