Proven (Daughters of the Sea #1)

by Kristen Day

Her journey awaits, precluded by need

  Thy destiny weaving our Goddess to bleed

  Bred wholly to lead an army of men

  Thy warrior claims great destiny within

  Her sacrifice, forevermore

  Binds her soul, to thine paramour

  Relics lost of proper hands

  Amidst the games of ancient lands

  As crimson sows a woeful dream

  A tainted mind, her kin unseen

  From earth and tree, an essence renews

  Brings rivaled power, her wisdom eludes

  Of tenet and moor, a Paladin bleeds

  Securing her fate, shielded by creed

  In heart and soul, a Nereid supreme

  Amidst a gathering, their loyalty pristine

  In the land of ambrosia, where nectar grows

  Her will breathes freely, her destiny sown.

  Was that really my prophecy in its entirety? I had always assumed so, but I was beginning to think otherwise. Its task of foretelling my life would appear to end soon, but there was nothing sinister within it. I assumed that meant the rest would be up to me. I would finally have my free will back. But maybe there was more. Maybe free will wasn't in my future, after all.

  As I strolled back down the beach, still deep in thought, Finn easily captured my ankle and I fell into him as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck. His warm, dark essence wiped away my chaotic thoughts momentarily and I allowed it to filter into mine with contentment. I watched our hands intertwine and smiled at the sparkle of the stone perched on my left ring finger. The weight of it was a constant reminder that I was no longer alone. I would no longer be without a family; I would be creating my own family. At least, I thought so. My world darkened as reality crashed down around me and my thoughts went back to the Book. My hands began to shake in response to my thoughts and Finn squeezed me tighter.

  "Sometimes people just lose their way, Pasha. We'll get this figured out," he reassured me with a light whisper that tickled my ear. His breath smelled of pineapple and his skin was already turning darker under the sun's light. I nodded my head in silence and decided it was better he thought I was just worried about Fallon and Liam. Although I was definitely worried about them, things had gotten much more complicated in the last ten minutes. There was one thing I was sure of, however. I needed to get my hands on my full prophecy, if in fact there was more to it. That glaring possibility was suddenly extremely important.

  Was it feasible that Fallon knew more than I thought? She seemed to know more things about me than I did. Would she be able to tell me if there was more to my prophecy? Even if she'd betrayed me and lied to me, she was still my cousin. Despite what Olivia said I couldn't accept that she had conspired with Selene this entire time. Only a couple nights ago, Selene was going to use her as a sacrificial lamb to steal our essence! But at the same time, Fallon was technically an Aura. She had helped heal me in the treehouses, but to what end? For Selene to take my mind and lure me in? Was Fallon sent to ensure I found my way to the beach that night? If I could find her, would she tell me the truth?

  The sand beneath me trembled in a frenzy of energy at the same time a soothing wave of crystal clear essence crashed over me in earnest. I closed my eyes as my mother's smiling face appeared in my mind's eye, quickly followed by my father's. Something in me...recognized the essence. His essence. All other thoughts dissipated as I stood to face him.

  Holding hands with Olivia, Sebastian met my angry gaze with surprise. My breath caught in my throat as I really saw him for the first time. Elaborate traces swept across his shoulders, arms, and chest in the shape of a piece of chest armor. The sun glinted off of his suddenly bright turquoise eyes and his blond hair moved in the breeze. I had the odd sensation of looking into a mirror, which was enhanced when I saw the familiar trace shining on his forearm.

  I glanced down at my own trace, which also shimmered blue in the sunlight as Olivia gave Sebastian a stern look and pushed him towards me. I stomped over to him and grabbed his arm; inspecting his triskelion trace. I silently brushed over it with my finger and a tense veil of silence fell over our group.

  Surprisingly my anger at not being told sooner flitted away, only to be replaced with a crushing, heartbreaking feeling of unconditional love. My own flesh and blood. My sibling. My family. He had been here all along, and he was still here! Standing directly in front of me, terrified. The sand beneath my feet began to quiver as my feelings increased and I stifled a bubble of emotion fighting its way up my chest. I dropped his arm and stared up at him in shock.

