Water Spell (Guardians of the Realm Book 1)

by Lizzy Ford

  Without waiting for his reaction, she fell backwards into the Bay.

  The waves caught her, welcomed her, filled her with euphoria after so long apart.

  But first on her mind was rescuing Tieran.

  The water conveyed her downwards, where the reach of starlight was replaced by the glowing of the native creatures inhabiting the sea’s depths. The water warned her that Tieran was not moving, not breathing.

  Alarmed, Sela created a bubble around him and requested more light. Tiny creatures and large ones appeared, lighting up the blackness of the sea’s depths. She breathed easily in the water, which flowed through her from head to toe.

  Tieran’s limp form became visible ahead of her, surrounded by a vigil of glowing sea creatures. Sela’s heart felt as if it turned over in her chest. His cage floated near by, with the signs of some massive creature having chewed through the wood to free him. The water conveyed her to the air bubble, and she entered it. Sela coughed up the water in her lungs. Air replaced it. Tieran floated in the middle of the bubble, unconscious.

  “Tieran!” She cried and reached him. She took his cheeks and lifted his face, unable to recall a time when her strong guardian had been rendered completely weak. Panic was in her breast, and despair in her heart.

  The idea Tieran would die here, in her sea, left her breathless and angry. She was no longer helpless. She would protect him here the way he protected her on land.

  The water in his lungs whispered to her. She opened his mouth and coaxed it forth, until his lungs were empty.

  Still, he did not breathe. His skin was pale beneath the golden tan.

  “Tieran,” she said again, hands trembling. “Wake up!” Why was she just now noticing the light freckles across his nose, or the jaw that could have been chiseled from stone? Had she never appreciated his ale-hued eyes before fearing she would never see them again?

  Sela wracked her thoughts for what to do. Karav had once told her of a technique he used on a drowning man. Was it another of his stories, or had it happened? She never knew with her former guardian.

  She sucked in a deep breath and pressed her lips to Tieran’s. His fire, normally tempered by her cool magic, shot through her, overwhelming the flow of the sea in her veins. Startled, Sela jerked away. The heat settled at the base of her belly and floated above her blood, teasing and hotter than anything she had ever felt.

  She shook the strange effect off. Realizing his mouth needed to be open for the air to reach his lungs, she squeezed his cheeks with her hands. His lips parted, and she pressed her lips to his, blowing air into him. The fever spread through her once more.

  She leaned back, waiting for him to awaken and lecture her about how she had been foolish to challenge a sorcerer.

  He did not awaken, did not move at all.

  Sela tried again. In spite of the unsettling heat circulating through her, she kept her lips pressed to his, sucking in air through her nose and breathing it into him.

  One of his arms circled her, drawing her against him. He kissed her, slow and gentle, his heat racing through her faster. Surprised, Sela found herself reacting, her response one of instinct rather than conscious choice. His lips were soft, warm and tasted of seawater, the body pressed to hers hard and strong, the heat within her growing. His tongue slid between her lips, and she melted into him, loving his taste – a combination of man and the sea. He was as wild to kiss as the Inlands he loved.

  Tieran was the first to withdraw, and her eyes opened. They gazed at one another in the pale blue glow of sea creatures. Sela innately understood the heat racing through her body to be the same she experienced when she saw Tieran shirtless, but much stronger.

  How could she be attracted to a savage?

  How could she ever kiss another man after experiencing him?

  She found herself wishing she could recall how his palm against her skin felt. He had touched her on many occasions, but this time was different. She listened to the sound of his breathing, unable to imagine kissing any man could render her speechless and leave her thoughts scattered, her cool magic boiling.

  “Told you,” he whispered. “If I kiss you, you won’t soon forget.” His free hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing her lips.

  She said nothing, too aware of her body and his full lips. Her hands dropped from his face, and she rested her cheek against his shoulder, uncertain what it meant to feel what she did in that moment. His arm remained around her, keeping their bodies pressed together.

