The merman lead the way into the ocean, waiting for Arabella to return to her true form. Once the mermaid was in the water, she smiled and let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t know until that very moment how much she had feared not being able to return to her home. The large piece of her genetic make-up that she had been missing for the last few days settled over her like a second skin and she finally felt whole again.
Glancing at the centaur who had rescued her, she turned to her father. “Daddy, how are the centaurs going to be able to breathe under the water? They don’t have the gills like we do.”
Conway gave his daughter a soft smile as a school of snapper fish swam up to them. “This is how. The others have already donned their helmets, now it is time for Adahy to put on his. Will you do the honors and give him his, my daughter?”
Arabella smiled as she watched the snapper fish swim away and then took the offered diver’s helmet from her father. “Of course I will, Daddy. Go on ahead and get the meeting started. Adahy and I will be there soon after.”
The merman smiled. “Do not take too long, guppy. This is serious business that needs to be handled delicately.”
The young mermaid nodded. “Understood.”
She watched as Conway swam off, waiting until he had dived under the water before turning to the uncomfortable centaur and holding out the helmet. “Put this on, Adahy, and let’s get to my castle.”
As the centaur started to pull the helmet over his head Arabella heard a whooshing sound and a splash. Adahy rushed over to her side, grabbing her up and placing his body between her and the shoreline behind them.
“What was that?” Arabella cried out as she tried to look over his shoulder.
Adahy shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. We need to get under the water now!”
The mermaid looked up into the centaur’s face, seeing concern. “Tell me what is happening, Adahy! I can’t be kept in the dark if I am to help our people come to a decision concerning the humans.”
He took a deep breath, knowing there wasn’t enough time to stand there and argue with her. “All right, love. That was an arrow. It appears that the humans have decided to make themselves known by attacking. We need to get under the water before they take another shot.”
No sooner had the words left the centaur’s mouth, they heard another whoosh and a splash close to their left. Arabella didn’t need any more persuading and ducked under the water. Adahy pulled the helmet over his head and quickly followed after her. Now that the humans had started attacking, the possibility of war was closer than either of the paranormals were comfortable with.
Chapter Fourteen
Arriving at the Rossi castle, Arabella and Adahy stopped in the entrance hall to catch their breath. “I haven’t swum that fast since I was a guppy. It’s a good thing you decided to take on human form or we never would have made it without an altercation or two with the humans. Man! They are persistent, aren’t they?”
Adahy took the helmet off and bent over, his hands on his knees. “I believe Site G stumbled upon two paranormal beings that the other military research facilities haven’t yet and they didn’t want to lose them.”
The mermaid nodded. “That makes a sick sort of sense. We will have to inform our parents of what happened before we left the shoreline. You know that, don’t you?”
The centaur stood up, taking in the beautiful woman standing in front of him, “Yes, love, we will. And, that war we were trying so hard to prevent will be a definite.”
Arabella gave him a sad look. “I know, but they are the ones who drew the line in the sand the moment they attacked. There is nothing we can do for them now.”
Adahy looked over the mermaid’s head, a far away look in his eyes. “It was one thing when they were collecting supernatural beings, but once they started shooting it became a matter of protection.”
The mermaid turned around at the sound of a soft footfall. “Lachlan!”
The newcomer rushed over the distance between him and Arabella, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up. “My Goddess, Arabella! I thought I would never see you again! I hope you aren’t angry with me for telling your parents about your escapades on the shore.”
The mermaid laughed. “No, not at all, Lachlan. I knew at one point you would end up telling them about how I was leaving the castle and playing with a human child. I just didn’t think it would be due to the fact that I was captured. Come, where is everyone? Adahy and I must inform Daddy and Mother of the latest events.”
Lachlan set her down, looking over her head to the centaur standing behind her. “Who is your friend, Bella?”
The mermaid turned to see what her best friend was staring so unfriendly at. “This is Adahy of the Malean Centaurs tribe. He is the reason I am standing here before you today. Adahy, this is my best friend, Lachlan. We have known each other since we were guppies.”
Adahy dipped his head in greeting. “Nice to meet you, Lachlan. I hate to rush your reunion but we really must get to the others.”
Arabella turned to her best friend. “Agreed. Lachlan, will you please escort us to the war room?”
Lachlan inclined his head. “Of course, Bella. We are not going to war, I hope.”
The couple shared a look that the merman couldn’t decipher. “Right this moment, no.”
Adahy interrupted Arabella, “But that all could change once we tell Conway and the others what transpired before we dove under the water. Listen, we don’t have time to discuss all of this before talking with the elders, so if you don’t mind can we speed this up a little?
Arabella’s best friend gave the centaur a dirty look. “As you wish, sir. Come, follow me.”
The mermaid leaned into Adahy, seeking his warmth and comfort. “Must you have been so rude? Lachlan is a very sensitive type of man and to have you be so curt with him isn’t going to win you any favors.”
