

# Burning in Water

# by

# Arielle Caldwell

Burning in Water

Copyright 2012 Arielle Caldwell

Cover Design Marya Heiman

http://www.strongimageediting.com

Smashwords Edition

# Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy where they can also discover others works by this author. Thank you for your support.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

Mature Reading Material

# Other works by the author:

#

### Drowning in Fire (Nerita Trilogy Book Two)

### The Awakening (The Nerita Trilogy Book Three)

### Chasing Freedom

### Reclaiming Souls

### After-Ending (Coming Soon)

# PROLOGUE

Twenty-Two Years Ago

As the waves crashed onto the sand, Cari stood frozen on the shore. Her five foot six slender frame tensed up; long red hair blowing in her face and emerald green eyes on alert. She watched as the small boat drifted towards her. Its mast was broken and sail was tattered as it was blowing in the wind. The wood was rotted and had holes through it. It made a creaking sound as it swayed gently in the waves. There were no lights except for the moon shining across the water. Rain was falling and there was thunder rolling in the distance. Over the sounds of the crashing waves, she heard it; a baby's cry. Instinctively, she ran into the deep water towards the old boat. She climbed on board using the rusted anchor and walked over to it; gasping. Inside, was a wicker basket containing a child. The eyes were the brightest of blues and hair dark as midnight. It was a girl wrapped in a torn dirty white blanket. She held the child to quiet her and looked around into the unforgiving depths of the sea. The child's parents were nowhere to be found. She sat down, cradling the babe and waited for the boat to make landfall. The baby produced a ball of water in its' hands and her eyes began to glow ever so slightly. Cari knew who this child belonged to immediately. Once ashore, she sat on the sand and looked down at the child who smiled back.

"I will call you Nerita, my gift from the sea," she cooed gently, caressing the blue-eyed child's face.

Standing to her feet, she opened her hand palm up and a ball of fire emerged. Her fire guided them back to Amaranth, the small village in the forest. Her long slender wings were too wet from the rain to carry them back so she retracted them and had to walk. Cari thanked the goddess of the sea for giving her a child from her womb. It will be a blessing to raise the child of the goddess, but what a task at hand, she thought. She had to protect her precious gift at any and all cost.

~~~~

# Chapter One

Present Day

There was a whisper in my ear.

"Nerita, Nerita Torlan! Time to wake up!" I bit down on a smile; trying to act like I was still asleep. Arleta, my five-year-old cousin, was hovering over me. Still learning to use her new long glossy wings, she tumbled here and there. I steadied my breathing as she came closer and closer to my face.

"Gotcha!" I called out playfully as I grabbed her and drug her under the covers with me. She laughed hysterically.

"Dang it! I was trying to surprise you!" she squealed. I looked at her; laughing and smiling. She was a petite little thing with her short wavy red hair, purple knee length dress and silver ballerina slippers that sparkled. Turning to look at me, her emerald green eyes lit up as she whispered, "Nerita, your eyes are the most beautiful I've ever seen. I don't think I've ever seen any such a bright blue before."

"You're young, Arleta. You will find more colorful ones than mine," I gently whispered back. At that moment, I smelled a wonderful breakfast my Aunt Sylvia was cooking downstairs.

Pulling the cover off our heads, she had figured it out too. "I smell breakfast! Let's go eat!"

I was slow getting out of bed and she grew impatient. "I'm going downstairs without you if you don't hurry up!"

"I'm coming," I laughed, "Just go, I'll be there in a minute."

"Fine," she pouted and flew out of my room and down the stairs.

She flew out of my room and down the stairs. I had to walk. I always knew I was different. I never grew my wings. A normal fairy child gets their wings by their sixth birthday. My mother would always tell me I was unique with my water element abilities and not to bother myself about not having them but it did bother me; sometimes a lot and sometimes hardly at all. I was the abnormal fairy child...something just had to be wrong with me. The elders kept quiet about their suspicions but I knew from the looks I was given in town that I was always a topic of interest at the town meetings. They avoided me like I was some kind of disease and treated me like an outcast.

I sat up in bed and looked around my room. It wasn't very large and was fairly simple. My wood frame bed sat in the middle with teardrop shaped candle holders hung above it, a dresser next to my door with a few books about magic on top, my closet to the left of my bed, and a water basin with a mirror to the right. I tossed the blanket off me, hopped out of bed, and got dressed.

Stopping briefly to stare in the mirror, I glanced at myself. Long, straight jet black hair pulled up in a bun, slender but muscular soft white frame dressed in a white blouse with green corset, green pants and shin high black boots. Then there were my eyes; the deepest, brightest of blues anyone had ever seen that seemed to glow in the darkest hours of the night. Pleased with my looks, I jumped down the spiral stairs and headed to the kitchen.

"Mmm, that smells great, Aunt Sylvia!" I exclaimed as I sat on my chair at the table.

I watched her scramble around, trying to get everyone's plates ready. The kitchen was small and very feminine. She had lost her husband in a hunting accident while she was still pregnant with Arleta. She kept some of his belongings but redid the whole house after the accident. A small white table with a red table cloth and flowers sat by the window in the corner, a wood stove sat across from the fridge box, and a sink was on the wall with another window behind it.

"No time for chit chat this morning, Nerita. You have training! Hurry and eat, girl!" She rushed at me with a plate of berries and eggs. A glass of goat's milk was soon placed in front of me as well.

I shoveled the food in my mouth in a very unladylike fashion. "I'm eating as fast as I can! I don't want to choke on the food you worked so hard to make for us."

She sat down across from me and ate very slowly. "You know what's going to happen if you're late. He's going to kick your ass and I don't want to hear you moan and whine about it." She pointed her fork in my direction as she spoke with a stern voice.

I laughed, "I doubt he's going to do anything about it. I'm trying to hurry."

She shook her head. "What am I going to do with you? The elders are already upset with some of your progress."

"I know, I'm leaving. Thank you for breakfast." I quickly stood then put my plate in the sink.

"Good luck today and tell him hi for me," Arleta always lit up when she mentioned him.

"You got it." I kissed them both goodbye before I ran to the beach for my morning training. Amaranth sat nestled in a thick forest in Caseontea; a large, heavily wooded country on the continent of Asien'tas. Our homes were built in the bottoms of massive trees with bridges linking them together further up the trunks. There was a schoolhouse, library, potions store, butcher, and in the largest tree in the middle of town, sat Village Council. They made sure everything ran smoothly but I hated the old fairies who ran it. They were so against anything modern and anything that didn't fit in...like me. Training everyday seemed to help how they saw me but I was still an outsider; someone they felt they weren't sure they could trust fully. I had gotten to the point of not even noticing the stares or hateful words.

Our house was on the outskirts of town so I only had to deal with them while running errands or running through it because I was late for a session...again. Out of my window, you could see the Guardians keeping watch and constantly moving around the tops of the trees looking for intruders. I would sit at my window for hours and just watch them. I yearned to be like them; to be a protector of my village, but I knew it would never happen.

From our home to the beach was about a twenty minute run...training had started five minutes prior and I was ten minutes away. I was going to be in so much trouble. I shot through the trees and had to dodge the animals that ran out onto the pathway.

By the time I got there, I was going to be so exhausted I wouldn't want to do much of anything that day. The rays of sunlight were beating down on me as they sprinkled through the trees and it felt wonderful. I prayed he wasn't going to be too hard on me that day but I knew better than to think that.

***

I finally broke the tree line and made my way onto the bright, warm sand.

"Nerita Torlan! You're late!" Gavan hissed at me with his arms crossed. All I could do was smile and let my mind wonder as I approached him. What a sight he was. Gavan was wearing a loose fitting blouse; revealing his toned muscles and making me damn near drool. His short, wavy hair was black like mine and he had a luscious, bright smile that made me blush anytime he looked at me...except at that moment they were pursed together in a scowl. His dark green eyes made my knees go weak. If he wanted me, he could have taken me right there. I soaked in his luscious appearances from head to toe. Apparently, I got a little too lost in thought as a pinch of fire lit my behind.

"OWE!" I jumped and grabbed it, trying to put the flame out as Gavan glared at me with a half amused smile. He held his hands in front of him and closed his eyes. I knew it was going to hurt. I crouched in a battle stance waiting for it to hit me. A great fire appeared in the cup of his hands. No sooner had it appeared was it forced in my direction. Think quickly, Nerita, I told myself. As the fire came towards me, I closed my eyes and drew water from the ocean into my hands and threw it at the ball of fire. There was a sizzle and some smoke but it did nothing to deter the fire hurling at me. Shit. It hit with a force that took my breath away and sent me flying backwards into the sand; my sword flying out of its sheath and across the beach.

I just laid there breathing heavily; arms and legs extended outwards in defeat, cursing myself for failing _. Damn it! I know I can do this!_

"Get up. I won't be so easy on you next time," he choked out between bouts of laughter as he was squatting beside me in the sand, offering his hand to help me up. I accepted and grinned up at him. His laughter stopped immediately. I grabbed firmly onto his arm and pulled more water from the ocean, soaking his wings. _A downed fairy that cannot fly has little to no chance of getting away_ , I reminded myself.

I flung him over my shoulder and as he hit the sand with a thud, his wings disappeared from underneath him and I was straddled on top of him with my knife I grabbed from the laces on my boots pressed against his throat seeing as my sword was out of reach. We were both breathing hard. Look at those luscious lips so close to mine, crossed my thoughts. We stared at each other for a few moments longer. I could feel his chest rising and falling rapidly underneath my weight. A truce was made through our sheepish smiles; I fell off and laid next to him, both of us sprawled out looking towards the sky.

"You're getting better, I'll give you that much but I know you can do so much better," he rolled over, propped his head up on his hand, and looked over at me.

"I'll be able to take you down without a problem here soon. Better watch your back," I retorted.

"We'll see about that, oh clumsy one."

I rolled my eyes at his remark. "Your overconfidence will be the fall of you, oh vain one."

"At least I'll have my good looks going for me."

"See, that right there is going to get you killed or at least hurt something awful." I rolled over so the sun was on my back.

"You're going to burn to a crisp."

"Good, maybe I'll get a little tan going on."

He laid flat on his back and covered his eyes from the sun with his arms. After what seemed like hours of lying on the sand, I breathed in the warm salty air, got up, and ran into the welcoming ocean. The cool water combined with the heat of the sun was exactly what my body needed. Enjoying the heat of the sun in the calm, clear water, I was floating on my back and then flipped over to swim back to shore when something shimmering from the sea floor caught my attention. I swam underneath to retrieve it. When I resurfaced, I swam to the shore where Gavan was sitting, letting his wings come out to dry.

"Gavan! Look what I found," I called out to him as I was able to stand and touch the bottom with flat feet.

"What is it?" he looked over and waited for my response. Once on dry land, I plopped down on the sand next to him and placed the object in his hands. It was a beautifully crafted black pearl sitting inside a golden cage on a long strand of gold twisted with black and white ones to create a necklace.

Confusion crossed his face as he rolled it around in his hands, "Did you lose this or something?"

I creased my eyebrows, "Lose what? That? What makes you think it would be mine? I just found it."

He shrugged his shoulders, handing it back to me, "It has your name engraved on the black pearl in the cage so I assumed you had lost it. Nerita isn't exactly a common name."

I took the necklace in my hands and rolled the cage around until I could in fact see my name was carved gracefully into the pearl by someone with a delicate hand. "How odd, maybe my mother had it made or it belongs to someone else. I've never seen that before." I stood up and put it in my pocket for safekeeping. "So what are we going to do now?"

Gavan kicked my feet out from under me and laughed as he succeeded in catching me off guard and fell over laughing as I did a half flip, landing on my hip. "Back to training that you desperately need."

_Owe! I really suck at this surprise attack thing_ , I told myself. I rolled my eyes and rubbed my sore hip. "Let's do it," I scoffed.

I jumped to my feet and took off towards my sword lying partially buried in the sand. His wings had dried enough to fly again and he swooped down and grabbed it as I dove for the shiny handle. I took a large mouthful of sand as he got to it first. Spitting it out as best I could, I chased after him. Gavan landed and stood on a branch up high in a tree; spinning and tossing my sword between his hands.

"I'd like to see how you get this back, Nerita," he called down to me, laughing.

I looked around and there was nothing to use to aid me in climbing the tree. "I know where you sleep, Gavan Lesette, and I will come for you then!" I yelled up to him. Crossing my arms, I walked away and went to sit on a log by the water to figure something out. Figure what out, exactly, I hadn't a clue but I wasn't going to let him think he outsmarted me that time.

***

Gavan

I grinned and shook my head as I watched Nerita pout and walk off. She drove me crazy...but in a good way. She always managed to make the gloomiest of days brighter just by being close to me and she put up one hell of a fight during training. She was only becoming stronger magically and with the hold she unknowingly had on me. I knew she couldn't get up the tree but proceeded to antagonize her over it. I wanted her for myself but I was her trainer, not her lover. At that depressing thought, I leapt from the tree and flew down behind her without making a sound. My feet gently hit the sand; I pulled my sword out slowly. When I lifted it, she jumped up and spun around, knife to my throat...again.

"Haven't you learned you can't sneak up on me?" She wasn't smiling but had a fierceness in her eyes that made them burn a deep, clear blue. It was taking everything I had to not drop my sword and grab her face; to kiss her soft, inviting lips and to ravage her beautiful body.

"I was just testing you, woman!" I laughed as I put my sword back in the sheath and threw hers behind her into the sand. She did a back flip; grabbing the sword as she came to her feet and put it up as well.

"Can we go back now? Aunt Sylvia will kill me if I'm late for dinner."

"That's like, in four hours."

"I know. I just want to go back and relax some. My hip is killing me for some unknown reason!"

"You can just admit it," I nudged her.

"Admit what?" She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side.

"You can't take the heat," I whispered huskily into her ear. Both of our breathing became ragged and harsh.

"Oh I can take the heat, Gavan. I'll be schooling you one day, mark my words."

I laughed heartily, "That, I don't doubt. Let's go. I don't want to get in trouble by her either. She scares the hell out of me when she gets pissed."

"A woman that scares Gavan? Oh my!" she teased.

"Shut it." I shoved her gently ahead of me.

She fell back and linked her arm with mine. We began to walk back into the village as the sun was setting. I couldn't help but sigh quietly. She rested her head on my arm as she was talking; I was oblivious to what she was rambling on about. Lost in thought and without warning, Nerita pushed off and tripped me; laughing as she ran away towards the forest. I got up, grinning, as I took off after her. I loved the rush of a good chase and she was well worth the hunt. I would catch her one day and make her mine, to show her how a man is supposed to treat the woman he loves...I couldn't wait for that day to come.

***

Nerita

I ran as fast as I could away from Gavan. He was going to be pissed I tripped him. I knew I couldn't outrun him, but damn it, I was going to try! As the Guardians started coming into view, Gavan flew down and sideswiped me; pushing me onto the side of a tree. Our chests were rising and falling quickly against each other as he pressed me against the trunk. His arms on each side of my head were blocking me from moving and his magnificent black wings gently fluttered open and close behind him. My heart began to beat rapidly as he leaned in towards my face. I closed my eyes and waited for the one thing I've wanted for years.

Just as he was about to kiss me, villagers started flying past us as they headed home with their kill from hunting all day. Some were whistling at us. He sighed and kissed my forehead instead. We walked quietly back to my home.

Once we made it to the front porch, he finally spoke. "Have a good night, Nerita." Gavan turned to fly off but was stopped by Aunt Sylvia.

"Where do you think you're going, Gavan!?" she called out from the kitchen.

"Just headed home for the night. Do you need something, ma'am?" He stopped and poked his head in the door.

"Oh hush with the ma'am thing. Sylvia is just fine and you know that. Stay for dinner. I made plenty of stew."

"Pleeeeeeease, Gavan!!" Arleta had wrapped herself around his legs not letting him move.

"Okay, okay," he laughed, "I'll stay for dinner. I can't turn down your mom's amazing cooking. I mean, who could!"

"Yes! You can sit by me," she squealed as she made a beeline for the table and set an extra plate.

"I think she has a crush on you," I teased him.

"Who could resist me, are you kidding!?" He held the door open for me and we went inside to sit and eat. I rolled my eyes as I passed him.

"So how was training today?" Aunt Sylvia asked as she poured the stew in bowls for us.

While getting cups, I flushed red thinking of how we almost kissed. "It was good. I held up pretty well."

Gavan came up behind me and put a hand on my waist. Aunt Sylvia didn't see, thank the goddess. "Don't let her lie. She got her sword taken so she walked off pouting." She snorted in response.

"I do remember having you pinned down with a knife to your throat," I pushed his hand off me and went to the table.

Arleta looked at each of us with a look of knowing; that she knew what almost happened and saw him touch me just then. "Stay away from Nerita. She's a stick in the mud and boring," she crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her tongue out at me.

"Now Arleta, that's not true...I think your cousin is everything but boring." He stared me down; down into my soul, into the very core of my being. I could feel his eyes baring down on me and my breathing became labored.

"How about we hurry and eat so you two can go play outside and chase each other," I winked at her. Her face lit up. I wouldn't look at Gavan for I could already feel the stare through the top of my head as I lowered it to eat my dinner.

"That sounds like a fabulous idea, Nerita!" Aunt Sylvia spoke up.

"Why don't you join us?" Gavan threw out there.

"Oh I couldn't. She wants time with her man so I'll just sit this one out and watch." I stuck my tongue out at him as he squinted his eyes in my direction.

"Well, I have no problems sticking around a little afterwards. Why don't you give me that schooling you mentioned earlier?"

"You can't handle it yet. Just wait and see. It's coming." I got up and put our dishes in the sink. Gavan helped me clean the kitchen as Aunt Sylvia straightened up around the living room.

After we finished, he chased Arleta around the house then outside up the trees. Maybe I was crazy, but I was pretty sure I was falling hard for him. I sat outside the front door with my arms wrapped around my legs and watched as he chased her up a tall tree into the leaves. Arleta squealed with delight as he snuck up from behind, grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder.

"Arleta! It's bedtime!" Aunt Sylvia called out from the kitchen window. Arleta gave a whine as Gavan flew down to the door and gently placed her next to me.

He smiled and winked at me, making me grin back. "Good night, Nerita. I'll be here first thing in the morning." He bowed to Arleta, grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on it. "I had a great time tonight but you better get to bed before she comes out to fetch you," he whispered to her.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, "good night. Will you come by tomorrow?"

"Like clockwork as always." He kissed her cheek.

"Good night, Gavan. See you tomorrow," I stood and called out as he began to walk off.

"You're lucky to have the honor of seeing me every day, you know that," he winked at me.

"You're so full of yourself," I shook my head and ushered Arleta back into the house and upstairs to her room.

She gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek then jumped onto her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin; closing her eyes. "I think he likes me," she yawned.

"You have a few more years before you should even be thinking about boyfriends, girl. Get some sleep." I put out the flames in the orbs floating around and blew out the candles then walked over to my room. I left one orb dimly lit and wearily climbed into my comfortable bed. It didn't take long for my eyes to close and I quickly passed out from exhaustion.

~~~~

# Chapter Two

I drifted in and out of sleep. The dreams I had were so always so vivid. My mother, Cari, consumed most of them. She was a fairy of different sorts; able to control all four of the elements. Most creatures feared her for this alone. A fairy did not control more than one. The elves, sure, but not the fairy folk. A smile pushed itself upon my lips at the fond memories in my dreams.

I had tried to make a swirl of water in my hands when I was younger. "Nerita! Stop! You know you can't do that here!" she always called out to me when she caught me practicing away from the beach.

My mother was always very protective of me and wouldn't permit me to practice my magic around the village but going deep into the forest and through it until we stood on the shores of the ocean. That was where I could breathe easily and felt more at home than in my house in the base of our tree. My gift was astounding, even stunning her. I could swiftly and effortlessly draw the water from the ocean or any water source, and use them at will. She was teaching me how to control it without having a readily available source near me. I was a bit clumsy and lacking in the hand to hand fighting areas so I was set up with Gavan to train.

