6. 6
six
Orion
The lingering dread consumes me, but it is her beauty that steals my breath away. For a moment, I can do nothing but look upon her. I never imagined a land-dweller could be as beautiful as she is.
The woman standing before me is almost a foot shorter than I am.
Her red auburn hair falls in light, wavy curls that reach the middle of her chest, vibrant and alive like a sea anemone’s crimson arms flickering with the tide.
Her eyes—emerald green, so deep and striking—could be mistaken for an emerald moray slipping into its cave. Her lips—Wait!
This is the woman who took your father’s powers. What are you doing? I shake my head, forcing myself back into focus. The strength of my father’s magic and the weight of the prophecy, hangs in the air between us. And yet, here she stands—human, fragile, radiant.
Before I can speak, the man from earlier leans into view from behind her. His presence, like a shadow creeping into my space, tugs at my attention. He says something, but the words do not register in my mind. I refuse to even acknowledge him.
My focus is on her, on the power she carries that was once my father’s, the danger that radiates from within, and the connection I cannot yet explain.
I hold my ground, keeping my face neutral, my voice low and formal. “I know who you are,” I announce, each word deliberate, like a warning. “And you know exactly what you have taken.”
She just continues to stand there as she studies me.
“Well, aren’t you bold,” she says, her eyes widening.
Her arms cross over her chest as she leans against the wall.
Even so, I catch a falter in her gaze—she knows why I am here.
Then she flicks a glance at the man, still seated. “Is this the man you saw, Leo?”
Leo, the man from the lobby, gathers his belongings and steps fully into view as I slowly creep out from the boxed chamber, crossing my arms casually. Leo rakes his eyes over me once, and he smirks. “Yes. That’s him. Hard to miss someone that good-looking.”
Sarah shoots him a quick, unimpressed look.
Leo grins impishly. “What? I’m gay, not blind.”
Sarah lets out a breath, half-exasperated, half-amused. Her gaze never leaves me as she speaks over her shoulder to Leo.
“Alright, I’d say we got a good amount done. Go ahead and head out for the day. We’ll upload everything at the lab tomorrow.”
Leo doesn’t ask questions or linger. He shoots her a playful wink as he backs toward the steel chamber, thumb already hitting a button on the inside.
“Text me if you need backup,” he chimes, his expression turning devilish, “or a shovel.”
She turns fully back to me, her smile fading as quickly as it came. I hope it did not show on my face, but she has a gorgeous smile.
I step closer, careful not to move too fast. She flinches, taking a step back, but her eyes never leave mine.
“You need to leave,” she demands, as she lifts her finger and points it toward the same way I came. “I don’t know who you are, but I do know I am not letting a stranger into my home!”
I hold her gaze, voice low but cutting through the tension. “There is no time to waste, land-dweller, no room to ask questions. You will listen to me, now, or you could risk what is at stake.”
The silence stretches for what seems like an eternity.
I almost speak again, the weight of it starting to make me second-guess my approach, wondering if I came on too strong.
She raises her eyebrows, hand still raised, and I take another deliberate step closer, letting the urgency in my tone hold no doubt.
“I am Orion, King of Virellan. A kingdom that resides in the deepest parts of the sea. What is happening to you, is not a choice anymore. You will be coming with me to my kingdom and returning the magic you have stolen from our society.” I hesitate, debating whether to say more.
In the end. I decide she needs to understand exactly where I stand.
“Even if I have to drag you there myself.”
Her eyes widen, and her hand slips into her pocket. “You’re insane,” she snaps. “I’m calling the police right now!” I watch as she pulls out a small, square item I do not recognize, holding it tightly in her hand.
I do not understand what she means by “call” someone. Her words make no sense. She is alone in this room, other than me. Who could she possibly summon with nothing but her voice and that small square device?
She moves, frantically, fingers pressing against the square item.
I take another small step toward her, holding my hands out, trying to calm her without letting her slip further into panic. “No. I am not insane. You need to listen! You do not understand what is happening,” I say, urgency sharpening every word.
So much for staying calm . . .
Her brow furrows, dread flickering in her eyes, but I press on. “The powers you now have—they are not yours. And they are dangerous if misused. You have stolen something that belongs to my kingdom. I need you to understand what that means, or everything is at risk.”
She freezes, the square item pinned between her fingers and her ear. Her chest rises quickly as she struggles to process my words.
“Hi, yes, my name is Sarah Fischer. A homeless man broke into my penthouse and I need—”
I snatch the object from her hand. A tiny voice bleeds through the other end, trapped inside the square. Startled, I crush the device in my palm and let it drop to the floor. The loud thud of it falling pulsates in my ears.
“What the hell?” she chokes out, her words rushing over each other. “That’s my phone, jackass.”
She storms closer, yanking the broken halves from the floor, and shoves them in my face like an accusation made solid.
“You have all of two minutes to fucking explain,” she demands through clenched teeth. “And given the cut-off call? I’d assume the cops will be arriving shortly.”
“I came because of a prophecy delivered by one of my nobles.” I speak fast, faster than I should, because time is not a luxury I have right now.
“It spoke of a land-dweller, with your name, who would come into possession of my father’s magic.
Magic that was hidden for safekeeping. I said you knew what you had taken because I can feel it.
His magic—it is what pulled me to you.” I inhale, sharply, neutralizing my thoughts.
“But after meeting you, it is clear you are just as blindsided as I am.”
She cuts me off. “Blindsided? Try something worse.” She raises a hand to her forehead. “Try overwhelmed and slightly terrified.”
I pause, letting her words settle. I can see how overwhelmed she is now, plain in her eyes and the way her hand shakes against her forehead.
I know that feeling. The heavy weight of the unknown.
I felt the same way when I rose to the throne after my father never returned home.
