Envy (The Damning Book 2)

by Katie May

  water brushing the edge of the boat.

  Why they had boats when the majority of the population could breathe -

  and were required to at least half a day - underwater, I had no idea. But I

  wasn’t willing to look a gifted horse in the mouth...or however that saying

  went.

  The castle and “summer home”, as Dair called it, were located on the

  mainland, a couple hundred miles away from the Capital. From there, it led to

  an immense body of water, Leapon Ocean. Hundreds of islands freckled the

  ocean water, all varying in size and wildlife according to Dair.

  Bash expertly steered the boat through a narrow canal, the only sound the

  rippling of water and puttering of the engine.

  “I don’t like this,” I whispered tersely. My eyes constantly scanned the

  horizon. What I was searching for, I couldn’t discern. Something didn’t feel

  right. The unease prickled the skin on my arms, snaking to my throat and

  choking me.

  I didn’t like being separated from my mates. Not so soon after I met

  them.

  Not so soon after I claimed them.

  I didn’t want to think about that, about them, and I once more looked out

  into the distance.

  A tapestry of green surrounded either side of the narrow canal. Tiny dots

  of yellow adorned the majority of the leaves. The only trees I recognized

  were palms, spaced intermittently along the waterway. Another one looked

  like a palm tree but held the needles of a pine. Another was teetering against

  a trunk, seconds from toppling.

  Despite the copious wildlife, there were no Mermaids present. I had

  expected to see at least one on my journey to the boat - and then more once

  we set off. However, the only Mermaid nearby was Dair.

  “It’s too quiet,” Dair agreed. He leaned against the railing of the small

  sailboat. His father’s, he had told me, before sheepishly adding, “He stole it

  from a rich Genie.”

  Typical.

  He was right. Normally, I would be grateful for the tranquility and

  silence, but I was too wound up. Too suspicious. Any second now, the

  serenity could shatter like a rock being thrown at glass.

  Movement captured and ensnared my attention. Dair was slowly

  undressing, and despite the direness of the situation, I found myself taking in

  his golden expanse of skin. He had delectable back muscles, and two dimples

  leading down to his ass. I never knew that would turn me on so much.

  When he shucked his pants, bending down to pull his feet out, I got a

  good view of his ass and balls. Pleasure swirled in my lower stomach, and I

  bit my lower lip.

  “Stop fucking gawking,” Bash bit out. He turned his glare onto Dair.

  “And stop giving her a show.”

  Dair smiled cheekily at me over his shoulder, winking once, before he

  dived into the water. Once he was gone, the mood instantly turned somber,

  and I spun on Bash.

  “Why are you such a fucking prick?” I asked, and his eyes narrowed.

  “Because this is serious, Z. Or don’t you understand that?”

  “Of course I understand! I understand that better than anyone. It’s my life

  on the line, Bash. Not yours. Not Dair’s. Mine. And it’s all the lives of those

  men in that dungeon. And maybe even Ryland’s! But we don’t fucking know

  anything.” I threw my hands up into the air in agitation. “Excuse me for

  enjoying one moment of normalcy. One moment with my mate before shit

  hits the fan.”

  Bash’s hand tightened over the steering wheel. He looked as if he wanted

  to run to me, but I couldn’t tell if it was to strangle me or kiss me.

  “You still don’t get it,” he settled on at last, dismissing me with a slow

  shake of his head. I narrowed my eyes at the pompous asshole.

  “What don’t I get? Why don’t you fucking speak in words instead of

  these cryptic codes?”

  I balled my hand into a fist, seconds from decking him. I could learn to

  drive a damn boat if the need arose, and I was sure Bash would be quite tasty

  fish food.

  Bash turned abruptly, face red.

  “If you die, we die,” he seethed. “It’s that simple. Maybe not literally, but

  mentally. You saw what happened when the Shifter King lost his mate. He

  went fucking insane! Did you know that he begged for death?”

  His question took me by surprise. For some reason, it was almost a

  physical blow to my stomach. I staggered back a step until my thighs were

  resting against the teal leather seats at the back of the boat.

  “What?”

  I tried to visualize what he had said. The Shifter King may be evil, an

  asshole of massive proportions, but he was the epitome of strong, alpha male.

  He practically exuded raw masculinity from his gruff voice and burly

  appearance to his condescending remarks. The picture Bash painted was

  impossible to imagine.

  “Even he couldn’t survive the death of his mate, and he didn’t like her

  very much,” Bash continued. His voice had lost its initial heat and now

  sounded subdued. Tired. Weary.

  “Like us?” I mused, and heat once more flared to life in Bash’s eyes.

  “They’re nothing like us,” he protested vehemently. The fire in his eyes

  grew to an inferno.

  “You hate me.” My voice was weak, even to my own ears.

  “I don’t fucking hate you,” he snapped.

  “What about Cassie?”

  “Who the fuck is Cassie?” He looked genuinely confused, and I couldn’t

  help but snort.

