by Plum Pascal
I’m weary, I’m sore from the vigorous fucking with Bastion, and I feel more than a little ashamed of myself for losing my head and throwing myself at him. Yes, I love him. And I always have—of that, I have no questions nor confusion. And I don’t regret what happened. But ye Gods, the timing! Just more of Aria’s selfishness coming to the fore and making itself known.
We find the rest of our party about a mile up the southern garden wall, sheltering in a forest of giant kelp. I smile a little to myself, knowing Triton would throw an absolute fit if he knew where they were. This is the rumored sacred resting place of Eudore, one of the nereid and a supposed cousin of mine, many, many generations removed. It’s the reason this location hasn’t been uprooted like everything else in my father’s kingdom has been. Triton has always been more superstitious than me (a feat, to be sure) and he won’t risk Eudore’s wrath, even from beyond the grave.
There’s probably some irony in this, but I’m too weary to parse it out at the moment.
As soon as they see us, Hook approaches first, arms outstretched to seize me. He’s perhaps thirty feet closer to us than the others and I wonder if he was out scouting, searching for us while the others huddled together to remain safe.
“Aria! Are ye well?”
I can feel Bastion’s displeasure at seeing Hook and, from the corner of my eye, I notice his posture turning erect as he holds himself upright, squaring his shoulders. This constant competition between the two of them is going to need to stop at some point. Though that point isn’t now, because we all have bigger subjects on which to focus our attention.
I don’t answer because my own attention is, instead, on his body. He’s not moving swiftly, and I hold him at arm’s length so I can examine him thoroughly. What I see makes my stomach twist and my eyes itch with the desire to cry.
He has deep bruises on one side of his body. If the pattern weren’t so regular and recognizable, I’d have said he got on the wrong side of an octopus. As it is, I know what’s happened to him. The swipe of the kraken’s tentacle, which had been meant for me, hit Hook instead. His ungainly lurch toward me comes from the fact that his leg appears to be broken.
And the worst part? None of his injuries or the pain seem to bother him much. Even though he’s more mottled than a sea hare, he just shrugs off my hands as I try to palpate his wounds, to understand the extent of his injuries. He folds himself into my arms, squeezing me as tightly as he can.
“Thank the Gods,” he says, voice thick and strained like he too wants to weep. “I was afraid we might have lost ye, Popsy.”
“Hook, you’re hurt,” I whimper, though the sentiment seems woefully inadequate and unhelpful.
Hook rolls one shoulder in a shrug. “Aye, but I’ve suffered, worse an’ by a fecker much smaller than that beastie. I’ll be fine.”
He is not fine. He’s got at least one broken bone and who knows what else. He needs a healer. He can’t make it through Andromeda’s gardens in this lowly state, let alone take on the castle guard or Triton. He’ll be the first of our team to be killed and I won’t allow that to happen.
No, Hook means way too much to me. I would do everything in my power to ensure his safety.
My eyes rove over the rest of our ragtag group as they swim closer to us and my panic rises to choke me. All the fears that plagued me prior to the incredible sexual liaison I shared with Bastion are now lapping at the edges of my thoughts again. Even though we lost most of Andric’s and Opeia’s recruits, I’m beyond relieved to see our core group still alive. Also, I can’t ascertain the possible damage done to any of them owing to their suits, which cover them completely.
“Aria, where the fuck have you two been?” Kassidy asks, her eyes wide with fear and… anger?
“We were thrown out on a different side of the gyre,” I explain as I face her and feel myself instantly color with embarrassment as I remember exactly what went on between Bastion and myself—while the rest of them were probably scared to death that the two of us had been eaten by something. I face Kassidy and then her husbands. “Are you all unwounded?”
Kassidy nods, answering for the four of them.
It’s when I turn my attention to my future husband that my stomach drops again. Andric is equally as bruised as Hook, with a cut under his right eye and purple and blue already marring his handsome face. But as he moves in the water, I notice he appears otherwise unhurt.
Thank the Gods.
