Trinity Found: The Lost Daughter Of Angor Series - Book 1

by Settle Myer

  And, finally, Calum. He’s the nerd of the bunch. Well, the hot sexy nerd you’d expect to see in a poorly acted porn. He’s wearing a white short-sleeved dress shirt that his biceps barely fit in and a bowtie. A BOWTIE. It’s adorable with blue and pink stripes. His shirt is tucked into light khaki pants. I swear, if he had glasses, there would be a piece of tape holding the frames together at the nose. Calum’s platinum white hair parts at the side and is combed over. Textbook nerd. But I’m digging it.

  “Nice to meet everyone,” I say and scan the area. A three-story tan home with white trimmings sits before me. It’s night, and two SUVs, including the Audi that brought me here, are parked in front of a lit-up garage. My ears perk up to the sound of waves crashing nearby, and I inhale salt-filled air.

  “Where are we? The beach?”

  “Jersey Shore,” Julian grumbles and breaks from the group of guardians to take the white wooden stairs leading to the front door on the home’s second floor. Ok, guess we’re going inside.

  The white décor is blinding. Couches, dining room chairs, cabinets – all white. Hints of blue line the kitchen’s tiled walls, and the dark hardwood floors make the bright space tolerable. The guards split up to claim rooms, so I do the same. After exploring, I counted four bathrooms and five bedrooms, including one master. And that’s where I find Julian.

  “Where am I sleeping?” I ask, making my way to the double doors that open to a balcony overlooking the ocean. Rough waves slam onto the sands then quickly descend back into the ocean. It’s a calming ambiance that makes me want to go right back to sleep. But after the drooling incident, I’ll make sure no one will ever see me sleep again.

  “This is your room,” Julian says, dropping his bag to the floor.

  I walk around the massive space, admiring the stacks of books on shelves that line the dark grey walls. A few abstract paintings hang, depicting colorful and obscure shapes. A king-sized bed is placed perfectly in the middle of the room, neatly made with a blue and white comforter and a handful of throw pillows in the same colors.

  “And which room is yours?” I ask, tracing my finger along the spines of the books, hoping to find one I can steal.

  “I’m staying in here with you.”

  I stop in my tracks, my mouth dropping open, waiting to catch flies.

  “S’cuse... excuse me?”

  Julian falls back onto the cushions and pillows of a reading nook tucked away in a somewhat hidden corner of the master bedroom. He stretches and rests his hands behind his head.

  “All of the other rooms are taken. Five bedrooms, in total. Eight guards, two per room, then there’s you and me. And I’m not letting you out of my sight. Not until all the rebels are captured, and Hyde is dead.” He yawns and closes his eyes.

  I drop my arms to my side, horrified at the thought of a boy sleeping in the same room as me. Not just a boy, a sexy Royal Guard who I can’t seem to keep out of my thoughts. I’m never going to be able to fall asleep tonight, worried that I’ll snore too loud or drool again. Or worse, fart in my sleep. Hey, girls fart, too. Whatever, it’s not like we’re in a relationship. Or even friends. He’s just doing his job protecting me. Yet, that doesn’t calm my crippling fear of the opposite sex. Yeah, this nerdy girl would rather curl up with a good book than hang out at the beach flaunting a bikini body or going to the popular girls’ party at some dive bar that allows underage kids inside to get wasted. And this socially awkward dork who doesn’t know how to flirt worth her life has only kissed one boy, and that was during a game of spin the bottle at Gia Franklin’s sixteenth birthday party. Not to mention, I spent too much of the last two years lusting after an older man, Shiloh freakin’ Suárez, who now apparently wants me dead.

  Julian starts breathing heavily, and I realize he’s fallen asleep. Of course. I roll my eyes and toss my bag on the bed. My stomach grumbles, and I remember our stop for pizza in the city was interrupted by rebels attempting to kidnap me. Time to search for food.

  The kitchen is the size of my entire bedroom inside my former Harlem apartment. I frown at the realization that I’ll never see that place ever again. All my belongings, my books, pictures, and memories of a false life – gone. A part of me wants to be sad, to mourn the things I’ve lost, but instead, I’m overcome with relief. I’d always felt I was living the wrong life. I was going through the motions and emotions, always waiting for something bigger to happen. Always thinking I didn’t belong.

