Hidden In Darkness (A Seven Realms Book Book 1)

by S. J. Stewart

  Getting to her feet, she paused at the door. “Meet your downstairs.” She called before walking into the neighbouring room. She got ready quickly, the smell of pancakes making her stomach groan. Even though she didn’t know the two small Pixies well, she was glad they were here.

  She was hoping she could talk to them today, get a little insight on everything.

  The smell of flowers surrounded her just as she pushed her hair back from her face and walked into the hall. Alette was in the hall, arranging a vase of flowers on the table across from her bedroom door.

  She turned as Melas stepped out, landing on the table to turn and smile at her. “Morning. I just couldn’t help myself. Ridhor is great about plants, but you can always use the brightness flowers bring to a space.” Her small hands worked the petals on a flower, opening them lightly, adjusting them. “There.”

  “Morning, Alette. Are you meeting with the guys today?”

  “Just checking in. We wanted to discuss a few disappearances which may tell us what Thiriel has planned. Seems he’s stealing a lot of magical muscle. Or recruiting. We don’t know.” She scowled. “He’s not above using magic and torture.”

  The more she found out about this guy, the more she hated him. “I actually wanted to talk to you.”

  Her silver eyes widened in surprise. “Me? I thought you were keeping your distance from us because you didn’t quite trust us.”

  She was. “I don’t trust anyone.” That was true, she allowed herself to be a little less cautious around the guys but she couldn’t say with honesty she fully trusted them. “I also know there’s too much I don’t know about how things work right now, so I need to extend a small amount of trust so I can hopefully get some useful information.”

  Her trouble with her memories was no secret, and getting to the bottom of the loss was something everyone was on board for. “Did you want to talk here, or—?”

  The guys were still downstairs, she could hear them moving around. Zura was giggling, no doubt eating her breakfast while Andrei did his best to make her laugh in hopes it would make her like him all the more for it. She wasn’t sure what Cricket would be doing, but she guessed talking to Orren about Thiriel and his plans.

  Even knowing they were all likely busy, she wanted a bit of privacy.

  “In here would be better.”

  Her silver wings fluttered, carrying her off the table, past Melas and into the room. She had to admit, she looked like the thing of dreams. The purple skin, white hair and silver wings, the way a light sparkle seemed to follow her as she moved.

  Melas was a little envious of Alette’s ability to fly. Flying was something everyone wished they could do, and as silly as it sounded, Melas was no exception.

  Following her into her room, she closed the door behind them and walked over to the small seating area. Alette didn’t try and lead the conversation, she just sat there politely waiting for Melas to tell her what she wanted to talk about.

  She was suddenly hit with the realization that she was sitting with a magic being and magic was real. Sure, she’d been living with a Berserker, an Incubus, and a Vampire, but it was so easy to forget that’s what they were. For all extensive purposes, they all looked like she did. Easily mistaken as humans if not for the little clues that gave them away.

  Alette was a Pixie through and through. With her size, pointed ears, wings, and beautiful skin tone, it was impossible to forget she was magic.

  Her silver eyes watched Melas’ for a moment before her skin began turning a deep brown starting from the tip of her nose. She grew, her size still small compared to Melas, but more like a short human than the small form of a Pixie. Her wings disappeared, the only sign she wasn’t human were the ears pointing out from her white hair. “Better?” She smiled.

  “Was I staring?” She felt a little embarrassed, something she didn’t feel often.

  Alette lifted her shoulders. “I know you’re still struggling with a lot of this. Your mind believes you’re human, it would make sense you’re not completely comfortable with magic. I can’t imagine how you’re handling all this. This—” She gestured down at her seemingly human form. “Is an easy way to help you feel even just a bit more relaxed.”

  “Can Cricket also change her form or is this a power only you have?” She had so many questions about magical beings and although she read their history, there was a lot left out.

  She needed a Magical World For Dummies guide to help her along.

  Alette didn’t scoff at her question or make her feel stupid. “Every magical being can create—” She paused, as though searching for the simplest way to explain it all. “—an illusion that alters their true appearance. Similar to the wards Orren can summon around an object, walls of magic. Every being, no matter how trivial their magic may seem, can create those wards around themselves to appear more human. I think it’s because that realm is the only of the seven where being our true selves could be dangerous.”

  “So you can change your form to look like this, but not to look like a shifter or something else.”

  She nodded. “Yes. Almost everyone’s second form appears human. I’m not sure if this was always the case, or if we evolved this way once the land was divided into realms.”

  “Divided?” She raised her brow slightly. “All the realms used to be connected?”

  Alette nodded. “In the beginning, it was one stretch of land, similar to how the mortals view their realm, all ruled by one kingdom. There is speculation as to who ruled over the realm, but it’s agreed it was none from any realm that now exists. Whoever ruled before is gone now, extinct. Likely by our hands which is why the realms are divided and cursed accordingly.”

  “You don’t know who ruled?” She didn’t understand how no one knew. “A lot of magical beings live forever, there must be some who were alive even back then. How could no one know?”

