“Rhys?” I asked and opened my eyes. I stood in a dark room with no furniture and no windows. There was no light source, yet I could see. Rhys, Deryn, Fox, and Nico sat in front of me.
“What’s going on?” Nico asked. “You used a lot of power today.”
“Training with my new powers,” I explained. “Wait, where are we?”
“You pulled us into a dream world with you,” Nico explained.
“Yes!” I yelled. “Finally, I did something with my empath powers.”
“My queen, focus. What’s going on?” Fox asked.
Uh oh, serious Fox was here.
“Trident Douche isn’t just a siren. He has other abilities. He is controlling my dad. Possibly others too. I think, I don’t have proof, but I think he’s the reason I got banished.”
Since this was my dreamscape, I pulled up the picture and made it poster sized for the guys to easily see it. It appeared in my hands and I held it out to them.
“That’s me, Colton, Sam, and Leona,” I explained. “That angry boy in the back is Trident Douche. This was the day before I was banished. I think he started controlling my dad then.”
“He’s packing some serious power then,” Nico said.
“If he banished me, but now brought me back, it must be because he can’t get the throne without becoming my mate.”
All four growled.
“I think he plans to kill you,” I said and swallowed. “Sam is on his way to get you. They’re going to make you participate in the Gauntlet.”
“Challenge accepted!” Deryn yelled and the other three smiled.
“Focus!” I snapped. “He won’t want you to make it. I don’t know what kind of powers he has. I’d tell you to stay away and let me kill him, but—”
“You know we won’t listen,” Rhys said.
“That, and I would prefer to have you as backup,” I replied.
“Are you safe?” Fox asked.
“I think so,” I said.
“Can we trust Sam?” Deryn asked.
I nodded. “When you get to the Kraken, call him ‘Pookie’ and open the bonds with me. He should sense it and let you down with Sam by your side.”
“Pookie?” Nico asked with an arched eyebrow.
“I was five!” I snapped.
“You named him?” Fox asked.
I nodded.
Rhys walked to me and rested his hand on my cheek. I leaned into it. “Baby, please stay safe until we get there.”
“I’ll try my best,” I promised. “I need you here in two weeks, no later.”
They nodded in understanding, then took turns kissing me. I didn’t want to end the dream, but felt it crumbling around the edges.
“I love you,” I whispered.
They bowed. “Love you, too,” they said in unison.
Leona, Colton, and I sat in Mr. Bloomswort’s tavern, eating and chatting, when Brayden and Captain Stevens burst in with a few guards behind them.
“Arrest them,” Brayden ordered the guards.
I stepped into their path. “On what charges?”
“Kidnapping the princess,” Brayden said.
I folded my arms across my chest. “No one kidnapped me.”
Captain Stevens tried to move around me, but I stepped into his path again. “I order you to leave this establishment at once!” I shouted.
The guards, Brayden, and Captain Stevens spun and walked out.
“Whoops,” I whispered to Leona and Colton.
We walked out and Brayden glared at us. “Where did you learn to do that?”
“I’ve always been able to,” I lied.
He snarled. “Arrest them, now.”
I had had enough of his shit. I shifted into my wolf warrior form and growled loudly. “Take one more step and I’ll kill all of you!”
Everyone froze and gaped at me. Merchants, townspeople, guards, even my friends stared.
“I am Princess Jolie of the Sirens, and I am heir to the throne! Guards, arrest Brayden and take him to the dungeons.”
They turned, but Brayden dodged them, then ran to me. I tried to slice him with my claws, but the bastard was nimble and he avoided them.
“No!” Leona yelled.
Brayden touched my head and he filled it with his power. Nothing existed, but Brayden.
He was a god, no the god! I should bow to him and…
Four golden lights pierced the haze in my head.
“No!” I screamed and clutched at my head.
“You’re mine,” Brayden whispered, a cool hand touching my forehead.
