by Jane Cousins
“Calm down. He’s fine… look at it this way, it’s all in the past and it made him into the man he is today.” Devon might have been trying to reassure Sienna but it was funny how she realised she’d hit the nail on the head. Liam was different from his half-brothers, from his father. Sure he was charming, lazy, and a flirt, but he didn’t lie, cheat or steal.
Sienna blinked away the building fire, taking a ragged deep breath. “His older brothers are hogging all the marriage contracts, they don’t want him to be happy.” Sienna all but wailed out the last word.
Yami help her, Devon rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “So how does offing Li… I mean, the guy on the motorbike, help?”
“If he’s dead, then Liam and I can get married.”
Sienna sounded like she was repeating someone else’s words by rote, but who?
“So why that particular brother?”
“Because he was the one who was the meanest to Liam growing up.” Sienna had a distinct - doh you’re stupid - teenager tone in her voice that really tested Devon’s bitch slap reflexes.
“Sure, sure.” Devon nodded, all the time thinking that Sienna was one crazy naïve bitch. She was the perfect patsy for a manipulative Merrow Prince to use as a tool to do his bidding. Now, if she could only work out which Prince. All her hair untangled at once, sliding down her back, mentally she warned it to stay calm. “So what about me? Why would you need to harm me if you’ve whittled the number of Princes down and you and this Liam can be married?”
Sienna flashed her an irritated look. “Because he’s obviously the one who you will pick.”
“Is he?” Devon was genuinely curious. “Why do you say that?” Come on, describe him you dolt so I can get a fix on which Merrow Prince to sharpen my nails on.
Sienna let out a rather unattractive snort. “Because he’s the nicest, kindest… sweetest man… ever.”
Now it was Devon’s turn to snort, but she made sure hers was a little more on the ladylike side. “Seriously? Nice? Kind? Sweet? You’ve spent some time with me, you honestly think those are the qualities that I’m looking for in a husband?”
Sienna paused for a moment, maybe her romantic crusade wasn’t making much sense but she easily seemed to shrug off any doubts as she glared once more Devon’s way. “He’s not a criminal, like those nasty brothers of his. You want to get your claws into him because he’s such a talented and successful photographer.”
Devon tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean by successful?”
Sienna tossed her head back, damp strands of her water darkened hair sticking unattractively to her forehead and cheek. “Take your pick. There’s the frozen waterfall spread he did for National Geographic last year, or the Sports Illustrated front cover shot he took of Shaun White doing that flip.” Sienna’s barrel chest puffed out in pride, stretching the pink sweater alarmingly. “You’re acting like you haven’t heard all this?”
“I knew he was a photographer but I hadn’t realised…” He’d lied to her! Wait, no, she’d made a lot of assumptions and he’d just failed to correct her. He’d even joked that he had won several awards.
“It’s ridiculous the risks he takes personally to get those shots. Everyone seems to forget that he has to climb the frozen waterfall too, or jump out of the plane along with the free fallers.”
Devon closed her eyes as her stomach took a dive, it explained why Liam was so good at climbing, why the photographic equipment he carried around in his saddlebags looked so expensive but kind of battered. She had misjudged him and he hadn’t defended himself, in fact, he’d seemed to take great delight in leading her astray when it came to his career.
“Look at you.” Sienna sneered, swaying gently side to side now. “You can’t wait to trot him out in front of your friends, can you? Well, that’s not going to happen, he’s mine. Our love transcends the… the physical plane and… entwines our essences.”
“Scratch Barbara Cartland, you’re a Twilight fan, right?” Devon enquired as her mind whirled. It would have been too easy for one of Liam’s half-brothers to arrange to stumble across Sienna, pretend to be Liam. Sucker her in with a sob story and manipulate her into doing his dirty work. “Okay, let me see if I’m following along. You kill off a Merrow… this brother that was so mean to your little Liam growing up. Which then means that… your Liam is free to marry. Which unfortunately means that he’s placed upon my all you can eat buffet, and considering he’s such a tasty morsel, I will choose him to be my groom. Which means I have to die. Is that the logic you’re using, Sienna?”
