by Helen Scott
I was stunned into silence, my mind felt like a CD that was skipping or a corrupted MP3 file where most of it was just garbled nonsense. Her own daughter had put her down here? What kind of monster was she?
"A question I ask myself all the time. I don't know where I went wrong as a mother, but Ailsa isn't right. You're correct about one thing though, she will destroy Hyperborea and bring about the end of the four worlds so she can rule over everything."
"Why does she crave power so much? I mean it was clear from today that she needs to be in control." I wondered just how long the queen mother had been down there. At least she had someone to talk to now I was there. "How come you haven't been able to escape?" I asked as the thought of her psychic abilities and the fact that she had wings and could manipulate air crossed my mind. If she, with all those powers, couldn't get out of there then how the hell was I supposed to?
"She craves power because she hates when people do things she doesn't want. It's been like that for years, I just talked myself into believing it was a phase that she was going through. It wasn't. Your other question comes down to the fact that this part of the palace was designed to be inescapable. We are sunk well below ground level. The light you see from the holes up there is from pipes that lead up to the surface. Down here there's too much interference to get through psychically, and they keep me so malnourished that my body doesn't have energy for magic any more or for my wings. All of my energy goes into surviving. If my wings were even able to be displayed I doubt they would have much in the way of muscle tone and feathers. No, I accepted the fact that I would die down here a long time ago, my daughter just isn't willing to let me die before she's ready."
"She force feeds you?" I guessed. What other power did this woman have than to go on hunger strike? If she was dressed similarly to me then I was sure she wouldn't have anything that she could harm herself with so as far as I could figure there wasn't anything else she could control other than what she put in her body.
"She does, even lets me wash occasionally if I've stopped eating. She thinks it will keep my spirits up, and sometimes it does, but for the most part it just reminds me how much it stinks down here."
My heart sank at her words. There had to be a way out. I couldn't die down here. Niall was a commander in the queen's guard, surely he would be able to get me out if he wanted, wouldn't he? Well, if he was a man of his word, which so far all signs were pointing to no on that front.
"What's his last name?"
"Scirocco," I said, not sure that it would have any meaning to her depending on how long she'd been down here.
"I may have been down here a long time, but I knew all the men that were going to be qualified to become a member of the queen's guard for years to come before I was left to rot. I think I do remember him," she said, a slight smile to her voice. "Will you picture him for me?"
I did as she asked, pulling up my memory of him saving me in the woods. He looked every bit the warrior and avenging angel that day. Part of me wondered if someone had seen the people with wings back in the day and that was where angels had come from. Who knows? I wasn't about to judge people's faith when it turned out that mermen and vampires were real. At this point, in my mind, anything was possible.
The queen mother sighed as I tried to keep my thoughts g-rated. With a smile in her voice she said, "I do remember him. I knew he was going to be a heartbreaker the moment I saw him when he was training. If anyone is going to rescue you, it will be him."
14
Tessa
I didn't know how long I'd been in the prison cell. It felt like weeks, months even, but I'd only been given enough food and water for a handful of days. My body was changing already; I'd lost weight and my hair felt brittle and greasy at the same time. The queen mother, who I was now on a first name basis with, talked about everything with me. There was nothing off limits once we figured out that neither of us were going to snitch to the current queen on the other.
Ulrika had lived a life most people would just dream about, being queen, marrying the love of her life, being beloved by her people, and her realm was happy and prosperous. When her husband was assassinated everything changed, including her daughter. She told me all about Hyperborea and I shared everything I could about Earth with her.
In between our chats were my random interrogation sessions where I got to watch the queen fuck her guards and twist things in my head to where they looked like my men, and even though I knew that they weren't, it still hurt. My heart often felt like it was being shredded in those moments and I wondered what the point to all of this was, but then I would remember the chamber with the dragon and my heart would fill with that sense of peace I had when I was underwater.
Occasionally, there were beatings as well. Nothing to break me, just enough to leave me unable to move for the next few days, or sleeps, as I really couldn't keep track of time anymore. This was the scariest for me because some of the guards clearly enjoyed it too much. It was also the riskiest because they never deposited me onto the cot when they dumped me back in the cell, it was always on the floor, which I had found myself frozen to on multiple occasions.
My eyes had mostly adjusted to the dark at this point and I was starting to worry that I looked like Gollum, with big, saucer-shaped eyes and hair that was falling out all over the place. At least I had a sack to wear instead of just a loin cloth.
There were good days and bad days. Days when I cried my eyes out and felt nothing but a yawning emptiness inside me as though the blackness of the dungeon had seeped into my very soul. I would swear that there were days when everything would shift, that I would feel the love emanating through my bond with Griff, or at least I thought I did, and that was enough to survive.
"How did the four worlds come to exist?" I asked what I thought was one morning, even if it wasn't morning I'd at least slept.
"It was something to do with the magic becoming incompatible with your Earth. One by one all the realms broke away. My grandmother used to tell me that there was a great explosion, and that the mountains of Hyperborea just lifted into the sky before winking out of existence in your realm and creating their own where our people could fly to their heart’s content. My other grandmother used to say that that was all wrong, that the mountains crumbled under the weight of our people pleading for a land safe from persecution. It was in that moment that the disaster occurred and the mountains gave way to create Hyperborea. Either way part of your world broke away and became its own realm."
