River and Brody lowered Stumps to a large rock and River dropped down on another nearby. It was still warm from baking in the sun all day even though it was long past midnight. The air was heavily perfumed with the scent of exotic flowers, and the soft rushing sound of the waves below harmonized with the call of night birds in the trees around them. Lying back against the rock, he saw that the sky was lit by more stars than he had ever seen or imagined. The sky looked as if it had been strewn with glitter.
As he studied it, awestruck, he distantly heard the others talking. He ignored them though, only shifting his attention when he heard someone approaching. He turned his head quickly and watched as Narissa eased herself down onto the rock next to him.
“Are we safe here?” he asked.
“Oh yes. Very few have the ability to come on land right now, and most of those are my mother’s servants.”
River moved over on the rock, making room for her. She took the invitation and laid her head on his outstretched arm as she nestled into his side. “I’ve never seen the stars here from this angle before,” she said.
“Really? If I lived here, I’d spend every night doing just this.”
She shook her head. “If you lived here, you’d spend most nights in an underwater cave.”
“Sounds boring. Unless… would you be in that cave too?”
“Ah, that’s the question, isn’t it? I want to be close to you, no matter where that is, but I’d rather it was on land.”
That sealed the deal for River. All his thoughts about what treasures he might find on the ocean floor or what great scientific discoveries he might make studying the evolution of the mer people were nothing compared to having Narissa. He even believed his feelings were real. After feeling the hard, insistent lure of the mer song, of Narissa’s siren song, he knew that magic was nothing like the peaceful, contented rightness he felt being next to her like this.
Narissa sighed deeply next to him. He felt the swell and release of her lungs, and not for the first time, he wondered about the biological changes that must happen inside their lungs that made it possible to switch from breathing water to air so effortlessly. But mostly he wished he could take away everything that made her sigh in such a mournful way.
She sat up, smoothing her hair back over her shoulders. “Let’s get going, shall we?”
River sighed himself then, regretting the need to give up his sun-warmed rock, view of the heavens, and having Narissa in his arms. But since the last one was the most important, he knew he needed to figure this out. He had even less of an idea what her mother wanted with her than she did, but he knew it was something they needed to face.
Walking over to Stumps, River hoisted him up and supported him across the few steps into the dark opening in the rocks that Narissa led them to.
She paused before going in. “Careful. It’s steep and it will be slick at the bottom where the tide fills the tunnels.”
River gulped in a deep breath of fresh air. He reminded himself that he could breathe underwater if the passage way should fill with water, but somehow the thought of being confined in water-filled corridors deep in a mountain made his whole body tense.
Inside, the way was so narrow that they could only go in a single row down. Fortunately, Stumps was able to find hand grips and occasionally even hand rails that he used to swing himself down from step to step. Blue-green luminescence glowed on the walls, lighting their way and showing off the carvings that marked the stone walls. River would have loved to stop and study the them. Was it an ancient language or just decoration?
They wound downward for a long time until River was sure they must arrive at sea level any moment. The deeper they went into the hill, the more ornate and prevalent the carvings in the wall became. The passage grew wider and leveled out so that they walked down sloped halls instead of climbing down tight stairs. Once again offering his arm to Stumps when the way was too wide for him to swing himself through, River followed Narissa into a giant cavern that glistened with crystals and glowed with mystic light. Somewhere in the distance, drops of water plinked into deep pools. Large stalactites dominated the space, each one carved and decorated with pearls and sea glass.
This room, however, was only an antechamber, if the guards standing on either side of a carved doorway were anything to go by. Narissa didn’t even pause at the sight of the guards, however. She walked through as if she owned the place, and River realized, in a way, she kind of did. This was her home. River, however, couldn’t help but eye the deadly glint of the guards’ swords as he followed Narissa through the doorway with Stumps hobbling beside him.
Brody walked behind them and bumped into River’s back. Spinning around, River was about to ask him what was going on when he realized that Brody’s attention was focused on the towering walls around them. Lined with natural ridges, they were full of human creations. Some were new, but most looked ancient. But as fascinating as it was, his focus turned toward the far end of the room—to Narissa’s mother, Hali.
She stood, waiting for Narissa to come toward her. The ceiling height soared into darkness and shadows abounded, but the ones that scared River were the ones in the woman’s eyes as she looked down at her daughter.
“Thank you for coming,” Hali said. “Although, it is highly unusual to invite newly sanded Lovelies to the city.”
“These are becoming ever more unusual times, Mother. I didn’t want to leave them unprotected. And neither did Tyranno.”
A slight movement behind Hali caught River’s eye. It was Tyranno, standing at attention with the rest of the guards. Hali glanced at him and said, “I heard about the attack in the bay. I don’t know what to say except that I’m sorry.”
Narissa strode over to her mother, but River hung back with the others. Remembering the magic she had wielded the last time he had seen her had been enough to convince him that he didn’t want to cross her. But before Narissa could speak another word, Anne ran forward and collapsed to her knees in front of Hali.
“Please. Please, I beg you. Take the curse from me. I don’t want it. I don’t want it.”
