Smoke and Ritual (Beautiful Dark Beasts Book 1)

by Melissa Sercia

  Sadness crept up on me. I had never felt that way about any place. “I envy you.”

  “You shouldn’t. This world of yours holds so much for you. You will find your place in it.” His lips grazed mine before he landed a soft peck on my cheek.

  My heart fluttered from the weight of his body pressing into mine. As his muscles flexed, my pulse raced. The energy between us was palpable, magnetic as it drew us closer. Mustering up all of my courage, I returned the peck, letting my lips linger on his cheek. He held me tighter, my head spinning as we whipped around the dance floor like we were the only ones in the room.

  “You look beautiful tonight,” he whispered. His breath was hot, erratic as it tickled my ear, sending tingles across my flesh.

  He traced his fingertips against my spine, moving up and down my back, slow and delicate like a violin. I bit my lip to stifle a whimper as our gazes locked through jeweled masks. Every cell in my body ached—no, hungered for more. The sleight of his hand tangled in my hair, the taste of salt still on my lips—pulled at the edges of my composure, daring me to surrender to him and whatever he wanted to do with me.

  He was so close I could almost taste him. I needed to taste him. To feel his smooth lips on mine. My eyelids fluttered as I arched toward him in anticipation, inching closer. The cymbals crashed around us, a crescendo climbing over horns and strings. And then the music stopped…

  The other couples cheered, clapping and bowing toward the orchestra. My head whooshed and my breath caught in my throat. Chaos released me and took two steps back, his eyes darkening.

  What just happened?

  Forcing a tight smile, he joined in with the others by clapping ferociously. “Smile and nod, Arya.”

  Snapping out of my reverie, I took a deep breath and copied his movements. My heart sank. It was just an act. An attempt to blend in with the crowd. And I fell for it like an idiot.

  A striking brunette stepped on stage, her gown dripping in diamonds. She nodded and smiled as the clapping grew louder. Raising her hands, the room fell quiet at her command.

  She beamed back at the crowd. “Thank you, and welcome friends. Your loyalty is most treasured. Tonight, during the festival of Samhain, we celebrate our dearly departed, and we will soon be celebrating their long-awaited return. Elysium’s rule over us must come to an end. Our ancestors must be freed and together, we shall inherit this world.”

  The crowd erupted in cheers as two large male witches emerged onto the stage, dragging a man in chains, his face bloodied. The man’s eyes rolled back as she picked up his head, digging her long red nails into his chin. “Here is the key to our salvation. Our bargaining chip. He belongs to me now and to all of you.”

  More cheers and whistles burst out from the hundreds of masked faces. Some stomped their feet while others clanked their glasses together in salute. I let out a gasp as I realized who the tortured man was. The Keeper.

  Chaos squeezed my arm and whispered, “Hold it together, Arya.”

  My heart threatened to burst out of my chest. The Keeper was our protector. The keeper of all our secrets, artifacts, and scrolls. He brought me to Sanctum after the Blood War so that I could have a home. So that I could be safe. How did they get to him? He lived in the Sea of Magia at the Hall of Secrets—it was cloaked in magic…Elemental magic. I was going to be sick.

  The woman…it had to be her. Echo. My blood. My family. She was poised and exquisite, but she was also a monster. Across the room, I spotted Sapphire and Diego, glaring toward the stage. Then Seven pulling them away, shaking his head, Sapphire throwing up her hands, Diego pointing. They were going to cause a scene.

  Chaos grabbed my arm, tugging me backward. “We need to go now.”

  Seven dashed toward us with Sapphire and Diego at his heels. “We can’t just leave him here.”

  “We have to,” Chaos replied. “He wouldn’t want us to jeopardize the Aether. Arya is the only one who can save him now, but we need to keep her alive for her to do that.”

  Sapphire gripped the hilt of the sword she had hidden in between the folds of her skirts, threatening to unsheathe it. “They are torturing him.”

  “They will torture all of us if we don’t go now. We will come back for him. I swear it.”

  Diego paced back and forth. “Chaos is right. We are starting to draw attention. We wanted to know what Echo was up to. Now we do. We need to get out of here while we still can.”

