“How good it is to see you, Oinone,” Ruari offered. If he were any other mer, he’d have to refer to her as ‘mistress,’ but given the fact he was royalty, he was excused.
Oinone flashed him a toothy smile, but her eyes flicked to Zinnia and Dru. “Oh, my darlings, I’ve missed you.” She motioned with her hand again. “Come, come, please inside with all of you.”
The riders dismounted, but it was Zinnia who made it to Oinone first, and they promptly embraced.
“I missed you above all,” Oinone said quietly, lightly pinching Zinnia’s chin between her thumb and forefinger. “Now, in you go.”
As they all filed in, Ruari found his tail tickled by squids floating through the water, and a bright red octopus’ tentacle slapped over one of his frills, temporarily gluing itself to him for the moment. Unfazed, he bent down and pried the creature from his tail, only to set it down on the floor of the hut once again.
Zinnia’s dark eyes were wide as they took in the several octopi that roamed the home, and Ruari had to wonder if she was scared—or at least put off by them. He didn’t mention it and instead flexed his fingers, moving them as he hummed lowly. Bubbles seemed to form out of nowhere, spooking the octopi, which herded them away from the seating area.
An appreciative laugh escaped Zinnia before she took a seat, and everyone but Oinone followed suit.
“I imagine you know why I am here,” Ruari began.
Wise green eyes flicked to him, and she smiled. “Simply because you missed me.” She sighed, shaking her head. Wild locks of orange floated around her aged face. “No. I imagine it has something to do with the tugging I’ve felt recently. Or is it more than that?” She swam over to the others and laid out a platter of clams for everyone to snack on.
The tension hung in the current, and while Ruari wished more than anything he could laugh this one off, he shook his head. “More than that, but yes. We have all felt it. The Kraken itches at his bindings, and Loch is threatening to ban the use of magic entirely. Which means should the Kraken loosen his bindings entirely we will all be vulnerable.” He raked a hand through his hair and felt his stomach knot.
They’d be vulnerable in so many ways, since other kingdoms in the sea relied on magic. It would mean the kingdom itself would be vulnerable, and if magic were not allowed to be practiced here, how many would leave Selith for another kingdom?
“And you would like for me to do what?” Oinone asked plainly.
“I suggest gathering the coven, and sending word to Tonga, and anyone else who would offer aid in the coming battle. But first, we battle my brother, and we must try to convince him that not all magic is bad. That banning it won’t be for the greater good, it’s in everyone’s best interest that it remain in practice.”
Oinone motioned toward Dru and Zinnia. “Are they here for your moral support?”
A snort came from Ruari. “One of them is,” he replied.
Dru sucked in a breath and placed a hand to his chest. “I knew you cared for me, Your Highness.”
Ruari shot him a withering look and sighed. “They have chosen a coven—I thought perhaps you’d care to call the coven members now and—”
“—hold a ceremony for them before it is banned?” Oinone’s sharp gaze narrowed.
“In case this is a battle we cannot win, yes, I would like for them to be a part of something before it is taken away. To feel what it’s like to be unified with magic.”
“Can he truly ban the use of it entirely?” It was Zinnia who spoke, and her eyes darted from Oinone to Ruari.
“I’m afraid that as king he can do as he wishes. The coven can opt to leave this kingdom, but they would be dubbed anathematized—or if another coven were kind, they would be absorbed into theirs, but Galathea would be no more.” As Ruari spoke, his fists clenched in his lap. He couldn’t believe it had come to this, that he would have to fight his brother to preserve magic in the kingdom.
Oinone shook her head. “All right, I will put the call out. Tomorrow we will hold the ceremony, and we also have a meeting. No more of this talk; let me enjoy your company.” She sighed and settled against the back of her seat.
Ruari had never seen her look so bone-weary, and he wondered what the tugs of the bindings were doing to her. He nodded his head to her and allowed himself to relax as much as he could.
Tomorrow. It would have to suffice.
