Proven (Daughters of the Sea #1)

by Kristen Day

  "You are free now, my beautiful children. You no longer belong to the Reaper," Natasha proclaimed to her descendants. The witches brushed themselves off, seemingly stunned and unable to take their eyes off of her. "You now belong to the Elysian Fields of the Underworld. I have made it so."

  I ran to Sebastian as Avery set to healing Phoebe's broken arm. The witches surrounding the crux continued to stare at Natasha with unbelieving eyes and boundless wonder. Smiles slowly brightened their exhausted faces and one in particular bowed with a beaming smile. Arabella. Her action prompted the other witches to follow her lead and bow to their Leader.

  A group of four witches suddenly appeared on the beach as well, apparently separate from the others circling the crux. They glanced at Nadia's crumpled form and then back to Natasha with shock, and then they also bowed to Natasha with reverence. It was a profound scene and my heart swelled, despite our current situation.

  Natasha held out her arms and the witches all faded away, celebrating their release. In their stark absence it became clear that they had already succeeded in slowing the crux to a dangerous crawl. Now faint waves gently swirled at its center. That's when I noticed something falling. Fallon.

  I lost sight of her as a blast of hot essence shot out of Natasha's arms, streaking across the crux and directly at Selene. It connected and sent Selene stumbling backwards in pain.

  Without a second glance or word, Natasha disappeared in a flash of light and Fallon's body splashed into the once swirling mouth of the crux.

  FALLON

  The first indication that something was wrong had to be the explosion of water against my back as my body crashed through something. The next indication was the feeling of being submerged underwater. I'd gotten pretty accustomed to falling out of the sky, but every other time I landed on a pillow of perfectly good, breathable air. It was trying to rip my essence apart, but at least I had air. As I negotiated feebly with my limbs to make some kind of movement, I found myself pondering the possibility that I could breathe underwater. I had nothing to back up that possibility, but it would shine a small ray of hope down onto my current situation. I wasn't versed in the rules and restrictions of being a ghost, but surely there were some kind of perks.

  I watched the barely-swirling surface above me fade away as I sank closer and closer to the bottom of the ocean. On the bright side, my essence was depleted to the point that I had trouble caring about anything whatsoever. I was a feather in the wind; merely riding the breeze wherever it decided to take me.

  A cool sensation snagged my curiosity and I smiled up at the woman lying parallel to my body as we both descended into the deep. She observed me without a word and I had the odd feeling I'd seen her before. But then again, I didn't know what was real and what was make believe anymore. I was also running out of breath, but I had a feeling that wouldn't last much longer either...being that my lungs would be full of water soon. So I had that going for me.

  The woman's white hair reminded me of a cape trailing behind her as she fell. The hollowed cheeks and protruding collarbone brought back images of skeletons and Halloween at Eventide. She was missing the scary factor, though. Her tender gaze was anything but threatening. Then she opened her mouth. I winced as a horrid noise screeched out from her translucent throat; scratching against my ears. If my arms still worked I would have tried to get away, unfortunately that wasn't an option. Instead, I simply waited for her to stop. With frustration, she closed her mouth and the wretched sound halted. She stared back at me expectantly. I stared back with bewilderment.

  Her frail, bony face fell with disappointment and she began to blur in front of my eyes like an apparition. Then I remembered I was the apparition. For some reason it hit me as funny and I laughed; sucking water into my lungs. The suffocating pressure in my chest immediately answered my question about breathing underwater. I could check that off as one thing ghosts could not do.

  With alarm, the woman lurched forward and threw her arms around me with incredible force, squeezing the water from my lungs before letting go.

  After the urge to cough up every organ and fluid in my body dissipated, the lack of water around my body startled me. I glanced around carefully. We were still falling, still parallel. But we were in a...bubble? A bubble of air. Air! I gasped uncontrollably and felt the the fuzzy darkness lift from my mind with relief. I didn't understand how I could die if I was already dead, but it appeared that was possible. I really needed to read up on my ghost manual. Right after I found a ghost manual. I chuckled again at my thoughts, but the skeleton lady wasn't laughing.

