Part One

— Touched by the gods —

by Kit Christiansen

***** Part One *****

Pages rustled beneath my fingertips, the musty smell of old books soothing. I ignored the pounding headache in my temple as I ran my finger down a list of words that hadn’t been spoken or read in hundreds of years. What I had hoped would be ancient secrets and spells from a long-forgotten civilization had turned out to be an erotic tale about the neglected wife of a wealthy landowner and his steward.

I doubted the events recorded in the text had ever actually happened. For example, the woman bending over her husband’s desk and begging the handsome young steward to inspect her ‘assets’ was too much. But, to the author’s credit, the writing in itself was better than average; perfect for what it was

I closed the dictionary with a sigh, the word I needed missing. Odds were I’d stumbled upon another euphemism for a woman’s genitals. I could’ve assumed, but I was determined to translate the text as accurately as I could.

The chair scraped against the floor as I stood, stretching. Maybe Choam, the linguistics instructor, had better dictionaries in his study. I turned to close my small window and gasped, swirls of pink and orange lighting up the sky. The Mage’s Tower may have been drafty in the winter and hot in the summer, but it had its merits.

My quarters were humble, but, as an official Scribe at the Mage’s Tower, all I really needed was room for a single bed, hearth, writing desk, and stacks upon stacks of books, scrolls, and parchment.

I pushed my chair under the desk and flopped onto my bed, straw crinkling beneath my weight as I slipped on my sandals. I fastened the laces as I tried to remember the last time I’d sprinkled flea powder over the straw. Raw wrists and ankles had been a common sight at the Tower all summer. I’d managed to avoid pests, but I’d spent most of my measly wages on keeping myself flea-free.

All the more reason to finish the translation.

The Tower didn’t pay much for erotica, but every little bit helped. Especially if I was going to save up to pay the Mage’s Exam fee.

My quarters let out into a circular atrium, torch light flickering on the walls as I made my way to a long, spiral staircase. A domed skylight overhead made up for the lack of windows, hazy sunset spilling inside the room.

Linguistics wasn’t the most exciting field of research, nor was it well-funded. Instructor Choam and his colleagues had been sequestered in the basement. I hurried down the great staircase, its steps the same brilliant white marble as the walls.

My headache throbbed in time with the slap of my sandals against the floor. I couldn’t tell Choam what I’d been translating. The old prude would’ve keeled over and died of embarrassment. I’d have to think of a lie interesting enough for him to give me the dictionary, but boring enough that he wouldn’t ask me too many questions.

He’d once confessed that natural sciences repulsed him. Maybe I’d tell him I was translating a naturalist’s account of the mating habits of a rare breed of tropical tortoises.

“Camilla!” A silvery voice carried up from below.

I stopped, bewildered.

“Camilla, is that you?”

Cecelia.

I froze, horrified as I formed a mental list of everyone I knew at the Tower and what room they lived in, calculating the odds of someone seeing my younger sister. I moved to the railing and leaned over the side. I couldn’t ignore her.

“I’m up here.” I hoped she couldn’t detect the lack of enthusiasm in my tone.

“Where?” Cecelia’s perfect oval face appeared as she leaned over the railing a few floors below, craning her neck to look up at me.

A tense, fearful expression on her typically dreamy face gave me pause. Whatever had caused my sister to seek me out couldn’t have been good.

“What are you doing here?” I ran my hands over the railing.

Her expression crumbled, hazel eyes welling with tears before she dissolved into noisy sobs and blubbered about our older brother, Cassius.

“Keep your voice down,” I hissed, tearing down the stairs.

Snotty tears echoed throughout the atrium. By the time I reached my sister, two people had come to investigate.

“No,” sniffed Cecelia. “My sister is coming. Camilla Durum. Do you know her? She’s been a Scribe here for ten years.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line, my headache intensifying from a mild annoyance to a frustrating distraction. I couldn’t get mad at her for saying that. Cecelia didn’t understand that I kept having to delay taking the Mage’s Exam because Cassius always managed to find himself in dire financial straits weeks before the fee was due. She didn’t understand that if not for her, I could tell Cassius to kindly get bent the next time he needed money.

I paused to calm myself, taking a deep breath and smoothing the front of my gray, homespun robes. My hair, a much darker blonde than my sister’s flaxen waves, was piled high on top of my head in a messy bun. That couldn’t be helped. Neither could the ink stains on my fingers.

“She was the only one of us to develop any kind of spell casting abilities,” said Cecelia. “Our mother said Camilla would communicate telepathically with her in utero. ‘Touched by the gods’ she used to say.”

I rushed onto a landing, cringing so hard I feared I would actually die.”Hey, Cecelia. It was nice of you to meet me here.”

She smiled, eyes red and puffy from crying. Her chin-length hair was wild, as if she’d sprinted the whole way to the Tower. Somehow, it made her even more beautiful; a little bird blown about in a storm.

A milky pale young man in dark robes darted off with a nod of his head. If I had to guess, I would’ve said he wanted to get away before Cecelia started crying again. Her bottom lip had already started to tremble.

I reached out, eager to snatch her arm and drag her away, but a lithe man with a neat, dark beard and pristine robes of the finest cream-colored linen grinned as if he’d been handed an unexpected gift.

“Camilla never told me she had siblings,” said Hadrian, his mocking tone lost on Cecelia.

Steady footsteps echoed up the stairs as a tall man with a heavy brow and dark skin stepped onto the landing, hands clasped behind his back.

I swallowed a sigh of relief. Instructor Sandro was one of my few friends at the Tower.

Spell casters from poor families rarely became Mages, but Sandro had scrimped and saved the money he’d earned enchanting weapons and armor to pay the exam fees. Nobles were the only ones who could afford his services and Sandro made them pay. Those of us born low held him in high esteem. His accomplishments as a Mage were impressive to be sure, but he was also an excellent instructor and mentor.