“Curse?” Hali seemed confused.
Narissa stepped toward her, speaking softer. “The sanding, Mother. She was forced against her will and does not want to join our people.”
Hali sniffed disdainfully. “Does she not? Well then, she can tell me so at the full moon.”
River watched as the guards around the room straightened and the other mers, including those who hung about the edges of pools throughout the throne room tensed, all their attention focusing on Anne’s form.
Narissa saw it too. “Mother, it would be best if we spoke to you alone.”
Hali looked around the room, at all the listening ears. “Leave us. All of you. Except you, Tyranno. You know enough already.” And then, like a rushing current, the mers left. The guards either stepped out of the chamber or dove into the pools. River looked down into the glowing green pools and saw that they fell away into rocky corridors below.
As soon as they were alone, Narissa relaxed fractionally. “It isn’t right, what we do to them, Mother. I never liked it, which is why I always tried to find people it would help, people who were sick or alone. But now I know that it is wrong regardless. We are playing games with words to say they can choose. You know very well the magic compels them mercilessly to the sea, growing stronger with each passing day.”
“Are they too good for us then?” Hali turned and walked back to her throne. “Do they find us ugly?”
River was surprised at how petulant and childish her voice sounded. But then he saw Hali look down, as if unable to resist, as she spread her fingers and revealed webbing between them. From the history he’d heard about Narissa’s parentage, he realized that Hali was ashamed of her mutations. That was going to make this very difficult.
But Narissa didn’t even blink, as if she had expected this reaction from her mother. “I did not say that, Mother. Do not make assumptions. Anne and River were t
orn from their families, from dreams and hopes they had on land. I believe Stumps and Brody are willing participants—”
“Oh yeah,” Brody said, grinning. River wanted to shove him into one of the pools.
“But let them decide. Let all humans decide.”
“Why should we? Is it wrong for the shark to eat the seal or the fish? It is necessary for our survival.”
“No,” Narissa said, her voice and expression angrier than River had ever heard it. “It is necessary for our vanity.”
Hali stared at Narissa with ice in her eyes. River’s heart pounded in his chest as he watched Narissa become the sole focus of an angry sea goddess, even if it was her own mother. He knew he was likely powerless to protect her, but still, he strode forward to stand close beside her. Hali’s eyes shot to him, her eyes narrowing as she swept them over him.
Narissa spoke again. “I’m not asking you to change all our ways at once. I’m just asking you to take the compulsion spell from River and Anne.”
Beside them on the stone floor, Anne cried quietly, her whole body shaking.
“I’ll do no such thing. If they want to be free badly enough, they’ll tell me so in the sanding chamber at full moon.”
There was a cry, an angry shriek, and before River could react, Anne stumbled to her feet and rushed toward Hali. Fortunately, Tyranno moved more quickly than River could, catching her before she got to Hali. Tyranno gripped her firmly, but not in a way that would hurt her, River was sure, and led her from the chamber.
But as Tyranno pulled her away, Anne yelled, “I hate you. I hate all of you.”
Her cries echoed in the distance, growing fainter and fainter, as they all stood listening, tense and anxious. River was torn between staying to protect Narissa and going after Anne, but Narissa squeezed his arm and whispered. “Tyranno will take good care of her. Don’t worry.”
River nodded and relaxed some, but still couldn’t restrain himself from glaring at Hali, powerful sea goddess or not. To his surprise, she smiled at him as if she was amused. But there was something else in her expression that sent cold chills down his spine.
“You are the one who is trying to steal my daughter from me.”
“No,” he answered. “I am the one who loves her enough to let her decide what she wants.”
Hali sat in her chair, never breaking eye contact with River. “Well, this won’t be the first time love got someone into trouble.”
Chapter Nineteen
Narissa felt as if her heart actually stopped beating when her mother said those words. Anger rose up inside her, furious and howling like a typhoon. “You will not threaten him, Mother—not if you ever want to see me again. And I know you didn’t summon me here because you missed me. You want something from me.”
Hali’s moods changed like the weather at sea. She switched her focus to Narissa and laughed. “You know me well, daughter. Do not worry. I have no particular enmity for this young man, so long as he does not keep you from performing your royal duties—duties which you are trying to hide from. How dare you ask Poseidon to make you human!”
“How dare I? I’ll tell you how I dare. I don’t want to live in the ocean.”
“But this is what you were born for. What I intended you for.”
“Then you should have thought of that when you were trying to have a baby who was half human. Did you never think that I might choose my human half? Just as the mers who live here are suited for the water, I am suited for the land. For solid ground and sunshine and dry air.”
Visibly shuddering, her mother held out a hand to stop her words. “I am sorry for it, child. But I brought you here because you must understand something. If will not accept your role as my heir, when I am gone, the whole North Atlantic will suffer great political turmoil.”
“I know you are prejudiced against my sisters because of how they look, but they can take your seat, Mother. And they will do a better job because they’ll care.”
“They will not do a better job if they are not accepted by the people.”
