by Lola Gabriel
Nyx sat at the bar for another few minutes, listening to the woman with the angelic voice finish her set of songs. There was still another act to follow before it was time for his second set, and despite being up on that stage more times than anyone, a strange feeling suddenly passed over him.
It wasn’t because he was nervous, or feared not hitting his required notes or even forgetting the words. It was something else entirely. Raine’s words echoed through his mind about the bears in the woods.
Bears were not a common occurrence in these parts at all. In fact, Nyx knew for a fact that there were no bear shifters in the entire country. This could mean one of two things. Either it was a harmless occurrence where two bears were spotted trying to make a new life for themselves by keeping themselves safe from danger, or it could be two shifters scouting the area for potential threats. Nyx just wasn’t sure which one it was. Raine and his team of ‘spotters’, as they gallantly referred to themselves, were good at finding things, or in this case, Immortals who seemed out of place and up to no good.
In the past, they had secured the entire countryside, with the help of some other wolves, and had taken care of numerous troublemakers who were planning on attacking innocent humans or opposing Immortals. There had been a sense of peace for a long time now, and no threats had been able to cause havoc in the city or the surrounding areas.
Even though there were many Immortals in London—wolves, dragons, vampires, and witches—they all lived together in harmony, respecting each other. Things weren’t always this peaceful, but it was good to not look over his shoulder all the time. Paranoia was not something Nyx could live with, as he had had his fair share of that.
He finished his water and placed the empty bottle on the counter of the bar. Josh spotted him and approached him.
“Why so pensive?” Josh asked.
Nyx shrugged his shoulders and took a breath. “I was just thinking about something. Nothing serious.”
Josh removed the empty bottle from the bar, tossing it in the trash.
“What do you know about bears?” Nyx asked.
“Bears, like the furry kind?”
Nyx raise a perplexed eyebrow at him. “Yeah, those ones.”
“Not much. They’re not common around these parts, you know,” Josh answered.
Nyx nodded slowly and studied Josh for a while. He was absolutely sure that Josh was a human, but he couldn’t help but suddenly feel a bit suspicious of him. Nyx wasn’t sure why, but it unsettled him a little.
“What?” Josh asked.
“Have you ever seen a bear?”
“On the telly, sure. And once at the zoo. It was a big one, brown fur,” Josh said evasively.
“Right,” Nyx muttered and slid off the barstool.
“Good luck on your set,” Nyx heard Josh say as he walked toward the door.
Without saying a word, Nyx pushed through the door and stepped out into the cool evening air. The stars twinkled above him against the dark sky, and a few clouds were visible in the distance—nothing too threatening, of course. Nyx took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, glancing swiftly at the people who passed him. He placed his hand against the streetlight and stared up at the sky again. There was definitely something in the air—Nyx could feel it.
He just hoped that it wouldn’t end badly like the last time he had this feeling.
“Nyx!”
He looked back over his shoulder at Josh, who stood by the door.
“Five minutes,” Josh reminded him and pointed to the inside of Echoes.
“I’ll be right there,” he answered, turning away again.
Nyx stood outside, the feeling of change, or whatever it was, slowly building up inside him with every second that passed. It was strange, but rather than wrack his brain to try and figure it out, he stepped back inside Echoes, where his audience eagerly awaited his second set.
Not to seem boastful or conceited, but his second set was going to blow them away.
2
The dark had never bothered Romi, for it was from darkness she came to be who she was in this world. That may have sounded a bit dramatic and theatrical to most people, but it was the truth. She was born in the Dark Ages, when the world as most people knew it was still young and undiscovered. It was still filled with promise, hope, and opportunity.
Romi Friar was a witch, born into a powerful family who originated from Ancient Greece, but she had spent her entire life on English soil. Her father, Henry, was very protective of her, and even more so after her mother was killed. The exact details behind her mother’s death were still a mystery to Romi, but she knew her father wasn’t telling her everything he knew, hence avoiding the subject altogether.
Romi tucked her light red hair, which was as natural as it came, behind her ear and shrugged her shoulders as she continued walking over Waterloo Bridge. She’d spent most of her evenings walking around the city, but that night she just needed to be alone. Her overprotective father thought he could dictate her entire life without her making a fuss about it, and she’d had enough. She was old enough to make her own decisions, despite what her father thought, but he wasn’t allowing her to do so. Of course, she had her own flat and lived on her own, but that didn’t stop her father from trying to run her life.
Their latest argument consisted of the usual back-and-forth dialogue where she complained about him not minding his own business, and he argued that he only wanted what was best for her. Back and forth, back and forth.
Constantly.
Romi had grown weary of this tediousness, but her father did not seem to get it, and she doubted he ever would.
Hence she had walked away.
Her father was very old-fashioned and still lived by the old beliefs. The ones which Romi did not always agree with. She was respectful of her elders and her lineage, but she did not want to spend her nights at the Praying Tree, or conjure up spells all day long while burning sage and reorganizing crystals so the world would be in harmony.
