Beneath the Waves

by Ali Vali

  “The speaker card she filled out said Oba Priest, but I’ve never met her. Thank God, she and the people she represents sided with us.”

  “That was lucky,” she said as she stared at the woman, who was retreating from the room. “I’m glad, though, since there’s still plenty to do in our name, especially since it’ll be more than just taking crude out of the ground,” she said, remembering what Kai had said on the subject when she and Frankie had considered quitting.

  If she couldn’t have love, she’d work on their legacy.

  *

  Oba walked out of the massive Palmer building on Laud’s arm. Queen Galen had insisted she go to not only vote their stock, but to see how the Palmers were doing. They had both agreed something was unfinished, especially when it came to Vivien Palmer.

  “Are you ready to return, Priestess?” Laud said, scanning the area as they moved to the car. “Her majesty was adamant you take your time, but we’re ready to sail if there’s nothing else.”

  “I need you to get me back to the capital as soon as possible, thank you.”

  The driver took them to the city south of New Orleans and dropped them at the top of the levee with only the wide river on the other side. They waited until they were alone before walking to the water’s edge and swimming out to the large military transport Laud had insisted on.

  She meditated on the trip back, concentrating on how wrong she’d been when she’d talked to Kai right before she left on her mission. She’d been so far off she was prepared to offer Galen her resignation after they returned.

  “My Queen,” she said as she dropped to her knees when she made it to the throne room. Galen still appeared thinner and paler after everything that had happened, and she took the blame for her distress. “I beg your forgiveness.”

  “For what?” Galen asked.

  “I interpreted what the orb showed me one way, convinced that’s what would come about, but I was wrong for not expanding what could have been.” She stayed on her knees even after Galen had signaled for her to rise.

  “Will this mistake have brought back my child?” Galen’s obvious fatigue seemed to come from sadness. Oba was surprised Hadley wasn’t at Galen’s side, which had been the norm, even more so now.

  “Highness, will you walk with me and I’ll answer your question?”

  She reached for Galen’s hand, glad the queen didn’t shun the offer. They strolled through the wide corridors to the private section of the palace. The door to Kai’s room was open, and she saw Hadley sitting in front of the large windows with a book, but her attention seemed to be on the view outside. The sun had set, so the only light in the room was the lamp over Hadley’s head.

  “Hey,” Galen said, and Hadley sprang to her feet and turned around. “Oba’s back.”

  “How’d it go?” The question was almost a whisper tinged with pain, and it made Oba close her eyes. That Kai was here at all was reason to give thanks, but it was painful to see Kai hurt.

  The day Kai came home unresponsive, Oba had never seen Galen and Hadley so distraught. From that moment neither of them had been too far away from their child. It had taken a week for Kai to open her eyes, but they were all thankful Kai had followed her training and put on her uniform under her street clothes that last day in New Orleans.

  The blast Steve had gotten off before Kai killed him had come close to crushing her chest, but the suit had done its job and she was still alive. It would take the medical team another week before Kai was completely healed, but she’d stubbornly refused the pain-management procedures.

  “The board makeup is due for another vote in a month, and Mr. Palmer is in charge again. The percentage of stock the realm holds in trust was enough to sway those people in attendance.”

  Kai looked at Oba, who sat on the end of the bed, finding none of the familiar feelings she’d had for so long. She steeled herself to not show pain, but she needed to take a deep breath. “And Vivien?” she asked. That question hurt more than her broken bones.

  “The vision of your battle seems to dominate her thoughts, and she has no outlet for the pain,” Oba said, and Kai was grateful for the truth. “She also questions herself when it comes to those memories and finds the truth of it all hard to accept.”

  “We received a transmission from Sol, and he seemed to be fishing,” Galen said. Kai doubted she was purposely trying to change the subject for no reason. “He didn’t come out and say it, but I believe Steve really was his son. However, we don’t know yet if we got all the people who made the voyage with him. Until we do, I plan to keep security around Vivien, since Steve made her and her family targets for retaliation.”

  “What did he want with Palmer Oil?” she asked.

  “To take it over as a stepping stone to other oil companies. Disrupting the flow of oil was the easiest way to create worldwide chaos, making it easy for an invading force to gain victory,” Hadley said. “That’s what we know so far, after a few sessions with Tanice Themis.”

  “We need to put more people on Vivien Palmer,” Oba said, her tears silently tracking down her face.

  “Why?” she said and sat up despite the pain. Then Oba told her, and she fell back just like she’d been shot with another blast to the heart.

  *

  “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but at least tell me I’m not crazy.” Vivien curled up on the deck her grandparents had built to accommodate Frankie’s chair. The trip to their childhood haunt had been his idea, and their parents had totally agreed.

  “Viv,” he said, reaching for her hand, “just like that day here, I know what I saw and you’re not crazy. I do, though, know how you felt about her, so I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to add to what you were going through. I’m sorry if that hurt you more.” He shook his head and held her hand tighter. “Maybe I also thought I was a little nuts. I have no reference for what I was looking at.”

