Acqua (Daughters of Nyx Book 1)

by Lainy Lane

  “Nyx,” I said breathlessly.

  “Acqua,” she responded with a smile that forced my knees to forget how to remain straight.

  “How have I been blessed with the presence of my queen?” I asked as I knelt to the ground.

  “Stand, my daughter, please.” I could hear the smile in her voice.

  I obeyed instantaneously.

  “To what do I owe this honor?” I asked, once more.

  “You, my dear, need to know how much you are loved. You need to quit walking around with so much guilt. And you, dear Acqua, need to learn to follow your heart more often and more confidently.” Her smile overtook me and made my entire body feel lighter.

  “No,” I said. “My dear Goddess, I have dishonored you. I have let you down, I have betrayed you and your glory.” It was freeing to finally admit all of the guilt I’d been carrying around. I suddenly felt as if I'd released a caged beast.

  “My dear, my daughter, you could never dishonor me. You may disappoint me time and again, but it would never lessen the way I think of you, my love.” Her smile was the only thing brighter than the glow surrounding her.

  I felt as if I was supposed to be remaining on the floor, at her feet. Yet she was pacing away from me and then back toward me. My heart beat in tune with her steps as I cautiously watched her.

  “I am not only of you any longer, not in the same way I was, my Nyx. I allowed love to cloud my vision and make me into a being that is of you and yet of something else as well.” My heart seemed a bit lighter as I deposited all of my feelings and fears of what I had become at her feet.

  “You are not only a witch any longer, no.” Her voice was so very lyrical as she spoke. “You could do nothing to become any less my daughter, though. You have and always will be one of my children whom I love very dearly. Acqua, love doesn’t cloud vision. Please know that love comes in many forms, colors, and ways, yet love always brings about good. It may look different for each couple, but it always brings beauty regardless. My dear, your heart speaks clearer than your mind ever can. Your mind is run by fear, but your heart is driven by passion alone. Follow your heart, and it will lead you to what is right.” She touched my cheek, and I felt as if it was searing at her touch, in a mesmerizing way that I didn’t want to stop.

  “But—” my brain was instantly coming up with ways as to how her words simply couldn't apply to my life.

  “But nothing, Acqua." A light sigh escaped her crimson lips. "You could never lose my love, no matter what you become. You have the ability to make a difference being what you are now. Do not allow the world to make you blind to that. Take heart, my dear. You will change the world if you allow yourself to believe in what you can be.”

  “I don’t deserve this,” I feebly admitted.

  “Yet I freely give it to you. My presence is yours because I want you to feel it, not because you deserve it.”

  “All I desire is your forgiveness.” My heart quivered in my chest at the weight of asking for something I could never earn.

  “You have that before you even commit the act that requires it, remember that, always. I’ll even give you one better to prove I’m standing behind you.” Her figure glided across my path, and I watched, my eyes glued to her beauty.

  I felt puzzled as I watched her. She had already given me far more than I could ever deserve, more than I had expected, what more could there possibly be?

  “To help you further figure out your plan and determine what you are going to do, I will postpone the full moon for a week, to buy you some time.” She beamed, and the beauty of the sight was far beyond description.

  “You can do that?” I realized as soon as the words were out just how stupid the question was. Unfortunately, I hadn’t come to that realization fast enough to stop it from being asked.

  “Of course,” she chuckled, “I’m the goddess of night, I could make the moon disappear altogether if I wanted to.”

  I stared at her in awe.

  “Of course, then everyone would die, so I won’t do that.” She chuckled lightly. “Now, you get back home and figure out a plan. Use the extra time I’ve granted you wisely, dear.” She vanished into thin air the instant the words were out of her mouth.

  I stood, still awestricken. I wasn’t even sure where I was, how I’d gotten there, or how to get home even if I could have convinced my legs to move in that moment.

  “Acqua,” Phoenix’s voice hummed, and I searched for him.

  The woods seemed to be morphing into something else before my eyes. The trees melted into the ground, and the grass evaporated leaving only dirt behind. My head was spinning from watching it take place. Dizziness overpowered me and I closed my eyes as I felt my body collapse.

  “Acqua?” I heard Phoenix’s voice again and fluttered my eyes open.

  I was in my bed, surrounded by my room. Phoenix was leaning over me, looking confused. I fluttered my eyes as if willing them to prove I was for sure back in my room.

  “Are you alright?” His voice was higher pitched than usual. His eyes, once again vampire, were vivid and rimmed with garnet.

  I put my hand over my eyes, blocking out what little light was shining from the lamp in the corner of the room. My head was pounding, and my eyes were revolting against the sight of even the small amount of light.

  “I’m fine, just—another headache. Turn off the light, would you?” I moaned, wishing I could return to the woods of my dream.

  He instantly jumped up, limped over to the lamp, and pushed the button, engulfing the room in darkness, and I forced my eyes open and moved my hand.

  “You were mumbling in your sleep.” He smiled, far lighter than usual.

  “I had a dream about Nyx,” I whispered, still afraid even the slightest noise would make my head pound harder than it already was.

  “As in the Nyx?”