I remember the first time I met him. "Nerita, this is Gavan. He's going to work with you and help train you." She pushed me closer to him when I stood there just gawking at him.

"Um, hi, I'm Nerita. Good luck teaching me anything. I'm pretty clumsy." I held out my hand to shake his and when our skin touched each other, it sent shockwaves through my body like an electrical current from a spark of lightening.

He laughed, "I'm sure you'll do just fine. It's nice to meet you also." He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. I swore I would never wash it again.

"I'm pretty amazing at tripping over my own feet and running into doors. Doesn't that count for anything?" I smiled awkwardly.

"I'm pretty good at what I do. Just give me some time and I'll have you trained." His eyes sparkled and I couldn't help but stare into them.

That was the point of my dreams I wished I could wake up from and not have to relive every night. Nothing I tried would wake me from that nightmare. We were on the shoreline at sunset. My mother flew slowly entranced into the ocean. I screamed at her to stop; begged her to

turn around as I collapsed onto the sand crying. I watched her beautiful long white dress soak with water the further in she went...and then she was just gone; taken by the depths of the sea and washed away to never be found.

I flew up in my bed; tears streaked my face. My mother's death when I was fourteen years old still haunted me. Calm down, Nerita; slow your breathing, girl, I kept telling myself over and over in my head. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I was able to calm myself from hysterias. After a few moments I went and washed my face with some cool water to help take the puffiness away. After drying off, I threw on my clothes and headed downstairs to start my day.

***

Gavan

I watched from the kitchen table as Nerita walked down the stairs. She was fighting to get her hair in a bun. I sighed as I looked her over; studying the curves of her body. I watched her hips as she sashayed down to the bottom. My fondness towards her grew every day. She saw me as she rounded the bottom of the stairs and grinned; making me weak. She was my weakness.

"Good morning, Gavan." She went over to the sink and got some water to drink.

I had to force the smile to hide away behind a polite nod. "Good morning, Nerita. Sleep well?"

"Do I ever?" She looked a bit sad in the face. Her smile faltered and twitched slightly. A few years earlier she had told me about the nightmares. I wished there was something I could do to make it stop. Even though she hadn't slept, she was still as beautiful as the first day I laid eyes on her.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked her sympathetically.

She shrugged, "Not unless you've come across a way to make them stop."

"I'm sorry you have to go through them every night."

"Don't be. I've gotten used to it. I just wish I could get some more decent sleep every now and then."

"Let's get going to get your mind off of it. Are you ready?" If only she knew what I had in store for her that day, she may have never agreed to go with me. I threw her an apple to eat as I stood up and opened the front door for her.

"As I'll ever be." She caught the apple and tossed it between her soft, petite hands.

We walked outside and headed towards the woods. Looking back on things, I realize maybe I shouldn't have made her go to Camberton. Maybe I should've just pushed her against a tree and kissed her hard and passionately instead.

***

Nerita

Gavan walked next to me as we headed away from the house. "Hey, so I was thinking we could maybe, possibly, stop in town on our way to the beach so I can get a new sword," I spoke, nudging him as I bit down into the juicy apple.

"We're going to Camberton today, not the beach," he spoke teasingly, nudging me back.

I slowed my walking pace; stunned. "That's five days riding distance. Why so far this time? Plus I didn't pack any clothes or-"

"You won't be needing your things. Everything will be provided," he cut me off mid-sentence. Ugh, I hated when he did that!

"I would prefer to have my own things, Gavan. Let's just turn around. I can have a bag packed in about five minutes," I begged him.

He grabbed my hand when I went to turn around and cupped my face with the other. "I told you, everything is already arranged. Anything you need will be provided. I've already made sure of it."

Lost in his eyes, I agreed to keep going. "Okay, fine, let's go," I rolled my eyes.

He gripped my face a little tighter. "Don't roll your eyes at me." his face was so close to mine all it would have taken was a deep breath that raised my chest and our lips would have touched.

"What are you going to do about it if I keep rolling them, hmm?"

"I might just have to put you in your place." His grip on my chin eased as he caressed my face slowly with his fingertips.

My heart skipped a beat. "I might just like that."

"I doubt it. It would entail you getting your ass handed to you...but maybe you're into that kind of thing?" he laughed.

"Oh hush. Lead the way oh mighty one," I bowed mockingly to him.

"That's right...know your place, woman!" I punched him in the arm as we started walking again.

We came to a clearing in the forest and there were two beautiful, tall horses waiting patiently. I stared in awe. The light trickled in through the tops of the trees and seemed to sparkle almost. I looked around and could smell the flowers, most of which I'd never seen before and the scents were new too. They smelled very sweet and inviting. There were lush green, red, and yellow trees everywhere.

Gavan broke the silence as he walked over to them. "The one up front will be your horse. His name is Afnur. My horse behind him is Selrith."

I couldn't stop staring at the magnificent horses in front of me. Afnur was much taller than me, standing at what looked to be about nine feet tall, maybe even ten. His body was dark black like a raven; tail and mane were shimmering silver. Selrith was about as tall as Afnur but his colorings were the opposite.

"Where did you get them?"Afnur walked up to me and I slowly reached towards the saddle to get on; not sure of how he would take to me. Once settled on top, I watched Gavan fly up and sit on Selrith. Show off.

"Selrith has been mine since I was little. We grew up together and Afnur...well he kind of followed us here when I dropped mine off so I could go get you. I guess you could say he knew he was waiting for you."

"How did he know?"

"They just do. You were meant for each other." He grinned and took off, leaving me startled and trying to catch up. We flew through the forest; everything passed in a blur and once we were about a half-day away from Amaranth, he slowed down to a walk. Thank the goddess! I couldn't do that much longer! Poor Afnur was breathing so hard. I could feel the heaving of his lungs and petted the side of his head to help calm him down.

Mostly I was lost in thought as we continued our ride, with no idea why he decided to take me to Camberton and partially upset I didn't get a chance to tell Aunt Sylvia and Arleta goodbye. They must have been worried about us by then.

"Why didn't I get to tell them goodbye?" I casually asked him.

"They knew. I had already talked to your aunt the night before during dinner. She didn't want to see you off and get Arleta upset. She wanted me to tell you she loves you very much and wishes you much success on our trip."

"Oh. I wish she would have just talked to me or left a letter...anything to acknowledge it to me." I was actually kind of hurt she didn't want to tell me herself. I thought we had a deeper connection than that.

"She just couldn't take the pain of watching you leave."

"Wait...how long are we going to be gone?" It had just dawned on me that I wasn't told the length our stay would be.

"There is no time frame. We could be there a week or even a few months. Everything will work itself out after we get there. Don't worry, I'm going to make sure you get back as soon as possible." The sun had started to sink as we approached a small village that sat nestled in the base of a valley. There were houses made of dark tree bark with chimneys puffing out smoke and creatures about 3 feet tall were walking around. I could see some of their glowing violet eyes from where we were. It was an elves town. I had never been around elves but I had heard the stories. Some could be trusted but the majority were evil, backstabbing thieves who wouldn't hesitate to stab you in your sleep.

"This is Alderhaven. We'll rest here tonight and leave tomorrow morning. The horses will be right outside so if anything happens, we can leave quickly." Gavan was close to me as we began to approach the village.

"What do you think will happen?" I asked curiously, watching him look around as though he himself wasn't sure of staying there.

"It's just a precaution, Nerita. You would know that if you actually paid attention in training," he glared at me with that last sentence. Ouch. We kept riding until we reached the village. The closer and closer we got, the more nervous I became.

As we rode past homes and businesses, I took in my surroundings. The little elves were scurrying around. Children played with their elemental powers and a few almost hit us with a ball of fire. They quickly apologized and ran off. Elves didn't seem all that bad to me at that point but looks can be deceiving and I trusted few. We stopped outside one of the smaller houses towards the center of the village.

Gavan unmounted Selrith and held a up hand for me to stay put. "I'll be right back. Stay here really quick." He went inside.

I tried to peek through the window and leaned to the side. Afnur nudged me with his head and turned around. "You ghastly beast, I just wanted to see!" I crossed my arms as he snickered at me.

Gavan came back out after a few minutes. "Alright, we'll stay here tonight. No need to tie the horses up, they're not going anywhere. Come inside, I want you to meet someone." He held his arms up and assisted me off the horse.

I patted Afnur behind his ear after I got down. "You better be here if I need you," I spoke to him, tilting his head down and looking him in the eyes. He nodded his head in response. I turned to walk into the house; my nerves were still eating me.

Inside was nothing spectacular. In fact, it was kind of boring. In the middle of the room sat a small round table with candles on top and four chairs around it. The kitchen was to the right and had a sink, cabinets, and a wood stove. There was a small black couch that appeared to be for a child.

Glancing around, I noticed two windows on the front by the entrance with shutters that locked on the inside and two doors at the back. An elf walked out of the back right room. He looked a little taller than the others I'd seen. His hair was long, white, down to his waist and he had a beard that hung below his chin. His eyes, a deep violet, were putting off a soft glow. "Hello, Nerita! So glad to meet you! My name is Choren. You will be staying here in my home tonight. Sorry, but I only have two bedrooms. The two of you will have to share." He spoke in a deep voice as he came to me and shook my hand.

"Thank you for the hospitality," I smiled politely but cursed him in my head. I had never slept with a man in my room before and I hadn't planned on doing it anytime soon; especially with Gavan.

Choren looked out the window. "Sun is starting to set so it's time to eat. I cooked a roast, some vegetables, and baked some fresh bread. It's best you be asleep shortly after the moon has risen. If you are awake much longer after that, the cries of the outcasts who had their powers stripped and the terrors in the street will keep you up throughout the whole night." He spoke with a seriousness in his voice. How did he think that would help me sleep that night? I huffed quietly in response.

The three of us sat down to eat supper. That elf sure could cook. I ended up eating two helpings. In between bites I managed to strike up a conversation. "So how long have you lived in Alderhaven? I don't live far but I've never heard of this place."

"I've lived here about, oh, roughly sixty years. My village was destroyed and I had to find a new place to live and came across this one as I was walking through to Amaranth. If you're not looking for it, you will not find it. Only an elf can see it at any time. Alderhaven has a spell around it, so to speak. Passerbies don't see it because it's hidden to their eyes. We work and live peacefully, not bothering anyone but there are many who chose to not obey the simple rules and were stripped of their powers and forbidden to ever leave so they wander at night trying to find a glitch in the spell that binds them to a town they can't stand. We keep them here so they don't try and get their powers back from a witch and expose us."

"Oh, well that makes sense then, I guess. Do you have any family?"

Choren's face grew very solemn. "I did. When my old village was destroyed by Ahlic, they all perished," he grew very quiet for just a moment as he thought about his family, "But enough about me, I'm very curious about you. What element do you practice?" He leaned over the table, hands clasped together; watching me.

"Water. I'm actually damn good with it but I need some work with hand to hand combat. I'm pretty clumsy in that department."

Gavan laughed as I finished talking, "That's an understatement." He winked at me and I threw a balled up napkin at him and rolled my eyes.

"Meh, don't let him get to you. You're going to be a very powerful creature one day and Gavan had better watch his own back." Choren wasn't laughing which sobered the mood a little. I do admit now that I had a smile I was trying to hide because of what he said.

"He already has to," I stuck my tongue out at Gavan who rolled his eyes at me playfully.

After we had finished, I helped Choren clean up and do the dishes. Gavan was locking the door and windows. I realized I had no clothes to sleep in or to wear the next day.

"You have a set of night clothes on the edge of the bed and a change of clothes will be waiting on you when you wake up in the morning." Choren had noticed my realization.

I smiled back, "Thank you for the clothes. I will make sure I return them back to you."

"No worries, keep them. I made them to fit you. As you can see, I am in no need for women's clothing. I was told of your coming before you left Amaranth." He looked out at the

moon starting to rise in the distance. "Ok, off to bed for the both of you." He ushered us into the bedroom and said his good nights as he closed the door.

I looked around. There was a large bed on the far left side with pillars rising out of each corner, a dresser with a candelabrum on top and a chair sitting by the door. Various size candles hung around the ceiling. Sheer red curtains covered the window that had broken shutters barely hanging on.

"I'll sleep on the floor so you can have the bed," Gavan spoke as he walked towards the chair to get the extra pillow and blanket Choren left for him, "I'll stay turned around so you can go ahead and change."

"We can both sleep on the bed, it won't bother me." I slipped out of my dirty clothes and put the clean ones on. "Ok, I'm changed." My nightclothes were a little snug. The green shorts barely covered my ass and the white shirt was sleeveless, long, tight, and a little revealing on my chest; stretching to its limits across them. I felt a little uncomfortable wearing such revealing clothes around Gavan but it wasn't like I had a choice. I shrugged it off.

***

Gavan

I turned quickly but stopped reaching for the pillow when I saw Nerita standing there with hardly any clothes on. I could have ripped them off in a heartbeat. My heart raced a little faster. I wanted nothing more than to scoop her up, lay her on the bed, and make love to her at that very moment. I tried to hide the smile that was creeping up on my face so I wouldn't give my secret wantings away. I could feel my face growing red as I thought about what I wanted to do to her. She released her hair from the bun it was in and I watched as her black hair fell over her shoulders and covered part of her face. Damn, this is going to be a long night, I thought to myself.

***

Nerita

Gavan was blushing as he stared at me. I watched him walk over and grab a pillow and two blankets off the chair by the door. "It's fine, you take the bed." He made a pallet on the floor and laid down. He was close but far enough away he could keep an eye on me during the night.

"If you're sure." I walked around the room blowing out all the candles then settled into bed. It was a decent size and I sank into it when I laid down. The bed felt like heaven; like I was sleeping on a cloud. I rubbed my eyes then stretched out my weary limbs, "Good night, Gavan."

"Good night, Nerita," he yawned in response.

***

My eyes flew open at the sounds of the screams outside. I looked over at Gavan who was still sound asleep. Sitting up in bed, I listened more closely. The elves outside were scurrying around and I saw one stop at the window and try to peep inside through the broken shutter; its violet eyes putting off a soft glow between the pieces of broken boards. My heart felt like it stopped. I crawled out of bed and went to lie next to Gavan on the floor. "Gavan, wake up," I whispered as I shook him, but not too hard. I didn't want to end up with a knife to my throat. I gave him another gentle shake until he finally rolled over.

"What's wrong?" he rubbed his eyes trying to get them to focus.

"The elves are outside; there was one that tried looking in the window and it freaked me out," I hesitated on the next sentence, "Um, can I lay down here with you? I don't want one to see me up on the bed and try to get in."

He opened his arms and pulled me into his side, put the blanket over me, and wrapped me in his embrace. Before I could say anything else, he tilted my head up and kissed me on the lips. The goddess herself couldn't produce a more perfect moment. He slowly pulled away and whispered in my ear, "Go back to sleep, Nerita. Nothing is going to happen." He kissed my cheek then closed his eyes again; falling asleep quickly.