  My heart ached. Everything was a blur around me as I let them lead me across the dance floor, past the white-gloved waiters, down the crystal chandelier-lined foyer, and toward the entrance. We walked as fast as we could without breaking into a sprint. But it was easier to slip in than out.

  “Not so fast.” A tall lanky woman with a black feathered mask cut us off, her wings out in full view. They shimmered blue and green, resembling a peacock.

  A lump formed in my throat as we halted in front of her. Her beady eyes squinted back at me. I held my breath and prayed to Apollo that my mask would do as Sophia said and hide my identity.

  Chaos cleared his throat. “Is there a problem?”

  The woman sneered. “You are new here. That I’m sure of. State your coven.”

  Sweat dripped down my back, my skin itching under the tight corset. What were we going to do? I couldn’t claim the Sylph coven without them finding out who I was and we couldn’t expose Sapphire as a Crescent witch. Not with her mother missing and us still unsure if they were behind it.

  Seven stuck out his hand. “My apologies for not introducing myself earlier. I am Seven of the Nixie coven. I’ve traveled all the way here from the Fairy Pools in Scotland to partake in our most celebrated festival. These are my associates who have come to bear witness. Fledglings.” He chuckled and gave her a wink.

  She leaned forward, her nostrils wide as if she were trying to catch our scent. “Ah. New recruits? Well then, forgive me for my abruptness. You can never be too careful these days. I hope you enjoyed the festivities?”

  Seven smiled wide. “It was like a dream. Please thank Echo for hosting this year. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

  More like a nightmare, I thought. Seven spoke as if he’d run in these types of circles before.

  The woman curled her lips into a smirk. “Why don’t you stay and thank her yourself?”

  I clasped my hands tight in front of me, knuckles white. I could only imagine what everyone else looked like, as I was afraid to move or even blink. What did we get ourselves into?

  Seven responded with ease, never missing a beat. “If only we could. However, we must be going now. I have an urgent family matter that requires my immediate attention. Please give Echo my best.”

  The woman gave a slight nod and her iridescent wings fluttered behind her. “I understand all too well. We have some family matters of our own that need tending to. Echo’s niece has gone missing and she is beside herself trying to find her. If you hear anything, you will let us know?”

  A lump wedged in my throat. She was talking about me. Chaos shifted his feet, moving closer to me. The small of my back warmed from his hand, firm and protective.

  Seven gave a slight bow. “Of course. It’s been a pleasure. Till next time.”

  The peacock-feathered witch smiled and flitted off, waving to another group of guests near the ballroom.

  The five of us charged toward the exit with the speed of a freight train. That was too close. A second longer in there and we might have been found out. What if she had insisted we speak with Echo? What if they had forced us to remove our masks?

  I sucked in a deep breath as the night air hit my lungs. Echo was scarier than I’d thought. With hundreds of witches supporting her, she had a small army and was making it well known that she was coming after me. Disguising her search with phony concern about my whereabouts…pathetic. And she had the Keeper.

  My stomach turned at the thought of him being locked up and tortured. He didn’t deserve this. He had been protecting our kind for
centuries. He had always been kind to me, parental even. Making sure I was eating right and getting plenty of sleep. The Keeper was the most respected figure at Sanctum, instrumental in helping them win the Blood War, and now he was Echo’s prisoner. Sapphire was right. This was bigger than me. This was about the entire world and every creature in it.

  I have to become the Aether. I have to stop my coven from destroying everything.

  Seven

  Seven paced back and forth across the ship deck, muttering to himself, while Chaos stared off into the ocean’s abyss, deep in his own thoughts. I couldn’t get the image of the Keeper out of my head, his limp body and bloodied face.

  Sapphire placed a hand on my shoulder, pulling me back to the present. “I can only imagine what they’ve done to my mother…she’s not even as valuable to them as the Keeper is.”

  I blinked back tears. “Don’t let your mind go there. You have to stay strong for her. We are going to get her back. All of them. I promise.” I gave her hand a light squeeze.