“Why would I talk about my family with you, Hadrian?” I took my sister’s hand and pulled her to my side. “We barely tolerate each other in passing.”

“That was rude,” whispered Cecelia. “He was being nice to me.”

I must’ve made a face because she flinched.

Hadrian looked down on commoners of all kinds, but he held women in particular contempt. It wasn’t worth the effort it took to be polite to him.

Sandro’s deep voice rumbled from his throat as he offered my sister a kind smile. “You must be Cecelia. Your sister speaks highly of your singing. Please. Come to my quarters and I’ll make us some tea.”

Hadrian and I exchanged a look of utter loathing before Sandro ushered us away.

“Are you going to take the Mage’s Exam this year, Camilla?” Hadrian’s voice made me stop. “I remember last year you couldn’t afford it.”

I ground my teeth. Furious.

Hadrian sighed. “Pity.”

I whipped my head around. “Yes. And I’m going to pass on the first try.”

His face twisted into an ugly sneer as Sandro gently grasped my arm, pulling me toward the stairs.

Once we were out of earshot, he spoke. “You know better than to play his game. Your time and energy is wasted on a fool like him. He taunts you because you’re the better caster and he can’t stand it.”

“Then why does he get to be a Mage while I’m stuck translating dirty stories for ten years?” I snapped.

Cecelia looked to Sandro, bright and innocent.

He held his head high, eyes forward while his long, white robes billowed around him as he ascended the stairs. If I hadn’t known any better, I’d have thought him a prophet.

“You’ve worked so hard these past few years,” he said. “You can afford the fees this time. Don’t let vipers like Hadrian cause you to make foolish mistakes.”

His reprimands were always gentle and I appreciated it.

We walked along, Sandro inquiring my sister about her life as a bard. Hadrian’s snippiness made me forget all about why Cecelia had turned up at the Tower in the first place.

Cassius.

We rounded the Tower’s curve, my door coming up on the right.

I linked arms with my sister and hurried over, the metal handle squeaking as I lifted the latch. “Thank you for your help back there, Instructor Sandro. And for your wise counsel. Good evening.”

He stopped, brow furrowed. “I was serious about the tea. Come, Camilla. Relax for an hour.”

“I would like some tea,” said Cecelia.

I pushed the door open with my shoulder. “No, thank you. Cece has something important to tell me. A family matter.”

His eyes narrowed as I led my sister inside, pulling the door closed behind me.

Four years ago, I had enough money for the fees. Three days before registration, Cassius lost six month’s wages on a bad investment and I had to support myself and my siblings until he was able to get back on his feet. Sandro had been very kind and supportive.

Cecelia hurried over to my window, yanking open the shutter to smile at the sunset. “Oh, what a lovely view.”

Her expression softened and her eyes drifted off into a realm only she knew, a soft melody on her lips.

Cecelia’s career as a bard began with Cassius. After his disastrous investment, he convinced me to have a few dresses made so he could take Cecelia to taverns and private parties so she could sing her sonnets and ballads to a paying audience.

My sister was just as musically and lyrically gifted as she was beautiful, quickly becoming one of the most popular bards in the city. Cassius managed her shows and money.

Pangs of guilt twisted my gut. Our mother’s poor soul likely wept in the Highest Heights at the sight of her daughter entertaining courtesans and immoral men with the gift the goddess Carmina had blessed her with.

I fought Cassius about it until I saw how much money Cecelia brought in. I no longer had to support them. She seemed happy enough so I relented, even shrugging when Cassius told me he would manage her money.

I sat in my desk chair while she hummed to herself, my headache slowly abating.

When I officially became a Mage, I was going to conduct research into the ways spell casting abilities manifested in humans. I’d never been convinced the strange effect Cecelia’s singing had on people wasn’t magical; wasn’t some kind of spell.

She began to add words to her melody. Something about times and seasons under the sun. I indulged myself a moment longer, waiting for the ache in my skull to completely dissipate before disturbing the peace that filled the room.

I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. “What’s going on, Cece? I can’t believe Cass would let you come all this way alone if it wasn’t an emergency.”

She fell silent, her mouth still forming words as her expression tightened with fear.

It unnerved me as my headache flickered in my temple.

I swallowed hard. “Cece, where’s Cass?”

Her voice was soft. Far away. “I bet he’s ready to come home.” She bit her lip. “Oh, and I bet it’s cold and dank in his cell.”

All the air seemed to leak from my lungs as I hung my head in my hands.

Fucking Cassius.

I sat up straight, rubbing my eyes. “What are you talking about?”

She began to cry silently, tears streaming down her face.

I ground my teeth. If I got angry and impatient, she’d clam up tight and I wouldn’t get a word out of her.

“Cassius likes to play cards and dice while I sing,” said Cecelia, blushing scarlet with a shy glance over her shoulder. “He thinks I don’t know, but sometimes he goes upstairs with other men.”

I rolled my eyes. He’d always been a randy slut.

“Lately, he wants me to go into those smokey rooms and talk to all those foul men. Some of them are bad. Like Crispus. Mother would not have liked him.” She began to shake and her voice rose, no longer silvery, but shrill. “Cassius must’ve made Crispus mad, because Crispus’ men just broke into our house and beat Cass up. I screamed and cried in the study while they struck him. I just couldn’t watch.”

Our mother taught us to pray to Numos, god of order. He blessed mankind with law so there would always be justice. It was very likely Cassius deserved his current circumstances, so I prayed to whoever looked after fools while I hurried over to comfort my sister.

Cassius was much better at calming her than I ever was. I loved her with all my heart, but I wasn’t a particularly affectionate person. Or patient.

