The Calling (The Andovia Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  “How am I supposed to use my blood? I can’t use it on her or it might neutralise her power forever.” Although he had to admit part of him would be relieved if she did lose her powers. At least then she wouldn’t be a threat to anyone.

  “Use it on something of hers. Something she has on her. You’ll think of something.”

  Darius only hoped that was true and he could figure out something before he came face-to-face with his brother again.

  Chapter 7

  Nyx had no idea why Darius had taken off the bracelet she wore. It was a thin band made from leather that Kyri had made for her. It might not look like much, but he took it despite her protests only to bring it back moments later. He had done something to it, but she hadn’t seen what.

  Damned druid, just because he thought he owned her now didn’t mean he was entitled to touch her things. He told her to put it on. Nyx had half a mind not to. Perhaps he had done something to glamour it to hide any changes he had made. After what she had seen earlier that morning, nothing would surprise her. She couldn’t throw it away, though. It meant too much to her.

  She had tried questioning Darius about what would happen to her once they reached Andovia, though he refused to supply any answers. Nyx gasped as the floating ring of islands came into view. They looked smaller than she had expected. “You never said the islands of Andovia were floating.” She gripped the railing and leaned forward. Incredible, she had never seen anything like them before. Then again, she had never been on a ship that could fly either. The islands looked like they should fall out of the sky, yet some of them had cascading mountains on top and areas of lush green grass.

  Darius joined her. “This isn’t Andovia. This is the Ring of Sorrow — a ring of floating islands that serve as a boundary between the upper realm and the lower realm.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Why are they called the Ring of Sorrow? They look incredible. I can’t see anything sorrowful about them.”

  “Watch.” Darius motioned to the islands. The ship banked a sharp left as one of the islands moved so close to them Nyx gasped.

  “Is it going to hit us?” She took a step back, bracing herself for an inevitable impact. Perhaps she would meet her death today after all, only it would be on a crashing ship and not on a pyre.

  Darius shook his head. “No, the crew are skilled at navigating their way around these islands. Many ships have perished here, though. It’s even worse down below.”

  Below them, an ocean of blue stretched out with the roar of crashing waves and the faint cries of gulls. Strange, Nyx hadn’t realised the sea was there. Seeing it was something she had always wanted to do. She had never thought it would be under this kind of circumstance. Nyx had known there would be no way of escaping while she was stuck on the ship. She might be able to fly, but she had never flown long distances before, and doubted she could with a damaged wing. Nor did Nyx fancy the idea of being forced to stay on one of the floating islands. She had considered the possibility, but now she knew she would get hurtled off one of them.

  Nyx needed to be somewhere close to land to make her escape. She knew the druid and the others would be keeping a close eye on her though. The druid knew she would bolt at the first opportunity. That didn’t mean she would stick around for long. Nyx had to get away before she came face-to-face with the other Valeran brother. Somehow, she suspected he would be a lot worse than Darius. Now that they knew about her so-called powers, she dreaded to think what they might force her to do with them. Other people using her powers had never been much of an issue until now. Harland had only used her to make good coin and manipulate people to get what he wanted. At least he had never forced her to harm anyone.

  She shivered. Nyx still struggled with the thought of him being dead. As much as she despised the man and longed to get away from him, it still felt surreal. Even if she didn’t remember what happened, she knew she hadn’t killed him.

  One way or another, she would get away from these people. She guessed she would have to wait until they reached land. But what then? She would be alone in a strange place with no idea where to go or how to get back to the lower realm. From everything she had heard, she knew the upper realm was a strange place and ripe with slavery. Nyx had no idea what to expect when she got there. Fae were often sold into slavery, and she didn’t want to risk being captured by someone else. She had already endured that experience as a child with Harland and didn’t want to relive it.

  Nyx hoped she had enough coin stashed away to buy a ticket for safe passage on a ship. It didn’t matter where she went as long as she got out of the upper realm and back to Joriam to find her sisters. It would be difficult being around so many people, but she would endure it. Maybe she could find a merchant or the captain of the ship and force them to take her where she wanted to go. The possibilities were endless. Now that she knew she had magic and what she was, she realised how limited her life had been before. Why had she been so focused on stealing coins when she could do so much more?

  Her mind raced with thoughts as the ship steered its way around the ring of floating islands. The druid insisted once they were past the almost impenetrable barrier of rings they would soon arrive in Andovia. She needed to be ready. Getting off the ship would probably be the best time to make a run for it – either then or once they got into a crowd of people.

  More islands hovered by, some even floating below them close to the waterline. As the Affinity rounded another mass of land, the ship slowly descended and drew closer to the water. Nyx leaned over the edge to get a better view. Below them, fish jumped out of the water along with the shimmering outline of what she thought was also a fish until it emerged on the surface and shook a spear at her. It looked to be a half-humanoid, half-fish creature. Nyx gasped. “What is that?”

  “It’s one of the merfolk. We are passing over the realm of the Undersea where they live. They are not very fond of ships,” Darius replied. “That’s another reason why we use flying ships and not sea vessels. Too many of them get attacked and often sunk because of our feud with the Undersea realm.”