  “Where are we?”

  Sela smiled at the terse question. “We’re safe,” she said. She lifted her eyes to study his face. “Are you well?”

  “I’m alive,” he said. His concerned gaze was on the large sea creatures circling their bubble. “What are we doing here?”

  “A madman from a foreign land captured us,” she said, perplexed by the encounter. “But he won’t bother us again. I cursed him.”

  “Curse,” Tieran repeated. One corner of his lips lifted. “How does a mage curse another?”

  “I told the ocean to destroy every one of the ships leaving his ports or bearing his mark,” she answered. “He tried to murder you by throwing you off the largest galleon in the realm! He deserves worse.”

  His gaze followed a massive shark circling them. “A man tosses me into the ocean, and you destroy his entire fleet.”

  “I was imprisoned as well. I didn’t do it just …”

  When Tieran looked at her again, she drifted off, her thought lost. The aggravating expression was on his face, the one that told her he was already aware of the truth in her mind.

  She flushed and pushed at his chest, feeling trapped.

  “Settle, mage,” he warned, his grip tightening around her.

  Sela pushed again then gave up, aware how impossible it was to resist. “If anyone is to drown you, it will be me,” she said, unable to bear the tension between them any longer. “The sea calls. I must go.”

  Tieran released her, as if he, too, were uncertain about what had passed between them.

  Sela fled without looking back. She dived into the water around the bubble of air and joined the glowing sea creatures and underwater currents. Desperate to be away, to feel the magic cool the heat in her blood, she swam among the animals, closing her eyes, and allowing herself to become one with the sea. She did not fear it taking her this time, not with her strong bond with Tieran. She wanted … needed for the magic to clear her mind. Her thoughts when it came to Tieran were of a nature she was no longer certain she understood: confusion, desire, surprise.

  She replayed the images she had witnessed in his hold, of men and women rutting in public, and could not help wondering what it would be like to be naked with Tieran, to experience his combination of commanding and gentleness, to feel his lips pressed against the skin of her body.

  Even the waters of the Bay could not completely sweep away the heat in her blood. Remembering he could feel, if not read, her mind, Sela focused on the sea. She drifted, paying no attention to where she went, until the water grew colder. She became aware of herself then, and aware of the trench she neared. She was about to leave the Bay for the Great Ocean.

  Fear fluttered within her as she experienced the ocean’s power for the first time in her life. It was deep, strong, ancient.

  Too deep. Too strong. Too ancient. Too powerful for her to command, and strong enough to pull her to its depths and never let her go, if it chose.

  She swam away from the edge of the trench, understanding Karav’s claim about how she could never venture to the open sea.

  Her panic was conveyed to the water around her. It carried her away swiftly, until the primal fear at her core subsided. She directed it to guide them both back to shore while lazily twirling and dancing with sea creatures and drifting from current to current.

  How long she spent in the sea, she did not know. It was not until she felt a strong arm around her waist hauling her from the water that her awareness jolted back into place. Her head b
roke the surface, and she coughed up water. It was midmorning. The sands ahead of her were the famous black beaches belonging to Lord Winlin’s king.

  Tieran pulled her out of the water and onto the shore. A wave snaked up to grab her and haul her back. With her last exchange with Tieran still too fresh in her mind, she was not about to fight the magic.

  “Enough!” Tieran snapped at the wave.

  It released her, and he pulled her farther up the shore before collapsing beside her, panting.

  “How did you do that?” she asked, staring at the sea.

  “Drag you for a league to reach the shore?”

  “Command the sea. And you didn’t drag me that far!”

  His disinterested look towards the water was enough to tell her he neither understood nor cared what he had done. Tieran sat back on his heels, hands on his thighs as he caught his breath.

  “Only a mage can do that,” she persisted. “Only a mage can kill another mage. You are no normal mage-warrior, Tieran.” But had she not always sensed that about him? His blood contained a hum of cool magic faint enough she thought she had mistaken it when she initially sensed it. Was this the source of their strong bond, of his ability to read her mind when Karav never could? Had some ancestor of Tieran’s been a water mage?