  “Diego and I are getting off at the next port. I need to see if there’s anything left of my mother’s coven. If they are out there, they will need me.”

  My stomach dropped. “Wait, you’re not coming with me? But…I need you.”

  “Arya, what you need is to awaken your magic. I have to find my people. If there’s anyone left, we will need them to help us in this fight.”

  “But what you said about being stronger together…you were right. If you leave now, I’ll have to rely on strangers.” The thought of heading into the unknown without my friends terrified me. They were the only ones I truly trusted.

  Sapphire squeezed my hand. “We are stronger together, but Seven and Chaos will protect you. I can see that now. My mother trusted them once…so I have to trust them too. Besides it’s only a pit stop. My coven is scattered around the tip of Tunisia. It’s on the way to Italy. We’ll meet up again there.”

  I knew she had to do this. The selfish part of me wanted to beg her not to go, but she was right. It was just a detour and she wouldn’t be focused until she saw what was left of her people. If there was any chance that some of them were still there, she had to take it.

  “I understand. I just hate it all. How did everything get so screwed up? We should be sitting at the Three Blind Mice right now, celebrating me passing my potion test. Not out here on some impossible quest.”

  “It is far from impossible. You are stronger than you think, my friend. I know you better than anyone. Better than yourself sometimes. And I believe in you.” She slipped her arm around my shoulders.

  I leaned into her, breathing in her scent as if to memorize it—honeysuckle and grass, mixed with morning dew—the scent of a witch who had healed just as many people as she’d killed. “I wish I had your confidence.”

  “I’ll have to have enough for the both of us for now,” she whispered as we stared out into the sea. The waves lapped against the ship, slow and gentle, carrying a soft breeze tinged with salt and kelp. Sea spray misted my cheeks, masking my tears.

  Diego crept up behind us, hesitant to infringe on our moment. “Arya…please don’t be angry with me for leaving. I can’t let Saph go out on her own. It isn’t safe.”

  “Oh, Diego. Of course you are going with her. I don’t trust anyone else to watch her back. I’m just sad we’ll be apart for a while.”

  He let out a sigh of relief, shoving his hands into his pockets and averting his gaze toward the sea. “We’ll catch up with you soon. Stay close to that handsome god of yours.”

  “He’s not that handsome,” I quipped.

  “Right. Just like I’m not that ferocious.” He lifted his hands in an exaggerated shrug, tilting his head to the side.

  As if on cue, Chaos ambled up the stairs from below deck. His black wavy hair blew back, allowing full view of his beautiful face—his skin moist, golden and glistening around his dark almond shaped eyes, long black lashes fluttering, casting shadows over his chiseled cheek bones. His muscles flexed, tightening, as he gripped the side of the ship, oblivious to our gawking.

  The corners of his mouth turned up, a subtle smirk forming. So maybe he wasn’t that oblivious.

  “You were saying?” Diego pressed, teasingly.

  I parted my lips to speak but words escaped me. My head was buzzing. I didn’t want Chaos to have this effect on me, but he did. I turned around, looking for something else to focus on.

  Seven stood at the helm, commanding the ship like a true pirate. His movements were so swift and methodical, you could blink and almost miss the tiny sparks of magic crackling between his fingers.

  Minutes turned to hours as I huddled close to my friends, savoring the last moments between us. I knew little about the world outside of Sanctum, and even less about my place in it. One thing I knew for sure was this friendship. This unconditional love I had for the only two beings who made feel safe.

  But as the port of Tunis, La Goulette, edged into view, despite its otherworldly beauty—blue-green waters that held a hundred boats of all shapes and sizes, centered around a backdrop of pristine white buildings, their roofs smooth and rounded like muffin tops—my anxiety worsened. With bright blue doors and bent-over palm trees, from a distance the structures seemed stacked on top of each other, crowded and cluttered as they continued up the hill, ready to swallow my friends into oblivion.

  We slipped into the port unnoticed, only pulling in half-way to allow them to disembark without drawing too much attention. Sapphire was coming home, and Diego’s people had integrated in, but the rest of us stood out like sore thumbs.

