So, I'm finally updating, I got grounded for a couple days but here is your next chapter. This time it is from Cleo's point of view! XD
Also, I noticed I accidentally typed Falling Darkness as the third book's title on the last chapter. I promise, I know the books name, I just mixed up the series title and the book title... oops. So, sorry about that, if you even noticed.
Speaking of titles, the fourth book in the series title is out! It's called Frozen Tides for those who haven't heard it. Isn't that so close to my own title, the Ocean is Calling? Well, not really, but both involve part of the story taking place on a ship. I'm so proud of myself.
Cleo could have sworn she had been wandering her dream for at least two days. She started in an unrecognizable castle but the more she walked around, the more she knew it to be the castle of Limeros. She remembered heading her when she was little, seeing Magnus with his scar still fresh on his face.
Eventually, she got lost. She had only been to the castle once and hadn't paid too much attention to her surroundings. Cleo had mostly been trying to find something to amuse her. She wished she hadn't been so self-indulgent back then.
All the halls looked like each other as she walked through them. Everywhere she turned it seemed like it would just lead her to the same place. But eventually, she found an archway leading outside. Cleo cherished the change in scenery.
She walked towards the center of the garden, looking at the new plants she had never seen before in amazement. They seemed so cold and yet... They seemed so alive.
Cleo caught sight of a small white flower near her feet and leaned down to look at it closer. This one was unlike the others, it some how had managed to grow in between the stones lining the path. It looked as if it was dying, or at least was under cared for.
"Do you need water?" She asked the plant quietly.
The flower simply gazed back at her as she went to a nearby fountain and cupped her hands to gather some water. She sat down by the flower and watered it, having no idea why she was doing so. Maybe Cleo just didn't want anything or anyone else to die. First Theon and then her family, she didn't know how much more she could handle. Even those who hadn't passed away had turned their back like Lucia. She only had Nic, maybe Magnus and Jonas, but she didn't like to rely on them.
Cleo continued tending to the flower, humming under her breath. It took a while to notice there was someone behind her. Her mind automatically searched desperately for who could be here. Friend or foe?
She swung around to face Magnus. It first registered in her mind that Magnus was shirtless as if he had just gone to bed. He didn't seem to notice his apparel or lack of. She hadn't seen him this exposed since she had discovered Amara in his room. He wasn't bad looking.
"Magnus!" Cleo cried in surprise, these forbidden thoughts passing by in an instant.
"Cleiona!" Magnus mocked.
Cleo was about to narrow her eyes when all of a sudden he closed the distance between them, his lips meeting hers. She froze in shock, not sure how to react. Without really thinking about it, she seemed to make up her decision when she responded back softly.
It was almost like the incident in the bedroom, but this one was more desperate, more sweet, as if this were the last time he was seeing her. It was a bittersweet collision that Cleo was sure wasn't safe but willing to endure.
Magnus would never do this, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. It is just a dream.
Cleo automatically pulled away from Magnus, stepping back a bit. She was right, he never would have kissed her in real life. Even if he did have feelings for her, which she doubted, he was in love with Lucia, maybe even one of those girls he occupied himself with, he never would admit it, much less act on it. They were supposed to hate each other.
"What was that for?" She demanded. Cleo cursed her voice for squeaking.
Magnus just gave her one of his classic infuriating smirks. "Is it a crime to want a kiss hello?"
Cleo watched him for a sign of a lie, trying to understand this enigma that was Prince Magnus Damora of Limeros. He seemed so guarded but at times like this, it was hard to understand why he did what he did.
"It seems around you, it usually is," She steadily replied, meeting his gaze. "That was not for a reason that simple."
"I wanted to. I can't otherwise," Magnus shrugged.
Cleo wished he wasn't so nonchalant about this. She scoffed at his sentence, wondering why he would even imply he wanted to kiss her. It was all a dream and not one she wanted to comply with. If he tried kissing her again, she wasn't sure what would happen. Her feelings seemed to be in a knot at the time. She still mourned Theon, and then there was always Jonas, the handsome rebel leader, and somehow Magnus had managed to worm his way into her heart as well. What her heart was telling her was uncertain at best.
