Flutter (The Discover Series)

by Andrea, Melissa

  “Yes.”

  The simple answer sounded so final. “How am I supposed to kill him? My parents couldn’t kill him. I’m assuming there was an army, some kind of reinforcements that was supposed to protect us right? If none of them could kill him… how am I supposed too?”

  “Because it’s your fate. What you were born to do.”

  I shook my head, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being betrayed. “Are you saying my parents only had me-“

  “No.” He cut me off before I could finish. “You’re parents did know what they would be leaving you to face until it was too late. The second your father decided to leave behind his kingdom to be with your mother, your fate was written Sara.”

  I didn’t know how to ask my next question without hurting his feelings. I took a deep breath. “Not that I’m not happy you’re here, but-”

  “Why did they escape with you themselves?” He finished for me. Looking down at my hand, I picked at my nail and nodded. “They wanted too, but they knew the Dark Ones would find all three of you and kill you.”

  “So waking up in the ice…”

  “It’s called Freezing. I had to do it because you were starting to use your influences and I knew if you continued to become stronger. I couldn’t let them find you. So every year, since you turned five, I froze us. I knew they wouldn’t be able to find us, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to defrost us.”

  It was getting harder to breathe again, and I couldn’t even find it in myself not to be angry at him for lying. “Why wouldn’t they be able to defrost us?”

  “Because he time I would freeze us, the sun would disappear.”

  I frowned. “What? How?”

  “I told you, you’re connected to the sun.” He said it as if it was a simple explanation.

  “This is a lot to take in.” A feeling of overwhelming pressure crept up on me; the urge to put my head between my knees grew with each second that passed.

  “I’m sorry. There is plenty of time to fill in all of the details.” He paused looking uncomfortable.

  “What?” I asked, but I felt like I was opening Pandora’s Box with that question.

  “There is just one other thing about yourself that you should probably know.”

  “You mean there is something bigger then being a Spanish Princess with abilities? I still don’t know exactly what they are and yet I’m expected to save a kingdom from a disgruntled family member? Yippee!”

  He nodded and I could see him swallow hard. “The reason why you can be frozen and live, the reason you have these certain abilities, influences actually, is because of what you are.”

  “And what am I?”

  He inhaled deeply.

  “You’re a Dragonfly, Sara.”

  It had been days since I felt the familiar tingle from my wolf.

  I stood inside my bedroom, staring into the woods looking for him, but found nothing, but darkness. The woods seemed a lot less scary when he was hidden behind the trees. I felt guilty for my lack of notice of his appearance lately, but I felt better knowing he was there now, watching over me.

  I literally fell into bed, my hair fanning the pillow.

  Andres’ words kept screaming through my head, over and over.

  Dragonfly.

  I was a dragonfly?

  After I stopped gasping for air, he helped me back to my room. He felt that it would be better to wait to explain the details of what that exactly meant. Even though I was dying of curiosity, I just didn’t know if I could handle what he meant when he said I was a dragonfly.

  I flipped on my side, squeezing my eyes shut, trying to get rid of the image of wings spouting from my back and huge round eyes bulging from my face.

  I never noticed anything different about myself except for the odd tint to my skin, the blue hue in my hair, and the unnatural color of my eyes. However, none of that seemed to scream dragonfly girl. I started thinking about all the drawings I had found of dragonflies and the dreams Andres said I had when I was little. I was drawn to them, and now it made sense why.

  As if a light had been turned on in my head, I could see the memories. They hadn’t been dreams like Andres had thought. Leaning over and pulling open the drawer to my night stand, I pulled out the pictures I had found in the closet. I flipped to the one with

  me and the three dragonflies and my eyes flew to the woods, just beyond the house. I could see them tapping on my window, they had been so beautiful, so fascinating. I would follow them into the woods and they would dance around me, creating and bathing me in kaleidoscope of shimmering colors. They had been my friends.

  I had made the mistake of telling Andres, of showing him my pictures. He wasn’t angry, but he wasn’t happy about it either. I had been confused and sad when he asked me to stop playing with the dragonflies. He said not all dragonflies could be trusted. I was too young to understand what he meant, and when they came the next time, I didn’t follow them into the woods. Something hadn’t felt right and watching in horror as their beautiful colors melted away, turning into something dark and evil. It was after that, that I had asked Andres to switch rooms.

  Flipping onto my back, I decided not to think about it anymore. I was only going to freak myself out. Every time I heard what Andres said echo inside my head, I couldn’t help, but imagine turning into a humongous mutant bug yet, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as I was imagining,

  I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to claim my restless body, but something felt wrong. I frowned, tilted my head back, and sniffed the air.

  What was that smell?

  All of a sudden, a light shone through my closed eye lids and I was suddenly afraid to open my eyes. Fear suffocated me, causing my heart to beat faster, the blood to roaring through my veins. It paralyzed me, causing my muscles to lock in protest.

  I instantly knew that when I opened my eyes I was no longer going to be in my bed, in my room. I had hoped the dreams, no, they weren’t dreams; the illusions were going to stop after the other night since I hadn’t had one since then. I was wrong.

  Taking a deep breath, I convinced my eyes to open.