I put my hand on her shoulder and she turned, throwing her arms around my neck and sobbing against me. I staggered, grinding my teeth. “Come on. You’re so much taller than I am.”

She released me, wiping snot from her face with the back of her hand. “They took him. Cass once told me Crispus has jail cells beneath The Frog’s Tale. I bet that’s where they took him.”

Oh, big brother. Mother’s sweetest boy. If it hadn’t been for our poor sister I would’ve let him rot.

I had a stash of bronze and silver coins hidden beneath a loose marble tile under my bed. It was just enough to pay the fee and buy myself a set of new robes after I passed the exam.

I clenched my jaw, wincing. My mother had tried to get me to stop grinding my teeth for years before eventually giving up. “It’s alright, Cece. Where was Luna when all this was going on?”

“She hid in the kitchen.”

I’d been looking for a reason to fire the sly, beady-eyed woman Cassius hired to cook and keep house. I wasn’t exactly sure what went on between the two of them, but she lied and covered for him constantly. The fact that she’d let Cecelia walk across the city alone was reason enough, but I’d wait until Cassius was home. I couldn’t leave my sister alone while I went and saw this Crispus.

I’d do what I could to get him out, but I wasn’t using my money. If I couldn’t work out some kind of deal with Crispus, then Cassius was shit out of luck.

But then I would’ve been, too.

I didn’t have the time or the desire to manage her career and I couldn’t afford to support her if she stopped singing. I sighed, closing the window and nudging Cecelia toward the door. “Let’s go home and get you something to eat. I’ll have Luna make you a sleeping draught.”

She took my hand and gave me a weary nod, more like a little girl than a grown woman of twenty-two.

Cecelia hummed and added more lyrics to her song while we made our way home. I ground my teeth the whole time, the rational, adult part of myself trying to convince me that Cassius wasn’t trying to sabotage me on purpose.

###

Luna had pilfered everything of value from my family home.

Cecelia’s fancy hair pins. Her nice dresses and shoes. The safe where Cassius stashed our sister’s money.

I slammed my fist against the wall in my brother’s room, Cecelia backing away from me. “Mother’s sapphires were in there. We have nothing from her now.”

Cassius’ bed was unmade and dirty clothing was strewn about, but all of his furnishings had been spared the destruction that had befallen our dining table and couches downstairs.

“Luna wanted to see snow,” said Cecelia. “I bet she went north. I hope she has a nice time.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It was wrong of me to be angry at my mother for dying when she did, for leaving me with no money and a pair of pretty idiots to look after, but I couldn’t help but resent her. It was all so unfair.

Tears blurred my vision, but I blinked them away and swallowed my anger. Feeling sorry for myself would do me no good. Exam registration was only a few weeks away. “Come. I’ll make you the sleeping drought myself.”

The nosy old woman next door was kind enough to sit with Cece for me in exchange for a glimpse of our current tribulation. Crispus’ men had made a lot of noise.

###

The Frog’s Tale was a high end brothel that overlooked the mouth of the Flumen Magnum as it emptied into the sea from a neat little row of red-brick buildings on top of a steep hill. It was dark by the time I got there, the roar of the ocean steady in the distance as music and laughter spilled into the street.

I caught a few odd looks as I slipped inside a pair of heavy doors, but I ignored them.

Torch light illuminated a rowdy great room, scantily clad women flaunting their goods to men wearing gold rings and the finest clothing. Most of the girls were young and all of them were clean and attractive.

Wine and spirits flowed freely, many patrons screaming in their companions faces as they swayed along to the tender words of a boywhore. He kept missing notes on his lyre, but his voice was smooth enough that an untrained ear wouldn’t notice.

A dark young woman with heavy breasts and full hips approached, a predatory look on her face. “What can I do for you, my love? We don’t get many pretty women in here. Do you like girls or are boys more to your taste?”

I’d kill Cassius for bringing Cece to such a place.

Behind my kind hostess, a man lurched to his feet and heaved a young woman over his shoulder. She must’ve been heavier than she looked, because her weight threw the man off balance and the two of them fell to the floor in a swirl of fabric, him laughing and her shrieking.

I resisted the urge to order myself some wine. “I’m here to see someone named ‘Crispus’.”

Her smile soured as she looked me up and down, studying my face. “He’s busy.”

“Tell him Cassius Durum’s sister is here to see him.” I said, hoping I sounded self-assured.

Our eyes met and she winced. “Do you want to wait at a table? I’ll go find him for you.”

I declined, choosing to wait by the door.

The man helped the young woman to her feet, her face paint running and a knot forming on her forehead where she must’ve bashed it. He threw his arm over her shoulders and led her toward a wooden staircase, sarcastic whoops and applause ringing out.

I enjoyed sex, but I had things to do. Becoming a Mage and beginning my research was more important than putting the effort into finding a decent man.

The lutist was handsome enough with broad shoulders and red-gold hair, but he seemed so young. And he struck me as the type who preferred other men. Maybe he knew Cassius.

I massaged my temple with my knuckles, all the revelry kicking up the remains of my headache. A dark-eyed woman plastered a vacant smile on her face and pretended to shriek with delight when an old man exposed her breasts and pressed his face between them.

Good thing she didn’t have to fool me.

I moved toward the stairs as a willowy blonde with a splash of freckles over the bridge of her nose approached me with a wild grin on her face, her pupils tiny pinpricks. The way she rubbed her hands together unnerved me.

Her voice was shaky. “Are you Cecelia’s sister?”

I nodded.

The woman laughed. “I love it when she sings. Her songs are just so, so deep. So, so emotional. The one about the miner and the rich man’s daughter makes me cry so, so hard.”

I licked my lips, glancing around for the woman I’d spoken to earlier. “I’ll tell her you said that.”