Romi wanted to live. She wanted to experience the world, and all it had to offer. She wanted to fall in love with the wrong guy, feel alive, have her heart broken, make mistakes, and cry into the stars. She wanted to stand on a rooftop yelling at the sky, and wanted to dance in the rain. She wanted to kiss a stranger just because she liked the way he smelled, and she wanted to find out who she was.
Sure, she was the daughter of Henry Friar, the only living descendent of his family and a powerful sorcerer. She was first in line to inherit the secrets of the Earth, and to receive the family grimoire with all its secrets. Maybe then she would know what had happened to her mother. It was a tremendous honor to be bestowed such gifts, especially her ability to heal emotional wounds in others, as well as bring out the best in them. This was an ability that was bestowed upon her by her mother, from whom she had gotten her red hair, her pale skin, and her piercing blue eyes. People told her that she would look right at home two or three centuries ago, and they weren’t wrong. In the 1700s, she did.
The air grew a little warmer, which was strange to Romi, and she crossed the street into the city. The nightlife was already booming, and the florescent lights illuminated the streets in reds, yellows, and blues. As she continued her way down the wide street running adjacent to the Thames, a soothing tune filled the air. She changed her route in a pursuit to find where the music was coming from.
A young couple walking toward her caught her eye and she approached them.
“Excuse me, so sorry to bother you. Do you know where that music is coming from?” she asked.
“Oh, it’s a bar called Echoes. They have live music every Thursday and Saturday night,” the young woman answered.
“It’s just over there.” The young man pointed at a bar with green lights out front.
“Thank you so much,” Romi said gratefully and made her way in the direction of Echoes. The music grew louder, and the air grew warmer still. She walked to the door and stopped abruptly, feeling all kinds of emotions bubb
le up inside her. She was not sure whether it was the excitement of finding a place where she could be comfortable, or because it was something her father wouldn’t approve of her doing.
Her father was set in his ways, the old ways which Romi did not agree with. She did not want to just sit at home, reading through her grimoire, conjuring spells, and only interacting with other witches. She wanted to love freely and do as she pleased. She wanted to go wherever she wanted, whenever she felt like it. She could take care of herself, despite her father telling her she couldn’t. She was out to prove him wrong, that she could be the best witch possible, attaining her true potential and living life to the fullest.
Her father would truly flip his lid if he knew where she was at that moment, and that she wanted to go there willingly. He did not understand that his daughter wanted to broaden her horizons, make friends, and live a normal life. He did not even try to understand that she wasn’t old-fashioned like he was. Romi loved her father and would go to the ends of the earth for him, but it was his archaic way of thinking that made her angry, and when Romi was angry, it was best for everyone to stay as far away from her as possible.
Romi, just like her mother, was a fiery witch, ruled by her emotions, and she could easily get caught up in them. Her father knew this, and this was probably the reason why he wanted her close by, for him to keep an eye on her. Of course, when Romi decided to move out and into her own place, he went ballistic, to say the least, but still managed to keep tabs on her. This did not surprise Romi, but at least she had a little bit more freedom. Still, she had to visit her father often, to make sure he did not show up at her house every day.
Romi opened the door and stepped inside Echoes, immediately feeling at home as she closed the door. The inside was cozy and warm, not to mention the darkness took the attention away from her.
The guy behind the bar nodded at her, greeting her with a silent yet welcoming smile. She approached the bar slowly, and he greeted her warmly, “Welcome to Echoes. What can I get you?”
Romi placed her hands on the bar counter and shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea. What would you recommend?”
“You strike me as a pink gin girl.”
“Hold the pink, if that’s okay,” she said.
“Okay, no problem.” As he prepared her drink, he asked, “You’re new here, right?”
“Right,” she answered as she looked over at the stage.
A man with light brown hair sat on a stool, playing a guitar and singing in a gruff voice, as if he had been smoking most of his life. His eyes were focused on a woman in the crowd and the love radiated from his eyes.
A small smile formed on her lips as she glanced back at the bartender, who slid her drink toward her. “Thank you.” She retrieved a neatly folded ten-pound bill from her pocket and handed it to him. “Keep the change.”
He flashed her a smile and she left the bar, looking for a place to sit closer to the stage. Sure enough, she found a small table which had been cleared as if especially for her. She sat on the high stool and placed her drink on the table in front of her.
The man on the stage strummed his guitar one last time and even before the notes vanished into the air, the crowd applauded him. He stood up and left the stage with his guitar, thanking the audience modestly.
Romi smiled in admiration at him, as she definitely had neither the guts nor the talent to get up on stage and sing. She wasn’t blessed with perfect pitch or an angelic voice, so she simply listened to people who did.
The bar went momentarily dark, and she looked around her, taking a sip of her drink. It was cold, refreshing, and strong, which made her cringe and squint her eyes simultaneously.
Romi noticed movement and she opened her eyes widely to get a good look at who would be performing next. A young man stepped onto the stage, holding a guitar. He sat on the stool, reached for the microphone stand, and pulled it closer.