Sienna scowled, several deep frown lines appearing on her forehead. “Yes.”
Devon wanted to shake the woman hard enough to make her teeth rattle. None of her grand plan was making sense. “You didn’t stop to consider that killing off a Merrow Royal Prince and a Makura Princess might have ramifications? Say war?”
Sienna looked surprised and confused.
“It never even crossed your mind that two Royals killed by unusual magical green fire, which can no doubt be traced back to your clan, might result in war between the underwater clans?”
“No… I… Liam said-”
“I’m guessing your transcendent sweetheart came up with all sorts of justifications as to why you had to commit murder, but I doubt he ever told you what would happen when you got caught.”
“I won’t be caught.”
“You sound very sure. But just how many water clans can breathe green fire do you suppose? Face it Sienna. You are going to take all the blame for killing a Merrow Prince and a Makura Princess.”
“No.” Sienna shook her head hard, her damp hair flinging out droplets. “No! That won’t happen. Liam wouldn’t let it happen. What we have is undeniable. Our love is written on the waves.”
Seriously? Devon rolled her eyes, only if those waves were found in a sewage treatment tank because Sienna’s secret beau was full of crap. So much for trying to get Sienna to see reason, she was well and truly infatuated. “So, Sienna, what am I doing here… in your damp little cave?”
“The police are after me! You told them my name!” She accused Devon.
Devon arched a haughty eyebrow. “I didn’t realise there was a script to follow, was I just supposed to lay down and die so the course of true love could win out?”
“Yes.” Sienna hissed, getting to her feet and striding to the water’s edge, peering down into the dark depths.
It wasn’t a big pool of water and Devon was guessing the entrance was narrow. Good way to stop anyone from sneaking up on you in large numbers. Unless you became trapped in here. Was that the fake boyfriend’s plan? Once Devon was dead, Sienna would end up conveniently trapped in here?
Sienna was ten kinds of unstable so there was little chance she’d be taken alive and even if she was… even if she babbled on about her secret arrangement with Liam Chambers no one would believe her, because the real Liam would be dead… killed by Sienna!
Rivers and Lakes, she was finally starting to get the big picture.
The only culprit left standing to blame once the dust settled would be Sienna. The real Liam was supposed to be dead. Devon should by all rights be dead. The Makura would declare war on Sienna’s race and all the marriage contracts would dissolve as clans scrambled to choose sides. And the Merrow would do what they did best, avoid bloodshed and somehow profit off both factions.
Devon clambered to her feet, pushing to the back of her mind the fact that somewhere along the way she’d lost a pair of lovely cream Jimmy Choo peep-toe stilettos.
“I didn’t say you could stand up.” Sienna eyed her across the rocky sand strewn floor, her blunt jaw jutting out in sullen petulance.
“Oh come on Sienna, you’re about to make an ultimatum, aren’t you? Everyone stands up for those.”
“I want you to promise not to choose Liam… if you do that, I’ll let you go.”
Devon bit back a smile, the woman sounded like a desperate teenage girl now. “Yesterday you wanted to k
ill me, but now you’re willing to except my word of honour?”
“If anything happens to you now the police will know I did it.”
“True.” Devon’s mind raced. Sienna’s puppet master wasn’t going to be happy with the change of plans. Could it really be this simple? Was Sienna that trusting? Or perhaps just that desperate. Devon inhaled, about to mouth numerous blithe reassurances when some instinct made her hesitate. The problem with oaths taken under the ocean was that they could be magically binding. The powers-that-be may not be able to differentiate between her Liam and Sienna’s fake Liam. If she spoke this promise out loud, she could never… and never was a very long time for her race… be with Liam.
Sienna’s jaw jutted out even further as she watched Devon hesitate. “You want him for yourself, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Devon tilted her head back and gave the other woman her haughtiest superior smile. “And what I want, I get.”
