“You’re not. While I do think a moment of frivolity is overdue, I offered to give you an ear, and I meant about any subject. We can talk of Amerin. We can talk of war. We can talk about the bloody wedding that will be discussed across every magical kingdom, if you want.”
“Feels silly to plan a wedding when all of this is happening.”
“Hardly. Your wedding will be a much-needed ray of sunshine breaking through a season of thunderstorms, love.”
“Let’s talk wedding destinations then. I’ll stop fighting your happy waves of magic if you’ll settle this argument between all of us. Land or underwater?”
“Sweetheart, you’re the queen. We can have a wedding party in every sea if that’s what it takes to make you happy.”
2
Friendship and Trust
A few days away from the underwater city cut through Kai’s anxiety like a double-edged sword. On one hand, she was grateful for any opportunity to leave the kingdom for the surface; on the other hand, the information gleaned from a visit to the Thracian Temple of Pontus told them nothing they hadn’t already gathered on their own.
Despite that, Kai was stubbornly determined she would enjoy the voyage home on the Black Anemone. Her past experiences upon the vessel under Elpis’s command weren’t bright, but she at last had the opportunity to wander its halls and explore the ancient corridors of a vessel too technologically advanced for humankind. Sometimes, she wondered about her old Navy friends and what they would think about Atlantis’s ocean gliders.
Smooth matte black metal covered every wall floor, and overhead lights glowed bright from apertures in the ceiling. She followed them away from the stateroom set aside for dignitaries and royalty, passing numerous mers along the way who all bowed respectfully and greeted her.
Observation bay unavailable. Access denied.
When a second scan of her credentials denied her a second time, she gave up and ascended to the upper decks.
Kai popped into the bridge to find El engaged in quiet conversation with Captain Lakana, both standing at the command center in the middle of the chamber. Immediately, a dozen mers ceased activities and rose from their chairs. The ones who did not abandon their tasks, she assumed were busy with sensitive matters requiring their constant supervision. She didn’t care either way. Though she knew little about the command of an ocean glider—a failing she would soon rectify—she recognized enough of the colorful diagnostics screens to gather that were all carrying out important work in the operations of the vessel. Colorful screens stretched from one side of the bulkhead to the next, with diagnostics ranging from the telemetry readings of the scouting coral skippers to scans of their surroundings and the ocean floor. Kai didn’t try to count the specialists seated at the different consoles.
“Greetings, Your Majesty,” Lakana called.
“Good day, my queen,” said another mer, echoed by nearby Myrmidons all decorated with an assortment of pins denoting their particular ranks.
Other voices joined their amicable greetings, faces ranging from friendly to neutral.
“Thank you. Good day to all of you,” she greeted them all with a smile, though she focused her attention on the commander. “El, do you have a moment? If I’m interrupting—”
“I can take a moment. Lakana, care to handle this?”
The handsome Pacifican transfer aimed a broad smile at Elpis. “Don’t I always?”
When Elpis crossed over to Kai, she took her aside to a small antechamber. “What’s going on, Kai? Has anyone given you a problem?”
“Oh no. Everyone I meet is the very definition of professional. I just can’t find Manu. Have you seen him?”
“Oh, yeah. He’s in the starboard observation bay. I had it cleared out for him about, shit, maybe five hours ago?”
Kai blinked. She’d gone to bed beside the man only seven hours prior. She knew, because he’d done amazing and wonderful things to her body before her eyes finally shut and she was incapable of listening to the steady rhythm of his beating heart any longer. His pulse, along with the subtle hum of Atlantian technology, had lulled her to sleep for the last leg of their journey home.
It had been a rare moment, a first since the proposal when he’d offered her his mother’s betrothal pearls.
