Discipline (Omega Queen Series Book 1)

by W. J. May

  Evie didn’t know what surprised her more: That she could hear the girl’s voice so perfectly underwater, or that she’d finally met a person who didn’t know her name.

  “I can’t—” She was about to say that she couldn’t speak underwater, when she suddenly realized that she could. “My friends! My friends are in the—”

  “You mean the vampire and the fae?” The girl flashed a coy grin. “They’re lovely. Especially the fae. The vampire...we don’t do well with their kind.”

  The princess shook her head quickly, already running out of air.

  “Asher won’t hurt you, I promise. Please, you have to help—”

  “My sisters are already with them.” She tilted her head as she studied the princess, reaching out a pale finger to a curl of her fiery hair. By the time she saw the bluish tint to Evie’s lips, she seemed to remember the girl wasn’t designed to breathe beneath water. “Come with me.”

  The girl didn’t give her a choice, but at this point Evie was too tired to do anything except let herself be pulled along. They broke through the surface rather quickly, but to her surprise the girl didn’t take her to the far shore. Instead she pulled her towards a small island in the middle of the river itself, shielded from view by the tall trees planted on either side.

  Ellanden was already there, lying motionless on the rocks while no fewer than five beautiful woman fretted and fussed above him. As the princess watched Asher was pulled out of the water beside him, coughing weakly as he was gently dragged onto the shore.

  The princess started kicking her legs the second she saw them, breaking free of the girl’s grasp and charging up out of the water. “Landi! Landi—are you all right?”

  The fae had yet to open his eyes.

  He was stretched out on the stones like some kind of fallen angel—an angel that someone had held too close to the sun. His hair was wet and his skin was pale, yet there were still giant burns all over the top half of his body, shimmering faintly on his bare chest.

  “Ellanden!”

  Asher was coming back to his senses as well, quickly shaking free of the woman holding him as he rushed to the fae’s side. He was about to begin chest compressions, even at the risk of making the burns worse, when a lovely woman gently pushed his hands aside.

  “Allow me.”

  She knelt over the fallen prince a second later, pressing her lips to his. A kind of light seemed to pass between them, something that Evie would never be able to properly describe. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, very slowly, the prince opened his eyes.

  Thank the Maker!

  He stared up at the woman in a daze, blinking occasionally as waves of starlight haloed around his face. Then he felt her legs around him, and his lips curved with the hint of a smile.

  “...and who might you be?”

  Asher and Evie let out a simultaneous laugh, too relieved to even remember to roll their eyes. The girl blushed furiously but stared down with a seductive grin, tilting her head to the side as her bluish-green hair spilled down around them. She was just on the verge of deciding he might need a bit more resuscitation after all, when the princess’ mind cleared and it suddenly clicked.

  “You’re naiads!”

  The vampire bit his lip as the fae banged his head lightly against the stone. The girls, however, seemed to think it was very funny—laughing lightly as their skin shimmered in the night.

  “Poor thing, she’s not thinking clearly.” Half of them left Ellanden, clustering around the princess in a curious swarm. “You probably didn’t give her enough oxygen. She’s half-drowned.”

  Asher shook his head, fighting back a smile. “No—that’s just our Evie.”

  Ellanden peered at both of them through a tangle of aquamarine hair and mouthed, Go away.

  The princess flushed, abruptly aware of the fact that she looked like something recently washed up on the shore. In the most literal sense of the words.

  “I’m sorry, I just...” She pulled in a sudden breath, staring out at the deceptively calm water innocently rolling past. “I didn’t think we were going to make it.”

  The naiads softened at once. Asher wrapped an arm around her as Ellanden gently extracted himself from the woman who straddled him and limped over to their side.

  “That was miles,” he said quietly. “Miles without a scent to follow.”

  Asher nodded, staring at the far shoreline through the trees. “I don’t care how determined they are, there isn’t a way to track that. Even if they follow the scent all the way down to the river, they’ll lose it the second the reach the shore. Of course...” He paused suddenly, wishing he hadn’t spoken at all. “...they’ll probably think we drowned.”

  Evie flinched as Ellanden dropped his eyes to the ground. Both were thinking of the same white-haired princess. A girl who would never recover from hearing the tragic news.

  “We could send them a raven,” Ellanden suggested softly. “Something to reassure them once we’re far enough away. Just so they don’t think...”

  The three friends fell quiet suddenly, unable to speak anymore.

  Curious by nature, the naiads were eavesdropping at what they deemed to be a respectable distance. They didn’t understand much of what the teenagers were talking about, but sensed enough to know that they were in trouble. And, judging from recent events, possibly in over their heads.

  “You can stay here,” one of them said suddenly. The friends looked up in surprise, and she offered a kind smile. “It’s the middle of the night, and you just battled the current halfway downstream. You must be tired.”

  Tired was putting it lightly. Evie thought she could happily close her eyes and not wake until the following season. But that still begged the question—

  “Isn’t this your...your home?” she asked, not knowing what else to call it.