"What about the other worlds?" I asked as I shivered on the cot. It was the only thing keeping me off the floor and I needed every advantage I could get.
"Something similar happened with each of them. Mermaids and mermen were hunted, humans feared the kingdom of Atlantis, and at some point the islands sank or disappeared into their own realm where the people could flourish. The shifters were always going to be hunted every time they came to the surface, humans didn't understand what it meant to be dual natured like that, and what scares them they attack. Eventually Agartha disappeared in what I've been told was one of the worst earthquakes your world had ever seen."
"Shifters?"
"The people of Agartha can change forms. Some are wolves, some are eagles, some are horses, there are many different kinds. The rarest kind to my knowledge is the true shifter where they can switch to whatever form they choose in that moment and are not limited to one. It's an amazing thing to witness. I once watched a woman turn from a horse into a lion, then from a duck into an anaconda and finally into a dolphin before back to a human. It's fascinating."
"What happens to their body mass? I mean a woman weighs a whole lot more than a duck. How does that even work?"
"Sometimes with magic you just have to accept the unbelievable."
We fell silent for a moment before she continued, "El Dorado was similar as well. Vampires were hunted, their love of shiny things and heat made them a target for exploring humans who thought they were hiding riches. A great fire blazed
when El Dorado disappeared and scorched the earth in a way that had never been seen before. Some of the people I know from El Dorado claim that the earth they left behind is still scorched to this day. I don't believe that nature would not reclaim what is hers, but I've been wrong about things before."
"So Earth used to have all this magic, all these different species, but humans fucked it all up?" I asked.
"Yes, that's about the gist of it."
"Typical." I sighed. "I'm sorry we ruined everything," I said, feeling guilty that the species I was had caused so much pain and suffering.
"You didn't do it, did you? Are you thousands of years old?" When I didn't respond she sniffed audibly. "I didn't think so. Stop being silly."
The quiet descended once again, and before I could stop myself I said, "If you ever get out of here and I don't, will you find my guys and tell them that I loved them? All of them?"
"You're getting out of here," Ulrika replied. "Because we have the gift of sight as well as psychic abilities. Not all queens are blessed with it, and the gift never works as we think it should, but when you were taken away that first time, I had a vision. You were rescued by your men, right after we had this conversation."
"What?" I asked, my heart suddenly pounding in my throat.
"Why do you think I've been a cheerleader for you? I knew they were coming, or at least I thought I did. Visions can sometimes be tricky though, that's why I didn't tell you what I had seen. Sometimes things come true in ways we don't expect."
A loud crash sounded outside the dungeon door and as I turned to look at it the whole thing began to glow an orange-red color as though it was being hit with tremendous heat. A moment later the whole thing seemed to fall inward and clang onto the floor. The light burned my eyes and I huddled in the corner, trying to hide from the guards. It was futile, I knew that, and yet I couldn't help but try.
"Tessa?" Griff's voice sounded, banging around in my head like drums.
I peeked out from my ball and saw a head of blond hair glowing in the light. I wanted to believe it was him, I truly did. Out of all the men the current queen had used in my interrogation sessions, Griff had never been among them, and yet, I couldn't unfreeze from the ball. My brain couldn't wrap itself around him finally being there.
"Tessa, it's Griff."
"She doesn't believe you're really there," Ulrika said.
"I'm going to unlock the door and come in, but I'm not going to hurt you. I swear on the memory of us on the beach." The masculine voice was a balm to my nerves. It certainly sounded like Griff.
The key turned in the lock and I heard it unlatch. Hell, I could have heard a pin drop in that moment, it was so quiet. When two black boots stopped in front of me I tried not to shake in fear, tried not to flinch when he dropped down into a squat to look at me. I wanted to be rescued so badly, and I didn't think I could take it if this was another of the queen's tricks.
"It's no trick, Tessa. Look at your man." Ulrika chuckled.
I blinked up, my eyes adjusting to the light fractionally. The pale eyes that were staring down at me made my breath catch and after a moment of complete stillness I sucked in a huge gasp. It didn't only fill my lungs with air though, it filled my nose with the scent of Griff. It was so heavenly that I couldn't stop the sudden onslaught of emotion.
Instead of being worried about how bad I might smell, or the fact that there was only a potato sack covering me, I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms behind his neck and pulling myself close.
"I've got you, Dove. I've got you," he murmured into the top of my hair. His own voice was thick with emotion, which was a relief because I so didn't want to be the only one getting emotional at being reunited.
"Time to go," another male voice sounded.
"Get Ulrika," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Niall! We have a second escapee," Griff called over my head as he unlocked Ulrika's cell.
The commander appeared momentarily and stopped dead in his tracks before dropping to one knee, evidently recognizing the queen mother for who she was.
"No time for that," Ulrika said with a chuckle. "I may need some help getting out of here."
