Sunken Empire

by Brandy Slaven

  A small gated wall separates the dwellings from where I stand on the steps. In between the gate and me, there are people working in what looks like a garden. They all turn to look at me. The same as inside, they are all half-naked men. I slowly step backward until my back bangs against the door. Their curious gazes slowly creep up and over my shoulder. As one, they bow to the ground while arms snake around my waist and hot breath tickles my ear.

  Oh shit!

  “Not in Kansas anymore are you, Rubi Murphy?” Zephyr’s voice sends chills down my spine.

  Dots dance in my vision. “I’ve never been to Kansas,” I whisper.

  His chuckle follows me into the blackness as, for the first time in my entire sad existence, I faint.

  Watching Rubi slip into unconsciousness wrenches a muscle in my stomach as much as it makes me want to chuckle. I'd spent years in the human realm, yet none of the other females there had come close to catching my attention like this one does. Her ways of matching our dispositions are amusing. Who would've thought by giving her a little push, Zan would've sent her running? Sure, she seemed a little skittish and quite possibly confused as to where she is, but I didn't think she'd rush straight from the Keep and then faint in my arms.

  The conversation at the table didn't go nearly as well as any of us thought it would. Even if I did get a good laugh out of it and her nearly killing Zale in the process. In her shoes, I don't think I'd jump to conclusions about my saviors’, or possibly captors in her mind, sexuality. I know she doesn't mind our half-dressed state because I've caught her heated gaze on all three of us more than once. On Merrick too, and surprisingly that's the only one that got under my skin. I trust the man with my and my brothers' lives, but watching him touch her sent a furious flame racing down my spine.

  No female has ever stepped within the barrier, so we're all playing a learning game here. We've just got to be careful not to scare our little catch away before we figure out how to win her. Zanthus is worse than ever in one of his foulest moods, taking it out on Rubi instead of one of us like normal. If she turns out to be the one thing that'll help us break this curse, I'm never going to let him live it down, and I'm certain I won't be alone either.

  "Take her up to the top suite," Zale sighs. Who knows what's going on inside that head of his, but my brother's eyes are glued to her when she's in the room. So, they can both claim they're not affected and be lying through their teeth.

  Toting her like she weighs nothing because she practically doesn't, I lead the way up the stairs to where Zale instructed. It's always been one of my favorite rooms in the whole Keep. My mother lived in it every time we were here, which meant so did I. Since being cursed, I've not stepped foot inside, deeming myself unworthy since we were unable to save her along with the rest of our people.

  I freeze right outside of the door and my grip tightens around the small female in my arms. With my brothers on my ass, I have no choice but to go inside or risk having them ask questions. Stepping over the threshold is comparable to shedding an outer layer of skin I didn't even realize I had. The room is different than I remember. Furniture has been rearranged, and all of the girly colors my mother used to love so much have been replaced with a darker theme.

  "Is it just me or has this room changed?" Zale asks us, looking around.

  "Think it's the Keep?" Zanthus huffs.

  I watch Zale shrug on my way to lay Rubi down on the giant bed against the wall. This definitely wasn't here before. Mother slept in the King's suite across the hall with our father while using this as a recreational room.

  Turning my attention to Zale, I find his attention back on the creature lying dead to the world behind me as he thoughtfully mutters, "If the magic of the Keep is already responding to her, that may be a good sign. It's never taken to anyone but us. Well, and Merrick, but that's only because he's got a pinch of royal blood."

  "What do you think it means?" Zanthus asks, undeniably intrigued at this point.

  Zale sucks in a deep breath and lets it out again. "I'm not sure. But it's best we don't get our hopes up just yet. At least until Merrick and I can do some research."

  The last is said as he turns away to stare out across the balcony. Which is the exact point a soft murmur comes from behind me, alerting us to trouble stirring. Lying down next to her, I toss an arm around her middle in comforting gesture right before she buries herself into me.