She laughed again, loud and brash like the bray of a mule. “Really? Thank you!”

When I didn’t see the woman, I looked for an escape route.

“Crispus is this way.” My new friend linked arms with me. “Come on.”

She led me toward a door beside a stage, shameless debauchery in full sway. More power to them. I wasn’t there to judge. I was there to get Cassius out of whatever hell he’d gotten himself into. He had to help me find Luna and our sister’s money. And Mother’s earrings. The gemstones were tiny, but my attachment was sentimental.

The blonde rapped her knuckles against the wood three times and a young man wearing a leather jerkin and a dagger on his hip opened the door, studying us for a moment before letting us through. I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been the one who broke the dining chairs.

Men sat around tables, smoking and drinking while they played cards and dice. The women who served them food and drinks were completely naked. A man with a salt-and-pepper beard and dark eyes grabbed my freckled friend and yanked her into his lap, sliding his hand inside her dress. All the bright excitement faded from her eyes as she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.

“You must be Camilla.” A man in a high-backed chair studied me with interest.

I stood up straight, head held high. “Are you Crispus?”

He winked. “What brings Cece’s sister to my table?”

The gods had really done humanity a disservice in making a man like Crispus so handsome. Rich brown ringlets framed masculine features, softening the hardness in his eyes and the harshness in his tone.

His cohort of sycophants began to laugh, an oafish man yelling as his opponent raked gold coins into an already sizable pile.

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I took a deep breath, allowing myself to feel my anger for a moment before I spoke. Sandro taught me to do that. “Where is Cassius?”

Big blue eyes never left mine as he pulled two shiny gold coins from inside his jacket pocket. “This should cover the cost of the damages. Is Cece alright? I heard she was pretty shaken up.”

“Cut the bullshit,” I snapped, angry words hot on my lips. “How much does my brother owe you?”

Men on either side of Crispus exchanged a glance, their contempt lost on no one. Not having to put up with men’s bullying was one of the major perks of having spell casting abilities. I was no Battle Mage, but I could break noses and knock out teeth with a flick of my wrist.

Crispus continued holding out the coins, watching me as though I were a cat he was trying to lure into his lap. “40,000 gold coins.”

I swallowed a laugh. That was more money than I’d ever seen in my life. Cassius was apparently a man with expensive tastes. I pushed loose tendrils of hair away from my face while the initial shock faded. “How?”

He set the coins on his desk with a smirk and made a show of smoothing the lapels of his fine brocade jacket. It was a little heavy for the season, but I couldn’t ignore the way it stretched over his broad shoulders, a cravat neatly tied at his throat. “I’ll start at the top.”

The men at the card table had fallen silent, all watching Crispus and I with rapt attention.

Crispus cleared his throat. “Cassius loves cards and whores. Usually he can limit himself, but lately he’s been overindulgent. An incredible night at the table a few weeks back went to his head. Your dear brother has been chasing after that same rush ever since.”

I sighed, my tension headache returning. None of the women in the room would look at me.

“Well.” I finally said. “Cass is just going to have to figure this one out for himself.”

Crispus shook his head slowly, eyes never leaving mine. “There’s nothing to figure out. He will officially turn over the management of Cecelia’s career over to me by tomorrow morning, or I will cut off both of his hands.”

I closed my eyes and counted to ten, taking deep breaths as I trembled with rage. Cassius was a bastard for getting our sister mixed up with a man like Crispus, but I couldn’t stand by and watch him be maimed. I refused to even entertain the notion of having to support him through such a debilitating injury. And I didn’t want Crispus anywhere near Cece. Never again.

I curled my hands into fists. “40,000 gold coins by tomorrow morning?”

“40,000.” Crispus held up a sheet of parchment, a looping scrawl too far away to read. “Unless you want to sign Cecelia over to me. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her.”

“Never.” I turned on my heel and stormed off, their mocking laughter only making me more determined.

Crispus’ deep voice rose above the din. “Good luck, Camilla. I’m rooting for you.”

I ground my teeth, but pressed on. I didn’t have time to trade insults with that pig.

###

Night was the best time to be at the beach. Less crowded. Cooler. The perfect place for introspection. It was a shame I didn’t have time to contemplate the universe’s secrets beneath the moon and stars, gentle waves breaking against the shore.

I pulled my robes over my head and fashioned them around my torso like a sack, the loose tunic I wore underneath billowing in the breeze as I strode through the sand. In my heart, I grieved the loss of having dry clothing to change into upon my return, but I needed a safe place to stash any pearls I collected while I picked my way through the oyster bed I’d spotted a few yards into the water. Its foul mineral reek hung heavy in the night air. My sandals sank into the wet sand and water lapped at my toes, a small smile tugging at my lips despite the cold.

Mother had taught me to pray to Numos, but I’d always prayed to Maren in secret. The sea goddess did more for our family with her plentiful bounty than Numos ever did with his laws and stuffy priests.

As children, Cassius and I used to slip down to the shore when we could to dig for clams and catch crab. He held our prizes in his shirt while I drew the creatures to me with my casting, Summoning spells being my specialty. We sold what we couldn’t keep.

I waded into the water, shivering as a strong gust of wind swept over me.

Maren’s brothers, Boreas and Caelum, controlled the wind and the sky. Their hatred ran deeper than a typical sibling rivalry, with the brothers kidnapping Maren’s daughter and hiding her away in the clouds, but I had no quarrel with them even though I occasionally prayed to Maren. Her family squabbles were no issue of mine.

Besides that, no matter how hard the citizens of Civitas Riparia and I prayed, violent storms battered the city year after year. Maren and her brothers either weren’t listening, or they simply didn’t care.

