by Starla Night
King Kayo gave voice to their confusion. “What do you mean you are my ‘sister’? What is this meaning?”
Seriously? “What part confuses you? I don’t have to explain basic biology, do I?”
“I understand the biology of young fries. I do not understand why you believe it links us.”
“Your mother was Aiycaya’s last sacred bride. My mother was Aiycaya’s last sacred bride. We have the same mother.”
“Ah.” King Kayo smiled.
Everyone calmed, relaxing with smiles. They were relieved. Even the All-Council representative peeked out from behind his warriors as if the fact that she was related to the king explained her outburst—and it was no big deal.
“Yes, I see the resemblance now,” Elder Bawa said quickly, changing his position. “Their souls are both young and impetuous. Of course she would refuse to be his mate.”
“No wonder he cannot order her,” Elder Wida boomed. “They share the same mother.”
King Kayo’s shoulders dropped in relief. “Then, because you cannot be my sacred bride, you will become the sacred bride of…hmmm…only the most honorable warrior…”
She gripped her hair. “No way. No way!”
As she grabbed her hair, a flash of color caught her eye. On the tip of her outstretched thumb, a bright pink mark gleamed, as if she’d dipped her finger in iridescent paint.
Total realization filtered in.
She knew what it was. Deep down, she knew. She’d always known.
“I will choose the most honorable warrior for my half sister,” King Kayo said, grateful that he did not have to choose between his city and her.
“I’m not your half sister.”
“You just said we share the same mother.”
She held up her hand. High, so everyone could see the lines of neon pink on her thumb.
His brows lifted as he realized their colors matched. His tattoos and hers. Blood carried through the mer line.
“And also the same father.”
He kicked back a pace. “Impossible.”
“I scratched my thumb with the tattoo rod. And now I have this.”
She put her thumb right next to his tattooed wrists. It looked as if the tattoo moved from his skin to hers.
They were the same colors.
The same.
She was, and always had been, a full-blooded mer.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The city of Aiycaya rocked with Harmony’s revelation.
Even Faier reeled.
“What is the female saying?” Representative Rikoy leaned over his guards’ tridents to peer at Harmony and King Kayo. “What is this mockery?”
“She is his sister,” Elder Bawa repeated, slack-jawed with awe.
No females had been born to the mer since the Great Catastrophe a thousand years ago.
Until two years ago when Queen Lucy, a modern woman, gave birth to twins. Feisty, giggly, well-loved twins. One male. And one female.
But Harmony was much older.
Her transformation made sense considering Harmony’s naturalness under the water and how she easily accomplished the things surface women had struggled with. Only her fears had held her back. Now her soul light shone with the beauty of the Life Tree. She was at home in Aiycaya not because her soul entwined with King Kayo’s but because she was home. Aiycaya was her home.
She was a natural-born mer.
But the explanation did not enlighten the other warriors.
King Kayo’s soul fluctuated dark to light to dark again. He struggled to accept her truth.
“Do not believe these lies,” Tibe argued, rejecting her outright.
Whispers and mutterings once more filled the ocean with tumult. “How is this possible? A female—”
“A true mer—”
“Is she King Kayo’s equal? But she was raised on the surface…”
Tibe shoved King Kayo’s shoulder. “Do not be misled. That is paint.”
She whirled on him. “It’s not paint.”
“You have collaborated with the prisoner to frighten us. That is a false coloration.” He bumped the king again to jolt a reaction. “Lies.”
“It’s real. I swear.”
“Real? Then why did you not tell us before?” Tibe’s lips curled in a snarl. “You lie.”
King Kayo blinked and lifted his head. His brows darkened like his soul. “Yes, Harmony. Why did you let me believe you would become my sacred bride if you knew we had a family relationship?”
“Because… But I didn’t realize it until just now.”
“All her words were lies.”
King Kayo puffed out his chest. “Tibe is right. You lied to me.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Explain yourself.”
“Yeah, right.” Harmony’s soul burned twice as bright. “Even if I had known from the beginning—and I didn’t—there would have been no point in telling you.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you still don’t listen.”
He frowned at her hard.
Tibe tsked. “My king, what a ridiculous claim.”
King Kayo held up his hand. “I am listening now.”
“My king—”
“Tibe.” King Kayo’s voice sharpened with unusual authority. “I am listening.”
Harmony laid out her facts. “My mother never let me go swimming. Water terrified her. Yes, she was a sacred bride. But she didn’t keep me out of the water to avoid revealing the truth about herself. She avoided revealing the truth about me.”
“That proves nothing,” Tibe sniped.
She focused on King Kayo. “You were born too early. Our mother stayed under the sea longer than usual to nurse you back to health. She stayed so long, other warriors grew jealous. Long enough that she became pregnant with me.”
“Lies, my king.”
“Our father never knew. Nobody knew. She didn’t even know. Not until he had left her on the shore.”
“She never contacted us,” King Kayo said stiffly.
“How could she contact you? You don’t have cell phones.”
“Sell-fones?”
“Look. She would not cross the ocean alone with a child. She’d already lost all her children, and she knew how dangerous the ocean could be. So she kept me. Maybe she was going to tell me someday. Or maybe she had a different idea of how my life should be.”
