Oceantide

by Everly Taylor

  My hands were fisted at my sides and my nails dug into my skin as I watched the duster shake her wings roughly. Barely a trickle came out and he proceeded to shake harder as she cried out in pain. Fuck, I wanted to take them out right then and there. I didn’t know what to do. If I helped her to get out of there, Craig was still hanging around and could call her back. I could take out these two by shoving dust in their faces. I could carry Shay out of here as long as no one stood in my way.

  I wracked my brain for a way to take out Craig so that he couldn’t call her back, but I couldn’t figure out anything. A tear trickled down my face as I stood there helpless of what to do. I had no choice but to leave her and go to Frost. I needed him to believe what I witnessed. I would not let it go until he listened. After that, I would come back with Una, Beck, and Adar and get this poor fairy out of here.

  In the meantime, there was one thing I could do to help her for now. I snuck inside the cell, not one of them aware of my presence, and dipped my finger in the dust. Carefully, I held my finger out to the man holding her and rubbed it in his eye before moving back quickly.

  He cursed and dropped Shay, which made me wince. I took advantage of the distraction to do the same to the other man. I checked on the fairy and made sure she was still breathing before making my way out of the cage and rushing to find Frost. She was safe, but only for a short time, and I needed him to get involved before Craig caught on that his workers were not doing their job. I hoped that the dust would make them too out of it to do anything else to her while I was gone.

  Craig was still busy with the water that had now flooded the bathroom and ran out the hallway to a drain in the floor. I heard metal being moved around and cursing. I assumed he was trying to fix the leak I caused and made my way past him as fast as I dared without making a sound as I climbed the stairs. I followed the song back through the tunnels and didn’t take any care when I opened the door that led to the wing that housed Frost’s office.

  Quickly finding his door, the most ornate one of the bunch, I pounded on it desperately. The time ticked by and I started to worry that he wasn’t actually in his office when suddenly he jerked the door open. Even his icy glare couldn’t take the image of Shay being abused out of my head. “Where are your clothes, boy?”

  Oh shit, I forgot I was naked. I blanched, waiting for Frost to explode but instead he reached into his office before thrusting a robe into my arms. “Cover yourself.”

  I took the robe and slipped into it as I blurted out, “Headmaster, I know where the dust is coming from and you need to take care of this immediately. The fairy is trapped in the basement and about to die. Your personal guard is the one that bought her and is taking her dust for the students,” I said in a rush.

  “This is quite a tale you’ve come to me with,” he replied, his tone dangerous. “I don’t know where you got this information or how you got past the guards. I hope you do realize that telling me lies and implicating my trusted employees is a serious crime in this school. I will give you one chance to walk away now and we can forget this ever happened.”

  “No.” I said simply as I crossed my arms and dared him to follow through on his threat.

  “Very well,” he replied with glee. “I happen to have the person that can find the truth with me now.” He stepped aside to reveal a woman sitting at his desk. Her almond eyes seemed to stare right through me and somehow unnerved me even more than Frost did.

  She looked at me with interest, seeming to see right into my soul. Minutes passed before she finally spoke, “He speaks the truth. The fairy is in grave danger and you must get her into the light before she perishes. I believe she only has days left from what I see in his mind of her condition.”

  Chapter 31 – Una

  I was just about to fall asleep when the cell door banged open and a guard yelled at me to get up. “Frost’s office now,” he demanded giving me no information on what this was about. Ry peeked over her bed and gave me a worried glance as I stood quickly to follow the orders. I winked at her to let her know I would be okay.

  “Can I at least get dressed? I’d rather not walk around in my pajamas.” I didn’t really care, I was just avoiding going for as long as possible as I tried to get my nerves under control. I had no idea what Frost wanted this time but the fact that he had sent for me after curfew didn’t sound good.

  “No. Let’s go,” he grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me out the door.

  “Fine, you can let go now. I’m not going to fight, and you don’t need to be such a brute.” He glared at me but let me go and I followed him as he quickly walked down the hallways to Frost’s office.

  As we approached the door, I spotted two guards sitting in a puddle of water as they rubbed their heads. I smiled as I assumed it was Beck’s doing. It increased my fear a bit though and I hoped that Beck and Jet were okay.

  I was led to the room that I had been questioned by Frost and then the veritician right after Eva’s escape. My heart dropped into my stomach as I saw Jet sitting in the chair and Aleta, the veritician, sitting in a chair across from him as she stared into his eyes in that creepy way she did. Fuck, I could only hope she was trustworthy, because she was bound to get something out of him about our escape.

  “Princess Una,” Frost’s chilling voice greeted me. “It seems you have some information regarding a fairy that Jet claims is enslaved and tortured in this very castle. You do remember Aleta, I hope. She is getting what information she can from Jet, but I’d like to know what else you know. Have a seat while you wait your turn.” He gestured to an empty chair and I took it without argument. I wasn’t about to be my normal snarky self as it was Jet’s freedom that hung in the balance.