I was too shocked to say anything. He stunned me into silence. I wrapped an arm around him. His steady breathing and the feel of his body against mine helped me relax and fall back asleep; smiling thinking about what had just happened. For once in years, I didn't have a nightmare about my mother's death.

~~~~

# Chapter Three

I could hear birds chirping and children running around when I woke up the next morning. The screams were gone. I breathed a sigh of relief. It took a minute to hit me as I looked up at Gavan that I was still lying in his arms. I tried to move as little as possible; his arms were protectively embracing me. Lying there, feeling his heartbeat, I didn't want to get up.

"Good morning! Time to get-" Choren walked in and stopped in his tracks, looking at the two of us on the floor and chuckled, "Breakfast will be ready soon. Here's your change of clothes I promised." He placed them on the edge of the bed then walked out.

I looked up at Gavan's face and caught him smiling down at me. I grinned back. "Thank you, we'll be out soon," I spoke to Choren without breaking eye contact with Gavan and heard the soft click of the door as he closed it behind him.

"Sorry about last night," he ran a hand sheepishly through his hair.

I laughed, "What do you have to be sorry about? I'm the one who jumped off the bed and came to you." I felt my face flush cherry red thinking about how maybe I was foolish for what I did.

He was quiet for a minute before talking again, "The kiss, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries." He was looking down into my eyes; not moving.

I propped my hands up on his chest and rested my chin on top, looking up at him. "Well I have to admit, it was a surprise, but I don't think you overstepped, personally." I felt myself blush again thinking about it. He relaxed and cupped my face as he pulled me into another kiss; a much more passionate kiss. I could feel his tongue beg for entrance then it slipped into my mouth; dancing with mine. I grabbed tightly onto his wrists; holding on as he rolled me onto my back and leaned over me; thrusting his tongue and lips harder with mine.

He pulled away slowly and smiled, "Good, I've been wanting to for a long, long time," he brushed my hair out of my face.

"So have I. You have no idea how long. I guess I thought I was just imagining things so I didn't want to push my luck."

"No you weren't. It was taking every ounce in my being to not do it sooner. Come on, we have to go eat. Choren will get upset if we take too long and that is one elf you don't want to piss off." He kissed me on my forehead then helped me to my feet. I quickly changed, put my hair

back up in a bun, and we headed out to the kitchen. As soon as Gavan opened the door to go out, I smelled eggs, bacon, and something sweet. I couldn't figure out what it was and at that point, I was so hungry I didn't care. We sat down at the table and filled our plates. The sweet smell was a warm berry jam Choren has just made for the toast. Every time I looked at him, I grinned and blushed; kind of embarrassed to be walked in on like that.

"So I take it you didn't sleep well?" he chuckled as he looked over at Gavan who was staring and smiling from ear to ear at me. "I told you nighttime around here gets pretty rough. It took a few years for me to get used to it and be able to sleep fully throughout the night."

"The screams woke me up. I wasn't afraid until I saw someone trying to look in the room. I thought I would be safer on the floor so he couldn't see me." Hard as I tried, I couldn't stop the smile that crept up on my face at the thought of Gavan's first kiss on my lips...and the second one.

Gavan cleared his throat, "Well it's time to pack up and head out. We are going to be training on the way to Camberton. I need you at the top of your magic and you fight like a girl, so you need to work on that too." He winked at me as he got up.

"Need me at the top of my magic for what exactly? Oh and I'll show you who fights like a girl! I do believe I'm the one who had you pinned in the sand with a knife to your throat!" I playfully pointed out to him as I shoveled the last bite of food into my mouth.

Choren laughed at us, "You two are perfect for each other during this journey and after it's done. Oops! Look at me running my mouth. I will clean up. Get your stuff and go. The both of you have a long trip ahead." He got up from the table and walked us outside to the horses. It was a beautiful morning. Afnur was anxious to go. He was trotting around in circles and nudged my back as we said our farewells. I was confused by what Choren had said. What journey? After what's done? I shook my head. Maybe he was just a crazy old elf trying to provoke me. We loaded our stuff onto the packs hanging off the horses. I hopped on Afnur and Gavan flew on top of Selrith. We waved goodbye to Choren and briskly made our way out of the little village. That time he didn't take off and leave me. We rode side by side, silently, until we were out of Alderhaven.

"The whole journey thing and we're perfect for it...what was Choren talking about?" I finally asked him.

He shrugged, "Who knows. Elves like to scheme and play around and mess with people's emotions."

That crazy old bat was trying to confuse me after all. "So where are we doing my training at and where are we stopping tonight?"

"When the sun rises to noon, we will stop and do training until the sun starts to set then head a little further down to a river and make camp there. There's not another village close enough to stop at. I sure hope you're ready. I'm going to work you hard," he winked at me.

"You have to catch me first!" I laughed as Afnur took off through the forest. The colorful trees were flying past us as he jumped over logs and swerved around limbs. The forest creatures were running out of our way. I looked behind me and saw Selrith catching up to us. "Faster, Afnur!" I playfully yelled at him but before I knew it, Selrith was alongside us. I looked over at Gavan, watching his muscles flex with every step the horse took.

Once he was directly next to me, he flew off Selrith and sat behind me; wrapping his arms around my waist. I looked over and his horse was steadily keeping pace with us and slowed to a walk when Afnur did; never leaving our side. I leaned back into Gavan, enjoying where things had gone for the two of us. He began to kiss my neck by my ear. Feeling his soft lips and warm breath touch my skin made me close my eyes and let his touch really sink into me.

I was abruptly interrupted when I felt him lift off with me in his arms; standing me lightly on Afnur's back and turning me around to face him. It took my breath away since I couldn't see where we were going and it felt like I would fall standing on Afnur's back. As we lowered back down, I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. We stared at each other; into each other's soul. Before our lips could meet again, Afnur spooked and began to run full stride.

"Afnur! Stop!" Gavan yelled out, pulling on the reins. I clutched onto him, not wanting to fall off. He finally slowed down and stopped. I lifted a leg around Gavan and hopped off. He landed gracefully next to me as I stumbled to my feet. We looked around; trying to figure out what could've scared Afnur. In a big bush to our right, I heard a sound and drew my sword out quickly. Gavan quickly summoned a fireball in his hand. Everything was still in the forest except for the sounds of our heavy breathing.

I felt a force hit my chest and I flew back onto the ground in surprise."What the hell was that?" My eyes were wide; looking frantically around. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary that I could see. I felt the same force push me down flat on the dirt and put pressure on my chest.

My head had started to pound from the force of it hitting the ground so hard. I started gasping frantically for air. My lungs felt compressed and I couldn't breathe.

"Lay still and slow your breathing, Nerita." Gavan took the fire in his hand and threw it at the invisible force holding me down. When it hit, the ball burst into flames and there was a bright light that showed the outline of a creature on top of me. My eyes grew even wider. It screamed a horrible, shrill cry of pain and fell off to the ground next to me. I rolled away, holding my chest, letting it expand to get oxygen. Gavan was by my side in seconds. "Are you okay? Is anything broken?" He sat me up to look me over; pressing on spots that could have easily snapped under the weight of that...thing, that creature...whatever the hell it was.

I grabbed onto my sides and winced, "I think a few ribs are bruised but nothing feels broken," I managed to get out between hard breaths. He helped me to my feet and wrapped me in his arms, giving me a kiss on my forehead. I turned to the dead creature on the ground that was burning. It had a solid figure and was pale skinned, very thin, eyes sunken and all black. Its fingers were long and had razor sharp clear claws. In its mouth were pointed black fangs. Its legs were long with sharp pointed talons on its toes.

"Gavan, what the hell is that thing?" I looked up at him, my heart was racing and my body shaking.

"That's a Bon-Ji. They live on the other side of Camberton in the hills. They don't venture out of their territory. I don't understand why it's here or why it attacked alone. We'll go straight to the river and practice from there instead of stopping sooner. At dawn, we will head out. I need to cover him up because if any others see his body, they will hunt us down until they've killed us."

"Okay, I'll help." While he drug the body, I started to dig the hole to put it in. When I was satisfied it was deep enough, Gavan rolled it in. It hit the bottom with a loud thud, making me cringe as I heard several bones crack from the fall. He lit it on fire and we buried it. We walked back over to the horses. He gave me another kiss on the forehead and got on Selrith. I got on Afnur and we took off again. He was going so fast; much faster than last time. Afnur was breathing in hard bursts; his lungs felt like they were going to explode against my legs. I was leaning forward on the saddle holding on with all my strength trying to keep up with Gavan. We jumped a few small streams, scared off some more animals, and weaved in and out of the low hanging branches. All day we did this. All. Damn. Day. I was exhausted and my ribs were still sore. By the time we came to the river, it was close to dusk. The sun was finally showing us some mercy from the heat as it began to cool off. I jumped off Afnur, gave him some food, and let him go down to the river to drink and rest. Turning around, I watched Gavan do the same with Selrith then he began looking for wood to start a fire.

"Come on, I'm ready to test your theory that I fight like a girl!" I yelled out to him, my hands tossing a small ball of water up in the air. I wasn't going to let a little pain like bruised ribs get me down or stop me from training.

He stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Okay, but you'll be praying for mercy when I get done with you, and Nerita, I will show you none either," he laughed at me and I knew he was right but I would put up a fight. He pulled a ball of fire into his hands. "Use all your inner strength to put the flame out."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to steady my heartbeat. I focused on swiftly forming a larger ball in the palms of my hands. I put them together and forced it away from me with all I had. It hit his flame and put it out; jumping up and down with excitement at finally accomplishing my goal.

The next time he gave no warning; just threw the fire at me. I froze with fear when I realized I didn't have time to get my water ready against him. I put both hands up in front of me and closed my eyes, waiting for the impact. It never came. One eye at a time, I peeked out and saw Gavan staring at me with his mouth ajar and eyes wide.

"Nerita...how did you do that?" he exclaimed, scratching his head.

"Do what?" I put my arms down and looked around, confused.

"You projected some kind of a shield. The fire stopped and just encircled you but never came close to touching. How did you do that?" He started walking over to me. When he tried to get closer, a strong force hit him and he flew backwards onto the ground laughing.

"I'm so sorry, Gavan!" I started towards him to help him up, "I don't know what it is or how I did it. I really don't."

He stood and backed away as I got closer, "Well, I must say, that's not what I was expecting. You certainly are full of surprises. Now, I need you to close your eyes, relax, and think about making the shield go down. Force it down. I can't come near you again until it's gone."

I did as I was told, and all of a sudden I felt drained, like my energy was stripped out of my being. I began to get light headed and weak. Gavan came slowly; making sure the shield was down. He scooped me up and helped me to the campsite; putting me down on the blankets and went to get me a drink. Before he even got back, I had drifted off to sleep.

My dreams that night were of my mother again. I whimpered in my sleep and woke up to Gavan putting his arms around me and pulling me to him. He wiped the tears off my face and kissed my lips tenderly. Every time I woke up I pondered how I was able to project a shield but before I could think twice about it, I gave in to my weariness and fell asleep again nestled into his shoulder each time.

The next morning came and I felt like shit; completely drained. I grunted as Gavan shook me awake but I stopped resisting when he grabbed my face and kissed me. "Awake now?" he asked as he pulled away.

I smiled up at him, "Oh yeah, I'm definitely awake." He laughed and helped me up.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as we rolled up the blankets and stuffed them back in our sacks.

"Like I've been awake for days with no sleep. I'm completely drained of all energy."

"I don't know how. You were out cold. If anything it should be me who didn't sleep. You do know you snore loudly in your sleep right?" he teased me.

I rolled my eyes and shoved him playfully, "Oh hush. So, two days down and three more to go. I'm getting tired of sleeping on the ground."

"Well if you would hurry and stop messing around, we could have already been gone. I've been trying to wake you for over an hour."

"Guess you should've tried harder," I winked at him.

"I'll remember that for next time. Come on, let's get going." We hopped on the horses and I followed him through the dense trees. There were no paths to take if I got separated or lost. I kept listening for more Bon-Ji sneaking up on us but I never heard anything.

***

What felt like days of wandering had only been a few hours. "Are we close to being there? We've been riding for almost five days now!" I whined. We were riding through more forests. The past three days had gone by quickly. We would stop and practice my magic and fighting or let the horses rest when it would start to rain. I had learned to control the shield I was somehow able to project to protect myself. It was an invisible force of protection and I loved having the new ability to play with.

"Almost, we'll be there by sundown; just a few more hours to go. " He flew off Selrith and sat behind me.

"Okay, I guess I can try and be patient a little longer. I'm starting to get nervous now." I leaned back into his chest and breathed in the scent of the woods around us. Fall was starting to settle in wherever we were. The leaves were falling with the breeze and the air smelled homey in a way. I missed the beach; missed the wind bringing in the smell of the ocean to town and the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore to help me think if I needed to be alone for a while.

"Don't be. I'm certain you will do fine...barely, but you'll be good enough; especially since they won't be expecting the shield," he playfully teased me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I would ask who but I already know the answer I'd get," I grumbled low.

He rolled his eyes at me and sighed, "I know it sucks right now and I wish I could tell you, really. I'm under orders not to say a word."

"I will be allowed time to go buy some clothes, right?" I asked looking up at him, changing the subject; no point in beating a dead horse. Well, it was more of a demand. I wasn't going to give him a choice.

Once again he laughed, "Yes, you can go get some clothes but I told you everything is being provided to make sure your stay is comfortable but if that's what you want to do, then I'll make sure there's time for it. Now, let's hurry. You'll need all the sleep and rest you can get since we know the shield drains your energy quickly. Remember; only use it as a last resort to defend your life until you can withstand the effects from it. Got it?"

I had lost focus on the conversation. Instead, I was imagining doing more intimate things with him. A huge smile crossed my face and my cheeks became bright red. He squeezed me tightly around the waist. I gasped with my response, "Yes! I got it. No need to crush my lungs," I pushed back and instead of him falling, he flew off. I smiled and followed him the rest of the way. We talked a little bit to help the time pass but rode in silence mostly. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach trying to break free.

A few more hills later, we broke the tree line into a clearing. There were watchtowers everywhere. A giant wall was wrapped around the large city of Camberton. There was no one outside the wall except for us and the Guardians in the towers. We began our approach to the gates at the front. He had slowed down and I followed suit.

"I'm Gavan Lesette and I've brought Nerita Torlan of Amaranth to see Queen Rueh," he spoke to the Gate Keeper, who nodded and lowered the gate to the ground for us to ride over.

The Queen?! I wish someone would tell me what's going on! I thought to myself as I tried to steady my heart from pounding outside of my chest. I watched the Keeper as we rode past him. His long black hair was tied behind him. He wore a gold vest with no shirt underneath and his arm muscles were bulging and chiseled. There were thick gold cuffs around his wrists. He wore a dark mask over his face so I couldn't see any facial features. His wings were very large, much larger than himself, and shined in the sun. I was staring in awe. We proceeded into the gate and I was looking around, still in amazement.

Amaranth was nothing compared to the size of Camberton. I had never been in such a large city. The streets were busy with creatures of different kinds walking around or flying by. I recognized the fairies, a few elves, and some shifters with the Mark on their wrists showing the animal or creature they change to. Then there were creatures I've never seen. They looked like fairies but had no wings like me. Their hair was long and white and they had hazel eyes. From what I could see, there were only females.

"Wow! They're beautiful! What kind are they? They look kind of like me," I asked Gavan.

"Laisken, they're a sub-species of the fairies. Only females are born. They come from a normal fairy couple that has a child only they don't get their wings and always have white hair and hazel eyes. They are very powerful. Most can use all the elements but there's a few that only practice a certain one and are unstoppable. King Pronimar likes to keep some around the palace in case of attacks. They're kind of like his back-up weapons."

"Against what? Why would he need so many powerful creatures?" I asked him as we rode up the pathway to the palace that sat in the middle of the village.

"I'll let them tell you more about it," he stared ahead and became silent.

I took in my surrounds. Camberton was a place I could live in. The buildings were very large. They were made of limestone and sat very close to each other. There were brick paths up to the doorsteps and windows on each side of the doors. Flowerpots hung off the windowsills with brightly colored plants in them. We began to pass little shops and I smiled watching the children running around playing. When we reached the palace, we were led through another set of gates and over to the horse stable to put Afnur and Selrith in for some food and rest.

Gavan came to help me down; holding his hands out so I wouldn't stumble off again. I put my arms around his neck and leaned into him and whispered as he set me on the ground, "I'm nervous. I don't know why I'm here and no one will tell me anything."

"Everything will be fine. Trust me, okay?" He tilted my head up and gave me a quick kiss, "We have to go now. Queen Rueh is waiting for your arrival."

We were lead into the palace and were greeted by a woman fairy. "Hello and welcome. I'm Lady Marella. I will be helping you get ready to see the queen. We must hurry. She is anxious to meet you." She was very graceful in her appearance. She wore a long straight gold dress. Her hair was a soft lavender with hints of white, eyes deep gold and a beautiful, flawless slender face. Her wings were not as big as I've seen around the city. They were gold, like her dress.

She smiled at Gavan. "Lord Blaise will assist you with getting ready. You and Nerita will go in together to see her. I trust you remember your way around the palace?" she smirked at him. I was confused. How would he remember the palace? Was he a servant at some point or maybe part of the Royal Court? He never really told anyone much of Camberton except that he was from there.

"This way, Nerita," she called to me. I followed behind her, not sure of where to walk or what I should do or say. My stomach began to tighten but I was determined to remain calm and well put together. I walked with her down the hallways, admiring the inside of the palace. The walls had large paintings and artwork covering them and were trimmed in gold. There were globes of fire floating in the air to light the rooms. Lady Marella turned a corner and stood outside an intricately carved door. "This will be your chambers while you're a guest here. I think you will find it quite accommodating," she opened the door to let me in. I walked past her.

The black metal bed was massive, covered with stacks of black silk blankets and red silk pillows. The four posts around it were very tall and had red bed curtains all around. There was a silver lounge couch and chair, a large walk in closet to the left of the bed, bathroom to the right, and a dresser by the front door. Globes of fire were floating around the room to create a relaxing atmosphere. I breathed out and let my shoulders down to relax from their tense state. Yeah, I knew I could live there and be completely content.

While looking at the bed I noticed there was a dress laid on it. Lady Marella sent in two servants to help me get ready. "I'll be back in after they finish. Shouldn't take too long. These are my best helpers."

"Thank you for the hospitality. I really appreciate it but I can get ready by myself," I looked down nervously at my feet and played with my hands to occupy me.

"Nonsense. You're going to see the queen not out to a random bar in town. They will help you," she spoke sternly to me, her voice slightly raised as she cocked an eyebrow up.

I forced a smile. It took a lot of effort to keep it there. "As you wish." She turned and walked out when the servants walked over to me and picked up the dress. I stripped out of my clothes and threw them on the bed and then I slipped into my dress, grabbing onto a bed post as they tightened my corset. They did my hair, makeup, and accessories; leaving me completely pampered.

When they finished, I thanked them and we walked to the door. Lady Marella came in and walked around me, making sure I was perfect. "You look absolutely gorgeous, Nerita. It's time to go see the queen now." She turned and headed for the door.

I blushed a little and nodded my head as I followed her out, "Thank you. The dress that was picked for me is wonderful."

***

Gavan

I was waiting for Nerita so we could go in and see Queen Rueh. I was looking around at all the artwork and had to do a double take when I saw her at last. She walked towards me with her hands clasped together in front of her. Her hair was in a long twisted braid down the side with little flowers and jewels in it that accented her eyes and made them glow even more. Her dress was stunning. It was a deep crimson red, straight with a slit up the side past her knee. The corset of the dress hugged her chest tight and I watched as her breasts would rise and fall with her breathing. I couldn't stop staring at her.

_Wow. She needs to wear dresses more often_ , I thought to myself. She looked up at me, smiling, and blushed when I couldn't take my eyes off her beauty. I knew at that moment, being sent to protect her was the right decision. I didn't doubt my feelings for her either as she had the ability to make me yearn for her without even trying. I walked up to her and bowed slightly and held my hand out for hers.

She curtsied back and accepted my hand. I pulled her into me for a hug, "You're stunning, Nerita," I whispered into her ear, "The queen herself will envy you," I ran a finger down her face and traced her lips, kissing her before she could object.

"Thank you," she replied, lust filling her voice as it grew husky; her eyes dilated. "You...you look amazing, Gavan."

"Don't get used to it. It's one reason I left the castle," I teased her.

Lord Blaise decided to cut in at that point. "Excuse me, Gavan. You two need to go in now. She's ready." He stood by the door and held it open for us.

***

Nerita

What a sight he was! Gavan was dressed in a button up long sleeve white shirt; his muscles bulging and I could see the outlines of them through it. Focus, Nerita! This is not exactly the right time to fantasize about him! I had to tell myself over and over. His hair hung loosely around his face and his wings seemed more magnificent than usual.

Lord Blaise, finally had come over to let us in. He was a tall, handsome fairy with short wavy black hair and piercing yellow eyes and a jutting jaw line. His tanned skin had me thinking he may have been an islander somewhere.

I took a deep breath, "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready but I think you might pass out," Gavan nudged me. We linked arms as we walked in. I took another deep breath to try to calm my nerves. We smiled at each other and I jumped when I heard the door close behind us. He laughed quietly at me.

~~~~

# Chapter Four

We walked into the room; my heart was racing. Queen Rueh sat on her throne with perfect posture. She wore a slender white dress that went down to her feet. Her wings put off a soft golden glow behind her. The red tiara sat nestled on top of her short wavy brown hair and her eyes changed color when she moved, like a chameleon. They were a topaz and shimmered into an emerald shade when we approached and bowed.

She smiled at us. "Welcome, Nerita and Gavan. I've been awaiting your arrival. Please consider my home yours as well. I hope you had an easy trip here."

I glanced at Gavan who began to speak, "Your highness, we did have an unfortunate encounter along the way, but nothing to be concerned about, ma'am. I think it's not best to discuss it right now."

She frowned at his remark, "What kind of encounter?"

"A Bon-Ji attacked us. It was traveling alone and well out of its territory," he stood straight; and I mirrored his stance.

She was quiet for a minute. "Interesting, they never travel outside our realm or alone. You're right, we will discuss this further another time. I see you found your rooms and clothes okay." She smiled warmly at me, "You look lovely, Nerita. Come, let's go eat supper now. Everyone is waiting."

"Thank you, your highness. I can't take credit for the way I look tonight," I answered shyly.

"Well your appearance team did a great job with you. Come, let's go now." I watched as she got up to leave the room. We were ushered after her by her servants. She slowed down and walked next me. "Gavan, do you mind giving us a moment alone?" She asked him. He bowed to her and walked ahead of us to the dance hall. "I understand that Cari Torlan was your mother."

I was taken aback, "Yes ma'am, she was my mother. May I ask how you knew her?"

She smiled but I could see sadness in her eyes. "I know many things about Cari. She was a loyal friend and confidant of mine. She worked for me as my Guardian many years before you came along because of all the powers she possessed. What is your specialty?"

"The water element." I decided to not say anything about the shield just yet.

"Very interesting. Do you know anything about your father?"

She was starting to get a little too personal for my liking. "I never knew my father. She never talked about him. Since her death, I've been living with my Aunt Sylvia and cousin Arleta. No one talks about either of them actually."

"I see. Well, let's not taint a happy night. Tonight is about Gavan and you as my guests of honor. King Pronimar is waiting to see you." We walked the rest of the way in silence then came across two large golden doors with Guardians standing on each side. They bowed to her and opened them. A little elf announced our entrance. As soon as we walked through, everyone bowed to the queen. Gavan approached us and held his arm out to escort me down to the king.

The dance hall was amazing! The floors were made of marble and gold. There were windows all over and Guardians at each one watching outside. Candles were everywhere and more globes of fire floated around the room. A long table sat towards the back covered with exotic foods and drinks. There were two tall chairs in the middle. King Pronimar was sitting on one of them, smiling at his queen then at me. He got up to walk around the table. He was muscular and well-built with short brown hair and gold eyes. He also has a small brown goatee and his wings put off a soft golden glow like Queen Rueh's. Maybe it was a royalty thing. Also, they didn't look very old. They had no age lines, no wrinkles; almost looked like they were my age, but that was impossible since my mother worked for them.

King Pronimar had a large red crown upon his shaggy dark brown hair. He held his arms open and embraced me, "Welcome! Glad you made it in okay. It's nice to finally meet you. Let's eat! We have plenty of time to talk later."

"It's an honor to meet you, your majesty," I curtsied to him.