  “It’s likely part of the curse. Punishment for the things that happened during the Great War.” Sadness made her silver eyes look gunmetal. “There are pieces of art, different beings’ ideas of who they could have been. Usually, it’s an ethereal being, human-looking in form basked in a glow of light. I imagine very similar to what humans would say is an angel. It would make sense why all our other forms seem to look similar.” She lifted her shoulders. “Andrei has quite a few pieces in his studio. You should look them over. It was an obsession of his for a while, to figure out the beings we’ve all forgotten.”

  She didn’t even know Andrei had a studio.

  Clearing her throat, she reminded herself why she was here.

  Adjusting herself on the couch, she turned slightly towards Alette. “I wanted to ask you about being mated to Cricket.”

  Her cheeks flushed. “I see.”

  “Nothing overly personal.” She assured her. “More just how being a mate works. Did you guys choose one another or just meet and know you were mated?”

  Alette’s eyes softened. “One of the guys thinks you’re mated?”

  If only it were that simple. “They seem to think all of them are.”

  Whatever she was thinking, she didn’t let Melas know as she laced her fingers together, keeping her silver eyes on Melas. There was a slight crease in her brow as she thought to herself. “Three?”

  “So they say.” They hadn’t been bringing it up much lately, but it still hung in the air between them. This was one thing she could figure out easily enough. An answer she could find.

  “Three.” She repeated the word, immersed in her thoughts. “From the moment I was old enough, I always felt something was missing I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I’m blessed, my lineage is. Whoever the original rulers were gifted us with a special kind of magic, strengthened with their blood. I don’t know why, maybe we tried to help them in the end. I couldn’t say. I worked my whole life to be sure my given magic was strong, stronger than any other of my kind. When I accomplished that, I worked to be sure my blood magic was just as strong. I thought maybe my skills were
what I needed to feel whole. Most magical beings seek to hone their skills, be the best of their kind. I thought that would be enough.

  “No matter how strong I got, how my skills seemed unmatched, the hole was still there. I couldn’t figure out how to fill it and it caused my heart to ache. Because I have blood magic, I’m often at risk. There are a lot of beings who try to get hold of me, to use my magic for whatever schemes they have. Be it vengeance or what have you. An assassin was hired to take me.” She blushed, her eyes looking far away. “As soon as Cricket came into my room, I could feel her. My heart started to swell. It felt like that hole in my chest ached for her.”

  Melas sat back, listening to her story.

  “Cricket is skilled, there’s no assassin that can match her. In that way we’re similar. Even completely hidden in darkness, it was like my heart knew exactly where she was. I turned to the shadows and asked what she was doing there. She was so shocked, but the look in her eyes when she stepped out of the shadows told me she felt it too.”

  “You both just knew?” This wasn’t helping. She thought she would bring her some hint of clarity, but she still felt lost.

  If what she was hinting at was true, she should just know she was mated with the guys. She didn’t feel any more connected to them than she imagined she would be to anyone else. There was no need for them.

  At least, she didn’t think there was.

  “We sensed there was something. A Seer was the one to confirm our suspicions. He told us how rare a mating was.” She smiled. “Not that we both didn’t feel there was something, unlike anything we ever felt before. So yes, we both kind of just knew.” She smiled brightly.

  “I must not be mated to them. I don’t think I feel anything particularly powerful.” Melas frowned openly, not attempting to hide her emotions from Alette. She was so open with her, and Melas felt a little less vulnerable stepping out from behind her walls for this conversation.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure. Whatever was done to you, whatever magic I sense completely covering the pair of you, it may be keeping a lot of things hidden from you. Including your ability to sense a mate.” She paused, pulling her bottom lip into her teeth. “Though three—”

  “It’s unlikely?” She asked her. Right now this Pixie had the knowledge she needed about this.

  Shaking her head, she bared her teeth in an uncomfortable grimace. “It’s more likely you’re Fated Mates. I haven’t heard of anyone being Fated Mates in—” she shook her head. “I don’t know if I ever have.”

  Great. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Another reason for the guys to feel obligated to stay with her.

  The feeling had her frowning. She almost wished they weren’t mated at all, at least then she would know if they were sticking with her and Zura because they wanted to not because some magical being decided they would. It felt forced, unnatural, like she was just a piece on a board being moved around under someone else’s hand.

  She didn’t like it.

  She hoped Alette wouldn’t hint to the guys they were likely Fated Mates. They were already doing all they could to convince her she should stay with them. It was beginning to annoy her.

  They didn’t even know her.

  They couldn’t because she didn’t know herself.

  To decide you wanted to spend your life with someone, especially when you could quite possibly live forever, without even knowing them seemed crazy. Andrei often seemed a little off his rocker, but the other two seemed logical enough. How could they not see how insane that was?

  She could just as easily recover her memories and become an entirely different person. Maybe this was just the Melas she was when pieces of her memory were missing. She couldn’t say either way. Just as in the dark as they were.

  Yet another thing annoying her.

  Alette’s silver eyes watched her face. “That wasn’t what you wanted to hear?”