  A mountain of food sits on top of a white marble island. My eyes widen at the smorgasbord of fried foods: French fries, burgers, chicken nuggets. There are even healthy options: salads, fruit, and veggie platters. I’m way too hungry to be worried about calories right now. I pile my plate with a range of junk and grab a bottle of Coke.

  I follow the faint sound of laughter, which gets louder the closer I get to a set of double doors off to the side from the kitchen. I pull them open, and cigar smoke slaps me in the face. The room goes silent and, staring at me, wide-eyed like they’ve been caught with their hands in a cookie jar, are the eight Royal Guards assigned to protect me. They’re sitting around a long dining room table, piles of food and beverages in front of them. Half of them have cards out, playing poker.

  My eyes light up. “What’s the game? Texas Hold ‘Em? Deal me in. I’ll kick your asses!”

  The group cheers, holding up their drinks in one hand and a burger or cigar in the other. I sit in the open chair in between Officer Lions and Officer Martinez.

  “Your Grace,” Officer Lions says, nodding his head to me.

  Officer Martinez rubs my back and smiles. “How you holding up?”

  I stuff my face with a huge bite of burger and give Martinez a thumbs up. She laughs and pats my shoulder before getting up to throw away her plate and refill her drink. It takes me all of two minutes to inhale my meal. I debate going up for seconds, but my stomach has reached max capacity.

  The boisterous group of guards and soldiers swap war stories, gory details, and all. My favorite, while not gory, was from Chanel, who says she once seduced one of Hyde’s rebels into divulging the location of a hideout. And the art of seduction isn’t even her virtue. My newfound lady crush has the ability to transport. Need to be in Chicago? Snap of fingers, boom! She’s walking along the Magnificent Mile. Chanel’s virtue was especially helpful on the battlefield, popping up at an enemy’s side to snap a neck like a ninja in the night.

  The soldier who terrified me the most was Reed. He shared the time he came face to face with Hyde during the battle of Glynn. That’s a region of Angor where some of the poorest inhabitants live, many of who are refugees from other worlds. Reed took a spear to the heart, but because he’s invincible, it was more like a splinter that he pulled out himself.

  I was hoping to learn more about Falon, the driver who pulled me away from the ambush at Donnie’s. He’s young, probably in his late twenties, and has a massive scar on his chin that extends down his neck and disappears behind his black t-shirt. But he didn’t share the story of how he got that scar. In the short time I’ve known the man, he’s said maybe one or two words in total.

  Lucian shared some of his adventures as a tracker. He can spot the tiniest detail, the smallest of left-behind evidence, and even a person’s scent to locate their whereabouts. His best work was locating a child who got swept away by the currents of a raging river during his family’s vacation to Lolaya. Based on Lucian’s story of plush forests, palm trees, crystal-clear waters and huts on stilts, Lolaya appears to be the sister destination of Bali here on Earth.

  Calum, turns out, isn’t a fighter. He’s a technology wiz. That’s his virtue, and it perfectly matches his nerdy appearance. Calum can look at any electronic and diagnose the problem within seconds. His sole purpose on the team is to monitor rebel movements, fix weapons if they break, and solve any other tech emergencies.

  I also learned Skyler was the youngest of the crew apart from Julian. He’d just joined the guard a year ago at eighteen, now ninetee
n. He didn’t have much experience on the battlefield, but his virtue, which he got at seventeen, landed him a spot on my protection team. He can bend fire, taking a flame no matter how small, and manipulate it into a blaze as big as a house. Apparently, virtues emerge anywhere between the age of sixteen and eighteen. Everyone is different. Royals, however, always get theirs at age eighteen.

  It’s been a few hours listening to the crew share war stories. At one point, the stories turned into memories of silly pranks during training sessions or most embarrassing moments in life.

  I snack on a cold pile of fries and ask during a moment of calm, “So, what’s Hyde’s deal anyway? Why does he want the throne so bad?”

  Officer Martinez and Lions exchange concerning glances. Reed and Chanel lower their heads, and the remaining soldiers pretend the ceiling has the most interesting design they’d ever seen.

