Burning in Water

By Arielle Caldwell

*RERELEASED May 9, 2013*

Nerita is the twenty-two year old daughter of a water goddess who was given to Cari, a fairy, to be raised by on land. Her memories are bound and shifted after Cari disappears.

Gavan, her trainer, helps to strengthen her powers and helps her to realize her true potential. When she is old enough, he takes her to Camberton to meet the queen of the fairy folk, Rueh. While there, she learns the truth to her past and the future she is meant to have.

The more time she spends around Gavan, the harder it becomes to deny her feelings for him, but does he feel the same about her? Gavan is holding on to a secret that shocks and hurts Nerita. Can she forgive him for what he could never tell her?

She is confronted by Ahlic, the shifter who has taken everything from her. Now that her powers are getting stronger, she sets out to find him and bring down his kingdom. Along the way, she discovers more about herself than she could ever imagine; forever changing her life.
Can the daughter of a goddess be strong enough? Or will she falter; costing the lives of those around her? Follow Nerita on her journeys of love, sorrow, and vengeance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arielle Caldwell
• Release date: Aug 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476278476

Arielle Caldwell

I am a 28 year old Navy Veteran, mommy, wife, lover of all things pink, knitter, and photographer. I hope you enjoy reading my works. If you want to know more or to contact me, please visit my Facebook page. Thanks!

Book preview

Burning in Water

by

Arielle Caldwell

Burning in Water

Copyright 2012 Arielle Caldwell

Cover Design Marya Heiman

http://www.strongimageediting.com

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy where they can also discover others works by this author. Thank you for your support.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Mature Reading Material

Other works by the author:

Drowning in Fire (Nerita Trilogy Book Two)

The Awakening (The Nerita Trilogy Book Three)

Chasing Freedom

Reclaiming Souls

After-Ending (Coming Soon)

PROLOGUE

Twenty-Two Years Ago

As the waves crashed onto the sand, Cari stood frozen on the shore. Her five foot six slender frame tensed up; long red hair blowing in her face and emerald green eyes on alert. She watched as the small boat drifted towards her. Its mast was broken and sail was tattered as it was blowing in the wind. The wood was rotted and had holes through it. It made a creaking sound as it swayed gently in the waves. There were no lights except for the moon shining across the water. Rain was falling and there was thunder rolling in the distance. Over the sounds of the crashing waves, she heard it; a baby’s cry. Instinctively, she ran into the deep water towards the old boat. She climbed on board using the rusted anchor and walked over to it; gasping. Inside, was a wicker basket containing a child. The eyes were the brightest of blues and hair dark as midnight. It was a girl wrapped in a torn dirty white blanket. She held the child to quiet her and looked around into the unforgiving depths of the sea. The child’s parents were nowhere to be found. She sat down, cradling the babe and waited for the boat to make landfall. The baby produced a ball of water in its’ hands and her eyes began to glow ever so slightly. Cari knew who this child belonged to immediately. Once ashore, she sat on the sand and looked down at the child who smiled back.

I will call you Nerita, my gift from the sea, she cooed gently, caressing the blue-eyed child’s face.