  She still hovered above me with a frown pulling her expression down. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me lightly, commanding my attention. She opened her mouth again and I cringed instinctively. To my elation, this time she didn't screech or scream. Instead I was hit by a wall of clarity. I blinked once, and then again. Suddenly all of my thoughts, all of my memories, and all of my senses came crashing into my consciousness. I gasped and stared at the cobalt eyes that suddenly held mine with feverish intensity.

  The deep blue colors wrapped around my imagination and I was flooded with something I could only describe as...understanding. She was almost dead. She knew what was happening. She knew who was doing it. She knew the consequences. She knew of my destiny - to overthrow Selene. And she knew something else. Something important. I tucked it away into my memory with care.

  She wavered before me and closed her eyes. There was no scream. No wail full of sorrow. She didn't have that much essence left, and she didn't want to waste what she had left on her song. She wanted to give it to me.

  "Please, no!" I jumped in surprise at the sound of my voice. It was forced and raspy, scratching every nerve on the way out. My heart filled with sadness as I realized she was already streaming her essence into me. She held my shoulders and watched me with contentment and optimism. She blurred once more and closed her eyes, a single tear rolling down her cheek and evaporating immediately. Before I was ready, just like her single tear of sadness, she evaporated.

  At first I couldn't move. I couldn't grasp the sadness I felt. Her gift of cool essence wasn't much, but it was infinitely more than I had before. I knew I couldn't waste it breathing in that bubble beneath the surface, so I took a deep breath and looked upward. With that one thought, my body ascended rapidly.

  I felt the chill of the night air clinging to my skin as I burst from the slightly wavy body of water that used to be a roaring crux. Its churning thunder had been replaced by an even louder silence that sent chills down my spine and tears to my eyes. The entire island spread out before me and I was able to sense Selene immediately. I surged downward toward the place where she stood on the island's rim. As I came closer, the essence thrumming through me was pulled toward another, similar essence. Stasia. She and Finn, backed by four other Sons and Liam, were slowly sneaking up on Selene from behind. Liam. Something had swayed him. Something was able to bring him back to his true path toward his destiny. A part of me warmed with the knowledge of his choice, but the other part reminded me of a more pressing matter. My destiny.

  Selene stood with her arms outstretched and her eyes closed, essence humming through her body, connecting her to two equally distracted Auras nearby. The Aura ring of essence was still intact, and the crux was on its last leg. I had to act. I landed with a soft thud, shocking everyone into silence.

  "Fallon!" Stasia shot forward but was held back by a stalwart Finn. I caught a brief moment of suspicion on Finn's face as I realized he wasn't sure he could trust me, whereas Stasia had no qualms trusting me immediately. Without a second thought, she pulled the dagger from her waist and tossed it in my direction. Her voice startled Selene, who twisted around with fury and immediately made eye contact with me. My strengthened reflexes caught the dagger by the hilt with expertise and I faced Selene, who now came towards me with dark vengeance in her eyes.

  "This ends now!" I yelled at her. I knelt down as she shot a cloud of silver essence at me; mi
ssing by merely an inch. With the witches' binds no longer blocking my access to the light energy of the moon, I dodged her once more and raised my arms to the sky. My eyes burned delightfully as the clouds above opened at my command, revealing a shining moon ready and willing to help me. Selene glanced upward with renewed anger but grinned maniacally in my direction.

  "You're a traitor just like your mother." She quickly created a circle of silver essence around us, blocking anyone from getting in. Or out. "You have also forgotten who the true moon Goddess is. I am the single Goddess the moon favors. I am the only one who can harness its full power. You are nothing! You have but a shadow of my power! You dare challenge me?!"

  "I don't have to challenge you," I informed her calmly. "I simply have to kill you."

  With the moon shining its energy into my body from above, I lowered my arms slightly and shot re-energized lavender essence into the two Auras at our sides. Their silver eyes widened with surprise and I concentrated more essence, shooting it outward and around the circle of Auras along the ridge. I could feel them fight it; try to reject it. But I was stronger. I pulled from their essences and strengthened the thin line of purple essence now glowing around the island. It pulsed with new energy, leaving the Auras shaken and exhausted.

