Warrior (Princesses of Myth #2)

I shot a narrowed glare at one of our fellow male students who was riveted on our conversation and giving me the worst slumberous wink I’d ever seen. “She wasn’t meaning I should have sex with you, Caleb Stiles. Now look the other way.” Then I directed my hostile stare at Silvie. “You, Silvie Carver, better sit down before I knock you down. I can’t believe you just said that…no, actually I can–only it’s beyond my reasoning why I always put up with you and your big mouth.”


She only laughed as she shamelessly scraped one of the blue-gray metal school chairs around next to mine. She plopped herself down on it, dropping her English books, refill pad and pen in front of her onto the desk. Next, she stretched her legs out as far as she could and crossed them idly at her ankles. “Well, this conversation isn’t over. I’m sure Belle would agree.”

“Don’t you dare bring Belle into this.” My voice was low and controlled, even as I watched Silvie casually twirl her blue pen in mid-air around her first three fingers.

Her aeronautical pen trick always captivated me. But not right now. Because right now, I was more than peeved. I’d had the worst week ever since my eighteenth birthday. I mean the–Worst. Week. Ever. No one should have to live through the tribulations I’d just experienced, and was still experiencing, no thanks to Belle Benner still being in town.

Silvie wagged one brow as her gaze rose over my shoulder. “Too late, Faith. Belle’s here. She and I have been talking.”

Great. Just grrreat.

Belle pulled out her school chair, taking the position on the other side of me, her dark locks settling with stunning abandon about her tiny waist as she twirled around and sat. She did everything with such finesse. Even the simple act of her sitting was like watching a moving piece of art. So moving, I had quizzed her about being a ballerina. She just had this way about every precise movement she made. Dainty and delicate.

“So what were you two talking about? I didn’t have my ears tuned precisely in,” Belle said as she tossed her pad and pen with an artful glide onto her desk. Her slim fingers came around and smoothed her silky mass of dark hair behind one ear.

I snapped my fingers, finally pinpointing exactly who Belle looked like. It was that young star female lead off High School Musical. The one who got the basketball guy and sang and danced with him.

Focus, Faith. I asked what you two were talking about. I didn’t have my hearing turned up.

There Belle went again with that telepathic skill of hers, speaking mind to mind, always trying to draw me into her mysterious world. I sighed and gave in since she knew I would’ve heard her. Silvie thinks I should get laid. I pushed the words along our newly formed telepathic link, the crazy link we’d created on the night of my eighteenth birthday. We’d been speaking privately like this for the past few days, something Belle called a strength skill, but something I called plain crazy.

So crazy I felt like I lived one of those science fiction and fantasy movies in real time.

Only she seemed to have more insight than me into this odd, spinning frenzy that had become my life these past seven mind-boggling days. She insisted my skills came from the same place as hers and that place was another planet in this universe–one named after their timeless skills–one she referred to as Magio.

I can feel your resistance. We are from Magio. I’ve told you this over and over since we first connected last week. I’m an empath and can feel your emotions.

I sent her a very long eye roll. I heard you say so the last one-hundred times. It doesn’t mean I have to believe you. My mother doesn’t have any of the skills I’ve been developing since my birthday. So there simply can’t be an alternate planet called Magio. Believe me, I’ve been scouring the NASA website for any link on this mysterious planet you’ve been spouting nonsense about. There’s nothing. Nada. Zilch. Nilch. Got that or do we speak a separate language as well?

She gave me her own dark eye roll back. Obviously, you won’t find anything about Magio on the NASA website. Get real. If such a thing happened, the powers that be on Earth would no doubt try to bomb us to smithereens. We live a simple existence, like that of your people hundreds of years ago. We don’t harbor advanced technology as you do.

Quite frankly, I’d had enough of her talk about this other planet and this other country called Peacio. My mother was human. I was human. In fact, for eighteen years I’d been just a regular–or as regular as I could get–New Zealand girl. It was Belle who was the problem. I’d only known her for three short, unnerving months. I couldn’t shake her and, on top of that, I had no answer for this telepathy and other unmentionables.

Right, let’s agree to disagree on this subject. I was getting a headache, just as I always did around her.

Silvie nudged my arm from the other side, winking while a sassy grin tugged at her lips. “Are you two talking privately again? That mind thingy-majigimy you two do?”