I try to reassure him long enough to keep him from losing his mind, but we've got more pressing issues at hand.
"Zanthus, we've got to take him to the pool. He'll die if we don't," I plead.
His brows drop scary low as he gets his first look at Aukai lying naked behind me. I don't give him the chance to snarl orders to have the mer detained or worse.
"Please, he saved my life," I beg.
One flick of his chin toward one of the taller males off to the side and he's hefting Aukai up into his arms. We rush through the gathered crowd with the two of them on our heels. An out of breath Zale and Zephyr meet us as we're strolling through the front door of the Keep.
"Little siren," Zeph whispers into my hair in a relieved sigh. "I leave you alone for two minutes, and you disappear on me."
"A conversation we'll be having later about that," Zanthus hisses at his brother.
The retort is quick on his tongue, but I cut in. "Can we please not do this now? I'll explain everything as soon as we fix him."
Zale presses close on my other side, claiming a hand to bring to his lips as we keep our pace to the pool. His silence weighs heavy between us, but there's only so much my nerves can handle at once.
One problem at a time.
I'm nearly running to keep pace with the longer legged men around me, and it's still not fast enough. By the time Aukai is being laid down half in and out of the water like I direct, the tension in my shoulders is taut enough to snap at any moment.
"I'm sorry," I warn my mates, locking eyes with each of them before sinking to my knees at the wounded mer's side.
My fingers drift over the jagged cut in Aukai's arm and then lower to another gash in the top of his thigh. It's highly improbable I have anything left after performing whatever miracle it took to get us back here, yet that doesn't stop me from reaching for it anyway. It slowly responds. Too slow. There's no chance I'll be able to save him at this rate.
I don't realize I'm crying until the droplets are rolling down Aukai's skin. A warm body presses into my back before a hand locks over the top of mine.
"Let's do it together, love," Zanthus murmurs into my ear, bringing a fresh round of tears.
I can barely make out Zale and Zephyr kneeling down into the sand at Aukai's other side. My three mates are willing to help me after I disappeared then resurface with another man at my side. A naked one to boot. The love I have for them warms me from my head to my toes.
Zanthus' magic brushes against me, and I let what I have left mesh with it until the salty water begins to creep up Aukai's body. It fills both of the tears in his skin, staunching the flow of blood and knitting them back together right in front of us. It's amazing to watch but also semi-disgusting as well. Still, I don't dare turn away.
There are a few more stressful seconds before his breath starts to even out. From nowhere, that faint pink line I'd seen outside the barrier flares to life the brightest red I've ever seen. Gasping, I jerk backward, forgetting Zanthus has me securely locked within his arms.
"Rubi?" Zale utters. My eyes flash to his as he asks, "What is it, damselfish?"
How do I tell them they aren't my only mates? That fate has chosen yet another for me. Another round of tears floods my eyes. What if I caused this?
"I only meant to return the favor by saving his life," I tell them on a sob. "I didn't mean to."
"Little siren?" Zeph starts but is quickly cut off by Zanthus.
"What didn't you mean to do, love?"
"Talk to us, damselfish," Zale pleads.
A new voice breaks into our conversation. "I believe she's referring to us being mates."
Zanthus' arm tucks me tighter at Aukai's words. His voice is scratchy as though it's been awhile since he used it. I reach for him as he tries to rise up on his arms but quickly change my mind and pull my hand back.
"Are you okay?" I ask him.
He nods, poking the spot on his arm where there's no sign of any injury. Then those red eyes find mine. "Thank you."
"Thank you first. " I smile, wiping the back of my hand across my cheek.
"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, care to give us a rundown of what just happened and who in the realm you are?" Zanthus asks with barely concealed fury at my back.
"I was in the bath," I tell them, taking the lead with a fact they already knew. "One second I was there and the next, I wasn't. When I woke up, it was to Aukai saving us from a monster."
"How did you leave the barrier?" Zale asks.
At the same time Zanthus barks, "What do you mean a ‘monster’?"
