Three Rings (The Fairytail Saga)

by S. K Munt

  Lincoln reached out and grabbed her arm. His brain had registered that there was something about the way she had said ‘humans’ that implied that she was no longer one of them-but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Fear for his bride-to-be was first and foremost in his spinning mind. ‘Adele Knightley if you’ve touched one hair on her head-’

  Adele jerked her arm free, her eyes icier than ever. ‘I’m here to save her Lincoln, so you can thank me later. Now let me go-if Ardhi sees us talking, the body count is going to end up higher than it needs to be, and sooner than we’re ready for.’

  Lincoln opened his mouth to demand to know what she knew regardless of the dangers, but Adele was already hurrying away. He glanced at Bane and saw that the Hawaiian boy’s dark skin had lost its glow. ‘Body count?’ Lincoln repeated, feeling ill.

  ‘You heard her,’ Bane said. ‘You get the humans out of here, I’ll handle the royals.’

  ‘But I-’

  Bane’s eyes narrowed. ‘Not now Link. You wanna be king? Time to start acting like you can handle the chaos.’ With that, Bane walked away.

  Future King. Bane was right-Ivyanne hadn’t come to Lincoln because she doubted his ability to keep an even mind and he was true to form, crumbling under the weight of uncertainty. Well, now he’d have to prove her wrong. Heart palpitating, Lincoln tried to clear his angst from his mind and began searching the room for his father. Until that crown was on his head, he had his own people to protect; The humans.

  He just wish he knew what the fuck he was protecting them from.

  28.

  Ivyanne tried to bite the hand clamping firmly down on her mouth, but she couldn’t get her jaw open wide enough. Whoever had her had to be freakishly strong-not Sherri, but Ardhi, for sure.

  She sent an elbow into the stomach of her assailant, but was rewarded by a dull pain when her arm impacted with a wall of sheer muscle.

  ‘You’re a fighter,’ a voice whispered in her ear. ‘That’s one of the reasons why I love you so much.’

  Ivyanne’s chest constricted. She knew that voice and that gentle, affected accent. But the blood pounding in her ears distorted the sound, made her head rush. She was suddenly spun around so that she could feel her assailant’s breath on her face.

  ‘I must say, I’m disappointed,’ the man said, moving his hands so that he was cupping her jaw. ‘I was kind of counting on you being happy to see me, alive and well, Ma Cherie.’

  Ivyanne had been about to scream, but the soft words made her voice die in her throat. Her hands went to his face, and when she felt the curve of his sharp cheekbones, and the gentle curl to the hair near his ears, her knees buckled.

  ‘Tristan?!’ She was certain that she’d finally lost it, and that her mind was playing tricks on her. It couldn’t be, and yet her heart began to pound with the sweetest ray of hope that had ever pierced it. Oh god! Please if this is a dream I will loathe you for all eternity when I wake!

  His arm moved, and there was a click, and suddenly the small store room was bathed in light. Ivyanne winced, but then looked up, and when she found herself staring into the warmest toffee colored eyes she’d ever seen shaded by the brim of a baseball cap, the breath rushed out of her lungs.

  ‘You’re alive!’ Ivyanne shoved him up against the wall, pinning him in place so she could inspect him thoroughly, certain that he was a trick of the light. She tore his hat off and let it fall to the floor. His cap of curls sprang free, longer than the last time she had seen him, and she gripped the tufts she could in her tight palms.

  ‘B-but...... how?’ A sob escaped her. ‘Oh my god-is it really you?’

  He smiled his heartbreaking smile, liquifying her bones. ‘Of course it’s me. Have you ever met anyone else this handsome?’

  A hysterical giggle escaped Ivyanne’s lips, and her fingers fell to his shoulders, digging in. She was terrified that the light would flicker off, and she’d find herself alone and insane. ‘You survived? You really and truly survived? How?! No one could find you! We thought-’

  ‘I let you think that,’ he whispered, holding her up. It was almost as if her legs weren’t working right. ‘I had to.’

  Ivyanne surprised herself by thumping his chest with the flat of her hand. Tears were rolling down her face, which she despised herself for because it was clouding her view of his golden face. She was aware of little more than gratitude and the fact that she was shaking like a leaf.

