by Dee J. Stone
I smile to Damarian, whose eyebrows are still wrinkled with concern. I kiss the back of his hand. “I’m glad to be here again.” I tug on his hand. “Let’s go see your family.”
As we swim toward his family’s cave, I notice things are a bit different. There are more great white sharks patrolling the area, as well as members of the Guard. Also, there are large oyster shells with food set aside. Damarian told me it’s the duty of the father, with the help of his sons, to hunt for food for their families. I’m guessing members of the Guard are now doing all the hunting for the colonies.
Damarian must see me studying the changes because he squeezes my hand. “All will be restored once the rebels are eliminated.”
“I hope that happens soon.”
As we edge closer to Damarian’s home, I see two little mermen playing with something that looks like a large rock. They are being watched by a medium-sized great white shark. Damarian releases my hand and surges to his twin brothers. He sweeps one arm around one, and then the other, gently slamming them into one another.
“Damarian!” they both say with joy and surprise. When they see me, they rush over, and I enclose my arms around them.
“I returned for some payback,” I tell them, referring to the squid wars game where they crushed us. I ruffle both their hair.
“Zarya has spoken of you nonstop,” Syndin says. “My ears are in pain.” He squeezes his hands over his ears and groans. His brother copies him.
I laugh. “I missed you too, guys.”
They smile.
Taking my hand again, Damarian leads me into his home. The sharks remain outside. We pass through a short tunnel before we enter a large open space with only a table and a few stone chairs. Zarya is sitting on the floor with human objects she must have gotten from sunken ships. Her head snaps up, and as soon as she sees me, she drops whatever she’s holding—it looks like a hairbrush—and bullets to me.
“Cassie!” She winds her tail around me, so tight I feel my heart pulsing in my tail. “You have returned! And with the delectable treat?” She examines my hands and frowns. “You have not brought them?”
I tap her tail and let out a breath when she unwinds herself from around me. Then I grab her and give her a strong hug. “I missed you so much, Zarya. Sorry I didn’t bring any gummy worms. I’ll bring some next time, okay sweetie?” I kiss the top of her head.
“Are you not glad to see me?” Damarian asks Zarya, folding his arms.
“You have left the sea only recently, Dammy,” she says. Then she launches herself at him. “Of course I have missed you!”
Damarian’s mother, Kiandra, enters from one of the rooms in the back. She smiles when she sees us and swims over, kissing Damarian’s cheek and then mine. “This is a pleasant surprise. Welcome. Are you hungry?” She gestures to the fish piled on the table. The sight causes my stomach to ache and my mouth to water. Those fish look delicious. I see the same hunger in Damarian’s eyes.
“Thanks,” I say before dropping down on one of the stone chairs and grabbing a large fish. Damarian settles down next to me with an even bigger fish. Kiandra joins us, sitting on my left while Zarya slips through her brother’s arms to nestle on his lap. The twins play with the toys on the floor.
“Where is Father?” Damarian asks.
“In Eteria. He will return shortly.”
“And Doria?”
“She shares her time with Hareta.”
Damarian glances at me. “The reason we have traveled to the sea...” He raises his eyebrows, asking if I’d rather him speak.
“It’s because we left so suddenly without saying goodbye,” I say. “And because I missed you all.”
Damarian’s eyebrows dip toward his nose. “But, my love—”
“It’s fine,” I whisper. “We can talk about that later.” I don’t want to drop a big bomb on his family like this, not when we’re together again. Not to mention I don’t want to worry the kids.
Damarian inclines his head.
We start talking about a lot of different things, like life on land, how Damarian and I need to get jobs. Kiandra sends the kids to the back room so she could update us on what’s been happening in the ocean. The little ones don’t understand fully what’s going on—though I’m pretty sure Syd knows much more than he lets on—and Damarian’s parents want to keep them in the dark as much as possible. Since the merpeople have always been a peaceful race with hardly any wars, they don’t want to scare the kids.
Kiandra tells us that there haven’t been any major attacks from the rebels, and thankfully no one has been hurt. The Guard has once again entered the Deep to search for rebels, but it’s no longer their headquarters. Callen thinks they are dispersed with few survivors and don’t have a base anymore, while Syren believes they do have a base and that they are still recruiting.
“Kiander was forced to pass an unpleasant decree,” Kiandra says. “It is a known fact that many of the rebels are from the Emerald clan. Therefore, the colony is being closely monitored by the Guard. Many of them are being questioned as well.”
“Did they learn anything?” I ask.
She shakes her head.
I play with the fish bones in front of me. “I still don’t understand what the rebels want.” I look at Damarian. “Or why they stopped us from getting to land when I switched back to a human.”
“Many believe you are not truly mated to Damarian,” Kiandra says.
“Because I’m not really a child of the sea?”
“Yes. It is my understanding that they believe Damarian will take the throne if you would…be eliminated.”
Damarian’s hands fist. “That will not occur.”
Kiandra says, “Certainly, it will not.”
“Flora is mated to Kiander, though,” I point out. “Damarian wouldn’t be able to mate with her.”
