Hearken (Daughters of the Sea Series) (32 page)

             
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye as my follower crashed through the door right after me. He was able to remain upright, which was more than I could say for myself, but that didn’t deter me from throwing a handful of grass at him. Oddly enough, I had forgotten all about my newly-realized electrical essence when I’d decided on that plan of attack. As the blades of grass floated underwhelming through the air and back to the ground, a firestorm of sparks left my palm and struck my follower directly in the chest.

             
He froze, shook slightly, and then collapsed onto the ground. I looked at my hand curiously and smiled gleefully. I should have used that earlier. Good to know. I tucked that new weapon into the back of my mind and climbed back to my less-than-cooperative feet. The ornate courtyard I walked through appeared magical in the light of the moon, and I easily followed the golden stone path leading to an intimidating golden door.

             
It took more time than it should have to scale the two small steps needed to reach the door, and I noticed too late that it had already opened.

             
“You came!” A little girl with bright red hair came flying out of the door and crashed into my side, chattering a mile a minute. I grabbed a perfectly placed metal railing and stopped her from knocking me over. A woman appeared in the doorway and her voice eased my nerves instantly.

             
“Welcome, Olivia,” she greeted me. She didn’t miss a beat as she surveyed my appearance and assessed the situation. “I see you are in need of help.”

             
“Stasia’s in trouble,” I croaked, and held up my palm for her to see my trace.

             
“I see,” she answered simply, before turning to her daughter. “Chara, please collect Seraphina to assist our other visitor lying in the grass.”

             
Chara squeezed my hand with excitement and disappeared inside. I smiled at Meara with relief and leaned against the railing.

             
“You came to the right place,” she assured me. She produced a handful of seeds and presented them to me. “Eat.” I didn’t ask any further questions; I simply popped the seeds into my mouth and swallowed them whole.

              I peered at her curiously. “You didn’t tell me you were the Queen.” She chuckled lightly and smiled.

             
“You didn’t ask.”

Chapter 32

Stasia

             
I watched from a nearby tree as Finn quickly scaled the wooden steps leading up to my tree house and disappeared inside. My timing couldn’t have been better. I really didn’t want to hurt him, but I knew I would if he got in the way. This was too important. I could
feel
it.

             
I knew I was a sea Goddess. The sea had called me. It sang to me. It powered me and provided me with energy. But it didn’t hold a candle to this. The pull was so strong it was all I could think about. I had no choice; I had to go. And I needed to go alone.  With the absence of my needy Council members barking at my heels, along with the serenity and promise of night, I knew the time had come. Once Amphitrite was alone, I knew the moment couldn’t have been more ripe. She’d even sent Olivia away, which I hadn’t expected.
Stasia’s just tired
, they said.
She just needs rest
.
It’s been a trying week for her
.

             
Whatever they needed to tell themselves was fine with me. I didn’t care. Lying in bed had worn tiresome, along with the mindless dribble they constantly spoke of. Sleep, even induced sleep, was a temporary reprieve filled with brilliant light and endless power; promises of forever and happiness with no bounds. But the heart-swelling ballad continued to caress my mind with its rapture. The melody never stopped. It sang to me in my waking hours, as well as in my asleep. It had become a constant companion; reminding me I couldn’t rest for long. Its musings, although I couldn’t understand the language, spread throughout my essence and gifted me with a feeling of belonging and purpose so intense I knew I must answer the call.

             
How could something so abstract, so distant fill the holes left in my heart by so many people? How could a presence I’d never before encountered shower me with courage and empowerment rivaled by none? I didn’t know how it was possible, but asking questions seemed to be a moot point. Who was I to question something so all-powerful?

             
I froze when I sensed a flurry of panicked feelings radiating from Finn, and knew that he’d found Amphitrite. I left her limp body lying unconscious on the wooden floor next to the bed. She was still breathing, but just so. She was so tenacious; a powerful sea Goddess with a myriad of abilities and insights from centuries of experiences. No matter what, I simply couldn’t bring myself to take her life. I suspected it was because I respected her too much. 

She had vehemently refused to allow me to leave the tree house. Unbeknownst to her or anyone else, my essence had been strengthening while I rested. The vigor swirling through my Goddess essence traveled on the back of the song, and it started to transform me; preparing me. It had been all too easy to overcome Amphitrite’s stalwart essence with my own. The surprise and shock that crossed her face before she collapsed left me disappointed in her. She should never deny me of what I commanded. She was Queen of the Council, but
I
was her leader. She should always listen to and obey me.

             
The ethereal singing in my head began to drift along the watchful wind as I crossed the forest in minutes and reached the large cliff I’d been blown off of.
Sebastian
. The strength I felt rolling off of him had perplexed me, but my rage at his attempted murder overshadowed everything else now. I recalled flying through the air and feeling the swift haze that blanketed my mind as I stared up at the moon on my way to the bottom of the canyon. The haze only lifted once I’d woken up in that bed with Amphitrite and the other Council members staring down at me like a wounded animal.

I couldn’t recall who saved me, but my instincts told me Finn had something to do with it. He was always so dependable. I quickly squelched the large soft spot I had for him in my heart and forced myself to concentrate. Just as I was expecting, a glimmering frenzy of energy appeared on the ground below my feet and cascaded over the cliff and into the water below.

              This time nothing would interrupt me. I ran to the edge without hesitation and dove off the cliff. The wind blew my hair back and I closed my eyes while the moon’s light washed over me from above. I could never get enough of that cool, powerful energy running through me. I leaned backwards and looked up at its brilliance with outstretched arms. A cool frenzy began to tickle my palms, and a silver beam of moonlight detached from the others; obeying the command of my energy.               