  Naiads, like every other kind of nymph, had a particular talisman, somewhere in their realm, that was sacred to them. For woodland nymphs, it was usually a tree or a cluster of flowers. For nymphs of the sunset, it was a particular time of day. For naiads—water nymphs—it was often a place not actually in the water, but nearby. This secluded island seemed the perfect spot.

  “We don’t want to intrude,” Ellanden said quickly, understanding the ancient magic better than most. “You were already more than generous just by bringing us here.”

  The naiads flashed matching smiles at the sound of his voice. Fae were gifted with magic not unlike their own—champions of nature and all those who resided in it. Several of them looked like they wanted to be ‘more than generous’ with him again.

  “We would be honored if you’d stay, my lord.” The nymph who’d resuscitated him smiled coyly, swishing her dress. “It isn’t often we get visitors.”

  He met her eyes for a brief moment before turning quickly to his friends.

  “I think it’s a great idea. Let’s stay.”

  Perhaps it was good they were so tired, because they couldn’t summon up the strength to laugh. Evie glanced once more at the distant shoreline before dropping her sword with a clatter.

  “Fine, we’ll stay.” She gave her friend a pointed look, traipsing up with Asher to find higher ground. “Just try to get some sleep...”

  Chapter 10

  The princess fell asleep the second her head hit the ground, but it was hardly the restorative slumber she craved. The moment her eyes shut, she was plagued with dream after dream. The kind she couldn’t remember, but kept her tossing and turning until the sun finally rose over the peak.

  She opened her eyes slowly—then let out a gasp. Another pair of eyes was twinkling right above her, just inches away from her face. The naiad smiled brightly, pleased she was awake.

  “Good morning.” She tilted her head curiously, backlit with a halo of sun. “Do all humans sleep so restlessly? Or is that just you?”

  The princess blinked up at her, then pushed to her feet. “...that’s just me.”

  She was pleased to see that all of her li
mbs were at least working, nothing broken beyond repair. That being said, she felt as though she’d been dropped from a cliff. Her skin was bruised and battered, and her muscles were so stiff she were barely able to move.

  That’s how she felt. She didn’t want to speculate how she might look.

  “Ash?” she called weakly. “Landi?”

  “Over here!”

  She stretched each arm and leg slowly before following their voices to a small clearing in the middle of the trees. Asher was leaning against a redwood, arms folded across his chest, while Ellanden was looking right at home—refreshed, rejuvenated, and completely unable to stop smiling.

  “Good morning!” he said brightly the second the princess limped into view. “Would you like something to eat? We have berries and...well...berries.”

  She lifted her eyebrows, staring at the small harem of beauties lounging beside him. He followed her gaze and hastened to make the proper introductions.

  “Evie, this is Nadia.” A throat cleared from somewhere behind him and he continued a bit bashfully. “And Nivea. And Noelle.”

  A final woman floated past him, kissing the side of his neck as she walked by.

  “...that’s Naveen.”

  The princess threw a glance at Asher, who simply shook his head with an amused smile.

  Unbelievable.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” she said sweetly, giving her friend a withering look. “Did you manage to sleep at all?”

  He looked up at her with an innocent smile. “I feel great.”

  The problem in the princess’ argument was that he really did look it. His hair was combed and neatly braided, his weapons were polished and drying on the grass. The blood had even been scrubbed out of his clothes. But the strangest part was—

  “What happened to your chest?” she gasped, reaching out to touch it in disbelief.

  The burns were gone. Not just faded, not just healing—they were gone. The skin beneath her fingers was smooth and unscarred—as if the enchanted fire had never even happened.

  “Careful,” he teased lightly, removing her hand, “they’re a jealous bunch.”

  She rolled her eyes and waited for an answer. Why, she didn’t know. When he finally deigned to reply, she could have predicted his answer to the letter.

  “I’m Fae,” he said arrogantly, as if this explained everything. “We have natural healing capabilities that so far surpass your own—”

  “The naiads cured him,” Asher interrupted, peeling himself off the tree. “They rubbed this bluish balm on him this morning. It did the job okay, but it smelled like death.”

  The princess bit back a smile as the fae shot him an icy glare.

  “Yes...there was also that.”

  Evie glanced around the little clearing, resting a moment on each of their belongings—lying out to dry on the grass. Everything had been cleaned and polished. The arrows that had fallen loose in the river had been found and returned to their quivers. Even their coins had been washed and tucked back in their leather pouch. Though whether or not they were all there was anyone’s—

  “What the hell?!”

  The princess rushed forward, snatching a piece of crumpled parchment off the grass. The original ink had been lost to the river, but the naiads had retraced it in a strange dye of their own.

  The men swept over in alarm, while the naiad Ellanden had called Nivea walked forward cautiously, her violet eyes flashing to each of them in turn.

  “What seems to be the problem?” she asked in a melodious voice.

  Evie waved the paper between them.

  “Did you take this from my pocket?” she demanded. “Did you read—”

  What was the point in finishing the question? Of course the girl had read it. She’d probably been the one who retraced every letter by hand.

  Sure enough, the girl nodded unapologetically.

  “Your little poem was ruined, so I fixed it.” Her forehead creased with a little frown. “Not the cheeriest thing I’ve ever read, but I suppose it turns out all right in the end.”