  “I was hoping to figure some of this out but the more I know the more confused I feel. The guys seem great. It’s nothing against them personally, but suddenly it’s like there are these three guys in my life telling me they are permanent figures. Just because someone else said they would be.”

  A knowing look crossed her face, wrinkling Alette’s nose slightly. “You don’t think they genuinely care for you, only that they do because you’re possibly mated.”

  It wasn’t a question but Melas answered it anyway. “When there’s someone else standing above you pulling the strings, how can anything in your life be genuine?”

  “I was in a long-term relationship before Cricket came along. He was a Sprite. Very handsome, loving, attentive. I genuinely thought he was my everything. Then, Cricket came into my life and I felt like every inch of my soul caught fire. I burned for her. It was so intense I lost myself in the feeling. As terrible as it was to say, everything I had with that Sprite before felt so dull and meaningless in comparison. If our love had been a single flame, what I had with Cricket, before our relationship even began, was a wildfire. Flames licking at every inch of my world. It was all-consuming.” She rested her hand on top of Melas’. “I know you may seem unsure, and I can’t say for sure if it’s because of the magic keeping you hidden. I can say without a doubt though, if the guys think they’re mated to you, they’re not dragging their feet feeling obligated. They’re trying to pull you into the flame with them so you can all burn together.”

  Her heart leapt in her chest at the thought of being so consumed. “I don’t know if I want to burn, not with anyone.”

  A heated grin touched her lips, a blush colouring her cheeks. “Trust me, it’s never felt so right to catch fire.”

  Giving Melas’ hand a pat, she took her grip away. Alette’s hand waved in the air, golden dust appearing on the slight breeze she created. It settled in the palm of her hand, taking shape until a perfect golden petal rested there.

  “This is a blood petal. If you ever need me for anything, even just to chat, you can use this. Crush it in your grip and say my name and I will come to you.” She smiled lightly before getting to her feet. “I suppose I should go see what the others are talking about. Ridhor had something he wanted to discuss.”

  Ridhor calling the Pixies here to chat seemed out of character for the group.

  She was still trying to understand the dynamic of the three guys. When she first met them it was clear Orren was the alpha guiding their—she wasn’t sure what a collective of magical beings was called— pack. Now, it was becoming more and more evident they were all alphas. Ridhor seemed to refuse to relinquish the reigns to the others where Melas and Zura were concerned.

  Working her bottom lip through her teeth, she pushed a curl behind her ear. If he called the Pixies here, it was to talk about them. Melas wondered if they would extend her the courtesy of inviting her in on their conversation.

  She gave Alette a light smile as she walked across the room towards the door. The purple spread across her skin before her wings sprouted and she shrunk back to her normal size leaving a trail of silver glitter behind as she disappeared out the door. Magic was still something she wasn’t fully used to, but she had to admit it was pretty amazing.

  With Alette gone, she sat there stewing.

  Alette spoke about a burning fire. Something that ignited her, drawing her to it. It bound them together. Forged them. She didn’t feel that burn, all she felt was unsure . The magic clouding her mind was strong, everything she was supposed to be feeling could be locked inside the cloud of darkness she was trying to illuminate.

  For all she knew, she could catch fire with desire for these men if or when that magic was lifted. She would know for sure she needed them just as she would finally know herself.

  Right now, she was a stranger. Who she was before that day in the foyer as lost to her as her memories. Maybe she longed to be mated, longed to fill a hole eating away at her. Maybe instead of feeling this constant unease, she would finally feel relief. A piece of herself she’d searched for finally found.


  Pieces.

  Three pieces.

  Fated mates.

  Sighing, she dropped her head and ran her hand over the back of her neck. She held onto it, squeezing it in her grip. It was comforting, the strong grasp of her own hand. Reminding her whatever happened thus far, she was still here.

  Still kicking and still fighting.

  With Fate keeping a watchful eye on her. If she were to believe anything the guys said, Fate only intervened and mated people who caught her interest. Too bad she hadn’t caught her interest when she was in The Black Wood.

  Or had she?

  Fate seemed to have a reach no one could escape from. Could she have reached out and touched Melas and Zura? Just how strong and ancient was her magic?

  * * *

  The tightness in her chest told her Zura was in the kitchen, the scent of rusted copper and spice told her Andrei was with her.

  She could hear quiet murmurings behind the closed door of Orren’s office down the hall. Likely Ridhor and Orren were in there discussing whatever they brought Cricket and Alette here to discuss. There was a moment she debated walking past their door and eavesdropping but thought better of it.

  It rubbed her the wrong way knowing they were likely in there discussing something to do with both her and Zura, but she wasn’t going to beg them to be part of the conversation. They spent all this time trying to convince her they were partners, but the door was closed and she was on this side. It didn’t work in their favour.

  Pausing before she turned the corner, Melas folded her hands over her arms and listened to the two of them talk. Zura was slowly growing closer and closer to the guys, she was happy for the joy it brought her but it also caused her to ache. Nothing in their lives was permanent, waking up with nothing more than the clothes on their backs told Melas they hadn’t been able to hold onto much in this life.

  It would hurt when they left, but hopefully not enough to etch a little scar on Zura’s heart.