  “The girl you left the ball with.” I mentally winced at how jealous I

  sounded. A pathetic, needy girlfriend. What had these men done to me?

  Understanding flickered in his eyes followed immediately by horror.

  “Is that why you have been such an icy bitch to me?” he asked, mouth

  agape. My hair rose on the back of my neck.

  “Wow. Thanks.”

  “Guys!” Dair’s voice floated to us from down below, and I risked a

  glance over the railing. His golden hair was spun with darker shades of

  umber as he bobbed in the water. Waves rippled over his chiseled, nicely

  defined chest. As he moved, I caught sight of his tail.

  It was a deep, cerulean blue, and two times the size of his torso. I knew

  from experience that the tail was a rather sensitive area for the male

  Mermaid.

  “You leading the way?” I asked Dair, turning my back on a fuming Bash.

  He was right. The conversation - and maiming - could wait until we were

  done with this ridiculous task.

  “Yeah,” he called back, swimming in front of the boat. His muscles

  flexed with each swipe of the water, and once more, I had to remind myself

  not to drool.

  But my damn vagina wanted to pee on him and claim him as my own.

  Shameless hussy, that one.

  Bash sullenly moved back to the wheel.

  “Can we go faster?” I asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

  We had barely made a dent in the long strip of canal, slowly puttering along.

  Bash glared at me like my question was the stupidest thing he had ever

  heard.

  “It’s shallow here,” he snapped. “Unless you want the boat to get stuck in

  sand and
break.”

  “It’s not my fault I’ve never ridden a fucking boat before,” I retorted

  back. He muttered something in irritation but thankfully did not respond. I

  wasn’t sure I could last another comment from him without ripping his dick

  off his body.

  The silence stretched, thickening.

  “I didn’t do anything with Cassie,” Bash bit out. He sounded...frustrated.

  Frustrated and appalled. From where I sat behind him, I couldn’t see his face.

  “You left with her,” I pointed out. There was no bitterness in my voice.

  Instead, it was a statement of fact. He had left with her, he couldn’t deny that.

  Maybe he didn’t sleep with her or even kiss her, but he had left.

  I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath.

  The sun was bright and blinding today. Behind my closed eyelids, it

  painted a picture of dark red and black. I knew that my skin was burning,

  unaccustomed to the blistering heat.

  I kept my eyes closed as Bash released a sigh.

  “She told me she had information about you,” he admitted at last.

  “Me?”

  That wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

  “I went, of course. I thought she maybe had some information about

  Aaliyah or some shit like that.” Another intake of air followed by a heavy

  exhale. “Maybe it was a diversion. Maybe she was actually working with

  Haven. I was stupid and believed her when she said she had information

  about the new noble, Zara.”

  There was another long pause, and I pictured him forking his fingers

  through his blond hair, a few shades lighter than Dair’s. It was an anxious

  gesture that a lot of my mates had. A product, I was sure, of their life growing

  up together. I knew I picked up habits from the assassins in the Alphabet

  Resistance.

  S and T used to always bite their nails down to nubs until B, our leader,

  poured syrup over their heads. I didn’t know how that helped them, only that

  it did. The bad habit stopped instantaneously. T still joked that he could feel

  phantom remnants of syrup in his butt crack.

  “Anyway...I’m not going to lie to you. She tried to kiss me.”

  I remained immobile, expression stoic, as I processed what he had

  confessed. She had tried to kiss him. I wasn’t surprised - especially after her

  spiel of snagging one of the princes - but it still left a hollow hole in my

  stomach.

  “You didn’t kiss her back.” It wasn’t a question despite my need for

  confirmation.

  “Of course not!” He sounded aghast. “I would never do that to you, no

  matter how much you annoy the fuck out of me.”

  Silence. Water rippled, smashing against the side of the boat.

  “Why does fate hate us?” I whispered. “Is it just some cosmic joke? To be

  the mates of the men you were supposed to kill? To be the assassin for a

  kingdom you hate? To be the mate of a man who hates you?”

  Those questions were ones I asked repeatedly. In the dead of night.

  Huddled in Killian and Devlin’s arms after making love. Walking through the

  halls of a Capital I despised. Bowing to Kings who would never earn my

  respect or devotion.

  “I don’t hate you,” said Bash adamantly. “How many times do I have to

  tell you that?”

  “You don’t like me,” I pointed out.

  “I don’t know you! All I know is that you’re this beautiful, kickass

  assassin who loves knives and has me and my brothers wrapped around your

  finger. I don’t know you, Z. I don’t know what your favorite color is or what

  you like to eat. I don’t even know anything about your family.”

  “Black,” I answered immediately. “My favorite color is black.”

  Finally, I peeled open my eyelids. Bash was staring straight ahead at the

  open expanse of water. We were reaching the end of the canal which

  hopefully meant we would be able to speed up.

  “Why black?” he asked, not bothering to turn around. I shrugged.

  “It’s made up of all the colors.”

  “Black is not a fucking color,” he protested with an indignant huff.

  Fucking Bash. Always having to argue with me.