  “The one and only,” I scoffed, feeling irritated at him for a reason that was beyond me.

  “Do you need Ethereal to make some tea?” he asked, ignoring the attitude I was giving him.

  “Please.” I flashed a smile that he gladly took as an apology before he left the room.

  His body was tense and he seemed to be forcing his movements. I felt his pain begin to radiate inside of me. He was once again going through the transformation of becoming a vampire. I wasn’t sure he’d thought of that repercussion before asking me to turn him.

  “Acqua,” a brusque voice filled my head, and I shuddered in response. “I know you’re in withdrawal, you need me now,” Vulcan continued speaking in my head through our bond. “Try and hide it as long as you’d like, but the full moon is only two nights away. I will see you no later than that, but hopefully sooner. It’s the only way that your pains will go away. You’re craving me, whether you want to or not.” His voice grew softer with each word as I used the short amount of energy I felt in my body to shut him out.

  Now he was in my head. He had direct access to my thoughts. How was I supposed to plan anything against him if he could sneak into my mind and see what I was planning as I did so? Hopefully, it was my head playing tricks on me, but I could’ve sworn that I heard a soft chuckle in my head.

  This was going to be far more complicated than I’d originally thought.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  “It’s just a basic tea,” Ethereal explained, “nothing special. Black tea with a bit of peppermint.”

  “It’s delicious,” I responded, feeling brighter and far more confident than usual.

  “Thanks?”

  My mood was confusing everyone. After such an extraordinary night with so much betrayal, to be so upbeat had to have been entirely unexpected. Phoenix was the most confused seeing as I’d practically bitten his head off for asking what was wrong before he’d told Ethereal to make me some tea. His own pain was also clouding his reasoning, thought he was trying with all his might not to show it to anyone, including me. I’d spent at least ten minutes after Vulcan’s message trying to keep him closed off, but
it made me physically ill to do so. The moment I surrendered and allowed him back in, everything about me changed. My headache was gone, my energy returned tenfold, my mood was reaching Cloud Nine level. I had immediately taken advantage of Phoenix saying he wanted a nap when he came back to inform me that Ethereal had some tea steeping for me.

  I knew that Phoenix must be unaware of Vulcan’s presence in my head. If he had known about Vulcan communicating with me, he would’ve said something. This had to be some sort of a side effect of having a three-way bond. It could have been because Vulcan had formed our bond and then I had formed, or reformed, mine and Phoenix's bond that made the triangle obtuse. It seemed that mine and Vulcan's had grown stronger than mine and Phoenix's despite the fact that I loved Phoenix and not Vulcan. I had to wonder if it was because Vulcan was older, and therefore, stronger than Phoenix. Maybe he could overpower mine and Phoenix’s bond to ensure Phoenix didn’t fully grasp the power of mine and Vulcan’s bond. I couldn’t help but feel that I had allowed myself a false sense of confidence in thinking that Phoenix’s plan would give us the upper hand over Vulcan. I didn’t believe that we would ever have the upper hand, no matter what we did.

  “Listen.” I looked at both Ember and Ethereal. Phoenix had passed back out the moment he laid down, I suppose I had kept him up with my mumbling. It was rather rare lately for the three of us girls to have a private moment like this. I planned to take full advantage of it. “I know I wasn’t fully sure of what I was getting into—”

  “You never seem to be anymore, that’s the issue, Acqua,” Ember was quick to respond.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to say. I know I’ve been very—out of sorts lately.” I laced my voice with as much sincerity as I could muster and pleaded for their forgiveness with my eyes.

  “You can say that again!” Ember chuckled.

  “I love you guys, you know that. I may not know exactly what I’m doing anymore, but it will never change my love for you, for both of you.” I looked down into my teacup, swirling the liquid around as I attempted to process my thoughts. If I wasn't careful, my mind would get lost in the motion, and I would return to ignoring the world around me. I didn't have time for that.

  “Yes Acqua.” Ethereal smiled. “We’re sisters, we’re aware that you’ll always have a love for us.”

  “That doesn’t mean we agree with you, though,” Ember laughed. “Actually, I think us being sisters means quite often we’re going to disagree with one another,” Ethereal added for good measure.

  I shrugged. “Maybe. I just needed to get that out, and I need to know you two forgive me, for everything.”

  “Of course we do, Acqua.” Ethereal placed her hand on my shoulder, and a sense of tranquility coursed through me in response. “We love you, even if we don’t agree with who you love, or what issues that love causes.”

  “Says the girl who has yet to understand love.” I chuckled.

  “It makes you weak.” Ethereal shrugged.

  “I’m with Ethereal,” Ember finally caved.

  “Says the girl that looks for love in all the non-traditional places.” I cackled, unable to contain myself. We were all three screwed up in our own ways. Yet, somehow this mismatched puzzle fit together just fine.

  “Hey, different strokes for different folks, right?” Ember winked.

  “Speaking of love complications.” Phoenix entered the room with an odd kind of smile, he was still rubbing his eyes. The main thing I was thankful for, now that I had turned him, were his eyes returning to the vibrant ice blue that had originally caught my attention. “Am I allowed to have some tea? Possibly some with a pain reliever mixed in?”