I took a deep breath as the wind tugged tendrils of hair from my bun, drawing on the brightness of the moon and stars. Spiritual and mental energy flowed through my arm into my hand, an orb of blue light swirling into existence. It floated a few feet over my head, lighting up the water around me.

Gathering oysters in the darkness required both hands. Especially since I didn’t have an aquamarine to part the waves.

I crouched down into the water, wincing against the cold as I held out my arms just beneath the surface. Another deep breath. I drew energy from the strength of the sea; the force of the currents; its resistance against the tide.

Mental and spiritual energy surged through my arms. “Might!”

Water parted around me and I gritted my teeth as I held my arms out at my sides. A path of muck and wet sand extended all the way to the oyster bed, two walls of water on both sides. Dark oyster shells reflected the blue light like precious gemstones. If only the shells were as valuable as the pearls that lie within.

I kept my arms held out, keeping the water at bay as I made my way through the muck. Obscenities slipped from my lips every time my sandals sank into the stinky slime, but I would be grateful for my footwear once I got to the jagged oyster bed.

Cassius and I had only braved the rocks when we were desperate. A handful of pearls paid for our rent and schooling at the expense of bloody hands and feet.

That night, I needed more than a handful.

My orb of light bobbed over my head as I approached the oysters, water closing over the path behind me and rushing up to my thighs as I reached out. The stink of salty brine and the oyster bed was almost enough to make me swear off seafood forever.

An oyster would feel cold and smooth in my hand. Wet. Hard, but brittle.

“Oyster!”

A single mollusk broke away from the bed with a loud crack and soared into my palm.

I closed my eyes as I drew power from the sea, channeling energy into the creature. “Might.”

The shell broke open with a pop and a flash of light.

No pearl.

I tossed the shell and the meat into the water, guilt adding to my desperation. Something would eat the oysters. They wouldn’t go to waste. Besides that, I couldn’t afford to feel guilty.

I reached for another and fell into a steady pace, my work distracting me from the water’s press and the cold muck swallowing my feet. The pop of oysters being blown open was softened by the wind.

When I became a Mage, I’d buy myself the biggest fattest aquamarine I could find and have it mounted on a staff of driftwood. Then I could control the water with a lazy wave of my arm.

Cassius had once stolen an aquamarine from a fisherman. We’d spent one glorious day reaping Maren’s harvest, our pockets bulging with pearls as we lugged as much oyster meat back to shore as we could carry.

A dark chuckle slipped from between my lips as I tossed another oyster into the sea.

The fisherman caught us when we showed up at the market to sell our bounty. Cassius gave up his bag of pearls, all the oyster meat, the aquamarine, and took the full beating while I hid my pearls beneath my clothes.

That was the year we escaped the slums. Mother used what was left over to hire a tutor to teach all three of her children to read and write. As much as Cassius infuriated me, I couldn’t make myself hate him. He was at least decent enough not to sign Cece’s career over to Crispus.

I climbed onto the rock in search of more oysters, clinging to the jagged surface as seawater crashed over me. My hand slipped and I cried out, blood hot and sticky on my fingers. Panic drove all rational thought from me and I clawed at the rock face, pain cutting into my hands and arms. The pull of the waves ripped me from the rock and carried me out to sea.

Tears spilled onto my cheeks as rage flared in my chest, but I forced my emotions away. I didn’t have time for them. I held my arms out at my sides, spiritual and mental energy coming from within.

My voice was faint beneath the wind and the sea. “Might!”

Water rushed away from me in a swirling roar of sound and I fell into the muck with a strangled cry, blood trickling down my wrists. I gulped at the air, eyes clamped shut.

My neck and shoulders ached, tense from holding off the water as my orb of light flickered overhead. My hands throbbed and bled, but I would live. I could still look for pearls. There was still time.

I opened my eyes and gasped, a blue-eyed dolphin peering at me from inside the wall of water. A sphere of green light flickered around it, enclosing its shifting form in a dome of crackling spell energy.

Its silhouette twisted and stretched, a pair of humanoid legs growing from its lower body as its dorsal fin retracted into its back. Arms grew and the shoulders appeared, a neck and head extending from a torso.

The water pressed against my spell, its force overwhelming as I trembled; struck simple with fear and wonder. My arms buckled, muscles tearing with pain as water crashed over me. I didn’t even have time to scream.

Darkness swallowed me whole and I was battered about like a fishing boat in a storm. My light was gone and I couldn’t breathe, my lungs burning for air. I tore and kicked at the water with all my strength, death creeping into my thoughts as I struggled to channel energy into my limbs. The robes around my torso weighed me down. I hadn’t even collected a single pearl.

Green light burst, blinding me. I opened my mouth to scream, water forcing its way down my throat as something brushed the back of my neck. I whipped around, reaching. Desperate. A hand caught me by the face and pulled me out of the water, setting me on the jagged oyster bed.

I clung to the stone and debris, heaving up seawater as the green light faded and the waters calmed.

A beautiful man stood tall and proud on the water’s surface as though he stood on dry land, the sphere dissolving into a shower of twinkling lights. He was olive-skinned and lean with hard muscle, completely smooth except for a mass of messy black ringlets curling over his brow and a dusting of pubic hair over his groin.

Embarrassment forced my eyes to his. It didn’t help that they were the same shade of blue-green as the sea.

His brow furrowed and he pressed plump lips into a thin line, reaching for me. Sharp features made him seem so severe. Judgemental.

Fear kept me pinned to the rock. “Are you a spirit?”

“You have nothing to fear from me.” His voice was clear and firm like justice.

A wave slammed into me and I tore my fingers and arms to shreds clutching at the rock. The water relented and I lunged for him, heat spreading up my arm into my chest when he caught my wrist. He lifted me out of the water and set me on my feet, the surface somehow solid.

I threw my arms around him with a yelp. “How are you doing this?”