“Jo!” Colton yelled, but his yell was cut off by the sound of flesh hitting flesh and his breath whooshed from his lungs.
“Stand,” Brayden ordered me.
I obeyed. The little fucker thought he had complete control over me. He was wrong.
I met his eyes, then slammed my knee into his balls as hard as I could. He gasped and clutched himself. I punched him in the face with dragon scale covered hands.
He stumbled and fell onto his butt, his eyes wide with fear.
I shifted into my dragon form and roared. Arching my neck, I inhaled to shoot fire and destroy Brayden.
Cold water splashed against my face, making me gasp and open my eyes.
Brayden stood before me, a smug smile on his face. We weren’t in the town anymore. Stone floors, iron shackles on my wrist and ankles, and pitiful moaning all pointed to me being in the dungeon.
“How?” I asked weakly. My arms and legs were chained to the wall, preventing me from choking his stupid neck.
“I took control of Leona. I always thought she was an empath, but couldn’t be sure until you helped me confirm it today,” Brayden said.
“I’m going to kill you. I don’t know what you are, but I’m going to rip your head from your body and burn you until you’re nothing more than ash!” I screamed.
He chuckled. “You’ve always been a spitfire. Sadly, you can’t fight me this time.”
He set his hands on my face, from temple to jaw on each side, and began to shove his power into my head again.
I screamed and thrashed, but I couldn’t stop him. He was right, I was too weak to fight him. I slammed my bonds closed, just in case he could get to the guys through them.
“I’m sorry,” Leona whispered somewhere nearby. “I’m so sorry, Jojo.”
I fed Brayden another strawberry, then ate one myself. We sat in the royal gardens, now just dirt with a pond of silver fish.
Something wasn't right. I couldn't fully understand what it was, but I just knew something wasn't right.
Brayden said we were betrothed and destined to be mates, to rule Atlantis together. Yet, I had two bloodstones beneath my eye. One only got bloodstones when they were mated. So, that had to mean I had mates. But, I didn't remember having mates. I couldn't feel them. I couldn't sense anything. If I had mates, where were they? Why was I with Brayden if I had other mates? And, shouldn't they be participating in the Gauntlet?
So, why did I have bloodstones if I didn't have mates?
“You keep getting sidetracked and spacing off,” Brayden whispered, rubbing a fingertip down my cheek. “What are you thinking about?”
“It's so quiet here,” I said to change topics. “I miss the festivals.”
“You want a festival?” he asked.
I shrugged. “It's been so long since I've been to one. I remember how fun they were as a kid. Isn't there a holiday coming up? A festival soon that we could participate in?”
“No, but we could hold a festival once the Gauntlet is over,” he suggested.
“If you win,” I said. “I don't think you'll want to have a festival if you don't win.”
He didn’t seem to hear me.
“What do you want to do today?” I asked him.
“I have to go to the arena today,” he said and stroked a finger down my arm.
“Can I come?” I asked and scooted closer to him. “I don’t want to be away from you.”
He smiled and cupped my cheek. “Kiss me and you can.”
I blushed and turned away. “You know the law. You can’t be my mate until you win the Gauntlet.”
His smile disappeared, but it quickly returned. “You’re right.”
“So, can I go?” I asked and leaned my head on his shoulder.
“Not today, love. Why don’t you find the seamstress to have her make a dress for the day of the Gauntlet?” he suggested and stood.
I pouted and stood too. “Okay.”
He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. “Don’t worry, I won’t be gone long.”
After walking me back to my room, he left to go on his errand. I flagged down a maid and asked her to fetch the seamstress.
The seamstress arrived shortly thereafter. “How can I assist you, Princess Jolie?” She was an old woman with leathered skin and shoulder length grey hair.
“I need a dress for the Gauntlet,” I explained. “It needs to be beautiful, but also something I can maneuver in.”
“Maneuver, Princess?” she asked.
“Loose around my legs and a high slit on at least one side,” I explained.