  "Enough!" Selene bellowed, sending silver essence in my direction. I could feel its sting, but it did nothing to stop me. It splintered upon hitting me, repelled by the moon's light essence I was emanating. I smiled at her and decided I had gathered enough. I pulled my invigorated essence back towards my body, leaving the Auras broken, weak, and gasping for breath.

  Selene's face reflected the purple glow of my now luminous body and I smiled at her. She stepped forward and I shot my arms out forward, sending a wall of lavender essence barreling down on her. It slammed into her with an explosive display of light, lighting up the entire island and charring the ground beneath our feet.

  As the light faded, her body collapsed and convulsed as the light essence of the moon overcame her dark essence. Her eyes bulged and widened, now shining a lustrous purple. I stood above her with Stasia's dagger clenched in my right hand.

  "Luna..." she wheezed her sister's name. "She took...everything from me." Her face paled and her chest heaved with its last attempt to hold on to life.

  I dropped to my knees and drove Stasia's dagger through her chest. Still gripping the hilt with force, I pulled it from her body, blood pouring from her wound as she stared up at me with stunned, dull eyes. Her wicked smile was no more and a trail of blood trickled from the side of her mouth.

  "No." I met her weak gaze with confidence. "That's my destiny; not hers."

  I drove the dagger into her chest once more, collapsing onto the hilt in exhaustion. When the last breath left her body, I slid to the ground beside her. Something shifted. I suddenly felt incredibly heavy, and even the air around me seemed to press against my body with tremendous force.

  "Fallon!" Stasia appeared above me, her languid eyes searching mine. Finn solemnly stepped over Selene's body and jerked the dagger from her chest. "Are you okay?"

  I held her gaze and tried to move. Every movement felt like a monumental task, but I managed to smile up at her. Love filled my heart and I felt tears falling down my cheeks. Stasia leaned down and kissed my forehead. "You have the power to save her, Stasia," I whispered.

  "What?" Her brow furrowed with misunderstanding. "'Her' who?"

  "You can save her. You're the only one who's strong enough."

  A tingling sensation swept across my body and I knew it was time. It was time to surrender. The Elysian Fields were calling me. It was time to go home.

  "I'll see you soon," I whispered up to her, and closed my eyes in a haze of enchantment.

  STASIA

  After she faded away, I remained on my knees, staring at where she lay mere moments before. I didn't understand what just happened, but at the same time I felt as if I wasn't meant to. Fallon's destiny had been fulfilled. Selene was dead, but so was she. It wasn't fair. I hung my head in defeat.

  "Stasia!" Finn blared and rushed towards me with urgency. "Stasia!"

  He pulled me up on shaking legs that refused to hold me upright. The crux was gone. I felt it. I knew it. Death would come next. Soon. I could feel it in my essence; a hollow void eating away at my body and soul. "Stasia, you have to move!"

  I snapped myself back into the present and realized why he needed me to move. After being used by Fallon and then seeing Selene die, the Auras on the ridgeline were descending upon us; eyes blazing and hungry for revenge. Finn gave up on my legs and swept his arms beneath me, cradling me in his arms. He set me down near the edge of the cliff and urged me down to the beach below.

  I peered downward and noticed Nadia had recovered from Natasha's attack and was in the process of terrorizing my Council and Sebastian. If I had to choose between the Auras and Nadia I would probably choose the Auras, but the side of the cliff wasn't willing to hold my weight and I slid awkwardly; tumbling away from the Auras and the safety of Finn's arms. He turned just as an Aura approached him from behind, and disappeared from my sight. I rolled pathetically down the cliff side and landed hard on the sand below.

  A prickly darkness wrapped around me and dragged me across the beach to lie at Nadia's feet. I coughed as sand gathered in my mouth and infiltrated my nose.

  "Aren't you tired of being a clumsy bag of bones?" she crooned down at me with sympathy and knelt down next to me. She placed a hand on my arm and I felt her fingers burn my skin. "So restrictive! Luckily, I have a remedy for that. It's called death. I'd like to introduce you to each other."