The next morning, as promised, the Galathea Coven gathered by the great pillars. This had been the coven’s meeting place since it was formed thousands of years ago. Hushed voices filled the immediate area, adding a new life to the otherwise quiet spot on the seafloor. They all wore smiles, but Ruari wondered if they would continue to smile if they knew—or if they would be content with leaving the kingdom that had been their home for centuries.
He held his breath, but when a soft hand slid along his bicep he was yanked from his thoughts. Beside him, Zinnia tread the water and her eyes were locked onto his tense expression.
“Thank you, for giving us the opportunity…” Her words trailed off.
How could he not? Ruari’s heart twisted, and before he knew it, his fingers were cupping her cheeks. “You deserve it and more,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. There were many unspoken things between them, but they would speak of it later, at least he hoped.
A throat cleared behind them. “Am I interrupting?” A sea witch with electric blue hair squinted her eyes. “To be young again,” she murmured.
Ruari cocked a brow and shook his head. He wasn’t in the mood to play. “No, not at all.” He flicked his gaze back to Zinnia and lifted both of her hands to his lips. He placed a soft kiss on her knuckles and sighed. “I’ll see you after.” Glancing toward Dru, he gave him a quick nod before swimming toward the remainder of the coven.
It was time to begin the ritual.
The members of the coven clasped hands with one another; Ruari was not exempt, and soon a hum began to fill the current. Each of their bodies shifted, swaying with the tug and pull of the water.
Oinone swam in the center, weaving a spell with her voice, and from the spell came a whirlpool. It surrounded Dru and Zinnia’s bodies, but instead of dragging them or tossing them around, the water moved with them, weaving around their bodies as if it were a living being. They looked peaceful as they were suspended inside of the cocoon that water created.
“Great Muir, hear our songs, we praise you. We ask that you join our brother and sister with us, that you bless this union and their wishes,” Oinone sang in a lovely alto voice. The semi-chant sounded haunting and it was only amplified as the coven recited her words softly.
She pulled away from them, continuing to sing her song as she slid between Ruari and another member. They clasped hands and sang louder.
The motion of the whirlpool grew more violent, but it did not disrupt the coven nor did it disrupt the two beings inside, and soon a bright light seemed to explode from inside the whirlpool. The light caused the anomaly to break away, and as it did the walls dissipated as if they had never been there at all.
A gasp came from Dru and Zinnia as their tails brushed against the sea floor.
No worry crept into Ruari’s gaze as he watched, his head bowed as he spoke. “Come brother, and sister, join hands as we unite.” It wasn’t the first time Zinnia and Dru had shared the pulse of magic, but it was the first time they would share it as coven members.
Raising their hands, the coven began to belt out praises to Muir, their merciful god, and welcomed their new members. Energy flowed around them, coursing through the water; it writhed in their veins and spilled into the water around them. This time another whirlpool grew, and it gently spun the merfolk with it.
Ruari felt the hum of Zinnia’s strong magic flood him and he sucked in a breath, squeezing her hand harder as he channeled it. He had felt it briefly at the Trial, but this close and personal it was exhilarating and terrifying all at once.
A similar light burst from the sides of th
e anomaly, creating large bubbles that broke away from the whirlpool, and in turn, the formation dissipated once again.
Everyone was rendered breathless, their limbs quaking from the surge of power that had coursed through them.
“Are you all right?” Ruari asked Zinnia in a soft whisper.
It took a moment for her to regain her voice, but she nodded her head and lifted a shaking hand to her throat. “Yes, that was—”
“Terrifying,” Dru supplied. His pale skin had turned a shade of green instead of the typical alabaster.
A nervous laugh escaped Zinnia. “Was it though?” She grinned at both of them.
“Says the girl who surfaces without thinking twice.” Dru scowled at her playfully.
Ruari’s brows lifted and he peered down at her. “Is that so?”
“It’s only partially so. I thought about it at least twice and I still wanted to do it.”
Dru rolled his eyes and groaned. Apparently the rolling motion made his stomach queasy because he quickly took a seat on a nearby rock, clutching his stomach.