"I don't know how it happened." I shrug then shudder. "The monster was huge. One of the biggest sharks I think I've ever seen in my life, but something was wrong with it."
"It was tainted by darkness," Aukai supplies.
"Sharks aren't all that uncommon in the concealed depths of the deep," Zeph drops with a grin.
Zale nods. "They don't look too friendly either."
There's no way to describe to them the feeling of that creature, and I hope they'll never get the chance to figure it out either. I wouldn't be able to fathom one of them being eaten the way we almost were.
Aukai clears his throat softly like it's paining him to speak, "This was no ordinary fish, Your Highness."
Zanthus stiffens further. "You know who we are?"
His reply is a quick dip of a chin. "I do. I was born in the kingdom to the north, Sewayne, under King Bruinen's rule." If he notices my body tensing, he doesn't show it as he adds, "The darkness that has possessed that monster outside your barrier is the same that attacked us and dragged our entire kingdom to the bottom of the sea."
I listen to his explanation of the decline of his kingdom with no other emotion than fear. Even now, knowing his people are trapped just as ours, there's only one question that matters until we can figure out how to break the curse. My gut says it and the darkness, or its puppet masters I should say, are working together.
"Bruinen still alive?" Zale asks calmly.
I'm grateful he did because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to bring myself to do it. Then my heart drops into my stomach at Aukai's nod, making me feel like I'm going to puke when he tells us that their savage leader was one of the deranged that they had locked away beneath their own barrier.
"How did you manage to escape?" Zanthus questions skeptically.
Aukai's gaze clashes with mine. "I followed what I'm now assuming is a lifeline to our mate here."
Zanthus' huff pushes my hair away from my shoulder as he replies, "She's not yours until she claims you."
"Who was your mother?" Zephyr asks, cutting in. We all look to him like he's lost his mind, but his expression is a strange one I've yet to see him wear.
"Bahari," Aukai answers without hesitation.
Zephyr makes a pained noise in the back of his throat, and I reach out for him instinctively. He brings my fingers to his lips with a sad smile. One of the details of Aukai's story had been that his mother was killed during childbirth. The Zs mother had been stolen by Bruinen's clan. Putting the two of those together sends a shock of understanding through my brain, and a tear slips down my cheek. The back of Aukai's knuckle brushes across my cheek, catching it on the way down.
Then two things happen at once. I feel Zanthus suck in a breath like he's getting ready to reply as Zale moves to push Aukai's hand away from me. Immediately, there's a burning sensation that rips across my left bicep. I hiss in pain and jerk out of the reach of all four males just in case it's contagious. Wouldn't matter either way because they're all in some form of shock taking in the brand around their own arms.
"Oh my god," I squeal, glancing down. Where once clean, albeit sand-covered, tan skin was, there now sits a beautifully crafted tribal tattoo of sorts. "What's happening?"
"Our clan markings." Zanthus glows pridefully.
Zephyr's grin matches those of his other two brothers. "Looks like you've officially been honored into our clan, little s
iren."
"Aukai too," Zale says like he can't believe the words are leaving his mouth.
"What about Merrick and the others?" I ask. "We should go find him and see if they have one."
I'm on my feet and ready to charge out the door only to be stopped when Zanthus grasps my hand. That's when a damn bomb explodes between the five of us. I lose my link to Zanthus as I'm thrown off my feet. Hitting the sand back first steals my breath, making my chest ache. The borrowed material of someone's shirt rides up my thighs, but that's the least of my worries. There's a ringing in my ears that started when my teeth snapped together.
My hands are folded across my chest defensively whilst I still attempt to suck in enough air to appease my lungs. Tears leak from the corners of my eyes without my permission as Zanthus' face is the first to come into focus. He's murmuring something, but I can't understand what he's saying through the panic of not being able to breathe. By the time the other three are crowded around us, I'm slowly sipping on glorious oxygen and trying not to go into a meltdown.
Zanthus lifts my head to his shoulder as he rubs soothing circles on my back. It's another few minutes before I'm taking full and even breaths.