He shook Gavan's hand and smiled then held his hand out to walk with his queen back to their chairs.

We took our places next to them. Some servants brought us plates filled with food and glasses full to the rim with red wine. The atmosphere was upbeat and lively. Everyone was laughing and smiling. I relaxed a bit as I started eating the lamb that was in front of me.

"So, are you feeling nervous still?" Gavan leaned over and whispered in my ear.

I shook my head, "No, this isn't what I expected at all."

"Told you everything would be okay." He took my hand in his and kissed the top.

The orbs around the room were dimmed and the center of the room was cleared out. Everyone stood and walked over to the side of the dance floor. Gavan had my arm linked with his and wasn't letting go.

When the first song came on for the dancing to begin, King Pronimar and Queen Rueh took to the center of the dance floor, bowed to each other, and proceeded to dance gracefully around the room. Everyone joined in and Gavan stepped in front me and bowed; holding his hand out for mine, "Would you like to dance?"

I curtsied to him and took his hand, "Yes, I would love to dance with you."

He quickly pulled me to him and spun me around the dance floor for a fast, upbeat song. Shortly after, a slower more traditional song started up and I got lost in his eyes as we slowly danced around the others; completely oblivious to them. He had a hand on my waist and his other hand clasped with mine. We danced until my feet couldn't take anymore and approached the king and queen to excuse ourselves to our chambers for rest.

"Thank you for a lovely evening but I think we should get some rest. It's been a long five days. Do you mind if we head out?" I asked the queen.

"Absolutely not! We should have planned this for tomorrow night but oh well. Go get some sleep and we'll see you both in the morning," she smiled at me, drunk off her wine, and gave me a big hug.

"Good night, majesties," Gavan bowed to them as best he could after five glasses of wine. He took my hand and led me out of the dance hall. As we walked back to our rooms, he draped his arm around my shoulders.

Rooms...plural. He wasn't going to be with me that night. I tried to keep a smile on my face so he couldn't see my disappointment. When we reached my door, he pulled me into a gentle hug, tilting my head up to kiss him. I didn't want to stop or let go. "Good night, sleep well."

"Good night. I'll try. I hope you sleep well too." I walked through my door and slowly closed it behind me. I went to the closet and got out a short red silk nightgown and slippers then went to the vanity and sat down to brush out my hair. I pulled out all the jewels and hopped in the bathtub to finish washing up. The water was warm and much needed. After cleaning my face up and getting the pounds of make-up off, I got out and dressed then put out all the candles except for two floating globes. I jumped into bed and closed the bed curtains.

There was a faint glow from the globes casting shadows on the curtains. I became restless and as I started to get up and go to Gavans room, I heard my door creak open slowly. I quietly laid there, waiting for whoever it was to come inside. I slipped my hand under my pillow and grabbed hold of the hilt of my dagger. I heard the soft creak of the floorboards as the person came closer. My bed curtains started to open beside me and I tried not to tense up.

Someone climbed slowly in my bed, leaned down and whispered in my ear, "I couldn't stay away. I can't be apart from you." I turned and looked at Gavan. He wasn't wearing a shirt and only had on some baggy sleep pants. The light flickered shadows off the toned lines in his arms and face.

I smiled and whispered back, "You scared the shit out of me! I was just about to sneak into your room but you seemed to beat me to it." I cupped his face and brought him down to me; kissing his lips. His tongue pushed through into my mouth with such passion and force it took my breath away.

He pulled away from the kiss and leaned into my ear, "Nerita, I'm in love with you. I have been since I first met you and it only gets stronger and each day I'm around you."

"I think you had too much wine and it's gotten to you," I laughed.

"No, it just gave me the courage to finally tell you what's been in my heart all these years."

My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. The new reality of what he was saying to me was what I had dreamt about for years. "I'm in love with you too," I whispered back.

Hearing those words come out of my mouth broke his restraint. He wrapped me in his arms and rolled me on top as he sat up. Pushing my hair out of the way, he began to kiss my neck. I bit my lip at the touch of his skin against mine. He had his hands on my waist and began to slide them up; taking my nightgown off and throwing it on the floor. I could feel him bulging underneath me through his pants. Putting one hand on the small of my back, he began to caress my nipples with his tongue until they were hard between his teeth.

I moaned in pleasure and leaned down to kiss him as he rolled me onto my back and I slid his pants off; feeling every muscle in his legs as my hands grazed across them. Once I laid back down, he leaned over and pushed down between my legs; slowly separating and opening them with his body. He lowered himself over me and stared into my eyes, searching, as if asking permission to take me. I smiled and nodded my head yes. With that, he slowly entered; filling me with a pleasure I had never felt before. I arched my back in response to his entry and then wrapped my legs around him. His lips found mine and I could feel him smiling as he kissed me.

He started thrusting harder. I dug into his back with my nails each time he entered and filled me. I could barely breathe. I pushed him off and climbed back on top, sliding down on him. He grabbed onto my hips and I arched back as he pushed inside from underneath, each time harder and rougher. He sat up underneath me; I wrapped my legs around him. He grabbed my neck from behind and tilted it back. As he kissed my neck, he spilled into me; letting out a moan of satisfaction. With his release, the heat that had built inside me exploded. I screamed out; wrapping my arms around his neck, completely sated.

After a minute, he laid back down and pulled me off of him and cradled me in his arms under the blankets. I looked up at him. We were both sweating and breathing hard. He gently pushed my hair out of my face and kissed me tenderly. "Good night, I love you."

I stared into his eyes, "Good night, I love you too." I put my head on his chest, feeling it rise and fall. The sound of his heartbeat pulled me into a deep sleep as I wrapped my arm around him and he held me close.

***

Morning came and when I woke up it felt like someone was watching me. I looked over at Gavan who was still asleep. Quietly, I rolled to the edge of the bed and opened the bed curtains and saw a man sitting on the chair. He caught me off guard and I almost fell onto the floor. I grabbed my robe, slid the dagger in a pocket, and climbed out of bed. The man stood and smiled. I could feel it in my bones something wasn't right about him. He had short black hair, black eyes with a hint of red to them, was tall and muscular. He was wearing all black except for his red boots. I could see his wrists below the bracelet cuffs he was wearing. There were so many creatures tattooed on them that they went up his arm. I was confused. Shifters can only shift to one other creature. Why did he have so many?

He looked down to his wrists then back at me and spoke in a deep, menacing voice, "Let's just say I'm not your normal shifter and move on, shall we?"

"Who are you, and how did you get in my room?" I whispered, not wanting to wake Gavan.

"I'm Ahlic and hurt you don't remember me, Nerita," he frowned then smirked at me.

My eyes grew wide and I started to get really nervous. "We've met before?"

He tried to conceal his laughter and I heard Gavan start to stir behind me. "Ah yes, you have company with you. I'll catch up to you some other time when you're alone." He turned to walk out then looked back at me, "You've sure grown up. Cari would be pleased to hear that. Oh and I hope you liked her present, the necklace. She made it for you when you were just a babe." He shifted to look like a standard Guardian and quickly left the room.

I started crying. Gavan finally woke and jumped out of bed and came to me. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" He looked me over, trying to focus his eyes from waking up so quickly.

"There was...a shifter in the room. He knew my name and talked about my mother and he knew about the necklace I found on the beach. He had a lot of tattoos of different creatures on his wrists. Before he walked out, he shifted into a Guardian then left." I was trembling.

Gavan tightened his grip around me. "Get dressed. We'll go see the king and queen but we're in the palace, you're safe, okay?"

I shook my head and smiled, "You're right. I shouldn't be worried." I walked over to the bed and took the robe off; he came and stood behind my naked body as I was looking for my pants and shirt. My hair was pulled to the side; a kiss landed on my neck. I closed my eyes and smiled, feeling myself return to normal again. He turned me around to face him and picked me up, laying me on the bed.

"Well, we have some business to attend to first." He closed the curtains around us. I laughed then welcomed him into me as we made love again until lunch time.

***

There was a knocking at the door. "Just a minute!" I jumped up and hurried to throw some clothes on. When I opened the door, two Guardians were there. "Queen Rueh needs to see you and Gavan, ma'am."

"Be right out. Just need to freshen up. Thank you," I smiled and closed the door. Gavan got up and went to the closet, pulling out a dark green strapless dress that was short in the front and long and flowing in the back. I shook my head, "No more dresses, Gavan."

He snorted, "You're in the royal court now...you have to. Plus, you look stunning in a dress; actually like a girl!" he laughed as he threw the dress to me. I just shook my head. He put his clothes on then helped me with my dress and hair. He's no stylist, but he did a pretty damn good job of putting it into a tight bun with jewels on top. He knelt in front of me and slid silver flat shoes on my feet. We got up and walked out of the room. Both Guardians were still waiting to lead the way. As we walked to the throne room, I started getting nervous again. Gavan gave my hand a squeeze and a kiss.

Before we could walk in the king and queen burst through the doors, startling us. "Hello Nerita, Gavan. There has been an intruder in the castle and we have to move our meeting for safety precautions," Rueh spoke.

They kept walking past us and I knew who it was. "The shifter, right? The one with many tattoos on his arm?"

They stopped and turned quickly to me, Queen Rueh's eyes wide. "How do you know about him?" Shock crossed her face.

"He was in my room. He said awful things to me and said his name was-"

"Ahlic Erimaen," she cut me off with a hateful tone towards the man whom she named. "He's found you. We have to get you to safety now."

"What do you mean he's found me? Who is he and why do I need to get to safety?" I became fearful of the man who was in my room moments before.

Gavan grabbed onto my arm and whispered in my ear, "Try not to get upset. Remember you have a shield that no one knows about. You might need it later." I nodded my head in understanding. We were led into an enchanted room at the top of one of the towers. I could feel the magic flowing around us. At the door were four Guardians posted. I snickered.

"You find this humorous; being chased by a creature that can shift into almost whatever it wants?" King Pronimar spoke, obviously upset with me, his arms folded in front of him.

"No sir, it's just...he can transform into a Guardian. How do we know we didn't just post him outside the door with no way out except through the window?"

"This room is enchanted with very magical powers to protect us. The magic flowing in here knows who our Guardians are and will not let him through," Queen Rueh spoke gently as she placed a hand on her husband's arm to calm him.

"Ma'am, I don't mean to be rude or speak out of place, but if he looks just like one outside, what's stopping him from coming in? You said the magic recognizes your Guardians and he can shift to look like one of them. I saw it myself this morning." There was no answer to my question. I went and looked out of the window. There a river to the left outside the walls of the city. The wind was blowing softly and birds were flying around, chasing each other. I turned around and told myself I would stand my ground and make someone answer me. I would not quit or back down. "Why was I brought to Camberton?" Everyone just looked at me, not speaking a word. "I'll ask again. WHY was I brought here?!" I was starting to get angry and raised my voice more than one octave.

"You really don't remember, do you? But then again, you were too young to remember what happened," Queen Rueh spoke sadly.

"Look, all I know is that I was in Amaranth with my family; carefree and no idea of who you people were. I trained on the beach with Gavan one morning and the next I'm whisked away to this place. I don't know anyone except for him and no one has told me anything except a dangerous shifter who seems to be some kind of creeper knowing about a necklace I found in the ocean and was in my room this morning is after me. So the answer to your question is no, I don't remember a damn thing about this place!" I bit my tongue. I was angry; so very angry. I felt myself getting hot and clenched my fists; my breathing became rapid. Before I could stop myself, I let out my shield and everyone flew to the edges of the room and hit the walls with a loud thud. I dropped my head into my hands as I fell to the floor in exhaustion. Everything went silent and I passed out.

***

"Shh, you might wake her!" I heard the whispering and pretended to still be asleep. Where were we now? Everything felt different. I didn't feel the magic all around us. I had been powerful than you told me she is, Gavan!" Queen Rueh whispered.

"I was trying to protect her! When she goes against Ahlic I want her to have a secret weapon no one knows about and catch him off guard," he hissed back at her. My interest peaked at this comment and I could no longer just lay there. I shot up and looked around me. We were in a cave. There was a fire going and I watched the smoke rise out of a hole in the top of the tall ceiling. I squinted towards the side of the cave and barely, out of the light, were the horses laying down asleep. Rueh and Gavan were sitting by the fire. She was no longer in her royal attire. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore just a commoners outfit. A sword lay across her back, covering the spot where her magnificent wings would appear and disappear and a dagger stuck out from her boot. Lady Marella was kneeling by the entrance with a ball of fire, tossing it between her hands; her wings gently flapped together and apart. She was wearing the same thing as the queen. Her sword was leaning against the wall and not in its sheath. I was laying on a blanket a little further back from the fire across from Gavan.

All three of them turned to look at me. "Ho-how long have I been asleep?" I whispered hoarsely. I was parched. Gavan jumped up and brought me a canteen of water.

"Two days. Pronimar stayed behind to protect the castle and assure everyone all is well. He sent Rueh and Marella to help train and protect you. Blaise is out patrolling, checking for someone who doesn't belong around here. Also, to help not draw attention to anyone, we are just on first name bases. No official titles for anyone." He sat down next to me.

"Holy hell! Two days?!" I shook my head and put my hands on the temples of my forehead, trying to rub away a headache I felt coming. "Will someone please tell me what is going on now?" I looked pleadingly into his eyes.

Rueh knelt in front of me. She was the one to tell me everything I knew, everything I loved...was a lie.

~~~~

# Chapter Five

Twenty-two years ago

Cari

Ahlic saw me coming back into Amaranth with a child he knew was not mine. He began to approach me; my heart was beating so loud and fast I thought it would give me away.

"Hello, Cari. So you seem to have become a mother overnight. Where on earth did you get that child?" He smirked as he came closer.

I stood my ground and squeezed onto Nerita tighter as I walked towards my home. "Queen Rueh said the child's parents had died and has entrusted her to my care. Now if you don't mind, I have to be getting home."

I tried to push past him but he grabbed onto my arm and spun me around, "Do you really think I believe that, Cari? Show me that child!" He pulled at the blanket I had her wrapped in to reveal her hair and eyes and in her hand was a small ball of water swirling around as she cooed. "Well, isn't this a surprise. Eyes that blue, hair that black, and an already obvious talent for water...she came from Goddess Eturah, didn't she?" he hissed at me, eyes glowing bright.

I glared at him and pushed him away with a gust of wind, "You don't know everything, Ahlic, and if you even so much as try to touch me or this child again, I will make you pay with your life. Consider yourself warned," I hissed back at him.

He laughed as I walked away, "Cari Torlan, I know the truth and I will stop at nothing to have that child for myself. You'll see, woman!"

***

I ran as quickly as I could to my home and once inside the house, I immediately put a shield around it. I had to go see Rueh. I have protected her for many years and needed her help. I flew upstairs, still holding Nerita in my arms. I laid her on the bed while I got my things packed. When I was done I carried her back downstairs to feed her quickly before leaving under the cover of night. I promised I would protect her at all costs and I had meant it. I mounted my horse, Hauna, and headed for Camberton.

It was a long journey to begin with but add a baby and the ride was only going to be longer. I did not stop to sleep over the next several days. I stopped long enough to eat and feed Nerita then back on my horse headed to safety. Once at the gates, I yelled at the Keeper to lower it and let me in. Hauna flew through the city until she was at the castle.

I cradled Nerita; flying off the horse and inside, letting my wings hide away, I walked quickly to the back of the castle where Rueh's library was. I made the door fly open with a gust of wind and walked past the stacks of books to where she sat in her nook at the window. She was staring at me with a surprised face.

I bowed to her and when I rose she was standing in front of me, concern lining her face. "Cari, my good friend, what's wrong?"

I told her my plight and everything that had happened. "I need you, Rueh. I need your help to protect her. She has a gift; a wonderful gift and I must save her and keep Ahlic away."

She smiled back at me, "Whatever you need, I will do my best and help."

"I have to return to Amaranth for just a little while to get the rest of my things and need Nerita to stay here away. She's not safe traveling with me. I will be gone about a month." I searched my friends understanding eyes for help.

"She can stay here with us. There's more than enough Laisken to protect this whole kingdom. Ahlic will not be able to get to her."

I reached around her neck and gave her a tight squeeze of a hug, "Thank you, Rueh. I am indebted to you, my friend."

She gently hugged me back, "Go get your things and come back to your new daughter."

I hugged Nerita and gave her a kiss on her forehead. She smiled and cooed at me. Rueh held her arms out for the child and I obliged hesitantly. I didn't want to let her go. I ran out of the castle, my wings extending out again as I lifted onto Hauna, and took off for the front gate. Little did I know, I would not see my Nerita again.

***

When I arrived back to Amaranth and got to my home something was terribly wrong. My door had been crushed open and everything was in disarray. I clutched my chest and started breathing harder. He knew. I rode Hauna down to the beach to try and figure out what I was going to do. While pacing the shore, I looked down and saw some pearls that had washed up on the shore. I lovingly strung them together on a gold chain I had been wearing and made a cage for the biggest one. On it, I carved her name. I wanted to leave something for Nerita should anything happen to me.

I jumped up and was about to turn around and leave when I became paralyzed; falling onto the sand. I watched the necklace wash away as the waves took it from my open hand that I could not control to hold on to it.

A tear slid down my face as a pair of boots were standing in front of me. Ahlic knelt and whispered, "I told you she will be mine." Then everything went blank.

***

Rueh

Two months went by and I grimly realized my friend was not coming back. My Guardians I sent out found Hauna and brought her to me; their heads hung with the news of her home. She was gone. I cried for my friend. I went to the court yard in the middle of the castle and told Pronimar the sad news. "What are we going to do, my love? We can't just toss Nerita out. I gave Cari my word to protect her." I was sitting next to him on a bench by a small pond shaded under a large tree.

He was quiet for some time. "We will raise her here, in the palace, until she is old enough to be on her own or at least strong enough to be away from our protection. We will send a Guardian to wherever she decides to go and have him protect her and train her. She can't grow up afraid all her life."

I knew he was right, just wish it wasn't so. "Sylvia will pose as her aunt that she will live with. We'll bind her memories and implant new ones." My heart ached. The only way to protect her was to force her out of the palace with no memory of us and made up ones of her mother and family that weren't really hers. "I hope we are doing what's best for her. Ahlic must not get to her." Then I smiled, "She has a gift. She will be the undoing of Ahlic and bring justice to her mother. I know she will."

"That, my queen, I have no doubts about," he responded.

***

The years flew by and we watched Nerita grow into a smart, beautiful, young woman and her talents and gifts were becoming more apparent each day. We practiced with her daily. Gavan, her Guardian, had also started to work with her. He wasn't much older than her but his skills were amazing and I knew in my heart he would protect her at all costs. After fourteen years, it had come time to let her go. I cried as I watched her ride away in the direction of Amaranth. Sylvia was already ahead of her making a new home for them. Gavan was close behind to watch over her and make sure nothing happened along the way. It was time to start a plot to rid the world of Ahlic once and for all.

Once word made it back to us that she made it safely to Amaranth, Pronimar and I bound her memories while she slept. She woke up the next morning crying, thinking her mother had died the day before and she had spent fourteen years being raised by her. Sylvia would send us reports every so often to let us know her progress.

Gavan and Nerita had gotten quite close training every day. Sylvia married then widowed while pregnant with her daughter. Arleta truly believed Nerita was her cousin. I knew the day would come when I would have to look her in the eyes and tell her the truth. I prayed she would understand why it was done and would seek revenge against the monster that killed her mother.

~~~~

# Chapter Six

Present Day

Nerita

I sat in silence absorbing everything that was just told to me. My world felt like it was crashing down in this small cave. I could not control the tears as they slid down my face. Everyone had lied to me my whole life. Well, except for Arleta. Gavan knew the whole time and never told me or even so much as hinted at it. I understood why but I couldn't help the anger that swelled inside of me, my heart was shattering. I got up, slung my sword onto my back, and headed out of the cave.

