by S. M. Boyce
“We wish to invite you to join the royal family and to be my heir,” the king said, lifting the tiara and offering it to her.
Audrey couldn't speak at first. She merely reached out with her finger and touched the top of the crown. It radiated power. “This is more than a headpiece, isn't it?”
The king nodded. “You're quite right. This is an Atlantean Artifact, and it will give you the ability to shift into whatever form you want. All you have to do is stay here in Atlantis, and the crown and monarchy are yours.”
The voice in Audrey's core spoke for her before Audrey even had a chance to process the offer. “Of course. Nothing would make me happier.”
Don’t, a tiny voice said in the back of her head. Her smile faltered, and she bit her lip with worry.
What the hell was happening to her?
CHAPTER 24
Victoria sat by a pool of water, staring at the koi as they swam in the crystal-clear depths. Even they didn't want anything to do with her, and sticking her hand in just chased them away.
Little bastards.
Audrey had never spoken to Victoria like that, and she had seemed genuinely upset. Angry. The sidekick comment had wounded Victoria the most. She hated the thought of her friend feeling like she had been playing second fiddle. Audrey had so much potential, so much grace and power. Victoria couldn't imagine life without her best friend. They had always been there for each other, always had each other's backs.
The thought of leaving Audrey broke her heart.
Victoria frowned, a fresh wave of determination crashing over her. She wouldn’t leave Audrey. She couldn't. This was the mind control talking. Apparently it had gotten worse than she or Diesel had suspected. Either the general had control of Audrey, or her Atlantean half had taken over.
This wasn't the Audrey Victoria knew and loved.
Victoria stood, determination on her face as she scanned the castle’s windows. She would save Audrey from whatever was happening to her, and that meant getting Audrey out of the castle as soon as humanly possible.
Even if it meant dragging her out.
***
Victoria threw open the door to the room she shared with Diesel. He was stuffing objects into his and Victoria's backpacks, and he paused as she entered. She squared her shoulders. “Diesel, we're leaving. Are you ready?”
“Where's Audrey?”
“We’re going to go get her.”
Diesel flashed one of his charming grins. “How lovely, darling. A couple’s adventure to rescue a friend.”
Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose, but ultimately chose to ignore him. “Is everything packed?”
He nodded. “I managed to get us about five Atlantean Artifacts each and hide them in various layers of clothing, so unless we get frisked we should be fine.”
“They might look closely.”
“Well, let's not give them a reason to,” he said with a wink.
“A reason to do what?" a man asked from the door.
Victoria spun around. She hadn't even heard the squeaky door open, and yet it stood ajar. The general leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, and watched them suspiciously, as though he had caught them red-handed.
Well, he kind of had. Shit.
The general pushed off the doorframe and walked toward them with Styx in one hand. The tiny pixie struggled to break free.
Double shit.
“Let him go.” Victoria tensed, ready to fight if she had to. Beside her, Diesel tightened his grip on his staff.
The general lazily looked between them, as though they were no threat to him. “I'm not sure how you found it, but our vault contains every known Artifact that has not been given to an Atlantean. All of ours are accounted for, unlike that fool Rhazdon. He let his power disappear into the wind, and that was why he failed. We don't give them to the common folk, as he did.”
The general looked Victoria up and down, and her heart skipped a beat.
He knew. She didn’t know how, but he knew what she was.
The element of surprise gone, she summoned her sword and attacked. He released Styx and parried, and the two of them dodged and ducked each other's blows in the small room. She threw a blast of energy at the general's head, but he rolled out of the way at the last second and took Victoria down with him. He aimed a punch at her head, but she ducked out of range and his fist broke the stone floor instead. Instead of screaming with pain and nursing broken knuckles, he didn't flinch. He cocked his arm to throw another blow, but she pinned his knee and flipped him over her head. He landed hard on his back.
With a smirk Diesel aimed his staff at the general, the tip burning red, but a blast of energy from the door knocked him onto his back. Suddenly the room was filled with bursts of white light, and Victoria summoned her shield instead of the sword to block them. She ran toward Diesel to give him cover, and he huddled behind the shield with her as he regained his breath. Styx dove toward them and nestled in Victoria’s hair.
The general had brought an army, and Victoria didn’t have the high ground.
With her free hand, she poked Styx in the belly. “Boop, buddy! You were supposed to boop me on the nose!”
He rambled incoherently, squeaking some defense Victoria couldn’t understand.
“It’s fine. It’s fine, buddy. Stay out of reach, and follow closely if we get caught. We may need you to pick some locks.”
He saluted and clicked his heels together before darting into the air.
“Well, damn! That hurt,” Diesel said, his voice catching as he held his chest. “I shouldn’t have played with my food. I didn’t realize he had backup.”