“Yet you are here.”
“Exactly! We’re not orphans any longer. I’m here.”
He shook his head.
“You’re not alone,” she insisted. “I can help you.”
“Help? We cannot agree on anything.”
“That’s good! We argue like brother and sister. I don’t know the rules, and you insist on following a crazy code of honor. But we’re on the same side. We both want to protect the city. Aiycaya is your home, and it’s also mine.” She linked hands with King Kayo, their tattoos matching, souls the same bright color. “We’ll do this. Together.”
He looked down at her fingers wrapped around his hand. King Kayo’s soul light brightened. Her impassioned words were reaching him.
Faier understood. He had struggled alone, long believing he would never find his soul mate. Harmony had changed him. Now she gave King Kayo strength.
“Together,” King Kayo repeated. His fingers curled around hers.
She beamed.
“Anathema.” Representative Rikoy’s dark judgment shot fear into Faier’s heart. “A surface female has no place in a traditional city.”
Darkness clouded the city.
“She is no surface female.” King Kayo pulled Harmony behind him, placing himself before the warrior’s wrath. “You are wrong.”
“Her existence damns you.”
“She is a miracle!”
“She is a mistake. Your father’s sins must be eradicated.”
King Kayo tightened his grip on his trident. “What are you saying?”
“Your father broke the ancien
t covenant. Her existence is a violation.” Representative Rikoy raged at them from behind his guards. “The only way to save our traditional standing is to end her.”
King Kayo growled. “She will rule beside me.”
Representative Rikoy sneered. “Then I will take pleasure in razing your Life Tree.”
King Kayo released her and flew to the representative. “Die!” He slashed.
Representative Rikoy’s guards parried his first blow with a loud clang.
No one else moved. The king fought the guards alone.
Representative Rikoy shouted over the commotion at Elder Bawa, “I deny your petition and rescind your traditional status!”
“Representative!” Elder Bawa wailed. “Give me another chance. We did not know!”
“You failed. Broke the ancient covenant.”
“We never—in twenty-nine human years, not once did we ever break—”
“You have broken the ancient covenant. Get rid of her. And him.” He pointed his long trident at Faier.
Elder Bawa turned in confusion. “Who?”
“Tibe.” King Kayo slashed again and again. “Help me repel the intruders. Tibe!”
Tibe floated with a lax trident. “My king. I am to rule beside you.”
“Release the rebel! Tibe! It is my order!”
“Rebel?” Tibe swiveled to watch the king fight. “But what about me?”
His warriors milled in confusion. They did not join their king. They waited for a sign from another warrior—any leader—for what to do.
“Tibe!”
The personal guard swirled around Representative Rikoy, tridents out and bristling. The guard expertly parried King Kayo’s thrusts without bothering to return the blows.
Xarin flew behind Faier. With a shink, his trident sliced through the bonds around Faier’s wrist. The knots fell away.
Faier grabbed his trident from Harmony. His pumping heart drowned out the shriek of his dislocated finger. He pulled it back into place with a sharp, painful snap and forced it to curl around the trident. But he could not rely on it alone.
Armed again, he was much better. He pressed Harmony to his protected side. “You saved me.”
“For the moment. Tell me what to do,” she demanded tightly.
“You are queen. Take control of the city.”
“How?”
She asked a good question. The city was in chaos.
Xarin continued flying. He raised his trident and shouted, “To the king!”
Warriors rallied to him, raising tridents and shouting.
The representative and his guard retreated, flying between castles to escape the angry army.
“No!” Elder Bawa grabbed his head. “Tibe, stop the representative. He must take back his judgment.”
Tibe gripped his trident. “Warlord Sao! First phalanx! To me!”
Over half the warriors peeled away from the main force and wheeled to Tibe. They chased the All-Council representative, swarming him like the mantis shrimp. Tibe fought side by side between Xarin and King Kayo. No one watching him would ever doubt his dedication to Aiycaya or its young king.
But the personal guards were braver, stronger, and far more experienced. They feinted and drew the warriors away from their intended escape route, and Representative Rikoy darted through the gap they had cleared.
Representative Rikoy and his guards escaped.
King Kayo shouted at Xarin. “Go after him! He will not threaten a king in his own city. Bring back his head!”
Xarin hesitated. His gaze leveled on Faier. Harmony would be on her own. He whirled and led his smaller group of warriors after the fleeing All-Council representative.
Warlord Sao’s army hemmed in Faier and Harmony.
Tibe approached. His eyes glowed with cold intention. “You have poisoned our city for the final time.”
“Tibe.” King Kayo rubbed a bleeding cut on his bicep. He looked older and exhausted. “Faier has done nothing wrong. Stand down.”
Tibe regarded the king coldly. “Since when do you side with a rebel over me?”
“Since you turned your blade on my sister.”
Tibe jerked upright. “Traitor.”
King Kayo eyed Tibe. “Are you calling me a traitor? A king of his own city, a traitor?”
“Yes.” Tibe doubled his accusation. “You betray your father. A great king.”