Adahy looked down at his mermaid. “I’m not here to win favors with anyone, love. Well, maybe with your parents but that is beside the point. We really must report the situation to our elders before we tell anyone else.”
The mermaid knew that her lover was right but she hardly ever admitted when she was wrong so she continued to argue her point. “Regardless, you need to be kinder.”
The centaur nodded his head. “You know that I would do anything for you, my love.”
As the threesome got closer to the war room they could hear voices arguing. Arabella and Adahy looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
The mermaid reached over and touched her best friend’s arm. “How long has this been going on?”
Lachlan looked at the hand that was resting on his arm before raising his gaze to meet hers. “Since they entered the room. None of them can agree on what should be done about the humans, and they have been getting increasingly louder and more agitated by the minute.”
That wasn’t something either Arabella or Adahy had wanted to hear. They needed to get into that room before there was a war between their people instead of the threat outside. They rushed inside, leaving Lachlan standing at the entrance of the room. As soon as Arabella and Adahy entered the room, all eyes were on them as the voices stopped one by one. The mermaid suddenly felt exposed as everyone stared at her.
Conway stood. “Ah, there you are. We were beginning to think the humans had captured you again. Come, join us. Maybe you can help us reach an agreement as to what we should do with those filthy humans.”
The couple took seats near the commissioners of the Paranormal Federation while everyone in the room watched.
A young female centaur jumped to her feet and slammed her hands down onto the table top. “This is an outrage! Xaxantos, you cannot be seriously considering allowing this disgusting display to continue!”
The leader of the Malean Centaurs tribe shook his head. “Now is hardly the time nor the place to be doing this, Trizias. Now, take your seat so we can call this meeting to order. We have a common enemy we all need to be concentrat
ing on right this moment.”
The enraged female centaur picked up her chair and threw it across the wall. “I will not sit in the same room and watch this unnatural union. The humans be damned.”
She stormed out of the room without a look back, leaving Adahy and Arabella looking after her. “What was that all about?”
Xaxantos looked at his son. “Trizias is unhappy with the woman who has been revealed to be your mate. I had hoped she would have waited until we returned to Clatsop State Forest, but it appears that is not going to be the case.”
Adahy shook his head. “I had no idea that Trizias was so close-minded.”
The older centaur grinned. “I don’t think it is a matter of being open or close-minded, my son. I think Trizias truly believed she was to be your mate.”
The younger centaur sighed. “Well, she never did pay attention to our history or the stories you would share.”
He reached over and took Arabella’s hand in his, bringing it to his mouth so that he could lay a kiss on the top of it. “I am glad to have finally found my mate, and I am truly sorry that Trizias’s feelings are hurt but you know your mate when you meet them. That is something you have always told us.”
Conway and Laguna looked at one another, not sure what to say or think.
It was Lachlan who broke the silence in the war room. “Arabella, you can’t be mated to a centaur. Where would you live? Would he move to live with you here in the castle, knowing that he would have to forsake his tribe because he would never be able to return to shore? Or would you leave the castle and live with him in the forest, forsaking all of your people?”
The couple hadn’t thought that far ahead, hadn’t really had the time to consider anything other than the way they felt when they were touching. The looming war surrounding them didn’t help matters much on that front either.
Arabella rose, wanting to say something to put everyone’s minds at ease, at least for the moment, so they could concentrate on the threat that was closing in on them. “We don’t have time to be arguing amongst ourselves over this matter. There will be time enough for Adahy and I to decide what we are going to do, or where we will live, after the human threat is gone.”
Adahy also stood. “It appears we have lost sight of what is at stake here. The humans have escalated and we need to decide whether a war with them will be worth it, or if we should try to find a way to stay hidden.”
Conway looked at the young centaur. “What do you mean they have escalated? What happened when I left you and Arabella?”
His daughter answered, “We were shot at. It appears the humans are a bit upset about losing their centaur and mermaid. Our best guess is we were a specimen that the other military facilities didn’t have and they don’t want to lose that upper hand.”
The male commissioner stood oddly still looking his daughter over, making sure she was okay. “They didn’t hit you, did they?”
Arabella shook her head. “No, neither one of us were hit, but that doesn’t change the fact that the humans are prepared to go to war to get us back to their facility. We all need to come to some sort of agreement as to what we are going to do with them before they find a way to breach our castle.”
Chapter Fifteen
“That certainly could have gone better,” Arabella told Adahy as they settled on her bed.
The centaur nodded. “I agree. I had no idea our people would be so upset with our mating. Seriously, the thought never occurred to me.”
The mermaid snuggled into her lover’s side. “It didn’t occur to me either, but it seems that some of our people are really upset about us being together. There has to be a way to ease their minds.”
Adahy pulled her onto his lap, kissing her collarbone. “I can’t think of any scenario where someone isn’t going to get pissed and stay that way. At least our parents are happy for us.”