  Nyx had heard of the merfolk in some of the village’s old tales, but she had always thought they were a myth. She never imagined an entire realm could exist below the waves. Up ahead large islands loomed into view. Dark shapes moved through the air, and large buildings dwarfed the landscape. On the central island, something glittered like a diamond.

  “What’s that?” Nyx motioned to the shining object. It couldn’t be a building, could it?

  “That’s the Crystal Palace on the main island of Avenia. The glowing towers are in its capital city Alaris.”

  “This is incredible,” Nyx breathed then shook her head. No matter how magical this place looked, she had to remember she wasn’t here to stay.

  “It’s nice to look at, but don’t let its beauty fool you,” Darius muttered under his breath.

  She frowned at him. “What does that mean?” Dread gnawed at her stomach like icy fingers. What was he talking about? Could this new place be even worse than she had imagined?

  He shook his head. “Not everything is as wonderful as it looks here.”

  “What kind of world are you dragging me into, druid?” Nyx put her hands on her hips. She knew beauty often hid deception, but if there was further trouble in this new realm, she wanted to know about it. It was all the more reason for her to get away from the druid before it was too late.

  “I’m not dragging you into anything. If you had laid low and kept your powers to yourself, you wouldn’t be coming here now. You have no idea what kind of danger you are in just being what you are.”

  Nyx glowered at him. “Then why don’t you let me go? Your brother is probably going to kill me anyway.”

  Darius returned her glare. “Because you are still a criminal and a danger to everyone in this world. I can’t let you go and put thousands of lives at risk.”

  Nyx gritted her teeth. If he let her go it wouldn’t mean she had to be around people. She could ea
sily live alone in a forest away from everyone. That way she wouldn’t be a danger to anyone, and she wouldn’t have to suffer through the constant onslaught of people’s thoughts. Once Nyx got back to her sisters they could all leave and live off the land somewhere far away from the laws of any realm.

  “What happens to me now, then? Am I going to be taken to prison?” Nyx asked. She wanted to know what she might be up against when they got there.

  “You’re not going to be locked up.” Darius shook his head. “Put your bracelet back on.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why? What did you do to it?”

  He raised his hands. “Nothing. Just… you don’t want to lose it, do you? You might drop it.”

  “You are a terrible liar, druid. And if I’m not locked up, I guess I’m going to be put to work then. Or forced to do something awful.”

  “No one will force you to do anything.”

  Nyx scoffed at that. “You forced me to come here. You already said your brother wants me for my so-called power. We both know he won’t want me to do anything good with it, so don’t bother lying.”

  Darius sighed and looked away.

  Nyx reluctantly put the bracelet back on. She wondered how she would cope with all the minds on the island. They couldn’t guarantee a way to control her curse. She refused to call her ability a gift. It was a burden and an unbearable one at that.

  “Welcome to the islands of Andovia.” Ambrose came out on deck too. “This is said to be the birthplace of magic.”

  Nyx believed that well enough. Energy seemed to pulse all around the islands. She expected it to overwhelm her, yet it didn’t. Odd. Intense energy always overwhelmed her. Even Ambrose’s energy didn’t affect her the way it had earlier. Perhaps he had raised his shield.

  “So all the Andovian are fae?” She arched a brow.

  Ambrose shook his head. “Not quite. Most of the original Andovians were forced into slavery during the last great realm war when the Andovian queen was killed. Since then the Archdruid has ruled these lands.”

  “Thank the holy spirits we’re back.” Lucien gripped the railing. He had looked green throughout the journey. “I’m never going on one of these things again.”

  “I offered to make you an anti-sickness charm,” Darius pointed out. “You refused. So, you only have yourself to blame, my friend.”

  “Magic doesn’t work on me.” Lucien slumped onto the deck and placed his head between his knees.

  The ship slowly began its descent. The closer the islands got, the more it filled her with dread.

  “Once we are docked, I must go to the Crystal Palace.” Ambrose gripped his staff tighter.

  “Palace?” Nyx frowned. Although she had glimpsed the palace earlier, she hadn’t expected to go there, though it made sense as Darius’ brother likely lived there.

  She would have to be ready when they reached the ground to make her escape. Nyx swung her bag over her shoulder and fiddled with her bracelet. She considered taking it off again, but if she did the druid would probably nag her more.

  “It’s where the Archdruid and the fae queen hold court,” Darius explained. “My brother will want to see you, but I want to return home first to check on things.”

  “Your parents.” She had heard of the Archdruid being married to a fae queen, yet the druid didn’t look like any of the fae she had seen before.

  He shook his head. “No, the fae queen is not my mother.”

  “So, she’s his mistress? And your mother is his wife?”

  Darius rubbed the back of his neck. “In the eyes of the fae, the queen is his wife. My father is also married to my mother, who is a sorceress.”

  “How does that work?” Nyx imagined it must be hard enough having one spouse. Two would be impossible.

  “It’s complicated. My mother considers herself his true wife, as does my father.”

  Nyx didn’t ask anything further. What a strange world she had been dragged into. She still expected to get overwhelmed by thoughts as the ship came closer to the island.

