The Merman King

by Michelle M. Pillow

  The Merman King

  Lords of the Abyss

  Michelle M. Pillow

  MichellePillow.com

  The Merman King (Lords of the Abyss) © copyright 2018, Michelle M. Pillow

  First Electronic Printing March 6, 2018

  ISBN 978-1-62501-157-2

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  All books copyrighted to the author and may not be resold or given away without written permission from the author, Michelle M. Pillow.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Any and all characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places is merely coincidence. Novel intended for adults only. Must be 18 years or older to read.

  Published by The Raven Books LLC

  Raven Books and all affiliate sites and projects are © Copyrighted 2004-2018

  Contents

  About The Merman King

  Lords of the Abyss Series

  Author Updates

  Michelle’s Bestselling Series

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Newsletter

  About the Author

  Complimentary Material

  Love Potions Excerpt The Dragon’s Queen

  The Savage King Excerpt

  Please Leave a Review

  About The Merman King

  Paranormal Underwater Shapeshifter Romance

  Lucius, King of the Mermen, and ruler of the city of Atlantes, shoulders the guilt for his people’s curse. After being trapped under the sea for two millennia, the time has come for his people to possibly surface and breathe air. He’s ready to be the first to test the theory, but things do not go as expected when a captivating beauty seemingly falls into his lap—and his ocean.

  Is Olivette a present from the gods, or a warning to stay punished beneath the waves where his people belong?

  Lords of the Abyss Series

  The Mighty Hunter

  Commanding the Tides

  Captive of the Deep

  Surrender to the Sea

  Making Waves

  The Merman King

  Author Updates

  To stay informed about when a new book is released sign up for updates:

  http://michellepillow.com/author-updates/

  Michelle’s Bestselling Series

  Shape-shifter Romances

  Dragon Lords Series

  Barbarian Prince

  Perfect Prince

  Dark Prince

  Warrior Prince

  His Highness The Duke

  The Stubborn Lord

  The Reluctant Lord

  The Impatient Lord

  The Dragon’s Queen

  Lords of the Var Series

  The Savage King

  The Playful Prince

  The Bound Prince

  The Rogue Prince

  The Pirate Prince

  Captured by a Dragon-Shifter Series

  Determined Prince

  Rebellious Prince

  Stranded with the Cajun

  Hunted by the Dragon

  Mischievous Prince

  Headstrong Prince

  Space Lords Series

  His Frost Maiden

  His Fire Maiden

  His Metal Maiden

  His Earth Maiden

  His Wood Maiden

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  To learn more about the Dragon Lords World series of books and to stay up to date on the latest book list visit www.MichellePillow.com

  Chapter One

  Olivette Waller smiled even though she was dressed up like a slutty Mrs. Santa Claus, complete with black fishnet stockings, glitter lipstick, and a tinsel hairpiece that gave the impression she’d made out with a Christmas tree. Though, she supposed that was better than the woman dressed like an Easter bunny who’d fallen on hard times, or the leprechaun who wore more green body paint than clothes, or the Thanksgiving turkey lady with a feather duster attached to her butt.

  The party planner who’d hired her clearly hadn’t thought how ill-conceived it was to wear high heels on a yacht in open water while carrying a tray of champagne flutes. Then again, maybe he just didn’t care. Patrick’s Party Events wasn’t exactly known for tastefulness. He had, after all, planned a party at sea with the theme of Every U.S. Holiday.

  Her legs ached. The breeze from the ocean caused her to shiver whenever she made her rounds along the deck. The red material of the costume felt like a wool blend and had become itchy, with the added bonus of feathery white bits of fluff that stuck to her thighs, neck, and arms. Had this been a simple office party, as she was told it would be, the discomfort would have ended with the clothes.

  Olivette had the impression only part of the office was invited—the rich, bloated, drunken, handsy part. But, what was a girl to do? The economy tanked and so did her flower shop. People didn’t need bouquets when they were struggling to pay mortgages and buy groceries. Her contribution to the farmers’ market helped, but it wasn’t enough to keep her afloat.

  “There’s my little ho ho ho.”

  Olivette flinched. She’d tried to avoid Tanner Tapert for the last two hours. His breath reeked of bourbon and cigars. He claimed to be the aide of some politician he wasn’t at liberty to name. She believed it. He had the expensive suit and smarmy appeal of someone in politics.

  “What do you say we go jingle some bells?”

  Tanner gave a hearty laugh as he continued his barrage of holiday-themed come-on lines. He’d offered to let her unwrap his present, light his Yule log, and an inventive yet highly inappropriate suggestion involving elves, a tree, and a three-way. She knew he was more interested in showing off for his friends than he had any real attraction for her. Olivette could have been anyone.