My playful mate takes advantage, yanking me out of his brother’s grip. He kisses all around my face in between saying, "You did it, little siren. You broke the curse."
"I did?" I question, still feeling a little foggy in the think tank.
"Look," he commands, facing up to the barrier and drawing my focus there. What used to be an obvious wall between us and the open sea is now nothing more than what looks like a sheen of crystal water. Zeph hugs me tight, earning a smack to the back of the head.
"Careful, idiot," Zanthus chastises. "She was just struggling to breathe."
"Sorry, sorry," Zeph tells me, running his hands up and down my arms.
Glancing over to Zale, I catch a look of satisfaction aimed at me. My growing smile has him leaning forward to capture my lips.
"I knew you could do it," he murmurs, pulling away slightly.
Aukai has been quiet during the entire exchange, but that doesn't mean he's been forgotten.
Giving him a grateful smile, I ask the four of them, "What now?"
It's obvious my mates cannot wait to test the boundaries of their new freedom. However, when Merrick suggests waiting to leave the Keep until we have a plan, they agree with him without question. We can't rush in headfirst into the unknown. The Keep’s defensive magic is enough to keep all creatures, monsters, and uninvited guests on the opposite side. He'd mentioned that and I couldn't help my shudder as I thought about the massive shark.
Luring me into the conversation, Merrick focuses on Aukai and me, wondering how I'd made it out into the water in the first place and how we made it back in. We explain to him the same thing we told the Zs, and his eyes narrow in thoughtful curiosity. Silence falls in the room as he looks lost in thought.
"What is your magic, Aukai?" he asks suddenly.
Zale's head whips to Merrick. "You think she borrowed his magic from that far away?"
Merrick shrugs, "At this point, I'm beginning to think that anything is possible."
Both of their attention shifts to Aukai who sinks back into his chair as though he doesn't want to reply. In a normal situation I'd defend him and tell them to back off if he was uncomfortable, but we're still fighting the unknown here. We need all the answers we can get.
I see the bobble to his throat as he swallows and admits, "I can form portals."
Merrick's eyes widen. "Alone?"
With a quick bob of Aukai's head, he says, "Yes. I haven't had access to my magic in ages, though, so I don't see how she'd be able to."
"This is a unique situation, young prince," he murmurs. "Nothing is as it should be."
He's back to his thoughts and doesn't notice how the four other mer in the room stiffen at his royal address of Aukai. It makes me wonder if he is in fact considered a prince. Sharing a mother with my mates should earn him a royal spot in my opinion, but I'm not the one in charge of things like that. I tuck that question away for later when I know multiple people won't be offended by my words. Instead, I focus on Zale's intense gaze, ignoring the quieter conversation between Zanthus, Caelan, and Easton in the corner.
"Do you remember anything else about leaving or coming back through the barrier?" Zale asks me. Before I can affirm there's nothing I haven't told them, he adds, "Anything at all, damselfish. An intuition or feeling like maybe how you sense your own magic?"
I start to shake my head but stop. I hadn't felt anything out of the ordinary before falling asleep in the bath, but the same can't be said for bringing us back. There was a sense of urgency to save our lives and to get back to my mates without becoming shark food. Zale chuckles softly when I relay as much to him, even Aukai's stony features threaten to crumble. Then it returns just as quickly at Zale's next question.
"Do you think you could make a portal to take us to our kingdom?" he asks.
All conversation comes to a stand-still around us. Zanthus sidles closer from his corner discussion, waiting for an answer.
My lips open to say what, I don't know. When no sound comes out I'm left gaping like a fish. Luckily, Aukai steps in to cover for my surprise.
"She likely won't be able to do it," he tells them casually. "I can't say for sure, but despite my own experience and training, I wasn't able to build one that led to a place I'd never been before. It would be twice as risky for her since she has no control over her magic. It could lead to dark places that very few venture out of."
"Have you been to our kingdom?" a now supremely serious Zephyr asks him.
