Forsaken Secrets: A slow-burn new adult fantasy romance (Isle of the Forsaken Book 1)

by Olivia K Moto

  The surroundings passed quickly, and then everything was dark. A tunnel? So this wasn't right against the ocean?

  My lungs burned as we sped through tunnel after tunnel. Oh gods. Would we get out in time?

  Finally, we emerged into the light.

  Bright blue water surrounded us as Renhira swam between fallen columns and small wrecked boats.

  My stomach and chest spasmed, black sparks closing in on my vision as she wound around the ruins.

  Finally, we burst through the surface and into the sunlight.

  I gasped for breath as my head spun. Lynk popped up to my right, and Eli was beyond him, still clutching that red revyn. Finally free, it hopped onto the fleiral's head and shook itself a few times before flying away.

  "Sorry," Renhira said. "I tried to go as fast as I could, but I could feel your lives fading."

  "Thank you. Without you, we'd have been trapped," I said, still trying to steady my breathing.

  "It's nothing." She slipped up to a small beach and slid her body up so I could climb off.

  I smiled, "We'll find some way to save your mother, too. Oh — " I pulled my soaking wet pack off my back and retrieved the little clutch of eggs. "She gave me these for you." I passed the little pouch to her.

  Her eyes spun, and she dipped her head softly to nudge at the little eggs. "I — thank you so much, Weaver. We owe you everything!" She picked up the pouch gently, then dipped her head at me. "Stay safe and don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything!"

  "You too!" I said, watching as she dove back into the water, joining the other young vrytra as they swam towards the rest of their pod. Hopefully they'd all be able to stay safe now.

  Eli murmured something to the lead fleiral, and they shook their purple head, sending all the water from that feathered mane onto Eli.

  He laughed and stepped away, waving to them as the herd trotted off.

  "You two need to get home," Lynk said as Eli walked over to us.

  I looked at him, brows high. "What? Why? Do you understand that we left Solyn down there to be tortured and die?" My chest ached at the thought.

  He just nodded. "I have a plan to fix this all, but it requires that you two stay out of the way." He bent and dumped out his bag, letting the water drain as he grumbled about damn kids and monsters.

  I wanted to fight, but Eli's fingers pressed into my arm. "Let him go," he whispered.

  Let him go? Why?

  I wanted to argue, but knew it would do no good. Once Lynk was gone, we could make our own plan. If he didn't want to include us in his, so be it.

  "Fine,” I said. "You go, and we'll stay out of your way."

  Lynk looked up, eyes narrowed. "Really?"

  I clenched my jaw, but forced a smile as I nodded.

  He scoffed, then returned to stuffing his pack. "I don't believe you for a second, little thief. But I'm hoping you're telling the truth."

  "We'll stay out of trouble," Eli said.

  Lynk shook his head and put his pack on. "Just relax for a few days. Okay?"

  We nodded, but my stomach burned. He wanted us to just sit around while he solved this? Perhaps he'd forgotten that we weren't actually children.

  Glaring at us one last time, that chestnut hair glinting red in the sunlight, he strode to the bluff behind us and climbed to the top.

  Gods, he was fast! If I wasn't so angry, I might have even enjoyed the view.

  As soon as he was out of earshot, Eli turned to me, "So what's the plan?"

  I turned to face him. "Did you see who was torturing the vrytra in Solyn's memory?"

  28

  Eli

  I stared at Kaiya, wide eyes pinched and hands clenched at her sides as waves crashed behind her. She was completely soaked and absolutely furious.

  How Lynk had thought she'd just sit around waiting for him to solve the problem, I had no idea. Even I knew her better than that.

  "What do you mean?" I asked. I'd seen the man in Solyn's memory, but he hadn't been familiar.

  "He's Lady Ellingsworth's manservant. I'm sure of it." She strode to the edge of the water and stared out for a moment before looking back at me. "And do you know what was directly above those caverns?"

  "Your house?" I asked.

  She shook her head. "No. You see over there?"