“They are not concerned with Flora or with uniting the clans. Their only wish is for the true king to take the throne.” Which won’t happen since Damarian is mated to me, a human, and he will need to go back and forth between land and sea. His focus wouldn’t be entirely on the merpeople.
I puff out some air—well, not that I can, since I’m in the water—and fall back in my seat. “So, we’re not safe until every single one of them is dead.”
Kiandra shakes her head. “Syren believes the rebels follow the word of Gyron, even when they do not agree with his choices. If we were to capture or kill Gyron, it may put an end to them.”
“And where is he?”
“His whereabouts are unknown,” Damarian says.
“Can he and his followers be on land?”
“We would sense them.”
“But you can’t sense them in the water?” I ask.
They both shake their heads.
So that must mean they are in the Deep. Or somewhere else where the rest of the merpeople can’t sense them. “What about mates?” Since merpeople who are mated have such a strong bond, they could sense each other when no one else can. Just like I was the only one who felt Damarian when he was in the Deep.
“Gyron does not have a mate,” Kiandra says. “As for the others…many do not have mates, or their mates refuse to assist us.”
“Many are at the palace cellar,” Damarian says. “They are questioned. But it is difficult to receive answers from them.”
“Why?” I ask.
“One does not betray one’s mate,” Damarian says. “It is not done.”
“Even if they are tortured,” Kiandra says. “They would sooner die.”
Wow. Talk about a deep, unbreakable bond.
When I feel a presence behind me, I turn around and find Syren standing there. He’s taken back a bit when he sees us, and for a second I’m worried he’ll be hostile to me like he was the first time I showed up in their home. But his eyes soften and he smiles. “Welcome.”
Kiandra swims over and gives him a light peck on the cheek. “The Guard has promised to provide additional food tomorrow,” Syren says
. “Clans have protested that there is a shortage, particularly the Diamond clan, for they are farthest and receive last. They wish to hunt.” He touches Kiandra’s hair. “It is difficult for the Guard to provide food as well as protect and search the sea.” He shakes his head slowly. “We have managed to recruit only two today.”
She kisses his cheek again. “All will be well, my love. Do not fret. Come, eat.”
He nods and sits at the table. “Hello, Damarian. Hello, Cassie.”
We return the greeting.
“What does the Guard plan in regards to the rebels?” Damarian asks. “Have they a strategy to seek Gyron?”
Syren stares at his large fish with a blank expression. Then he bites into it. He doesn’t say anything, just munches. That’s the only sound in the room.
“Father?” Damarian asks.
Syren looks at his son, and I notice how tired he is. But he has fire in his eyes, like he’s never going to give up. “At the moment, all our efforts have proven futile.”
“I wish to assist in any way possible.”
Syren claps his shoulder. His eyes move to me. “As I have stated at your last visit, you have a mate, Damarian. You have a life on land. It is your duty to protect your mate, as well as provide her with happiness. Please do not concern yourself with matters relating to the rebels. It is the duty of the king and queen, through the Guard, to provide protection to the sea.”
Damarian glances at me for a second before saying, “I understand, Father. But I feel responsible.”
“I do, too,” I say.
Syren bites into another fish. “As for now, there is nothing you or anyone can do.”
The room grows silent again. Syren continues to eat while the rest of us sit quietly, each buried in our own thoughts. After a few minutes, Zarya, followed by the twins, swims into the room and sits on her father’s lap, showing him a pretty stone.
Syren kisses the top of her head. “That is beautiful, my darling.” His eyes scan around. “Where is Doria?”
“She shares her time with Hareta!” Zarya says, bouncing on his lap. “They talk and talk and talk. It is quite boring.”
Syren’s eyebrows furrow. “I wish she would remain at home.”
“She understands she is not to leave the colony,” Kiandra says. “She will be all right.”
Damarian leans in close to me and whispers, “Shall we tell my parents of what has occurred to you?”
I shake my head. “We’ll tell them later. Let’s just enjoy each other’s company.”
He kisses the back of my hand. “As you wish, my love.”
***
Damarian’s arms are coiled tightly around me as we lie in his large oyster shell, covered in seaweed. His lips move to random places on my body while my hands explore his. Lying together like this in our merpeople forms is something we haven’t experienced many times because we usually sleep together as humans. I love touching him when he’s a merman. His tail doesn’t feel slimy or sticky when I’m a half-fish—it feels smooth and enticing. Perfect to run my hands over.
“Do you feel ill?” Damarian asks.
“I’m okay.”
He places both hands on my face and looks closely at me. “Cassie…” He hesitates.
“What is it?”
“I am concerned, that is all. You were quite ill when we entered the sea, and while you are well now, I am worried—”
I put my finger on his lips. “I don’t want to think about that now. I’m so happy to be in the ocean again, Damarian. With your family. I know it makes you very happy.”
He kisses the finger that is on his lips. “I am happy wherever you are.”
I put my other hand on his stomach and my fingers tiptoe upward until they tangle in his hair. “Me, too. We’ll tell your parents another time.”
Before he has a chance to object, I push my lips to his. His mouth relaxes and he takes me in, welcoming me like I’m a part of his body that has been missing and has finally returned. We make out for a few minutes before our eyes start to droop.