  For the second time in the past twenty-four hours, I wake up in an unknown location. The pillows and sheets are just as soft as the first time. Honestly, the only differences I can tell with my eyes still closed are the lighting and the warm arm wrapped tightly across my abdomen. It gives me the feeling of security and all I want to do is snuggle further into it. A deep chuckle in my ear lets me know I've given in to my desire. The sound sends a reminder of events through my head and a shock through my spine.

  I jerk upright in bed.

  Zanthus straightens at the door, and Zale, standing at an open balcony, looks over his shoulder. Zephyr sits up from beside me and rubs a palm soothingly over my back.

  "Where am I?" I whisper demand.

  Zephyr kisses my cheek before he gets up to follow Zanthus out the door, blonde and brown hair swaying across their backs. Neither of them even acknowledges the fact I asked a simple question.

  Zale doesn’t move from his position at the balcony as he starts talking. "Do you believe in myth and legends, Rubi?"

  I nod, but his back is still towards me. "Some," I answer quietly.

  "What about magic?" he asks.

  I want to laugh, but I know that he's serious. Instead, I say, "Are we talking sleight of hand in Vegas magic or lock you in a padded room because you’re crazy kind of stuff?"

  His composure slips for a moment as I see a small lift in his cheeks. "More like mysterious and ancient magic.”

  "Considering the circumstances and what I think I saw outside, I can't say that I don't," I admit. “That or it’s a possibility that I’ve actually died and am in my own twisted version of heaven right now.”

  Zale chuckles as he nods his head. "It’s good you’ve got an open mind, but I will go ahead and tell you that you’re not in heaven, Damselfish. Hopefully, that mindset will help you understand my story a little easier, though."

  Twisting to lean against the open door that leads out onto a balcony of some sort, he folds his arms across his chest. "What would you say if I told you we are a race of mermen?”

  He gives me a moment to process his confession, but when he realizes my response will not change from slack-jawed shock, he continues, "Centuries ago, we were powerful merpeople. Our magic was the greatest of this realm. But with all power comes greed and corruption. The magic used us as much as we used it, turning us all into monsters. Our father tried to conquer other clans, and it brought rains of hell down on our heads. One of the other clans had a ruler as strong as our father, but he was much crueler. He began to steal females from their homes and from rival clans, swearing the world would never see heirs to those in power. He attacked us at our weakest when our father’s army was off doing his bidding. They slaughtered most of our men and captured all of our females. The army came back to the carnage and went mad, especially after seeing the bloody mess that was left of their ruler. Twenty thousand swam to rescue our people. Only three thousand made it back."

  He pauses as a moment of sadness passes over his features. His eyes look back onto mine before he starts talking again. "These wars, as humans would call them, lasted for many years. The other creatures sat back and watched in morbid fascination as we destroyed each other. No one could be any happier than the ancient sea witches. They were the only ones who rivaled our wealth of power. It wasn't until the other ruler, Bruinen, killed one of their sons that they started showing interest. All of our females and their mates had already been killed, so Asrai, the witch who lost her son, decided on a fate worse than death. She trapped us down here, cursed to live out our immortality as human men. We've done what
we had to in order to survive, but we grow weaker every day. As our magic wanes, so do our people."

  I try to process everything that he's told me so far. Merpeople. Sea witches. Immortality. Could it possibly all be true? I saw for myself the underwater dome that clearly couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. My brain, working in overtime here, also has to come to terms with the fact that falling off the boat was no dream.

  "Wait a second," My brows drop in confusion as I suspiciously ask, "If you are cursed to be men, how did you save me?"

  A sinful smile crosses his lips. "We made a deal with our own witch. She made us talismans that allow us our freedom. But they only last for a few hours at a time. Last I heard, Bruinen's clan had done something of the same, but their desires cursed them to live as monsters, not as men. We haven’t heard tell of them in ages.”

  I have so many questions, but my brain decides one is more important than the others.