"I need to be alone. If anyone follows me I will not be the one needing protecting anymore," I hissed at them. Gavan stood up; I turned to glare at him. He hung his head and sat back down in defeat. Once outside, I ran. I ran until my lungs felt like they would explode. When I finally stopped to look around I knew I had made a mistake. There were trees all around me; no paths. It was so dense I don't know how I wasn't knocked down while running. Shit. I've gotten myself lost in a forest unknown to me. Well I decided it was as good a time as any to practice and get my mind off things.

I closed my eyes and imagined the moisture around me. Holding my hands cupped in front of me, I imagined a big swirling ball of water in my palms. When I opened my eyes, I gleamed. There was a very large bright blue ball of water sloshing around. At that moment I faintly heard something in the trees to my right. I dropped the ball and as it crashed to the ground, I grabbed my sword and managed to put my shield up. My eyes were wide and alert; looking around. I felt a strong force slam into my shield then saw a rush of air fall into a bush

. _Oh no. A Bon-Ji. Gavan I wish you were here. Damn myself for making you stay behind_ , I cursed myself. I forced myself to not lose concentration. I hadn't tested my shield before to see how long I could leave it up. The invisible force was hitting it from different directions. There was more than one. They took to a solid shape and walked around my shield, careful to not touch it; their dark black hollow eyes staring into my soul. Slowly turning around I counted them... five. They were looking around me and at each other, speaking in a language I had never heard. I was starting to get weak, my shield began to falter. They looked at me and smiled as they became invisible, waiting on me to drop it. I refused. I would not be the weak one to get myself killed because I gave in to the overwhelming pressure.

No. I would fight it; keeping it up until I passed out. I heard something running through the forest towards me. I looked around and finally saw Blaise emerging with fierceness in his eyes and large balls of fire in his hands. "Blaise! There's five Bon-Ji around my shield! Be careful!" I shouted over my shoulder to him. I was getting weaker, my strength leaving quickly. I had to help, but how?

Blaise came out and hurled the flames towards my shield. There was a loud explosion as the fire hit its targets. Two screamed out in pain, took a solid form, and fell to the ground burning. I would have to drop my shield and help. My anger was boiling over and I dropped my wall of protection, pulling at the moisture in the air. I closed my eyes and imagined the water in my hands boiling. I had never tried it before but quite frankly, I was out of options.

When I opened my eyes I was amazed. It worked! There was steam coming off of it and it began to pop the hotter it got but it never burned my hands. I heard a scream and turned around to see Blaise fall to the ground in pain. I threw the boiling water in front of him and two more fell down; what little skin they had melted under the heat. It didn't kill them but it was enough to scare them off and the one who was left that didn't fight, whom I assumed was their leader.

"Nerita, get back to the cave. You have to go." I ran over to Blaise lying on the ground. There was blood everywhere. I lifted his shirt and saw several deep gashes into his side and belly. I ripped off the rest of his shirt and used it as a tourniquet against his wounds.

"I'm not leaving you here. We'll make it back. I still have strength left to put up a shield if I need it along the way." I wrapped his arm around my neck and struggled to pull him to his feet. He screamed out in pain.

"How did you do that, by the way? Make the water boil in your hands," he asked me between shallow breaths.

"I-I'm not sure. I was angry, imagined it, and it just kind of happened. Now, save your energy and stop talking." We began the journey back to the cave. I had run further than I thought earlier. He was getting weaker by the second. When I finally saw the cave in sight, I wanted to scream for Gavan but I didn't want to give their location away should the Bon-Ji have followed me. Once at the entrance, I looked back to make sure there was no movement behind me. "Gavan! Help!" I screamed out, tears flowing from my eyes.

He ran out to us. "What the hell happened, Nerita?!" He lifted Blaise and carried him the rest of the way in.

"I was practicing my powers and was attacked by five Bon-Ji. I put up my shield and he came running out to save me. Two of them attacked him. I threw boiling water at them and the last three alive ran off."

"Go get a blanket and bowl of water ready by the fire. Hurry!" he ushered me ahead. I ran into the cave and grabbed blankets; laying them down by the fire. As I was getting a bowl to put water in, Gavan approached with Blaise's weak body.

Marella stood up and put her hands to her mouth, "Oh no!" Tears started to flow down her cheeks like rain; her body trembling. Gavan laid him down gently on the blankets. Marella ran and fell next to him. She grabbed Blaises' hand and leaned over to kiss his forehead. I was still looking for a bowl when Gavan looked at me sadly and shook his head; I knew it was too late. There was nothing any of us could do. I slowly walked over and sat next to them.

"I love you, Marella. Please, do-don't forget me, m-my love," he whispered, caressing her face with a weak hand.

She closed her eyes at the feel of his hand. "Oh Blaise, I love you too. I will never forget you, you are my world." She was trying not to cry harder. He smiled up at her and his hand fell as he took his last breath. Marella let out a scream as she clutched his lifeless body. Rueh grabbed her by the arms, pulled her into her chest; crushing her in a hug as they both cried out.

Gavan jumped up and punched the wall of the cave, "Damn it!" He ran his hands in his hair as he paced around the small room. I sat there, numb. It was my fault. He wouldn't have died if I hadn't run off. I felt sick to my stomach and ran out of the cave; collapsing on the ground as my stomach emptied itself. When I had finished, I sat against the entrance of the cave with my head in my arms, sobbing.

"Nerita, are you okay?" Gavan came out and sat next me.

I leaned over onto his shoulder. "No. A good man just died protecting me. If I wouldn't have left, he wouldn't have come after me. This is all my fault."

He turned and lifted my face to him, wiping the tears from my cheeks, "Look at me. This is not your fault. He knew the risks coming with us and he swore to protect you like the rest of us have."

I shook my head in disagreement, "Marella lost her love because of me." He stood and pulled me up, crushing me into him for a hug. At that moment, Marella came out.

"We have to bury him. I need help, please," she spoke in a daze. There was so much sadness and sorrow in her voice. My heart felt like it would break with hers. We both followed her back inside. Rueh had already wrapped him up in spare blankets. We slid a large piece of bark under the body of Blaise and carried him outside. Gavan dug the grave. We gently placed him inside and before Gavan covered him, Marella said her goodbyes

"My dear Blaise, you were my everything. My world is a few shades darker now that you are gone. I will think of you every day for the rest of my life." Tears soaked her face and she leaned over to put a flower white as snow on top of his covered body.

Rueh took her back in the cave to mourn. I helped Gavan bury Blaise and put a star shaped marker on top made of stones I collected. We went back inside as it began to softly rain. Rueh had fallen asleep sitting against a wall with Marella asleep on her lap. Gavan spread out some blankets and lay down. After everything that happened that day; finding out the lies of my life, losing Blaise, I just wanted to sleep and forget everything. As hard as I tried, I couldn't stay mad at Gavan especially after watching Marella lose Blaise. He had already closed his eyes by the time I took my boots off and crept under the blanket with him. Judging by the look on his face, he was surprised I was next to him.

He pulled me into his side and whispered in my ear, "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. Please forgive me."

I looked up into his eyes, "Already forgiven; I can't stay upset with you. It wasn't your fault. They were just trying to protect me. I get it."

He wearily smiled at me; kissing my cheek, "Good night. I love you always," he spoke as he slowly pulled away.

I nestled into his side and began to drift off. "Good night, Gavan. I love you always too." I had nightmares that night. Not about my mother but about Ahlic and watching Blaise die over and over again. I would seek Ahlic out and make him suffer for what he's done; for hurting all those innocent people and my mother. Gavan squeezed onto me; caressing my face until the whimpers stopped and I was asleep again all night long.

~~~~

# Chapter Seven

Morning came with bright rays of sunshine seeping into the cave; waking us all up. Gavan went to collect berries for breakfast while I sat with Marella and Rueh. It was a somber morning. Marella had woken up several times during the night and I would roll over to see her heaving with her cries of grief. Rueh was her rock and helped her through her crying spells during the night.

"Where's Ahlic? I need to find him," I finally spoke and broke the silence that was overwhelmingly loud.

Rueh looked at me with a grim face. "Nerita, it will take all of us and many friends to get to him. He's very powerful and is only becoming stronger each day. You're not ready to face off with him."

"Who are these friends and where will we find Ahlic? I will be ready by the time we get there. Never doubt my abilities." I had gotten up and started packing everything; loading it all onto the horse packs.

"We have to pass through the mountains and through some rough terrain. His kingdom, Eurona, sits on a cliff overlooking the sea, approached by a winding path with Guardians everywhere hiding in the trees and towers. When someone walks towards the castle, they usually don't return. There will be Guardians everywhere so we need a plan to get past them into the city. There is a large imposing gateway. Once inside the gate, it has a large and busy market square. We can just slip in and blend with the crowds. Most of its revenue comes from smuggling so to pay someone to not see something is common." Rueh was putting her sack on her horse and helping Marella with her things.

I took in all that she was saying to form some kind of mental image in my head. "The friends I spoke of will be meeting us in Dalannar. Laisken, Elves, Shifters, Fairies, and even a few Bon-Ji will meet us in the valley town one month's journey away from Eurona to discuss our plan of attack and strengthen our assets. The reason you were brought to Camberton was for this battle. Only you can defeat him with the help of Gavan. Ahlic has a weakness for you and doesn't know about all your powers yet. Even you don't know just how strong and powerful you are. He knows us and what we're capable of doing so he will be prepared." Rueh grinned wickedly, "Ahlic has no idea what he's up against...but we do."

"What if I can't defeat him? What if everyone dies because of me?" I stopped loading everything and stared at her.

"You won't fail. You are the daughter of a goddess...a very powerful goddess at that. Never doubt yourself because that's all it will take for him to get the upper hand on you."

Gavan came back and placed all the berried he collected in in the cave. We followed him back in to briefly eat which was done in silence by the fire that was almost gone. Rueh had to coax Marella to eat something so she wouldn't get too weak and fatigued and managed to get a handful of berries into her mouth. Once we were done, we left the cave. The only sign of us having been there was the marker on the grave for Blaise. I looked around outside really taking in where we were and had no idea of our location. "I know you all brought me to this cave, but where exactly are we?"

Gavan rode up alongside me as we slowly made our way through the thick brush. "We are about a day's ride to the north of Camberton. We'll start to head northeast until we come across Dalannar. That should take us one week to get to. Once there we will have our big meeting and set up the attack. From Dalannar, it's about a month east but we will be taking our time, moving slowly and in different groups to not draw attention to ourselves so we will be there about six weeks after we leave. Look, we will have plenty of time to prepare you and talk about it. Try to relax right now and not stress yourself out." He smiled his devilishly sexy smile and winked at me. I could feel my body start to loosen up a bit.

The four of us rode in silence for all of the first day. We rode over several streams, through heavy brush and trees, and open fields. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and a slight breeze. At nightfall, we rode into the small Shifter town of Oluanius to rest and sleep. Oluanius stood in the mountains and was mainly constructed of black stone. It was defended by an elite band of Laisken.

I looked in awe at the central fort hovering over us. Its black towers seemed to touch the sky; multiple Guardians in each one. There were three posted at the gates to this great fort. We unmounted the horses and watched as they went off in search of food and water while we went headed into the Changing Tavern for some drinks. When we walked in, the room seemed to grow silent for just a moment then picked back up like we were regulars. The inside was dark and musty with only a few candles and a fireplace to light the whole place. Broken and rotted tables sat all around the room. The bar itself was mostly empty so we sat up there. I glanced over at the bartender. He was tall, muscular, dark brown skin tone and black hair. He walked over and introduced himself.

"I'm Tennan O'Darni and I own this place. I've never seen any of you here before." He was cleaning out mugs to fill for other patrons while speaking with us.

"Well that's because we've never been here before. Just passing through for the night and we'll be on our way tomorrow. I'm Rueh. This is Marella, Nerita, and Gavan. I am supposed to be meeting Shurni Aissan. Has he been around tonight?" He gave us each a cold mug of brew and nodded to the left far side of the bar. Rueh smiled politely and thanked him as we went to get up. "No, you all will stay here. I need to speak with him alone." She held a hand up to stop us from following. We sat back down, drank slowly, and patiently waited for her to return.

I leaned over to Gavan. "Who is Shurni?"

He shrugged his shoulders in response, "No idea. Never heard of him."

"He was an informant for Pronimar and Rueh; telling them what Ahlic was up to and where he was headed. He's a very sly, smooth talking creature that can talk his way out of a death sentence," Marella spoke for the first time since Blaise was buried. It was good to hear her talk. She was starting to heal the wound on her heart. Still, she looked very sad and her eyes were dim; not bright like when I had first met her at the palace.

"Oh, well an informant is always good to have," I smiled softly at her. She turned back to her drink and stared ahead.

"Everyone this is Shurni. He has agreed to give us rooms for tonight and will come with us to Dalannar for the battle. He has some friends who will meet us there." We all turned and looked at him. Shurni was not very tall for a man. He had short scruffy red hair and deep emerald eyes. His muscles weren't very impressive but when I looked at his Mark, a tiger, I knew he could hold his own.

I made myself stop staring at him to form a reply. "It's nice to meet you Shurni. I'm Nerita. This is Gavan and Marella." I pointed towards my friends who nodded their head when I said their names.

He looked us all over. "Come with me and I'll show you where you will be staying. I'm splitting you up in two groups in two different cabins I own; less conspicuous that way. If there's an attack, it's best to separate you guys so someone has a chance of surviving." We followed him out of the tavern and out towards the wooded area on the outskirts of town. There was a row of small cabins sitting by a river hidden in the dense tree line. Rueh and Marella went in one a few down from mine and Gavan's.

When we walked inside I was amazed. For plain looking on the outside they were spectacular on the inside. Straight back from the door was another door leading into the bedroom. On the right was a small living room with black couches, a rocking chair, and a fireplace with a large brick mantle. On the left was a small kitchenette and dining room. There were candles and orbs of fire everywhere to give the cabin a soft glow inside. It felt homey and I let my shoulders sink down as I relaxed.

Shurni walked in front of me and stopped. "Nerita, if you need me for any reason, I live in the house to the left of the tavern we were just in. Please accept my apologies for not being very talkative today. We'll have a chance once we reach Dalannar." He grabbed my hand and gave a gentle kiss on it as he bowed. When he rose up, he smiled and winked at me.

"Thank you Shurni, but I'm more than capable of taking care of Nerita." Gavan walked between us so Shurni had to let go of my hand and Gavan hung his arm around my neck.

"Of course, I meant no harm. See you tomorrow." He looked me up and down, grinning, and then headed out the door. He shifted into a tiger and ran off out of sight.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous of him," I nudged Gavan as I walked into the living room and plopped down on a couch. I took my corset and boots off then stretched out. He walked over to the one across from me, his wings disappearing again and laid down on it.

"I'm not jealous. That would mean I felt he had a chance with you and as long as I'm around that won't happen." I smiled and we just laid there in silence watching the fire until I fell asleep.

***

I felt him lift me off the couch so I put my arms around his neck as he carried me to the bedroom. He laid me on the bed and went back to blow out the candles and dim the orbs. I could hear him shuffling around in the darkness of the room as he went to lie on his side of the bed. He slid under the blanket and pulled me to him. I moaned and smiled as he moved my hair and planted warm kisses on my neck. He untied my blouse, exposed my breasts, and cupped them in his hands. There was a warmth building between my legs and it was getting harder to resist.

When he pressed against me I could feel his hardness bulging through his pants. I turned and held his face over mine as we kissed. He parted my lips with his tongue and slipped in my mouth; giving me deep passionate kisses. His lips moved down my neck and throat then suckled on my nipples as he caressed my breasts in his hands; stopping long enough to sit me up and pull my shirt off over my head, then pulled my pants and panties off. He sat up staring at my naked body. When I started to shy away, he smiled and laid next to me, tracing my curves with the tips of his fingers. The light touch of his fingers made me shudder. After a few minutes, he stopped and climbed on top of me. I stared into his eyes, moving them down and following the curves of his muscles in his arms, across and down his chiseled chest and abs, and finally I stopped on his bulging erection. I hadn't even noticed his pants were off until then. I smiled and stared into his eyes. Using his hands, he slowly slid my legs apart and leaned down to kiss my belly, making it quiver as his hand moved down and he slid a finger inside me and then another with it. Arching my back, I grabbed onto his shoulders. I could feel him on every wall as he stroked me from the inside. He looked up at me and grinned.

"What are you up to?" I breathlessly asked him.

He slowly pulled his fingers out and stood; walking around to the side of the bed, he picked me up; carrying me back to the living room and laying me down on the plush rug in front of the fire. He spread my legs again and I grabbed his erection, guiding him into me. He buried himself slowly and fully, stilled, then leaned down and whispered, "I'm going to make love to you tonight. Nothing rough this time. I want to discover your body slowly." I smiled back at him but was at a loss for words.

For the next several hours, well into the middle of the night...and possibly early morning, we made love on the rug with the fire beside us. His muscles strained to hold back and not ravage me. My body shook as I would reach the height of my climax and he would stop, stilling inside me, to prolong it. He was driving me wild, making me want him that much more. He pushed harder and deeper into me, causing both of us to release the pleasure that had built up. Still inside me, he pressed against my body and slowly pushed the hair out of my face. When he pulled out, sated, I rolled out from under him and got a blanket to cover us. We slept naked on the rug with me snuggly cradled into his side and his arms around me.

***

The next morning was chilly. I got up, put on a robe and stoked the fire to warm up the cabin. I went into the kitchen and make coffee then started breakfast for everyone. In the small fridge box was fresh bacon, eggs, ingredients to make biscuits, strawberries, and goat's milk. When everything was pulled out and on the counter, I started to heat the oven as I made the biscuits. While I kneaded the fresh dough, Gavan started to move around on the rug. I quietly put them in the oven and started the stove to cook the eggs and bacon on. I looked out the window in the kitchen with my coffee in hand, watching the river flow past us as I waited for the stove to heat up. Lost in thought, I jumped when Gavan put his arms around me and grabbed my waist with one hand and my breast with his other. "You almost ended up with this coffee in your face!" He laughed and gave me a kiss on my cheek, "I doubt that. You would have to be quick on your feet to accomplish it."

"Oh shut it," I nudged him in the ribs.

"Breakfast smells great. I'll go get Rueh and Marella to come eat with us." Another kiss and he was out the door. I watched out the window as he headed towards their cabin. I looked around at the scenery. The trees around the cabins were bright reds, yellows, and oranges. The leaves had started to wilt and fall to the ground. Winter was on its way. The horses were down by the river drinking and running around. After a few moments of being lost in thought, I heard the front door open and I turned. The three came in shivering from the chill of morning and went to stand in front of the fire to warm up.

"It's almost ready. Once you're all warmed up come sit down," I smiled and giggled a little watching them huddled by the fire. Marella was wrapped in a brown shawl, Rueh had on a coat and hat, and Gavan was just wearing his regular clothes. I went back to finishing the eggs and bacon. Gavan came over and got the milk, glasses, and plates to set the table for me. I pulled the biscuits out from the oven; Marella took them from me, putting them in a bowl. Rueh carried the bacon to the table when it was ready and I carried the eggs. We all sat down and had a nice meal together.

"Holy hell it's cold this morning!" I tried to start a conversation. Everyone was being too quiet.

"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to going out and riding all day in this weather," Marella spoke up. Slowly, she seemed more like her old self. There was barely a soft glow that had come back to her eyes. She was trying to stay strong and move on.

"Hope you all brought some warm clothes. Seems winter is making an early debut this year," Gavan spoke, "but knowing you ladies, you probably all brought your entire wardrobes with you!" He was laughing which had us all cracking a smile.

"You didn't exactly give us time to pack much, Gavan," Marella glared at him.

The mood shifted a bit and the silence became deafening. When we were done, everyone helped clean up. Marella and Rueh went back to their cabin to get ready to leave while Gavan and I packed our stuff then called the horses in from the river. They came trotting up and stilled as we loaded our packs onto them.

A tiger was approaching us and shifted midstride into Shurni. "Morning! Just came to see you all on your way. I will be following but about a week behind. There's some stuff in town I need to attend to before I can leave." He walked over to me. "I'll see you in Dalannar, Ms. Nerita," he winked at me and I politely nodded as I mounted Afnur.

"We have to be leaving now. Thanks for the cabins to sleep in." Gavan rode up next to me. "We'll see you in Dalannar. Make sure to bring the friends you said were coming. We'll need everyone we can come up with to help." He ushered Afnur towards our other companions to leave Oluanius. Shurni gave a slight bow for Rueh then shifted into a tiger and went back to town. We couldn't have gotten out of there fast enough. Something about Shurni made me uneasy but I couldn't quite figure out why. Maybe it was the way he blatantly disregarded my personal space or provoked Gavan.

"So where are we headed now?" I asked Gavan once Oluanius was a speck behind us. We had traveled over a river and up a hill. The treacherous mountains were looming in the distance.

"Our next stop will be Antova. Catiara will be our host while there. We'll practice some when we get settled."

I grinned as a thought came to mind, "Why wait until we get there to train?" I threw a ball of water in his face and laughed as he tumbled off Selrith. "Aren't you the one always telling me to be on guard at all times?" I gave him a smirk. As he ran towards me, I closed my eyes and put the shield up around me. I felt him hit it and fall with a thud. I couldn't help but laugh even harder.

"I think you're too scared to fight me on your own. What if Ahlic can disable your shield somehow? Your hand to hand combat skills are a bit, what's the word...lacking. I could take you down with my arms tied behind my back!" Gavan stopped chasing and stood there with his hands on his hips, waiting for me to make a move. Well that had gotten my attention. Marella and Rueh had stopped, turning around to watch us. They moved to the side of the path and were watching to see what I could do.

I stopped Afnur, jumped down, and lowered my shield. Reaching behind me, I grabbed my sword and pulled it out of its sheath. Gavan grinned and pulled his out, holding it in front of him, beckoning me to him. We started to circle around like a hunter cornering and taunting its prey. I ran towards him and our swords hit each other with a loud clang. Using them, we pushed back apart. As he ran towards me, I turned and ran as fast as I could, used a tree to do a back flip; flying over Gavan and landing behind him.

He quickly spun around but I had my sword pointed at his throat. I wasn't paying enough attention and before I knew it he dropped to the ground, kicking my feet out from under me. As I hit the dirt, he swung his sword down at me. I stopped it with my own then rolled to the left, jumping to my feet. My heart was racing; felt like it was going to pump out of my chest. Gavan threw his sword down and then pushed a large ball of fire in my direction. I hurled two larger balls of water back and managed to put out the flame. By the look on his face, he wasn't expecting that. "Very nice, Nerita! That's what, your first time stopping something?" he was heckling me.

"Even you have to admit my powers are improving faster than you thought. Don't let up or go easy on me. I want to see what all I can do." He raised his hands above his head and circled them back down, creating a ring of flames and threw it at me. Well that was new. I knew I was good with water and found out I could project a shield so would it hurt to see if I had any other powers? I closed my eyes and imagined a gust a wind at my fingertips.

Holding my hands straight out, I pushed it towards the ring coming at me. There was a loud crash. When I opened my eyes, Gavan had jumped to the side and the trees that were behind him were now on fire. I smiled as I looked at his expression and turned to see the same look of surprise on Rueh and Marella. All three had their mouths slightly ajar and eyes open as wide as they could go. I walked over to help Gavan up; throwing a large mass of water on the trees to put the flame out.

The two ladies started clapping for me. "Wow! Way to go! I didn't know you could do that!" Rueh was beaming.

Gavan was leaning back on his elbows, legs straight and crossed at the ankles. When I reached my hand out to help him up, he grabbed on but pulled me down to my knees next to him. "You are still managing to surprise me every day. First a shield and now controlling air. I can't wait to see what you're fully capable of," he spoke as he ran a hand through my hair. I smiled at his acknowledgment of my ever improving skills. I leaned over to kiss him. When I pulled away and opened my eyes, we sat there lost in each other. His eyes made me go weak ever since I first saw him.

"Eh hem! I think we need to keep going if we want to make it to Antova by sunset, you two." Marella rode up next to us, laughing.

Gavan got up, holding a hand out to help me, "I know, I know. We're coming." He rolled his eyes as she turned away. I quietly laughed at him. He jumped on Selrith and I jumped on Afnur. Our companions had already left, leaving us in their dust trail. He winked at me and off he went to catch up. I sat there a moment, dazed. He is the flame to my candle; bringing me to life. I smiled at the thought then quickly composed myself.

"Come on Afnur, let's show them what a fast beast you are!" I nudged his sides and we flew down the path after them.

Yes, life seemed good at that moment but with the good, bad is sure to follow and bring it down. I had a feeling something was wrong but pushed it away thinking maybe it was just my nerves getting the best of me. I couldn't have been more wrong.