  I looked where she pointed. The ruins at the edge of her land were a few hundred feet to our right. We'd descended into the secret library from there. "That's the far-most right edge of our land, and how far do you think we traveled underground?"

  "I — a good quarter-mile, at least."

  She nodded. "Exactly. And everything for the three miles to the right of our land belongs to the Ellingsworths!"

  Holy hells. She might have something. So what if it was, though? What could we really do?

  "I know you hate them, but this is a big accusation. A dangerous accusation … and one I'm not sure we can even do anything with. At least not without endangering you or your aunt even more."

  Kaiya's eyes glittered. "You SAW what they were doing down there, Eli. We can't let that continue!" She paced back to my side, wet boots squelching in the sand. "If I need to, I swear — I will sneak into that elaborate mansion, find them, and strangle them tonight — before they hurt any more of those vrytra. Who's to say they won't just send their men out in that submersible to gather more?"

  "Well, that might be a little hard," I grinned and pulled a black iron capsule from my pocket. It being gone would make the submersible useless. At least for a few days.

  She spun around, a huge smile lighting up her face, and my heart did a strange leap.

  "You're absolutely brilliant, Eli!" she said, dancing in those wet leather pants that showed every single one of her curves. "I could just k — " her cheeks turned a bright pink.

  The unsaid word hung between us and I stared at her lips. Were they as soft as they looked? What would they taste like?

  Her tongue darted out to wet the bottom one and heat shot straight to my cock.

  Fuck.

  I adjusted my pants and forced a smile.

  Friends. We were friends.

  It was better to ignore the moment, no matter how much it killed me to do so.

  My heart twisted, but I pushed away the feeling and forced a smile.

  She tugged at her sopping wet hair. "You could feel the pain Lunei was in, too, right? We have to do something to stop them."

  "Fair enough," I said, slipping my shirt over my head. "But did you see how powerful they were? Even Lynk was struggling to beat them. If we hadn't had that rod from the spryke cage, I don't see how we could have won."

  I wrung the blue fabric out, the water dropping to the sparkling black sand beneath my boots.

  "I — yes." Kaiya stammered. I glanced up to see her hazel eyes focused on my naked chest and grinned.

  So she wasn't completely oblivious …

  Finally, she shook her head and met my eyes. "You're right. But we can't just forget about them. They had twisted relics, wraiths, a fucking spryke, AND tainted body mages!"

  I bit my cheek. She was right. Of course she was. Still …

  "Lynk said he was going to take care of it." I pulled off one boot and then the other. Silt and water streamed out, then I slipped them back on.

  "Yeah. I'll believe that when I see it," she said, laughing bitterly. "Do you really think he cares about the fleirals or even the vrytra? He's a gods damned monster hunter. He kills them for a living!"

  "I don't know. He's been pretty reliable so far."

  She examined something in her pack. The silver pin from that skeleton? "Fine. You can do that. But I'm going to do something about this."

  "What about the loan? If you can't get enough money …"

  Opening her pack, Kaiya put the pin back in and turned to look at me, hazel eyes hard. "Can't you see? This could solve BOTH problems. If the Ellingsworths get in trouble, we'll get someone else to manage our loan. The normal payments are manageable. It's just al
l the "extras" she piles on each year." She strode over to a rock and sat down, unlacing her shoes and dumping out the water that had collected in them.

  I sank down next to her, careful not to let our shoulders touch. "I'm sorry, Kaiya. I know that this wasn't what you expected, or even hoped for — but I still don't think this is the answer you want. We should wait until we hear from Lynk."

  She lifted her chin to glare at me, those hazel eyes flashing. "I'm going to make it work. You can either help me or not." Her gaze dropped, and she sucked in a breath. "Either way, there were no saleable relics down there. Our work together is done."

  Her words sent a sharp pain through my chest, and I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. I'd begun to think of us as friends, but she was so quick to toss me away! Had I been wrong?

  "Kaiya. There are other ways — "

  She stood abruptly. "I don't understand! You saw how they were being treated. You left Solyn trapped there, about to die! How can you just let them get away with it?" Fury emanated from every pore of her, and I couldn't help admiring how strongly she fought for what she believed in.

