Lago crossed both beefy arms against his chest. “Not so. Had she not always chosen men claimed by other goddesses, her efforts to take a lover would have gone unimpeded. Her downfall occurred when she turned her attention to Pontus, our patron god of the sea and husband to Thalassa. Her sorcery drove a wedge between them until Thalassa discovered the truth and realized her husband was under an enchantment. Then a bitter rivalry began.”
“None of us know for certain what happened,” Aegaeon said, “and the mers who lived during those days are long dead. But the legends claim when Thalassa sought to reclaim her husband, she struck Calypso down in battle and cast her to the depths of the darkest sea to die for her crime.”
“But she didn’t die,” Lago continued. “We believe she struck a pact with Phorkys and Keto, for only they possess power equal to Thalassa and Pontus.”
“Phorkys and Keto?” The only keto she knew about was the extremist diet her sister had tried out for a couple weeks before succumbing to her addiction to sugar and subsequently gorging on a pound of chocolate cake late one night.
Aegaeon passed the weathered book to her and tapped the center of an illustrated page featuring a man with a fish tail and slimy crab claws, his skin the mottled gray of a crustacean. “The cruel god and goddess of sea monsters and dangers, progenitors of every evil beast to ever haunt the ocean.”
“If that’s the case, why don’t Thalassa and Pontus do something about it? Why wouldn’t gods fight gods?”
Aegaeon shook his head. “When Pontus returned to his senses and realized he had been unfaithful to his wife, he withdrew from this world and Thalassa fell silent. Perhaps he even ceased to exist. We do not know. What we do know is that no priest has heard Thalassa’s words of wisdom in centuries, and both of our patron gods may be gone forever. What we have are the gifts left to us from them.”
“The scepter,” Kai said.
“And my brother Neptune’s trident. It was a gift from Pontus, a weapon of power equal to her scepter passed to each new king.”
Her gaze darted to Manu and found the silent mer watching her. He hadn’t added anything to the conversation yet, but she wondered what he thought of it all. He’d seen her at her worst, running panicked from the Gloombeasts and screaming her fool head off.
“War is coming, Zephyrine. We need you. If you fail to regain your gifts and wield the scepter, every city within the kingdom of Atlantis is doomed. And, quite possibly, the world beyond. The kingdom of Pacifica has their own battles to fight, and what happens in this sea is our responsibility. We don’t have a chance without you. I’ve done all I can to protect our world since your mother and father’s deaths, but I’m not enough. Neptune’s trident won’t accept me, and it’s also missing the pearl blessed by Pontus. Without that, I fear it’s worthless.”
Her shoulders sank, and with them, her hopes of returning to the family who loved her. No matter how much she longed for the surface and lazy days sprawled on the beach, these people needed her more.
“Will you accept?”
“I will. I don’t know if I can be what you want me to be, but I’ll try.”
“That’s all we ask,” Lago said, granting her a brief smile. “Manu will begin your instruction at once.”
Manu started, blinking at the commander. “General—”
“He teaches well, and he has patience with the youngest mers,” Lago spoke over his son’s attempted objection. “She will be safe in his hands, my lord.”
“Wonderful. Since we’ve settled that, General Lago and I have much to discuss about the security of the Western Sand Belt. Alohi has been told to expect your arrival for an armor fitting. If you should need anything, my office is open to you always, Zephyrine.”
Once again, no one asked what she wanted. Kai shuffled from the room with Manu on her heels, and moments later they stood in the corridor alone.
“Come with me, Princess Zephyrine.”
“Kailani.”
He paused, a puzzled expression coming to his rugged face. “What?”
Kai clenched her jaw. “Please don’t call me Zephyrine.”
“But it is your name.”
“It’s… It’s a pretty name, but I don’t actually know it, do I? It isn’t the name I’ve used for the last twenty-five years of my life. It’s a dead name from a time I may never remember, and when I hear it, it still doesn’t feel like me. The Zephyrine from then is gone. I’m not her.”