There are only seven of us left and anxiety claws like a beast at my back door, ready to gouge out my sanity if I allow it. We’re outnumbered and outmanned, and almost a third of our fighting force is injured. Not to mention the fact that we are all exhausted after having narrowly escaped a perilous journey to arrive here.
“What happened while you were in the gyre?” is all I can think to say.
It’s Kassidy who jumps in, glowering at Bastion and I as if she knows what we’ve been up to. I tuck my chin and stare very deliberately at my tail. She’s got every right to be angry with me, but I can’t take condemnation and disgust on top of my own feelings of guilt and anger with myself. Thankfully, her voice comes out tart, not furious.
“We were thrashed harder than a borrowed mule and several things tried to eat us. We were spat out about a mile north of here and we swam as best we could until we spotted the castle. Hook and Andric had it worst, since they’re human and they weren’t wearing suits.”
I feel even worse about the sex between Bastion and me now.
Kassidy continues. “We can’t go against Triton with a good portion of our fighting force incapacitated like this. Those eels decimated our forces. We can’t face any more enemies unless we’re all in better shape.”
“Yes,” I agree with a quick nod as I face Hook again and, more pointedly, his leg.
“What are ye proposin’ exactly, Popsy?” Hook asks wearily. “Because we dinnae have time to rest, an’ Triton knows we’re comin’.”
“It doesn’t change the fact that Kassidy is right—we’re all exhausted and some of you are injured,” I point out.
Hook faces me and shakes his head. “Give Triton time an’ he’ll amass a feckin’ army to fight us off next time. Or mayhap he’ll just send more eels.”
“Anything he sends after us, we won’t be able to fight off,” I say.
“There is nary a way we surfaced in this area without bein’ seen, an’ that gives us aboot ten hours to get our loot an’ get out or this whole thing will be for naught. Every life we lost will be naethin’ but a senseless casualty. I dinnae know about ye, lass, but I cannae abide that.”
It’s hard to tell owing to the restrictive suit, but I think Kassidy’s shoulders tense and her face seems to grow even paler in the ghostly green light of the kelp forest.
Normally, I adore the surface. When I was a child, the rippling tide through the seagrass could lull me to sleep in minutes. Now, even the gentle swaying motion of the kelp around us makes me jump, as if eels might slither their way through the broad leaves any second.
Still, despite Kassidy’s pallor, her eyes are green flames in her lovely face, spitting fury at Hook.
“I don’t see you jumping in with anything useful other than a whole bunch of whining, you scallywag.” She takes a breath. Hook’s eyes go wide, but he doesn’t say anything and merely crosses his arms against his chest, frowning at her. And at me.
“All your talk doesn’t change the fact that we can’t go against Triton like this,” she continues. “Look at us! We wouldn’t last a minute.”
“She’s right,” Nash says, and Sorren nods.
“If we leave an’ come back, we will have lost the advantage of surprise,” Hook insists.
“And Hook has a point, as well,” I say.
“You could draw the lifeforce from Aria and Bastion, Kassidy,” Leith says, speaking up for the first time. “In order to heal Hook and Andric.”
“But then Aria and Bastion won’t be as strong,” she argues, but I can see by the
expression on her face that she’s seriously weighing his idea.
“If merfolk have anything in common with shifters,” Nash starts, “they’ll replenish their strength quickly.”
I nod eagerly, lunging away from Hook in an almost drunken motion, arms outstretched toward Kassidy. “Nash is correct,” I say. “Merpeople are known for our quick healing ability.”
Yes, yes, yes!
If there’s a way I can help my men, I’ll do it in a heartbeat.
Kassidy stops me mid-lunge, holding me at bay with one bulky metal-suited arm. Her expression appears torn between amusement and consternation. “Bridle your seahorses, Princess. If we do this, I think I should start with Bastion first.”
“Why?” I ask, not following her logic.
“Because, and don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a woman.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I demand, certainly taking it the wrong way.
Kassidy shakes her head. “There are two reasons.”
“What are they?” I press.