Blast after blast ricocheted off Victoria’s shield, each magical blow shooting pins and needles up her arm. She grimaced, trying her best to take the hits, but the shield was too heavy. She’d had to summon a massive one to cover them both, and the weight was taking its toll on her. It kept leaning away from her, and she gritted her teeth as she tried to keep it steady. She wouldn’t be able to hold it much longer.
Fuck, how she wished she was stronger.
“Looks grim,” Shiloh said out of nowhere.
Victoria and Diesel yelped in unison as the ghost appeared out of thin air. He lounged nearby, the occasional bolt of energy sailing through him and singeing the wall.
Diesel’s eyes widened with excitement. “Is that the ghost of your Rhazdon Artifact? How fascinating! I have so many questions—”
Victoria interrupted him, grateful for the first time to see her ghost. “Shiloh! Thank goodness. How many of them are there? What’s the weapon count? Can we—”
The ghost interrupted her with a massive yawn. He stretched and laid down on the ground as though she hadn’t said anything.
“Shiloh!”
“Do you think you’ll die?” Shiloh asked, studying his nails as he lounged on the dirty floor.
“Not if you help!”
He peered at something in front of her shield. “Nah.”
“Shiloh! Damn it!”
As quickly as he had appeared the ghost dissolved into the air. Victoria screamed with frustration.
The blows stopped, and a second later someone kicked her shield hard. The sheer force of it threw her against the wall, knocking her head against the stone. Her vision blurred, and the shield disappeared. She fell to the floor, back sliding down the wall. Everything became fuzzy. She knew her name was Victoria, and she was…she was…
Shit, she was something. It was on the tip of her tongue.
Blurry silhouettes shouted and danced in her vision, but she couldn't tell what was going on.
Diesel cussed, and a few bursts of light filled the room. Whatever he was doing, it caused a light show. In her delirious state, Victoria smiled a bit at the brilliant sight. “Shiny.”
Someone grabbed her by her neck. It hurt. She gasped for breath and grabbed the massive hand, but her assailant lifted her off the floor. Her head throbbed more painfully now, and she could feel herself slipping t
oward the darkness. Any second now, she would pass out.
Any second could be her last.
***
For a moment Audrey could only stare at the scene before her.
She had come to inform Victoria that she was staying, her feet carrying her as though something else were controlling her every step, but she had stopped in her tracks when she saw the army congregated outside Victoria's bedroom.
A gap appeared in the army of Atlantean soldiers, and General Cato walked through. He held Victoria by her neck, her feet dangling in the air as she gasped for breath.
He sneered as he studied his prize, and something within Audrey snapped.
Time slowed, and a rush of memories burned through Audrey's mind. She thought of punching Andy Jones during recess in the third grade because Andy had been picking on Victoria. She remembered their kickboxing classes together, and all the times Victoria had tried to get her to go out for dance or acting or any of the other stupid things that Audrey had no interest in doing but at which Victoria excelled. She thought of all the car trips, all the near-misses in traffic.
But most importantly, Audrey thought of Victoria's parents dying, of the way Audrey had been the only one Victoria would speak to after her life had imploded. She remembered discovering Victoria's powers in the treehouse, and traveling with her to Fairhaven. She remembered Victoria's squelching feet as she walked through the gas station after destroying a sink with a power she didn't understand.
She remembered Victoria.
Audrey staggered as her thoughts cleared. The voice in her core tried to speak, but her newfound clarity silenced it almost instantly.
What the fuck had she been doing? She had nearly let strangers adopt her and shove some magical crown on her head.
Fuck that. Whatever they were doing to her here, Audrey had been inches away from becoming a mindless drone.
And just like that, it clicked for her: that voice in her core was her Atlantean nature, which had fueled an instinctive drive to stay with her people and find purpose. To find community.
But she already had all the community she needed.
“Put her down at once,” Audrey said, pointing to the floor for emphasis.
The general jumped in surprise, apparently caught off-guard by Audrey’s presence. He simply stared at her for a moment, then his smile faded and he released his grip on Audrey’s friend. Victoria crumpled on the floor in a heap and held her throat, gasping for air.
Victoria might not have been Atlantean, but she was family. In Audrey's mind, that made her an honorary Atlantean, one she would protect with her life.
The general looked disappointed. “They confessed to stealing from our vaults, my lady. They must be punished.”
Audrey studied Victoria, who sat still on the floor and watched her, seemingly waiting for Audrey's next move.
Audrey smirked. “I'll take care of punishment. You need not concern yourself with my servants.”
Victoria scowled, and Audrey resisted a wicked chuckle at her friend's expense.
