by Serena Nova
“Long story, not enough time.” I answered, it was the truth.
“Listen up, I’m going to get her back. You guys can stay here. I can handle it,” I told them and turned around.
“Wait,” one of them said. I stopped in front of the door, my hand on the doorknob.
“Do you know where you are going?” the voice asked. It must be Rayan’s. I hadn't heard him speak.
“I’ll figure it out.” I opened the door.
“Are you coming back?” Cian asked.
“Yes. I promised Astra I would get her here.” And with that, I left.
I entered the throne room; the door was still open. I heard fabric move, knowing one, or all, of them were standing.
“We need to help her,” one said, but I didn't hear what the answer was. I was too busy walking towards the first servant I could find.
Flynn
We sat down on the sofas in our office. She stayed standing, her arms behind her back, the way a Protector stood when he relaxed. I didn't know why I had introduced us, I never spoke to new people. It was always much better to keep silent and observe. Except the first moment I saw her, standing there in our throne room, my heart skipped a beat. I saw the most beautiful women ever. And the best part, I saw the outline of weapons on her body. My heartbeat had started again, with more speed to it. It wanted to be with her as fast as I could.
I heard my uncle’s name. “You mean my uncle?” I asked her, and she nodded at me. Her hair falling alongside her body with the movement. Her black hair, that reached over her shoulders, and fell in a wave down her back. Her brown eyes moved between us, serious and hard. She kept talking to us, her sensual mouth forming words I couldn’t hear.
My mind had pulled away from the thoughts I had been having, when she got all bossy and left. For a second, I just stared at the empty spot where she had been. I got up.
“We need to help her,” I said to the others when the door closed.
“Are you sure?” Rayan started. “She was pretty set on handling it alone.”
“We need to,” Averey said, he was still looking at the door, almost as if he could have willed her to turn around and ask us for help, which she would never have done. My judgement of her was that she was a powerful woman and knew what she wanted. She wouldn’t be pushed into something easily and wouldn’t follow orders without questioning them.
She was the sort of woman who I had always wanted to meet. And she had left to confront my uncle. The others argued, only to stop when I moved towards the door.
“I’m going after her,” I told them. There were a few reasons I had wanted to go after her, the first was the fact that I had wanted her. I had never wanted something so badly as her. From the moment I saw her, I knew it; she was my Natural Bonded. She was my other half, and she had walked away. And second, you never knew what my uncle would be doing in that house of his. I left through the door, and heard the others getting up, too.
My heartbeat had picked up again when I stepped into the car, that time for two reasons; seeing her and hoping she was safe. My protective instincts had gone into overdrive, and I couldn’t believe I had let her walk out of the castle. That I had lost every sense of what happened when I saw her. My body had reacted so quickly, it had destroyed all that was in my head then, leaving her in it. I was lost from the moment I saw her, and I needed her back.
Isadora
“I need a car and the directions to Council member Icas Nox’s house,” I said to the first servant I found. He pointed me towards some people. I moved towards them. I found a driver who would take me to Icas Nox’s house. His house would be the first place he would have taken her. He was that kind of person who didn’t think he would get caught. He forgot Astra was my sister, and I would do everything for her. Even get her back, present her to the Kings, and make sure she would have a happy ending.
It was a short drive, twenty minutes. We followed a road that led through another forest, away from the city that was located on the other side of the forest that surrounded the Castle.
We reached a high wall and an iron gate that was closed. The driver stopped in front of it, and I looked through the window towards the big drive that ended at a house covered by the trees. Only the lights along the road showed me the end.
“Thanks.” I got out of the car.
“Do you need help?” the man, a Protector, asked. I smiled at him.
“No,” I first said, then added. “if I’m not back in an hour or so, call someone,” I closed the door.
I looked up at the stone wall, it looked easy to climb over, the rough stones sticking out. I hadn’t found my bag before I had left the castle, so I only had my knife in my boot. I felt naked, wanting to have more weapons with me, but I shook the feeling away and looked up at the wall.
I walked backwards and ran towards it. Jumping up, I reached for the top, scraping my fingers a little. Holding on, I got myself up. The Protector in the car started it and moved towards an alcove in the woods. He had turned off his lights and shut off the engine. He saluted me, and I dropped over the edge of the wall, landing softly on my feet. I started moving through the trees towards the house at the end.
A big villa greeted me, some windows covered in red drapes lit by a light behind them. Other rooms were dark. I pushed my magic out, sensing nobody was around me as I moved closer.
The house was big, white with wooden ornaments. It would have been beautiful if not for the man who lived there, or the family who owned it. I pushed my magic around again, searching for a trace of Astra. I pushed over the house, it was covered in magic, which made it harder to find anything. I pushed deeper, into the house.
When my magic reached the back, I felt something; Astra’s fire. The happy warmth she always threw out. I had known she would be there. Needing to get her back, I moved silently towards the house, keeping out of sight, and keeping the darkness around me.
That was a good trick I had picked up from the fight with the Ilunias. I moved around the house, towards the back door where I had felt her. The door was open, and with a soft push I moved inside.
