Claimed by the King

by Lorelei Moone

  The other soldier helped keep her contained. Meanwhile, Broc was mesmerized.

  She wasn’t as tall as most islanders, but the confidence and control with which she moved suggested that she was strong for her size. One thing was certain though; she acted entirely fearless. The predicament she was in—captured by her people’s fiercest enemy—did not seem to faze her at all.

  Sea Folk invaders had shown the same confidence in battle.

  The enemy certainly knew how to make an impression. The entire incident was greatly worrying.

  Perhaps her arrival was just the start of something much more ominous. After all, the Elders with their scriptures and prophecies had been on the lookout for the first sign of the upcoming age of war.

  This was likely it.

  Still, they couldn’t very well let her go and wish this incident away. This was Black Isle territory. Intruders had to be punished. And she had been lurking around their defenses after all. They had to assume she was a spy.

  “Lock her up underneath the deck so she doesn’t dry out, then transfer her to a nice, cozy puddle in the castle dungeons at the earliest,” Broc ordered.

  He glanced at his brother, who was still frozen in place. What had gotten into him?

  Teaq wasn’t one to be easily startled, but this unexpected capture had clearly shaken him up. Was it the prospect of war that had him worried? This wasn’t the Teaq Broc had grown up with.

  “Brother?” Broc urged. “Will you accompany the prisoner transport?”

  Teaq glanced to his side. His expression was even more serious than usual.

  “Dark days are upon us.”

  Broc nodded. Once the Sea Folk found one of their own missing, especially one who had been on a mission to spy on Black Isle’s fortifications, they would retaliate.

  Teaq followed the procession of soldiers as they led the mermaid to the longship they had arrived on earlier. Broc remained on the sea wall and stared darkly over the choppy waters ahead.

  He needed the Elders’ help, and quickly. They simply did not have enough soldiers to man all the fortifications. One could never predict where an attack would land.

  Black Isle’s army consisted of extremely well trained, skilled fighters. He had bears and wolves manning his land defenses, and eagles in the skies above, each fully in control of their human as well as their animal form.

  And for all his arrogance, Teaq was an excellent commander and strategist as well.

  But the Sea Folk were a formidable enemy. Previous battles had not ended in victory for anyone.

  Both sides had simply kept going until they had exhausted themselves.

  So many lives lost.

  This time, Broc had an added concern. Kelly. An innocent; a newcomer to all of it. The urge to keep her safe seemed all important.

  Black Isle would need a lot more than just skill to win this war once and for all.

  They needed a true advantage.

  Broc once again thought of the prophecy. A stranger with great power, that could win or lose battles. The outcome of the war was not yet decided. The mermaid had shown no great interest in any of them. Put perhaps whatever her power was, it could be utilized somehow.

  Perhaps the Elders would learn something from her that could tip the scales in their favor.

  “Halt!” Broc called after the soldiers, who had nearly reached the dock. “I’m traveling with you.”

  Broc paced the Great Hall. Back and forth, then back again. He’d wanted to call a meeting with all his advisors to discuss the mermaid’s capture, but upon arriving at the castle found that Rhea had something even more pressing to discuss.

  In a day, everything had changed. Only hours ago, he had known so clearly what to do. He’d had a definite plan for how things would go with Kelly. It had all been so simple, and now this.

  “I don’t understand. Are you absolutely certain that’s what you saw, Rhea?” he demanded.

  Rhea cocked her head to the side. “I would never lie to you, my king. She’s a witch.”

  He shook his head. She had disapproved of Kelly since her arrival, for obvious reasons. But he did not believe her capable of such deceit. Rhea had always taken her role in his court seriously.

  She’d always been honest, sometimes a little too honest, especially when she disagreed with him.

  “It’s really quite obvious that the prophecy is being fulfilled,” Teaq remarked. “We can only hope it’s not too late to counter this attack!”

  Broc glared at him. Oh he would just love to be right, wouldn’t he. This was the most Teaq had said since they’d left the Eastern Isle.