  The more she thought, the more she began to believe this had to be true, as impossible as it seemed to be.

  “I wouldn’t know.” Tieran stood and took her arm, pulling her up. “I believe we’re a day on horseback from the Inlands. We need to leave.” He started up the beach.

  Sela remained, her gaze lingering on the waves crashing onto the beach. It had been too long since she felt the ocean in her blood. Her eyes went from the sea to Tieran. She had longed for this moment for so long, only to leave too soon.

  He halted, understanding her unvoiced request. After a pause, he faced her.

  “One night. No more,” he said firmly. “But we stay there and not on the beach.” He pointed to several caves at the base of a cliff wall overlooking the black beach. “You can swim or talk or whatever you do with the water once the sun has set.”

  She nodded eagerly and hurried up the shore.

  “Can your water bring me my sword?” he asked.

  She conveyed the message to the ocean with a thought. “It’ll be here by dusk.”

  He nodded brusquely and strode towards the cave. The shaded hole in the cliff was cool and the length of several horses deep. Tieran entered but did not sit, did not relax.

  Seating herself on the rocky floor, Sela’s gaze lingered on him. “What is it?” she asked. Was he troubled by the kiss? Because she certainly was unable to shake the experience from her mind.

  “We need allies,” he said at last.

  “We do,” she agreed. “But aren’t you worried about placing your uncle in danger?”

  He faced her, pensive. “I’m not certain I have a choice.”

  Sensing he was shaken by the experience of being drugged and thrown in the ocean, she spoke gently. “You may be right about staying in the Inlands,” she said. “The king who has me will declare war on the others. In the Inlands, where there is no ruler, I cannot become the weapon they wish me to be. We may not need to involve your uncle in the struggle just yet.”

  His tension left her on edge. She stretched a hand out towards him, beckoning him to accept the cool magic needed to relax him.

  Tieran eyed her hand before crossing to sit beside her. His side pressed to hers. At once, his muscular frame relaxed. She had noticed his reaction to her touch before without appreciating how he yielded to her. He needed her as much as she did him.

  Not that he would ever admit it. She gave him a sidelong look, her eyes falling to his lips. Hers tingled from the kiss they shared.

  “You believe the war will not start until you are kidnapped by some king,” he said. “When men prepare for war, they make it inevitable.”

  “Then they can fight it without me,” she said. “Before coming here, before you, my fate was to serve my king. But if I have a choice, I don’t want to destroy whole armies of men or the cities where they come from.”

  Tieran snorted. “It’s not in your nature.”

  “But it’s supposed to be,” she said, troubled. “My kind have long been used to fight battles, and did I not threaten the sorcerer I met last night? And destroy his ships?”

  “What did the sea do with the men on those ships?”

  She did not answer.

  Tieran glanced at her. “You don’t want the destiny your kings and priests chose for you anymore than I do,” he said. “I am a warrior, and you are a mage. Neither of us fights at the command of another. You fight for me. I fight for you. That is how it should be.”

  “Now,” she said before she could stop herself. “That’s not how it was, before you had your vengeance.”

  “That’s how it is until one of us dies.”

  She felt herself relax. Tieran finally understood his duty.

  “I am sorry about your sisters,” she said quietly.

  “It is done. They are at peace.” The resolute expression on Tieran’s face warned her he had said all he would on the topic.

  Disappointed, Sela’s gaze went to the wall of the cave opposite her. The sea’s gentle rhythm ebbed and flowed within her, and she closed her eyes.

  “Did I not tell you I am powerful?” she asked somewhat defensively.

  “I never claimed otherwise.”

  “You did so!”

  “When? What were my words?”

  Sela paused to think. She could recall no instance when he said she could not control the ocean.

  “You cannot survive the Inlands alone, and I made no secret of that,” Tieran continued.

