by Starla Night
No!
She braced.
Dosan cut in front of her like a shadow across the sky. A flash of a long rod — a trident — glinted in the sunlight.
The spark disappeared inside the dynamite body.
He slashed.
His movement made a choppy current. The dynamite bounced.
The tip of the dynamite “candle” separated from the body. Broken in two, the fuse pulled free. In the opposite direction, the caustic explosive powders dissipated.
But not fast enough.
The burning fuse ignited the specks of powder.
A flash.
Boom.
The coral cracked and shrieked in agony. The rocky caves shuddered. Octopi scattered. The red one flopped on his ledge, limp.
The shock wave punched her in the sternum. “Ungh.”
It stung but she would be okay.
Uvim, behind her, rubbed his chest and his head. His cheek bled from a slender cut. Xalu was even farther back. He rubbed his head and grimaced.
She was closest to Dosan — who had nearly been on top of the dynamite.
His trident slipped through his hands. It spiraled into the abyss.
His eyes rolled back into his head. He curled into a fetal position and sank.
Oh, no!
She chased after Dosan. Xalu and Uvim arrested his fall. She tried to check his pulse.
Xalu edged her away with his beefy, black-swirled shoulder. “You must not touch a male who is not your husband.”
“Then stop touching me,” she snapped.
He frowned at Uvim.
“Collect his trident,” Uvim ordered.
Xalu dove.
She felt his neck. No carotid pulse. She pressed her ear to Dosan’s sapphire-swirled chest.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
Whew. A heartbeat.
“He’s still alive.” She lifted her head. “We have to get him to a hospital.”
Uvim shook his head. “No time.”
Dosan moaned in pain.
Was it her imagination? Were his iridescent tattoos losing their color and fading?
Uvim’s intense fear was not her imagination.
She tried another tack. “What do you normally do?”
“Take him to the Life Tree.”
“For first aid?”
“What is this, ‘first aid’?”
“I mean if he’s hurt a long distance away. What if there’s no time?”
Uvim’s grim expression said they had no alternative. “The Life Tree essence provides healing.”
“Life Tree essence…”
Xalu returned with Dosan’s trident.
She wheeled to Xalu. “Give me the blossom.”
He stiffened. “You are not my bride.”
“Not for me. For Dosan!”
“He is already a mer.”
“Gah! Uvim, explain.”
Uvim blinked and then said, “Is the blossom safely stored?”
“Yes, in our cave.”
“The mating gem too?”
“I have that.” Xalu reached into the woven seaweed bag strapped to his bulging thigh and removed a Sea Opal the size of her fist. A darker , smoke-swirled color, it was otherwise very similar to the one Elan had given to Zara.
She reached for it.
Xalu jerked it away.
“I’ll give it back,” she said. “I promise.”
Uvim gestured for Xalu to obey.
He grimaced, then released the gem.
It fell into her palm. Smooth and warm. She’d forgotten how beautiful and pearlescent they were. She’d told Uvim she didn’t need his Sea Opal, but now she kind of wanted it. Just to have. For herself.
She placed Xalu’s Sea Opal on Dosan’s bare sternum. “Now what?”
Uvim and Xalu had no idea.
She had no idea either. She willed the Sea Opal to work. “Feel better soon, Dosan. Please.”
The gemstone shimmered.
And so did his chest.
Hey! Was that his soul light? Had she achieved a new mer power?
But no. The glow faded. And she couldn’t see any glow in Uvim or Xalu. She had to guess their feelings — taut, anxious — the old-fashioned way.
Dosan’s lashes fluttered. He uncurled and lay flat.
Xalu and Uvim both relaxed but their worried frowns remained.
She pinched Dosan’s fin.
“Ngh.” He rolled, pulling his fin away.
The Sea Opal rolled off his chest.
Xalu dove and caught it, replacing it in his woven pouch.
Probably it had done all it could do. She turned to Uvim. “Can Dosan shift?”
Uvim didn’t know.
They had to do something. A hospital was their best bet. “Let’s get him to the boat.”
Xalu and Uvim carried Dosan to the surface.
Milly glanced back.
Octopi gathered around the motionless red octopus. Clifford hovered over the far side of the outcropping, peering down. Her sad wheeze stirred Milly’s heart. Like punctured bagpipes playing a dirge.
Oh.
Milly wheeled to the mourning creatures. The octopi parted for her. She gathered up the limp red octopus and held it to her chest.
It hung lifeless in her arms.
Tears pricked her eyes. A current swept them away. The whole ocean tasted like her sadness.
“I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered.
Small tentacles curled around her wrists.
The red octopus was alive! But barely.
The other octopi swarmed her in a group hug, sharing in her sorrow. They carried the feeble, injured red octopus out of her arms and into a cave to finish their mourning.
Milly turned and kicked hard. She got ahead of the warriors and led them to the tour boat.
She had taken responsibility for them. She had promised they would be safe. And her people — a tourist on her boat — had hurt them. They had hurt Dosan. They had hurt the octopi. They had hurt her reef.
Never again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Uvim levered Dosan’s limp arm over his shoulder and hauled him onto the tour boat, exposing their existence to their enemy.