  How would it feel to be on the receiving end of that loyalty?

  This wasn't the way to handle it, though. She was going to get hurt. I could feel it. I couldn't handle someone else getting hurt because of me.

  "Of course I felt it, Kaiya. Of course!" I kept my voice calm and reached out to her. "I could feel every single ache in Solyn's mind! But you and I have no power here. Plus, both of us are hiding magical powers. This is a recipe for disaster. Can't you feel it?"

  Her eyes narrowed, and she leaned in, finger jabbing at my chest. "So says the reckless lordling who fell off a gods damned cliff because he was curious. I thought you wanted an adventure, Eli? To prove yourself to your team? Well, this is the way! Just imagine that you take down their entire operation. Your boss is bound to be impressed. And I'm sure they'll confiscate all those relics! This would be the perfect answer, and you're refusing because you're scared. What are you so scared of?"

  My chest ached as I stared at her. Gods, she was beautiful when she was angry. We couldn't pretend this was going to be easy or safe, though.

  Taking a deep breath, I held my hands up. "How about this? We don't know much about this group, what they're doing, or why. What if we start by looking into the eggs? I mean, we know they're selling them to a distributor somewhere. How else would all the shops be getting them? Maybe we can find that out and use it to plan our next steps?"

  Her eyes lit up. "That's actually a great idea. If they're selling those eggs, I'm sure their fingers are in other illegal pots as well. Just think of all those relics that we saw the mages using, and that was only a tiny portion of the facility. I'm guessing that there were more areas down there that they've already hunted. This might be enough to actually get help from the Empire!"

  It seemed like a long shot, but at least we were headed down the right path.

  I held up a hand. "If we do this, I want you to promise that if things get too dangerous, you will stop and wait for Lynk. He has more sway than either of us."

  She nodded, but wouldn't meet my eyes.

  "Promise me, Kaiya." I leaned in until we were eye to eye and I could smell the salty scent of the ocean on her hair. "Please?"

  She swallowed hard, then looked up. Her pupils were wide and her lips parted. "I promise."

  I nodded and stepped back, trying to ignore the way her eyes dropped to my lips, but it went against all my instincts.

  I was leaving soon, not to mention that most of what she knew about me was a lie.

  So, instead, I let my lips curl into a smirk and stepped away. "Damn. I should have convinced you to promise something bigger! The one time I have the chance to get you to do whatever I want, and I waste it on this?!"

  Her lips twitched, then curled into a smile, and she shook her head as she turned back to her bag. "Well, we'd better get started then."

  I held my wet shirt out. "In this?"

  She laughed. "Of course not. Can you imagine me going into town in wet leather breeches? Gods. I'd never hear the end of it. No. We should both change and then meet at the general store. Your aunt and uncle are the best place to start …"

  I grimaced. Of course they were.

  I did not look forward to that conversation!

  29

  Kaiya

  I'd slipped off my wet blouse and Lynk's leather trousers and traded them for a walking gown when Sylvie came in.

  "What are you doing, miss?" She rushed to my side and helped button the back of my blouse, staring pointedly at the pile of wet clothes by the door.

  I grimaced. "Just don't tell Aunt Grace. Please?"

  "Fine, but she's worried, you know. I don't think I've seen her sleep since that viper visited."

  My heart lurched. Damn stubborn aunt of mine. "I'll talk to her soon. I promise."

  Sylvie just nodded and slipped my corset on, tightening the stays loosely. Just how I liked it. Any tighter and it was too hard to move, let alone breathe!

  "What have you found? Anything that will help?" Sylvie combed her fingers through my hair and tsked. "What in the seven hells have you been doing to get your hair into such a mess? Have you been swimming again? Don't you know how dangerous those waters are?"

  I shrugged. "You know me."

  I wasn't going to tell her I'd ridden on the back of one of the supposedly ‘dangerous creatures' that everyone always went on about, and she was definitely not the terrifying monster they described.

