Proven (Daughters of the Sea #1) (43 page)

She was the same...yet incredibly different. An undercurrent of omnipotence and influence ran beneath her skin and the brilliance of her eyes held within them the secrets of the universe. The turquoise I'd become accustomed to were painted with splashes of greens and blues, all hues stolen from the ocean itself.

"Stasia," my voice cracked with disbelief and was followed by another sob that racked my body. I urged my legs to work, but they adamantly refused. Instead, I watched the waves of her dress condense as she dropped to her knees as well. Those eyes were suddenly right in front of me, full of love, understanding, and infinite knowledge.

"I'm okay," she attempted to soothe me, but the sound ricocheting against my eardrums only succeeded in shocking me more. Her spoken voice wasn't human; it was so much more than the phenomenon of sound waves. It filtered into my soul, my essence, and blossomed in my heart. It seemed to register in my ears last. It washed into the decay within my soul, expanding and healing as it went. When she moved her hand I glimpsed a matching ring trace on her ring finger where her engagement ring once sat.

"I was stripped of all possessions," she explained quietly. "I hoped these would be just as good."

"You're....you're...?" was all I could manage.

"I'm alive," she answered calmly, with an understanding smile that sealed every wound I'd ever experienced. "In every way possible."

I had many more questions, but they were all secondary to the overwhelming urge to hold her, feel her in my arms again, and feel her warmth. Seeming to read my mind, she wrapped her arms around me, eliciting another sob from my chest as I embraced the woman I never thought I'd see again in this lifetime. We melted together in a fury of essence and love and I felt my world click into place, broken piece by broken piece. They fused together and filled me with an ecstasy I didn't know existed. Too soon, she pulled away and climbed to her feet, drawing me up with her. She grasped my hand and we turned to face her Council and the flabbergasted crowd, still looking on with stunned expressions.

She nodded to Avery, Carmen, Olivia, and Phoebe, and they rushed us in a split second; throwing themselves at Stasia and almost knocking me back to the ground. At their emotional outburst, the Tydes in the audience erupted in celebration. I continued to stare at her as if she would vanish at any moment. How could this be possible? She died! She was stabbed by Nadia! Despite what every rational part of my mind was trying to tell me, my eyes didn't lie. She was here, standing before us. Soon, Amphitrite and Maera joined the reunion, followed by Sebastian.

"Being Chosen wasn't enough, huh?" Sebastian's playful tone lit up the Arena floor and prompted a chuckle from Stasia. She broke away from everyone to smother him in a hug and kiss his cheek.

"Call me an overachiever!" She laughed with him, and the simple sound of her laughter almost brought me to my knees once more.

"How is this possible?" Olivia gushed, prompting another blanket of silence as we awaited the answer to the question in everyone's mind.

"Apodedeigménos," Amphitrite revered in Greek. Stasia nodded to her with an approving smile and she continued. "It only happens once in a century, and sometimes not at all." I caught a knowing glance between Amphitrite and Sebastian before he spoke.

"Many have been Chosen, but only a select few have ever been...Proven," Sebastian explained simply.

S
TASIA

"Proven?" Olivia peered between me, Sebastian, and Amphitrite with skepticism.  My heart warmed at seeing her again, and I stifled a giggle as I realized her eyes were still the size of dinner plates. I had a feeling my dramatic entrance would not disappoint. I might have overdone it, however, witnessing Finn's reaction. My new existence was still strange and shocking to me, and I was surprised that I could feel every ounce of exhaustion in his tense muscles, the thickening of his essence as sorrow pressed upon his soul, and the slightly irregular beat of a mourning heart. 

At my return his essence became brilliant, pulsing with energy and creating a wave effect that I could actually see. I wanted to hold him forever and fill him with my love. Thankfully, I had been granted that wish.

"My essence was just enough to revive the crux, but the Beacon...the woman I saw...she was already gone. I should have died too, but that didn't happen. The ocean itself..." I fought back my emotions as I tried to explain, "altered my destiny."

"The ocean?" Carmen gaped. Amphitrite stepped forward once more.

"There must always be a Beacon; a protector of the crux and the ocean itself," she added ominously. Everyone's eyes shifted back to me with renewed awe.

"You're the Beacon, now?" Olivia placed a hand over her mouth.

"Can't you feel it?" Maera rejoiced with a deep breath.

"So you're not a Nereid anymore?" Olivia continued her questioning. "You're not a Daughter of the Sea?"

"She is the sea," Sebastian answered for me.

"But then...?" Olivia held up her palm for everyone to see. "Why do I have this again?"

I stepped towards her and placed my hands on her shoulders. Her electrical essence was muted by mortality, but it was still there. Still crackling. "Even the protector of the crux needs protecting."

Her eyes welled up with tears and she searched my gaze for any sign of deception. Not finding any, a bright smile lit up her face and I pulled her to me with force; closing my eyes and wrapping her in my essence. As if the breath had been knocked out of her, she let out a cry and the world exploded in a flash of light and electricity. When I finally released her, she stumbled back, momentarily stunned.  Sebastian ran to her side just as she transformed into the immortal Paladin she had previously been. Her skin shimmered with voltage and a renewed electrical current thrummed through her essence with vigor. Her deep chestnut eyes swirled with excitement and I felt her emotions swell, threatening to burst.