  "Stasia-" he began apologetically.

  "Shut up," I whispered. Speaking those two words broke the weak barrier holding my emotions at bay and a sob trickled to the surface, morphing into tears that spilled onto my cheeks. My mouth began to speak and with all of the thoughts racing through my mind, I was surprised at the words that came out. "You threw me off a cliff."

  Olivia snickered behind him and he bit his bottom lip so he wouldn't follow suit. "I was hoping you wouldn't remember that," he admitted bashfully and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "But honestly, it was for your own goo-"

  Before he could finish, I allowed the remaining sobs to escape as I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his chest. Caught off guard, it took him a second to realize I wasn't going to kill him. His arms finally relaxed and wrapped around me as someone behind us squealed and clapped happily.

  "How'd you know?" he asked the top of my head quietly.

  "Your name," I looked up at him and wondered whether he already knew. "It was in the Book. Achilles Sebastian Theophanides. And your essence. The sand recognized you. And...so did I."

  "Wait, what book?"

  "The Book of Souls," I explained, leaving out the fact that my own name was written directly above it. He squeezed me and stepped back to face me again with an understanding smile.

  "That's because my time is...limited," he admitted, glancing quickly back at Olivia, who was frowning. Several gasps escaped around us. "Mother and Persephone granted me a certain amount of time outside of the Underworld, sealed by the scribing of my name in the Book of Souls. It'll now be in there twice. Once when I really died, and a second for when I'm forced to return."

  I felt an arm fold around my shoulders as Finn moved to stand beside me. "The Book of Souls is a listing of all the souls to pass into the Underworld, but Persephone also has the ability to scribe a person's name into it; thereby ensuring their death or, in Sebastian's case, his return."

  Feeling like I'd just been punched in the stomach, the blood drained from my face. The consequence of my name being scribed within the Book sliced through me like a cold blade That was when I heard it again - the wailing. A crushing pressure wrapped itself around my skull and I covered my ears in agony as the sadness overwhelmed me. I heard a different cry; this one much closer. It was coming from Olivia. Sebastian fled to her side as she doubled over in pain. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to push it out, but unfortunately nothing I did worked. The crushing wail paralyzed me and brought newfound tears of sadness to my eyes.

  OLIVIA

  "Well, the good news is that I'm not going insane." I admired my delicate feet beneath the water as my mind wandered. "The bad news is that I am, instead, going crazy."

  "I think that ship sailed a long time ago." Sebastian peered down at me and grinned. The fact that Stasia had also been affected by the wailing was both comforting and disturbing, although neither of us was sure what to think about it.

  "You would know," I smirked. "You probably built the damn thing, grandpa." Lying in the water next to Stasia, we had taken Avery's advice and replenished our energy and essence with the help of the lagoon. Sebastian was acting as my arm chair, and Stasia was also lying in the water...except she was underneath it. She was completely submerged and breathing in the lagoon instead of just lying in it. She hadn't moved in at least thirty minutes, and it was a little unsettling, to be honest. It dawned on me that thi
s entire island seemed to benefit our kind in one way or another. Suddenly remembering I hadn't yet told Sebastian about my escapades in the forest, I perked up and turned to face him. "Speaking of crazy, can you believe the trees helped me find my way here? The trees! And that was before I almost got crushed by one. But it turns out that one was trying to help me too! And-"

  "Olivia...quit moving your arm." Several yards up the beach, Carmen and Phoebe were flipping through a hardbound book they found in the castle library that detailed traces, symbols, and ancient languages of Atlantis and the Sea. Carmen climbed to her feet and held up the book next to the brand on my arm, interrupting my train of thought. "Nope, not it."

  She returned to Phoebe's side and they resumed their search. The others had already retreated to the castle to shower in preparation for watching the First Practice, so I nearly jumped out of my skin when Stasia suddenly flew out of the water, breathing hard and gripping her temples.