  “It’s every color,” I insisted. “Red and blue and green and pink and

  purple and every color you could think of. Have you ever painted before,

  Bash? Have you ever combined every single color together? What does it get

  you?”

  Bash was silent. Usually, he was only silent when I was right.

  “And for what I like to eat...hmm...I like steak.” I shrugged, a gesture I

  knew he couldn’t see. “What can I say? I’m a carnivore.”

  Once more, Bash snorted.

  “What?” I asked. “Don’t tell me you’re a vegetarian?”

  “Vegan, actually,” he said. I could hear the smirk in his voice. “All

  Mages are. It’s part of our evolution, I guess. Years ago, the Mages were too

  fucking lazy to go hunting for their own animals so they lived on the greens

  Genies provided. It must’ve stuck.”

  “Diego wasn’t a vegan,” I mused, tapping my chin. “The things that man

  did with a hot dog...”

  At that, Bash spun around to face me.

  “Why the fuck are you talking about Diego’s hotdog?”

  And...I smiled. I heard Diego’s name, and I didn’t completely fall apart. It

  still hurt, the softest of pinches, but it no longer overwhelmed me. I could

  hold the hurt in two hands and know that I was stronger because of it. My

  mates had helped me understand that, had walked with me through my grief.

  I hadn’t even realized it.

  My mourning would’ve gone differently if it hadn’t been for them.

  “Guys!” Dair barked, and I immediately went on alert. The copper handle

  fit perfectly in the palm of my hand as I unsheathed my knife, searching. The

  water rippled, bubbles appearing, but that could’ve been from the boat itself.

  Up ahead, Dair continued to swim, golden hair clearly visible in the

  blighted sun. He paused suddenly, back muscles tensing, before beginning

  again, this time slower.

  “Be careful,” Bash warned. He stood, still holding the wheel, and

  searched the nearby land. I kept my focus on the water.

  Waiting.

  Waiting.

  Something pushed through, and I staggered backwards, heart hammering.

  Just as quickly, I caught my bearings and rushed at the offender.

  A dolphin.

  A fucking dolphin.

  It rode alongside the boat, fin the lightest shade of gray.

  “It’s just a dolphin!” I called to Dair, my muscles minutely relaxing. Dair,

  however, stopped abruptly. He swiveled around to face me, and even from

  this distance, I could see the panic in his eyes.

  “There shouldn’t be fucking dolphins in this shallow of water!” he called

  back.

  The boat had finally reached the end of the canal and was now floating

  haphazardly in the open ocean. Waves rocked the boat, but Bash didn’t seem

  inclined to go any faster. We all waited with bated breath, eyes flickering

  from the dolphin to the canal and then to the endless sea of water.

  Finally, the dolphin swam away with a cheerful mewling noise, and I

  released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

 
; “We should be good,” Dair said. His voice was nearly lost in the

  cacophony of the ocean - waves and seagulls and roaring wind. “I’ll-“

  Dair was cut off by a whining noise, and we both turned our attention

  towards the dolphin once more. It was a dozen or so feet ahead of us.

  As I watched, in utter horror, a gaping mouth closed around the dolphin

  and swallowed it whole.

  Revulsion churned in my belly, but that disgust quickly transformed into

  fear.

  The creature that ate the dolphin rose from the water...all five stories of

  pure muscle.

  My mind flickered back to the book I read in the library with Lupe. An

  extinct supernatural creature.

  “Motherfucker...” I cursed. “Guys, that’s a Kraken.”

  TWENTY-NINE

  Z

  R eading about a Kraken and seeing a Kraken were two entirely

  different things.

  The book had said it was big, but that word failed to encapsulate

  how mammoth the creature actually was. It rose from the water like some

  unholy being, a ruddy gray color. Dozens of tentacles snaked from its

  immense body, and its single eye blinked rapidly, fixated on the boat.

  On me.

  “Shit,” Bash breathed, and I wanted to snort at his use of the word. “Shit”

  was a vast understatement. “Dair, get out of there!”

  My Mermaid Prince was already swimming back towards the boat,

  muscles rippling and tail flipping erratically.

  “What the hell do we do?” Dair asked the second he got near the side of

  the boat. I reached a hand down to help him up, but he brushed it away

  dismissively.

  “We fight,” I whispered. I’d meant for the statement to sound badass, but

  my voice trembled. I could handle a lot of things - fucked up assassins and

  fucked up Kings - but what I couldn’t handle was a sea creature larger than

  the mansion we had come from.

  I was going to have nightmares for years.

  Still, I tightened my grip on the dagger...before realizing I was going to

  need something bigger. Deciding quickly, I dropped the dagger into a cup

  holder and grabbed my bow and arrow. Distance would be key for this

  monster, at least for the time being.

  “Fucking hell,” Bash muttered beneath his breath. Despite his trepidation,

  he lifted his hands and began to chant softly beneath his breath. I didn’t know

  what type of spell he was incanting, but I knew whatever he did had to be