He clambered onto the deck with a loud thud.
The humans stepped back.
Milly shifted badly once more, coughing and choking. She bent over the railing and gasped.
His shift was more graceful. The seawater drained out his gills and they sealed to form air-breathing lungs. He’d already flexed his fins back to human feet to climb the ladder.
Xalu climbed up behind him, coughing the water out of his lungs. He gripped Dosan’s trident along with his own. Both he and Dosan still wore daggers strapped to biceps and thighs.
Xalu leaned closer to Uvim. “Why are they frightened? They are expert at land combat.”
“Weapons violate human laws.”
Xalu’s grip tightened on the tridents. “But they wish us harm.”
“Not all.”
Milly spat to clear her vocal cords. “Roberto!”
An older male approached. He eyed the warriors and addressed Milly. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Dosan needs the cot.”
He returned with a bundle of metal and fabric. Milly directed it beneath the shade of a tent. Roberto and another male pushed and pulled it, unfolding it into a taut canvas sheet stretched across a metal frame.
She motioned over Uvim.
He laid Dosan on the worn canvas.
Dosan grimaced in pain. He coughed hard, curling in on himself, and then collapsed. A large red mark covered his chest. Black bruises radiated from the center.
“Take us home,” Milly ordered. “As fast as possible.”
Roberto moved to the steering controls. The boat vibrated and they moved.
The human male known as Brody handed Uvim long rectangles of fabric. “Put these beach towels on.”
Ah, their nakedness.
He accepted the body-sized, flat
rectangle. How to wear it? There were no fastenings. He pinched it with one hand.
Milly folded one edge against the other, tucking the soft fabric against his waist. It fit snugly.
Xalu watched her action. He tucked his own “beach towel” without help.
As expected of the most honorable warrior.
Milly spread the final towel over Dosan.
His injured chest rose and fell.
Brody glared at Milly. “What were you thinking?”
“It’s my fault.” She rested her healing hands over Dosan’s chest. Worry and regret shamed her. “I told them to stay near. I didn’t consider the visibility.”
Brody rubbed his forehead. “Obviously that’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean?”
“You dove back into the water, Milly. You could’ve been the one on this cot.”
“I should have been.”
“No way.”
“I asked for help,” she said bitterly. “Dosan got hurt because of me.”
“You’re allowed to ask for help.”
“I promised no harm would come to him.”
“So?” Brody let out an exasperated sigh. “Since when are you the all-powerful Queen of the Ocean?”
Her eyes widened. Her soul light darkened. She hugged her fists to her chest.
No.
Uvim pulled her to stand and then enfolded her trembling, small form into his arms. She would become an all-powerful queen. She must not darken her light.
“You are not a queen yet,” Uvim murmured.
Milly relaxed into Uvim, tipping her head back and resting on his chest. “I should have done more.”
“Well, what are you doing now, dragging him out of the water?” Brody demanded.
“We owe him,” Milly said.
A female wearing a deep purple covering that flowed over her curves crept close to their group. She knelt beside the cot and stared at Dosan, fascinated.
Xalu glanced at Uvim. He also noted her presence.
Her soul light shone with gentle brightness. She was no threat to Dosan.
Uvim lifted his chin, signaling for Xalu to ignore her encroachment.
His subordinate — a male who should by any right be above him — stood steadfast.
“Dosan slashed the last stick of dynamite so most of the powder dispersed,” Milly explained to Brody and now the second female. “Only a small amount ignited.”
Brody’s brows lifted. “A small amount caused that giant geyser?” He blew out a sigh. “At least no one was hurt.”
“An octopus may have died.”
His soul light darkened. “May have?”
“He looked dead. When I picked him up, I felt a small movement. So…” She hugged Uvim tighter. “I hope he didn’t die.”
Brody dropped his head into his hand.
Milly scrubbed her own red eyes. Moisture shone on her palms.
Uvim pressed a comforting kiss to her crown.
Her soul light flared.
Yes, she accepted his comfort. In the midst of this tragedy, she accepted him.
Milly finished her explanation. “Without Dosan the blast would have killed us. The whole colony. Me. The boat. He saved us. He saved all of us.”
Brody lifted his head, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sniffed. “They’ll answer to the police.”
“They?”
Brody pointed.
At the stern, several males stood guard over an older female and her son. Her dim soul light revealed her fears. Her son crossed his arms over his thin chest. His soul fluctuated. Unsettled, trying to look fierce, but scared.
His father, a heavyset male, strode in front of the guards. His exasperation reached the back of the boat. “It was a joke. I want my lawyer.”
Milly flared, bright and hot. She shouted, “You’re going to need one!”
The father thrust out his chest. “Hey! They didn’t know, all right?”
“No, it’s not all right! They destroyed precious marine life and almost killed someone!”
“I didn’t see anything.”
“Because!” Milly strained against Uvim’s arms. “We stopped you! Almost.”
He stepped toward them, mean and aggressive. “You don’t know anything.”
Her frustration and anger made her tremble.
Uvim held her. “Xalu.”