  A few stray thoughts buzzed around her mind, but nothing more than usual. Nyx didn’t know whether to be relieved or alarmed. The druid had done something to her bracelet, she knew it. Why did he want to make her powerless now? Was it so he could have her instead of his brother? No, he seemed to want to get rid of her. The whole reason they had come to find her was because of her abilities and whatever that mysterious prophecy was about.

  She had even heard Darius and Ambrose talking about darklings too. They had mentioned murders and how the creatures were killing people. They didn’t seem to know who or what might be causing it.

  “What did you do to my bracelet?” she hissed at Darius.

  “Nothing.” He forced his face to become passive, but she could see right through his innocent expression.

  “I’m not a fool, druid. It’s different, I can feel it. I will use my influence again if I have to.”

  Darius gave a harsh laugh. “That won’t work on me — you should know that by now.”

  “What did you do?” She gritted her teeth. Her power roared just below the surface and ached to get out. Once they were off the ship, it would be time to go, and she would be ready. Still, she wanted to know what damage the druid had done.

  “It’s just a spell to make sure you don’t run off. Even if you take it off, the spell will still prevent you from escaping.”

  Her heartbeat quickened at that. The Affinity landed with a loud thunk, waves crashing against the sides as it entered a small dock filled with water. Metal creaked and groaned as clamps locked the ship into place.

  The crew lowered the ramp after the ship settled.

  “Come along,” Ambrose called and motioned for them to follow.

  The moment they stepped off the ship, Darius put a hand on her arm. “Don’t think of trying to run away,” he said. “You are spelled now, and I’m not in the mood for chasing after you.”

  Lucien and Ranelle came up behind them. Lucien looked more like his usual self now. As a shifter, she knew he could probably track her too, regardless of any spell.

  Would running or flying be the best option? She flapped her wings, relieved to find they still felt intact. Maybe her injury from earlier that morning had healed enough for her to fly now. She’d always been a fast healer.

  Nyx trailed after the druids as they disembarked onto the island of Avenia.

  Thoughts still buzzed at the edge of her mind, yet the voices sounded far away. The bracelet must suppress her curse. But why? They wanted her to control it, didn’t they? Her curse had always been good for one thing: showing people’s true intentions. Now it was failing her when she needed it most.

  Was that why Darius had enchanted it?

  No, Darius was immune from her power, and Ambrose had a strong shield around his mind. With enough force or perhaps if she touched him, she would get through it.

  Nyx fiddled with the bracelet. It wouldn’t come off. She knew the druid must have enchanted it so she couldn’t remove it either. She gave him another glare. First, he had dragged her all the way here. Now he had cursed one of her most treasured possessions. Nyx would find a way to escape and get revenge on him.

  They passed through the cobblestone streets. Colour adorned the people, the houses and everything in between.

  Everything looked so bright here.

  Nyx was in awe and wanted to take everything in. Everything back in her realm had been dark and earthy. No one had been able to afford anything bright. The tribe had thought such things frivolous. She reminded herself not to get distracted. This would be the perfect place to get lost in the crowd.

  “Lucien, Ranelle, you should return to your duties now,” Ambrose said. “I have things to take care of with the high council. Darius, why not head home? You and Nyx can freshen up whilst you’re there.”

  Nyx’s stomach dropped. They were leaving her alone with the druid?

  Ranelle and Lucien said their goodbyes and wandered off. Ambrose
trailed off too.

  “Come.” Darius motioned for her to follow him.

  “Don’t think I will just obey your orders if you bark them at me.”

  Darius sighed. “Are you always this irritating?”

  She flashed a smile that showed too much teeth. “I do my best. Where are we going?”

  “Over to the island of Eldara — it’s where I live with Ambrose and the other druids.”

  Her mouth fell open. “You don’t live there?” She motioned to the glistening towers of the Crystal Palace.

  He snorted. “I did once. It is not as wonderful as it looks, believe me.” He sounded sincere this time.

  “Aren’t you taking me to your brother to show off your new prize?”

  Darius narrowed his eyes. “You are not my prize. I was only following orders. I thought you might want to clean up and have some food. Then I’ll take you to my brother.”

  “Oh, so you’ll make sure I look good first?” She sneered. “Why have you suppressed my power? What kind of game are you playing, druid?”

  Darius sighed. “No game, can we please get moving?”

  Nyx crossed her arms. This was her chance, she realised, to get away for good. Everyone looked fae with pointed ears, horns and other strange abnormalities. She would not look out of place among them with her wings. Anywhere else in the lower realm people would have spotted her easily, but not here. Her mind raced with trepidation, and she forced the feeling away.

  Nyx finally spotted an opening. Darius was focused on where he was going instead of her. Finally, the chance for freedom.

  She tugged at her bracelet. It refused to budge.

  Oh well, it would have to wait until later. Once she was somewhere out of the way, she would get it off. Nyx made sure her sack was secured. She couldn’t risk losing it during her escape.

  It was now or never.

  “Lord Darius?” someone called out.

  Nyx faltered as she turned to make a run for it.

  A gangly male fae with pointed ears came over. He gasped for breath. “Prince Gideon requests you come to the palace at once.”