The Heir: A YA Fantasy Romance (The Heir Series: Book 1) Page 22

  “This is—”

  “I know, unbelievable.”

  “No, I mean—yes, maybe, but this actually feels right.”

  She looked at me in shock. “Emma?”

  “Truly, Mary, I have always felt different—not like people my age. I didn’t really fit in other than with Ryker, and lately, after my parent’s deaths, I have been full of so many emotions and things, I have been thinking I would burst. I thought I was going crazy.”

  “When your parents died, your melody, which your parents had shielded, or suppressed, since your birth was released. With it, came all the feelings and emotions we feel as human beings. They thought that by suppressing your melody, you would blend in better with the humans, here on Earth. Earthlings do not have melodies. I can see now that when your melody was released, it must have been so strange to have it overwhelm you all at once. Ryker and I both tried to suppress it like your parents had, but we were not able to do it in the same way. It is easier for parents and offspring.”

  “I felt like I awoke from a dream—like when my parents were alive, that was a dream, and after they died, I wanted to die, too, because the feelings of misery and sorrow were too much for me. This, all this, it clicks for me,” I whispered.

  “Your parents would be so proud of you, dear.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Ryker is looking for the cave, with the portal to Terra, and also for the prince who heard your melody. That is why he keeps leaving. He thinks the man who caused the accident was the prince who has been taking Terrian melodies. He was searching all summer, and I was here to protect you as much as I could, but Ryker is really, better at that job, after all, he is a guardian knight, and I am a keeper.”

  “The man who killed my parents, he wants my soul? Ryker is a knight? What is a keeper?” I asked puzzled.

  “We believe this prince killed your parents. Yes, Ryker is a knight, and a keeper is someone who keeps things—I promise, I will explain everything to you.”

  “But why would he not take me after the car crash? We were there alone.”

  “I don’t know. We were confused, too. Ryker has been trying to find the portal home for a long time. This prince has been moving around to different areas, taking souls, but no one has been able to stop him, and no one knows which kingdom he is even from. Your father assured us that your melody was guarded well, and so we didn’t worry about it. However, once they died, the shield over your melody disappeared. Ryker and I were able to suppress your melody somewhat once we reached the hospital, but you had already basically broadcasted to the entire planet that you were here.”

  “Excuse me? Then shouldn’t I have a little bit more protection than just you?”

  She laughed, “Ryker has put up safe guards, and Shad is helping to keep you safe, too, I see,” she said, pointing to the necklace I wore from Shad—the crystal.

  “This?” I held it up.

  “That is a Seeker’s crystal—very rare; it suppresses your melody so that you are no longer a beacon. It is a shame that we did not have it sooner because Ryker and I have been worn out, shielding your soul for so long. There is much to discuss. We can speak in the morning, but only after you get a good night’s sleep. It has been a rather big day for you with homecoming—and then all of this.”

  I nodded. “Thank you for telling me.”

  “I am sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was afraid.”

  “I can see why you were afraid; it’s pretty crazy news.”

  “Don’t take off that necklace, Emma. It is keeping you hidden.”

  I nodded and walked to my room, closed the door, and sank on my bed.

  Are you okay? I jumped, not yet used to hearing a message inside of me.

  Shad?

  Yes.

  Are you okay? You seem upset and it’s making me worried.

  You can’t read my mind and find out? I shoved my face into a pillow. So much for cell phones, I thought.

  It doesn’t work like that. I can only hear what you let me hear.

  I remembered what he had said, and I opened up the memory of talking with Mary and the letter. Speaking to him, navigating my melody over to Shad, was like breathing. Once I knew what it could do, what it was, it was as if I was set free, set free to be who I was always supposed to be.

  You get that? I sent him my conversation with Mary, and her telling me that I was from Terra, that I was an alien. The only thing I didn’t add was that I was an alien princess. I just couldn’t tell him that yet—one step at a time.