Following El’s directions, Kai navigated the sloping path beyond the command center and took the lift to the glider’s lower level. The enormous ships were built with three decks in all and designed to slice through the ocean with the ease of a manta ray. With the command center on the at the bow of the upper deck, it meant she had to head down below to return to the berth. It hadn’t occurred to her even once to head to the observation rooms since the ship’s computer had barred her access to the main observation chamber, and she’d assumed that had been intentional, not because it was in use by Manu. This time, when she reached it, the operational light blipped green and granted her access.
Override granted, it read in green Atlantian letters, meaning Elpis or someone else on the bridge had likely unlocked the room from within.
Understanding dawned once the doors hissed open. The proud warrior knelt before the observation window with his head bowed and both palms against the glass. He wore no shirt, and the black pattern of the markings branded in his back glowed in subtle pinpricks of cyan. From the top of his muscled shoulders to the bottom of his spine, mystical artwork gleamed with a magic no one understood.
Kai didn’t dare interrupt him. The doors whispered shut behind her and the locking mechanism reengaged with a subtle click and the glimmer of letters in scarlet light. Access restricted. Interesting. Immediately, her gaze crawled over the observation bay’s interior. Several black sofas, couches, and cushions of varying sizes and shapes littered the room along with lounges and comfortable furnishings designed for Myrmidons seeking a relaxing moment away from their duties. The sleek length of a bar with a polished black marble counter held an assortment of beverages in sea glass bottles.
Minutes passed while she stood as the only observer of Manu’s meditation, admiring the beauty of him, the chiseled muscles that made him a work of art—her own Atlantian Adonis in the flesh. So long a time passed that Kai wondered if he was aware of her presence at all.
The world beyond the ocean glider was pitch black without any light source, no headlights needed, for Atlantians saw in the bleak ocean bottom as if it were a clear and sunny day. A silver-scaled fish swam near them and peered through the glass while keeping pace with the vessel. As she moved closer on light steps, Kai’s eyes adjusted from the dim lighting of the observation bay to the pitch-black abyss opposite the viewing window. At a distance, the vibrant colors of their beautiful ocean bottom came alive in turquoises, pinks, and teals. Another school of fish danced in and out, ribboning through the current. She felt their fleeting curiosity, their collective wonder as they appraised the two beings aboard the vessel.
They were drawn to Manu.
Power ebbed from him. It rolled in waves and hummed in the air, a tangible force. But they did not linger. Little bodies flashed in and out of the dark ocean before they retreated entirely. Once the school of silver-fins were gone, a shark cruised by in their place. The breath caught in Kai’s throat and hung as she watched the beast seemingly answer a call she could only feel—not hear. The sensation was not unlike the visceral hum a body was subjected to when standing beside a bass speaker at a concert.
A second later, the shark lost interest and veered away, the great beast unconcerned with either mer. Kai could have called it back. She’d felt the tenuous connection between them, only for it to snap like floss. In those quiet moments, she read the change in his posture, from the minute drop of his chin to the whisper of exhaled breath. She approached without making a sound, though it didn’t surprise her when he stirred from his meditation and dropped both hands from the glass.
“They don’t listen to me.” In all the time Kai had known Manu, she’d never heard the sound of defeat in his voice as she did th
en.
“What are you telling them?” she asked, moving closer. She pulled a cushion from a pile and knelt beside him on it.
“I tell them that I am a friend.”
“You are. But something tells me that they’re used to this force coming from another friend, Manu, and that it scares them to see a different face and body in his place.”
“Perhaps.”
“What does a friendship require?” she asked gently, leaning against him and resting one arm against his back. His shoulder was the perfect place to rest her cheek.
“Trust.”
“Give the ocean’s creatures time to realize they can trust you, then everything else will fall into place.”
Of all the members of the welcome party awaiting her at the docks, Kai wanted to see no one more than Amerin. Within an hour of her arrival, the two returned to Kai’s bedchamber to unpack the bounty of gifts she’d brought back from the regal city.
Desperate to become self-sufficient and abuse less of the staff’s good will for minor tasks, Kai handled her own bags. She also chose to unpack them, laying an assortment of dresses and leggings over the bed while she and Amerin animatedly chatted about the sights.