  "I can't find her!" she shouted, slamming her palms down on the surface of the water in frustration. Unfortunately, she forgot how powerful she was. The ripple of waves she caused would have dwarfed most two story houses and the force of her hands hitting the water threw both me and Sebastian sideways. I righted my body just in time to see the scattering waves reach the Games Metropolis and crash over the front wall of the amphitheater's field. It startled several workers who rushed inside to escape the onslaught of water.

  "Easy, Trigger." I wrapped an arm around her. "Or you'll crash Atlantis back into the sea all over again. I have a feeling that would not go over well with our hosts."

  "Fallon has to be blocking me out somehow," she mumbled in deep thought. I wasn't certain she even heard me talking, so I just kept my arm around her, mainly trying to prevent a repeat tsunami. Without warning, she spun around and peered up at the castle. I fought to follow her gaze, but Sebastian's glorious torso was in my way. He gave a wide smile and I rolled my eyes at him before pushing his head to the side playfully.

  "Time to get ready," Stasia clarified, mainly to herself. She trudged away and abandoned us in the water without another word. She walked right past Carmen and Phoebe, still mumbling to herself. They both glanced back at me, perplexed, but I just shrugged my shoulders with disregard. It was impossible to know what was going through that girl's mind most of the time.

  "She seems stable," Sebastian chuckled under his breath with an amused smile.

  *****

  "That dude's making us all look bad."

  "Whatever. I could take him."

  "In what reality?"

  "He's gotta have a weakness. I just have to figure out what it is."

  "Like what? His steel-plated pecs? His triple calf muscles? The willingness to torture with a smile?"

  "I could poke his eyes out."

  "You wouldn't get close enough."

  "Would you guys shut up?" I glared at Ian, Ricker, and Sean; one of Finn's Paradigms. I eyed the hills and valleys of his strong arms and imposing torso. He was one of the strongest Sons, but they were right. Sebastian would slaughter him in under a minute. That one small fact left me with a smug sneer that they couldn't miss.

  "You just worry about making out with him." Ricker raised a snide eyebrow at me. "We'll take care of fighting him."

  With an eerie stillness, I met his challenging smirk with zero emotion and simply reached out to touch his arm. Sending an electrical current through him that would rival a bolt of lightning, he froze in pain as Ian and Sean leaned away from me with something resembling shock. When I was satisfied Ricker had endured enough agonizing pain, I released his arm, stood, and grinned down at him.

  "I'd like you to meet my essence," I cackled. "She's a real bitch."

  I walked away to the 'ooohs' of Ian and Sean as they ridiculed Ricker. I grinned to myself and averted my attention back to the beautiful, blond creature three rows down from me, helping the Tyde Captains and participants as they practiced on the Arena field.

  I'd patiently watched the beginning of the practice from the stands with everyone else, but observing Sebastian with the Tydes, I couldn't sit still on the sidelines any longer. I wanted to be involved or maybe even mentor a few myself. There was one girl in particular I was growing fond of because I saw a lot of myself in her. There was a rigid severity to her that intrigued me, and I knew if she could harness that energy and focus it into her archery skills, she would be unbeatable.

  I straddled the knee-high partition separating the stands and the field and made my way to Sebastian, who was assisting several of the pankration participants with their kicking technique. With each step I felt more and more eyes on me and glanced around in confusion.

  "Is that Stasia's Paladin?" a girl to my left whispered to another excitedly.

  "No way! That's Olivia Campbell," a guy in the midst of stretching informed his fellow runners with wide eyes. As each Tyde's gaze settled upon me, I began to realize all of them knew who I was. How was that even possible? I knew I was Stasia's Paladin, but it had only happened a couple days ago! How did word spread that fast? And...why?

  "Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence!" Sebastian's adorable face welcomed me. The rays of the sun bronzed his broad shoulders and my eyes involuntarily followed their lines down to his chest and abdomen. My 'golden boy' nickname could not be more evident in the beast of a man who stood before me. A glistening of sweat had appeared on his neck and face, leaving the tips of his blond hair damp, and the gleam of excitement in his teal eyes told me he was definitely in his element. The way my pulse raced at the way his white shorts hung low on his hips told me I needed to focus and quit gawking at him like a love-struck fangirl.

