by Jaymin Eve
“You passed,” Torine said, and just like that the second task of the Summit was done.
Chapter Five
Dangerous waters surround the Island.
After the trial I was ferreted by Calista straight back to my suite. She’d wanted me to fill her in on everything that had happened, and I knew she hated that she hadn’t been able to be in there. I wasn’t supposed to share this with anyone, but I was so done with secrets. I could trust my advisor, and I was telling her.
Of course, then I had to try to put into words what had happened. How I’d felt. I wasn’t sure there was any way to adequately describe it. I knew the mecca was powerful, but that had felt like so much more, almost as if it was the very essence of what kept the earth alive, that without it the entire world and universe would cease to exist. But that wasn’t right. The magic gave us power but it wasn’t the source of the earth’s life. Right? My thoughts had been so clear when I was touching it, but now they just didn’t make sense.
“Unbelievable,” Calista said, when I finished my stumbling explanation. “Well, the entire castle is buzzing with news from the trial. The council are saying there’s never been an heir who connected to the mecca the way you did.”
I shuddered. “It was so weird, almost like it was projecting through me, sending messages and other information.”
Calista was swiping through her tablet like a speed demon. Talking just as quickly as she ran through the information. “Breanna is okay, but she’s been dismissed back to her borough. A failed heir. They are discussing whether she is strong enough to even remain as the alpha of her pack. Trial three is tomorrow. Since there are only two heirs left, the points are what is most important now. The higher your points, the more benefits in the final battle. Weapons. Magic. And all the rest. You have a reasonable lead at the moment, but you cannot let Selene take that from you. She’s a formidable fighter, and completely devoid of honor. She’ll do anything to kill you.”
I started pacing, trying my best to listen to her advice. I knew I should be paying closer attention – this was all important information and I could easily be killed in the final battle – but the rush of blood inside of me was taking all of my concentration.
“Oh, and Violet has returned to the Bronx. She’s examining the body of the female attacker who was killed at our vortex. She’ll be here by nightfall to give us her thoughts in person. She said it’s not safe to relay messages any other way.”
My heart fluttered with joy. I missed my best friend so much. We were never apart for long, and I couldn’t believe she’d been away when the queen fell and the Summit started. Beside the one allowance of the bear king’s advisor, Gerald, the royal residence was locked down to new people. Which wouldn’t matter much to Violet, no one stopped magic born from doing whatever they wanted. Only the queen had any hope, and right now we were missing one of those.
“We should go over fighting strategies, practice with multiple weapons,” Calista said, and I was just nodding as a crushing exhaustion hit me, like I hadn’t slept in a week.
As my head fell, I tried to grasp onto my energy and I realized I could still feel the mecca inside of me, filling my blood and somehow draining my energy. How was it doing this?
“Sure ...” My voice was dreamy. “After my nap.” I shuffled back to my room, passing a bewildered Calista. I wasn’t one to really take naps, but ever since entering the Summit I’d been so damn tired. Maybe this sort of magical drain had been going on for a lot longer than I thought.
I didn’t even have the energy to kick off my shoes, the second my head hit the pillow I was out. My sleep was peaceful at first, but then flashes of images started haunting me.
Fields of beautiful flowers as far as the eye could see … I was running through them like a carefree child but then I dreamt of my Red Queen’s white lynx covered in blood. So much blood. That’s when the flowers began to die and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My heart was breaking. So much pain.
“Arianna!” I felt a light smack on my face.
I gasped, sitting up. Calista stood over me holding her knife, eyes wild.
“What?” I surveyed the room for a threat.
Calista didn’t speak for a moment and just stared at me. Finally she relaxed, putting her dagger back into her boot. “You were whimpering, moaning, then you screamed. I … your skin was glowing purple. I thought it was a magic spell dream. I called Violet. …”
I swallowed hard, throwing the sheets off. My limbs were trembling as I inspected my skin, which now looked fine.
“Not a magic dream, just … a dream.”
Calista didn’t seem convinced. And I wasn’t so sure either. It wouldn’t be the first time rival magic users had possessed queens in their sleep. And there had been slivers of eeriness to that dream, but I was still sure it had not been from any of the magic born.
I stood, meeting her eyes, my limbs solid again, the last vestiges of the dream dissipating from my mind. “I’m fine,” I said firmly, and let my alpha power leak out the tiniest bit. “I’m sure it’s just an overflow of all the mecca energy I absorbed today. It was bound to affect me in some way.”
She lowered her head, relaxing a tiny bit. “Still, I would feel better if you saw Violet.”
My heart perked up. “Is she here?”
Calista nodded. “You’ve been asleep for four hours. When I couldn’t wake you–”
A grin lit up my face. Seeing Violet was exactly what I needed. “Where is she?” Technically, she wasn’t allowed in the castle until the Summit was over. Not just because of the lockdown, but also because this was still Sabina’s magical territory.
“On the roof waiting for you,” Calista said.
I tore out of the room and opened my front door. Ten of my guards stood at attention in the hall. They straightened even more when they saw me.
“Ben, Victor, Derek, I need you to accompany me to the rooftop, please.” Those three of my dominants stepped out of line and nodded.