Amerin wheeled closer to the bedside and reached for a slip of sea-lace. “Let me help you with that before—”
“I have it,” Kai insisted, dancing beyond the woman’s reach, only to feel like the worst kind of asshole when Amerin’s hand dropped to her lap, upon the thighs of dead legs that no longer heeded her commands.
Despite dozens of hours, therapy, and magical aids, Amerin had yet to recover sensation in her legs. Magic was an amazing tool, but some things could not be fixed by sorcery—such as a spine neatly severed by a shattered vertebra. With the aid of Kai’s magical energy, Vitalis and Elpis rebuilt the fragmented bones piece by piece, fixating shards with magic in the end. Torn nerve fibers weren’t so easy to repair.
Their eyes met and Amerin’s stare held Kai’s gaze, a flicker of fury visible in the gray depths. “Give it here.”
“I have hands, Amerin.”
“It isn’t about you having hands. It’s about me needing to do something. Don’t treat me as if all of me is broken.”
The ferocity of the accusation took Kai by surprise. “You’re not broken.”
“I know I’m not. But do you?”
Every time she looked at those motionless legs, Kai blamed herself. Each time she saw Amerin’s mechanical chair rolling down the corridors, she missed the friend who had sprinted to her for hugs.
“I’m sorry. I never meant… I didn’t mean to imply that you’re incapable, Amerin.”
Her friend only smiled. “I know.”
Kai dropped the lace slip on the bed and held up both palms in surrender. “Have at it.”
“Thank you.” Amerin folded better than Kai did anyway, seeming to understand the ideal place to make each crease and tuck the corners of every garment, making a tidy stack that would fit in the wardrobe drawers easily.
“How is the therapy, by the way?”
“Same as usual,” Amerin replied without glancing up from her work. “Pins and needles, persistent tingling, and no response. Vitalis works with me anyway.”
“As he should. Any good news while we were gone?”
“Um, no. Not really.” Amerin’s steady hands slowed, and a thoughtful look came to her gaze. “There’s…something else I would like to bring up.”
“What’s that?” A tiny spark of apprehension ignited in Kai’s chest.
“We spoke of it in passing before, but I would still like to organize the wedding.”
The breath she’d been holding whooshed out of Kai’s lungs on a laugh. “It’s yours to arrange.”
Pale eyes lit up with pleasure. “You trust me?”
“Unquestionably. I’d trust no one else. Just…can we go for something small and personal? I don’t know about flashing an enormous wedding around when so many are suffering and struggling to find their way forward.”
A soft half smile came to Amerin’s mouth. “It’s precisely what you should be doing, sharing in your special day with the city.”
“Do you think so? Is it wise to prepare for a large wedding when so much has happened? What if it overshadows—?”
“It’s exactly what this kingdom needs, Kai. We need happiness. We need a reason to celebrate. I want to see life and laughter and…” She sighed, tilting her head. “I want to see you dance with your husband in front of thousands while millions more watch from their televiewers at home.”
“You’ll be walking and swimming with us again one day, Amerin. I promise you that. Elpis and Vitalis haven’t given up on you, and you shouldn’t give up either.”
“Magic can’t fix everything. I don’t blame you, Kai. I will never blame you for what happened to me, because you did the only thing you could do.” A few beats of silence lapsed before Amerin continued in a softer tone. “I know I didn’t have the chance to say it before, because I was feeling too sorry for myself, but I am immensely proud of you for doing what was right.”
Palpable relief flooded over Kai with the force of a gale wind. Guilt didn’t begin to describe the way she had felt in the wake of Amerin’s abduction and subsequent rescue. No matter how many people told her she’d done the right thing, the result…the result often did not appear a fair cost for the price they had paid.
Hearing it from Amerin for the first time changed things. Kai’s shoulders sagged. Those words were all she had wanted to hear for weeks. “I thought you hated me.”