Sienna paled dramatically before a rush of anger sent hot colour to her plump cheeks. “He’s mine.”
Devon shrugged, letting her smile shift to a smug smirk. Come on you idiot woman, come closer. The only way she could see this whole thing being over with was for her to capture Sienna and drag her back to the Southern Sanctuary. She’d turn the whole sorry business over to the police. They could deal with incarcerating Sienna and tracking down the puppet master Merrow Prince pulling her strings.
Discreetly, Devon curled her hands, unleashing her killing nails. At the same time she readied her hair to strike. Mentally she could picture it, all she needed was for Sienna to come within three feet. Her hair could grab her, bind her mouth to keep her from breathing fire and Devon could then drag her back to shore, perhaps accidentally bouncing her off a few rocks along the way.
Sienna took one step closer. “He loves me.”
Devon arched an eyebrow as she let her gaze travel slowly from Sienna’s damp lank hair down over her large frame to her surprisingly dainty bare feet. She didn’t say a word, just allowed her upper lip to curl up slightly in a disdainful sneer.
“He’d never love someone like you.” Sienna crossed her arms over her ample chest, glaring hard at Devon.
“Are you sure? I am a successful Doctor, wealthy, beautiful… experienced.”
Sienna dropped her arms to her sides, clenching her hands into fists. “You’re a bitch.”
“I don’t have to be.” Devon dropped the smirk from her face, widened her eyes, fluttering them gently as she cooed her next words. “Liam, I’ve been hurt so many times before by men that just didn’t understand me, but you do, don’t you? You see right through my tough act, to the real me. The woman who wants to find a soul mate, someone to laugh with, someone to talk with… someone I can trust my heart with. Liam, I think you’re that man.”
“Why you…” Sienna took two big strides forward, her large mannish hands outstretched as if she intended to grab Devon.
Yes, come on, Devon tensed, her hair coiled and ready. Just two more steps closer you mad sea cow.
Behind Sienna the water erupted, a wall of water hurling upwards to encase Sienna from behind in a dense watery embrace. There was only one person it could be, Liam, to the rescue. Tension flowed from Devon’s shoulders whilst warmth eased through to her core. He’d come for her, why was she not surprised? The idiot, the sweet, sweet idiot.
Her pleased surprise, in a heartbeat, turned to horror. “No!” Devon screamed out a warning as iridescent green colour flashed across Sienna’s pupils, her mouth beginning to open as she thrust her head free from Liam’s hold, her large jaw opening wide in preparation. Yami, Sienna would burn her alive, there was nowhere for her to hide.
At the last moment Sienna’s whole body was wrenched backwards like a bow and as the fire left her mouth it roared across the low ceiling, steam instantly shooting out of every nook and every crevice like a spray of bullets. The resulting explosion sent tons of rock and dust hurtling downwards.
Instinctively Devon flung herself back and away from the water’s edge, ripping apart the seaweed binding her wrists as she flew through the air. Landing hard she forced herself to keep rolling, even as her mind screamed that Liam was back there. A large boulder narrowly missed her head as several fist sized rocks peppered her back and legs. She came to stop curling into a tight ball, her hair trying to batter away falling debris. But that was almost an impossible task in the encompassing pitch black.
Devon cried out as something sharp tore into her lower back.
Oh, Yami, where was Liam? Was he dead? She coughed as dust coated her throat. Lifting her head at the sudden silence all around her. She blinked, it was so dark she had to test that her eyes were actually open.
Carefully, she got to her knees, wincing as sharp stone edges cut into her legs and palms. Looking around at the perfect pitch black darkness surrounding her she fought back a whimper. She had never witnessed such a complete and utter absence of light.
“Liam?” She screamed his name but the only response she received was the sound of her own voice echoing his name back at her.
Rivers and Lakes, he was dead. Trying to save her. Liam was dead. For the first time in her life Devon felt tears gather in her eyes and begin to fall.
Chapter Eighteen
That stupid, stupid idiot. She’d had everything under control. Another two steps and Sienna would have walked right into her trap. Now… now Liam was dead, because of some misplaced act of chivalry.