  He was right, but it didn’t change what they’d witnessed. “You have to promise not to freak out, but I have to tell you something.” All that flew from her mind when she peered out over the water. Two large fins broke the surface and circled slowly. Her childhood nightmare came rushing back, only this time she wasn’t afraid.

  “Don’t get too close,” Frankie yelled when she stood and walked to the waterline.

  She covered her mouth to hold back the sob when the rest of her memory played out. “Oh, my God.”

  There was a break in the wave, and there Kai stood, waist deep, and seemed to hesitate. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  The sharks didn’t matter as she moved into Kai’s arms as fast as she could manage it without falling on her face. “Thank God you’re not dead,” she said as she ran her hands along Kai’s chest and face. “Why did you stay away? Damn you, did you have any idea what this was doing to me?”

  “I know, and I have so much to tell you, but I ask your forgiveness for so many things.” Kai cupped her face in her hands and her world righted.

  “It was you that day, wasn’t it?” The blue wetsuit was the same but a little different in that more symbols were attached to the sleeves. “You know what I’m talking about.”

  “I do, and yes,” Kai said and held her close when the sharks swam up and bumped her side. They were massive great whites but Vivien didn’t panic, so perhaps she was going crazy. “These are Ivan and Ram, and they’re sorry too for scaring you all those years ago,” Kai said, then clicked her tongue and immediately the two backed away. “Go play but be good.”

  “Please don’t leave me.” She clung to Kai, knowing in her gut that if Kai turned around and dove in, she’d be gone for good. She couldn’t guess what Kai was, but she was different in a special way.

  “We need to talk, but you have to understand who I am before you ask me to stay with you.” Kai led her to the deck and let her hands go so she could squat next to Frankie’s chair. “Hello, Franklin.” Kai took his hands. “Do you remember me?”

  “It’s you,
isn’t it? We never forgot you,” he said, and Vivien choked back her emotions when Frankie started crying.

  “It’s me, and this was my gift to you.” Kai reached in his T-shirt and took hold of his shell. “Close your eyes,” Kai said as he did the same, and whatever happened next made Frankie cry harder. “Do you remember that?”

  “Yes, and if it was you—just thank you is all I can say.”

  “I tried making up for my mistakes when I came back, but I fell considerably short in erasing all the pain I caused. Because of what happened, I’ve been granted permission to give you a gift that might make a dent in my debt.” Kai let go of his shell and took his other hand. “Do you trust me even if you have no reason to?”

  “Yes,” Frankie said as he leaned toward Kai and nodded as if Kai had asked him a question.

  Kai stood and held her hand out to Vivien, and when she accepted it, Kai kissed her and put a thought into Vivien’s mind. She gazed at Vivien to see if she understood and smiled at Vivien’s expression of wonder. Her wounds were thankfully healed enough with their medical experts’ procedures that sped up the timeline, but she still braced herself as she lifted Franklin from his chair.

  “Don’t be afraid,” she said as she walked to the water’s edge with Vivien right beside her. He stiffened when she entered the water, but the appearance of Isla and Talia seemed to take his mind off his nerves.

  Talia injected something into his neck and he went limp in her arms, making it easy for Isla to put a respirator over his face. They took him from her and bowed slightly as they headed for deeper water.

  “Will he be okay? I trust you, but he’s terrified of the water,” Vivien said as she leaned against her and took her hand.

  “You have my word, but this time is for us. Are you ready?”

  “I’ve been waiting for you since I was a little girl on this beach.”

  *

  The room Vivien and Franklin shared as children had been remodeled after they’d inherited the house and changed it to make it easier for Frankie to move around. Vivien had taken out the twin beds and replaced them with an antique sleigh bed that now faced the window. At night she still enjoyed listening to the surf and dreaming about the life she wanted.

  “Are you okay?” she asked Kai, thinking it was a dream seeing her standing by the windows. “Whatever Steve did to you looked dangerous.”

  “Steve will never be a problem to you and your family, but we’ll get to that. Are you okay? How are you feeling?” Kai asked, but her eyes had dropped to her midsection.

  “You know, don’t you?” The answer to the greatest mystery she’d ever faced alone was right there in front of her.

  “That you’re pregnant? Yes, and I hope you’re not too upset about that reality.”

  “I’ve always been sure that I didn’t want children, but this baby, it’s yours, isn’t it?” It was a crazy question, but it had to be true because Kai had been the only one. To believe anything else was too disturbing for something she was truly happy about.

  “When I came to work for your father I never imagined falling in love with his daughter, especially since she was a woman I’d met before as a child.” Kai explained the significance of the shells. “To my people they’re a conduit to so many things, especially when they find their life mate. My heart soared when I realized that’s who you are to me, but the sharing shouldn’t have worked.”

  “Your people? The sharing, what does that mean?” Vivien asked, willingly following when Kai moved to the bed. “Where exactly are you from?”

  “You have to keep an open mind, but I’m from Atlantis.”

  “I’m guessing you don’t mean the resort in the islands, do you?” Kai shook her head. “The lost city of Atlantis, really?”

  “It’s right where it’s been for thousands of years, so it’s not lost to us. The spot near Greece that was written about was probably the last humans we worked closely with, and its destruction came about when they used powers they had very little knowledge about.” She sighed at the thought of so many deaths.

