Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy

by Jennifer Collins

  Helen forced a smile and looked at her mother. "I think it's the Mugarian flu. You know how that goes." She made a look as if she were deathly ill. "Could last a month."

  "My cousin, Elliot, had that. Horrible illness. He was in bed for weeks. And it's very contagious," Elder Warren said, nodding his head.

  Helen thanked the goddess that Warren was such a know-it-all or else she would have had to continue lying, which wasn't her strong suit. She let out a deep breath and glanced at Leaf. His look was passive, but she saw a slight twitching at the sides of his lips as he pushed back a smile. She looked back at her mother, who seemed unconvinced but waved her hand to dismiss the topic.

  "Since Princess Syney is not well, we must postpone her coronation," Mellisandrianna said in a bored tone.

  "You can't do that," Helen said firmly—a little too firmly, judging by her mother's reaction.

  "We cannot plan it without her here. Unless she has been planning it on her sickbed?" She paused, waiting for an answer, but Helen stayed silent. "No, I didn't think so. Justice, postpone the coronation for another month. When the princess is well, Helen, you can help her plan the event."

  "Absolutely," Helen said with another forced smile.

  "If there is nothing else? Good. Meeting adjourned." Mellisandrianna stood from her chair.

  Helen jumped up and started for the door. She and Leaf had planned to meet after the meeting. She had come to spend her days looking forward to seeing him. They spent as much time together as they could. They talked for hours and even spent some days just sitting together, each reading a different book and then telling the other all about it. The times they kissed were her favorite, though. The day before, they even had gone as far as lying in his bed, his hands traveling to places that made Helen blush just thinking about it. She was almost out the door when her mother called for her from across the room. Helen stopped and turned around. Usually Mellisandrianna was the first to leave the council meetings. It was odd to see her in front of an empty table.

  "Yes?"

  "Come here, please," Mellisandrianna said sweetly.

  That was the first clue that something was wrong. Helen walked back to the table slowly. "Do you need something?"

  "You, my oldest daughter, I would expect to be loyal to me and my reign. Yet, for the past month, you have been nothing but insubordinate and frankly a little bratty."

  Helen's mouth dropped open in shock.

  "Do you understand that this cannot continue? I cannot have you siding with Syney, defending Syney. She is not your queen. Now close your mouth and get yourself together," Mellisandrianna said, her tone ice cold, before sweeping out of the room.

  Helen was so stunned that she stood frozen, her mouth still wide open for a while. Her mother hadn't spoken to her like that since Helen was a child. She always had been the good daughter growing up, never getting into trouble or stepping out of line with her mother. And now, as an adult who was almost twenty-five, she was being spoken to as if she were a five-year-old. The fact that the queen had pulled her friendship with Syney into the discussion wasn't much of a surprise, but it still stung. For the past three weeks, her mother slowly had been sabotaging every attempt to crown Syney, and without Syney actually here, she was succeeding. Helen finally had started to see her mother in a new light, and it wasn't a very attractive picture. That said, Mellisandrianna still scared the crap out of her, so crossing her wasn't something she was going to do.

  She made her way to Leaf's room, thoughts of her mother's conversation running through her head. She didn't knock, as was her custom now, and entered his room.

  He jumped up from one of the chairs and embraced her. "Are you OK? My heart pounded pretty hard when I heard her call you back. What did she want?"

  Helen sighed into him then stepped back. "She reprimanded me, like I was a child."

  "You've been talking back to her lately," he said simply.

  "I didn't... I guess I hadn't noticed really. She's just been so sneaky at those meetings." Helen sighed in frustration. "They need to come back."

  "I said that last week, and you told me to give them more time."

  "Yes, well, their time is up. Syney needs to get back here before my mother somehow throws out her entire claim to the throne."

  Leaf rubbed his hands down her arms. "It'll be OK. I'll start standing up to her."

  Helen placed her palms on his chest. "You know you can't do that. She can have you killed; she'll just reprimand me."