  Still laughing, he managed to add, “I’ll give you a ride on my one horse open sleigh.”

  Olivette arched a brow and swiped his empty glass from the edge of the boat. She couldn’t help herself as she gave him a dismissive once over. “One horse? I’m sorry, I like my rides to have a little more horsepower under the hood.”

  Tanner’s expression fell.

  Olivette felt a small victory as the man’s cronies laughed at his expense. If he complained, Patrick probably wouldn’t hire her back. Glancing at her attire, she couldn’t say she’d be too bothered by that. There had to be better jobs.

  Only three hours left until the boat turned around and took them back to shore. She sidestepped hands that tried to make their way up her skirt as she filled her tray with discarded glasses and emptied ashtrays. The more she did now, the less she’d have to clean up when they docked. She noticed several of the waitresses taking things a little too far with the holiday cheer, dancing seductively for tips and forgetting their duties altogether as they partook of the refreshments they were supposed to be serving. The turkey had plucked a few of her feathers and used them to tickle the guests, and she’d witnessed more than a few green kiss marks on cheeks from the leprechaun.

  “Two hours and fifty minutes until I get to go home,” Olivette whispered, leaning against the railing to look out at the ocean. The sun was setting and she could almost forget the party behind her. Who would know if she hid for a couple of hours? Maybe staying late to c
lean up would be better than trying to weave through the crowd.

  She found a private spot near a side rail to watch the water. The music became louder, and the laughter rose to new levels to overcome the sudden rise in volume.

  Movement on the surface of the ocean caught her attention. At first, she thought it was a hand reaching up from below. Leaning forward, she squinted into the sunset. The image disappeared, and she gave a small laugh. It was probably a dolphin. No one would be swimming this far out to sea, especially not at sunset without some kind of boat nearby. The boat she was on moved in the wrong direction for it to have been anyone from their vessel.

  “If it isn’t Mrs. Claus, comedian.”

  Olivette stiffened as the smell of bourbon and cigars wafted against her cheek. She tried to pull away, but Tanner grabbed her arm. She cried out, but her scream was lost in the chaotic noise of the party. Even if they did hear her, she wasn’t sure anyone would come to her aid.

  Chapter Two

  King Lucius lowered his tingling hand and stared at the ocean’s surface from below. The scales of his blue tail would camouflage him in the water. It had been a very long time since he’d been this close to the surface world. Normally, only the elite group of hunters made their way to this border. He’d forgotten how bright the sunlight breaking through the water could be, streaming down until the darkness of the abyss below swallowed every last glimmer.

  That was where he lived—below in the darkness. That was where his arrogance had condemned his people centuries ago. The thin barrier between ocean and air was so fragile, and yet it held them down in their place.

  Since the beginning there had been one sure way to die as Merr—break the surface. If Merr skin were to touch surface air, it’d burn. If he were to breathe it into his lungs, he’d die a painful death. Until now. Today he touched air for the first time in more centuries than he could count. It was only a few seconds, but his hand returned unharmed. Would his lungs fare the same? Very little scared him, but crossing that barrier terrified him.

  Lucius had much on his mind as he stared up at the surface world. The light above shifted and changed color, the white fading into orange. It had danced along his fingers as he touched it. He felt the presence of Brutus and Demon beneath him. The hunters had insisted they join him, and he allowed it only because someone needed to report back if things did not go well.

  Lucius had been king a very long time, longer than any man should be made to carry the burden. Above, he’d ruled over Greece, Italy, and Egypt. His empire of Atlantes had been vast, and his ego great.

  It was not meant to be.

  When the god Poseidon had brought Atlantes up from the water to bless them, he had not done it so they could conquer their neighbors, or raid villages, or consume more than they needed. That decision had been Lucius’. The fault of that greed was shared with his people as they were the ones who’d demanded more. He was the one who gave it to them.

  Below, he still ruled Atlantes, but it was only the small piece he was given to begin with. Because of his arrogance, Poseidon had cursed them. He waited until Lucius’ soldiers were home, until they were drunk and in the prime of their blustering. And in a great and mighty show of his power, the god of the sea plucked them from the earth and cast them down as if they were a pebble to be thrown away. But no god’s punishment was ever light.

  Poseidon could have let them drown and made that the end of the story. Instead, he cursed them. He turned their legs to tails and ripped fins out of their forearms. He molded them into half men, half fish and held them up as a warning to everyone else who thought they were better than the gods.