  With that she flashed a beaming smile, then skipped off to join the rest of her kind on the far beach. They were sunning themselves on the rocky shore. Comparing notes about the prince.

  The friends stared after her, then gazed down at the prophecy in Evie’s hand.

  “Are we ever going to talk about it?” Ellanden murmured, staring as though the thing was something sacred... that might also have fangs. “I’ve thought of it every moment since we left.”

  The others nodded miserably. They’d thought about it, too. So much chaos and heartbreak all from one little paper. It was time they sat down and figured out what it meant.

  And so they sat down on the grass and went through it, line by line.

  “‘Three shall set out, through three shall not return’,” Evie began tentatively. Her eyes flitted to their faces before making a judgement call. “Let’s just skip over that part, shall we?”

  “‘To recover a stone from a land that won’t burn’,” Ellanden murmured. It was quiet for a moment, then he lifted his head. “Well that has to be the Dunes, right? ‘A land that won’t burn’?”

  Evie shivered, while Asher nodded slowly.

  “That’s just what I was thinking,” he murmured. “‘Long they shall travel, for deep does it dwell’...maybe in the old ruins of the castle? ‘To bring to the land either heaven or hell’.”

  “And the stone itself.” Evie turned to the others, putting it together for the first time. “Do you think it’s like the one in my mother’s crown? The one Petra found on Mount Grace?”

  Ellanden nodded slowly, frowning at the crumpled parchment.

  “It would make sense. That if one stone brings light, another would bring darkness. Each powerful force must have a counterpoint. The world is built upon balance.”

  “The world is built upon balance,” Asher snorted. “Stop quoting your father.”

  The fae gave him a playful shove, but they sobered up as the princess kept reading.

  “‘They shall fall out of step in a land without time...’” she said softly, “‘...and toil in shadows where stars cannot shine...’”

  Neither was a particularly thrilling prospect. And neither gave much of a clue. But if it was possible, the next line eclipsed them both.

  “‘Old enemies prowl, for the dead never die.’”

  Asher sucked in a silent breath, fingers tightening on the page.

  “That could refer to so many different people, it’s almost not worth mentioning...”

  Evie snatched it back from him, finishing it off.

  “‘But peace will prevail if the dragon can fly.’”

  The words rang out between them for a moment, then she flashed a beaming smile.

  “Well there it is—written by the fates themselves. I’m going to save the day!”

  Asher snorted sarcastically.

  “...written in berry juice.”

  “It couldn’t matter less.” The princess pushed to her feet, practically bursting with a sense of cosmic pride. “Of course it would come down to me. I mean—why wouldn’t it? Look at me.”

  The men stared up at her, then tilted their heads at the same time.

  In hindsight, the shadow should have cued her in. She looked as though a porcupine had nestled atop her head. She sat back down with a flush, averting her eyes.

  “On second thought...don’t look at me.”

  “So what does it all mean?” Ellanden asked briskly, suddenly eager to get off the little island and set out upon the quest. “We’re going to a land that can’t burn, to find a rock? We’re going to need to be a little more specific than that.”

  “Not to mention, if it’s really in the Dunes, I don’t think it would be in the castle,” Evie added, discreetly combing out her tangled hair. “My mother and uncle melted it to the ground.”

  “In that case, maybe it was destroyed,” Asher said hopefully.

  Ellanden shoo
k his head. “We wouldn’t have gotten the prophecy.”

  “But dragon fire destroys everything—”

  “We wouldn’t have gotten the prophecy, Ash.”

  “Then what do you suggest?” the vampire asked irritably. “If you have all the answers, how would you answer a question like this?”

  Ellanden opened his mouth angrily to answer, then closed it with a sigh. “I’d talk to my father...”

  Asher softened immediately, bowing his head to his chest. “I’d talk to my father, too.”

  A wistful silence fell over the clearing, one that felt heavier the longer it was allowed to continue. At one point, each of the friends was on the verge of suggesting that they head straight back to the caravan and share the piece of parchment with everyone in sight. The fates might have asked for three people to set out on the journey, but all they’d managed to do so far was get the illustrious words rewritten in berry juice and almost drown.

  Then, suddenly, the princess lifted her head.

  “And what would your fathers say?”

  The men stared at her silently before Asher finally said, “...what?”

  “What would your fathers say?” she insisted, pushing again to her feet. “Come on you guys, you’re acting like we’re just a bunch of helpless kids here. But we’re not. We’ve heard all their stories, studied all their books, been trained by the finest warriors in the four kingdoms.”

  Her voice picked up speed, coaxing away their doubts.

  “We are the perfect people to have been chosen for this quest. And we’re going to do exactly what our parents did before us. We’re going to band together and save the realm.”

  There was a beat of silence.

  “Or rather—I’m going to save the realm. I’m the dragon.”

  Ellanden laughed softly, pushing to his feet as well. “If you’re a dragon, I certainly haven’t seen evidence of it all these years. Though that hair of yours could scare away anything...”

  Asher was still sitting, but a thoughtful expression had come over his face.

  “...the library.”

  Evie looked down at him with a frown.

  “What?”

  He lifted his eyes, standing in the same motion.