~~~~

# Chapter Eight

There was fire and smoke everywhere. I looked at the scene in horror, my heart sinking into my chest. Antova was engulfed in flames. The sun had started to set and put off a soft glow on to the field in front of us. Hundreds of bodies littered the ground. Green grass was crimson red, stained with blood. The four of us sat at the tree line in silence. Nothing could have been done to save that village. Small wooden houses were crackling and collapsing on themselves. Plumes of smoke came off the surrounding trees. All the buildings were so badly damaged I couldn't make out what type they had been. The smell of death and burnt flesh attacked my nostrils and it took everything I had to not empty my stomach.

"We have to search for survivors. I will use water and put out what I can. We need to find Catiara and see if she survived," I finally spoke. We all took off towards the little town. Once we were upon Antova, we all split up in search of survivors. I jumped off Afnur and began dousing the fires around me to put the flames out. The fires hissed back when water touched it. Gavan was searching the tree line all around the village to see if anyone hid away during the attacks. Marella and Rueh were checking the bodies for any signs of life and for their friend.

There was a barn style building towards the back of the village. After putting the flames out, I began to walk away until a faint knocking caught my attention. I stopped and turned around; listening again.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" I called out into the darkness. Nothing responded so I started walking away again. Something just didn't feel right. I couldn't have imagined the knocking. I decided to turn around and go back in to check everything out. How someone could survive in the heat and smoke coming off of the flames was beyond me but I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't look again. The door was burnt off and in a pile of ashes. Wood was creaking and I feared it would collapse on me at any time. I quietly walked over boards and under fallen pieces, listening. I heard it again. This time I was sure. Someone was knocking somewhere in this mangled mess.

"Knock louder! I can't figure out where you are!" I called out again, hoping to get a more distinct response. It worked! I quickly ran towards the back and saw a large metal box of some kind with large pieces of the roof lying on top of it. I used a gust of wind to push them off then lifted the lid. There was a thick heavy blanket wrapped around a woman. She weakly held out a hand and I grabbed onto her, pulling her out of the box and ran to get outside. The building collapsed just as I took my last step out. As we landed on the ground, I put a shield around us so the debris wouldn't hit. After letting the dust settle, I got back up and lifted her over my shoulder. Dropping my shield, I walked around looking for help. "Rueh! Come help! I found someone still alive!" Before I could find Rueh, a man ran up to me and took the woman lying over my shoulder and carried her in his arms.

"I'm Laurent. I've been looking for survivors. So you can use a shield? I watched you put it up when the barn collapsed." Laurent was as tall as Gavan. His long black hair slicked back into a ponytail. His eyes were bright blue like mine. A bow and arrows rested across his back. We were walking as fast as we could with the limp body slowing us down slightly.

I stared at him in shock, "Please don't say anything. Only a few of my companions know about it. I'm Nerita, by the way."

"Don't worry, ma'am. I won't be saying a word about it," he smiled to reassure me and I prayed I could trust this mysterious man.

Marella and Rueh ran up to us at the front of the village when they saw us approaching and helped lay the woman on the ground.

"Catiara!" Rueh recognized the woman. Catiara was tall and skinny. She had long red hair that was full of ashes. She batted her golden eyes open a few times. Cuts and scrapes were plentiful on her legs and arms. "My dear friend, please tell me what happened," Rueh held out her hands to help sit Catiara up as she took in her surroundings.

She looked around at what was left of her village and shook her head, "A great black dragon came. When it landed, it shifted into a man. He went around asking about Nerita and where she was hiding. I snuck into the barn when I saw him start torching homes. Oh hell, I can still hear their screams. He locked families inside their homes and burnt them to the ground. I hid in the metal box and put a blanket around myself and a wet rag over my mouth and nose to filter the smoke. No one but me knew she was coming here. They were all innocent. Some escaped into the woods; the rest were burnt on the spot as they ran. He didn't even spare the children." She dropped her head into her hands and wept for the fallen. Rueh wrapped her arms around Catiara to comfort her, letting a tear slip down her own cheek.

Gavan rode up to us with some people walking behind him. "I found a few survivors. They will come with us all the way to Eurona. Telulah and Anuska will follow us." Telulah was my height, shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. She was very beautiful. Anuska was mesmerizing. Her full lips, large green eyes, and dirty blonde hair cut long in the front that tapered off and became short in the back. A sword was in a silver sheath across her shoulders.

"It's nice to meet you," I finally stammered out after gawking at them, "I wish it could've been under different circumstances. I'm sorry for the loss of your town." I introduced Laurent to the rest of my group and everyone was polite, thanking him for his help.

"We will just have to pick up the pieces and start somewhere new. Thankfully, our families are headed to Dalannar. I'm a Seer. I saw him coming in a dream last night. Everyone who perished was starting to leave. I don't know when an event will happen; just that it will so we sent them off first thing this morning and stayed behind to warn and help the others," Telulah spoke as she glanced around at the bodies, "We don't have time to bury them all and I don't want to leave them out like this. We'll have to burn them." There was much angst and sadness in her voice.

I turned towards the burnt village and closed my eyes, trying to not let my tears fall. Gavan, Rueh, and Marella looked at each other then went to each body. Within half an hour, they had burnt them all to ashes. My sorrow for those poor people was almost too much to bear. I sent out a large gust of wind, dispersing the ashes to blend with the dirt. "It was Ahlic, wasn't it?" I spoke to Gavan.

He came over to me and wrapped me in his arms, "Yes. He's becoming more powerful. We will make sure he harms no one again once we get to Eurona. Don't blame yourself either, Nerita. He came looking for you. There was no way to know he knew where you were going or that he would do this."

"I know. I don't blame myself but I hurt for these people and their lives that were taken. I never knew of such evilness before Ahlic." I hung my head, looking at the ground around me when something caught my attention. I bent down and picked up a burnt doll. Its' hair was still smoking and there was dried blood mixed with dirt on its' torn dress. One shoe was missing and the other was blood soaked. A tear fell as I thought about the little girl it belonged to and what had happened to her. I clutched it to my chest. "We can't stay here tonight. Where can we go?" I looked up at Gavan as tears began to fall down my face. My body started shaking uncontrollably.

He tried drying my tear soaked face. "There's a river about an hour north of here. We'll make camp there tonight and leave first thing in the morning to find more horses since we only

have four." He wrapped me in his arms reassuringly; giving me a kiss before he walked off to help Rueh and Marella on their horses.

"Telulah, you will ride with Marella," I looked at her and when she started to object I insisted, "We only have four horses like Gavan said. We will be slowed down considerably if we let some walk and some ride. If we all get on them, we will make better time."

Catiara was placed in front of Laurent on Afnur. She leaned back into him and fell asleep instantly. Anuska rode behind Rueh. Gavan and I rode together on Selrith and kept an eye out for anyone else who might have survived. The sun had set completely. Orbs of fire were floating around us to lead the way to the river. No one spoke in fear of not hearing a cry for help. We knew there wouldn't be any though. Ahlic had made sure of that.

***

The sounds of rushing waters had us moving a little faster and lifted our spirits slightly. We were all famished and weary from our travels that day and night. When we were alongside the river, I helped Catiara off the horse while the men went to get wood for a fire and hopefully something to eat. I made a pallet for her to lie on next to where the fire would be. She nodded her thanks to me. Everyone else was capable of getting down themselves. We all pitched in and made beds for everyone.

Marella went to the river to get water for us to drink. We sat there in the darkness; only a partial moon giving off light. Gavan returned with some logs and lit a grand fire in the middle of us all. Laurent came back with a few small rabbits and some large fish. He cleaned and cooked them for everyone. It was a somber meal. No one was sure of what to say so we all ate in peace. One by one sleep took over us.

Gavan pulled me down into his arms and I sank into his shoulder. He lifted my chin with a finger to look me in the eyes. I smiled at him and closed my eyes as he ran his fingers through my hair and over my face. "Good night, Nerita. Get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us especially now that we have four more people to watch over." He gave me a long passionate kiss, "I love you."

I traced the curves of his face, "I know. I'm prepared. The more people the better but this also could mean more casualties once we get to Eurona and I'm not sure I could handle watching those who have become friends perish." I grew silent for a minute, "We have time to talk it over later. I'm exhausted." I gave him another kiss. "Good night, Gavan. I love you too." He wrapped me tightly in his arms and I fell asleep listening to the ever steady drumming of his heart.

***

The next morning came and when I woke up, Gavan was already gathering berries and apples for breakfast and the trip. Laurent was tending to Catiara. The other three women were down in the river washing up. "Why did you guys let me sleep so long?" I yawned and stretched.

"You looked absolutely worn out. We didn't want to wake you." Laurent walked over and sat beside me, "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Sore and my energy isn't back up to normal. Using my shield always wears me down. How are you doing?" I sat up and side braided my hair really quick.

"I understand. My shield wears me down too. There's not many of us who can do that you know. Eh, I'm ok; will be a lot better when my mate is with me again. I feel like a part of my soul is missing without her near me. Her name is Talia. She is my world."

I smiled seeing his face light up for the first time since we met. He brightened up talking about her. His voice was deep and husky when he spoke but soft and gentle when he mentioned Talia. "Well, we will get you back to her as soon as we can." He smiled back. "You mentioned you can project a shield too. How long have you been using it?"

"I found out I had the magic for it when I was out hunting. A wolf ran at me, catching me off guard. I dropped my bow and threw my hands over my face. When I opened my eyes, it was walking around further out. It would walk backwards then run towards me again, hitting the shield and falling down. Finally giving up, it took off and I went home for supper. That was, oh I'd have to say, about five years ago. Still wears me out using it for long periods of time. I also said there are not many who can do it. Well more may be able to but they don't tell anyone. Guardians would ride by scooping them up and forcing them to use it in a battle and protect their leader so many just don't mention it anymore for fear of being abducted."

"Gotcha. The only ones who know I have that talent are my original group and King Pronimar back in Camberton. I found out I have it when Gavan and I were training in the woods one day. He threw fire at me and I freaked out. Now it just comes naturally; like when I'm scared it will go up or down as I see it in my mind." I looked up and Gavan was sitting back against a tree smirking. Laurent smiled at me then went to check on Catiara again. I stood and went to sit between Gavan's legs to eat. "I guess we need to hurry so we can be on our way. I'm ready to get this over with and try to live a normal life again. I'm not sure where I belong anymore." Thinking back on what Rueh told me had me feeling down again. I had no home to go back to. No family. Nothing.

He swallowed the rest of his food and rested his arms over my shoulders. "Wherever you feel you belong, I will go with you...if you want me to, that is."

"Hmm, let me think about that for a few days and I'll get back to you on it." I tried to keep a straight face and managed not to smile.

"Oh, well fine then, I'll just go back to the palace and live there since I'm not wanted anywhere else." He started to pull his arms off my shoulders and I grabbed his hands, leaned back, and looked up at him.

"Since it seems it would kill you to live in the palace, I guess we can find somewhere to go...together. I do like the people of your city so who knows, I might just pick Camberton." He leaned down, kissed my forehead then smiled at me.

"You would really like living there. I can promise that. I missed my hometown all the time but you had become more important to me; but...if you want to live in a hole and be a hermit, I will live in that hole and be a hermit with you. You're stuck with me, kiddo." He dropped a berry into my mouth.

"We'll talk about it more after the battle. No sense in getting your hopes up if I don't survive meeting Ahlic again."

"Don't talk like that. You're much more powerful than him and will bring down his kingdom. We will do it together then go wherever you want to settle down; starting over." He held out another berry and I opened my mouth, waiting for it. Instead he dropped down and kissed me. I pushed him back up as he laughed.

Everyone started moving around and packing; loading the horses. We got up to go help them. We needed to go find more horses but I kind of enjoyed Gavan riding behind me; his muscles flexing with the movement of Selrith and rubbing against my waist; the feel of his arms around me and the touch of his lips that grazed my neck every so often.

"If we leave now, by midday we can stop at Marserova to pick up a few horses for us," Anuska spoke as she climbed on a horse with Rueh.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's get going." Telulah jumped on behind Marella and Catiara was gently placed in front of Laurent. We didn't want to go too fast but we needed to make sure we didn't leave a trail behind us. I kept looking behind us to make sure no one was following us. We briskly put distance between us and the shattered Antova.

***

We cleared a tree line and cautiously looked around the open field in front of us. There were a few lone trees but not many. No animals roamed and it was eerily quiet. The woods on the other side seemed forever away and looked like a speck in the distance. Just as a precaution, we all drew our weapons and slowly rode out into the open. While Gavan looked ahead I looked up into the clouds for an enemy overhead. As we approached one of the loner trees, there was a man sitting underneath it with a horse next to him. He was carving a piece of wood. His short brown hair and bangs gently blew in the wind above his eyes. I was stunned looking at this magnificent man. He stood up as we approached and I could see his beautiful amethyst eyes.

He held his hands up; mocking surrender, "You can all put your weapons away. There's no one or anything out here that will attack unless you're scared of a little blue bird that flies around every now and then." His voice was deep and it bellowed through the field when he laughed at us as we still looked around cautiously. "I'm Ruari. I've been out here for two weeks and you all are the first I've seen to travel through."

"Hello Ruari. I'm Marella. Behind me is Telulah. That's Rueh, Anuska, Laurent, Catiara, Gavan, and Nerita." She pointed us out as she called our name and we politely nodded to him. "What are you doing in the middle of a field if you don't mind me asking?" She leaned forward on her horse, laying one arm across her lap.

He shrugged back, "I'm a bit of a loner. I travel for work and when the job is over, I move on. This is more like a mini vacation for me. Where are you guys headed?" He walked over to his brown horse and got on its' back.

"To Dalannar but for now we are headed to Marserova to look for horses to buy," Telulah spoke up this time.

Ruari looked around. "You know there is a quicker way. I can lead you there and have you picking out horses in less than an hour."

"That would be great! We're short on time as it is." I smiled when he looked over at me speaking. I heard Gavan mutter under his breath and I gently hit him with my elbow then whispered, "Be quiet and stop the mumbling. We need to get everyone a horse." I felt his chest rise and fall as he huffed in response.

"Well if everyone is in agreement then follow me." He turned to the northeast and headed for the tree line. We quickly followed. Catiara seemed to be doing a little better so we rode faster to make up for lost time; weaving in and out of dense trees and over streams, completely off the worn path we had been on. Marserova was in sight and it was a beautiful town. It was made of granite and there were elven archers in the towers watching us as we got closer. We could see row after row of stables full of horses. There was a large marble temple in the middle with fairies flying in and out. laisken were walking up and down the massive stairs of it. There were small and medium sized brick homes everywhere puffing out smoke from their chimneys. We all got down off the horses and walked towards the stables.

"Hi folks. Can I help you with something?" An average height male walked out. His blonde hair was short and spiked; emerald green eyes shining very bright and he had a small but defined chin.

"They're looking for horses to buy, Dimitri. Can you help them out?" Ruari spoke to the man as he went up and hugged him.