“You’re physically not as strong nor as large as the men,” she says with a stern expression. Before I can interject, she continues, “I’m not saying you’re weak or anything, but you’re smaller than the men. Just like I am. And that means your internal reservoir is likely to be smaller, too. Not a hard and fast rule, but for Hook’s injuries, I want to try to draw on Bastion’s strength first. And that brings me to my second point, which is even more important than the first.”
“Which is?” I ask.
“None of us can afford to lose strength right now, but you, Aria, can afford it least of all. You need to live through what’s coming so you can rule this territory once I’ve gotten that damned sea fork for you, got it?”
I nod meekly, too grateful for her presence and her willingness to heal my men to put up more than token resistance. I obligingly backstroke a few paces to allow her a direct line to Bastion.
I expect him to object. He’s made it no secret he distrusts and dislikes Hook. Healing Hook must chafe at Bastion. But, to his credit, he doesn’t say anything, just gives me one sidelong glance. He bobs his head a fraction of an inch in assent and closes his eyes.
I turn back to Kassidy. When she acts, there’s no fanfare. The exchange is barely noticeable, and if I weren’t hanging on her every motion, there’s a chance I wouldn’t even catch on that she’s doing anything at all. She doesn’t even touch Bastion, simply faces him and closes her eyes. It looks like a soft haze of heat emanates off her, roiling through the water, a very weak echo of what the eels did. The reminder makes me shudder. I still don’t know what the eels truly are, and that ignorance chills me. What madness has my father cooked up now?
I glance at Bastion and notice he grimaces at the loss of his power, the silver sheen of his skin dimming as Kassidy siphons off his life force to feed it into Hook. Even knowing Bastion will replace the lost energy and strength quickly with food and rest, I hate witnessing his pain. I hate it that I’ve brought them all to this point.
I’m an arrogant, presumptuous little girl to think I can tangle with my father, and I’ve never realized that more than now. Triton is Poseidon’s favorite son, nearing godhood himself. And what am I? A study in failure. Too weak to fight my father when I was a girl. Too frightened to fight him all the rest of my life, until there was no other choice. If we fail now, I’ve as good as condemned my kingdom to death. No, condemned all of Fantasia to death. The humans are right. Without supply lines, the war is over before it’s even begun. It’s as good as wrapping a garrote around the nation’s throat and looking on as it meets a flailing, gasping end.
The stream of Bastion’s life force hits Hook mid-chest and he flails for a second before recovering himself.
I let out a shaky, relieved exhale as the power sinks into him. It’s apparent from the first few seconds of contact that whatever Kassidy’s doing is working. The navy-black bruises decorating Hook’s face dull to a yellow brown. The color still bothers me, but it isn’t quite as alarming as the midnight shade they were a few seconds ago. Most astonishing of all, Hook’s broken leg fuses together within the first minute, coming together with a soft pop. Hook tests it warily and lets out a soft chuckle when it moves without difficulty.
“Well, would ye look at that!”
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
He looks at me and grins broadly. “Sore, but happy to be alive.”
Hook gives Bastion a look edged with concern. Bastion may not like Hook, but the feeling clearly isn’t mutual. I can’t read anything but sincerity in his dark, beguiling gaze.
“Ye’ve done right by me, mate,” Hook says to Bastion, “an’ I will be forever grateful.”
Bastion doesn’t say anything, just nods.
I turn to face him. “How do you feel, Bastion?” I ask, moving closer to him. He holds me back with an outstretched arm, clearly afraid that if I touch him, my own life force will be leached from me through him.
“Like I’ve done a circuit of the trenches at top speed,” Bastion admits after a moment. “But I’ve fought for longer with worse damage. I’ll be fine.”
Kassidy drops her hands and opens her eyes, and the mist of her magic disappears in the water. She turns to face me.
“All right, Princess,” she says impatiently, waving me forward. “Your turn next.”
“I don’t believe the princess should undergo this,” Bastion says.
I turn to face him. “I have to. And I want to. It’s the least I can do.”