  I was staring up at a smooth ivory ceiling; the light in the room was a golden hue that softened the room. I was shocked at how beautiful the room was. I was also confused by it. It wasn’t starting out like any of the other illusions I had before. I shifted until I was sitting up, the sheets rustling as I repositioned myself in the four poster, king sized bed. I ran my hand over the luxurious texture of the dark ivory bedding. The fabric was so soft and fluffy, making me think that this was what it would feel like sleeping on a cloud.

  The room was huge and decorated with several pieces of dark cherry wood furniture. Dressers, an armoire, bookshelves, and side tables were scattered around the room. There was a little sitting area with a tan couch, two chairs, and a table. Art and fancy light fixtures lined the walls, completing the décor of the room.

  I was distracted by the smell again, but I was finally able to place the smell it. It smelled like something was burning. Throwing back the sheets, I crawled toward the end of the bed, sliding off until my feet hit the smooth surface of the wood flooring.

  Looking down at my body, I realized I was no longer wearing the same clothes I had gone to bed in. Purple fabric draped down over my legs, covering the tops of my feet with a lacy border. Thin silk straps hung to my shoulders and lacy ruffles cascaded down the top of my night gown.

  What was that sound?

  I noticed there was a window in the room. Lifting the night gown so I wouldn’t trip over the long fabric, I walked over to it, pushing the long curtains aside. There was no glass to the window, it simply opened to the outside, and my eyes widened in horror. I covered my mouth to hide the scream as I took in the scene below me.

  Small houses scattered around the grounds below me, every one of them were ablaze. The fire was raging out of control and it was spreading in my direction, climbing the wall of the tower I was in. I choked I thick cloud of sm
oke swirling inside of the room. Turning on my bare feet, I bunched up the night gown in my fists and ran to the large wooden door, struggling to pull it open. I nearly fell into the hallway in my haste to get out of the room and away from the fire that was attempting to swallow the my room. The angry flames were spreading, licking at the flammable surfaces, causing me to move faster. I stumbled into the brick wall, tripping on the runner that lined the stone floor. After looking up and down the hall, I followed along it, hoping it would lead me toward an exit.

  The small space was lit only by the candle fixtures that were spaced several feet apart along the wall, and the further I went, the darker it got. Stopping at the last lit fixture, I pulled the waxed stick from its holder, cupping my hand around the fragile flame to make sure it didn’t go out. Continuing down the hall, I was cloaked in darkness, except for the tiny flame that kept the path in front of me gently lit.

  I kept looking behind me, each time I was reminded that I couldn’t see anything that was not within a few inches from my face. I stayed close to the wall, using it as a guiding point down what seemed like the longest hallway known to mankind. The wall and ceiling were made of a sand-colored brick, the floor a dark wood, and I realized I was inside of a castle. I froze, my heart pounding, my pulse buzzing underneath my skin as I wondered if this was my parent’s castle.

  My castle?

  Then I stood frozen for an entirely different reason.

  Were those footsteps I could hear approaching?

  I strained, listening for the sound again, and this time voices followed.

  “Spread out and find her,” the dark voice demanded. “She couldn’t have gone far and she won’t know how to destroy the illusion so it should be easy to confine her.”

  I didn’t breathe. I had two options: I could stay here, and wait for them to find me, or I could get the hell out of here and try to figure out how to obliterate the illusion I was trapped in. I chose the latter, walking faster down the hallway.

  The flame of the candle that I held in my hand quivered and flickered against the draft as I sped down the narrow passage. I didn’t have the option to slow down, holding my breath as I prayed that the light would hold out against the strain of the air.

  I heard a noise behind me and I whipped around, expecting to see someone already there, closing in on me, but after lifting the flame to inspect the space behind me, I found no one. My body was buzzing out of control, I could barely breathe! I exhaled slowly when I realized no one was there, with one more quick sweep of the hall, I turned around, crashing into something hard and muscular.

  Lifting the candle, I tried to catch a glimpse of my captor, but was surrounded in darkness instead.

  They blew the flame out.

  I went to scream, but a strong hand clamped over my mouth, forcing the shriek back down my throat.

  My eyes were huge with fear as I tried to make out the face above me, but I could only see the outline of their head against the dark. I fought wildly, pushing at the arm that wrapped around my waist, thrusting us up against the hard wall, covering me with their body.

  They bent down and whispered in my ear.

  “Shh, they can sense you.”

  Adan! My mind screamed, realizing why my body had been spiraling out of control.

  “The one and only spitfire.” He said, his lips brushing against the outline of my ear, causing a shiver to run through my body. “Try to calm down. I can feel you everywhere, and that means so can they.”

  Who are they? Adan still had his hand over my mouth, so I thought my question.

  “The Dark Ones.”

  Awesome. I thought more to myself than Adan.

  “Nobody’s going to hurt you. I promise.” He growled fiercely.

  How did you find me?

  “I’ll always find you Sara.” His passionate declaration was a whispered caress down the side of my neck.

  “I’m happy you’re here.” There was so much more I wanted to say, but I knew we didn’t have much time. “Do you know where here is?”