Something like understanding dawned on his handsome features. She actually saw the lightbulb switch on and his dark eyes fill with compassion. He nodded. “All right. Princess Kailani it is.” He bowed before her, crossing both arms over his chest and dipping low enough that his dark hair swung down over his shoulders. “It is my honor to meet you, and you have my deepest apologies for the circumstances surrounding your arrival. I am sorry.”
A relieved breath deflated her lungs, then her shoulders sagged. “Thank you.”
“It is the least I can do for the difficult introduction you’ve had to my world. Or should I say, reintroduction to our world.” Manu led her through the palace and down two levels, pausing at the bottom landing. “Have you learned your way around the palace yet?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s a maze in here. Amerin or some guard has had to practically lead me around by the hand because every time I think I’ve got it figured out, I learn there’s another wing I haven’t explored.”
“It is a large castle. I grew up within these walls, so I know it by heart.” He paused. “As did you. If I may offer a bit of advice?”
“Feel free. I’m willing to try anything at this point.”
“The main corridors wind counterclockwise in the likeness of a nautilus, though there are smaller halls and passages along the way. Each upper level has one less than the floor below it. If you remember that, you’ll never become lost. Retrace your steps back to the main corridor.”
“Counterclockwise,” she repeated, feeling dumb for failing to notice the place was built in a spiral. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. It’s a subtle incline. Easy to overlook when overwhelmed. There are also three lifts, the main one just off the entrance hall. One goes directly to the royal residences.”
He took her to the armorer, who made a mold of her torso, took the rest of her measurements, and told them to return in three days for a suit. Alohi’s no-nonsense and brusque manner was a pleasant change of pace. She didn’t shoot the shit with them or waste their time with small talk. Afterward, they approached the training arena, a place she only recognized because Amerin had shown her the Myrmidon recruits during their evening training. It wasn’t far from the palace, its shape reminding her of a coliseum beneath a glass dome.
“Now. There is one last thing we must do before we begin your training.”
“Yeah?”
“I need to see how well you swim.”
Kai tilted her head. “Shouldn’t we be going outside first?”
“This will be sufficient.” He glanced toward the doors where two guards stood watch. “Roll the waves.”
“Wha—” Before she could finish the word, semi-translucent bubbles covered the exits and a flood of water rolled across the arena, slamming into her. It was a tidal wave of epic proportions, and it swept her away with its force. She tumbled with it, screaming from both cold shock and surprise. Eventually she rolled to a stop.
The frigid water continued rising at an impossible speed. A couple of inches became feet as she scrambled off of her ass and stood, then it was suddenly to her waist. To her chest, rising to her neck. Her feet no longer touched the ground, and then the next wave rose like a small tsunami, and she braced herself for impact.
Under the water, she saw Manu weathering the turbulence with ease. She hated him for failing to warn her.
Her previous assessment of him had been accurate. The guy was a dick.
“The water is rising toward the ceiling.”
He surfaced. “Yes, it is.”
“I can swim good, dude, but this is ridiculous. What if that wave had knocked me unconscious before this place filled up?”
“You can breathe underwater,” Manu said, shrugging.
“You’re fucking crazy.”
“I’m not. I brought you here to show you that you’re different.”
“The only different thing about me is that I can swim faster than most people. Big deal. Phelps can do better. I would have never made the Olympics.”
“I know nothing of this Phelps person or your mortals’ Olympics, but you’re faster than any mortal. You just don’t realize it.”
“You’re fucking insane. You just don’t realize that.”
Another wild wave tossed her, and a contained whirlpool sucked her into its current. Water surged up her nose and into her mouth as she kicked toward the surface again. She held her breath to no avail, because Manu dragged her deeper despite her kicking. The man had the strength of a weightlifter twice his size, and then suddenly the tiny air bubble at the top of the arena dome was fifty feet away and Manu was still dragging her toward the bottom.