“Color preference?”
“Dark blue,” I said, knowing it was a color that men said I looked good in. A memory tugged at the edge of my mind, but I couldn’t access it.
She nodded and pulled out a measuring tape, immediately getting to work. Once she was done with my measurements, she left to start making my dress.
Four simultaneous taps at my mental wall made me gasp in shock.
“Princess Jolie?” a young guard called through the door.
“You’re needed outside,” he said, his voice shaking with nervousness.
A roar shook the castle and I hurried out to the guard. “What is it?” I asked him.
“Hurry,” was all he said before turning and sprinting down the hallway.
I followed, running alongside him out of the side door to the courtyard. Four males stood side by side, facing Brayden with murder in their eyes.
“Where is she?” the werewolf in warrior form asked.
“She is not—” Brayden began, but I hurried to his side.
“What’s the meaning of this?” I asked angrily.
“Jolie.” All four males breathed a sigh of relief.
“You need to go back inside,” Brayden told me. “It’s not safe for you here.”
I looked at him and scoffed. “I am Princess here, not you.” Facing the four newcomers who were scowling again, I asked, “What do you want?”
“Jolie, what’s wrong with you? It’s us,” the short, muscular elf said.
A guard stepped out from behind them and said, “These are the guests who will be participating in the Gauntlet.”
I looked more closely at the men. They were all very handsome. And, they were all definitely alphas. They would make for decent mates, if they passed the Gauntlet.
I nodded. “Your rooms are prepared and waiting for you. If you’ll follow me, I’ll—”
“What did you do!” the dragon yelled at Brayden.
Brayden smiled smugly. “Jolie, come here,” he ordered me.
I scowled but walked to his side. I did not like to be ordered around and he knew that. He draped an arm around my shoulders and the four males growled. “Brayden, I—” I started, but he interrupted me.
“Jolie is my betrothed,” Brayden informed them.
“Only if you pass the Gauntlet,” I reminded him. “Not that I doubt you.”
“Baby,” the wolf whispered. “You’re stronger than him.”
“Come,” I ordered the visitors. “Let’s get you to your rooms.”
Without waiting for anymore disruptions, I headed into the castle. The four followed me silently. Inside the hallway, guards watched us. I hadn’t seen so many guards in the castle before, which meant Brayden had called them in. We walked to the visitor rooms, and I pushed open one of the doors and walked inside. All four entered without waiting for my invitation, the last one, the elf, closed the door.
I spun around and threw my arms around the nearest one. The five of us were connected, which made me believe they were the mates my bloodstones were connected to.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered into his ear, feeling like an idiot for just throwing my arms around him, but it was my body’s desire to touch them.
“You don’t recognize us,” he realized and hugged me tightly. It was the wolf.
“I do and I don’t. I am pretty certain that you are my mates and we’re connected, but I can’t remember your names or anything about you. I suspected Brayden was lying to me, but I don’t remember anything other than living here and him being betrothed to me since we were born.”
“You locked down our bonds, so he couldn’t get to us,” the mage said.
“What?” I asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“This is incredibly powerful magic,” the mage whispered.
“How do we break it?” the dragon asked.
“You could try kissing me,” I suggested and smirked up at the wolf holding me.
He didn’t hesitate. He pressed his lips to mine and with a hand on my upper back and one on my lower back, pulled me against him as tightly as he could.
When we separated, I smirked and said, “Well, it didn’t work, but at least it was enjoyable.”
“Baby,” he whispered and touched my lower lip with his thumb. “We told you to stay safe.”
“I’m alive,” I said. “I’m still here…somewhere. I hope.”
“I can break it,” the mage said. “But, he’ll know immediately that it’s broken.”
I stepped back and shook my head. “Not yet. I need you to win the Gauntlet first.”
“So, you and he didn’t…” the elf asked and trialed off.