  A commotion several yards up the beach caught her attention and she groaned inwardly before muttering, "That brother of yours doesn't listen very well."

  She raised an arm and pointed up the beach, eliciting a scream. I rolled over just in time to see Sebastian toss Carmen to the ground in a heap of pain next to Phoebe, Avery, and Olivia, who didn't seem to be moving at all. He wiggled his fingers ever so slightly as the sand collected around them, snaked across their mid-sections, and hardened. Phoebe cried out as the sand expanded and then contracted; leaving them trapped.

  "Sebastian!" I called up the beach to my brother, hoping my voice would spark something in him. He snapped his head in my direction with hatred and I noticed his eyes burning gold. Nadia had taken his soul. I glared up at her. "Let him go!"

  "Aww." Nadia gestured for Sebastian to abandon his prisoners and join us. "Do you miss your big brother? How precious."

  He strode to her side with ease as if he didn't have a care in the world. An evil glint sparked from his eyes as he smiled down at me with putrid ambivalence. My heart lurched at his transformation. He was hers, forever. I'd lost him. She had scripted it, just like she said.

  "Stasia!" Olivia's strained voice wafted down to me. She knew I was in trouble. She could feel it. But she'd be dead soon, too. I closed my eyes with resolve, but they soon snapped open once more.

  "Fight," a voice said in my head. It was faint, but it was there. Finn. "Get up and fight. She cannot win."

  Finn. He was right. She had Sebastian, but he still had to be in there somewhere. He wasn't completely gone; I couldn't accept that. I couldn't accept someone as vibrant and strong as Sebastian falling at the hands of an evil Princess having a temper tantrum. That couldn't be his destiny; the ending to an otherwise epic life. A spark of anger lit in my heart and soon spread to the rest of my body. I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees. I almost blacked out from the immense pain that movement caused me, but that just made me angrier.

  "Answer me!" Nadia screeched down at me with wild eyes. Thankfully I wasn't listening, nor did I care.

  "Achilles." I ignored Nadia and focused my attention on Sebastian. He tilted his head at me with confusion. I spoke with intention and force in an effort to convey the importance of my words. "Listen to me. Your destiny is yours. You choose. Not her." His eyes held mine and blinked several times. I repeated what Finn
said in my thoughts. "Fight her, Achilles. Fight for your free will. She cannot win."

  "Shut up!" Nadia boomed and kicked me in the shoulder, sending me flying back down to the sand. "Your destiny is to serve me. Forever."

  "Achilles." I pushed myself back up again, only looking at him. "Fight. You must fight."

  "You don't get to speak to my souls!" Nadia lashed out at me and glanced at Sebastian with a twinge of insecurity marring her expression.

  "Stasia," Sebastian spoke up vacantly, seeming to surprise even himself. He blinked once more and I watched his eyes brighten to turquoise before they faded back to gold in the next second. He was fighting.

  "Fight!" I yelled at him, my patience spent. "She's wrong! You don't belong to her!" Movement brought my gaze up to the ridgeline, where it looked like Liam, Finn, and the Paradigms were succeeding in their fight against Selene's Auras. That sight strengthened me further.

  "I'm never wrong." Nadia grinned down at me. "And neither is a prophecy. It's time to die, just as it said." She lifted her arms and smoke wafted up from her skin as she glared down at me.

  "Not this time," Sebastian boomed. He stepped in front of Nadia and a storm of blue essence exploded from him, absorbing Nadia's essence and throwing her to the ground. He stood over her as he lifted an arm to free the girls from their sandy prison.

  "Sebastian!" I cried out in elation. He met my gaze with bright turquoise eyes and my heart soared. He did it! A wide smile crept across his face and I quickly crawled to my hands and knees once more. Unfortunately, I didn't get very far before Nadia was able to toss Sebastian several yards away before setting her sights on me.

  "Oh, no you don't," she growled at me. She yanked a dagger from her waist and the silver blade glinted at me with an ancient promise; a destiny waiting to be fulfilled. In one swift motion, the dagger punctured my chest, slicing through my body with unbelievable pressure and halting my ability to breathe.