  "I couldn't leave all the mentoring up to you." I elbowed him affectionately and added, "We'd be in real trouble..."

  At that point, all six Tyde captains as well as the participants gathered around us, falling over each other in order to catch sight of me. A bout of anxiety settled over me and I began to fear what their over-exaggerated expectations were. I couldn't possibly match the picture in their heads that caused this kind of reaction, and I wasn't sure what to do with this newfound fame. Stasia always elicited this type of reverence, but I was a background player...where I should probably stay with my lack of a filter. Eloquence and tact were not my strong suits.

  "By all means." Sebastian swept his arm out gracefully. "Show us how it's done."

  "I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of everyone. You've got a reputation to uphold."

  "Is it true that you can electrocute people?" a Captain with strawberry blonde hair blurted out; quickly shrinking away, ashamed of her own outburst.

  "Well, I don't make a habit of it." My thoughts rebounded to moments before when Ricker had been on the receiving end of my essence. "But yes." My answer elicited several dropped jaws and a myriad of awe-inspiring gasps.

  "And I heard you were decapitated, picked your own head up and put it back on your body!" another voice called out. I suppressed a laugh when I realized they were being serious. The rest of the Tydes waited anxiously for my answer, as if there was even a shred of feasibility in the harrowing claim. Unfortunately Sebastian didn't hide his amusement. He doubled over with laughter at my expense.

  "That must have been another Olivia!" I cleared my throat and glared at Sebastian from the corner of my eye. How did one answer a question like that?

  "So you didn't get stabbed by Stasia to save Luna's daughter's life and then become immortal?" a resonant female voice questioned. The archery Captain narrowed her eyes at me with skepticism.

  "That's completely true." I raised my chin with pride. At my words, a new ripple of excitement filtered through the participants at the news of Fallon's existence.

  "Alright." Sebastian straightened in an attempt to refocus the group. "Let's get back to it."

  "I'd like to help with the archers," I informed Sebastian.

  "Only if you promise not to hit me with any arrows," he retorted playfully with a raised b
lond eyebrow.

  "I can't make any promises." I grinned evilly and followed the archers back to the range that was constructed at the left side of the field. Several fixed targets and moving targets, as well as precision-based targets were set up. A litany of gear was laid out for the archers within an ornate trunk that had no doubt been used for centuries. I sifted through its contents and pulled out a bracer for my bow arm and a finger tab. Back at Lorelei, I had loved archery. We had minor competitions for class, but nothing like this. Propped up next to the trunk was a line of bows for the choosing, as well as a large tube of arrows.

  To ensure fairness the participants were only allowed to use Atlantis equipment, just as their ancestors had done for centuries. That was especially important in the modern age with so many technical options to make up for a lack of actual talent.

  "Can you shoot barebow?" a British accent asked behind me.

  "We're about to find out," I teased, and turned around to face the voice.

  OLIVIA

  As the archery Captain measured me up with a keen eye, I was instantly drawn to the dominating scar running the length of her striking features.

  "I'm Blythe," she introduced herself, although it sounded more like a threat.

  "I know." I winked at her and chose a couple arrows to shoot. She followed me as I stepped up to the first of the precision targets. They were set in a straight line, ten in all, each one smaller than the one before. I secured the leather bracer to my arm and took a moment to admire the intricate designs showcased along its cuff. I secured the finger tab on my string hand and set my feet with purpose.

  Sensing Blythe's gaze as well as that of the other participants, I took a deep breath and blew it out forcefully to relax my shoulders. I steadied the bow at the right height, pulled back the bowstring, and aimed. Without the distraction of modern sights or optics, I immediately noticed something was different. Apparently immortality and a full essence had more perks I wasn't aware of before: inhuman eyesight.

  The middle of the first target appeared so clear, I could almost reach out and touch it. As I decided on my exact point of contact, something else happened. An instinctual calculation moved my bow slightly upward and lessened the amount of pull on the string. Knowing undoubtedly that it would hit its mark, I let the arrow fly.