“Let’s slow it down a little,” he whispered in a husky voice which sent shivers down Romi’s spine.
The crowd cheered as he strummed the first notes on his guitar with such ease and grace.
She couldn’t see his face clearly, but she was unable to look away.
Then he started to sing.
His voice filled the bar, and quickly swept Romi completely off her feet. Her legs felt numb, and she couldn’t even move. She simply stared at him, her thoughts running wild inside her head. Her heart pounded against her ribs, somewhat painfully, but she did not care or notice.
The only thing that mattered at that moment was his voice, and the way his presence made her feel. He kept his eyes mostly cast downwards, but as the song gained a bit of momentum, he raised his gaze and it fell immediately onto Romi, as if he had felt her eyes on him. His eyes were striking, boring into her soul, and she drew in a slow breath as her lips parted.
Of course Romi knew exactly who he was, but she had never thought he would have such an effect on her. She had always imagined that seeing the Dragon Prince would invoke a different set of feelings inside her.
For as long as she could remember, her father had told her about the Dragon King of Lunca and his four sons, and how evil and power-hungry they were, and still were to this day. They were merciless and the Dragon King had singlehandedly ensured the deaths of thousands of witches, including many in her family’s coven. They were not to be trusted, and Romi was advised that if she ever saw one of them, she should get as far away from them as possible. She had also known that one of the princes did, in fact, live in London, but she did not think she would ever run into him, or see him, for that matter. Her father’s words in her mind kept reminding her that they were dangerous and not to be trusted, but looking at him at that very moment and feeling the emotions rise up inside her, there was nothing threatening about him. He looked vulnerable behind that guitar, sad even, but there was something in his eyes that made Romi feel light-headed.
She exhaled through her mouth and realized she had been holding her breath for a while, hence the dizziness. Or maybe it was more than that.
Romi had heard many tales of how dragons mated for life with their True Mates, and it was a pretty big deal. It was also an occurrence which she did not think was possible after Rhaena the Wicked’s curse on the four princes. She also did not think it was possible for the dragons to find their True Mates in other species of Immortals. There was an incident where a dragon had found her True Mate in a human, but unfortunately, that did not last very long. Humans were fragile and so easy to kill, it was really rather laughable. Although all the Gifted Immortals had the ability to look like humans, witches were the closest to being human. They weren’t particularly strong of fierce, but it was their magic which made them feared and lethal, if need be, of course.
Romi knew that bonding with the Dragon Prince wasn’t such a good idea, regardless of whether she was able to stop it or not. She knew it had happened for him just as powerfully as it had for her, as the expression on his face resembled hers exactly. Both their worlds stopped, whirling out of control, yet perfectly in sync with one another.
She blinked and finally looked away as the lights dimmed and the bar erupted in applause. The crowd cheered and Romi could tell they loved him, and his performance. It was hard not to, as he had a beautiful singing voice, flawless guitar skills, as well as charisma which she had not seen anywhere. This was typical of a dragon, as the males in their family exhumed confidence and charm. They were all incredibly good-looking, which most people figured was because of their mother, the Dragon Queen. She was a timeless beauty, with teal eyes, long, silky blonde hair down to her waist, and perfect cheekbones. For thousands of years, she had been considered the most beautiful being in the world by Immortals, and many Immortals still claimed that to be true.
The four Dragon Princes did not look alike in the least, but it was said that you could see the queen’s features in each of them.
Or so Romi had heard.
Having seen the third-born prince, live and i
n the flesh, she wasn’t convinced that all those stories were true. Those stories and tales were as old as the mountains, and Romi never truly based her life and her knowledge on those tales. She liked to experience things personally, figure things out in her own mind, and decide things for herself.
Glancing back at the stage, she saw the prince was gone and she looked around the venue. She spotted him at the bar, drinking water from a bottle, and a small smile formed on her lips. His hair was messy and his T-shirt clung to his shoulders, hugging his muscular arms. He laughed at something the bartender said and Romi’s insides melted like an ice cream on a hot day. His smile and his laugh were perfect, but of course they would be. Her world now revolved around his, but she hoped that he recognized the same feelings in himself.
It did not seem like he did, according to Romi. He did not glance in her direction at all, but maybe he was just being nice to the group of people who now stood around him at the bar. She wasn’t going to approach him and introduce herself. Maybe she should. Would that not be a little pushy?
She pursed her lips and decided that even though she did not want to just leave, it would probably be the best option at that moment. She slid off the stool and made her way to the door.
As she walked past the bar, she noticed him looking directly at her, but she turned away before she could see him react. She took a few more steps when she heard his voice behind her.
“Hey, wait.”
She whirled around and came face to face with the Dragon Prince, his gray eyes sweeping her off her feet and turning her entire existence upside down.
“Hey,” she greeted him breathlessly.
“Do I know you?”
Romi let out a laugh. “I bet you say that to all the women in this bar.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “If only I had the confidence to do that.”
His remark surprised her as she realized he was not at all like she had been told.
“I’m Romi, in case you were wondering.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Romi. I’m Nyx.”