  “This certainly demands further investigation. So we can determine what exactly has happened,” Broc said. “And in case you’ve forgotten, we’ve just witnessed another incident that could very well be a part of this prophecy of yours.”

  Teaq’s face twisted in anger. He had been unusually quiet on the way back to the castle, and now he still seemed touchy at any mention of the mermaid.

  “It’s quite clear what has happened, brother!” Teaq argued. “The witch felt cornered, out there doing combat training with Rhea, and she exposed herself for what she is. An infiltrator. An enemy disguised as an innocent peasant girl from West Hythe. How the humans managed to find a witch after all these years, I cannot say. But she’s here, so the hows and whys of it are irrelevant. This Reaping was obviously a trap.”

  “Now, now… “ Broc interjected. “We do not know for sure what the humans intended. Or if they even knew about this. After all, the prophecy speaks of a secret power. Perhaps it was a secret to them as well.”

  Teaq and Rhea shared a dark look. The latter scoffed and shook her head.

  “Fine, even if it was all her idea and her plan,” Rhea began. “And the humans had no knowledge of it. We are still at the brink of war. The prophecy—”

  Broc lost his calm at that point and stopped at the nearest table, banging his first hard onto its surface.

  “I am fed up of everyone’s speculations! Sick of it! We are at the brink of war, but with the Sea Folk, not with the humans. We’ll get to the bottom of this matter with Kelly also, of course. I will speak with her. I must—”

  “You will do nothing of the sort!” Teaq’s heavy voice echoed against the granite clad walls of the Great Hall.

  Broc squared up against him and kept his gaze locked firmly onto Teaq.

  “In case you have forgotten. I am King. I do not need your permission to—”

  “My king, if you’ll hear us out…” Rhea interrupted.

  Broc shook his head. No, he would not hear them out.

  This was a dark day. Black Isle had gained two prisoners tonight, and potentially lost a queen. It was senseless.

  Whose capture would more likely drag them into an armed conflict? An alleged witch, completely isolated from any of the people she grew up with? Or a mermaid, found lurking around the least defended island in their kingdom? Who was more likely to be a spy?

  “We do not know for sure if Kelly means us any harm. But we are certain that the Sea Folk are our most pressing enemy. Am I wrong?”

  Broc looked around for confirmation, but found Teaq merely staring in the distance, and Rhea sulking with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

  His logical conclusion did not fit into their narrative. Too bad. He had always aimed to be a just ruler, but he was still king. It was his decision.

  “I am going to interrogate our human prisoner now. Personally.”

  Rhea raised an arm. “My king, I do not think it safe for you to see her unguarded. We do not know enough of her powers.”

  “That’s enough! She’s chained up. She even let you carry her down the hillside without attempting to fight back or escape. What is she going to do to me? Blind me with a flash of light?” Broc bellowed.

  Teaq shook his head and turned to leave without a word.

  “Brother,” Broc called after him. “Perhaps you could interrogate the other prisoner. Find ou
t what she knows and whom she’s told. And for all our sakes, try to find out if her people are planning an attack.”

  Rhea scoffed again. “She’s not going to just spill everything.”

  Broc gestured vaguely. “Use your powers of persuasion, brother. Our safety may depend on it.”

  Teaq, who had paused for just a moment to hear Broc’s orders, glanced back once, then started to walk away again without so much as a word of acknowledgement.

  “My king,” Rhea spoke up again.

  Broc shook his head. “No. I’ve made my decision.”

  That was that. He also left the Great Hall and headed straight for the dungeons.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Wake up, my child,” a voice spoke.

  Kelly’s eyes were still heavy, but she finally managed to open them. Standing over her was a figure, bathed in white light. It took a moment for her sight to adjust. Kelly tried to stir, but her body was so cold, her muscles refused to cooperate.

  That face. That voice. Was she still imagining things?