  He moved his hands to the sides of her face and pulled her gaze up to his. "You're stronger than her."

  "No one's stronger than my mother."

  Leaf shook his head. "You still don't see it."

  She sighed. "I wish I could see myself the way you do."

  He smiled and led her to a full-length mirror hiding in the corner of the room. He stood behind her, his hands on her arms. "This is what I see every day. And I love her, for everything she is. The strong, independent woman. The caring, loving woman. The sexy, sensual woman that you are."

  Helen met his gaze in the mirror and felt her face grow warm. "I love you." She took a deep breath and turned to face him, all the heat in her body surging. "I want to be with you right now."

  He gently kissed her on the mouth before deepening the kiss and lifting her up, as if she weighed nothing, and laying her gently on the bed. He started to kiss and touch her everywhere. Helen never had felt like this before; it was almost animalistic, as their needs pushed forward. All thoughts of her mother faded from her mind as they broke the laws of their society and made love. Helen never had felt so good or sure of anything in her whole life. This was the man she would stand by from this day forward, no matter what.

  Noelle

  Three weeks had given Noelle a lot of time to think about what had happened before Syney and Hunter had left the Village. Luckily Gabe also had been scarce the whole time, which allowed her to think about things without his handsome face and snarky remarks clouding her judgment. She had come to the conclusion that she wasn't OK with any of it, but she knew sitting around stewing about it wasn't helping anything. She wanted to hate both of them but couldn't. Syney was the best friend she'd ever had, and as much as she wanted to push it way down and bury her feelings under the farthest rock, she had to admit that she had feelings for Gabe. That didn't mean she was over what had happened. Syney and Gabe both would have to do extensive apologizing, especially Gabe. She never had really shared her feelings with Syney, and most of the time, Noelle and Gabe fought around her. But it was the private moments with Gabe that Noelle cherished, and he obviously had been there for those, so he should have known how hurt she would feel. Or maybe he didn't care. That thought made her even angrier—not just at Gabe but also herself. Of course he didn't care about her. He was a Vampire, and she knew enough to know they only cared about themselves.

  Noelle found herself thinking about all of this as she sat down for dinner, alone, again. The past three weeks had been lonely. She looked over at a table of handmaidens as they laughed and chatted. She stabbed at her food and bitterly mocked their laughs.

  "Laughing at yourself now, I see."

  Noelle closed her mouth and sat up a little straighter as she looked over at Gabe.

  "I leave for a few weeks and you go...a little batty?" he asked, slipping into his smile.

  Noelle stuck her nose up in the air. "You weren't here? I hadn't noticed." She stabbed some food with her fork and shoved it into her mouth. She stared down at the table, ignoring his steady gaze.

  After a while he leaned forward. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

  Trying to control her emotions, Noelle took some breaths. Finally she looked up at him. "You should apologize to Syney. She's the one you took advantage of."

  Gabe stared at her. "Number one, she took advantage of me. Number two, I tried to apologize to her, but I can't seem to find her. And number three.. He paused. "Don't ever pretend to understand things that you have no business being involved
in."

  Noelle's anger rose. He was such an ass! How dare he talk to her like that! She quickly slid her hands under the table as she felt her fingernails grow out long and slender. She shoved them between her thighs to hide it.

  Slowly Gabe sat back and smiled, as if pleased with himself. He was trying to get a rise out of her. She took some slow, deep breaths, the way her mother had taught her, and felt her claws retract.

  "So where is Syney?" he asked after a moment.

  "You should know. You suggested the place," Noelle said, trying to keep her voice even.

  Gabe cocked an eyebrow. "They aren't back yet?"

  "No."

  "Aren't you worried?" he asked her.

  "Are you?"

  "I am." They both looked up at Leaf, who had silently walked up to the table. He took a seat next to Noelle.

  Noelle smiled at him. "What do you want to do?"

  Leaf looked at her. "I want you to go get them."