  I blinked back tears and attempted my bravest face—a wide smile and chin held high. We embraced and I held on to Sapphire tighter than I ever had before. Saying farewell but not goodbye. Never goodbye.

  I kept my eyes locked on them as we sailed away from this strange, yet beautiful port until they were just two dots on the horizon. Two specks of dust that were now part of the landscape.

  I had never felt more alone than I did right now. Despite Sapphire’s newfound trust in them, Chaos and Seven were still strangers to me. They were both troubled and on the verge of losing their minds. Deep down, I knew they would keep me safe, but not before putting me in danger first.

  The whiskey was starting to grow on me, but I still would have given anything for a taste of absinthe. Plopping into the cracked leather chair below deck, the rich amber-toned liquid swirled in the glass, releasing notes of honey, smoke, and caramel.

  There was an odd sense of peace here in this quiet space. Maybe it was the sweet burn in my throat as I drank away the loss I already felt from watching Sapphire and Diego leave, or the gentle swaying of the ship as it rocked back and forth, lulling me into a state of calm. A false lulling that was just the effects of an ancient magic, because in reality, this ship was racing through the sea like a runaway train.

  The worn leather against my shoulders comforted me as I sank further into the chair, resting my head back and reveling in the silence. The ship seemed to cradle me, coaxing me into a deeper stillness till I found myself drifting off to sleep. I was on the verge of total surrender only to be jolted awake by the sound of Chaos clearing his throat.

  Letting out a groan, I opened my eyes and squinted up at him. “You know, being my bodyguard doesn’t mean we literally have to be joined at the hip.” His presence was annoying me. I never knew which version of him I was going to get.

  Chaos sat down in the chair across from me and helped himself to my drink. “We should talk about the party. About what happened between us.”

  I snatched the drink back from him. “Um, no we don’t, because nothing happened. We were just blending in, right? I think we put on a good act, don’t you?”

  “I know you don’t really believe that. We just can’t…go there. There are things you don’t understand.” Forgoing a glass, he swigged straight from the bottle.

  My blood was boiling, shattering the bliss I’d felt just moments ago. “I don’t
know why we are still having this conversation. I’m well aware that there is nothing between us and—”

  “Arya, that’s not what I said. I’m just trying to explain why I am the way I am around you.” He ran a trembling hand through his hair. This was the first time I had ever seen him flustered.

  “Well, you are doing a piss-poor job of it. Let me make this easy for you. I am only interested in awakening my magic. The sooner I do that, the sooner we can end this war, and you can go back to your precious Elysium.” Who was I kidding? I didn’t want him going anywhere.

  “Fine. I couldn’t agree more.” He sprang up and spun around, stopping short at the stairs. “But for the record…I really did think you looked beautiful last night.” He raced up the stairs before I could respond.

  I fumbled with the top buttons of my shirt, my fingers coated in sweat, and let out a deep breath. He was infuriating. One minute I wanted to strangle him, and the next, I wanted to rip his clothes off.

  “Arya, are you awake?” Seven’s voice was a welcome sound. I couldn’t bear another confusing conversation with Chaos right now.

  I sat up in my cot. “Yeah, come on in.” My head throbbed from all the whiskey. After Chaos had stormed out, I proceeded to finish the entire bottle, which I was now painfully regretting.

  Seven handed me a piece of willow bark. “Here. This will help with the headache. Apollo knows, I’ve had many.” He chuckled and sat down at the edge of my bed.

  I rubbed my temples. “Thanks. Where’s Mr. Personality?”

  “Giving you some space for now. I know he can be overbearing.”

  “Stubborn and dramatic is more like it,” I grumbled.

  “Yes. Well, you are the first to ever call him out on it. So there’s that. But we have more pressing issues to discuss. We are headed for the Fairy Pools today to meet with Luna, the Nixie coven leader. They were my mother’s coven. They will help you awaken your water magic.”

  Seven was a Nixie. It all made sense. I’d only been around him for a couple of days, but the way he commanded this ship over the sea was impossible to ignore. “Aren’t you a dhampir as well? How did that happen?”