"I'd be honored." She straightened and wiped at her eyes before bowing her head to me.

"Immortal sure does look good on you." Sebastian casually wrapped an arm around Olivia and then glanced up at me. "Got anymore tricks in that bag of yours, sis?"

"You have no idea," I sneered at him. I was just getting used to this new sense of being; the ability to feel...everything. The ocean provided me with more information than I could ever discern. I felt every creature, every birth, and every death within its vast depths. I felt the force of the hurricane currently forming off the coast of Africa, its power siphoning moisture from the surface and recycling it into massive rain bands. I could feel the way the thundering cadence of breakers off the coast of Costa Rica rolled on shore, and the excitement and wonder of the newborn blue whale pup in the mountainous region of the Pacific.

I moved in front of Sebastian with a mischievous grin. "I do happen to have more I've been saving. Just for you."

"Please be a unicorn, please be a unicorn," he wished in a hushed voice with a sloppy grin on his face. Always the class clown. I found myself hoping he would never change.

"Be serious," Olivia hissed at him and elbowed him in the ribs. He stood taller as he stood before me; his unending sarcasm climbing up and settling into the tropical sea of his eyes.

"With my recent...transformation, the Tydes are now without a Leader," I informed him slowly. "As the son of Thetis, it only makes sense."

I paused to allow the gravity of my words to sink in before continuing, watching his eyes blink quickly as he grasped what I was hinting at. The stunned expression resting on his features hardened into one of determination and pride as he anticipated what I intended to do. A ripple of hushed whispers shot through the crowd above, and Olivia's face suddenly reddened with buried hope.

Sebastian dropped to one knee with regality and bowed his head. A giggle escaped my mouth at the formality of his actions and he peered up at me, startled by my reaction at his show of respect and submission. I took his hands and urged him to stand, holding his now nervous gaze.

"Achilles Sebastian Theophanides," I announced with a voice that bounced off of the heavens. "I choose you. I choose you to honor your ancestors, as well as our Mother and Father by taking the responsibility of Leader of the Tyde Order. I choose to finish what Mother started many centuries ago at the River Styx - to provide you with full essence in order to lead and protect to the best of your ability."

The raw vulnerability and love in his eyes caught me off guard as I felt the breadth of his gratitude. Just as I did with Olivia moments before, I pulled him close and wrapped his body in my essence. I pulled the strongest and purest essence from the sea and channeled it into his body, and then I summoned the fierceness of the great whites, the gentle loyalty of his sea horses, the endurance of the whales, and the playfulness of the dolphins. I pulled from the sea its very life force and placed it with care into Sebastian's chest. His body arched and he dropped to his knees as another flash of brilliant light encompassed the Arena.

When the dust settled and I was satisfied with the level and quality of his renewed essence, I stepped back and allowed him room. Every living being within a hundred miles paused, awaiting the emergence of a newly Chosen immortal. He slowly returned to his feet, bringing with him the strength of an entire planet and the presence of a towering mountain range.

His skin now glowed with sovereignty and his hair was suddenly streaked with turquoise. The triskellion trace on his forearm pulsed with essence and the smile that lit up his face touched my soul and strengthened my heart. As if remembering something, he peeked back at his left heel. It, too, hummed with essence, no longer his weakness.

He balled his fists with intensity and let out a booming celebration, shaking the windows of the castle and dislodging a slew of sand on the cliff side. The Tydes in the Arena followed suit, cheering for their new Leader and celebrating the continuance of their Order. I stiffened when his strong arms suddenly clamped around me and spun me around with happiness.

"Mom would be so proud of you," he whispered to me once he set me back on solid ground.

"And of you." I grinned at him. I felt Olivia's essence move closer as she approached Sebastian with caution. He followed my gaze and faced her delicately. She searched his sparkling eyes for an answer to a question no one else could hear.

"Does this mean...?" she began, fear and apprehension licking at the corners of her essence as her pulse quickened. "You don't have to go...?"

"I'm never leaving you," Sebastian answered her with indignation, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. Instead of kissing her like I expected, he continued to gaze into her eyes as if he was waiting for something. She didn't disappoint.

"What are you looking at?" She squirmed, her true feelings written in the smile on her face and the ebbing of her essence.

"Nothing, except you. I see only you." He grinned, and then bent down and entangled her in a kiss.

S
TASIA

"I think she misunderstood," Finn snickered next to me.

"I think she knows exactly what she's doing." I cut my eyes at him, pride welling up in my heart. The soft sea floor bloomed in a cloud of fine sand as I shifted my legs out from under me, stretching them out and wiggling my toes. I took in a deep breath of water and glanced over at Finn. His dark hair danced with the current of the waves above, and the sun filtering down from the surface highlighted the skin of his arms and chest. His deep blue eyes gazed out into the sea with pride and love, filling me with a level of happiness I never imagined was obtainable. I diverted my attention back to the reason for our family outing that warm afternoon, and shook my head with amusement.

"She takes after you," I mocked Finn lightly.

"Clearly," he joked back. I looked on in awe as our little girl, turning five years old next month, commanded what could only be described as an entire herd of tiger sharks, their fins whipping in every direction to keep up with her. She squealed with excitement as they playfully darted around her, looking over her shoulder every so often to make sure we were watching. I had instructed her to summon one tiger shark. Just one. Instead, the entire tiger shark population of the Atlantic paid us a visit.