Narissa growled and paced. “Oh, why does this even matter right now? You are young and healthy. It will be decades before any of this even matters.”
“I hope so, but if you become human, you will have sealed our fate.”
Spinning back around to face her mother, Narissa asked, “Did you send Edmar to change my mind?”
“Of course I did. Despite my suspicions, I know him to be the only one who wanted you to stay a mermaid as much as me. I do find his methods of persuasion a little puzzling, however,” she said, looking at River again.
“But why? Why does Edmar care what I do?”
Laughing, her mother shook her head. “Blind. You’re so blind. Maybe because you’ve been gone so long. He wants you, child. He wants you as his mate.”
Narissa gasped and stepped towards River. Even with River’s hands wrapped bracingly around her arms, as strong as steel, she felt vulnerable. “That can’t be true. He doesn’t even like me.”
“Don’t be too sure of that, lovely one. But no, it is not your beauty that drives his desires. It’s power. He is a favorite in Triton’s court. If he were mated to one of the Mothers of the Sea, his influence would be greater than that of any but Triton or Poseidon themselves.”
Narissa’s mind spun. “If he wants me, that’s all the more reason for you to name one of my sisters as your heir.”
“No, child. It’s not you he wants, it’s my power. None of your sisters would be able to resist him. I doubt any of them would even want to. You alone have the strength and intelligence to thwart him. If he was to gain that much power, he could wreak havoc on our world and our people. And there is a growing movement among some of the sirens to reassert our rights to take humans at will. If they succeed, Poseidon might exterminate our whole race rather than face the wrath of Zeus.”
Narissa gasped and her mind reeled at these unseen dangers in her world.
River stirred behind her. “And you sent Edmar after her knowing all that? Didn’t you realize he would take the opportunity to further his own ambitions?”
Her mother stirred restlessly. “Of course I did. It was a calculated risk—one that has worked out. With your man Lovely bound to the sea, it isn’t likely you will choose to leave it, and I will have my heir.”
Stunned to silence for a moment, Narissa stared at her mother. “But do you not know that it works to Edmar’s advantage as well?”
“There is an easy solution at hand, child. Bind River as your mate and Edmar will be powerless to have you.”
River bent to speak in Narissa’s ear. “That explains the mermaids.”
“What?” Narissa asked.
“Can they forcibly bind me as their mate?”
Narissa felt her mouth gape open. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? “Yes, they can. It is forbidden—against all our laws. But my people are not exactly known for keeping to the laws when they don’t want to. Edmar must have sent them to steal you away from me.”
“You could be bound right now,” her mother said, her voice sounding both hopeful and cunning.
“No,” Narissa said, angry that her mother would even consider it.
River turned her to face him and stared down into her eyes. “If it would keep you safe, I’m okay with it. Is it a ceremony? A spell? What?”
“It’s both and unbreakable except by death. Which is why I won’t do it.” She reached up and cupped her hand around his face. “As much as I wish I could.”
“What do you mean you won’t do it?” her mother asked.
Narissa turned and glared at her. “Don’t you see? It would make only make River more of a target—one that would have to be eliminated. I won’t put River’s life in danger. We have time. We don’t need to rush into anything.”
Her mother stood and walked to an opening in the thick rock wall where a column of moonlight streamed into the room. Looking out she said, “The ocean is turbulent. There are whispers and rumors fathoms de
ep. I feel a war coming on like a storm on the horizon, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. My only hope is to set in motion the things that will keep my people and my ocean safe if something should happen to me. You, Narissa, are my only hope.”
“So,” Narissa said, her voice as cold as the Arctic Sea, “You ask everything of me, but refuse to grant me even one small request?”
“Your friends you mean?”
“Yes.”
“Are you negotiating terms with me, child?”
“I am.”
“If I’ll take the spell from your friends, you’ll agree to be my heir?”
“Narissa, no!” River clenched her to him. “Don’t do this. We can fight it on our own. I don’t even know that I want to fight it.”
“But I want the choice to be yours, free and without compulsion. And Anne will want it. That is reason enough.” River nodded as if he could not argue. And as she looked into his eyes, she saw them gleam with greater admiration than ever before.
“I will do anything for you, Narissa.”
“I know,” she whispered back, her heart breaking because it was true.
“How touching,” her mother scoffed.
In that moment, Narissa wondered if her mother had ever experienced love—either for her mate or her children. She seemed consumed by the welfare of her people and the ocean to the exclusion of all else. She hoped, desperately, that something would happen that would save her from taking her mother’s place, but if it didn’t, she swore she would never forget what it was to love. Surely that, above all else, was what would preserve what was left of their humanity.
“Mother, release them from the compulsion now.”
Raising her voice, her mother called out, “Tyranno, bring me the girl Lovely.”
This chamber was the place where they sang the mer song because of the way the sound was amplified, magically and acoustically. Her mother’s call was likely heard for miles in either direction, but there was no response for several minutes. Then, at last, footsteps sounded out in the corridor. Another guard rushed in that Narissa didn’t recognize.
The Lovely Deep (The Mer Song Trilogy Book 1) Page 13