  “Hyde is your uncle,” Julian’s voice ripples through my bones from behind. I turn in my chair, and he leans against the door frame like he’s posing for the cover of GQ Magazine. His sandy blonde hair, tousled from sleep. For the first time since walking through my hospital room door and commanding my life, he looks his age.

  “I don’t understand.” Shock takes over my voice. “My uncle wants me dead?”

  Julian pushes himself away from the doorframe with his shoulder. He slowly walks around the dining area. “A few months after the Queen announced she was pregnant, it was as if a switch flipped in Hyde. He went mad and started disagreeing with his brother, King Elijah de Reux. You see, King Elijah and your mother Shaylin wanted peace between worlds. And we’ve discovered a lot of worlds. Dozens with beings just like us. We’ve also formed alliances with a handful of worlds full of unique species you’ve likely only seen in your science-fiction movies and television shows. I’ve met creatures with blue or purple skin, beings with animal-like features or antennas coming out of their necks, and creatures with an extra arm or leg.”

  My eyes light up with pictures of aliens swirling through my head. He basically just described characters from Guardians of the Galaxy, and my sci-fi loving soul is overjoyed.

  “However, some of these worlds are in turmoil. Your parents opened the doors, welcoming refugees from these neighboring, war-torn nations. But Hyde believed showing compassion to these beings in need would make Angor appear weak and vulnerable. So, he gathers an army and invades Malakai. The leaders of Malakai had actually signed a peace treaty with Angor just days before and had planned to accept our help as long as they ended their civil war. Malakai rescinded the peace treaty after Hyde attacked. His army killed millions of innocent Malakadians.” Julian’s jaw tightens, and I can sense the fury radiating off of him. I sense it, yet his anger has not overwhelmed me physically. I wonder if he’s holding it back to protect me.

  Julian continues. “Hyde’s unnecessary invasion caused a war between Angor and our neighboring worlds. And, within weeks, more Angorians sided with Hyde’s radical political views and joined his rebel army. Then, they started killing people who opposed them. Now, Angorians are trying to flee to save their families, but they can’t go to neighboring worlds because of what Hyde did. Fleeing to Earth was the only option. The portal, which was rarely used up until then, was now being overrun with refugees.”

  Each soldier nods as if they lived through every sordid detail. However, the only protectors in the room who looked older than thirty were Reed and Rosie. Perhaps, the rest learned about Hyde’s revolution in school.

  Julian stands on the opposite side of the room. He places his palms flat on the dining room table and demands my full attention. I oblige and lock eyes with him. “Hyde was next in line for the throne if your father died. Until...”

  “Until, me,” I whisper only because my voice has dropped to the bottom of my feet.

  Chanel adds, quietly, “The Queen was desperate to protect you. She lied, saying she had a miscarriage, hoping it would keep you out of danger. But Hyde found out you were born. There must have been a spy in the castle. Unsure what he would do, the King and Queen decided the only way to keep you safe was to escape to Earth.”

  Julian picks up where Chanel left off. “Hyde followed her through the portal, and we believe he tracked her down, or his rebels did, causing her to take the kill pill. He’s been scouring the Earth ever since, trying to find you.”

  “How was he able to get through the portal? Wouldn’t they have recognized him and stopped him?” I ask.

  “Well, going through the portal is like taking a flight,” Rosie chimes in. “You have to have a ticket, documents. However, eighteen years ago, our security wasn’t as high-tech or strict as it is now. Hyde ended up forging documents and disguised himself to get through. Now, we take blood, we scan fingerprints. They test for forged documents.”

  “So, Hyde just leaves his army on Angor to come find me?”

  Chanel nods. “He appointed a leader on Angor, and they continued on their warpath. Thousands of Angorians have died fighting them over the past eighteen years. The number of other-worldly creatures he’s killed is even higher. It’s been devastating. However, we’ve made progress. The Royal Guard has managed to either kill or arrest nearly all of Hyde’s rebels. We believe only dozens of cells remain.”

  “But now he has a huge following on Earth?” I ask, trying to process everything the team is telling me. It’s all so overwhelming.