  It seemed as though it took forever before the veritician spoke, but when she did, I sighed in relief. It seemed she wasn’t going to rat us out after all. “Jet spoke the truth, as you know. Your personal guard is the one responsible for the fairy's enslavement and poor treatment. There are two other men that work with him and they may be in the cell that the fairy resides. It seems Jet could not stand to see her tortured and was swift in his way of stopping the torture, as best he, with the resources he had.”

  I could see her eyes glistening with unshed tears and whatever she saw in Jet’s mind must have been awful. I knew only some of what Shay went through and I couldn’t imagine having to see it first hand. Pride filled me knowing Jet had saved her from more pain.

  Aleta looked at Frost, “You must go down and arrest the men responsible before they do more damage, or worse, get away. I will work on Princess Una’s knowledge while you take care of business.” Her voice left no room for argument yet Frost argued anyways.

  “You are not in charge here, Aleta. I will not make arrests based on a rumor from a boy that walks around naked. I want proof,” his voice as icy as his eyes.

  “Need I remind you of your responsibility to your students? I’m sure it would look very bad for you if it got out that you ignored an imminent threat to the students in your care. It would be especially bad for you if word were to get out to the many royal families that have entrusted you to reform their offspring.” She said this casually, but I could hear the undertone of a threat.

  “You wouldn’t make it out of here for word to get out, Aleta,” he replied as he tried to intimidate her.

  She laughed, “Jack, you seem to forget the entirety of my powers. I’ve already informed my child of all that is happening here. If you think my death will protect you, you are sadly mistaken.”

  They stared each other down until finally Frost gave in, “Fine. I will put the accused in cells until we sort this out. I will also make sure the fairy they claim is down there, is safe. That is all I’m willing to give until the truth from the princess is revealed.” He started toward the door and paused as his hand touched the handle, “You will wait to pull Una’s memories until I get back. I will not budge on that.” She nodded and he left us alone. I still was unsure about her but it seemed that so far she w
as on our side.

  “You going to rat us out to the Icehole?” I questioned, knowing she knew of our planned escape.

  She stood and paced slowly seeming to consider her answer before speaking. “No. I think you are the best chance that Shay has of surviving and getting out of here. I made a promise to her queen that I would find her and protect her. The day I came across her in the market, there was nothing I could do. They were gone before I could figure out a way to rescue her. I’ve been searching for her for years. It’s not safe for her to go back home as there are those that want to ensure she never takes the throne, and those who want to use her, will just steal her away again as soon as word got out. And word will get out. We may have found those directly responsible for her enslavement and torture here, but only a fool would believe they are the only ones that are a part of this scheme.”

  I was taken aback by her confession and was relieved to hear that I could trust her. “Thank you,” I said simply at a loss of words of what else to say. Then I turned my attention on Jet, “You okay over there fish boy? You have no idea how worried I was about you.”

  He smiled at me, “I’m good. As much as I’d like to show you I’m the unshaken hero, I can admit I nearly pissed myself when she dove into my mind. Just don’t tell Beck. He’d never let me live it down.” He quickly added, “or Adar. If he’s going to be a part of us I’d rather he not know that I’m not a brave knight like he is.”

  Leave it to Jet to make me laugh in the worst of times, “My lips are sealed. I’m just glad your dick is safe.”

  “Should I step outside and give you two some privacy,” Aleta asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

  “We don’t mind an audience,” I deadpanned. “But on a serious note, do you think we will be able to break the spell that binds her to Craig?”

  “I know of the prince that will be performing the spell. He is very powerful and I believe he can do it,” she assured me. “I would like to check on Shayla myself and make sure that she is strong enough to make it until the waning moon.”

  “If Frost doesn’t let you down there, I can take you,” I offered. “I know the way and I need to get Adar down there to perform the spell anyway.”

  She smiled at me warmly, “I will take you up on it, if it comes down to it. Though I can just pull the path from your mind. I’m sorry it will be uncomfortable, but I do need to make Frost believe that I’m taking all of your secrets anyway.”

  I lifted my chin, “Do what you need to do. Just maybe don’t look at the sex parts. I mean, unless you want some great material for taking care of yourself later.”

  Before she could respond, Frost was back and slammed the door behind him. “Do your job, Aleta. I want to know everything Princess Una has been hiding from me,” he glowered at me.

  She nodded and pulled a chair up in front of me. Her almond eyes stared into my soul and it was uncomfortable as every thought and memory was laid bare for her. It was worse than taking a shit in front of a lover.

  “The fairy visited her a few times and told her of her plight. She worked to find those who kept her captured and felt as if you didn’t take her seriously when she told you about it. Only three people were involved in narrowing down the possible suspects and Jet was sent to see if he could find proof because of his abilities, hence his lack of garments when he arrived. A girl dying from the pixie dust was her breaking point of needing to find the culprit.”

  She turned her glare on Frost accusingly, “It seems to me that her and Jet did everything correctly and you should be thanking them for their work on this.”

  He ignored her last statement and instead demanded, “I want to know if she has had any contact with Evangeline or my son since they escaped. It seems to me that they have knowledge of the layout of this castle that only Jaxon would have known.”

  She raised a brow but turned back to me without argument. This time her power was a gentle poke instead of the intense feeling of being invaded. I knew she was doing it because she had to make sure Frost thought she tried her best and I was thankful that she was gentle with me.