  "Me? Alone?"

  "No, I'll send a Guard with you. But it does have to be you. I can't go, and you're the only other person who knows where they are."

  "I know where they are," Gabe said with a wave.

  Leaf glared at him as if he were the scum at the bottom of the Great Lake.

  "OK, I'll go," Noelle said. "Will Reed be coming?"

  "No, I can't send him. I need him to keep up the pretense that Syney is still here," he said quietly. "But I have a few Guards who will have no problem following orders without question. You'll be safe."

  She nodded.

  "I'll take her."

  They both looked at Gabe.

  "I know the way and the town," he said simply.

  Leaf looked back at Noelle. "I'll leave it up to you."

  She sighed and looked between the two. One part of her was jumping for joy at the thought of a whole day's journey with Gabe, but the other part was screaming at her to just take a Guard because Gabe wasn't worth the hassle. Her irrational side won out. "Fine. I'll go with you. But if I kill you in your sleep, know that I'm not sorry."

  He smiled at her. "Don't sleep. Got it."

  "Good journey," Leaf said, getting up from the table and walking away with—if Noelle wasn't mistaken—a little more spring in his step.

  Gabe's gaze followed him out as well. "He got lucky."

  "At least someone did," Noelle said automatically. She sighed and looked back at Gabe, who was giving her an even bigger smile. She rolled her eyes. "Come on. Let's get going." She bussed her tray and headed to her room to grab some clothes. She was pretty sure she was regretting her decision already.

  Gabe

  He didn't want to make her mad again, but all of his suspicions about Noelle were just about confirmed. The way her colors had shifted and magnified had been amazing. No one was quite sure what the colors were that Vampires saw around people. Some assumed it was a person's aura, a manifestation of his or her life force. But not all Vampires had the same color, and the same was true for all of the other races. Gabe bought into the aura thing only so far. He thought it had something to do with life forces but also moods. What he had seen with Noelle was definitely related to her life force, and it made him even more interested in her—not that she wanted anything to do with him. She rode by horseback to Colchin while he walked next to her, keeping an eye out for anything that could threaten them.

  It had been convenient for Syney and Hunter to leave when they did. It had given him a chance to call upon his good friend, Hadrian. Most of the Daemons had scattered to avoid detection, but they were all still loyal to their last king. Gabe found him in the Human Realm and gave him a piece of his mind, even going as far as accusing Hadrian of not having control over his people. Hadrian denied being part of the attack but did admit that several of his men had splintered off and had had no contact with the rest of the group. They hadn't been extremists before the sleeping spell had been cast, although Hadrian did mention a growing tension because of the spell.

  "Everything needs to move quickly before I lose more men," Hadrian had said, pacing the room.

  "It's moving as fast as I can get it to move. You know the Crystalliannas. The queen is pushing back against everything I put in motion. I've already lost one ally in the palace. I'm not a fan of losing people," Gabe had said sharply.

  "Neither am I," Hadrian had growled, his dark eyes growing even darker.

  Gabe had dropped the discussion and left his old friend, after letting Hadrian know that any violent Daemon activity in the Realm would not be tolerated.

  Now Gabe looked over at Noelle. They were only an hour from Colchin, and the two barely had spoken to each other in one full day. The silence was welcome but also annoying. He needed time to think. He was always thinking, which was the annoying part. He missed those times when he could just turn everything off. Recently that seemed never to happen—except when he was with Syney, which was probably why it happened to begin with. He shook his head and continued on their journey.

  A moment later Noelle slid down from her horse and started to walk next to him. She didn't speak right away; she just walked and led the horse by its bridle. Finally she glanced over at him. "Something is going on."

  "What do you mean?"

  Noelle stopped and looked at him. "I've been thinking about this for a while. There had to be a reason you came to the Village. I assumed you just wanted something from the palace, but it was Syney you wanted. You keep saving her. You volunteer to go find her. You need her for something."

  Gabe raised an eyebrow. "For what exactly?"