  Julian says, “He’s been re-building an army here on Earth with the Angorians who escaped. It’s possible Hyde has threatened their lives and forced them to join.”

  “And they’ve been helping him search for me?

  “Yes. And you would have remained hidden from the rebels if it wasn’t for that video showing you fighting off the mugger.” Frustration fills Julian’s voice. Frustration and a touch of animosity. But is he frustrated with me or the situation?

  Silence and sadness engulf the room and overpower me to a point I want to cry. Tears well in my eyes, and I wipe them away the moment one dares to escape.

  Julian must have noticed my inevitable breakdown because he stands upright. I see him nod my way, raising an eyebrow to Chanel.

  “All right, everyone,” Chanel announces. “We had an eventful day. I think it’s time we get some rest. We need to awake early tomorrow and move on to the next safe house.”

  The team of protectors slowly file out of the dining area, each one patting me on the shoulder or messing up my hair like the little sister who just found out her goldfish died. After the last massive man walks out the door, I sniffle and bury my head in my hands. Julian sits beside me, pulling me to his shoulder. I let out every ounce of tears stored in my body. Julian’s t-shirt is getting soaked, but I didn’t care at that moment. He rubs my arm and rocks me back and forth. It’s soothing, and my tears begin to wane.

  “I think that calming spell you put on me is wearing off.”

  “It wasn’t a spell... Never mind. I can do it again if you want?”

  I lift my head off Julian and use the bottom of my shirt to wipe my nose and any remaining tears.

  “No, it’s fine.” I try not to think about how red my face must be. Or how puffy my eyes are. Some princess I am. Not to mention, worst birthday ever.

  I perk up, remembering it is my birthday. And Julian’s. I jump out of my seat, leaving a shocked Julian at the dining room table. I return with a cupcake, candle, and lighter; items I asked Officer Martinez to pick up during one of her many smoke breaks.

  “What is this?” Julian asks, honestly confused.

  “You don’t know what a cupcake is?”

  Julian rolls his eyes. “I know what a cupcake is. I’m just confused as to why you are bringing it to me.”

  I sit cross-legged in the chair facing him. After opening the candle package, I place one in the cupcake and light it with Officer Martinez’s Zippo. With the cupcake on my palm, I hold it in between Julian and me.

  “It’s our birthday. And here, on Earth, we celebrate with cake,” I smile at the
absolute lost and uncomfortable Julian, who tries to hide his vulnerability with a shield. Too late, I already felt his anguish.

  “And what is the candle for?”

  “To make a wish.”

  Julian snorts. “Ridiculous. Magic does not come from candles and cupcakes. These wishes will not be granted.”

  I roll my eyes. “Just... humor me, okay? Pretend our wishes will come true.”

  Julian sighs the most dramatic sigh any angsty teenage boy would be proud of.

  “Okay, close your eyes.” I peek at Julian to see if he’s closing his eyes, and I smile when he does. “Think about your wish. Don’t say it out loud. On the count of three, let’s blow out the candle together.”

  With one hand, I hold the cupcake. With the other, I place it to palm with Julian’s. A jolt shocks my nerves leaving me wanting more. It happens every time we touch. And I know Julian experiences the electricity vibrating between us because he always lets out a tiny growl.

  “Okay. One... two... three.”

  We blow out the candle together, and the lights flicker. I shoot open my eyes and scan the room, thinking one of the guards is playing a trick on us. But we’re alone. When I turn my head back to Julian, my nose bumps into his. His breath fans across my lips, and I taste mint. It awakens my sweet tooth, and I can’t take it anymore. I cup my hand around the back of Julian’s neck and pull him in for a kiss. His lips meld into mine, soft and urgent like he can’t get enough. Who am I kidding? I can’t get enough, either. I tighten my grip at his nape, and he mewls against my mouth. The room starts spinning, and my hair whips around my face like we’re caught in the middle of a tornado.

  Suddenly, we’re plunged into darkness. I gasp, and Julian pulls me off the chair and underneath the table. He hovers over me, waiting for an attack. Thunderous footsteps from the Royal Guard come pounding down the stairs just as the lights pop back on. They pile into the dining room, yelling out mine and Julian’s name.