I shook my head. “He may control me to a certain extent, but I am still me. I know I’m not his. I know I have mates.” I tapped the bloodstones under my eye. “I know I belong to others. Plus, it is against the law to have sexual relations before they win the Gauntlet.”
“At least there’s that,” the elf sighed.
“It’s hard to explain. It’s like he took segments of my memory and locked them up, so I can’t access them. I get feelings, like about you four, but I don’t know your names or what happened to me.”
“Where’s your friend? The one teaching you about being an empath?” the mage asked.
“Who?”
He scowled.
“You were with two friends,” the dragon told me. “People you knew from your childhood.”
My brows furrowed, and I tried to get the memory to surface, but it wouldn’t. My head began to throb, and I clutched at it.
“That’s enough,” the mage said and pulled me against his chest with a hand to the back of my head. “Don’t try to think any harder or you’ll hurt yourself.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered and felt tears stinging my eyes. “I wish I could break this now, but I need to be sure I can get rid of him when I do. He needs to pay for what he’s done. Even if I can’t remember exactly what he has done right now.”
“We know what he’s done,” the wolf said with a snarl. “We’ll make sure he pays.”
I believed him. Looking at the four males before me, I believed they could win the Gauntlet and defeat Brayden.
Someone knocked on the door and the guys quickly moved so that I was hidden behind them.
“Enter,” the dragon called.
“Is she—”
The door was shut and they moved aside so I could see a guard.
“He’s a guard—” I started, but he rushed forward and hugged me.
“Jo,” he whispered. “Jo, you’re alive.”
“Sort of,” I mumbled as I inhaled his familiar scent. Who was he?
“She doesn’t know who you are,” the dragon told him.
The man released me and jerked backward. “No. He got you?”
“Brayden
? Yeah.”
He snarled and ran a hand through his hair. “Dammit. I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone. What about Colton or Leona? I couldn’t find them and—”
My head felt like it had cracked as images of the two sirens he was talking about slipped through the barrier Brayden had put up. I yelped and fell, but four pairs of arms caught me at the same time, cradling me between them all.
“Dungeons,” I gasped out. “They’re both in the dungeons.”
“You cracked the spell a bit,” the mage told him. “Crap.”
“I have to go,” I gasped and pushed away, tears in my eyes again.
“We’ll win the Gauntlet,” the elf promised me. “We’ll free you from his spell.”
I nodded and dashed outside, running down the hall and into Brayden. I cried and hugged him. “There you are! I was so scared! I thought you were gone.”
“Why would I be gone?” he asked, petting my hair.
“I heard a guard say you were gone. I must have misheard him,” I lied and looked up at him, batting his eyelashes. “Are you done at the arena? Can we have dinner together?”
He smiled wide and ran the back of his hand down my cheek. “I’m done with work. Let’s go get some dinner.”
I nodded and let him escort me, arm in arm, to the dining hall.
Chapter 9
Brayden kept close to me, meeting me for every meal and insisting that I accompany him to the meetings he held with the Elders. I knew he was keeping me from seeing the four males, my mates, but I did not call him on it. The Gauntlet wasn’t too far away, and I couldn’t risk Brayden finding out that his magic wasn’t working one hundred percent on me.
Dad stayed holed up in his chambers, refusing to see me. I tried not to let it bother me, but I was getting really worried about him. Why wouldn’t he want to see me? I was his daughter, his heir. He went so far as to order me to stay out of the wing of the castle his chambers were in.
I suspected Brayden had a hand in Dad’s actions, but I did not have any proof.
Brayden and I walked in the garden and I saw the four males on the far side, their bodies glistening in the sun with sweat from working out. I was sad that I hadn’t been able to see them practicing but knew I couldn’t voice that opinion.
They headed in our direction, putting shirts on, which made me want to pout even more. Brayden draped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me against his side. If I acted different, he would know I wasn’t completely under his control, so I played along, sidling up closer and smiled up at him.
Royally Elected: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Her Royal Harem Book 3) Page 10