"It's been a long time, brother. Where have you been hiding out?" Dimitri was smirking at him and hit him in the shoulder.

He shrugged, "You know me; everywhere." Both men laughed and then turned their attention back to us. "Let's go pick out some horses for you guys."

We walked up to a stable with six horses in it. They were very tall, sturdy, and majestic. Dimitri called them all to the front to feed while we looked them over. Telulah instantly found hers. "I want that one!" It was a blonde with black mane and tail."I saw me riding it in a vision I had. That one is meant for me."

"She's a strong, feisty one." Dimitri was rubbing her neck, preparing to put a saddle on her back. Once it was on, Telulah jumped on top and went for a trot around the ring. The next three picked were were ridden and paid for.

"Where do you all plan to stay for the night?" Dimitri asked us.

"Not sure. I think we were just going to keep going through the night, I guess," I spoke.

"Why don't you guys stay here and get some rest. You'll all be safe here. Plenty of laisken to protect the town." He smiled a little without showing his teeth. It was hypnotizing.

"I'll ask the others and see what they want to do." I turned and walked over to the rest for a vote. We decided to stay the night and get some rest before moving on to Dalannar.

"I guess it's settled. Thank you for offering us a play to rest."

"Not a problem. ma'am."

"Do you mind if I go with your group tomorrow? I'm ready to move on and your group seems interesting enough to travel with." Ruari decided to travel with us. I personally think he has something for Marella. I've noticed him staring at her a lot and she smiles, blushes, then looks away. It was kind of cute.

I half smiled, "Sure. I don't see a problem with that as long as you don't become a liability," I joked.

"You won't even notice I'm there," he winked.

Dimitri took us to his little home for supper. You could tell a woman did not live there. Very run down, not very tidy; it was definitely a man's home. There wasn't enough room at the table for everyone so some sat on the couch or chairs scattered around the tiny room.

"What business you have waiting for you in Dalannar?" Dimitri spoke as he passed out bowls of hot stew.

"Just meeting some friends for a big get together," Marella said as she grabbed hold of her bowl from him, "Thank you for dinner. It looks great."

He looked at us like we were all crazy. "Hmm, I figured it would've been for the gathering meeting to take out Ahlic in Eurona."

"How do you know about that?" Gavan squinted his eyes at the man.

"Word travels fast when you're friends of the blue birds who hear everything in the forests."

"Oh shit. That means he could know too, doesn't it?" Catiara sounded a bit out of sorts.

"No. I had a vision on the way here. He has no idea what's coming after him." Telulah was talking between bites as she shoved the stew into her mouth like she hadn't eaten in days. That girl was a beauty but seriously lacked manners. "The birds know who to trust. They can sense a person's aura so to speak. If darkness follows a person, they steer away from them."

"So, tell us a little about Marserova, Dimitri." I tried changing the subject. I didn't want to think about fighting right now; just live in the moment and be happy.

"Well, there's not much to know. We're a small mixed town. All creatures live here in peace. We sell horses as our trade. Our mayor, if you want to call her that, is very strict and keeps track of what and who comes in and out of town. She already knows you're all here and won't interfere; she knows what you're headed to do. Umm, that's about it really. No history of violence...but we did have one farmer slaughter all the goats for a sacrifice one year...that's the most excitement we've seen." He laughed at the shocked looks on our faces. "I'm kidding about the goats, ok? Nothing ever happens here." He was still laughing at us. We all relaxed somewhat; our nerves were still on edge after the past few days event.

"Well, as much as I would love to stay up and chat all night, I think we all need to get some sleep. It's been a rough couple of days." I got up and took my bowl to the sink and cleaned it. Everyone muttered behind me and finally got up.

Dimitri walked us outside and we were given little huts to sleep in; two in each. "Sorry I don't have more room to house you all."

"These are just fine; better than what we've had to sleep in, honestly." Rueh shook his hand. "Thank you again for the horses, food, and shelter."

"My pleasure, your highness." He winked at her then turned to go back inside.

The huts were very basic and only had a couple beds with some blankets in them. Gavan and I lay down. "Do you think we'll be able to defeat him?" I asked Gavan wearily as I struggled to hold my eyes open.

"I don't have any doubts, love. Now, get some sleep. Our journey isn't over." He kissed me and before we knew it, we quickly drifted off.

***

We were all so exhausted we ended up oversleeping by several hours but it was well worth it and much needed. I woke up feeling the best I had since Gavan and I first arrived at Camberton. With all that had been happening, those days and nights of being carefree seemed like they were so far away and out of reach. I wondered to myself if we could ever go back to that happy place. Marella would never be able to. Part of her soul and heart died with Blaise and even though she was healing, it was apparent that she was fighting inner demons that couldn't go away. She was so back and forth with her emotions and just when I thought she was starting to do better, she would sink further.

If someone didn't know what happened, they wouldn't be able to tell anything was wrong. She tried to cover it with smiles and laughs but I saw her eyes had become a bit dull and lacking life in them. I would be keeping an eye on her to make sure she was well taken care of and didn't do anything rash. Gavan and I got up and met the others outside. They were already on their horses waiting for us, as always, it seemed.

Our small group of four had grown to ten with the addition of Ruari and his brother Dimitri who decided at the last minute to come along. I prayed to the goddess there were many more waiting for us when we arrived. We were going to need more than ten allies to accomplish this particular mission. I took a long heavy breath as we took off into the woods again and headed for Dalannar.

~~~~

# Chapter Nine

I was getting pretty sick of riding all the time. We'd be stationary in about three days for a couple of weeks before we left again for a month. Eurona seemed so far away. I wanted nothing more than to watch Ahlic die a slow, painful death; to make him suffer for what he had done to everyone and my family. The further north we went, the cooler it got during the days. Everything was losing color. The leaves on the trees were turning brown and falling; leaving the branches bare.

The sky had started to darken with the onset of winter. Animals were hunkered down in their hiding places; waiting for the last few weeks of autumn to pass so they could hibernate. I looked around at all my companions. Everyone seemed in good spirits. Gavan and I took the lead with everyone behind us.

Dimitri and Ruari were at the back of the group listening for predators. I had turned my head around and was watching them. Marella and Rueh were throwing orbs of fire back and forth between them. Telulah was staring straight ahead. She was having a vision of some kind. Her eyes and face were blank.

Laurent and Catiara were focused on blowing tree limbs out of our way. Finally I set my eyes on Anuska. There was something wrong with that woman. I didn't trust her. She had one hand on her hip and the other on the reigns; a wicked smile on her face. I just shook it off as a feeling of unease passed through me. "We've got an odd pack," I said to Gavan as I turned around.

He laughed and looked back at them, "Yeah, I guess we do, don't we?" He rode closer so to me so no one could hear him, "Let's play a little game with them."

"What are you up to?" I glared at him.

"Just keep up with me. Got it?"

I nodded. While the others were preoccupied with themselves, we rode ahead over a hill then quickly to the bottom. He was grinning from ear to ear. I had an idea of what he was going to do and they were going to kick our asses when it was over. We hid the horses off in some brush.

"Okay, when they come to the bottom of the hill I want you to make a wind tunnel; the biggest you can. I'll throw fire into it and we'll capture them all inside; teach them to pay attention and be ready for an attack at all times."

"You're evil you know that right?" I shook my head as I ran to the other side of the path and prepared myself mentally. I had never done anything that big with air before but I was excited to try. I heard them cresting the top of the hill and then started coming down. Once they got a little closer, I used all my energy and created a large cyclone; dropping it around them so they couldn't escape.

Gavan was hiding on the other side of the path and quickly threw massive balls of fire at it. They hit and made a loud crashing sound as they exploded. What was just a swirling mass of air had become a swirling mass of fire encircling our companions. I heard them scream out and wanted to drop the cyclone but Gavan held a hand up for me to wait. We both walked out into the clearing and he put his arm around my neck as we approached them.

"See what can happen when you don't pay attention to what's around you? Did any of you even notice we had left?" He was trying not to laugh too hard. Their expressions were priceless.

"You're such an ass, Gavan!" Marella called out.

He shrugged his shoulders, "What if this wouldn't have been us? None of you are really prepared for an attack by Ahlic!" He turned to me and winked. "Go ahead and drop it."

"Okay." I closed my eyes and saw the cyclone disperse in my mind. When I opened them, there were eight very angry, very pissed off creatures in front of me with nothing to block them from charging me. Selrith and Afnur picked that time to come out of the woods. I started to laugh as I ran and jumped on Afnur; Gavan on Selrith. We immediately took off while our clan followed close behind.

We rode as fast as we could through the forest until night fall; not stopping even once to practice or rest; we needed to wear them out so they couldn't beat us to a pulp. At nightfall, we stopped near a small stream for camp. Gavan started a fire as we set up the tents.

"You know, that was flat out wrong what you guys did today." Rueh had walked over to me and helped put my tent up.

"I know...but did it work?" I was fighting the bouts of laughter that were building up inside.

She rolled her eyes at me. "On a positive note though, that cyclone you made was amazing! I've never seen one so big before. Not even my laisken at the palace can do that. Have a good night," she smiled and walked off.

"Wow. Talk about a compliment." Gavan walked up behind me and slid his arms around my waist. "You are amazing though. I wasn't expecting one like that at all."

"Haven't you learned by now I'm full of surprises?!" I nudged him playfully in the ribs and turned around; wrapping my arms around his neck. "Where's dinner? I'm starving!"

He spun me around and escorted me next to the fire where Catiara had been cooking. I sat next to Telulah, who didn't even notice. She had the blank stare again; another vision. She shook her head as she came back to the real world.

"Telulah, what did you see?" I scooted closer to her.

She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. "A great battle...many lives lost." Her voice became soft and low. "I didn't see you come out of it."

Reality check...got it. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and tried to force a smile. "Destinies can be changed. Nothing is set in stone. Do your visions change as things change or are they the final product?" Please let them change. Please let them change.

She shook her head, "They're final. Everything always happens just don't always know when."

Shit...so screwed. "Well, we will find a way to make this one not happen. Don't look so sad." I forced a smile and so did she. "Let's keep this to ourselves. No need to worry anyone." She nodded. I leaned over and gave her a hug. "It'll be okay, I promise."

"Okay. Um, can we not do the whole mushy hugging thing? Kind of makes me uncomfortable." I let her go and we just smiled at each other.

"Time to eat!" Everyone came to sit around the fire when Catiara called them. We ate a quick meal...like they were all turning out to be...said goodnight and retired to our tents.

"Do you believe we can change our destiny?" I asked Gavan as I laid in his arms, playing with his hair.

"I think we control our lives. If we want to change something then it's up to us to do it. Why? What's on your mind?" he pushed my hair behind my ear.

"A certain seer told me my destiny and when I asked if it could be changed...she said no."

He sighed, "If you want it bad enough, I know you can direct your destiny however you want. You're a strong being and I don't doubt for a minute anything is set in stone for you."

He always knew how to make me feel better. "Thank you. I sure hope so."

"I know so, Nerita. Don't ever doubt yourself. You'll be amazed at what you can do when it comes time."

***

I thought I was going to sleep good that night. Nope. That didn't happen. I had a dream. It was weird and felt like it was actually happening. I was wearing a long gold dress that flowed behind me as I walked. My hair was in a side braid again and I had a black crown on top. I was alone walking through a forest at dusk. There were a few wolves following me. The sounds of waves hitting the shore caught my attention and I followed the sound until I was standing in the shallows looking out into an endless ocean. It reminded me of home. The smell of the ocean, the feel of the cool breeze as it gently blew by, all felt real.

"Thought this scenery would be more appropriate." A deep, husky voice called out from behind me.

I spun around and saw Ahlic as he approached me. I wanted to run but I was paralyzed where I stood. My feet were stuck and no matter how much I willed them, they wouldn't budge.

"I found you in your dreams but I can't seem to figure out where you really are." He walked up to me and gently caressed my face. I stood firm and didn't flinch.

"Like I'm going to tell you! What's wrong, is the great Ahlic losing his edge?" I hissed at him. My anger was boiling. Not only was it not enough that he killed my mother and was after me but he had found a way to slip into my dreams.

He raised his arm and quickly slapped me across the face; making me fall to the ground. He knelt next to me; hand gripped tightly around my chin, "Watch your tongue, little one, or I will cut it out when I finally get my hands on you." He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up to my feet. "Walk with me. We need to talk." When I didn't move, the wolves started snapping at my hands and feet. That was motive enough for me to follow. "That's a good girl. I'll have you trained in no time. Now, listen, I know you've been told about what I've done. I'm really not as awful as they make me out to be. The people in my kingdom are treated rather well actually as long as they obey. I don't want to hurt you. I want you to come to Eurona and be my queen." He was walking slowly with his hands clasped behind his back.

I sneered in disgust, "I will never be your queen!"

"Oh, you will. I always get what I want and if something or...someone...gets in my way, they are disposed of. Do I make myself clear? Gavan and all of your little friends will die a painful death, make no mistake about that. Do not fight me. It will be the biggest and last mistake you ever make, my dear."

"You seem to underestimate me, Ahlic. You will find yourself on the receiving end of my sword and will perish at my hands." I was very calm. It was just a dream. Not like he could really hurt me...right?

"Don't be so sure of that."

"Why me?" I asked him.

"Excuse me? Why you...what?"

"Why did you pick me?"

He stopped and grabbed my hand, raising it to his lips. "You'll find out in due time. I have matters to attend to now and will see you again when you fall asleep, my queen." He smiled and bowed to me.

I woke up, gasping for air, like I had been denied it for too long. My face stung. I raised a quivering hand to it and could feel my cheek burning. It was still dark outside but the sun was starting to rise in the distance. "Gavan! Gavan, wake up!" I shook him and got no response. I rolled my eyes at him and slapped him across the face.

"What the hell, Nerita!" He quickly sat up.

"Well, I tried to wake you up nicely but you wouldn't budge. We need to talk."

"What's wrong?" He was sitting up with his legs crossed and stretching out his arms.

"Take a ball of fire and look at my face." Before I could finish my sentence he had already done it; looking at my cheek and the mark that was left. He gently ran his fingers over it.

"Who did this to you?" His anger was apparent. I could feel the tension in his hand when he touched me.

"I know this is going to sound off the wall crazy but it was Ahlic." He looked at me like I had lost my mind. "I had a dream and he was in it. He told me I'm to be his queen. When I told him I would never do it, he slapped the shit out of my face." I touched my cheek and lowered my voice, "Also, if I don't agree, he plans to kill you and everyone I know. He has no idea where I am though he can get inside my head while I sleep. I didn't know he could hurt me and it really happen. What if he killed me in my dream?" I was a little freaked out thinking about that.

Gavan leaned in and kissed my forehead, "We'll make sure nothing happens. Let's go talk to Rueh and see if she knows a spell to keep him out of your head." I smiled and we got up to go find her.

"Do you really think she can help?"

"If not, we'll find someone who can."

Rueh was already up with Telulah. They were sitting by the stream talking. She saw us coming and got up. When we stood in front of her, she gently grabbed my chin and tilted it to get a better look. "What happened?!" Telulah got up and gasped. I explained the dream to them. "Hmm. There are some elves meeting us in Dalannar. They can bind your dreams; it's out of my powers. We can put a cold compress to help with the swelling but there's going to be a nice bruise."

"He's more powerful than I thought." Telulah was clenching her fists by her sides. "Whatever you do, try to not remember anything about where we're going or where we're at. If you dream about it, he could see it and come for you," Rueh spoke gently, I believe, to not frighten me more than I already was.

I nodded my head in agreement, "Got it. Let's go wake the others. We need to get moving." Gavan held my hand as we walked back to camp. To no surprise, everyone was already awake and moving around. There was no point in trying to cover from them the large purple bruise that was forming on my cheek. Ahlic was going to die by my sword. There was no other option.

They were all shaken by what I told them. I tried to be reassuring that it looked worse than it felt and ushered everyone onto their horses so we could leave. There was still two days of traveling to get through. If we could make good timing and stop less, we could knock it down to a little over a day.

"Does it hurt?" Catiara was standing next to me.

"It stings a bit but it's starting to hurt a little more. Not like there's much I can do for it but let it heal." She brushed a hand over my cheek and instantly the burning and stinging was gone. She smiled and winked as she mounted her horse and followed after everyone. We had a healer in our group and she never said anything about it! I wasn't planning on telling anyone. She could do it herself if she wanted. It was her secret to keep or tell. Afnur knelt a little and I jumped on; taking off in the direction of my group. Left behind...again...it was seriously starting to get annoying.

***

By nightfall, we had travelled through a mountain range, over three rivers, through thick forests, and over five hills. The lights of Dalannar were in the far off horizon as a speck. We needed to stop and rest for the night and just get there in the morning.

"I can't wait to see my wife. We've never been apart this long before." Laurent was sounding upbeat and excited.

"What's she like?" Marella asked him.

"Talia is very tall with dark olive skin, long wavy brown hair, and hazel eyes that can burn through you. She's feisty and full of energy. You all will like her. She's from overseas; an island called Utis. The people there are very exotic so to speak. We met about ten years ago when I made a port call there. She came back with me and hasn't gone home since."

"She sounds lovely. What's her gift?" Rueh rode up next to him.

"She's a healer and seer. Two gifts...she got lucky." He was beaming as he talked about his bride.

"Oh wow! She got very lucky!" Anuska chimed in; sounding almost like she was being sarcastic. She hadn't spoken much since joining our group and was very reserve. Maybe we should have left her behind, I thought to myself. I couldn't think like that. Just because I didn't like her for some unknown reason was no excuse to condemn the woman.

"We'll stop here and get some rest. No sense in travelling all night and be useless tomorrow getting there. We can get some sleep and leave before dawn to make it there a little later in the day." Laurent hopped off his horse and started to unpack.

"Sounds good to me!" I chimed in.

We made camp, as usual, but I decided to go with Gavan to fetch wood and berries. I couldn't be around Anuska anymore; nothing but pure bad vibes flowing off of her. Once out of sight, I decided to bring up my concerns to him. "Have you noticed anything...off...about Anuska?" I was standing at a large bush plucking red and purple berries; throwing them into a basket.

"What do you mean by off?" He was gathering wood and making a pile next to me.

"I don't know really. She hardly speaks to anyone, always looks like she is just observing us, doesn't help with anything, and is very sarcastic. Something just isn't right about her. I don't feel comfortable with her in the group."

"You're going crazy, you know that? Her village was just burnt to the ground. Everyone died. I'm sure she's just in shock. Maybe this is her way of coping."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I guess you're right but I'll be watching her more closely." There was no response. I looked around as best I could with the sun almost gone. "Gavan?" Nothing. I had become irritated and put my hands on my hips as I looked around again. "You better not be playing one of your 'let's teach someone a lesson about not paying attention to their surroundings' games with me tonight! I'm not in the mood!" Quietness. I huffed and as I bent to grab the basket.

He landed in front of me, grabbed me by the waist, and flew into the tops of some trees. I wrapped my arms around his neck. I wished I had wings. Flying had always been a dream of mine but I knew it would never happen. The rush of moving in the air took my breath away. When he finally landed at the top, he set me down and I turned around; amazed at the sight in front of me. There were large mountains covered in snow. With the sun sinking, it put off a soft orange and pink glow against the snow tops. The trees were so tall they disappeared into the low clouds. Birds were flying around us headed back to their nests.

He spun me around and pushed me against the tree; holding my arms above my head; kissing me passionately. Slowly, he slid his hands down my arms, over my breasts, then the curves of my hips; pressing himself against my body. He unlaced my corset, threw it onto a branch next to us, and slid his hands under my shirt. Cold hands latched onto my nipples, making my body tingle. I brought my arms down and grabbed his face. I wanted to rip his clothes off right then. Pretty sure that would be hard to explain to everyone if he went back with torn clothing. I settled for undoing his pants as he pulled mine off.

Grabbing me by the bottom of my ass, he lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around him as he instantly filled me. With me still pressed against the tree, he leaned forward with every thrust, making me want to cry out but I bit my lip to hold it in. He bit down gently on my shoulder as he released inside me. I clawed at his back; leaving scratches when I felt the wave of heat peak and crest inside me. He set me down and I gave him a quick kiss before reaching over for my clothes. "That's exactly what I have been needing."

"Me too. It's been too long. Never seems like a good time with everyone always by us." He fixed his pants then helped with my corset. I turned to face him and he brushed back my hair that had fallen during our escapade. "You should leave it down right now. I love your hair when it's a flowing mess like that."

"Okay, I will. We need to get back before they send out a search party though." With that, I was scooped up into him arms. He lifted off and brought me back down to gather our finds. We quickly walked back to camp. I gathered more berries as we walked until the basket was overflowing. Had to make it look believable, right?

We walked through the tree line with Ruari and Dimitri looking right at us. They looked us up and down grinning the whole time. I blushed in response and Gavan threw some wood at them. They started laughing as they lit a fire. "So much for them not figuring it out, huh?" Gavan leaned over and whispered in my ear.

I shoved an elbow in his ribs, "Oh hush." Turning to the rest of the group, I handed out the food I had found. The rest of the night Ruari and Dimitri kept winking at us and making kissing faces. They were like the annoying little brothers I never had. When I had enough of their antics, I waved goodnight to everyone and retired to my tent early. Gavan stayed up with them and talked for a while. I drifted off to the sound of his voice.