Through the fog of sleep, I hear something, and my stomach drops. Not that dream again. Please, not that dream. It sounds like rustling. I lift my head and strain my ears. It’s coming from the room next door.
I slip out of Damarian’s arms, careful not to wake him, and leave his room. I almost yell when something nearly crashes into me. I hold out my hands, ready to put up a fight, when I see the familiar face. “Doria? You scared me!”
She blinks a few times. “Cassie? You have arrived to the sea?”
I motion toward her room, and we swim inside, sitting down across from each other on the floor. She and I have grown close while I was in the ocean the last time, but as I study her, I feel distant. I’m not sure if that’s due to my being away or if it’s on her end. Something about her is different. Her appearance is the same—the same golden hair as Damarian, the same sapphire tail, and the similar features—but something’s changed.
“Damarian has told me that you were unable to enter the sea for you have obligations on land,” she says. “Yet, here you are.”
“Yeah. Um. I have to talk to your parents about something. But what about you? Did I catch you sneaking in?”
Her gaze drops to the floor, and if merpeople were able to blush underwater, she would definitely be blushing now.
The answer glows up in my head like a light bulb. “You haven’t been hanging out with your friend, Hareta,” I whisper, giving her a teasing, knowing smile. “You’ve been meeting a boy.”
Her jaw drops a bit, but she quickly recovers. “I have not.”
I playfully punch her shoulder. “C’mon, you can tell me. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
Her tail shifts.
“I’m your sister now,” I remind her. “Sisters don’t keep secrets from one another. Especially when it involves boys.”
She closes her eyes for a few seconds before reluctantly opening them. “Very well. I do have a need to relay this to someone other than Hareta.” She scoots closer. “Yes, I have indeed been meeting with a male child of the sea.” She looks embarrassed, but also overjoyed.
“That’s awesome! Who is he?”
She wavers for a little while until she says, “He is not of the Sapphire clan.”
“Okay. Which clan is he from?”
“The Diamond. Which is why I was tardy, for the Diamond clan is a far distance from the Sapphire clan.”
“Why the big secret from your parents?”
Her mouth closes and her eyebrows come together. She shakes her head.
I rub her arm. “What is it?”
She turns her head. “His family is associated with the rebels. I am afraid Father will not approve.”
Betrayal pricks my insides. Doria is meeting a guy whose family is tied with the rebels? The ones who captured Damarian and almost caused me to drown.
She grabs my hands. “Cassie, it is not what it seems! I understand this may cause you pain, but Kytero is not a rebel. He is not to blame for his family’s actions. It would be unfair to hold him accountable.”
I swallow the brick in my throat. She’s right. Why should I, or anyone, blame this guy for something his family’s doing? He’s not part of the rebels. I know Doria would never get involved with someone like that. When I look at her face, I realize why she looks so different. Because she’s in love. I’ve never seen her so happy before.
I take her hand and force a smile. “We can’t hold anyone accountable for something he didn’t do. As long as he’s a good person and treats you well, I’m happy for you.”
She sighs in relief and flings her arms around me. “Thank you! You are quite understanding.” She pulls back, her face cloudy. “I do not believe Father would be as understanding. That is the reason Kytero and I must keep our relationship a secret until the war with the rebels has concluded. I cannot bear the thought of losing him.”
“Your secret is safe with me. And I hope the stupid war will be over soon so you
and Romeo can finally be together.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “Romeo? That is not his name.”
I giggle. “Human reference. So Kytero, huh? That’s hot. Er, I mean, that’s a nice name.”
She smiles wide. “I agree!”
“So tell me about him,” I urge.
Her face lights up even more. “He is quite humorous, as is the rest of the Diamond clan. Not a meeting goes by that he does not make me smile.” She continues to gush about him.
I hug her. “I’m so excited for you. But just promise me you’ll be careful. With the rebels and everything, it’s dangerous out there.”
She nods. “I promise.”
Chapter Thirteen
Damarian and I travel to Eteria to meet with Kiander and Flora. It’s great to see Kiander sitting on his throne next to his queen. He has a crown on his head, made of sapphire, violet, ruby, emerald, and diamond crystals. It matches Flora’s tiara. The last time I was here, she ruled alone because Kiander was captured together with Damarian.
They update us on the rebel situation, though most of the information we have already learned from Syren. I see the worry in their eyes—they won’t rest easily until they know their people are safe again.
As Damarian and I leave the palace with Fiske, Shoney, and one of the great whites that guards Damarian’s house, I say, “Honest answer, Damarian.”
“I am always honest.”
“Do you ever regret not being the king? Even a teensy weensy?”
He takes both my hands and looks into my face. “Certainly not. For I am mated to you.”
“But what if we never met? You’d be mated with Flora and be ruling the merpeople in peace, since there would be no rebels.”
He combs his fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp and forcing me to close my eyes because it feels so good. “All that has happened has done so in this manner because this is the correct way. Have I not met you, I would be mated unhappily to Flora. Kiander would be mated to another female, and he may not have been happy, either.” He kisses my forehead. “This is the correct way, my love.”
“So you believe in fate,” I say.