Shame and defeat wash over him like a blanket being thrown on the top of his head. "I was born to be the bane of your father's existence. The one thing Bruinen had hoped to anger and entice him into war quicker than any other. A reminder of how incapable he was at protecting the most precious thing in his life. It's the main reason he handed our mother off to one of the others. He wanted no personal link to me as though that could possibly save him from your father's wrath one day."
"Nothing will save him from such fate," Zale grinds out through his teeth, both brothers agreeing with a quick nod. "Our father, our king will watch from his grave as Bruinen reaps what he's sown."
Worry begins to eat a hole in my gut. Revenge and justice are what led to the curse in the first place. If there were ever a question as to what further purpose I could serve my mate's kingdom other than returning them home and bearing future heirs, this is it. I won't let them make the same mistake as their father. No one deserves this fate once let alone twice in one lifetime.
"So, have you been to the kingdom?" I ask Aukai, attempting to get us back on track.
"I haven't," he admits. "We never made it that far into his plans."
"Even still," Merrick suggests, "our young princess here has proven to be stronger than we could hope. Were the bond to be sealed between her and ---"
"No," Zanthus interjects. "Rubi chooses for herself when, or if that bond is sealed. Not because we need to use it or her."
I snort, and all eyes turn to me. "I'm one hundred percent sure that this argument is unnecessary. I've already sensed the same thread of life between Aukai and I that connects me to the three of you. Right before the barrier's magic blew us all apart."
"That would explain the broken curse as well as your clan markings returning," Merrick comments.
But I don't give him my attention because at my careless announcement, a deep expression of something settled over Aukai. Whether it be shame or disappointment, I can't be sure, so I find my lips parting, "I'm sorry you weren't given a choice in the matter. We don't even know each other."
In a slow precise movement, he slips from his chair onto his knees now covered with light cotton pants. From his place at my side, it's easy enough for him to take my hand between his own as he professes, "All my life I knew I'd been bred for darkness from hate. Never once has anyone thrown th
emselves in front of me the way you did that creature. You were willing to die if you couldn't save us both. That is a life debt I hope you're never in the situation I'll have to return, but I will do so without question. Do I know your favorite dish or any hobbies you may have? No, but I have hopes to be welcomed into your clan to find out. One does well to remember not to question fate, and I won't be forgetting anytime soon."
In the silence that follows his confession, Aukai's eyes drop to the floor. Slipping my hand from within his grasp, I raise it to his cheek and repeat almost the same thing I was told. "Don't do that. You're a prince and shouldn't avert your gaze for anyone. If I had to go back and do it all again, even as terrifyingly awful as that monster was, I'd do it. Besides, you saved me first, remember?"
The first smile I've seen him wear parts his lips wide. It transforms his face into a sight to behold. He looks so much like my other mates that it's astonishing we didn't notice it right away. Speaking of which, I glance first to where Zanthus stands behind Zale's chair, both wearing matching acceptance on their faces. Whatever ill will they'd held toward Aukai in the beginning, I guess clan and mate connections trump that. Two mates down, one to go. Flicking my eyes to Zeph, he shoots me a wink and smile in return.
"We're not going to get anywhere at the moment," Zale comments. "I'm sure Rubi and Aukai are tired. Let them get some rest and we'll reconvene in a few hours."
It's at this that the three other mer in the room excuse themselves with a short nod. Now that he's brought notice to it, there is a bone deep exhaustion in my body. I could use a day or three to sleep it off.
I stand, stretching out my muscles. "Who do I have to bribe to get a piggy-back ride upstairs?"
Aukai's lips part, but Zephyr beats him to it, jumping to his feet.
"Come on, little siren," he says, turning in place.
I'd only been half-kidding but won't miss an offered opportunity. Leaping onto his back and wrapping my arms and legs around him, his hands find my calves to lock me in place before he takes us out of the study. Biting my lip, I can't help but wonder if it's a good idea to leave Aukai with the other too so soon.
Sunken Empire Page 19