  "What was your part of the deal with the witch?" I ask.

  His face is stoic as he replies quickly, "A sacrifice."

  It takes a moment for his words to sink in and when they do, chill bumps break out across my skin. I glance at the door, judging the distance between it and the bed.

  "Rubi," Zale warns.

  I leap off the bed and make a wild dash for the door, but I'm jerked off my feet halfway there. Zale's arm around my waist is tightly holding me against him. Fighting for all that I'm worth only results in him squeezing tighter. He pulls me backwards toward the bed, but not before I stomp my heel into the top of his foot and launch an elbow back towards his head.

  "Rubi," he grunts, "please stop fighting me."

  "Why? So you crazy fish people can sacrifice me to your even crazier sea witch? No way, Jose!" I yell, kicking against the floor since he’s keeping his feet out of reach. My erratic movements cause Zale to lose his balance, and we end up in a heap on the bed.

  He wrestles me around until I'm facing him and pins my wrists beside my head. "For Poseidon’s sake, Rubi. Please stop trying to run away."

  A look into his eyes has my struggle ending in defeat. Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way. Stretching as far as my pinned wrists will allow, I press my lips against his. We're both still panting from exertion, and I don't stop him from pressing his tongue into my mouth. The feeling is so exhilarating that it feels like my first kiss all over again. Only, I've never felt this way for any man. Something stirs in my chest, a foreign feeling that reaches for the mythical being on top of me as though it’s trying to tie us together before I can make another run for it.

  Story of my jacked-up life. I would feel this way towards someone who is not even human and oh right, trying to sacrifice me.

  Zale moves my hands above my head so that he can hold them both in one of his. The other free hand rubs down the side of my ribcage, and an inexcusable whimper falls from my lips. I want to say that it's from fear, but it's not.

  This is the moment in which the door opens and Zanthus walks in with Zephyr right on his heels.

  "What in the name of Poseidon, Zale?" Zanthus barks. "You were supposed to be talking to her."

  Zale smacks another quick kiss against my lips before he pulls away to smirk down at me. "I was trying to, but she keeps trying to run away."

  "Why?" Zephyr asks him, then turns to me. "Where would you even go?"

  My eyes fill with tears against my will. "Anywhere I'm not going to be sacrificed."

  "What?" Zanthus demands, shock and rage warring for his dominant expression.

  Zale's soft laugh on top of me turns to full-on belly rolls, which isn’t helped by Zephyr’s own snickers from across the room. The sound and vibration from Zale’s chest sucker punch me in the stomach. At this point, it makes me not care that I'm going to die.

  To my disappointment, his laughter trickles off. "Oh, Rubi. If you would have let me finish, I would have told you. We had to give her our magic. She leeches it from us at an incredibly fast rate. The deal was the talismans in exchange for our magic. It has an out clause, though. There are rumors of a lost princess of the sea out there somewhere. If by some miracle we were able to find her, the witch could no longer draw our magic from us. A prophet, years after our father passed, had a vision. He said once we have learned humility and learned from our mistakes, the princess will make her presence known by magic, and she will restore us to our former glory."

  I start shaking my head before he's even finished. "I’m not some lost princess, Zale. I'm just plain Jane Rubi."

  His smile is sad. "We know this, Rubi. We've suspected since we pulled you through the dome of magic."

  His words make me horribly sad. I know they’re true, but for once I wanted to be something to someone.

  I take a deep breath and fight those feelings back down. "If this is true then why am I still here? You could have thrown me back out to be swallowed by the sea."

  Zanthus' voice has me turning to face him. "When you were standing on that ship, before you went over, my magic called to something. It was so strong that it caused a waterspout right there beside the ship."

  The words bring an image to life in my brain. I remember seeing it before I fell over.

  Looking back at Zale, he says, "We want you to talk to the witch. Just to be sure."

  My eyes fall on the sad yet hopeful faces of the three of them and I know that there is no way that I can tell them no.