  Sela grumbled a curse, focusing once more on the pull of the ocean.

  Tieran ignored her.

  They sat until midday, before Tieran left to scout the area around them for signs their enemies had found them. When he returned, he carried a water bladder and food wrapped in a cloth. He passed her half the bread and a hunk of cheese.

  She frowned. “Did you steal this?”

  “Do you want to starve?”

  “The sea contains coins from sunken ships. I will ask it to bring us some, with your sword,” she said.

  Tieran nodded and sat, eating quietly.

  Sela watched him, wanting to ask about the kiss. Unable to work up the nerve, she ate the small meal and returned to the place of peace, listening to the ocean. She did not know when she would next visit the sea and intended to enjoy it while she could.

  13

  Dusk fell. Sela emerged from the cave, exhilarated already, and ran down the beach towards the water. As promised, the ocean had pushed Tieran’s sword and loose copper, silver and gold coins from shipwrecks up onto the sand.

  She ignored both and held out her arms. Before she reached the wet sand, the sea snatched her and pulled her into its depths. She surrendered to it, allowed the rocking in her blood to sync with the ebb and flow of the tides. The rare, peaceful sensation of being one with herself and her magic left her in ecstasy. She let the water sweep her out to the sound and return her, content to swim among its many creatures and float along the currents.

  After some time passed in a dreamlike state, she neared the surface of the Bay. The sky above was dark. A sliver of a moon and starlight filtered through the water, making the waves sparkle.

  Relaxed, tired, satisfied beyond anything she had ever felt, she allowed the ocean to wash her up onto the beach. Sela sat in the surf happily with the magic humming through her body as the water rushed past her, through her.

  She felt Tieran’s gaze and twisted. He sat on the beach, out of reach of the waves, his elbows on his knees, watching her. Did the tranquility in her blood soothe him as well? He did not appear agitated despite the distance between them and the time she had spent in the ocean. He made no move to drag her from the sea’s depths.

  The sight of him filled her with confusion
once more. A thrill went through her, warm where the ocean was cold. Something had changed between them. If she sensed it, he would as well. What did it mean?

  Turning away, Sela concentrated on the ocean and its magic.

  A wave bowled her over, and she laughed. Standing, she lifted her arms. The sea created waterfall pillars in front of her. She sidestepped, and they followed her motion. Unwilling to let her one night with the sea go to waste, Sela began dancing with the waves. The water responded, creating shapes and moving with her, at times wrapping her in waves and other times, content to writhe and twirl near her in sync with her movements.

  “Sela.” Tieran’s call penetrated her joyful dance. He had moved closer to the wet sand.

  She turned.

  “Tomorrow will be long. We both need sleep.”

  She sighed. Her time with the ocean was coming to an end, and she was not at all ready to leave it. A streak of mischief flared within her. She sent a wave towards her guardian, dousing him from head to foot.

  Sela laughed.

  Tieran blew out a breath, displeased.

  “I’m almost done,” she said and whirled away. The sea joined her in the happy dance. She spun and spun and spun, laughing breathlessly at a column of water mirroring her movement.

  Tieran caught her, one arm wrapping around her. She collided with his body. He bore the impact with ease and held her close. The fever returned, creeping into her blood, competing with the magic. The water playing with her erupted into a spray of droplets that rained down on both of them.

  Her arms dropped, and she gazed up at him. No one had ever looked at her with the intensity Tieran did. In that moment, she became both overly aware of herself and lost to anything but his eyes, which glowed golden in the moonlight, and the feel of his hard body against hers. Breathless from her dance as well as his look, she rested her palms against his chest and waited.

  “You’re as wild as an Inlander.” Tieran pushed a wet strand of hair from her face. His eyes dropped to her lips.

  Heat bloomed at the base of her stomach. A fever mixed with the cool magic, both racing through her blood. Would he kiss her again? Would he touch her differently than he did when tending her wounds or trying to control her?