  You—you are from Terra then? I knew you had to be. Ryker doesn’t tell me anything. The emotion sent with that message was amazement.

  I guess so. I am an alien, too. I think it is the cool thing to be these days. Everyone I know is one.

  I heard a soft chuckle bouncing around inside me. Emma, this isn’t too overwhelming for you?

  It feels kinda like I have always known. I mean, yeah, I never knew I was an alien, but I always knew there was something—something I was missing. After my parents died, the hole I felt inside me was just too much, and it consumed me, until I met you, and you spoke to my soul—literally, it seems—waking me up from the confusion that was inside of me.

  I am so sorry you never knew Terra.

  Ryker is trying to take me there, take me home. It isn’t safe for me here. There is someone who wants my soul. Really, all “doom and gloom,” makes me feel like a comic book character.

  Mary said that?

  Yes, some prince is stealing people’s melodies, and I guess Ryker got here through a portal in a cave, and if he can find that cave, we can go home.

  Emma, I know where that cave is. I came here with Ryker.

  Lost

  “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU know where the cave is? What do you mean, you came here with Ryker? Are you serious? That seems to be what Ryker has been killing himself over for all this time, and you couldn’t have told him?” I whisper-shouted into the phone. I couldn’t do the whole mind speaking thing anymore. It was something I was going to have to get used to, so I called him on the phone, needing to hear his voice in my ears, not just my soul.

  He was quiet on the other end of the line. I waited for him to answer me, “he did not tell me he was looking for the cave. I did not know.” He spoke quickly as if he didn’t tell me quick enough, I wouldn’t believe him.

  “I don’t understand why he hates you so much. Now, Mary says someone is after me—some prince who wants my melody.”

  “Nothing will happen to you while Keil and I am here, I promise you, Emma.”

  “I am so worried about him.”

  “Emma, did you contact him? Try and get ahold of him, and we can let him know that he can stop searching.”

  My soul’s melody, happy that I knew it’s name, sung to Shad and called out for him, and he called back, his own song calling to mine, causing me to feel peace and calm.

  “How do you do that?”

  “You and I are not most people. We are special, it would seem, even for Terrians.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  He cleared his throat. “I think we share a bond.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “We are better at communicating with our souls than others are. It is like our melodies long to reach out to each other and sing together.”

  “That is for sure,” I laughed.

  “Call Ryker. I know you worry about him. Call him and tell him that he can come home.”

  I tried twice that night to call Ryker, but it went right to voicemail. I was sure that he was just busy hiking, and once he reached a place where he had service, he would check his voicemails—at least that is what I told myself. It didn’t seem like something I should leave on a voicemail, so I simply stated that Mary told me about my parents. I knew everything, and Shad had info on what he was looking for, and he should come home. I thought it was vague enough and yet detailed enough. He should be able to catch on. I waited up until around three in the morn
ing, and then I fell asleep.

  I WOKE UP TO POUNDING on my door. I looked at myself. I was still wearing my homecoming dress. Did that all really happen just last night? The perfect dance, and then, finding out I am an alien?

  “Come in,” I groaned, and Mary entered, looking like someone died.

  “Emma, we need to go—now,” she cried, running into my room and pulling open drawers, throwing things into the bag that she held.

  “What is going on?” I asked, trying to rub sleep from my eyes. I looked behind her, and Shad stood in the doorway with Keil on his heels. He looked incredibly attractive in his black pants, a belt, and a grey dress shirt—no tie. He also held in his hands a tall glass of water.

  “Good morning, Emma; we are leaving,” Shad said, walking into the room with a glass of water, placing it on my bedside table and holding out an aspirin in his palm.

  “How did you—” I looked up at him, and he pointed to his heart.

  “You are radiating a small headache in your emotional and physical forecast this morning,” he answered with a smirk. I gulped down the medicine and drank the cool water. He was different. His secret was out, and he was more relaxed. Is finally telling me his secret such a release for him? He always seemed so perfect, always saying the right thing and doing the right thing, but that morning, he was also so relaxed. I could feel it emanating from him, from his soul’s melody.