  I patiently follow them back to the study as I go over everything in my head. I wish I could be what these mermen need me to be to save their people, but I'm just not. I'm not even sure as to why I agreed to meet the witch. Maybe I am clinging to a small hope somewhere deep down inside that I could be their savior.

  Fear doesn't take root until we are standing right outside of our destination. Zephyr doesn’t miss my sharp inhale either.

  "You ready?" he asks.

  Not by a long shot, but that's not what I say. "Let's do this."

  They lead me back over to the table where we had breakfast a few hours earlier.

  Slinky gray hair is peppered with black streaks and hangs almost to the floor, belonging to a short woman already waiting for us. As we come around the side of the table, I get my first look at the sea witch. After the hair, I’m expecting a much older face than the one that now stares back at me. She doesn't resemble any witch I've ever seen. Her pale skin brings out the thick black eyelashes and pitch-black eyes but also accentuates the fullness of her lips. I'm not going to lie, the eyes freak me out. They remind me of a feeding shark. When she smiles at me, showing sharp teeth, it does nothing but strengthen that image.

  Zale pulls out the chair directly in front of her as he introduces us, "Rubi, Cecaelia."

  I never let my gaze wander from her as I take a Zale’s offered chair. The first words she speaks aren't to me, but to them.

  “Leave us,” she demands.

  None of them move as they look to me for confirmation. I try to look beyond human facade she has in place and that same tendril that reached for Zale moments ago tugs again, making me feel like I recognize her. I nod my head to the Zs, letting them know that I'm okay with it.

  "We will be right outside," Zanthus says and I'm not sure if he’s reassuring me, warning her, or possibly both.

  She barely waits until the door clicks shut before she says, "Your presence has been long-awaited child."

  It's best to go ahead and break the bad news first. "I'm not who they’re looking for."

  She tilts her head to the side as she studies me. "Let me see your hand.”

  What the hell? I figure. I place my hand in hers and am surprised to feel the coarseness of it.

  She grips it tightly and closes her eyes. The silence lasts for so long that her cackle almost rips a scream from my throat. This makes her laugh even bolder. She swiftly drops my hand and comes to my side. The only place I don’t want her is at my back, so I turn on my seat to face her.

  "You truly have no idea who you are, child. I can offer you o
ne chance and one chance only to return to your life on that ship. Choose wisely, my dear, because once done, there cannot be any undoing," she warns.

  I take a full minute to think about what awaits me should I return. I'd finish the cruise and go back to a meaningless life. Then Zale's story does a replay in my head. What if I am the person that could help them? I owe them my life for saving me, but more than that, I want to have a purpose in life. Even if I’m not the princess, that means I’d get to live out my mortal life here surrounded by all of this sexiness. Even if I would be leaving behind my one best friend, my decision really is a no-brainer.

  I stare at those pitch-black eyes. "I want to stay and help them if I can."

  She nods with an expression that says she already knew what my answer would be. "Close your eyes, girl, and take a breath. This is going to hurt."

  I feel her sandpaper lips against my forehead and then the most excruciating pain radiates through my body.

  Memories race across my brain faster than I can comprehend. I'm one hundred percent sure that these aren't mine. There's a woman that looks similar to me, but much prettier. She cuts through water faster than the fish around her, but something is following her, closing in if her panic is any indication. I see a flashing of teeth and then we are in some kind of cave. She lies on the floor bleeding in multiple places. Her beautiful mermaid tail in shreds. Another's voice sounds in my head, their entire conversation coming through a telepathic bubble. It's hard to stay focused when there's so much blood tainting the water.

  Her soft words ring out in my head even though she’s not speaking to me. "It's yours if you will put her somewhere her father will never find her.”

  A familiar shape steps next to the woman. Leaning down, Cecaelia tells her, "You have my word. No one will harm Eurybia, especially her father. Your sacrifice will not be in vain."