"You can certainly try," She dared him, a small threat in her voice.
"No, I really can't…" Magnus sighed before fixating a glare at her. You decided to run off and get married with Nic."
Cleo couldn't help but laugh. Married to Nic? Sure, they were the best of friends but romantic feelings for each other? She couldn't picture it happening. At one point, maybe, if Aurano hadn't been invaded. But now she was a different person and so was Nic. She believed his romantic feelings for her had vanished, especially after Ashur's death. But their friendship, it seemed to grow stronger but not into something more.
When she looked over, Magnus seemed totally serious. She raised her eyebrow, "You've got to be joking. What in the name of the goddess are you talking about?"
His glare seemed as hard as ever. "You know what I'm talking about."
Something clicked in her mind and she chuckled. "Ah. You're jealous, aren't you?"
It was a long stretch but the pieces fit.
Magnus rolled his eyes. "I'm already married to you."
Cleo wished he hadn't mentioned that, it reminded her of the slaughter that had been their wedding. But still, the idea of jealousy amused her.
She leaned forward with an innocent smile. "You know what I mean. You're jealous I left with Nic instead of you. You wish that I love you instead..." Cleo taunted.
"I'm annoyed," He interrupted with a sudden burst of anger. "I'm annoyed because I actually thought we could be friends, maybe more. I'm annoyed that you didn't even think of what my reaction would be. That you ran off without thinking that there was no way of my father excepting me back. I'm a traitor just like you now, does that make you happy? Congratulations, Cleo, you got your revenge."
Cleo's mind worked frantically. A traitor? No… he had told her that his father would always accept him back into the family eventually. Had Magnus lied to her? And according to him, she had ran off. She never would have done that and he seemed to think she did it on purpose.
"How did I inform you I was eloping?" Cleo asked him curiously. This Cleo that Magnus was talking about, maybe she hadn't run away. Even if it was just a dream, Cleo was sure that she would never abandon her friends.
She was surprised to have classified Magnus in that group.
Magnus seemed annoyed, his steam running low after his speech. "Cleiona," He sighed.
"How did inform you I was eloping?" Cleo demanded to know.
Magnus turned around and started down the garden path, leaving her question unanswered. Cleo's heart plummeted.
"As if you didn't know," He called behind him, pausing. There was a silence as if he was thinking. "It was a letter," He eventually informed her.
A letter… Another thing she wouldn't have done.
"Maybe I wasn't the one who sent it," Cleo suggested, raising her voice so Magnus could hear.
He didn't seem to have a response, walking out of the garden. A couple seconds later everything faded to reality.
Cleo jolted awake as she felt water splash onto her face. Her eyes snapped open but despite her sudden awakening, they seemed to take their time adjusting to the dim light.
"Good morning," A sly voice said in front of her. Cleo blinked water out of her eyes to look upon the face of the one and only, Princess Amara, holding a just emptied bucket. "I hope I didn't wake you."
Cleo shook away her sleep automatically, taking in her surroundings for signs of danger. She seemed to be tied to a chair in the empty supply room of… a ship? She could hear waves crashing against the walls. Definite sign of danger.
Memories came flooding back to her, Cleo had just been walking out of Magnus' bedroom when something had come out of nowhere and hit her on the back of her head. There had been a struggle then everything had gone dark.
"Nope, you didn't wake me at all," Cleo muttered sarcastically. "I love being splashed in the face with water."
Amara smirked. "Oh good."
Cleo watched her with narrowed eyes as the other princess pulled a crate up in front of her and sat daintily down as if she were about to have an tea.
"You were out for two days," Amara informed her. She laughed coldly. "I must have knocked you out well. My boys wanted to play with you a bit, you were at their mercy once on the boat, but I wouldn't let them. You have enough boy problems without my help."
Amara smirked and Cleo clenched her teeth. "What are you talking about?" She demanded to know. This, it seemed, was exactly the question Amara was looking forward too.
"Oh, I've heard the rumors," Amara leaned forward and whispered, seeming amused. "There are rumors all over the castle like rats. And the more you feed them, the more that come. Sure, Magnus has some juicy ones but you, you've got them by the numbers."