             
The moment my hands connected to the moon along that slender, magical beam of silver light, my body solidified with fortitude and I felt my descent toward the river below gradually slow. I pulled the beam of light taut as I was gently lowered into the open arms of the river. I spread my fingers wide and released the moon’s ray back into the sky. The moon’s energy retracted from my palms, and gravity was waiting in the wings to pull me all the way into the river. I drifted down to the river bottom, found a section of water lit by moonlight and took a deep, generous breath. 

             
The energized water sent shockwaves through my essence and my eyes sharpened immediately. I reveled openly in the loving arms of the river as I followed its current toward the ocean. Once my journey through the canyon had been exhausted, the water sent me through a sliver of rock in the mountainous cliffs climbing high all around me. I was emptied into the Mediterranean Sea soon after.

             
I sensed the sea creatures living along Atlantis’s rocky shoreline as they paused at my arrival. I stretched my arms out wide and floated on my back in order to see the moon above. It stared back at me with quiet intensity, and I found myself unable to look directly at it for long periods of time. I also began to feel something else. The call I’d been feeling was growing stronger by the minute, but this time the source was narrowed into one particular spot. A spot deep below the surface of the water.

             
The beautiful melody in my head intensified, and I heard the same foreign incantation that had repeated in my thoughts for days. 

“Fengári tou aímatos af̱xánetai.  Fengári tou aímatos af̱xánetai.  Fengári tou aímatos af̱xánetai.”

I twisted onto my stomach and dove down into the darkened depths of the shoreline, searching for the magical presence that called to me. Once at the sea floor, an array of colorful fish and mountains of coral greeted me with their energy, but I was too preoccupied to acknowledge them. Where the mountains met the sea floor, an obscure sliver of blackness caught my attention. I swam towards it and was able to discern a frenzy of energy beyond. The pull had become almost unbearable. I turned sideways and propelled myself through the slit and into darkness. 

              My newly sharpened eyes allowed me to see even the smallest amount of light trapped within the rock and ribbon of water I was submerged in. After a short distance, the thin passage blossomed into a majestic underwater cavern. Once there, I had the overwhelming feeling that someone or something was watching me. I shook off the feeling and continued to swim.

             
The extensive cavern was riddled with endless nooks and crannies along its sides. I glided through the water slowly, and marveled at the metallic sheen of the stone and the serene calm they contained. The cavern veered slightly to the right, and as I followed the movements of a tiny red and orange fish while it darted back and forth, my eyes focused on what was in the background and I froze. It was hovering just at eye level in an oval-shaped hole carved into the rock. I swam closer without ever taking my eyes off of it.

             
It was a brilliant white, iridescent gem; still partially encased in the original earthen rock. It continued to spin clockwise on its axis as I stared at it with wonder. It was about the size of a small toddler, and just as pure. It elicited an instinct within me buried so deep it took my breath away. I had the overpowering urge to protect it and praise its very existence. The jagged features along its surface spoke to its authenticity, and the power that emanated from its center was undeniable. I felt hot tears burning behind my eyes as my entire world shifted and a part of me clicked into place. 

It was a specific type of stone I’d seen and held before. A moonstone. Not unlike the one my mother had hidden for me to find off the coast of North Carolina the previous summer. She’d informed me that it was my grandmother’s stone, just as aquamarine was hers. That would make it Selene’s stone…the moon Goddess’s stone. And now it was my stone as well. I had an equal claim to the moonstone, as well as to the aquamarine. But at the moment, my entire being was focused on the miracle floating in front of me.

I’d never before laid eyes on anything so equally raw and beautiful. It felt as if my soul had been condensed into a stone and placed before me. I held out my arms without thinking, and it stopped spinning immediately. I placed my hands beneath it carefully.

             
As my palms touched its jagged surface, a flash of light lit up the room and the full weight of the moonstone was suddenly in my hands. I pulled it toward me and held it against my body. It seemed to welcome me, and I felt its power stir. 

             
I retraced my steps and slid back through the small opening and back into the Mediterranean Sea. As the moonlight began to filter through the water, the same waves of light I’d seen on the ground before now swirled on the surface of the moonstone.  The stone merged and blurred until a fine layer of smoke covered the once-white surface. As I looked on, the smoke was absorbed into the stone; turning it from solid to translucent. The smoky energy now swirled within the stone, and I was able to see inside. As my heart beat picked up at this change in appearance, the smoke changed to a bright golden hue. Once I calmed back down to a normal pulse rate, the smoke lightened and cooled into a beautiful light blue.

             
I pulled myself up onto a nearby boulder and placed it in my lap carefully. My entire essence became alive as the stone started to glow beneath the light of the moon. It seemed to pull the moonbeams towards it; absorbing and feeding off of them. I sensed its energy boiling inside and smiled. Unfortunately I didn’t have long to enjoy its company. The calm night was suddenly shattered by an essence as cold as ice and all too familiar. I immediately rose to my feet and spun around. 

             
“I knew you’d find it for me,” her voice cackled. “You can’t refuse the call once it has found you.” She stood mere feet from me in a sparkling silver and white gown, usually reserved for the most glamorous of balls or dinner parties. The moonlight above gave her a certain glow, but she frowned down at me in thought. “Well, unless your bitch of a sister hides it and then hexes you and makes you immune to it.
Then
you have to wait for someone else to find it. But that’s a bedtime story for another night.”