Standing to her feet, she opened her hand palm up and a ball of fire emerged. Her fire guided them back to Amaranth, the small village in the forest. Her long slender wings were too wet from the rain to carry them back so she retracted them and had to walk. Cari thanked the goddess of the sea for giving her a child from her womb. It will be a blessing to raise the child of the goddess, but what a task at hand, she thought. She had to protect her precious gift at any and all cost.

~~~~

Chapter One

Present Day

There was a whisper in my ear.

Nerita, Nerita Torlan! Time to wake up! I bit down on a smile; trying to act like I was still asleep. Arleta, my five-year-old cousin, was hovering over me. Still learning to use her new long glossy wings, she tumbled here and there. I steadied my breathing as she came closer and closer to my face.

Gotcha! I called out playfully as I grabbed her and drug her under the covers with me. She laughed hysterically.

Dang it! I was trying to surprise you! she squealed. I looked at her; laughing and smiling. She was a petite little thing with her short wavy red hair, purple knee length dress and silver ballerina slippers that sparkled. Turning to look at me, her emerald green eyes lit up as she whispered, Nerita, your eyes are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any such a bright blue before.

You’re young, Arleta. You will find more colorful ones than mine, I gently whispered back. At that moment, I smelled a wonderful breakfast my Aunt Sylvia was cooking downstairs.

Pulling the cover off our heads, she had figured it out too. I smell breakfast! Let’s go eat!

I was slow getting out of bed and she grew impatient. I’m going downstairs without you if you don’t hurry up!

I’m coming, I laughed, Just go, I’ll be there in a minute.

Fine, she pouted and flew out of my room and down the stairs.

She flew out of my room and down the stairs. I had to walk. I always knew I was different. I never grew my wings. A normal fairy child gets their wings by their sixth birthday. My mother would always tell me I was unique with my water element abilities and not to bother myself about not having them but it did bother me; sometimes a lot and sometimes hardly at all. I was the abnormal fairy child...something just had to be wrong with me. The elders kept quiet about their suspicions but I knew from the looks I was given in town that I was always a topic of interest at the town meetings. They avoided me like I was some kind of disease and treated me like an outcast.

I sat up in bed and looked around my room. It wasn’t very large and was fairly simple. My wood frame bed sat in the middle with teardrop shaped candle holders hung above it, a dresser next to my door with a few books about magic on top, my closet to the left of my bed, and a water basin with a mirror to the right. I tossed the blanket off me, hopped out of bed, and got dressed.

Stopping briefly to stare in the mirror, I glanced at myself. Long, straight jet black hair pulled up in a bun, slender but muscular soft white frame dressed in a white blouse with green corset, green pants and shin high black boots. Then there were my eyes; the deepest, brightest of blues anyone had ever seen that seemed to glow in the darkest hours of the night. Pleased with my looks, I jumped down the spiral stairs and headed to the kitchen.

Mmm, that smells great, Aunt Sylvia! I exclaimed as I sat on my chair at the table.

I watched her scramble around, trying to get everyone’s plates ready. The kitchen was small and very feminine. She had lost her husband in a hunting accident while she was still pregnant with Arleta. She kept some of his belongings but redid the whole house after the accident. A small white table with a red table cloth and flowers sat by the window in the corner, a wood stove sat across from the fridge box, and a sink was on the wall with another window behind it.

No time for chit chat this morning, Nerita. You have training! Hurry and eat, girl! She rushed at me with a plate of berries and eggs. A glass of goat’s milk was soon placed in front of me as well.

I shoveled the food in my mouth in a very unladylike fashion. I’m eating as fast as I can! I don’t want to choke on the food you worked so hard to make for us.

She sat down across from me and ate very slowly. You know what’s going to happen if you’re late. He’s going to kick your ass and I don’t want to hear you moan and whine about it. She pointed her fork in my direction as she spoke with a stern voice.

I laughed, I doubt he’s going to do anything about it. I’m trying to hurry.

She shook her head. What am I going to do with you? The elders are already upset with some of your progress.

I know, I’m leaving. Thank you for breakfast. I quickly stood then put my plate in the sink.

Good luck today and tell him hi for me, Arleta always lit up when she mentioned him.

You got it. I kissed them both goodbye before I ran to the beach for my morning training. Amaranth sat nestled in a thick forest in Caseontea; a large, heavily wooded country on the continent of Asien’tas. Our homes were built in the bottoms of massive trees with bridges linking them together further up the trunks. There was a schoolhouse, library, potions store, butcher, and in the largest tree in the middle of town, sat Village Council. They made sure everything ran smoothly but I hated the old fairies who ran it. They were so against anything modern and anything that didn’t fit in...like me. Training everyday seemed to help how they saw me but I was still an outsider; someone they felt they weren’t sure they could trust fully. I had gotten to the point of not even noticing the stares or hateful words.

Our house was on the outskirts of town so I only had to deal with them while running errands or running through it because I was late for a session...again. Out of my window, you could see the Guardians keeping watch and constantly moving around the tops of the trees looking for intruders. I would sit at my window for hours and just watch them. I yearned to be like them; to be a protector of my village, but I knew it would never happen.

From our home to the beach was about a twenty minute run…training had started five minutes prior and I was ten minutes away. I was going to be in so much trouble. I shot through the trees and had to dodge the animals that ran out onto the pathway.

By the time I got there, I was going to be so exhausted I wouldn’t want to do much of anything that day. The rays of sunlight were beating down on me as they sprinkled through the trees and it felt wonderful. I prayed he wasn’t going to be too hard on me that day but I knew better than to think that.

***

I finally broke the tree line and made my way onto the bright, warm sand.

Nerita Torlan! You’re late! Gavan hissed at me with his arms crossed. All I could do was smile and let my mind wonder as I approached him. What a sight he was. Gavan was wearing a loose fitting blouse; revealing his toned muscles and making me damn near drool. His short, wavy hair was black like mine and he had a luscious, bright smile that made me blush anytime he looked at me...except at that moment they were pursed together in a scowl. His dark green eyes made my knees go weak. If he wanted me, he could have taken me right there. I soaked in his luscious appearances from head to toe. Apparently, I got a little too lost in thought as a pinch of fire lit my behind.

OWE! I jumped and grabbed it, trying to put the flame out as Gavan glared at me with a half amused smile. He held his hands in front of him and closed his eyes.