He cocked his head to the side, a small smile playing over his lips. “Magic.”

He slid an arm around my waist, but I shoved him away, my left leg slipping into the water as I stumbled. The young man grabbed my arm before I fell, letting go as soon as I was steady.

I stood up straight, my body warm with his heat. “Am I dead? Are you a spirit guide come to escort me to Maren’s hallowed halls?”

It could’ve been all the seawater I’d swallowed or it could’ve been the fear that made me crazy enough to hallucinate a dolphin spirit as I hovered at the edge of death, let alone speak with it.

He shook his head, water dripping from his wet curls. “You’re not dead. Not yet, anyway.”

I froze, stiff with dread. “What?”

“I admit I let it go on longer than I should’ve, but I could not, for the life of me, figure out why you were throwing out perfectly good oyster meat. I enjoyed it, though.” He patted his stomach, smile teasing. “I love oysters.”

I ground my teeth, hands balling into fists. I didn’t have time for fools. Even if they were handsome.

“But my mother won’t appreciate the mass murder of her subjects. Doubly so if you were just killing them for the fun of it,” he said.

“I was looking for pearls!” I blurted. “And you ate all the oysters. They didn’t go to waste.”

“Tell it to the Sea Queen.” He reached for my arm.

I threw up my hands, urging all of my remaining energies into my palms. “Might!”

A bolt of blue light shot forward, catching the man on the chest. The slack-jawed surprise in his expression as he careened backward into the water made my own jerky twist of limbs less of an embarrassment. I hit the water with a splash.

The sea swallowed me whole, current sucking me into its dark depths. My feet hit the seafloor and I took heart. I channeled all of my energies into my legs. When I opened my mouth to say the incantation, seawater rushed inside, the intense saltiness choking me just as much as the liquid filling my lungs.

Somehow, I managed to cast the spell, because when I kicked off, I shot upward through the water and breached the surface like a whale. A firm grasp caught my wrist and pulled me up, setting me down on something solid.

I pushed up on all fours, choking and sputtering. Water churned beneath me, some clear barrier keeping me from sinking. It wasn’t glass, but I didn’t know how else to describe it. I’d never heard of such magic. I stood on shaky legs, breathing ragged as I looked up into the face of the dolphin-man.

I opened my mouth to say something cutting, something bitchy, but he beat me to it.

“You don’t have to pretend to drown to get my attention.” He winked.

I flushed hot. “Who are you?”

He cleared his throat and drew himself to his full height, strong chin jutting out with an arrogant tilt of his head. “I am Dorian. One of Maren’s favorite princes.”

I snorted with dismissive laughter, but paused. Could I really doubt such a claim after everything I’d witnessed?

“The Dorian?” My voice was raw. “Friend of shipwrecked sailors and Guardian of the Sea?”

He grinned, green light twinkling around him like a cloak of stars. “The one and only.”

A prickle of fear made me shiver. “I really am sorry about all the oysters. My family is in bad trouble and I need-”

He dismissed me with a wave of his hand. “You’re a spell caster.”

I pushed wet hair away from my face. “And a lot of good it's done me.”

Dorian furrowed his brow, so cute when he didn’t understand.

“I should be tucked away in the Mage’s Tower researching spell casting abilities in idiot savants! I should be wealthy and free!” The anger in my voice gave the wind whipping around me a bitter quality, but I couldn’t hold back any more. “But here I am! Out here in the ocean. Trying to collect enough pearls to keep my family afloat. It's always fallen to me to clean up everyone else’s messes.”

Dorian’s eyes narrowed, gaze flickering over me as I struggled to catch my breath, body tight with shame. I hadn’t meant to say all that.

“Maybe we can help each other.” He rubbed his hands together, green spell energy crackling between his palms.

I swallowed hard, deeply afraid, but insanely curious. The help from gods and demi-gods always came at a hefty price.

He cupped his hands beneath his chin, eyes boring into mine as he blew a shower of sparkling lights over me. My skin tingled, water rising from my hair and clothing in a fine mist. When I was completely dry, it fell into the sea like a burst of rain.

I couldn’t afford to be choosy when it came to help and I didn’t have time for fear.

I swallowed my trepidation and stood up straight, head held high. “What’d you have in mind?”

A single dimple appeared in his right cheek when he grinned. Handsome men got away with everything. “The Sea Queen would never hold a few oysters against a desperate human. I only said that because delivering a murderer to Her Majesty is a great excuse to get inside her grand palace and down into the jail cells beneath. I need you to help me break my sister free.”

All the hope in me died.

“What makes you think I would ever cross Maren? I would be a fool to provoke her fury,” I said.

Dorian rolled his eyes. “She just bellows like a sea cow and throws water everywhere.”

I bristled. “Easy for you to say. I can’t turn into a dolphin and swim away if she were to swallow me up.”

He put his hands on his hips. “You want pearls? I can give you thousands.”

My mouth ran dry. “In exchange for what, exactly?”

“Help me break my sister out of jail. She’s committed no crime, I swear.”

I scoffed. “Of course she didn’t.”

Dorian continued in his sister’s defense, expression alive with passion. “She fell in love beneath her station. Married in secret. When our mother found out, she went ballistic and locked poor Octavia away.”

If only I had a quill and a scrap of parchment to write down such a tragic tale. Cecelia could’ve used my notes to write beautiful ballads and sonnets.

I ran my fingers through my hair and rubbed my face in my hands. What crazy bullshit fairytale had I stumbled into? I’d just witnessed something incredible; something greater than myself, and while I did tremble, that was more out of fear than reverence. If the being before me was some kind of god, I was not impressed.

I stood up straight, smoothing the sleeves of my tunic.