Not to mention the increasing surge of power she must be feeling, raw and untrained, making her feel like she is losing control.
I would try to get closer but I know she will just step farther away.
“Look, I know this situation makes no sense to someone like you, land-dweller, but I can help you. The magic inside you, it is ancient, but nonetheless when it finds someone new, it must be trained again. Though that doesn’t matter, given you are not from my world, therefore you must relinquish them.
Not to mention, now that it is within you, it makes you a target.
If I found you this easily, then that means another could be close behind. ”
She looks directly at me now, her eyes widening slightly, lips pressed together in a thin line. She paces as if it will help her digest the words I have spoken. More time passes than I would like to allow before she speaks up.
“How . . . How do I even begin to control it?” Her voice is quiet.
“Controlling it is not what matters right now,” I say, firmly. “The magic cannot stay with you. It belongs to my kingdom, and you will return it to its home.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she replies. “Can’t you just take whatever is inside me and return it that way?”
“As much as I wish I could, you have to voluntarily relinquish the magic yourself. Rejecting or accepting it is your choice. I highly recommend the former option.” I say, clasping my hands behind my back, watching calmly.
“Look, you have every right to doubt me. But you need to understand something important—we do not have much time here, as I’ve stated several times already.
There are reasons why magic from my kingdom, and certain life beneath the seas, have been kept hidden from the surface world. ”
Her head snaps up, as if I have finally caught her attention. “Certain sea life? Hidden? Why?”
I take a deep breath, the weight of century-old secrets pressing down on me.
“Mother Ocean, and everything that lives within her, is not something that land-dwellers were ever meant to know. It’s not just magic.
It’s the creatures, the history, the ancient knowledge.
It’s far beyond what your kind could ever imagine.
If it were to be revealed, chaos would follow.
The balance we have maintained for centuries would shatter, and the power we have kept secret could fall into the wrong hands. ”
I pause, analyzing her reaction, as I continue to speak the truth I have known for too long.
“The surface world is reckless. Your kind has already done enough damage to the seas. Imagine what would happen if more land-dwellers discovered the power within my kingdom’s barriers—magic like my father’s, which you now hold, or creatures capable of shaping tides and commanding storms. It’s not something your people could handle appropriately.
They would exploit it. Destroy it. And the seas, my home, would become a battleground. ”
She stops pacing as I inch closer, her body frozen by my words.
“That is why we keep it hidden. To protect the balance, to protect our worlds. And now, because of what you stole, that balance is at risk.”
Her mouth opens, but no words come out, as if she is still processing my confessions.
“You keep accusing me of stealing something, but all I know is the only thing that got stolen was my sanity.” she says, words finally spewing from her lips.
“I was just on a dive. Researching marine life, when I came across a rift in the ocean and after I grazed my fingers across it, something shot inside and through me, tumbling me through the waters. How is that stealing? I did not know that would even happen.”
“Well, however it happened, you are a part of this now, whether you like it or not. The magic inside you is too powerful to be ignored, and others will come for it eventually. I came for it, not because I wanted to hurt you, but simply so it can be returned to where it belongs before things get out of hand.”
And to understand why it chose you.
She quiets, her eyes unfocused, thoughts flashing through them like shadows. Given that humans are unaware of my world, and the concept of magic is hard to grasp, I can understand if she is having a hard time accepting it all at once. But she needs to, my kingdom is dependent on it—on her.
“I must still be asleep,” she says, clearing her throat. “This is like some kind of nightmare I haven’t woken up from.”
“Look, I cannot force you to believe me. But I can force you in other ways.”
She glances at her feet, taking her lip between her teeth, before looking at me again. “And if I refuse? What happens then?”
“Well, I won’t let that happen, but if you do, we lose everything,” I admit. “Not just our lives, but the very balance that has kept the seas and the land from destroying each other. The longer you fight or deny my demand, the more dangerous it becomes for both of us.”
A buzzing sound erupts behind me before a voice cuts through an item mounted to her wall.
“Miss Fischer, it’s Randy. Are you alright?
The cops are down here saying they received a call and pinged it to our building,” he starts, “They gave me your name as the one who called. I apologize for not getting him before he broke into the building. We can head up and remove him, if you can let us up.”
Sarah walks past me, ensuring her eyes never leave sight of me.
She presses a raised stud on the item mounted to the wall with her knuckle.
“Yeah, I’m okay Randy. It was a mistaken phone call.
I lost connection with them after I dropped my phone,” she replies.
“I don’t need them anymore. I’m good up here. ”
She turns away from the mounted box. “I still don’t believe what is happening is real. However, I’m an ocean enthusiast, so I will allow you the chance to explain why this puts me and the sea in danger . . . in detail.”
“I can explain but first, let me ask you this,” I pause for a beat, searching for the right words. “Has anything unexpected happened since you stole—I mean, acquired—my father’s magic?”
Her eyes flicker, the truth pressing at the edges. When she finally speaks, her voice is low.
“You could say that,” she admits. “Something happened last night . . . but I’m not getting into the details with an intruder.” She crosses her arms, rubbing them, her gaze shifting away. “I just know it wasn’t normal.”
I nod, understanding more than she realizes, even with all the missing details.
“Anything you humans do not understand, you label as unnatural. And this magic—it is new to you, which means it is not fully under your control. In high-stress situations, it can become dangerous and unpredictable. Which could explain whatever occurred last night.” I clear my throat and continue, “Which is another reason you need to come with me to return it. It is not meant to be in the possession of a human. Now I know you want an explanation but the best explanations are the ones I can show. You are coming with me, end of discussion. We can head for the sea at tomorrow’s first light. ”
Whether we trust each other or not, this prophecy has brought us together, even if for a short time. I just need to get her back to Virellan, have her relinquish her powers, and return her home. Simple and easy.
I hope.