9
I entered a dark room, the moonlight filtered into the room through the windows. I closed the door soundlessly behind me. I listened to the sounds around me, trying to figure out where I was and where the people would be. A house that big would have some help walking around.
I kept standing against the door, listening. Only my own breathing could be heard. I focused on the room. A kitchen or something like that, a big table stood in the middle. A fireplace was to the right of the room and countertops lined the wall opposite from where I was standing. There was no stove, so it wasn’t a kitchen. There were cabinets, so maybe a second kitchen. It didn’t matter, I needed to find Astra, and she was not there.
I sent out my magic, feeling inside the house. It was easier now that I was in the house. I couldn’t find her, so I started to move towards the door. The floor beneath my feet cracked, and I froze. “Shit. Shit,” I muttered. I looked down seeing the old worn wooden floor beneath my boots. This would be harder. I moved my weight a little, no creaking sound followed. Moving one foot and then the other, I used some air to make myself lighter. Not too much, I didn’t want anyone to notice my magic.
I moved through the room, reaching the door that led to a hallway. Small and dark, no lights on. I let myself adjust to the darkness, not wanting to use my Witch light, I waited, listening. After a few seconds I could see more of the hallway. There were three other doors, one at the left end and one on the right end, and another a little to the left. I moved towards the first to my left and tried to open it. Locked.
I looked over my right shoulder and then left, not sure which way I wanted to go. Before I could decide, I heard people talking behind the right door.
“What are we going to do with her?” a male voice asked.
“We leave her in the room for a few days.” I recognized that voice. Icas Nox.
My anger rose, and my hands
clenched at my side. I had known he would have her.
“Aren’t you scared that they will come for her. The other girl is at the Castle. She would have told the Kings about her. They seemed pretty close.”
The other male must have been someone from the Selection. Nobody else would have known that Astra and I were close. Before my thoughts focused on who it could be, I heard the doorknob turn. Decision made, I sprinted towards the left door. Luckily for me, the hallway wasn’t that long. I reached the door, pulled it open softly, and closed it just as the other opened. I froze, listening to the two males in the hallway.
“Who are you?” a soft voice asked from behind me. I remained rooted to the spot. Shit, the freak. I didn’t look around at first. I was too focused on what the two men would say. Eventually, I turned around slowly, finding a little girl behind me. When I looked at her, I was reminded of a certain King. I was being stared at by two dark eyes, dark-russet hair cascaded in curls down her back. Her face was more rounded and softer than that of Flynn, still you couldn’t miss that they were family.
“Eh, hi.” I gave a small wave of my hand, still listening to the hallway.
“I have that covered. The Kings will be occupied with that Protector girl. She is a handful, and she's their problem now.”
“Why didn’t you take her? She is strong,” I heard the other male saying. I fully turned back to the door, the girl totally forgotten; until I found her standing next to me, her ear against the door and a smile on her face. I smiled back at her and held a finger in front of my lips. She nodded, and we both listened to the men behind the door.
“She isn’t that strong, and she's too stubborn. She would be annoying. That Bronac girl is already promised to me by her parents. It would be easier to keep her here and marry her. Nobody would object.”
“That is not true, you said she would be part of the Selection. We all agreed to that term.”
“Yes, we did, however the Kings didn’t know that. And with only Violet and me in the Castle, they will never know. The other members don’t care.” Icas Nox laughed at that.
“What are you going to do if she shows up here?” the male asked. Their voices grew louder. I looked at the girl, my eyes big and then looked around, trying to find a place to hide.
My eyes landed on different things: another door, a curtain, a staircase. I was in a hall, and judging by the big doors at the right, the main hall. Shit, I needed to move; their footsteps were coming closer. Someone pulled at my shirt, I looked down seeing the girl. She pointed towards the stairs and started running towards them. Her feet were silent on the stone floor, her hair flying behind her. I moved, following her.
We reached the stairs, she opened a door underneath it and got in. I got in, too, and closed the door. Again, just in time. We heard them walking into the hallway, then for them to move to the other side, leaving us alone. “I would kill her if she became a problem,” was the last thing I heard before their voices moved too far away to understand.
I looked around where we were hiding, a closet. The little girl stood next to me, and when I was focused on her I could see she was wearing her pyjamas, pink ones with bears on them. The fluffy sweet kind.
Lowering to the ground, so I was eye level with her, I started to speak. “Hi, sorry to come into your house,” I told her, not sure how to start. I just broke into the house where she lived.
“Are you looking for the girl?” she asked me, her voice soft and small.
“Yes.” I had hoped that Icas Nox had taken As and not any more girls.
“She is upstairs. Uncle Nox said that she needs to stay there, and that nobody can visit her.” She twisted her hands together. “I wanted to say hello to her, it has been a long time since there was a new girl in the house.” Her eyes were cast downwards.
“What do you mean a new girl?” Worry entered my voice.
“Uncle Nox has a group of women, they are his wives.” That shocked me.
“Where are they now?”
“Not here,” the girl answered.
“What is he planning on doing with the new girl?” I asked her. I needed to know what would happen if I couldn’t free Astra.