“Your Highness, three is not enough,” Monica said, her voice strong but respectful. She was the overprotective one and I appreciated it.
I leaned in to whisper, “I’m meeting Violet.”
That was all that needed to be said. She stood back against the wall and nodded. No one would get the drop on me with Violet around. She was the most powerful magic born we had ever seen. I didn’t want to take all of my guards and make a big scene with a large procession gallivanting through the halls. I was hoping for a stealth mission to the rooftop and back with no witnesses.
Ben took position in front of me and Derek stepped in line to my right as Victor slipped in behind me. Now that the heat of Derek’s arm was pressed to mine, I was kicking myself for this awkward lineup. Derek and I had had a summer fling two years ago and I broke it off because I just didn’t feel the spark that I thought you should with a mate or life partner. I could tell from the way he looked at me and stepped in line next to me that he wasn’t over it. He was gorgeous and one of my best hand-to-hand fighters, as dominant as they came, but when it wasn’t there it just wasn’t there. You can’t force love, it just happens, right?
I forced myself to focus as we traversed the halls. Ben wouldn’t have taken the lead if he hadn’t memorized the entire layout of the castle. Ben was my smart one and I had no doubt he’d stayed up all night learning at least five different evacuation points in case of an attack. After getting into the empty elevator and using a key, we took a short ride to the top floor. The doors opened to reveal the beautiful rooftop patio.
I had only been here a handful of times for various parties and meetings the Red Queen hosted. The perfectly trimmed tall hedges were designed to provide complete privacy, even if there weren’t many prying eyes at this height. My favorite part was the way the small white string lights reflected on the travertine floors. It was magical, and if I became queen it would all be mine. Although, I wasn’t sure I really needed anything this luxurious – don’t get me wrong, I loved
the finer things in life – but at times it all seemed a little excessive. But it was part of the royal life and I didn’t get a choice. The royal residence had stood in this spot for over a century, and would be here for hundreds more.
My guards fanned out, doing a sweep of the deck before allowing me to step fully out into the open. I knew Violet would not be seen until she wanted to. Once my guards came back and told me that no one was here, I instructed them to stay put and stepped out into a more private area, though still where the guys could see me.
Taking a deep breath, I exhaled using the unique whistle code that Violet and I had made up when we were twelve. We had been heavily loaded up with sugar after eating a pint of chocolate ice cream each, and decided we needed a secret call. We still used it today.
Poof. Right before my eyes Violet appeared.
“Jesus, Vi! You scared me.” I’d been expecting it. She was nothing if not a master of the sudden appearance, but my body involuntarily reacted. She grinned, quite pleased that she could still catch me unawares like that. Violet was sadistic at times. She loved scaring me.
Stepping a little closer I couldn’t stop a true smile from ripping across my face. She looked radiant as usual, wearing a purple silk medieval dress. Violet loved the Renaissance times and dressed like she had just left one of their weekend fairs. We stood at almost the same height, although her wild white mane of hair made her seem a tad taller.
For the first time in days I felt at peace. Violet had always soothed the energy inside of me, almost like we were synced somehow. She still hadn’t said anything. Her eyes, the palest of blues, only a shade above white, were staring so hard it was as if she was trying to look through me. Her eyes widened then, and as she lifted a hand toward me it glowed softly in the dusky light. There was an odd expression on her face.
“Ari, your energy has changed … I’ve never seen this much magic on a person before. You’re lit up like a vortex.” Violet was never one for subtlety, and I appreciated it, but she had me worried.
I felt fine after my nap, but there was still some of the mecca moving beneath my skin. Actually, fine was probably a lie. I felt amazing, strong and powerful, like I could actually do magic or something. My energy was all over the place, as high as a kite one minute and the next back in the dirt.
Violet narrowed her eyes on me. “What happened? You need to tell me everything.”
“Firstly, tell me about the one who attacked us in the Bronx. Was she a spelled bear?”
Violet’s eyes darkened, and she stared straight at my forehead, like she could see the honor marks, despite them being washed off yesterday. “Human, Arianna. No matter what way I tested her the end result was human. Not bear. Not wolf. And not magic born. In truth, her energy was very hard for me to find, and if she had been spelled before – during the attack – it was gone by the time I got to her.”
Dammit! Violet had been my best hope to figuring out this entire mystery. Could the bear advisor be right? Could all of this be the fae, and were they actually strong enough to hide from Violet’s brand of magic? Why would the Tuatha de Danann start to interfere on Earth again?
Violet stepped even closer to me and I knew she was waiting for my part of the story. Lowering my voice so no nearby shifter could overhear, I quickly detailed everything that had happened, from the moment I woke to the toll of the bells, to the mecca crystal, and the dream I’d just had. I held no information back, except for the specifics about the fae. That information was still too new and shocking for me to truly comprehend. Plus I felt it was unwise to risk Torine hearing about my disregard of his order. No doubt the council would find a way to disqualify me from the Summit. So for now the fae information would remain secret.