I had to help a demi-god, a sexy dolphin-man, break his sister out of a goddess’ prison in exchange for riches. To protect my siblings. And myself. Innocence. Not to mention true love.

I sighed. “Throw in a big aquamarine and you’ve got a deal.”

Dorian grinned and held out his hand.

Moon and starlight added to the night’s mythical quality. I’d have to mention that to Cecelia.

I took his hand and he pulled me in for a hard kiss. Warm. Passionate. I forgot myself for a moment and leaned into his solid heat, but there was no time for love.

I twisted away, raising my fingertips to my burning lips. “Why did you do that?”

He reached for me, but I turned away in a panic. My chest heaved and I couldn’t draw breath.

I dropped to my knees, wheezing. “What did you do -”

Dorian knelt, scooping me up into his arms before leaping into the sea. Water rushed over me, but I didn’t feel cold, only weightless and free. My mind screamed for air and I flailed against Dorian, clawing at the water overhead.

When the ache in my lungs became too much, I gasped, water pouring down my throat.

But instead of drowning, sweet bliss made me weak with relief. I floated in the darkness, breathing water in and out. Dorian had transformed back into a dolphin, bright light emanating from him. He winked and I began to laugh.

The oyster bed I’d been tormenting was much larger than I initially thought, the massive, mollusk infested rock extending down into the watery depths for what appeared to be miles. The creatures taunted me while I floated, waiting for my strength to return.

“Murderer,” they wailed, their squeaky sorrow touching. “Prince Dorian is even worse. What kind of ruler doesn’t execute justice for his citizens?”

The grey dolphin swam in circles around me, blue eyes bright in the dimness. “You’re Maren’s citizens. And I’ve feasted on oyster flesh before and I’ll do it again.”

“You heartless monster,” shrieked an oyster.

“The Queen will hear about this,” cried another.

“Come on. We haven’t got much time.” Dorian led me away from the oyster’s demands for justice.

I swam after him as fast as I could, but he often had to circle back around, drifting beside me with a lazy arrogance.

“What did you do to me?” I was more curious than afraid as he flipped and twirled through the water with ease.

“Consider it a boon, a blessing, or even a curse,” he called. “When I kissed you, I made it so you can breathe underwater and communicate with Maren’s subjects.”

“How?”

With one last infuriating little flip, he swam away, leaving me to puzzle out how he manipulated my lungs into breathing water and my ears into understanding fish-speech.

Brilliant colors and a flurry of aquatic activity distracted me from my musings. A bright orange coral reef came into focus below and I lost myself in its natural beauty.

Men, women, and children of all species and races spent their days roaming the Earth, baking under a blazing sun. Most died completely ignorant of the cool paradise below the water’s surface.

Schools of vibrant fish, blue and yellow flashing as they reflected Dorian’s light, hailed their Sea Prince in gurgling tones as we passed. Shy crustaceans and silent eels peeked out from beneath coral-encrusted rocks as blood-red sea anemones waved Dorian along. Silver fish darted overhead, stars in their own right.

“Tell me your name.” Dorian’s voice jarred me back into the moment.

I jerked with surprise, his laughter the click of a dolphin. He swam alongside me.

I ignored his teasing. “Camilla.”

“Grab onto my dorsal fin and I’ll tow you along,” he said. “You humans swim impossibly slow.”

I gripped his smooth skin as best I could. “We don’t have fins.”

“But you have magic.” Dorian sped forward. “I’m sure you could find a way.”

Color blurred below me and my heart sang, amazed at Maren’s splendor. A stingray drifted over head, moonlight illuminating his fins.

“Make way,” it cried, circling us. “Make way for Prince Dorian, our eldest brother and Guardian of Queen Maren’s realm.”

Dorian tensed and dove into a patch of thick, flat leaves, green as summer. They bumped against me, tangling in my loose hair and coiling around my wrists.

“Thanks for the warning,” I snapped, tearing fat leaves away from my mouth.

He poked his beak through the vegetation, tail flexing. I shoved leaves aside, cursing as I searched for his front end.

“I don’t have a lot of time.” I didn’t bother keeping the irritation out of my voice. “I need to get back to the surface as soon as -”

I parted the leaves like curtains and gasped, stunned silent.

A great canyon opened before me, a palace of white coral glittering at the bottom. Domed roofs capped cylindrical towers, light burning in caverns hewn into its walls. Octopi swam in and out of the openings, long tentacles trailing after them in swirls of color. Fields of coral and sea anemones extended in all directions, filling the canyon with a vibrant haze.

I caught Dorian staring and he winked. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Spiritual energy thrummed through the water, a strange magnetism emanating from the palace. It tingled over my skin and crackled in my lungs, strengthening me.

I reached for Dorian’s fin, leaves restraining my movement. “There is powerful magic here.”

His gaze shifted to my hands as I struggled against the vegetation. “Excellent idea.”

“What are you talking about?”

I paused, spiritual and mental energies flowing through my arm. The waxy leaf shredded against my Might spell and I grinned, body pulsing with magic.

The dolphin blinked. “Bind your wrists together and I’ll take you down there on a lead.”

I snorted. “Surely you jest, my prince.”

He swished his tail, leaves rustling behind us. “It’ll be more convincing that way. The guards won’t ask as many questions.”

Doubt bloomed in the back of my mind like an insidious weed. “You’re the prince. Adored. I’ve seen nothing to make me believe those octopi won’t receive you with delight.”

He turned toward the palace, eyes widening.

I swallowed hard. “Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Dorian opened his beak, green light surging around him. “Brace yourself.”

I whipped around, dark shapes speeding toward us. Fear prickled over me. Dorian transformed inside a sphere of light as I counted twelve blurs, tentacles slowly coming into focus.

Octopi.

“We’ve been spotted.” Dorian the Man stretched his limbs.

I kept my eyes forward. “By whom?”