  Not dead, not dead...Tristan’s not dead!!! She celebrated in an endless inner monologue. ‘You damn near killed me! Do you have any idea how I’ve suffered? Thinking that you had-’

  He brought her face closer to his own, his eyes flicking between hers, seeming to glow with delight and love. ‘You can’t understand yet Ivyanne, and I can’t make you-you’re in shock-I should have anticipated that. But I did what I had to do, so I could come here, and warn you-’ he looked down at her. ‘Holy crap, what are you wearing? You look like a wet dream!’

  ‘You don’t need to warn me,’ Ivyanne sobbed. ‘I figured it out, okay? I know about Ardhi!’ She flattened her palms against his chest and swept down slowly, feeling a wall of hard muscle through the thin cotton of his t-shirt, and it solidified his presence further. Her fingers dug into him, probably scratching him through the shirt, and her pulse quickened as her heart filled with light. All of her pain and worry-it had been for nothing! She could let go of the sadness now-she could let go of the curse!

  ‘God, is this real? If this is a dream, then I am going to-’

  Tristan lifted her face, and brushed his lips against hers in a move so achingly tender that her heart lurched in her chest. Ivyanne ceased to move-ceased to think. Almost as swiftly as he’d kissed her, Tristan pulled away.

  ‘Did that feel like a dream?’He asked, his voice hoarse.

  Ivyanne’s eyes were closed, her lips tingling. ‘Yes,’ she breathed, curling her hand around the back of his neck and pulling him closer. ‘I definitely need more convincing…’

  ‘Ivyanne, we can’t. This is your-’

  Ivyanne pressed her mouth against his, stopping his words before they could spoil the moment. She wasn’t ready to be fair or loyal or rational...she’d done that already and it had only made the suffering worse. What she needed was for him to kiss her until she forgot every second of misery she’d suffered believing that he was lost to her for eternity.

  Tristan moaned softly and returned her fervor, squeezing his arms around her, stealing her breath in more ways than one. But that was okay-Ivyanne didn’t need it. Electricity shot from her lips through to her toes. She kissed him passionately, twisting her fingers into his hair pulling him in closer. He tasted like salt and fresh air, his breath restoring her own like a fresh breeze. It was as though they were floating between fantasy and reality, and at any moment, one of them would wake up, and it would all be over.

  Ivyanne increased her grip on him, refusing to let that happen.

  ⁓

  Tristan had expected Ivyanne’s shock, and he’d certainly anticipated a warm and grateful embrace. He’d assumed that once he’d revealed that he was alive to Ivyanne they would hug, shed a few tears and immediately set to plotting Ardhi’s demise.

  But then Ivyanne looked at him like he was an angel plucked from heaven, and he’d had to kiss her. Engagement party be dammed-he had earned this moment, and he didn’t know if he’d get another one like it again.

  There was no way he was strong enough to resist her, and when she’d curled herself around him like a lonely wife welcoming a sailor home, Tristan’s grip on reality, and his sense of urgency to take Ardhi down had immediately shifted to the back burner. All there was was Ivyanne. A tear escaped his eye and ran hot down his cheek-it was a kiss so intense that it bypassed his loins and reverberated, toe to heart to head and back again, thwarting his sub-conscious demands that he release her. It wasn’t lustful like before, and it didn’t leave him feeling sexually objectified, but truly wanted. Had she come to love him in his absenc
e, or was this simply a kiss of gratitude?

  ‘God I missed you,’ Ivyanne panted, moving his lips with her words, instead of breaking the contact between them completely. Her hands tore at him with no particular focus, but roamed him, demanding nothing but touch.

  ‘This is the moment I stayed alive for,’ he admitted, savoring her lips. ‘I swum from Hawaii to here, just to feel this one last time.’

  ‘You swam...?’ Ivyanne recoiled.

  ‘Yeah well I left my frequent flyer card on the plane....’ Tristan attempted to make light of the situation, but Ivyanne’s face was ashen.

  She began to cry, dropping her head onto his chest. ‘I knew I should have commanded an ocean wide search! To think you’ve been.....and tomorrow was going to be your-’ her words broke off in a fresh outpouring of tears. She lifted her wet face to his. ‘It’s all my fault! I let you go! You would never have given up on me!’

  Tristan held her, feeling at a loss for words as he realized that she was wrong. He had given up on her-he’d boarded that plane when he should have presented her with the ring he’d bought and stashed. What could he say? ‘It’s okay?’ No, because it wasn’t. ‘We can pick this up later?’ No, because they wouldn’t.