“I can’t heal Andric without her power,” Kassidy explains.
“Please be understanding, Bastion,” I say.
He remains quiet but his jaw is tight.
“It won’t take much of her strength,” Kassidy continues. “Andric isn’t in as bad shape as Hook was.”
Bastion just nods once, and I take a few strokes through the water until I’m closer to Andric. Up close, the cut beneath his eye looks worse. Guilt batters me again.
Thoughtless, insensitive Aria, staying away to fuck Bastion while the others were this badly hurt. If we had arrived sooner...
Kassidy wastes no time. With one lazy flick of her fingers, it begins. It feels like an undertow, tugging and pulling at my tailfins, the pressure threatening to drag me out to deeper waters. Kassidy skims across the top of my already depleted energy and my vision swims alarmingly. I’m afraid I might pass out, and then...
Something in me bursts like a rotted sea cucumber.
It’s like a tsunami. Energy swells inside me, roiling and frothing like sea foam. Every cell of my body is battered, left tumbling in the wash of power. The amount is almost as crushing and cold as the deeps and I let out a breathless sound of fright.
Kassidy echoes the sound, though louder and punctuated by a fervent, “Fuck!”
She drags just a fraction of the new power from me along with the stale top layer she’d already skimmed and shoved into Andric. His back arches, his eyes roll up into his head, and every injury he had disappears in the time it takes to blink. Still, he continues to shake.
“Fuck,” Kassidy repeats. “It’s too much.”
But she still isn’t finished. She turns away from Andric and faces the others in our entourage. She moves her outstretched arms to each of them, in turn, and the energy moves like a wave, hitting each of the men, ending with Hook. The last of his bruises slough off like filth after a good washing. Then the rest of the energy travels through the kelp forest, stirring the plants around like wind through a giant’s hair.
Kassidy whirls on me as she drops her hands and inhales deeply, opening her eyes in shock and surprise once they focus on me.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us?” she demands, jabbing a metal finger into my sternum.
“Tell you what?” I respond, shocked by the outraged expression on her face. “And stop shouting, or we’ll be heard!”
Kassidy lowers her voice, but she doesn’t wrench that furious gaze from my face. �
��You’re Chosen. Why the fuck didn’t you tell us?”
My tail twitches once in shock and I put distance between us quickly, shaking my head. “Chosen?” I repeat, shaking my head. “I’m not. You’re… confused.”
“Oh, come the fuck on, Princess,” Kassidy says, shaking her head and continuing to glare at me. “That’s bullshit and we both know it.”
“One of the Chosen?” Andric repeats as he looks at me.
“Chosen?” Hook echoes.
I just stare at Kassidy, nonplussed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I wonder, silently, if the magic she’s just performed has somehow addled her mind? I hope not, because we need her. She’s instrumental to this mission.
“Explain, Kassidy?” Leith says.
“I reached for your power,” Kassidy continues, not sparing a glance for anyone else. Her eyes are riveted on mine. “There was a lot of stagnancy and rot at the top, when I first dialed into the flow of your power, but underneath that was a fucking ocean.”
“What do ye mean?” Hook asks.
“I mean, I almost drowned myself trying to call on Aria’s power,” Kassidy responds. “For fuck’s sake, you can’t not know you have that much power? You had to know on some level you’re Chosen?”
“I can’t be,” I argue feebly. I just… I just don’t understand how that can be.
“In the deeps where no light pierces, a hero lies, and rises to do battle, blotting out the fire of the skies,” Sorren muses with a strange smile on his face. “Hmmm. I wonder why we didn’t see it sooner...”
“Because any spare second ye lot are feckin’ like rabbits?” Hook mumbles. “I’ve seen ye together. Nary much on yer minds but gettin’ alone. ‘Twas damn distractin’ when we were on the Jolly Roger.”
“That’s not it,” Leith argues, shaking his head. “Someone still should have seen this! All of Fantasia has been on the lookout for the Chosen Ten for well over a decade.”