  Yes, it is, Emma, Shad spoke to me. I didn’t look at him, because I was a little embarrassed that he could read me so well, and obviously hear me so well.

  “Mary, what is happening?”

  She looked at me. “You fell asleep in your dress?” she quickly spoke, shaking her head while she walked over to me. “We have to leave, Emma. Ryker was captured. We have to save him. He—they may—” Mary’s voice cracked.

  “May what, Mary?” I asked, standing up.

  “Kill him—he is a guardian knight. He will not tell a soul what he knows, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try and rip it out of him, piece by piece. Many of our people here on Earth are bad, worse than the worst people you can imagine. Criminals were sentenced to the Dungeons of the Mist, and many because of that, ended up here,” she shuddered. “You have to come. I am not leaving you here alone. Because Shad gave you that crystal, they won’t know who you are, and the prince will not be able to find you.”

  “Who is this prince? Why is he here anyway?” I asked with a gasp. Shad looked at me with sadness in his eyes as Mary answered my question:

  “I am not sure if he is truly a Terrian prince or not, but he has been on the hunt for you since your birth. He wants to take your melody and return home, convincing our world that he is the one that the Ancients foretold would come to restore our broken world. Doing so, he would only destroy the Terra we all know and love.”

  “What will happen if he takes my melody?” I asked, fear creeping into my bones. Mary started to cry, and Keil held her. No one spoke, as if they did not want to say the words out loud.

  “You become a shell, no longer a person. Without a melody, you would be walking around without a soul. It is a fate worse than death. This prince—Keil and I have seen some of the things he has done while here on Earth. We could never find him, but we found plenty of his victims.”

  I gulped, stood, and walked into the bathroom. I leaned over the toilet and promptly threw up. I closed the toilet seat lid, flushed, and ran to the sink to get the taste out of my mouth. Once I was done cleaning out my mouth, I sat down on the toilet seat.

  “Are you okay, Emma?” Shad asked, standing as guard in the doorway.

  I let a few tears fall. “Oh, me—Yes. I am just peachy, Shad. I am an alien, my best friend is taken captive by evil aliens that want to torture and maybe kill him, and we need to rescue him; meanwhile, there is also an insane prince who wants my melody, which would leave me here as a zombie for the rest of my life. Am I missing something?” I glared at him.

  He only stood there, hands in his pockets, but his soul reached mine, calming me, drawing me in, whispering to me that everything would be okay.

  “Stop, it Shad,” I pushed his melody back. He smiled.

  “Emma, that is true. All is you have so eloquently put it.”

  I snorted and pulled my knees to my chest.

  “But time for contemplation is not now. We must go and do; time is not on our side, Emma.”

  “You know what, Shad? I hate time. I think time should have its soul taken away. When is time ever on my side?” I shouted back at him, tears filling my eyes. “Ryker is dead. I know it. Everything dies—everything,” I whispered in sobs. Shad kneeled beside me, pulling me into his arms—the electric feeling from his touch cocooned around me—making me feel safe, warm, and loved. I wrapped my arms around his neck and cried. He patted my hair and placed his chin on my head.

  “It is okay, Emma. He isn’t dead; he lives. I know it.”

  I sniffled and started to gain control of myself. Our melodies were ringing within me, filling me with hope. “Nice trick,” I said, pulling away from him.

  “There are many benefits to our connection.” He winked and kissed my cheek. It surprised me. Although it was a quick kiss, it sent my body into shivers, and I felt it calming me. He kissed the top of my head and stood up, pulling me with him.

  “Now, as much as I love this dress,” he smirked at me, nodding to my body. I looked down and saw my crumpled blue dress, and winced. I probably looked worse than awful. “We should really get you out of it for the drive; it is going to be a long one.”