  ‘We gave up on each other,’ he whispered softly, ‘and we’ve faced the consequences of that. But now, that’s all irrelevant. We need to get Ardhi out of commission before he kills your fiancé.’

  The glazed look left Ivyanne’s eyes when he said that-she released him and stepped back, wiping at her eyes. ‘You know?’

  Tristan swallowed as the bubble busted around them. It was time to face reality.

  ⁓

  ‘What’s going on son?’ Chase stopped halfway down the garden path, putting his hand on Lincoln’s chest so he was forced to come to a stand-still.

  Lincoln glanced ahead, to where Lydia and a few other locals were still walking, like a herd of sheep. ‘Nothing,’ Lincoln said quickly. ‘You’ve started a great wine cellar to show off at events just like this.’

  ‘No....’ his father frowned. ‘You’re getting rid of us-a very select group of us- and I want to know why.’

  Lincoln searched for a good lie. ‘Because you’re the only ones here who actually drink? Why would you think otherwise?’

  Chase hoisted an eyebrow. ‘Because ever since you became a mermaid, you’ve become sneaky, and intense. And I’m sick of it. I’ve only got a few years left with you-you may as well share it all with you dear old dad.’

  Lincoln almost fell over. ‘What did you just say?’

  His father smiled, his eyes crinkling. ‘You think I didn’t figure it out ten years ago?’

  Lincoln shook his head, astounded. ‘What? How?’ He couldn’t clear the thoughts from his mind. ‘No seriously-how? Who told you?’

  ‘Marcus,’ Chase smiled. ‘I caught him red-handed once, and he tried to put the whammy on me but it didn’t take-I had an inner ear infection.’ He smiled. ‘Just like I remember that your lovely Ivyanne used to be your equally lovely Ivanna.’ Chase frowned. ‘I’ve seen the shell, I know the deal. I’m a bit vague on the details of course and I shouldn’t be discussing this with you, but Marcus warned me that you’d be needing a year off soon, so I figured it was time to broach the subject-man to man.’

  Lincoln was thunderstruck. Why was everyone else always one step ahead of him? ‘Does anyone else know that you know?’

  Chase shook his head. ‘No. Apparently, my life is at risk if they find out. Marcus wanted to turn me-he said that was the protocol-but there’s no one to do it. But because he couldn’t, he pledged to keep the business coming here, to afford the life we’ve become accustomed to.’ Chase smiled. ‘He also hooked us up with Aubrielle to buy my silence.’

  Lincoln couldn’t believe it. ‘Wow.’

  ‘Hey guys?’

  Lincoln and Chase looked up to see Lydia had stopped, and was holding up her hands. ‘Chase, you running this show or not?’

  ‘Be right with you!’ Chase called. Then he turned to Lincoln. ‘So, what’s going on? And make it quick.’

  ‘Something bad might happen soon,’ Lincoln said deciding to bite the bullet. ‘But no one is telling me what. All I know is that I need to get every human out of here-including yourself.’

  ‘Fair enough.’ Chase frowned. ‘They’re not going to trash the bar again, are they? Like when those two kids got into a punch up last month?’

  Lincoln smiled, although he really didn’t know. ‘I’ll make ‘em duke it out on the beach this time if I can.’

  ‘Good.’ Chase smiled. ‘I’ll get these guys drunk then-but Lincoln? Stay safe. And I expect that we need to have a very long chat tomorrow.’

  ‘I expect you’re right.’ As fascinated as Lincoln was that his father was aware of his unique new lifestyle, he didn’t want to waste any time. He hugged his father impulsively. ‘I love you dad.’

  ‘I love you too.’

  Lincoln turned his back on him and jogged back up the path, knowing that every second he’s spent in shock over his fathers’ intelligence was another second during which Ivyanne needed him. His head spun with the numerous scenarios he was walking back into.

  ⁓

  Tristan grimaced. ‘Yes, I know that you’re engaged. But I’ve known that for a week, so I’m not going to break down on you now. In fact, I suddenly feel a lot like the bad guy again.’

  Ivyanne was confused. ‘How?’

  ‘Because we just, uh, kissed a bit? A lot?’