“I could never hate you.” Amerin held up her arms. “You’re going to have to come to me since I can’t come to you.”
Kai almost tripped over her own feet, but the chair was wide and comfortable, spacious enough for her to wiggle into the spot beside Amerin and squeeze her tight. “I love you.”
“Love you, too, guppy. Now, are we doing a dry wedding or will it be underwater?”
Kai considered the destinations discussed with Elpis during the return voyage to Atlantis. The other mer had given her numerous places to consider, stretching from Hawaii to the Bermuda Triangle. Each of them had merit. “I asked Elpis for help with this and she was no good. Do I have to choose now?”
“You must if we’re to determine what kind of dresses you and the wedding party will wear. Location changes everything.”
“Then, as my wedding planner, what destination would you choose for my wedding?”
A devilish gleam came to Amerin’s eyes. “The surface, of course. How else could we invite the leaders of every magical kingdom?”
3
In Love and Tradition
Two Months Later
Even a wedding among humans required coordination between dozens of people to make a successful event. In Atlantis, matters were no different. Amerin handled the bulk of the work in record time, promising that Kai’s special day would be remembered for centuries to come. It felt silly to Kai, that so many people should look forward to a wedding that held no emotional significance to them, but she understood the sentiment behind Elpis and Amerin’s words.
Atlantis did need a time of joy and beauty after what had been a long period of strife. It also provided her with a valid opportunity to give back to the aquatic community in a way that the Council of Lords couldn’t complain about. She hired laborers by the hundreds, and she held banquets around the city in all of the poorest neighborhoods, claiming they were to celebrate the upcoming nuptials.
Kai’s only regret, however, was that her mother and sister weren’t permitted to attend. She’d asked and promptly received an aghast denial from Hipponax, the old priest, reminding her that the presence of humans would be an affront to the gods.
If all of their suspicions were correct, one of the gods would be standing next to her during the ceremony.
Though it hurt, Kai accepted the priest’s verdict.
Amerin undertook the task of wedding planning with surprising dedication. In the end, Kai wo
ndered if she volunteered for her own benefit as a distraction from all that had gone wrong that spring. Although the former servant could not control the injustice to her body or restore her ability to walk on two legs, she could organize a wedding fit for royalty. In that, she claimed total and absolute control. Kai was happy to yield that to her.
Amerin’s new title as her official lady-in-waiting and palace steward gave her authority she’d never enjoyed as a member of the servant caste. As weeks dwindled by and they came steadily closer to the day of the event, she blossomed under the pressure. Being a leader among the household staff meant that the duties she performed were no different, only that now, she received pay commensurate with the hard work she performed. That, along with the generous reparations for several years of service paid to thousands across the city and yet more throughout the rest of the underwater realm, should have bankrupted the royal coffers.
In actuality, it scarcely put a dent in the kingdom’s riches, and it certainly didn’t budge Kai’s independent wealth. Atlantis had been sitting on a gold mine of untouched coin, and now all of it spilled into their economy in such a way the newsmers were reporting her to be a genius. Kai hadn’t the heart to tell them she’d had no idea her plans would reinvigorate the kingdom.
What startled Kai the most was the news that thousands of Atlantians were crossing the ocean on a pilgrimage for third-class seats to the event. Not even seats, technically, since only the earlier arrivals could view the beachside event from a position in the ocean, bobbing on the water. Any other witnesses to the nuptials would have watch a broadcast projected from Loto’s ship via an aquatic hologram underwater. Only guests of distinction, such as the ambassadors and envoys sent from the other magic kingdoms, would be allowed to stand on the warm sand.
If Kai didn’t know about the cooperation of human governments across the world with their magical kingdoms, she would have wondered how thousands of merpeople would escape the notice of satellites and other forms of military surveillance. It brought her some comfort to know that the largest nations with the technology to notice a mass gathering by sea were already aware of their existence.
Goddess of Sea and War: a Fantasy Romance (Kingdom in the Sea Book 3) Page 2