“What a rebel,” Ruari said with a laugh in his voice. He watched as a change came over Zinnia’s face, and he felt the familiar sensation of bubbles churning in his stomach.
“Do you think we should talk now? Before we lose the chance to—you know—before the real chaos begins?” She clasped her hands before her, lifting a brow as she peered up at him curiously.
“That is a wise decision.”
She turned her head to take in the area and then nodded to him. “I thought so. Besides, I don’t want to lose my courage.”
Those words amused him. Zinnia was perhaps one of the bravest mer he had known. For courage wasn’t always swimming head-on into battle, sometimes it was merely taking a stand for what one believed in.
“Very well, come with me.” He swam away with Zinnia, leaving Dru to tend to his sickness by himself.
Away from the cluster of members, Ruari perched against an underwater cliff, his red hair floating around him as the tide began to change. Fish blew angry bubbles at his back as he leaned a little too close to their home.
“On a scale of one to ten—how in trouble am I?” he inquired with a grin.
Biting on her bottom lip, Zinnia spun to face him. “You ought to know there is no way to measure that. You’re at least a fifteen,” she said teasingly.
His brows lifted at her words, but he couldn’t help the laugh that slid free. “Fair enough. I deserved that.”
“I—I want to know what it means to you. The kiss, us, all of it, because I’ve never done this before.” She looked embarrassed, as if she were ready to flee.
This mermaid had battled a Kraken, had won the Trial and yet she wanted to flee from him? He reached out to cup her face. “Everything, it means everything to me. I have only heard stories of mer finding their animamea. They say it’s a rarity to find your soul’s twin, but when you do, it’s something you feel in your marrow, and in your magic. I feel it when I’m around you, and it makes me feel foolish, giddy even. Great Muir, Zinnia… I want to get to know you better, to spend time with you—” Before he could continue he felt the press of her lips against his.
His body sighed into Zinnia’s, and since Ruari was seated, he pulled her into his lap. His fingers slid into her dark hair as he softly kissed her, tasting and exploring what she would offer to him.
“I would defy the sea itself for you,” he murmured.
“You won’t have to,” she replied and leaned in for another kiss.
“Let’s hope not,” he said before closing the gap between them once again.
Between the surge of magic Ruari felt when he held Zinnia’s hand, and those full lips of hers against his, he was dizzy—as if oxygen had been depleted from his body entirely. A breath escaped him in the form of bubbles, and as they returned to the giant pillars where they had left Dru, he found himself gawking at the slumped figure.
“Is he dead?” Ruari inquired, getting ready to jostle Dru by the shoulders.
Dru’s back was rising and falling steadily, he wasn’t dead, but Muir did he look as if he were one stone’s throw away from it.
Zinnia prodded his shoulder and Dru’s impossibly long lashes fluttered open.
“Is it morning? Why are you here?” Dru looked around; confusion warped his features.
“Ah, we’re still at the Great Pillars,” Zinnia offered, trying not to laugh.
Color had at least returned to Dru’s cheeks It had been a long day for them and there was still more to discuss with the coven. They had to know what they were swimming into—that the soon-to-be king would not be on their side for much longer. They’d need to decide what to do moving forward—should magic be banned.
Although it seemed as if a weight had been lifted from Ruari’s chest, there was still the weight on his shoulders, and Loch wasn’t known for changing his ways. The coven certainly had a fight ahead of them.
It was time to brace for a difficult battle tomorrow.
Sleep didn’t come easily for Ruari for the next few nights. He spent half his time thrashing, wondering how his brother would receive the coven’s argument. When he finally succumbed to sleep, it was a dreamless slumber.
Except the evening before the meeting. He awoke to pain lancing through his entire body. Gasping, he floundered on his bed, hands blindly reaching for whatever it was that happened to be assaulting him. Had a jelly snuck into his room? Ruari’s mouth opened but no sound came out, a pressure against his throat preventing him from doing so.
Ruari flung a hand out to the side, trying to grip onto the stone bedpost. Perhaps if he could yank himself from his bed he could be free. His eyes searched wildly in the room for an attacker, but nothing was there.