"Anything you require, Your Majesty," Niall said.
The four of us headed through the door to the dungeon and up the stairs, myself and the queen mother being carried by Griff and Niall respectively. I could see the way they had come from the, hopefully, unconscious bodies on the floor. The light in the hallway was so bright that it hurt my eyes and I couldn't track where we were going exactly.
"Wait," Ulrika called out. "I'm not leaving this castle. Not while my daughter is still alive."
"Your Majesty, forgive the informal way I'm talking, we don't have the manpower to deal with this shit. We need to get out now."
"That's what they will expect though, isn't it? They'll be searching high and low all over the realm for us. Ailsa won't want the people finding out that she locked her mother in the dungeon. Besides, I know a few secret tunnels that no one else knows about. If you need to leave then so be it, but please leave me behind."
"I'm staying with Ulrika," I said quietly. "Ailsa needs to be locked up at the very least, although I would rather dispose of her completely."
Niall looked at me, shocked by my words, and glanced at the queen but she was just nodding in agreement.
"Ailsa is no good for the realm or the people. If I can claim the throne again then I won't hesitate to lock her away until I have everything I need from her," Ulrika said without an ounce of emotion in her voice.
I knew the guys, maybe not Niall but definitely Griff, would think it was a double cross, but I knew Ulrika. I knew what she had suffered at her daughter's hands, and let's just say that the motherly love had ceased to exist a long time ago.
"Where are the tunnels?" Griff asked.
Niall sighed and we all proceeded, following Ulrika's directions until we reached a dead end. There was a shallow alcove with a sculpture of an eagle standing proudly inside the small space.
"Pull its right wing up and back," the queen mother instructed.
Niall did as she asked and the alcove seemed to unlatch from the rest of the wall. It swung open and the small opening was revealed. I wasn't sure that the commander would fit if I was honest, but once Ulrika and I were safely stowed inside Griff climbed in after us, followed by Niall. His shoulders were a touch too wide and he had to shimmy back and forth to get through the gap but as soon as he was in he swung the door shut using a handle that was on the inside.
It was a moment before any of us were comfortable talking. Once we were sure no one suspected the alcove we all breathed a sigh of relief. We weren't comfortable speaking so close to the hidden door, so we carefully shuffled along trying not to make a sound until we had gone around in a slowly inclining circle.
"Where to now, Your Majesty?" Niall asked.
"Now, we go up," she said with a grin that was wicked enough to make me shudder.
15
Kai
I didn't know what the fuck was going on, but I knew that Dres was having one of his weird conversations with Niall, his apparent brother, not that I believed that for a hot second. Dres's face twitched as though he was speaking aloud, something I'd only ever seen him do since we came to Hyperborea, and part of me wanted to laugh, but the other part was stupid and jealous. How easy it seemed for him to pick up with Niall where as it had taken the four of us years to bond through training.
"So, what's the deal?" Finn asked.
"They have Tessa, but they also found the queen mother as well. It seems her daughter dethroned her by force and the four of them think it's best to try and attack the queen from the inside."
"The fuck?" I asked, the words sliding through my teeth like lead balloons.
"Tessa is in bad shape, so is Queen Ulrika, but they think they can use a secret tunnel that Queen Ulrika knew about to get to Ailsa and take her out, replacing her with Queen Ulrika before anyone can stop them
. Apparently the two women refused to leave the palace." Dres sighed when he was done speaking and pinched the bridge of his nose. He would never say it, but I had the distinct impression that the long-distance single person communication thing he was doing with Niall was draining his reserves.
"If they were in such bad shape, why didn't they just carry them out?" Finn demanded.
"Would you have disobeyed your queen? The queen who might be able to fix the shit hole that your realm has become in her absence?" Dres asked, his eyebrow raised as he challenged Finn to disagree with him.
I sat back and watched the Atlantean get uncomfortable. We all knew the answer. He would have done exactly what Griff and Niall did.
The three of us had been waiting in a nearby area that wasn't frequented by many people, at least according to Niall. I had been expecting the three of them to come rushing out and all of us to make a run for it, well a run to the horses, and then a gallop for it. The fact that Tessa had sided with this Ulrika was more than a little annoying. It was like she had no concern for her own welfare, especially if she was in bad shape.
Who knows what that even meant?
What was 'bad shape'?
Bruises? Broken bones? Worse? The questions gnawed at me, demanding answers that I didn't have to give. I shifted in my seat again, the fabric of the soldier's uniforms we had... procured was uncomfortable, wearing against my skin, but we had been assured by Niall that they would get us in the palace should we need to all because of an insignia on the chest.
I wasn't sure how much I trusted that shit, but it was all we had and the only thing that was stopping us from being identified on sight as outrealmers. Dres was working double time to shield our minds as much as he could from anyone who was passing by. We sat silently for what felt like forever but was probably no more than an hour while we waited for news.
"We need to get in the palace and pretend we have a meeting with the queen," Dres said. "Griff, Niall, and the ladies are secured in the queen's quarters and just need us as back up while Queen Ulrika prepares to show the world she's still alive."