Cleo rolled her eyes. "Please, indulge me. What are these rumors?"
Amara grinned. "My favorite seems to be that you are the secret lover of Jonas Agallon. But we both know that isn't quite true. Though, rumors always have a seed of truth, don't they?" She winked. "A few kisses in the woods, I hear.
"And then there's always the rumor that you had lost your chastity before your marriage, to Aron Lagaris of all people. So sad he died a couple months later… you must have been so distraught."
All through this Amara watched her with a twinkle in her eye, waiting for a reaction. Cleo gave her none.
"Rumors," Cleo said. "Nothing more."
"Oh, but that's not even half of them," Amara told her gleefully. "I hear that you hate your husband, that you plan to have him killed as well as his father. There are rumors that he killed your first love, a lowly guard. What could possibly cause you to fall in love with a guard is a mystery but I suppose stranger things have happened.
"On the other hand, there are rumors that our dear Prince Magnus has stolen your heart or you have stolen his. At first I believed the former, you never seemed to care that I spent the night with him once. Let me tell you, he knows how to show a girl a good time. But after I caught you in passionate embrace in Limaro, I realized it's the latter, isn't it?"
Cleo ignored the feeling in her stomach as the other girl talked so casually about Theon and rumors she had never heard about.
"Sorry to sink your ship but I'm afraid it's the former," She told her with a glare.
Amara just watched her amused. "Magnus seems pretty distressed at your leave."
"Of course, he'd be distressed," Cleo snapped. "I was kidnapped right outside his door."
"Oh, I don't think that's why," Amara smirked. "He's recently been left a letter, informing him that you have ran away with Nic."
Cleo's mind flashed back to her dream. Could that have been true, somehow real life leaking into her dream world?
"Eloping," Cleo realized, saying it out loud.
Amara seemed delighted she had caught on that fast. "Yes, he believes you are eloping with your dear friend, Nic. Does that bother you?"
"Nic," Cleo interrupted. "Where is he?"
"I've sent him on a wild goose chase," Amara laughed. "I really didn't like him anyways. Where he's headed, he's not going to live long."
Cleo frantically thought of where Nic could be heading. She had to get out of here, warn him somehow. Unless it was too late… it had been two days.
No, she thought to herself. He is fine and able to take care of himself.
"My spy informs me that Magnus is drunk in grief and kicked her out," Amara said with a smirk. "I guess he cares for you more than you thought."
"You didn't just kidnap me to discuss my love life," Cleo interrupted. "Why am I here?"
Amara frowned, "Honestly, you haven't noticed why you've been kidnapped at least three times this year? You hold the key to the war, Cleiona. The rebels will follow you, I've seen it. Auranos will follow you, in fact all of Mytica could be swayed by your judgement. And you hold the key to the Kindred. It's a two in one. Now, let's start simple. Be a good little princess and tell me, where did you hide the ring?"
Finally, something that Amara seemed to have gotten wrong, something Cleo could hold over her head.
"Why would I tell you?" She laughed.
Amara's expression darkened. "Because if you don't, I'll have you killed."
Cleo scoffed. "And then you never get the ring. Or the Kindred. Decide which you want more, my death or the Kindred, because I can assure you that you'll never get both."
"I'll kill you as soon as I get what I need. I allow nothing to get in my way."
"Then we have a problem," Cleo said with a small smile. She kept her head up tall, watching Amara with a steady gaze. "Because neither do I."
Amara studied her in return before bursting into laughter. "Oh, I know you wouldn't be this easy to break. I was counting on it. The brave princess standing up for her foe. I offered you the chance to work with me once, don't forget that. Soon you'll be wishing you took that offer."
"I'd never work with a power hungry woman like you," Cleo glared.
Amara chuckled. "Says the one trying to take over Mytica."
Cleo raised her eyebrows. "I'm trying to save my people. I bet you cannot say the same."
Amara narrowed her eyes and tossed her hair behind her as she left, effectively ending their conversation. Cleo was glad, allowing herself to unstraighten, shivering from the water that now covered her short purple gown. She needed to get out of here. She didn't doubt that Amara would do anything to get the Kindred and her ring.
Cleo could only stall for so long.