  “Mother,” Kelly said. “Is that really you?”

  The woman smiled. “Of course. I’ve been watching all this time.”

  “Watching and speaking to me.”

  Mother nodded. “Once you were ready to hear me. You called out for me and I came.”

  “How can it be? You’re dead. I saw them bury your body all those years ago,” Kelly whispered.

  “Our people do not die as humans do. Our energy lingers in this realm.”

  Kelly shook her head. What energy? “I do not understand.”

  “You have questions. It is only natural.”

  Kelly finally managed to get up and approached the figure. But upon raising out her hand attempting to touch her, there was nothing there but air. Kelly looked down and found that her wrist was cuffed; a heavy chain connected it to a ring on the wall.

  “How do I know you are real?” Kelly wondered aloud, as she rubbed her sore arms. As soon as she’d moved, all the aches she’d developed in training with Rhea had flared up again.

  Mother let out a short laugh. “You know it in your heart.”

  Did she, though? Kelly wasn’t so sure, but she kept her doubts to herself. Her wrist, meanwhile, was on fire. She tried to soothe it by massaging herself. The cuff made it impossible to reach the right spot.

  Dejected, she wrapped herself in her woolen cloak and sat down again, resting her back against the stone wall.

  “What do you mean ‘our people’?” Kelly asked finally.

  “Beings of light. Guardians of men.”

  Kelly frowned. Of course she’d heard of them, but those were just stories. Fairy tales.

  “Witches and wizards,” Kelly said.

  Mother smiled mysteriously.

  “What you’re saying is you, my mother, are a witch. That’s why you didn’t truly die all those years ago?” Kelly wasn’t sure what she expected the answer to be. Part of her suspected she might soon wake up and find this was all a strange dream. If only the pain wasn’t so intense. You weren’t supposed to feel pain in your sleep, right?

  “You’re focusing on the wrong thing, my child.”

  Kelly took a deep breath in an attempt to collect herself. It all felt so real. But then, so had the events on the plateau earlier. And none of that could be real either. The lines between truth and fantasy were blurring and she could no longer tell one from the other.

  She rubbed her eyes, and upon opening them again found that her mother was still very much there. If it was indeed her mother, and not some apparition pretending to be her.

  “Come on. Think it through,” Mother said.

  Kelly pressed her lips together and tried to focus. Her mind was still so fuzzy. She averted her gaze.

  Wait…

  Her own hands had taken on a similarly eerie glow, though it was weak in comparison. Kelly’s heart skipped a beat.

  “You’re saying… Oh, Mother, when you said ‘our kind’ you meant me as well?” She held up her right hand to have a better look. It was flickering, like a candle about to be extinguished, but it was unmistakable. She hadn’t imagined it.

  Mother smiled and nodded. “You’re my blood. You and Ferris.”

  “I’m a… By God, that can’t be true!” Her heart was pounding now. And with it, so was the throbbing pain in her right wrist.

  “You saw it. The power we wield.” Mother raised her hand, palm upwards. In the center of it, a small ball of blue light developed. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished again.

  “That’s not… Rhea was tricking me.”

  Mother shook her head. “She provoked you. But there was no trickery involved.”

  “How come I never knew?”

  “The world is a dangerous place for us. Even before the Great War, our kind was often misunderstood. We were persecuted. Over time, we were all but forgotten, except for the odd mention in ancient tales or songs. That was for the best.”

  “They’ll punish me, Mother. Rhea said I’m an enemy of Black Isle. What do I do?” Kelly’s voice cracked.

  “She has her own troubles.”

  Kelly nodded. Her jealousy. She had disliked Kelly since her arrival because of it.

  “Do not concern yourself with her. My child, you have to decide which side you’re on.”

  “Side? I’m not on any side,” Kelly protested.

  Was she, though? Where did her loyalties lie? The villagers, including her father, who sent her off as a human sacrifice? She’d hated them for it. Her initial urge to escape had been equally about her own safety as it had been about revenge on the people who had singled her out all her life. The small-minded inhabitants of West Hythe, who had never made her feel like she belonged.