“According to Representative Rikoy, he was the true traitor.” King Kayo frowned. “Back away from Harmony.”
Warlord Sao obeyed, giving them a little more room.
Faier kept a tight grip on his trident.
Tibe followed King Kayo, more upset. “You betray your own honor. Ever since the female came, you do not listen. And why? She is a liar who disobeys.”
King Kayo growled, “Careful.”
“But—”
“My king,” Elder Bawa interrupted. “Tibe. The situation of our city is dire. Of course you do not wish harm against a sacred bride. But we must show the All-Council evidence we are a traditional city.”
“Evidence such as?”
“The remains of…or, the eradication of…er, the dead rebel and the disappearance of your anathema bride.”
“She is my sister,” he growled.
“Not to the All-Council. They will come, King Kayo. Xarin can hold them only so long. You must prepare for war.”
“So we prepare.” He turned to Warlord Sao. “Secure our borders.”
Warlord Sao’s gaze flicked to Tibe.
Tibe twisted his trident, increasingly upset, but said nothing to countermand the king.
Warlord Sao led a group of warriors out of the city.
“We will help you, my king,” Elder Yane said, and the other elders with him nodded sagely. “Do not panic. We will guide you.”
“Give up the rebel,” Elder Bawa pushed. “We do not have to touch your female. The All-Council will escort her to the surface.”
Harmony nudged Faier. “Really?”
“No. They kill queens.”
“Injuring a female violates mer law,” Elder Bawa retorted, without looking at Faier.
“The All-Council says queens are not true females, Elder Bawa, as you should well know.”
He frowned. “Sacred Bride Harmony is female. No one would mistake her for a male.”
“Do not trust the All-Council to agree.”
Elder Bawa fidgeted. “You must trust us.”
King Kayo listened to their interaction, then shook his head. “I cannot.”
“Tibe will—”
“No, Elder Bawa.” The thread of steel returned. “I will not bow to those disrespectful so-called warriors. Representative Rikoy would break the first law of the mer. No one hurts my sister.”
Elder Bawa’s shoulders sagged. “Then we make an enemy of the All-Council.”
“No!” Tibe kicked for them.
“Tibe?” King Kayo jerked up. “What are you doing?”
“Your weakness will not destroy our city.” He thrust his trident at Harmony’s heart.
She shrieked in surprise.
Faier wheeled around the thrust, securing Harmony and parrying Tibe’s blow.
Tibe twisted and slashed at Faier’s chest.
Faier parried him again.
“Tibe! Stop!”
“If you do not do it…I will.” He slashed.
Faier repelled him. Strength flowed into his veins. He pushed the angry first lieutenant away from Harmony. “Even rebels obey their kings.”
“I will slash your face with scars!”
“You are years too late.” Faier parried another blow.
The first lieutenant’s lips curled into a snarl. “I will end you.”
“You are only ending yourself. Hear your king shouting for you to stop? How will he trust you after this? Your career as first lieutenant has ended. You will reside in my old prison before long.”
Tibe’s eyes darted behind him to King Kayo floating beside Harmony.
�
�Stop now, Tibe,” King Kayo shouted. “Do not make me force you!”
Fury chased dark hurt in Tibe’s soul. He flicked back to Faier, rage fueled by pain. “This is your fault.”
They tangled, weaving and thrusting. Faier’s side burned, but his muscle held.
Tibe tired, slowing his strikes. “Why do you not fail? Die already.”
“I am used to fighting through pain.” Faier parried his slash and rotated, locking the blade at Tibe’s jaw. “How familiar are you?”
Tibe froze.
Faier pressed him. “Do you yield?”
His cheek muscles twitched with fury. He gripped Faier’s trident.
King Kayo’s shoulders lowered. “Finally. Tibe. You must prepare the city for siege.”
“My king.” His brows drew together in pain. “Why can you not see what these rebels are doing to you?”
“Tibe.”
“No!” He lofted his own trident. “I serve you faithfully.”
“Tibe—”
“I serve you!” He curled his hand around Faier’s sharp trident blade, cutting his hand to the bone, and shoved Faier back. Into the open space, he hurled his own trident at Harmony.
King Kayo shouted, “Tibe!”
But the trident was not thrown spear-first. It tumbled so the flat middle hit Harmony’s belly. “Chiba! Kusi! Take her!”
The two warriors grabbed each end of trident and used their own to interlock, scissoring her into a cage. They kicked hard.
“Faier!” she shrieked.
“Harmony!”
Tibe trapped Faier’s trident, stopping Faier from chasing and forcing him to prove just how capable he was of fighting through pain. “Take her to the surface.”
“No! Faier!” Harmony shrieked.
King Kayo shouted at his warriors. The elders watched the shenanigans, nonplussed, as though confused about why they were playing a childish game when the All-Council’s threat of death clouded their city.
The warriors chased Harmony past the Life Tree while the king berated them. Harmony shrieked.
Faier shouted, “Use your queen powers!”
“What queen powers?”
Oh.
Curse it. She was so natural. Faier assumed she would already know how to use her powers.
She had already channeled the Life Tree once in this fight. Not to save her own life. To save his.