The tears flowed faster down her cheeks as several tendrils of hair wrapped around her shoulders to embrace and comfort her. Rocking in place, Devon fought the urge to scream. She felt so hollow. So lost.
What had he been thinking, racing to her rescue like that? Damn it, he hadn’t been thinking because that’s the kind of man he was… had been.
The type to race to the side of a woman he’d never met, even though he’d heard rather nasty rumours about her, to warn of an impending death threat. The type to use his own body as a shield to protect her. The type to run pell-mell into a situation he knew nothing about in an attempt to save the day.
How could she have been so wrong about Liam?
From the first moment she’d seen him in that hospital bed, and he’d made that crack about being a judge in a wet t-shirt competition, she’d lumped him in with all the other Merrow Princes… with all other men.
But the first words out of his mouth when he’d realised he’d been in a motorcycle accident had been to ask if anyone else had been hurt. Sure he laughed at her and teased her, but they weren’t the jabs and taunts of someone trying to draw blood with their words.
He cooked for pity sake, and took great delight when those he fed enjoyed his efforts. He asked her about her day and was genuinely interested in her response.
He was kind to her Aunt, who could be Makura prickly. Taking the time to get to know her, persevering until he’d gotten under Nabha’s skin. He was patient with his climbing students, knowing when to cajole, when to act the taskmaster, and when to be someone’s friend to help them rise to the challenge in front of them.
And then there was her, the way his eyes lit up with heat and admiration when she deliberately taunted him. How he liked to sleep wrapped around her and wake up in the same position. The way he kissed her, like he never wanted to stop, couldn’t get enough of her. The way he said her name, like a prayer on his lips when he came inside her. She would never hear him say her name again.
Devon squeezed her hands into fists, tempted to dig her killing nails into her own flesh, wanting to feel anything but this deep despairing wave of darkness that had seeped into her soul. At the last moment sanity reared its head. She would need all her physical strength to survive this… because if she didn’t, then there would be no revenge… for Liam… for what might have been, and even for sick deluded Sienna. A Merrow Prince was behind all this. One of Liam’s half-brothers had painted a bullseye on Liam and attempted to assassinate Devon.
But he wouldn’t escape unpu
nished, for the one thing the Makura did best above all else was vengeance. Devon let the hot wave of anger bubble through her veins, driving out the numbing useless despair that had filled her. There would be plenty of time to mourn Liam later… a lifetime. For now she had to escape this black pit and track down an evil mastermind who was probably sitting somewhere nearby smugly believing he had gotten away with murder.
She’d show him up close and personal the very definition of murder when she got her hands on him… that was if she didn’t die trapped in this underground cave first. She winced as warm water encased her knees and began rising. Was the cave flooding? No… it felt… as the water travelled up over her skin it felt like a thousand soft tingly kisses were being placed against her skin.
“Liam?”
The water kept rising, moulding her clothes against her body, pushing aside her hair to dance across the skin at the back of her neck, around her throat over jaw, then he was there, his human form wrapped around her, his lips on hers. For which she was eternally grateful because it prevented her from sobbing out loud with pure joy. He was alive. Alive and kissing her, holding her in his arms.
She gripped his arms hard, scared that if she loosened her hold he’d slip away and she’d never find him in the eternal darkness surrounding them.
“Ease up on the nails there, Princess.” Liam broke the kiss finally, laughing softly under his breath.
Devon eased her nails back but didn’t release her tight hold on him, wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to. “You’re alive… I thought… Sienna?”
She felt Liam place a soft kiss against her temple. “Didn’t make it. I got a little churned up, turned around. What about you? Are you okay?” Instinctively he tightened his hold on her.
Devon let out a low hiss of pain, suddenly aware of the fact that she was one big aching bruise. All in all she was good… except for… she reached back, pushing her coat aside to feel along her lower back. Moaning softly at the pain, the material at the back of her skirt soaked with what she was presuming was her blood.