Wincing, he wrenched his eyes shut and called on his magic. He was wrong—something was there.
Ruari fell to the floor, trying to peel the invisible hands from his throat. His tail thrashed against the wall in hopes it would alert a guard. He choked, vision blackening as breath seemed to escape him entirely.
As quickly as the assault came on it seemed to end. He sucked in a ragged breath, his hair floating around him like bloodstained water. Blinking his eyes rapidly, Ruari glanced around the room and flopped to his belly, his gills puffing behind his ears as he took in precious oxygen.
A guard flung the door open and rushed in. “My Lord! My Lord, are you all right?” With a sword in his grasp, he rushed to Ruari’s side, and two others swam into the room to assess the situation.
Groaning, Ruari pushed himself up. “I don’t know.” Was he all right? What in the depths was that?
The guard sheathed his sword and helped Ruari up. “Did someone come in?”
As a reply began to form in his mind, a deep chuckle filled his head and a sharp pain accompanied it. “Brother… I need… get Loch.” Ruari didn’t want to use the guard for aid, but in the end, he did. Slumping in his bed once more, his eyes slammed shut. How could the Kraken’s power reach out beyond the crevice? Why would he reach out now, on the day the decision was to be made?
It had been three days since the coven held the ceremony, and Ruari had been busy trying to convince his brother to listen to them. Maybe this would do the trick—it wasn’t as if he were into theatrics. This was no farce.
Curiously, he reached up to touch his throat and hissed. It felt as if it were bruised already. How could that be?
Ruari rolled onto his side, reaching for the stand beside his bed. His hand rooted around on the shelf beneath it until his fingers found purchase on the handle of a mirror. Lifting it, he eyed his throat, which had begun to purple. What was going on? He shuddered involuntarily and dropped the mirror in the water, letting it float down onto his bed.
Moments later Loch swam into the room, his blue eyes wide with worry. “What happened?” He flicked his tail and swam up to his brother, concern etched in his features. “Are you all right? The guards grabbed me but didn’t explain…”
What was there to explain? A phantom had snuck into his room through a window and tried to kill him? It wasn’t likely. “Barely,” he said, his voice rough from being choked.
“Great Muir,” Loch cursed as he registered the bruising on Ruari’s neck. He spun around and motioned toward the guards. “Did you search the area? Find out who has done this.”
The guards hesitated, readying to say none were in the area, but they seemed to think better of it and fled the area.
“No one was here, it was… I heard it in my head.” It sounded mad to him; he could only assume what Loch thought.
Loch’s braided hair floated behind him as he sat on the bed beside Ruari. “What? Ruari, if this is a joke—”
“As if I’d do this to myself?” he snapped, sitting up abruptly. “No, it was some—some voice in my head. I heard the laugh and felt the pressure as if it was here… I… I think he’s…”
“He? You mean him?” Loch whispered, inching closer to Ruari.
“I told you he’s been tugging at his bindings, and I think he’s about to break loose. Why do you think I’ve fought so hard against you? Surprisingly, it isn’t because I enjoy squabbling with you.”
Loch blinked and looked at the floor. A barrage of emotions flickered in his gaze. “I know you don’t, but I won’t be swayed on this. Today the council assembles to hear the coven’s argument.” He paused for a moment, then looked away from Ruari. “I won’t vote today. I can’t help my feelings on the matter, but know that I could never hate you. I could never hate you. Not for what you are, or what you have. You will always be my brother.”
Ruari let himself flop onto the bed again. He felt more exhausted than he had been upon falling asleep. “That is all I can ask of you. Thank you.”
Ruari appraised himself in a full-length mirror. His torso was covered in a high neck kelp woven shirt, and the deep green seemed to bring out the shade of his hair. Instead of falling open to reveal his pale skin, the shirt was tied shut by long strands of kelp which nestled over a shell toggle. He couldn’t allow the mer on the council to see the bruises—to see what sinister magic could do.
Secrets of Galathea Volume 1 Page 10