  “It was too long ago for it to have been your fault, sweetheart,” Vivien said, and Kai laughed at how easily she’d read her mind.

  This was a glimpse of what her mothers must experience. “No, but it’s sobering to think about. Ever since that event we’ve gone to the depths to protect our secrets, a job made interesting by people like you,” she said, tapping the tip of Vivien’s nose.

  “How did you get here?” Vivien asked, and Kai was grateful for the questions. It beat having to calm down a hysterical Vivien, which she wouldn’t have blamed her for being. So as concisely as she could, she gave Vivien a history lesson on their civilization, starting with Queen Nessa, and their ongoing battle with their home planet. “I knew there was something bizarre about that bastard Steve.”

  “It’s one reason my mothers allowed me to return, aside from your current condition. When I revealed myself to you and Franklin when we were children, my mothers weren’t thrilled, but my error was the basis for stumbling onto the boxes on Triton and discovering Steve’s plot.”

  “Can you stay with me?” Vivien asked, lying back and pulling her down with her. “I don’t want to go through this alone.”

  “First, you have to know I love you,” she said, taking time to savor their first real kiss since their reunion. “That first day we made love, the shells made a connection that started the sharing, and when the conditions are right, it creates life. You have to know that it wouldn’t have happened if, in my heart, I didn’t totally believe you are the woman who owns my soul. This child of ours is a wonder that I can’t wait to share with you.”

  “I love you too,” Vivien said as she wrapped her arms around her neck. “From that first day we went swimming, I thought you were perfect for me. I never thought that would be possible for me.”

  “Thank you,” she said, and her shell along with the rest of her grew warm. “I want to be with you, to formalize our bond, but you have to understand the sacrifice that might require of you.”

  “What sacrifice?” Vivien finally sounded wary.

  “I’m not simply a citizen of Atlantis—I’m the heir to its throne. My mother Galen is the reigning queen. I cannot abandon my people and leave the realm in chaos. To join with me requires simply that—for you to join me. Just like the shells combined to make the baby that grows within you, the shells knew before us that we belong together.”

  “I want that more than anything, but can I come back to see Frankie, or will he and my family be forbidden to know where I’ve gone?”

  “I’d never deny you seeing Franklin, my love.” She kissed Vivien again and placed her hand over her lower abdomen. “Besides, I have a lot invested in this part of the world, including Palmer Oil, so we’ll return regularly.”

  “You’re the mystery stockholder who voted for my father?”

  “He deserved a second chance, and eventually you’ll see that a lot of his behavior wasn’t in his control.” She moved her hand lower, and Vivien’s legs spread slightly apart.

  “We have a lifetime of talk, but right now I need to feel you.”

  Kai stood long enough to remove her uniform and helped Vivien out of her swimsuit. When their skin touched she thought it was too good to be true, but Oba had explained it best. The old prophecy was right in that she chose differently than the path she’d been expected to take and it would change their world forever. Her heirs would have a place in both the human world and their own. The balance would, in her opinion, make them great rulers when it was their turn.

  “I love you, Vivien Palmer, and I will for the rest of time,” she said as she started to touch Vivien, only this time she opened her heart and mind to her. When Vivien gazed at her in wonder, Kai knew her life would never be perfect in anything but this. Vivien was hers, and she would give her the strength to face whatever came next.

  *

  At sunrise a month later, Kai led Vivien back to the water and held her as differen
t shades of pink colored the morning sky. She pointed to the ripples in the dead-calm water and released Vivien so she could fully enjoy what was coming.

  “Where are you going?” Vivien asked when she took a step back. Kai pointed to the water again, then waved.

  “Viv,” Franklin said.

  Vivien stood motionless as she stared at Frankie, and the wonder on her face would be a sight Kai would cherish always. “Even when you were in that chair I knew you’d be this tall,” Vivien said softly.

  Franklin stood in water to his knees, and Kai could tell he was a little shell-shocked that the legs he’d been born with along with his lower spine had been replaced with perfectly healthy parts that had been grown in their labs just for him. The healing process would take a few more weeks, but she knew the doctors liked movement as a way for all the nerves and muscle to bond to their new host.

  He hugged Vivien first but didn’t leave her out. Like the day Kai had returned, he cried as he put his arms around her. “I can never repay you for this, but I can simply ask if I have anything in my power to give you.”

  “Just one thing, learn to swim,” she said, patting him on the back. “Your niece will want to share the water with you.” She reached down and found another shell and handed it to him. “Feel free to keep the shell I gifted you with before, but you must swear to never remove this one.” Like before, she rubbed her hands together and spoke the ancient words with a slight addition. The lines she carved on the new stone were vastly different because they contained the marking from the old and the new necessary ones.

  “Will this change my relationship with Vivien?” he said, accepting her new gift.

  “The old lines are there, but the new ones will block the memory of your chair from anyone who knows you. The technology that fixed you doesn’t exist anywhere on the planet, so it will keep your secrets safe. It’ll also block your mind from everyone except Vivien and me.” She placed it around his neck, leaving the old one for him to decide what to do with. “Now make your distant memory a reality.”