8
Sink or Swim
Twenty-five years of mediocrity had passed before Kai’s vision when a crash on the Atlantic Ocean reduced the Sea Angel to toothpicks. This time, she saw nothing but red-hot fury.
This asshole had a lot of nerve.
She managed to catch his nose with her free heel, taking him by surprise. The brief moment that he released her wasn’t enough of a reprieve to reach the surface. Manu caught her again, but she scratched at him and raked her fingers down his chest. All that did was snap a nail when his leather breastplate resisted her efforts. Desperation turned her into a wildcat beneath the water, and she no longer knew how much time had passed since the chamber filled.
She fought against the current to reach the pocket of air at the top, but he pulled her down again with inhuman strength. Her lungs burned for the air he’d denied her. Minutes had passed.
“You won’t drown, Princess. Trust me.” The words reached her ears as clearly as if they were spoken above the water, but all the logic in the world wasn’t enough to overpower natural instinct. And natural instinct told her it was a bad idea to inhale a mouthful of water into her lungs.
This time, she snuck a fist past his guard and cuffed him in the jaw, though he turned his head in time for the blow to roll past his cheek almost harmlessly. Almost.
“Would I be speaking to you under the water if we were going to drown? Drowning is a thing humans do, Your Highness. You are a high mer. You are a descendent of Thalassa, war goddess of the seas. You. Won’t. Drown,” he enunciated each word before wrapping his powerful arms around her body and trapping her to his chest. The effect was no different from a straitjacket, for all the good her struggles did then.
God, his torso was so hard, biceps like steel cables instead of muscles. Then it pissed her off that she noticed his spectacular body at a time like this, when he was already pissing her off by trying to drown her in a nightmarish coliseum with its own hurricane system.
“Breathe,” he commanded.
Kai dared to hope he was right and inhaled. Water flew into her lungs and filled them. Instead of choking, she coughed a few times until she reached a point of equilibrium. The godawful burning sensation in her chest eased like she’d gulped in a deep breath of air. Seconds later, the discomfort vanished altogether. She took another breath, letting water move in and out of her lungs, the oxygen exchange resuming by some strange act of sorcery.
“I’m breathing.”
“Yes.”
“I’m really breathing underwater. I’m breathing and talking underwater.”
Manu smiled. And it was such a beautiful, gorgeous smile that it made her angry because she didn’t want to find the asshole sexy at all. The ridiculously buff arms encircling her body finally lowered, releasing her from his embrace. She floated back from him a foot and marveled at herself. At the magic of the moment. At realizing she could breathe underwater all this time.
Then she hauled back and drove her fist into Manu’s face with all of her might. The force snapped his head backward.
“I deserved that.” He rubbed his jaw. “I apologize for the abrupt lesson, Your Highness.”
“Forgiven, I guess. Since, you know, I didn’t drown.”
“You have one hell of a right hook. Impressive. I’d had doubts, considering what happened on the beach, but no longer.”
“All of that from one punch?”
“You’re strong. Tell me, have you ever lost a fight?”
“Hell no.” Before her high school growth spurt, she’d been picked on in school by bigger, meaner students who taunted her about having no parents, but she’d always come out of every scrap on top. When puberty hit, there’d been no more fights at all, and everyone knew better than to mess with the six-foot-tall Glamazon. If they spoke about her at all, they did it behind her back.
“Ever been sick?”
She shook her head. “Rarely.”
“Even the frailest artisan of Atlantis is stronger than a mere mortal,” he explained. “That was easily one of the best hits I’ve ever taken.”
“I can’t be too strong if you’re still running your damn mouth.”
He grimaced. “Trust me. It hurt like a bitch, but pain is a weakness Myrmidons can’t display.”
Can’t. The connotation differed greatly from won’t. “That so?”
“It is.”