  Ivyanne shook her head, not allowing the guilt to creep over her. There would be time for that later. ‘I meant, how did you know? How did you get in this closet when I wasn’t even aware it was here? If someone here has known you’ve been alive this whole time I’m going to-’

  ‘No,’ Tristan said quickly, frowning. ‘No one here knows-I couldn’t even tell mom and dad that I survived.’ He sighed heavily, tucking his shirt in. ‘I feel bad about it-but I had to lay low. I had an ally, just not one here.’

  Ivyanne had already come to the correct conclusion, she was certain of it. ‘Adele, right?’ she guessed, making a face. ‘I mean, I thought she was trying to corner me until she shoved me in here. But I don’t get why.’

  Tristan grinned. ‘I’ll explain fully later, preferably over a cup of chai. But for now let’s just say that she’s a double agent-Ardhi thinks he’s got her cornered but he’s wrong.’

  ‘And Sherri?’ Ivyanne asked quickly.

  Tristan rolled his eyes. ‘Sherri’s only working for Ardhi. She was brought here to tempt him away from you....and Adele said that people think Lincoln turned her?’

  ‘We did.’ Ivyanne sagged to get confirmation that Lincoln’s ‘gift’ had been staged. He was going to be devastated. If it came down to a bloodbath-she was going to take the blonde interloper out in a heartbeat. ‘I knew she was rotten! I can’t believe I didn’t see the connection though-it’s the most obvious one! I’m an idiot.’

  Tristan cocked his head. ‘Are you kidding me? I was expecting to shock you with all of this! Seems like you’re pretty switched on though. What do you know?’

  Ivyanne studied him for a moment. ‘That Ardhi tried to kill you so he could pursue me...that he arranged two blonde mermaids to work on Lincoln to take him out of the equation?’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘Am I warm?’

  ‘Sizzling hot.’ Tristan was gaping at her. ‘When did you work this out? And how?’

  ‘About forty five minutes ago...well, that’s when I connected him to you-only I assumed he’d found you, killed you and hidden the body.’ Tears came to Ivyanne’s eyes, and she took a tentative step forward. ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered softly. ‘If I’m right..I’m so, so sorry that you went through that.’

  Tristan stepped up to her again, enfolding her in his arms. ‘I was so grateful that you hadn’t come,’ he whispered. ‘It was...unimaginable.’

  Ivyanne pulled back. ‘Where have you been?’

  Tristan shook his head. ‘It’s a long stor
y, but basically, I was lost at sea for two weeks while I made my way back and didn’t fully understand anything until I got to Norfolk, following a gut instinct, and found Adele who filled in the blanks. She’s been helping me since.’ His expression sobered. ‘Ivyanne if we manage to diffuse this situation, I want her to be accepted, okay? She helped Ardhi, but under protest. She’s made up for it now.’

  Ivyanne couldn’t help but notice the possessive tone in Tristan’s voice as he spoke of Adele. It unsettled her, but she shoved it to the back of her mind. ‘Okay,’ she said softly. ‘Whatever makes this easier on you.’

  Tristan kissed her quickly. ‘Killing Ardhi is the only thing that’s going to make this easy on me.’

  ‘Can we kill him?’ Ivyanne asked. ‘I mean, he brought down a plane. That’s pretty powerful!’

  ‘Attacking from a distance with a few friends yeah, he’s tough.’ Tristan smiled. ‘In person and alone, surrounded by dozens of us-I can still knock him out. Which if you don’t mind, I think I’ll go do right now.’

  Ivyanne shoved him back firmly. ‘Tristan stop and think this through. If you go out there half-cocked, then you could get yourself killed.’

  ‘Almost killed,’ Tristan grunted. ‘I’m good at not quite dying.’

  ‘Well I’d like to keep it that way.’ Ivyanne said. ‘Right now Ardhi thinks I’m into him and avoiding my fiancé- and that’s buying us time. But we can’t confront him with all of those humans around.’

  Tristan smiled down at her. ‘Well if Adele’s done her job, Lincoln’s probably already gotten the humans out of here-which gives us a small window of opportunity to corner Ardhi in front of a lot of our kind.’

  Ivyanne’s eyes widened. ‘Does Lincoln know?’

  Tristan shook his head. ‘I told Adele to keep the details to herself-as far as Link knows, the message came from you.’

  ‘You’re quite crafty, you know.’ Ivyanne swallowed. ‘Adele too. Seems like you two make a, um, good team.’