The general looked behind him and nodded to one of the soldiers, who disappeared into the bedroom. “Miss Audrey, by now you know you have been chosen to rule, and I promise you that these commoners are a chain around your ankle. They hold you back, my liege.”
To her credit Victoria didn't say anything aloud, but her face said it all. She scrunched her nose and grimaced a little, the confused look her equivalent of, “What the fuck is he talking about?”
Audrey again suppressed a smile. “I appreciate your input, general. Dismissed.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but Audrey waved her hand to emphasize the fact that she didn't want him to say a word. She nodded down the hall, hands on her hips, and waited in silence for him to obey.
He stood a little taller, frowning. “Should we be concerned about your loyalty, Audrey?”
“I prefer ‘Your Royal Highness.'“
In Audrey's peripheral vision, Victoria bit her lip to keep from snickering and dropped her head to hide her face.
The general closed the distance between himself and Audrey. He hesitated, letting the tension settle in the air as his eyes roamed her face. “Perhaps you did not hear me, Your Royal Highness, but these commoners snuck into our vaults and stole some of our most precious possessions—Atlantean Artifacts. Either they used their influence with you to steal from us, or you distracted us long enough to let them do so. Which is it?”
Audrey's lips parted. Honestly, she didn’t know what to do. “I’ll handle punishment. Thank you, General.”
He grabbed her hand, and though she expected it to be rough, his grip was gentle. His calloused finger rubbed the skin on her wrist and he didn't break eye contact. His expression softened from anger to concern, and a flicker of understanding crossed his face.
“It seems you've woken up,” he said so softly that only she could hear.
She tensed, and his grip on her wrist tightened until she couldn’t move. “Let go of me, Cato.”
He shook his head. “It won't take much to fix this, and I promise you’ll be happier for it. Come with me.”
He dragged her down the hall, and the small army of soldiers followed behind them.
Like hell.
Audrey twisted her wrist in his grip as she had learned in kickboxing and broke free. Without missing a beat, she lifted her skirt enough to kick out his knee. He fell to the ground and the soldiers behind her glanced at one another, apparently not entirely sure what they were supposed to do.
“Grab her!" the general shouted.
“Release them!” she commanded.
The soldiers focused on her, and several crept closer.
Oh, well. It had been worth a try.
Audrey tensed, settling into a defensive stance as she prepared to fight. She wished Victoria would stand up and Diesel would appear from wherever he was hiding, but it seemed like they had already been beaten. If the soldiers could take Victoria, Audrey didn't stand a chance.
Didn't mean she wouldn't try.
The first soldier reached her, and she landed a blow in his solar plexus. He gasped for breath, and she kicked him onto his back as the next soldier arrived. She repeated the blows, and that soldier fell too.
Beside her, Victoria lurched to her feet and summoned a sword. She could barely stand, and from the way she rocked as she swung it was obvious she’d hit her head pretty hard. She didn't have much balance, but she still took out two soldiers with a single swing. One of the men shot a bolt of white lightning at her, but she ducked out of the way with seconds to spare. The motion sent her to the floor, however, and she struggled to get to her feet again.
What had these fuckers done to her?
Time to bring out the big guns.
In one hand Audrey held the magnificent artifact given to her by the instructor in the gardens. She stretched the fingers of the other and released the white energy she had practiced with. While she wanted to use the ribbon dancers, as she called them, they would require too much focus at the moment. She needed something quick and effective. She loosed a massive bolt of white energy, hitting every standing soldier in the chest. They tipped over like pins in a bowling alley, crashing to the floor.
Score.
Of course, an attack that strong left her breathing heavily, and she didn't know when she would have enough moxie to attack again.
Time to bail.
“Victoria, let's go!”
“Audrey, look out!" Victoria screamed.
A bolt shot past Audrey, singeing the wall, and she spun on her heel. The general aimed for her head and she ducked just in time, rolling along the floor as the attack flew over her. Her legs caught in her dress, though, and she skidded the last half of the way. Another bolt headed toward her, and she barely pulled her shoulder out of its path. She aimed a bolt at his chest, the easiest target, but it came out as a thin line rather than the full attack she had hoped for. He flinched as though she had thrown a stone at him, nothing more.
Crap.
He chuckled darkly. “You need to build stamina, Audrey. No worries, I’ll train you.”
Nearby, some of the soldiers were trying to stand. Though the ones closest to her blast still lay steaming on the floor, those who had been behind the front lines were struggling to their feet. They would probably be back in action soon.
Victoria pushed herself to her feet and swung her sword at the nearest one, slitting his throat. He screamed and fell while Victoria aimed for the next soldier, and the next. Audrey knew she would keep going until she couldn't move anymore, but judging by the way she staggered between each blow it wouldn’t be much longer.