It must have been difficult to thrive under the weight of so much damned masculinity that he had to shrug off taking a hit that had broken a man’s jaw before.
“You prepared for one more surprise?”
“Sure. Why not? Nothing can be more shocking than discovering I can breathe water. Let’s have it.”
That rare smile returned to his face. “I understand mortals have a fascination with mermaids.”
“They do. My favorite movie when growing up was Splash. I used to dream about being Darryl Hannah’s mermaid character.”
Manu lazily drifted around her in a circle. “I do not know that movie, but I can tell you those weren’t dreams. Maybe they were suppressed memories, but they weren’t dreams.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“No.”
Kai glanced down at her legs. They were long and strong, her thighs powerful from years of jogging, swimming, and weight lifting during her spare time, but there were definitely two distinct limbs. “How does it work?”
“Ah, this time you believe me.”
“You haven’t lied yet. So far, you’ve told me about terrifying Gloombeasts, hidden cities, and spiteful homewrecker goddesses. You may be a dick, but you aren’t a liar.”
This time he chuckled again. “High mers draw strength from the skins they wear. In your case, you wear the scales of the Gigas fish.”
She glanced down at her golden leggings. Light glittered off the scales as she floated in place, occasionally fluttering her feet. “And my boots?”
“The same. Your transformation and the quality of it requires practice as well as mental conditioning. See yourself gliding through the water. Envision the transformation you need to take, and it will happen.”
Skeptical, she eyed him and gave it a try.
Ten minutes later, she felt like an idiot. “I’m not entirely sure you aren’t fucking with me now.”
“I’m not fucking with you.” He rolled his eyes. “A little focus would be appreciated, Princess Kailani. I’d like to have supper at some point today.”
“Asshole.”
“I preferred dick. At least that’s used for pleasure and makes two people happy.”
Kai jerked around to stare at him.
Manu could make jokes? He’d been a solemn companion during days of travel across the ocean, a grumpy guy who barely glanced at her unti
l they reached their destination.
“I didn’t think you had a sense of humor.”
“I’ve been known to have my moments. Now focus, please. The sooner you grasp this, the sooner we’ll be able to proceed to the next lesson.”
Despite wanting desperately to know what the hell followed learning to turn two legs into a fish tail, she nodded and drifted away from him to close her eyes. A few Myrmidon guards watched from outside, viewing through the semi-translucent barrier. She didn’t want to look like a fool in front of them.
Whatever she did here, whether it was success or failure, would be retold in gossip across the city. She had to do it. Manu said nothing to rush her. She noticed that now. He’d only teased and encouraged her when she expressed doubt. Keeping that in mind, she blocked out her surroundings. Forgot the spectators. Ignored the sexy-as-hell Commander of the guard waiting for her to pull off a miracle.
A few more minutes passed of floating aimlessly in place. It began as a tingle in her toes, and then it became a tickle in her bones. Kai glanced down. When her legs spontaneously fused together, she screamed, startled by the reaction rippling down her body, beginning at the hips and flooding downward in a rapid reaction that ended at the tips of her toes.
Toes that were no longer toes elongated into a thick, opaque fin the color of clotted cream. Her lower body became long and sinuous, a lithe and flexible ribbon that moved in an effortless dolphin kick.
“I’m a mermaid.”
“You are.”
Manu was most handsome when he smiled. He didn’t do it often, and that was a shame. Damn near criminal, really. After snapping out of her appreciative daze, she twirled in a loop and tested her new lower body, mesmerized by how it had returned to her at last.
“Now reverse it,” he murmured.
The sensation wasn’t unlike pulling a resistant Band-Aid off skin. It didn’t hurt, but the discomfort almost discouraged her from continuing. By the end, her legs had been restored to two distinct limbs and were no longer the svelte, gorgeous length of mermaid tail that had propelled her through the water.
Return to Atlantis: a Fantasy Romance (Kingdom in the Sea Book 1) Page 6