~~~~

# Chapter Ten

Dalannar was breathtakingly beautiful. We were all riding up to the city in amazement. The walls were constructed of bricks and had large watchtowers in each corner. The massive gates were black iron with large silver dragons engraved into them. Two guards stood at the gates. When we approached, they opened them and we went in. Marble and gold buildings were everywhere and the light from the sun was almost blinding as it was bouncing off the shiny stones.

There were beautiful large trees and fountains along the walk ways. At the very back was the large castle made of marble and gold as well. Every type of species imaginable was walking around. There were shops of every kind full of life and business. We decided to stop at Owl Tavern to eat a bit before we met up with everyone else. It did not look like any tavern I had been in before. The floors were tiled and clean; nice large wooden tables sat scattered around the room with candles on top and orbs of fire floating around. The patrons were being civil and talking quietly; a piano played softly in the background.

"This place is beautiful!" I exclaimed as we took our seats and a waitress came up to us.

"Hi! I'm Kalin! What can I get you folks today?" Kalin was a very...bouncy type of girl; full of energy. She was a different kind of species than what I was used to seeing; a small button nose with whiskers, tall slender body, dark brown eyes and hair, and a long slender tail. Tail?! That was new to me. I shrugged my shoulders; getting used to seeing things that astounded me every day.

"Hi Kalin, it's nice to meet you. I'll just have a brew and whatever the soup of the day is, please," I spoke up. Everyone else in our group decided on the same as well.

"Ok. Got it! I'll bring it out as soon as I can. Large group might take a little longer to prepare. Sorry!" With that she spun on her feet gracefully and went to the kitchen to give our order.

Gavan scooted closer to me and hung his arm around my neck. "By the look on your face, you don't know what Kalin is. She's a half breed. A shifter mates in animal form and the child is half shifter-half whatever the animal the mother shifts to is," he whispered in my ear. I nodded in understanding. We all sat quietly. I wonder what they were thinking. I was nervous about the coming days and month preparing to bring down Ahlic and his horrible empire. Time passed quicker than we thought and Kalin was back with our drinks and food. We ate slowly, enjoying our hot meal. No berries or whatever else we had to find in the woods or rivers.

"So you must all be here for the big meeting going on tomorrow, huh?" Kalin was back to collect payments for lunch. She pulled up a chair and sat next to us. "Everyone's been talking about it. Very hush hush though. No one knows a lot of details just that business around here will pick up. It's been kind of boring lately. No excitement whatsoever." She looked around then leaned in to whisper, "If you need a sifter, I'll be there in a heartbeat!" With that she got up and left.

"A sifter! There's not many of her kind left." Rueh was thrilled by the news; getting up to go talk to Kalin about it some more.

"What's a sifter?" Telulah raised her eyebrow.

"They can sift; move from one place to another and no one can see them; invisible like." I looked at her and whispered in excitement, "If we have her with us we can sneak up on Ahlic better. She can sift behind him, unarm him, and be back with us before he knows what happened!"

"Kalin just became an asset to us." Gavan finished his drink and got up to follow Rueh.

"The rest of us will go set up camp and see if anyone else has made it in yet," I called out after him.

"Okay. We'll meet you there shortly." He waved as he followed the two women back into the kitchen.

We decided to set up our camp location outside the massive gates and in the forest. There was a river, plenty of trees, animals, a wide open view of the sky above us. All the horses went off to find shelter of their own after we unloaded the packs from them. Ruari and Laurent worked on getting a fire going and the girls and I set up the larger tents we bought in town.

I glanced over into the bushes and a set of softly glowing amethyst eyes were staring back and an elf hopped out of the shrubbery. We jumped back, startled, until I recognized him. "Choren!" I ran over to him and bent down to hug him.

"Well good to see you again too, Nerita!" He choked out as I squeezed him. I released him just as Gavan, Kalin, and Rueh came up to the tents.

"Choren? I didn't know you were coming along too." Gavan walked over to him, shaking his hand.

"Figured you could use all the help you can get. There's about three hundred more coming between tomorrow and the next few days." He looked at me. "Not the ones who made you jump out of bed and sleep on the floor though," he winked.

I stood there blushing, not daring to look at anyone or to give an explanation. Gavan introduced him to everyone else then we sat down to discuss our plans for the next day.

"I'll have stations set up with different creatures to fight against. We don't know what kind of army Ahlic has so it's best to be prepared. I want Nerita doing hand combat first every day. She needs to strengthen up some more. Everyone else can make rounds but stick with your group." Gavan drew in the dirt to show us where each station would be. "There will also be some surprises along the way so keep your eyes and ears on alert. Any objections?" No one said anything. "Good. Let's just enjoy today and try to feel some sort of normalcy. We'll start bright and early tomorrow morning."

We all spent the day doing our own things; giving each other some much needed space. Gavan was sitting against a tall tree with me laying across his lap reading a book as he played with my hair. It was nice to be able to just relax. No rushing around from place to place.

"This is nice," I said as I flipped a page in my book.

"What's that?" he looked down at me.

"Being normal for once in a long time. I've missed days like this. What do you miss the most?"

"Training on the beach with you or playing in the ocean. Those were the perfect moments because I got to be with you. I always looked forward to the next morning when I got to see you; to watch you come down the stairs ready to go." A small grin crept on his lips as he looked down at me and he traced the outline of my mouth and nose with a fingertip.

"Do you think we'll ever get that back?"

He sighed, "I don't know, honestly. Maybe one day but not until Ahlic is taken care of."

"True. I think we will. I have to believe it or what else are we fighting for?"

"Touché. I love how much you put into this. It's refreshing. Most just care about themselves."

"Yeah, well, I care about humanity and the livelihood of everyone."

"You'd make a great queen."

"Oh hush," I laughed at him. I put my book down and we just sat there watching the animals and chatting about random things.

At dusk, everyone met up again around the fire for a meeting.

"This is where everyone will meet us in the coming weeks. We will be here about a month so get comfy sleeping in tents or on the ground. At least the city is close by for food. For now, let's get some rest. Tomorrow we are all going to be training and working harder than we have been." Gavan spoke with such authority no one questioned him being the leader of our group. I smiled and got lost staring in eyes, not even listening at that point. "Nerita?" Gavan waved his hand in front of me. "Did you hear anything I said?" He put his hands on his hips, glaring at me.

"Umm, sure did! Let's go to bed though, I'm tired." I faked a yawn and told everyone goodnight as we all split up into our tents.

Gavan walked in as I was lying down; his hands on his hips again. I pulled the blanket up and hoped he couldn't see me holding back a laugh. I knew it was a serious matter. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or I don't know what, honestly. I snorted and covered my mouth. "Nerita, you have to start taking this seriously."

He walked over and I could see him shaking his head from the glow of the moonlight on the tent. "We are dangerously close to Eurona and for all we know he's going to launch a surprise attack on us out here. You have to be ready for anything." He was stripping his clothes off and laying them on the floor. Once again, I was just staring at him. Damn it, Nerita! Pull yourself together! I tried telling myself before he caught on.

"I know. You're right. Let's go to sleep and talk about it tomorrow, okay?" I gave a vague answer hoping he didn't catch that I hadn't heard a single word of what he had said.

He sighed in frustration and climbed on our pallet of blankets and wrapped me in his arms where I felt the safest. "What am I going to do with you?" he whispered in my ear, making my body melt at the touch of his breath hitting me. It was intoxicating.

I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck, whispering back, "I guess learn to deal with it or go insane trying to fight it." I felt his chest rise and fall quickly with laughter. "Sleep well. I love you." I kissed him then turned back around in my safe haven of his embrace.

"Sweet dreams, my love."

My dreams were of Ahlic again. He visited me every time I drifted off. More than anything, I was becoming annoyed with him. Every morning I woke up, there was a bruise somewhere new on my body. Catiara was quick to heal me each time. That night, he had me tied to a chain above me. My arms hurt from holding all of my body weight. A whip would hit my back as he lashed me. I wouldn't scream; refusing to give in to his torture.

"Nerita, I really don't enjoy doing this. You must know that by now. If you would just behave and tell me what I need to know, then this would go so differently."

"I will never tell you where I am," I responded weakly.

"Then I will never stop seeking you out or visiting you every night. I can do this for an eternity."

"Good luck with that one." He lashed my back and I bit my lips until they bled and I blinked back the tears that were trying to escape.

"Don't doubt me. I will find you," he whispered into my ear as he gripped around my throat from behind me.

I did cry out a few times back in reality and Gavan just held me tighter and brushed his hand down my side until it subsided. I was in and out of consciousness. He really was my safe place. At some point he got up and went to get Catiara. He must have felt the blood seeping through my shirt from Ahlics' torture. She came in and took my bloodied shirt off, healed my wounds, and replaced the shirt with a clean one. Just as quickly as she had been there to take care of me, she was gone. I never heard her leave.

***

There were kisses on my neck and a hand groping my breasts under my shirt. I groggily started waking up. I tried to focus my eyes and saw the sun was starting to come up in the distance. Pretty sure I knew what Gavan was thinking. I groaned and grabbed onto his neck as he squeezed my nipples a little harder.

"Good morning, love," Gavan whispered, "Shh, can't be too loud or we'll wake the others." He started kissing my neck again. I could feel his thickness behind me throbbing. I bit my lip to hold back crying out in pleasure. His hand moved down, a finger slowly tracing the curve of my hip then slid my pants and panties down to the end of the pallet. He rolled me onto

my back, slid on top of me and parted my legs. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his pushed slowly inside. Quickly covering my mouth with a kiss, he stopped me from moaning too loudly. I squeezed my legs around him and raked my nails across his back. It didn't take long for my release to come but he kept going driving me wild and making it harder to be quiet. Finally, he released into me and we were both breathing heavily. He stayed inside me, brushed my hair out of my face, and kissed me.

When he pulled back from the kiss, I got lost in his eyes again; never wanting that moment to end. The sound of people shifting in their tents and starting to come out signaled the end of our romp though. He slowly pulled out, smirking at my expression of pleasure again as another but quick wave shot through me.

I hit his shoulder. "You did that on purpose!" I whispered to him.

"So what if I did?" He laughed and kissed me again before I could reply.

"You're cruel," I teased him playfully.

"We need to get moving along. You're in for one hell of a day, love."

"Those are my favorite kind," I replied sarcastically. We got up, got dressed, and headed out to start my day of torture.

***

Next to the river was a dense area of trees. We walked through them until we came to a clearing and got set up. I ran a few laps around the tree line to loosen myself up and try to shake the nerves that were eating away at me when I tripped over something and slid across the ground. The wind was knocked out of me and I lay sprawled out, face down on the ground. Rueh had started walking over to me when I tried to get up. A heavy pressure sat on my back and forced me on the ground. My eyes grew wide with realization and I frantically searched for my knife. "Rueh! Help!" I screamed out for her.

She walked over shaking her head, "I told you some Bon-Ji would be helping us. If that was a real attack, my dear girl, you'd already be dead from lack of knowledge on how to fight them and possibly have us all killed with an outburst like that!"

I felt the pressure lift off and watched as it transformed into a solid creature; laughing at me with its raspy voice. I don't care if they were helping, they still creeped me out. It bowed to Rueh and she did the same in return. "This is Remu. Some of his friends are coming and will train you on fighting them off." Remu looked back at me with his hollow eyes, smiled wickedly, and transformed again as he ran back into the forest. I decided that was enough wandering on my own and walked back with Rueh to the group.

"Nerita!" As I walked by Gavan he threw a ball of flames at me, giving me little time to react. I quickly pushed out my hands and forced a gust of wind, sending it back towards him. He ducked out of the way as it went flying by him. I smirked and kept going; sticking my tongue out as I passed him by.

Ruari was walking up to me and pulled out his sword. I reached for mine and jumped out of the way as his missed its target and hit the ground. "Miss Nerita, it's time for some sword training. I hear you're...limited, with what you can do."

I shook my head. Gavan you are in so much trouble, I thought to myself. He rushed at me again, grabbing his sword off the ground. That time, his sword made contact with mine as I stopped his from slicing my neck. I pushed him back and ran towards him, swinging my weapon. Our group had gathered around at that point, watching us. He spun around and as I ran past him the butt of his sword hit me between my shoulder blades. I fell to the ground, dropping mine.

He kicked it away. "Tsk, tsk. What happens when you lose your weapon? If there's a magic suppressor up, your powers will be useless. Hand to hand combat needs to become your primary weapon. If I didn't feel sorry for you, I could've killed you already." That had me burning. I jumped up, did a back flip in front of him, spun down to my hands and kicked out a leg, knocking him off his feet. I jumped behind him, grabbing his head in my hands and twisted slightly. He held his breath

"I could break your neck right now if I didn't feel sorry for you," I hissed into his ear. He laughed at me. There was silence among our companions. This guy really knew how to piss me off.

"Bravo Nerita! You sure got me this time!" He was still laughing. I got up and walked towards the river. Catiara and Telulah followed me as Laurent and Dimitri helped Ruari up.

"You know, he's being like that on purpose; to make you want to kill him and not hold back," Telulah spoke as I sat on the ground taking my boots off.

"I know. He just pisses me off so much! I needed a break from him." I walked into the river until it was waist deep. The current was pulling on me softly; it was cool but not completely intolerable.

Catiara waded in next to me and smiled, not saying a word. While looking at me, she raised her hands from under the water and I felt a surge lifting me into the air. The water under us had pushed up and we floated well above the waterline at this point. "It's all about control and knowing without a doubt that you are capable of doing anything you desire." She snapped her fingers and we fell into the center of the wall of water holding us captive. I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt the rush from underneath me. When I opened them, we were sitting in an air bubble right in the middle. Catiara was sitting with her legs crossed and holding onto her ankles as she looked around.

"This is what I need to learn! I can do some water balls, boil it, pull at it from the moisture in the air but that seems to be about it," I gleamed at her, "I never thought of doing anything like this though." I looked around at our watery compound. It was relaxing and exhilarating at the same time.

"I'll teach it to you in a few days. There's not enough time left today. Once you get the hang of it you'll do just fine." She snapped her fingers again and the water receded beneath us; the bubble popping. We waded back to shore and sat down to dry off. It was starting to get cold and we started shivering when the breeze would hit our wet skin. There was a rustling in the trees and Gavan came out into the open and walked over lighting a few orbs of fire to warm us up quicker.

"Feeling any better?" He threw a blanket around my shoulders as he sat behind me, wrapping me in his arms.

"Much better, thank you." I leaned back into his chest. The sun was at the high point in the sky and I started to warm up. I closed my eyes and lifted my face towards the warm light above me; listening to the sounds all around. There were no sounds. It was too quiet. I popped up and looked around. The animals made no noise as they scurried into hiding. Not one creature was around us. The wind had stilled and the only movement was the rushing of the water in front of us. I dropped the blanket and stood, pulling my sword out of its sheath, eyes on alert; body ready for anything.

"Nerita, what's going on?" Gavan stood to his feet and came to the left of me, pulling his sword out as well. Telulah and Catiara followed suit. We all stood there, waiting.

"Shhh. Don't you hear it?" I whispered as my eyes darted around.

"Hear what?" Catiara whispered back.

"Exactly. There's nothing. No birds singing, no animals around; the wind is completely gone. Everything just seems...off." I started backing up slowly. "Telulah, go get the others. Be quick and as quiet as possible." She nodded her head in response and quickly ran off towards our group in the clearing.

"Now that you've said something, I can feel the difference too. It feels heavy and dark." Catiara came and stood to my right. The clouds covered the sun and the darkness grew; making my heart race. I glanced into the river and caught glimpse of a suma fish jumping out and back in on the opposite side; its bright purple and yellow markings shimmering in the fading sun. It had a long glossy like tail and fins; thin and short body. How strange. It was jumping across the river headed in our direction, not upstream or downstream.

"Gavan, what's wrong with that fish?" I cocked my head to the side, letting my guard slip a little. Both he and Catiara watched as the fish would jump completely out and dive back in; each time getting closer to us. The three of us walked closer to the bank until the water was lapping at our feet. "Something's wrong. I think we need to go back to camp. They should have been here by now." No sooner had I spoken, the fish stood...yes, stood...on its tail on top of the water and slowly started walking to us. "Am I seeing things?" I rubbed my eyes and blinked them.

"What the hell?" Gavan whispered.

It burst into flames. "Holy shit!" Catiara jumped back a few feet. I think we all did. It dove underwater and swam towards us, still on fire.

Gavan started to wade into the water but stopped and jumped back. "Damn it! The water is boiling hot!" He stomped his feet into the ground as if putting out a flame on his shoes. I looked down and it was steaming but not boiling.

I knelt next to his boots to have a closer look, my eyes growing wide. "Gavan, your boots are...melting." He kicked them off and I gasped at the sight of his feet. There were burns and blisters covering the bottom of them. "You need to go see Rueh." I stood up, lifted one of his arms around my neck; Catiara on the other side doing the same. As we turned and began to walk away, a great force came from behind and snatched them both. I spun around quickly and screamed out. They were lifted then dropped into the burning water by a black, heavy cloud. Gavans eyes were wide with horror and Catiara screamed out a horrible cry....then they were gone. Just like that.

I screamed until my lungs wanted to burst; cried until there were no more tears to fall. My body lay motionless on the ground, too numb to run away from the river. My cries turned into a soft whimper as my eyes grew heavy and closed. Darkness began to take me and before I slipped away, I heard a laugh and someone talking. It was Anuska. I wanted to grab my sword and wake up but I was paralyzed; stuck in a half comatose state. Oh no.

"Stupid little girl," she brushed the strands of my hair out of my face so I could see her. "Ahlic will be so pleased with me," she whispered into my ear, "When we get back to his castle I shall kill you like I killed your mother." I wanted to scream for help but I knew it was hopeless. Everything went black.

# The End

# About the Author:

Arielle Caldwell lives in Pensacola, Florida with her husband and two little boys. She's a Navy Veteran and has always enjoyed writing. Starting with poetry, she progressed to fiction books. This is her first published work and is looking forward to writing more.

Thank you for taking the time to read and finish my book! I hope you enjoyed it. All I ask is that you please rate and/or comment on the site you received your copy from.

#

#

# Connect with me:

Follow me and stay up to date on the release of the final book in the Nerita Trilogy and my other works at:

https://www.facebook.com/AFCaldwellsBooks

http://www.twitter.com/ArielleCaldwell

AFCaldwellsBooks@gmail.com