“I-I can’t say,” the girl said, her voice even lower. I took hold of her hands, they were still fidgeting. She looked up at me, her dark eyes twinkling, now with tears and not with the laughter I had first seen. That had my heart stopping for a moment.
“Listen. You need to tell me. That new girl, she is my sister, my best friend, and the one person in this world I can’t live without. If your uncle plans to do something bad to her, I need to know. I need to know how to get her free.” I squeezed her small hands, trying to let her know how important it was. She didn’t respond, instead she looked at my hands over hers.
“What is your name?” I asked, trying to use another way to get through to her. She was scared; something even a blind person could see.
“Mara,” she answered.
“That is a pretty name, Mara. Do you want to help me?” I asked her. She nodded, and I could see curiosity flowing into her eyes. “I want to find the girl, the one we talked about, and save her.” She nodded again. “Do you want to help me, be a Protector?” She nodded, her curls bouncing with the movement. “Okay, good. Will you tell me something first?” I kept my voice soft, my hands still over hers. She nodded. “What does your uncle do to his wives? And, Mara, you can tell me. I will keep you safe. I promise,” I told her. I poured all my emotions into that promise, I made sure that she would understand that I was serious about protecting her. That was my job, that's what I had always wanted to do. Help and protect people who needed it, like that little scared girl. I would take her with me when I found Astra. And then I would ask, no beg, the Kings to keep her at the Castle. She was Flynn’s family for God’s sake.
Mara hesitated, her mouth opened and closed. After a few more seconds of silence she nodded, more to herself than to me, and started speaking. “He used them, married a really strong Witch and then used them.” Her voice was just a whisper.
“How do you mean used them?” It had been normal for Witches and Elementals to have a harem in the old days. It wasn’t so normal anymore. And a man like Nox didn’t fit the profile of the ‘ever-loving’ husband to one woman never mind to more.
“He takes their magic.” Her eyes filled with more tears, and I had to do my best not to squeeze her hands to mush. I breathed in through my nose and let go through my mouth.
“How do you know that?” I asked her. A child her age should have never witnessed things like that. Magic is connected to a person. Without it, a Witch or an Elemental would die, slowly and painfully.
“I’m good at hiding, he didn’t know I was there. I walked into the basement. I wanted to know what they were talking about. The servants, they talked about the screaming and the blood.” She looked at me, horror in her eyes. She was a brave girl, a little strange maybe, but undoubtedly brave. To be honest, I would have been curious about it all, too. Ghost stories were my favorite growing up.
“I saw what he did to Naommi–his last wife.” She shuddered, and I stopped her.
“You don’t have to tell me. It’s okay. We need to save Astra, the new girl.”
She nodded, her face hard, the tears left unshed in her eyes.
“Can you bring me to her, so we can get her out, and you, too?” I implored her.
She nodded again and moved towards the door, I stood up and waited for her to open it. She peeked through the crack and then pushed it further. I followed her as we moved towards the stairs we had been hiding under. Silently, we walked to the second floor. I couldn’t hear anyone else.
“Where are the servants?” I whispered to her, not wanting to be overheard.
“He sent them away. It will be a few days before they come back.” We reached the top, and Mara moved to the left while I tailed her. I was equally relieved to know we wouldn’t find anybody else up here and worried that Nox had sent all his staff away and left a
little girl alone.
We reached another hall with three doors on the left side of us and a row of windows to our right. We moved fast, past the first two doors. As we reached the last one, Mara pointed at it without getting any closer.
I moved towards the knob and pulled at it. It didn’t budge. I let my magic go and felt for the door. It was protected, probably warded, too. If I shattered it, the creator would know. I stepped back, Mara next to me, and we both looked at the door, almost as if our will alone would have opened it. Then I looked towards the wall. I let my magic move over the wall next to the door.
“Yeah!” I said while I fist pumped the air. This made Mara chuckle. I gave myself another fist pump in my head and moved towards the stone. They hadn't thought to protect the stone next to it. I placed my hands against the cold wall and let my magic flow, wishing for it to move. I pushed some air with it, to make it silent. The stones moved away, giving me a small space, I could move through.
“Who’s there?” I heard Astra’s voice, and I was relieved to have found her.
“It’s me, As. I’m here.” I moved into the room and got tackled by a flying Astra.
“Oh, I’m so happy to see you here,” she whispered. I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the crack I had made. “We need to go.” She moved with me, her hand in mine. We pushed through the crack, entering the hallway. I looked to the left and right, no Mara. Worry flooded through me, she knew this house. Hopefully, she would be fine. I would have to come back for her.
I turned around to close the gap I had made, slowly letting my magic go. Nox didn’t need to know that Astra was gone.
I pulled Astra back to the stairs. We waited at the landing near the door, listening for someone. I heard nothing, so we moved silently down them. We reached the bottom, and I contemplated whether to go through the front door, make a break for it and run as fast as we could or go back the same way I had come. I looked around, hoping to find Mara, she would have known where to go. Only she wasn’t there. I moved towards the door that would lead towards the spot I had come in.