  I felt heat rise in my cheeks. “Okay, I will change.”

  He stood there, looking at me, his eyes as golden as ever.

  “I thought we were being quick?” I asked, looking up at him.

  “Oh, yes, me—I should go.” He gave a little bow and walked out of the bathroom door, almost tripping over the mat as he left. That was so unlike the Shad I had known. I laughed at him and sent it into him with my melody.

  Are you going to change?

  Yes.

  Good. Now, try not to focus on me so much.

  The only bad thing about this ability is that I cannot see you blush.

  Ha-ha.

  Hurry up. Time is running out.

  I heard his melody float down the stairs to the living room and then end up in the kitchen. Mary came in then and started putting toiletries into the bag that she was packing for me.

  “Change, Emma, as quickly as you can. I have packed you all the necessities for now.”

  I shuffled to my closet and opened a drawer that had workout clothes that I rarely used. I pulled out a pair of running pants and a workout shirt. I washed my face in the bathroom and pulled my hair up into a ponytail.

  “Do you have hiking boots?” Mary asked, sticking a small folded towel in my bag.

  “I have my gym shoes,” I replied

  “That will have to work. Hand me some socks.”

  I walked to my sock drawer and handed her a handful of socks, and she shoved them into the bag. I pulled out my gym shoes and socks and put them on. It was cold out that time of the year, so I walked back into my closet and pulled out a warm sweatshirt with a hood. As I tugged it on, over my head, I heard Shad speaking to me:

  We have to go—now! It was almost a shout in my soul.

  I turned to Mary who zipped up my bag and laid it on my bed. “Mary, Shad says we need to go now, I think someone is almost here.”

  She froze and listened as if trying to hear something. She shoved the bag at me.

  “Grab this; head to the car. It is in the driveway. Keil is driving. Get into the backseat with Shad. I will be there in a second.” She ran from my room and into hers as I jogged to the driveway and slid into a car that I had never seen before, right beside Shad. I saw Mary with a bag in one hand and the wooden box from her dresser drawer in the other. She locked the door, and Keil started the engine. Mary slipped in, and before we could even buckle, we were speeding off down the street, and I said
a quick goodbye to my childhood home, hoping I would see it again—but not sure if I ever would.

  The Truth

  IT WAS WISE OF MARY to ask for constant updates from Ryker about where he was and what he was doing. The last update that she had received from him informed her that he was on the Oregon coast in a cave of ice or something. Also, Keil and Mary kept mentioning the name Arnold, but I didn’t know who that was: a person or a place? I didn’t get all the details because Keil and Mary were talking so fast. Then they plugged in coordinates into their phones. I was still wondering what had just happened to my life. Shad nudged my shoulder.

  “You okay?”

  “I think so. I am still alive, right?”

  He smiled at me, “Yes, you are. Ryker will be okay. He is very capable of handling himself.” He took my hand and squeezed it.

  “How do you know him?” I asked, figuring that our seven hour drive was as good a time as any to get answers to all the questions I had been searching for—for months.

  “Ryker was the guardian knight for the prince and heir of the first kingdom on Terra. The Ancients put five kingdoms in place in order to guard and protect the world and its people from corruption. Unfortunately, the first kingdom was the first kingdom to fall to a false heir’s rule. Lamont’s brother killed his father, the ruling king and put Lamont into the Dungeons of the Mist. It is a terrible place—filthy, black, rocky caves, which are vast, dark, deep, and smell of rot. That dungeon has hundreds of tunnels that lead to nowhere; there are rumors that an Ancient built them to drive the Terrians placed down there mad, and force them to change their ways. However, Lamont’s brother, saw the dungeons as the perfect opportunity to hide away the prince until he would die a slow and painful death—or go insane.”

  “That—that is, or I mean—Lamont was—my father.”

  Shad turned quickly, looking at me with shock in his eyes.

  “What? He never had any children, he was never soul-bonded,” Shad said quickly.