As Violet pondered my story I took in her unique beauty. When we were kids she tried to make her white eyelashes black with mascara, and we even tried putting base makeup on her face to counteract her paleness, but all it did was make her orange. Eventually she accepted her uniqueness, and other than a hint of shimmering eye shadow and pinkish lip gloss, she was all natural: long silky hair so white it looked like a wig, skin the color of porcelain, and arresting crystalline white-blue eyes, so mesmerizing.
She took my hand, surprising me. Violet wasn’t much for physical touch. She took on too much of the person’s emotions and baggage. She only ever touched me, and it was still rare.
After a moment she dropped my hand. “When the queen fell I immediately went into a meditation,” she said.
Meditation to Violet could mean anything. My guess was that she had astral traveled here to New York to see what was going on. I still didn’t know all that she was capable of. Most of it had no easy explanation, and I think sometimes her abilities scared her, so she wouldn’t speak of them. I nodded for her to continue.
“What I saw… the entire world dimmed, like a light had gone out.”
That made sense. The queen held the mecca for all of the shifters. When she died the power dimmed, and now it was leaking everywhere.
“BUT…” Violet put up a finger. “Then it flared. It flared to life so hugely that I was kicked out of my meditation. Now…” She spun around looking at the city, seeing a world of energy that I couldn’t see. Then she faced me, seeming more serious than ever before. “Now it’s HUGE. It’s bigger than before. It’s everywhere.”
I furrowed my brow in confusion. Okay … I wasn’t sure what to say about that, but Violet and I had not been alive the last time a queen had fallen, so maybe that was normal.
As if she read my thoughts she shook her head. “I’ve read the magical history books. It’s never happened before. The past magical users always recorded that the mecca dies down with the death of the queen and only rights itself after coronation.”
I looked around at the unseen energy that she spoke of. “Is it dark, this new energy? Do you think it can harm me? Or anyone else? We basically touched the mecca today, and it was so much bigger than I’d expected.”
Maybe Calista was right and I had been magically cursed. But Violet shook her head immediately. “It’s the purest light I have ever felt, and I can’t be sure of course, but you are connected to it, and in a way I’ve never even seen with the Red Queen.”
My mouth dropped open. Before I could speak I heard a door slam and I turned to see Selene and a single guard walk outside giggling and holding hands. The second she saw me she threw her guard’s hand away and stood at attention, her snake coiling around her arm. Typical Selene. Not even the Summit could make her keep it in her pants. Sure, shifters are hot-blooded and highly sexual, but come on, there’s a time and place for that.
I turned, but knew what I would find. Violet was gone and I was left with more questions and worries than I had before.
A glint on the ground caught my eye and I smiled, picking it up. A button. I had never left New York City. Heirs were not allowed, so whenever Violet was made to travel she brought me back a souvenir. I had them from all over the world. Now I had a Mind the Gap button from London. Everyone needed a best friend like Violet.
“Missed you,” I whispered into the night air, hoping it would carry to wherever she was.
When I turned back around, my three guards were there and so was Finn. Selene continued to glare at me until we stepped into the elevator. As the doors closed I reached down and scratched Finn behind the ears where he liked it. He wouldn’t do it in front of my guards, but if we were alone his back leg would be twitching.
Where did you go? I had a crazy dream Calista couldn’t wake me from, I told him.
He looked up at me with his wise eyes. I know. I was stuck in there with you.
I frowned. My dream? Do you always see my dreams?
Never, he replied calmly.
I sighed. Another worry to add to the list of things I didn’t want to think about right now.
“Poker night?” I asked my guys as the elevator descended. They all grinned. I needed to have some fun tonight. And possibly a bottle of red wine. But I k
new Calista wouldn’t allow that. Not during the Summit.
“One game of poker. Do you hear me? ONE GAME,” Calista said as we crowded around the table thirty minutes later; Monica was dealing.
Three hours later, Calista was clutching her cards tightly, staring at Ben with a perfect poker face. I grinned. I loved seeing Calista like this, with her guard down and having fun. No wine for me but tons of chili cheese fries and poker. At 11pm my advisor finally kicked everyone out and we wished each other a good night. The way her eyes tracked me back to my room I knew she was worried for me. We didn’t know what tomorrow’s task would be yet. It could even be the final battle if the council decided to hurry things along. Which meant tomorrow might be the last day of my life. At least I’d had one last night with my pack.
That night I had a dreamless sleep, and woke early to the smell of bacon. Calista knew how to get this heir out of bed. Food. Every time.
I showered quickly so my hair would have time to air dry, and when I came out to have breakfast was delighted to see Violet sitting at the table with Calista.
Violet got right to the point. “You think Selene is banging that guard?”
I laughed. There was no protocol with Violet. She would never bow to me, never call me “Your Highness,” and I loved her for it. She was the one normal in my life. I saw Finn under the table and Violet’s bare feet stroking his back. She was the only person he ever let touch him except for me. He told me once that her touch was akin to feeling buzzed or drunk. Blissful. It made me wonder if Finn had ever gotten drunk.
“Totally. Who isn’t Selene banging?” I said with a shake of my head.
Calista huffed at us. “Your language is unbecoming of an heir and future queen.”
Violet grinned and blew air in Calista’s face, who was sitting directly to her left.