  “Says the man that doesn’t understand the power of it,” Ethereal said as she walked into the kitchen and prepared another cup.

  It was weird to watch Ember and Ethereal finally beginning to accept Phoenix so freely. We had been so closed off to allowing anyone else into our little triangle for so long. The way Phoenix had joined had been far less than orthodox, yet because I loved him, so did they. They all still had their issues with one another, they still irritated each other. I suspected that would always be so, yet he had wormed his way into our little family in a way that wouldn’t have been possible for anyone else to do.

  Even the people that Ember and Ethereal had dated if you could call what they did dating, hadn’t come even close to being able to become a part of our group. Ember had come the closest of us to have any kind of a relationship, before Phoenix and I found each other. Ethereal more or less lived the life of a bachelorette, and she seemed perfectly content to keep it that way for the rest of her life. Ember, I had a feeling, would one day find love again. She had to open her heart to it, and something told me she was inching closer to doing so every day. I think seeing Phoenix and I together was actually helping to move her in the right direction. Maybe that was what her resentment toward us actually stemmed from.

  All at once, as I watched Phoenix, fitting in and joking with Ethereal as she made him some tea, I had a sense of disgust wash over me. How could I possibly feel disgusted by the man that I loved for no reason? He was now mine, literally. He was sired to me, he was my property. Before turning him, I would’ve thought that would have made our bond stronger. Yet here I was, feeling as if I couldn’t stand in his presence without feeling sick. Just the sight of him was suddenly giving me a migraine.

  “Acqua,” Ember called out with a hand outstretched toward me. Everyone had moved to the living room floor without me noticing. “Join us?”

  Without saying a word, I obeyed. I squeezed myself in between Ember and Ethereal, putting me right across from Phoenix. Ember and Ethereal both looked at me questioningly. I shrugged. Phoenix wanted to say something, I could feel his concern in the air, yet I ignored it. He kept quiet, despite everything in his mind telling him to speak. He had questions, I could feel that much, but he wouldn’t cause a scene in front of Ember and Ethereal if he could avoid doing so.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Ethereal broke into the awkward moment, she had always been good at that.

  “For?” I asked, distracted as I continued my attempt to avoid Phoenix’s glare, he wasn’t making it easy. He knew something was up, and since I couldn’t understand what it was, I wasn’t about to open up about it.

  “You know, the other half of your deal with Vulcan. The full moon is only thirty-one and a half hours away, give or take seven minutes.” Leave it to Ethereal to know the exact moment of when the full moon was due to rise, and feel the need to ensure we all knew of her knowledge of such things.

  “Oh, about that,” I began, realizing I hadn’t shared the details of my visit from Nyx with anyone. “I had a dream, a vision rather, from Nyx.” I returned to sipping my tea.

  “And!” Ember squealed, “What happened?”

  Visions from Nyx were rare. Usually, her messages only came through her Oracle. It wasn’t often she chose to go directly to someone with a message. Ethereal apparently couldn’t keep her excitement to herself. I wondered if it was a form of vengeance for her. Knowing Nyx had skipped over the mother that had abandoned her to tell me something directly. I couldn't say that I didn't desire to find myself blessed by a visit from Nyx again. I knew it was unlikely, but I would welcome it regardless.

  “She said she would delay the full moon and give us a little more time to figure out how we were going to handle all of this.” The words came out in a single, rushed breath.

  “Delay the moon?” Ethereal suddenly seemed offended somehow.

  “She is the goddess of night, Ethereal, she could make it disappear if she felt like it,” I repeated an almost identical statement to the one Nyx had told me to set me straight over my own shock of the ordeal. I left that part out of the conversation, no one needed to know I had reacted the same way as Ethereal.

  “Don’t even joke about that!” Ethereal rebutted.

  “Oh stop, I didn’t say she was going to, lighten up!” I laughed.

 
; Having finally found a way to avoid looking at, or talking to Phoenix, I suddenly was back to the light self I had been when Ember, Ethereal, and I had begun our pot of tea. I refused to look over and see whether or not Phoenix sensed it as well, I had shut him out completely. I knew that doing so would put a huge red flag up for him. So, ignoring him was my only hope at not having the awkward conversation I desperately wanted to avoid at the moment.

  “No wonder it seems so unstable,” Ethereal straightened up.

  “Oh, shut up, Eth,” Ember chuckled, “you didn’t know that!”

  “I have an affinity with—”

  “Yeah, we’re all well aware of what your affinity is. We renamed you Ethereal remember?” Ember cut her off once more. “Regardless, you didn’t know until Acqua said so, quit playing us.” She poured herself another cup of tea as I took a sip of mine, deciding to avoid this piece of teasing altogether.

  “So, we have a few more days,” Ethereal ignored Ember as well. “We still need to come up with a plan.”

  “I’m going to do it,” I was surprised it needed to be stated. It wasn't a variable in my mind. “It’s what happens afterward that we need to figure out.”

  “Excuse me?” Phoenix said in a distinctly understated irritated voice.

  “What?” I asked, mindfully keeping my eyes in my teacup instead of looking at him.