Arabella giggled. “Yes, that is a relief, but I think what our people are mostly worried about is losing their leaders. Our parents aren’t going to be around forever and we are the ones who are supposed to step up when they are gone. If we are going to perform the mating ritual and become one, then our people will have to become one and we will have to decide how we are going rule over both the land and the ocean.”
The centaur tilted his head to the side, considering what his mate had just told him. “That is true, but we need to take care of the other issue at hand before we even consider performing the mating ritual.”
The mermaid leaned down and gave him a heated kiss. “Let’s not think about any of this now.”
Adahy chuckled, loving the way his mermaid’s mind worked. He reached up and ran his fingers through her silver hair. It amazed him how something that looked like Christmas tinsel could feel so smooth falling through his fingers. Their kiss deepened and the centaur rolled them over until he was on top of her. Running his hands over her breasts, he felt her shiver with lust.
Arabella arched into his touch with a sigh. She ran her fingers lightly up his back as he slid his hand up her shirt. As Adahy’s hand skimmed her left breast, an alarm starting blaring in the castle.
“What is that?” The centaur asked as they straightened their clothes and climbed off of the bed.
Arabella looked at him with wide eyes. “It’s the security alarm. The castle has been breached!”
The two of them raced out of her room and down the hall towards the war room. The mermaid skidded to a stop just inside the war room, taking in the scene. Her parents were there, along with Adahy’s father, standing around the oval table. It appeared the three of them were having an argument and the couple had interrupted them.
“Daddy! What is going on?” Arabella shouted as others began to flood into the room.
Conway threw his hands up in the air. “It would appear we have been breached, guppy. Where have the two of you been?”
The young woman could feel the blush as it spread up her neck and into her face. “Uh, we were in my room talking about some of the things Lachlan had pointed out earlier.”
Laguna chuckled. “Must have been some talk to have you blushing like that, my darling. It looks like the war has come to us, after all. Do you remember the protocol we used to practice when you were young?”
Arabella nodded, reaching for Adahy’s hand. “I do, but I’m not leaving here, Mother. I want to stay and fight with the rest of you.”
Conway came to stand in front of his daughter. “I know you do, guppy, but you have to follow protocol. You are our only child and as such you are the priority and need to be taken to safety.”
Xaxantos spoke quietly from his side of the table. “As do you, my son. If anything were to happen to us we need to be sure you will be able to take our place. Tell me you understand.”
Adahy nodded, taking his mates arm. “They are right, my love. We must go.”
Arabella shook her head. “I will not run while my family fights! How will my people follow me if I were to run every time battle broke out?”
The commissioners shared a look. “We understand how you feel, child, but it is our job as parents and rulers to ensure your safety so our people have leaders.”
Dante and Bresor entered the room, standing on either side of the couple.
Conway took his daughter into his arms. “Your escort is here. These fellows will take you to the safe house where I want you to stay until I send word that it is safe to return home. Can you do that for me, guppy?”
Arabella fought back her tears, “Yes, Daddy, I can do that.”
Laguna wrapped her arms around the young mermaid, looking at her daughter’s mate. “You take care of my baby, do you understand me centaur?”
Adahy nodded. “I most certainly will, ma’am, have no doubt about that.”
Dante clapped his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It’s time to go, my friend.”
The four of them left the room, Arabella looking over her shoulder at her parents one last time. She had a feeling she wouldn’t see them agai
n.
As they raced down the hallway, Lachlan joined them. “Follow me to the secret tunnel that will get all of you out of the castle.”
The group took a right turn into another hallway and then a left into Arabella’s room, “Lachlan, this is my bedroom not a secret tunnel. What are you playing at here?”
Her best friend gave her a secret smile as he pushed one of the seashells on her headboard, “Just wait, Princess, and you will see.”
The mermaid had never heard the snide tone that Lachlan was using with her in that moment and he had most certainly never called her princess before. What in the world was going on with her best friend?
Arabella walked over to where Lachlan stood. “What is going on with you, Lach?”
She placed her hand on his shoulder and was crushed when he shook it off, moving away from her. “It doesn’t matter, Bella. We need to concentrate on getting you out of here now.”
The mermaid started walking back to her mate when she heard something crunching. Turning her attention back to the area she had just been in, she saw her fireplace moving backward, leaving a black hole where it had been.
Once the hole was fully exposed, Lachlan gestured toward it. “Your secret tunnel, Princess. Let’s get you out of this castle before the humans discover us and we can’t get you to safety.”
He disappeared into the tunnel, not brothering to look back and see if they were following him. Bresor entered behind Lachlan, then Arabella followed by Adahy with Dante bringing up the rear.
Chapter Sixteen
Arabella held the lantern out further so she could see where she was going and thought about the way her best friend was acting. She couldn’t understand where all of his sudden animosity was coming from but every time she tried to talk to him about it, he would try to start a conversation with Bresor, making sure that the mermaid knew he didn’t want to talk to her.
The Secret of Site G Page 7