He reached over and tore a leaf away from the rock, waxy material trailing between us. The other end of it glowed, tangling around my wrists.

Dorian swam toward the edge of the canyon, his hair a dark mass around his angular face. “Guards. Come on.”

I tugged against the leaf. “Stop. I don’t even know what the plan is.”

He glared over his shoulder. “You’ve been arrested for murder.”

“Come again?” I channeled energy into my hand, shredding the plant.

Pale light trailed after the octopi as they approached with no sign of slowing down. I licked my lips, hands shaking.

“You’ve been arrested for murder, and I’m bringing you to the Sea Queen for judgement. I’ll offer to escort you to a holding cell. We’ll find my sister and get out.” He turned toward his mother’s guards and flinched, his confidence fading.

It unnerved me.

Tentacles unfurled as the octopi spread out, pale suckers flexing. Light pulsed around them and the spiritual energy in the water shifted, spreading away from me.

I swallowed a hard lump in my throat. “Can they dampen spell casting?”

He nodded and caught my wrist, dragging me away from the canyon’s edge.

I struggled against him. “Dorian.”

The largest octopus, a dark green female, called out, her eyes red as rubies. “By order of Her Majesty, Maren, Sea Queen, I place you under arrest! Guards! Seize them!”

Dorian threw up his hand in surrender. “Please! I caught this villain slaughtering Maren’s most innocent creatures. Allow me the satisfaction of -”.

I twisted in his grasp. “Alright, that’s enough.”

The octopi fanned out, forming a circle around us. I urged what little energy I could muster into my hands, ready as the Sea Queen’s guards closed in. It was so strange. I could feel the spiritual and mental energy emanating from the palace, but I couldn’t access it.

“Achta,” cried Dorian. “You know me.”

The dark green octopus charged, reaching toward him. “Her Majesty’s orders. Arrest Prince Dorian on sight.”

Tentacles lashed out from all directions.

I raised my arms over my head, a sphere of blue light flashing into existence around me. I would not be harmed. “Shield!”

Several of the octopi began to shriek, their severed tentacles floating beside me inside the sphere. Dark blood swirled through the water.

“I am your prince!” Dorian knocked four octopi, including Achta, back with a powerful jet of water.

“Monster!” An octopus adhered to the outside surface of my shield, pale underside clinging to the magical sphere as a viscous beak tried to peck through.

By my count, I’d injured seven of them. Four moved in on Dorian. A yellow female moaned as she sank toward the bottom of the canyon, blood billowing from her injuries.

“You’re supposed to protect us, Dorian.” A brown male pressed a severed tentacle against its stump. “How could you betray us?”

The octopus clinging to my shield pecked the surface, its beak a knife against glass. I kicked away bloody tentacles and laid my palm where the octopus tried to break through.

Weak energy tingled down my arm, spreading through my fingertips. “Might!”

The force of my spell knocked the octopus from the surface. I counted eight tentacles as he gathered himself.

Dorian twisted through the water in a twirl of limbs, water churning. “Achta, call off the attack. You don’t understand.”

A whirlwind formed overhead, the water’s pull sucking my sphere and all of the octopi into a violent current. Tentacles beat against me and the metallic taste of blood befouled the water. I couldn’t see. A swirl of lights and darkness pushed me to the brink of madness. I had to get out. Couldn’t breathe. Dizzy.

I pulled my limbs tight against my body and released the energies that sustained my shield. Blue light disappeared in a flash and I was launched from Dorian’s whirlwind like a crossbow bolt, everything a brilliant blur as I was propelled forward.

I crashed into something solid, driving the water from my lungs. A burst of pain made me grunt.

Hands swatted at me. “Damn it, Camilla!”

I flailed, struggling to right myself in the water, my feet kicking above as my hair fanned out beneath me. A deadly mix of fear, panic, and anger made me stupid. Achta’s tentacles coiled around Dorian. Something brushed my ankle and I lashed out, energies flowing into my leg.

“Might!” An arc of blue light flashed from my foot.

Dorian’s face tightened with fear as the crackling spell energy sped toward him and Achta.

Instant regret twisted my insides. The octopi were only following orders. I had nothing personal against them. The prince raised an arm, Achta flinching away from the light. A flash of green burst before me, the crash of shattering glass setting my teeth on edge

Spots flickered across my field of vision as something coiled up my legs, pulling me down. I blinked, Dorian looking the part of a god as he clutched my arc of spell energy, blue light dissipating in his grasp.

The yellow octopus from earlier, her stumps still bleeding, snatched my right arm and pulled me close. My mental and spiritual energy diminished to nothing and I shuddered, crippling weakness turning me to jelly.

I locked eyes with my captor, her rage evident even though her gaze was bizarre, unlike anything I’d ever seen. At that moment, I swore to never eat another octopus as long as I lived. I saw her soul; her consciousness.

“Do you have black tourmaline?” Bubbles flitted over my cheeks. “How are you dampening my casting?”

She blinked, pupils slits in a bright red eye, and pressed a tentacle against my forehead.

A horrific scene unfolded in my mind as a woman’s voice echoed in my head. “Maren will tear you limb from limb!”

Giant tentacles, black as death, tore my unconscious form into minced meat before tossing my entrails to the yellow octopus. My nostrils flared, the stink of blood and viscera making me nauseous. Bile burned the back of my throat. The yellow octopus turned, her eyes wide as she took a large bite from my thigh, pale skin dangling from her beak.

Pain lanced up and down my leg and I tried to scream, but no sound came out. It was a nightmare I couldn’t escape.

The octopus laughed, shrill and cutting. “Your flesh will nourish Maren’s children. My tentacles will grow anew.”

The pain suddenly stopped and everything went dark.

***** Part Two coming soon!*****

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