  As Atlantes fell, it took the light with it, a beacon that the newly turned Merr should follow. They swam after it, a clumsy effort in their new bodies. The creatures they passed were terrifying to their landlocked eyes—tentacle arms, bloated, pale bodies, and razor-sharp teeth. The protective dome covering their home was the only light in the abyss, a bonfire in the dark showing them the way back. When finally they reached the bottom, and Atlantes settled in a cloud of dust, they found themselves pressed to an invisible barrier looking in at a magical land. Some knocked to get in. Some prayed. Some cried. All stayed stuck to that dome, desperate to get inside.

  A dozen brave men, including the twins Brutus and Demon, went with the king to find an entrance. They explored the dangerous caves of the base and were the first to dare to cross over into the dome. They watched their tails pull apart into human legs for the first time. He still remembered standing on dry land inside the dome, looking up at a literal sea of faces looking in.

  Those initial twelve men had become hunters, the elite soldiers allowed to patrol the ocean. He split them up into four teams of three—the Hunters, Knights, Soldiers, and Warriors.

  Patrolling turned into hunting down the lost who did not make it to the dome. Unfortunately, those Merr had transformed a second time, becoming water spirits they called the scylla. They were dangerous creatures, mindless, reckless, forever searching for a life they could no longer have. Or perhaps they were angry and jealous, crashing boats to drown mortals. Regardless, the hunters had spent the last millennia chasing them down and making the waters safer. The twins had lost their brother in such a way, and Demon had almost lost his new wife. Luckily, they’d managed to save Lady Victoria.

  ‘I have decided,’ the king said at last, knowing that the two hunters would carry out his wishes. They spoke by telepathy in the water. ‘If I do not survive this, I wish for there to be no king for at least ten years. I turn over control of Atlantes to the hunters. After that time, you can decide how best to rule. The twelve of you know the ocean and politics better than any. I trust you to guide and help our people. And I trust you to deal with the Olympian cult.’

  ‘You don’t have to do this,’ Brutus said. The brothers were identical. Their black eyes glinted with a silver sheen. Long black hair matched their black fins and tails. Their larger size made them formidable. ‘I touched the surface air and did not burn. Let me be the first to breathe.’

  ‘You have a new wife. Think of Lady Laurel,’ the king dismissed. That was another reason he’d brought the twins instead of two others who did not have wives. He could use that to keep them from trying to take his place.

  The king had hoped, as they all secretly dreamed, that one day the gods would bless him with a woman, with love, with a wife. Five of his hunters had rescued wives recently. That had to mean something—five women salvaged from the surface world and brought down to Atlantes.

  But how was that right? To find love, they had to curse the women and make them Merr. And now none of the wives could return to their former homes.

  King Lucius was the reason Poseidon had cursed them. That made it his duty to be the first to surface and breathe the air. Well, perhaps not the first. There were rumors that his ex-lover Maia had found a way.

  Maia had declared herself a queen, defected and taken several women with her, then established herself as an Olympian in an area of the Atlantean forest she called Mt. Olympus. They didn’t hear from the Olympian cult for a long time. Then rumors started spreading of the mermaids going to the surface and luring human males to their death. The mermaids lured men into the ocean and captured them to be their servants. The stories were secondhand accounts but if they were true, Maia might have stumbled upon an inoculation for surface-air exposure. One of their scientists had spent time with the Olympians and he was about to test her theory.

  ‘It doesn’t have to be you,’ Demon said. ‘We can turn around now.’

  ‘Lady Bridget has been making us eat that awful Olympian seaweed for years. Trust me, if it’s not working to acclimatize us to the surface, I think we’d all want to know.’ The king tried to make light of what he was facing.

  ‘Maybe finding hunter wives is a way of indicating Poseidon is watching us,’ Brutus said. ‘Perhaps we should just turn around and wait for a sign.’

  ‘What do you think, Demon?’ Lucius swam
a few feet away from the surface so he could look his friends in the eyes.

  ‘I think you are my king and I will always follow your command,’ Demon said. ‘No one blames you for what happened. We all had stopped going to Poseidon’s temples. The god punished all of us, not just you. You do not have to do this. The kingdom needs you. And who is to say that if we were allowed to return to the world of sunlight, we would want it? We have been under for so long, centuries upon centuries. Have we stopped to consider that perhaps we only yearn for the surface because that’s what we’ve been thinking about since being cast down? What happens if we go up? Will we turn back? Will we begin to yearn for life in the ocean? For the isolation of Atlantes? I don’t think it’s worth the risk. After so long, Atlantes is home. We have been there longer than we were on the surface. Maybe it’s time to accept it. Let us go home, my king.’

  ‘You have no sins to atone for,’ Brutus asserted.

  ‘I have always appreciated your fine council.’ The king clasped his friends on their shoulders and squeezed. ‘Thank you.’