  “They trapped you in an Illusion so they could ambush the house without having to worry about you stopping them. Andres showed me how to get into the illusion, but you have to destroy it so we can get back. He won’t be able to keep fighting them by himself.” He explained, his words coming out in a rush.

  How do I destroy it? I had no idea how I was going to do what Andres, and Adan, expected me to do.

  “You can do this, baby girl. Now, let’s get out of here before they find us.” He removed his hand from my mouth, but didn’t let me go.

  He was staring into my eyes and I tried not to think about how distractingly dazzling he was.

  He smiled, and the action sparkled in the dark. “Right back at you.” He growled. “God, I missed you Sara.”

  His mouth came down hard on mine, and the four days of being apart was swept away with the kiss. His mouth devoured mine. His lips touched, his tongue tasted, his teeth teased, and I was lost in the moment. His arm tightened around my waist, bringing me closer to him, until our bodies became a whole. I tightened my arms around his neck, trying to bring him even closer to me. I was hungry for his kiss, my desperation evident as I tried to inhale his essence. He broke the contact, his face hovering over mine, as his breath came out in soft pants that washed over my face.

  “That was a hell of a kiss spitfire.” He laughed when I blushed. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “Someone once said it was a hell of a way to go.”

  He laughed. “Like a slow fire burning.”

  “Like a slow fire burning.” I repeated.

  “Ready?” He asked, and I nodded. “Let’s go.” He took my hand, his fingers slipping between mine as he pulled me down the hallway.

  It took a few minutes, but when we finally broke free of the hallway we found ourselves in a huge, empty room. They certainly lacked imagination the farther we got into the illusion.

  “Where to now?” I asked, looking up at him.

  His was searching the room for an exit. “I don’t know. There doesn’t seem to be a way out of this room.”

  I squeezed his hand and he looked down at me with a tight smile. Looking around the room, I tried to search the dark lining of the walls for a hidden door, but the room seemed to be one seamless, dead end. Andres’s words came back to me “… you create them by a simple thought, an image…”

  Taking a deep breath, I fixated on one spot of the wall and wondered if I could… and instantly, a door appeared on the wall. I looked up at Adan excitedly. He yanked me to him, planting a quick, breathtaking, kiss on my smiling mouth.

  “You’re amazing. Let’s go.” He tried to pull me toward the door I created, but I didn’t move. “What?” He asked as he looked back at me.

  “I know I created it, but I don’t know where it leads to.”

  “I’ll go first and check it out, okay?”

  I shook my head. “No, that is not okay.”

  “Don’t worry, it’ll be okay.”

  He pulled me in the direction of the door and we stopped in front of it and he gave it my hand one quick squeeze before letting it fall, his fingers brushing mine as my hand slipped away.

  “Stay here,” he ordered.

  As he walked closer to the door, he looked back at me once and winked, making my head spin, before opening the door. He looked into the room first, before stepping through the open door. A few minutes started to past, and when he still didn’t return, I started to panic. I twisted my fingers together anxiously, looking around the empty room. When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I walked to the partially open door and looked around it, into the unknown room. It was dark, and I couldn’t see anything inside of the room. Creeping up closer, I wanted to call out Adan’s name, but I was afraid to give away his location if someone was inside the room. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the room, and instantly collided into Adan.

  I bit my lip to keep from screaming.

  He put his finger ov
er my lips to shush me. He flicked his head in the direction of the room and grabbed my hand, leading me further into the room. We didn’t make it more than a few feet into the room before felt rough hands grab me, snatching me away from Adan’s grasp.

  “Adan!”

  My scream ripped through the darkness, echoing off of the walls and floors loudly. I couldn’t see who was holding me, but I struggled against the iron grip, kicking and clawing at the arms surrounding my body. I heard the empty hollowness of the voice as it floated around the room, twisting through the darkness.

  “Tsk, tsk Sara.” He said. “It isn’t very polite to mess with my creation.”

  “Well as it turns out I’m a far cry away of polite these days.” I stopped struggling against the iron grasp around me.

  “I guess that’s what happens when your raised by a nobody.” I could feel the flicker of anger ignite the light within my. The heat rushed through me, until I could feel it burning around the edges of my body. “Such power,” He breathed in amazement, “and such a waste.” He followed with.

  “What do you want?” I bit out through clenched teeth.

  “You know what I want Sara. You know who you are now, you know the kind of strength you posses, and you know I want it. The answer to that question is really quite simple. If you even have to ask, I find myself disappointed in you.”

  “You killed my parents,” I tried to keep the tremble from my voice, “why would I give you anything.”

  “I guess playing the ‘because we’re family’ card is out of the question? Yeah I thought so.” He skipped on without waiting for my answer. “Well lets try this then: I have something else you want.”

  My head snapped in the direction of Adan’s grunt, and the fire exploded, until my body was shaking.

  “What are you doing?” I heard the man holding me ask in confusion.

  “Let. Him. Go.” I warned deadly.

  “I don’t see how you’re in any position to be giving me orders. It’s a simple trade, your ability, for your prince charming.”

  “Sara don’t-” Adan’s voice was cut off with another grunt.