Xalu stepped forward clenching both tridents. His deep voice vibrated with deadly intent. “Do you challenge the mer of Dragao Azul?”
The aggressive male swallowed and stepped back. “Nobody meant nothing. It’s a misunderstanding. You’ll see.”
“Sit down,” Milly snapped.
He curled back his lip in fury.
Xalu inclined his head toward the man and pinned him with a fierce warning.
The aggressive male sat.
Xalu straightened and rested the tridents in the crook of his elbow.
He was calmer than Uvim. This was Uvim’s first time leading on his own. Dosan had always been his voice. His encouragement. His friend.
By his side.
And now he lay dying.
The concerned female in purple rested her palm on Dosan’s forehead. “Is he going to be okay?”
Milly looked up at Uvim.
He had never faced such surface weapons. “I do not know.”
The humans gathered closer to hear.
The female stroked Dosan’s forehead.
“He will pull through.” Milly’s voice rang with determination.
Everyone looked at her.
Her chest glowed.
She pulled free — strong now — and knelt beside the woman. She touched Dosan’s chest.
His soul light glowed. Steady and even.
“With our help,” Milly added, her fingers grazing his bruise. “And a hospital.”
“No hospital,” Uvim said.
“But he has blunt force trauma.”
Uvim shook his head.
“Actually,” Brody looked up from his silent introspection, “any hospital will probably turn him away.”
“What?”
“I saw it on the news. One of these … people … got shredded by a boat in Florida. He collapsed on a beach and vacationers rushed him to the hospital. The hospital refused to treat him out of fear of making him worse. Their biology is unknown.”
“No chest X-rays…” Milly stared at Dosan. “We have to do something.”
“He must rest,” Uvim said. “Rest and quiet.”
“Rest and quiet will not happen. Not at our place.”
“Your castle is quiet.”
“My house is too small. And Vaw Vaw has rooms but her house is loud and always full of people.” She bit her lip. “What are we going to do?”
The female paused mid-stroke. “We have a quiet place.”
Behind her, a male spat his water.
“It’s a rental,” she said, ignoring the male. Others handed him papers to dry his mouth and wet coverings. “We have extra rooms. It’s close to the harbor.”
“Would you?” Milly asked, grateful.
“Jen,” the male hissed.
Milly looked back at the male. “If your husband doesn’t mind?”
“Husband?” She jerked up and looked around, her soul light doing a rapid fluctuation. She lit on the male behind her. “Ian?”
“You’re Mr. and Mrs. Isaacs, right?”
“Oh, ew!” Ian laughed. “We have the same last name because she’s my sister.”
Milly grimaced. “Sorry.”
Jen mirrored her expression. “My ex—”
“The lying, cheating, dickless jerk.”
“—is out of the picture. This isn’t a honeymoon.”
“It’s a honeymoon from him,” Ian said.
“I have a non-refundable deposit on a big rental for just me and Ian. And my maid of honor. Former. But she won’t mind if we bring anybody home.”
Milly looked to Uvim. Consulting him — as the leader — about h
is warriors.
He considered Dosan’s safety and delivered his order. “You must also shelter Xalu.”
Xalu straightened. Doubts vanished from his now blank face. The most honorable warrior would obey.
“We can,” Jen promised.
Milly leaned over Dosan one more time, wished him to feel better, and squinted as though trying to see his soul light.
It remained steady.
She sighed and stood. “I have to call Zara. She’ll be mad but she has to know.”
Milly disappeared through the crowd inside the boat house.
Strangely, the glow in Dosan’s chest remained strong. Had he already healed so well? The black-red bruise was daunting. But with Jen kneeling at his head, stroking his forehead — just like a human, so careless with her touch — he glowed as if he were still near a future queen.
But Milly was inside the boat now…
“Hey.” Brody met Uvim’s eye. “Thanks for saving the octopus colony.”
Uvim nodded.
“They’re the highlight of my trip.” Brody looked away and rubbed his nose in embarrassment. “I know it’s kind of dumb, but they always come out to say hi. Like they know me, you know.”
“They do.”
“Huh?”
“Know you.”
He made a dismissive pshaw. “Me and everybody else with a face mask.”
Uvim considered the words needed to show Brody the truth.
The male was angry and hurt. Milly had once made an overture to become his mate. She said Brody did not care. Perhaps she was correct. Perhaps Brody only coveted Uvim’s closeness with a female while his heart still searched, alone.
Brody’s soul was bright. He was a human male of the ocean, an ally of the mer. If female warriors existed, one would select him for her husband.
Uvim must reach him before he changed his allegiance to this new enemy.
And so, he forced himself to speak.
“You have a bright soul,” Uvim stated. His words sounded awkward on his tongue. “It resonates with the ocean. That is why the cave guardian ‘octopus’ emerge for you. They recognize you as a friend.”
Brody’s soul brightened. He rubbed his chest and looked away again. “If you say so.”
But this time, his embarrassment vibrated with pleasure.
These were the words humans must hear.
Enemies hated the mer.
Those like Brody who wished to become friends must hear kind words.
Uvim finally understood.