  But now she was mostly indifferent about them.

  “I don’t side with the people of the mainland,” Kelly mumbled.

  What of Black Isle and its people? They were a strange lot, and not all equally friendly. But here, everyone seemed to have a place. Everyone had value.

  And up to this point, they had treated her fairly, all things considered.

  And then there was Ferris. Only God knew where he was right now.

  Mother smiled knowingly. “Think it through. When you find your answer, you’ll know what to do.”

  Kelly looked around for the first time since waking. A cold, dark cell, only lit up by the glow surrounding her present company. The perfect place to put someone you want to forget.

  Even if she decided, as Mother insisted she should. How would it help? She was stuck here.

  Rhea had locked her up, and once word got out about what happened on the training ground today, everyone else would be equally keen to keep her here.

  Witches were something to be feared. Something to be imprisoned and destroyed. Misunderstood.

  Kelly should hate her for it; Rhea, the reason she was locked up. But she had found a new kind of clarity of mind in all of this confusion. Jealousy would make a person do things they ordinarily wouldn’t. Bree had told her the other day that Rhea wasn’t a bad person. And so far Kelly had no reason to doubt Bree’s word.

  And Broc… Why would Broc keep Rhea around; put her in charge of the Castle Guard even, if she had no redeeming qualities?

  Broc…

  Did he even know she was down here? Did he condone it?

  Kelly’s heart grew heavier at the thought. She’d grown so close to him. He was her first. The only man she could imagine giving herself to.

  She loved him, strange as it was.

  Had he abandoned her down here as well? Cast her off once word of her sorcery reached him? Just the thought was enough to make her lose hope.

  “What if it’s no use? What if I’m stuck down here?”

  Mother shook her head. “All this is only temporary. No chains can hold you. No cell can contain you.”

  Kelly frowned and looked down at her own hands again. The glow surrounding her skin had grown more intense and the flickering had
stopped.

  “Time will heal all.”

  Hopefully .

  Kelly glanced up again. It had been a whirlwind of a day and this latest information was a lot to digest. She knew so little still, she didn’t even know what to ask next.

  Mother’s own glow was weakening, though. Strange.

  “You won’t leave me again, will you?” Kelly wondered aloud.

  Mother smiled. “I’ve passed a lot of my remaining energy to you. I cannot stay like this for much longer. The spirit world is calling.”

  Kelly’s chest tightened as she finally understood.

  The light, Mother had transferred it to her. And the change was happening even faster now. She was weakening right before Kelly’s eyes.

  “No! I’m not ready! Don’t leave me now when I need you the most!”

  Mother shook her head. “My child. Now that you are self-aware, you’ll find your own path.”

  Kelly’s eyes burned with the onset of tears.

  “I don’t even know how to use this… This energy. I cannot do this alone.”

  “Oh, but you are not alone. You are of the light. We are one. Once you’re ready, you’ll know exactly what to do. Soon, you won’t be able to see me anymore. But I’ll always be in your heart.”

  Not only was the glow reducing quickly, it was as though Mother’s form had become less defined. Her whole being was fading and taking on a translucent quality as she slowly turned away from Kelly.

  “No, please!” Kelly begged. “At least tell me what powers we have?”

  Mother looked back for a moment. “That’s different for everyone. Yours seem to be defensive. It’s all instinctive. You’ll learn.”

  Kelly remembered being sucked out of her own body and watching the entire spectacle unfold. She had been able to hear Rhea’s thoughts as well, it seemed.

  By the time Kelly looked up to ask a follow-up question, she found that she was once again alone.

  So much to think about. So much yet to learn. Mother’s words still rang in her ears.

  Choose a side.

  The moment she’d stopped thinking about escaping, she’d made her choice. Her current predicament did not change that. But how would she convince everyone of her loyalties, especially Broc?