  She wrinkled her nose, then shook her head as she pinned the last twist in place on the back of my head. "Well, that's as good as it will get today."

  I grinned. "Thanks, Sylvie. Magic, as always. Where is my aunt?" I needed to avoid her for a bit longer.

  "In her office. Silly woman is still trying to figure out some way to get enough sewing done to make the payment."

  Perfect.

  I grabbed my shawl and took a deep breath. "I'll go out the back, then."

  "Fair enough, miss. Be safe, though. Please?"

  I nodded and stepped out, rushing downstairs and out into the fresh air. It had warmed since the morning … or maybe it was just the dry clothing. I looked up at the clear sky and smiled. We were going to solve this. I was sure of it!

  It didn't take long to get to the general store, and I grinned at the sight of one of Aunt's gowns hanging in the window.

  "My lady. You certainly clean up nice!" A warm hand on my shoulder made me turn around. Eli stood there, once again dressed in a morning coat, just like a proper gentleman. You'd never know he was a Reaper by looking at him. Though, you probably wouldn't know by watching him work, either.

  A commotion behind us made me turn around, and my stomach dropped. A Seeker …

  "Kaiya, get inside." Eli's whispered warning made my heart tighten. I shook my head, though, and pasted a smile on my face before stepping in front of him.

  The Seeker was coming towards us, his black cloak swirling over the ground unnaturally and the king's mark across his cheek visible even from here. I wanted to feel sympathy for him, but all I saw was danger …

  "Miss Maderoth." The voice was low and rumbling, and I had to look up to meet his eyes. I knew to expect the darkness there, but it surprised me nonetheless.

  "Seeker." I forced the words through gritted teeth and held my hand out. It was always better to offer than to have them force it.

  He just shook his head and looked behind me.

  Eli. Lynk had said that his shields weren't strong enough to protect him! Panic filled me as Eli stepped up to my side and offered his hand as well.

  "Elimri Westin. I'm here visiting my aunt and uncle — the Harlsteds?" He pointed behind himself at the store with his free hand, then withdrew a small paper from his pocket. His Reaper's license.

  The Seeker narrowed his eyes as he read it, then nodded and placed his hand on Eli's.

  My heart galloped so hard I thought I'd pass out, but El
i stayed calm.

  Finally, the Seeker dropped his hand and bowed slightly. "Thank you for your cooperation. We're searching for some mages. The Magistrate has reported items missing and believes them responsible. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, please report it. And as always, keep safe."

  Then he was gone.

  Relief made my knees weak, but we were still in the middle of the street. Not the place to have a conversation like I wanted.

  Eli offered his elbow, and I gratefully let him lead me into the store. "Was it just me or did that Seeker have an issue with the Magistrate?" He asked as we stepped inside.

  I slumped against the counter. We still weren't safe, but it was better than out there! Had he shielded like Lynk had mentioned?

  "You'd be correct. They like to think they're above the law, and he likes to think he's above them. It's messy and everyone just tries to stay out of it."

  I spun my ring around my finger. Lynk made it sound like my affinity would eventually mature. If so, could I learn to shield, too? I'd need some way to protect myself …

  "Where'd you get that ring?" Eli asked, leaning in to get a better look.

  I leaned back, startled, then looked down. "Oh. It's just something my parents gave me before …"

  He nodded. "Can I see it?"

  I shrugged and passed it to him.

  "It's beautiful!" he said, spinning it around on his index finger. "So smooth …"

  I nodded. It was one of my most precious items.

  He looked about to say something when Mrs. Harlsted poked her head around the office door. "Eli! Kaiya! You're here! Together? I thought I recognized those voices!" She put down the item she'd been dusting on the counter, then rushed to us. "You look as if you've seen a ghost, though! Did something happen?"

  Eli passed the ring back to me and turned to face her. "Are you busy?"

  She shook her head, eyes serious. "No. We're alone. What happened?"

  I raised my eyebrows and gestured for Eli to take the lead. He nodded and leaned closer to his aunt. "A Seeker just checked us."

  Her brows knit together, and she looked between the two of us. "So she knows about your magic?"