  Noelle sighed and started to walk again. "That's what I don't know."

  Gabe didn't say anything but found himself, for the second time, wanting to let her know what really was going on. But he still wasn't ready to put her life in danger, or his for that matter—not when she was still a little angry with him.

  She sighed. "Fine. Keep it to yourself. But don't ask for any help or try to trick me into giving you any."

  "I haven't yet. Why start now?"

  She looked at him and smiled. "So there is something going on!"

  He rolled his eyes. "You already knew that."

  "Vampires are sneaky."

  "How about an exchange?"

  "What do you have in mind?"

  "I'll answer one question for you..." He stopped her by placing a hand on her arm. "...if you answer one question for me."

  Noelle stared at him, obviously thinking about the offer. Finally she nodded. "OK."

  "How do you know so much about Vampires?"

  Her answer didn't come right away, and when it did, she seemed almost happy to answer. "My mother taught me. I grew up...in Bolchin, in the neutral territory. She wanted me to know all about the races I was growing up among. But I don't know everything."

  Her answer didn't surprise him. He knew she wasn't from any of the Magic User towns, especially the Village. But Bolchin specifically was interesting. It wasn't as "friendly" as Colchin. It was actually a pretty nasty place to go, mostly filled with people who weren't welcome in other towns. It was, however, a great place to hide out, especially if you didn't ever want to be found.

  "And your question?" he asked with a smile.

  "How old are you?" she asked simply.

  That surprised him. She seemed to know something about his motives; she had said as much to him. But this is what she wanted to know? "Nine hundred ninety eight."

  A smile slowly spread on her lips. "Interesting," she said, mimicking his usual bored tone. She started to walk again.

  "How is that interesting?" he asked, catching up to her in only one step.

  "It just is."

  "No, it isn't, although Bolchin is very interesting."

  "It was very boring and dangerous."

  "Those two don't go together."

  "They do in Bolchin," she said with a laugh.

  "I went there once. It wasn't my taste."

  "Of course not. You like beautiful things. Bolchin is not beautiful. But
I'm not surprised you've been there, seeing as you're so old," Noelle said with a small smile.

  "Why does my age fascinate you?"

  She shrugged.

  "And you're right about the beautiful things. I have my eye on one."

  "Syney is beautiful."

  "I'm not talking about Syney."

  Noelle stopped walking again. She stared at him. "I don't understand you."

  "I'm not easy to understand," Gabe said, moving closer to her. His intention was to put her on edge, as he always did. At least then he would be amused for the rest of the ride to the town. What he didn't expect was for her to kiss him. He was so surprised at first that he kissed her back. It was one of the more enjoyable experiences he'd had in a while. But after a moment, he pulled back. He couldn't do this. Not now. Whatever had happened between him and Syney was very different from what he wanted with Noelle. And he wasn't even sure what he wanted with Noelle. He took some steps back and looked at her surprised face for only a moment before starting again toward Colchin. After a moment Noelle caught up, and they continued in silence.

  When they arrived in Colchin, they made their way to the inn. Gabe had been there many times, but not in the last few hundred years, so he knew he wouldn't be recognized. The woman behind the bar, however, looked exactly like the last woman he had seen behind the bar. He assumed it was her daughter or another direct relative, because of her age. Lea, the last owner he had known, was well into her sixties when he had last seen her. The woman in front of him was no older than thirty. Gabe smiled at her and leaned forward on the bar. He debated ordering a drink. He had a feeling he would need one with what was ahead of him as well as what had just happened on their journey there.

  "Hi," Noelle said in her sweet voice.

  "Hello, there," the woman said, smiling over at them.

  "I was hoping you could help us. We're looking for some friends of ours who came to town a few weeks ago. A woman, dark hair, young, violet eyes. And a man, with dark hair also and rather big," Noelle said with a few key motions.

  "She's depressed, and he's brooding. Both most likely buzz kills," Gabe added with a smirk.