  Finally, she let me go and spoke, “No. There was no contact. It seems she was able to remember the way to the cells by a song she created when the guard, Craig, brought her through them to you. The rest seems to be areas she has discovered on her own with no help from Jaxon. She is a mermaid at heart, Frost. It is in her instincts to explore the unknown.”

  “I need to find out where the escapees are. Look deeper, Aleta,” he demanded, his voice desperate.

  “I have looked as deep as I could and the only sign of your son are the interactions she had with him before he left. I’m sorry, Jack, but there is nothing more to find.”

  Something seemed to snap inside of him and the tension in the air grew thicker. “Alright. Una, Jet, go back to your rooms. I will take care of this dust problem. You will speak to no one about it.”

  “You got it boss,” I replied sarcastically. “None of this happened. You will take care of Shay, right? I mean, she was just an innocent bystander in all of this. I would be more than happy to bunk with her. My current roommate is a bit of a bitch. I have to sleep with one eye open for fear of her slitting my throat in the middle of the night.”

  “No. For now the fairy will remain under my care until I can figure out what to do with her. I can’t send her into the general population. Not until I know how to keep her safe from the other students.” He left no room for argument and it was safe to assume that I would be breaking her out in order to escape.

  Aleta spoke up, “She needs to heal, Jack. She needs to be out in nature for that to happen.”

  He glared at her, “I will take her to my personal garden for a short time. That should be enough until I can figure out what to do with her. I can’t have her in the general population. Without protection there will be no way to stop the others from getting her dust.”

  “May I see her?” she asked. “I’d like to accompany her to the gardens and make sure that it is enough.”

  “I will allow it this once, but you will not look at any of the other students in solitary,” he replied harshly before turning to us. “Why are you still here? Get back to your rooms,” he bellowed at Jet and myself.

  We didn’t linger any longer and left as Aleta and Frost exited as well. I walked down the hallway and was hit with a vision in my head that was obviously from the veritician. I had no idea she could do something like that. She showed me that she would be going down to the dungeon to check on Shay and that made me feel a little better knowing that I might find out how she was.

  I turned and met her eyes, projecting the thought that I’d like her to show me what she found and she nodded in response. With that, Jet and I made our way back to the cell block, each of us too lost in our own thoughts to hold a conversation. He walked me up to my level and gave me a kiss, “I love you, Una.”

  I squeezed him tightly, knowing that the horrors he saw haunted him, “I love you too Jet and I’m so proud of you. You saved Shay’s life today, even if it doesn’t feel like it.”

  A guard stood posted outside of my door to let me in. I passed through the door and he slammed it shut behind me, locking us in again for the night. Ry had waited up and looked at me as I entered. I relayed to her everything that happened while I was gone. She was relieved to find out that the veritician was on our side and that Jet had saved Shay.

  The moon was high in the sky indicating that it was well into the night but neither of us wanted to sleep. We were both hoping that Shay would pop in and visit even though part of us knew it wasn’t going to happen.

  Hours passed before I got a vision in my mind from Aleta. Shay was in rough shape and Frost was on a warpath, screaming and yelling at the three men that were responsible, all of them chained to the cell opposite of Shay’s.

  I watched in horror as icy tendrils left his hands and wrapped around Craigs throat as he slashed at him, cutting him deeply. I could hear the cries of the guard as his blood dr
ipped on the floor. Then he turned his magic on the other two who were shaking and pleading with him for mercy. “You should have thought about that before you brought disgrace to my school,” he said calmly before sending shards of ice straight through their hearts.

  I felt sick to my stomach and wondered why he let Craig live and the others were put to death. Frost’s voice echoed through the caverns and answered my question, “I trusted you, Craig. You betrayed my trust and for that you will die a slow death. I will leave you here to think about the shame you have brought me while you starve. Or bleed to death, whichever comes first.”

  The scene went black and I thought that was it until a new picture came into my mind. Aleta showed herself carrying Shay to a garden that I had never seen before. Shay seemed to start glowing as soon as her skin touched the soft looking grass.

  The picture shifted to Frost, who was pacing along a stone path. “She should be fine now. I’m taking her back to the cells until I figure out what to do with her.”

  “I can return her to her people,” Aleta offered.

  “No. I don’t want this to get out. If it is true that she’s been a slave most of her life, she will need to learn how to be a successful magical being. This is the place for her. You are dismissed Aleta. I will take it from here.”

  I sat up as the vision went blank and relayed everything to Ry. We both agreed that although it would have been best to have her go with the veritician, at least we still knew where she was and had the opportunity to save her. Adar and I would have to sneak into the dungeon and break the binding spell. Craig looked to be in rough shape but I wouldn’t take the chance that he would die, effectively breaking the binding, before Eva arrived to save us.

  I managed to nod off just as the sky was showing the first signs of light peeking over the horizon. I groaned and knew I couldn’t make it through the day and then also be at my best to help Adar with the spell to free Shay. Ry offered to speak to Chan about missing the first class. Hoping Henry would cover for me with breakfast, I took her offer and fell back to sleep, not waking until near lunchtime.