by Holly Gunn
Her eyes widen in that cute way she has about her, and she goes to cover a chest which is already covered because her arms are still crossed there. More’s the pity.
Then I see it. A light, in her black depths.
“There it is,” I whisper. Then, because I’m ten, I add, “Don’t know if you should smile, Lexie. Your face might crack.”
And it does, into a huge grin.
“Super-duper lovely tits?” she asks.
Then, leaning over, her face right near mine, her arms no longer across her chest but her hands are on my shoulders.
She’s giggling and snorting.
“Surfer dude,” she rasps through her laughter, “you may be as much of a goofball as I am.”
“No doubt, nerd,” I reply.
Her head shoots up and her face slowly softens.
She gets it. Not entirely, but the first seed that I’m hers and she’s mine has planted itself inside her.
Before we can take that further, I have a bit of a bomb to drop. I regret suddenly that I’m the one who volunteered. Then again, a good king never lets another do the hard work. He gets down in there and deals with the good and the bad. Otherwise, what kind of king is he?
“I have to tell you something.”
“Okay …” She draws out the word so it’s more of a question but miracle of miracles, she sticks close. “Sock it to me.”
I quirk a smile at her. She’s like no one I’ve ever met.
“The thing of it is, Rudy’s not the only witch.”
“So, what? You’re a witch too?”
I shake my head. “No. No, I’m a shark shifter like I said—”
“The king of the sharks in the U.S., right?”
I nod and smile. “Yes, that’s me. But”—shit, I just need to dive into this— “you’re a witch.”
She leans back.
“Huh.”
That’s her reply. Just ‘huh’.
“That’s it?” I ask. “Huh?”
“Well, what do you want me to say? I don’t have any powers, so I don’t exactly believe you.” Quickly, Lexie adds, “I think you believe you, and the tattoo thing means I have no choice but to believe you on the other stuff, but this witch thing? Nah.” She shakes her head. “I mean, who told you this? If I was a witch, wouldn’t I show powers of some kind? My parents aren’t magical or whatever the term is. So, wouldn’t they have told me? And trust me, I may not act like them. I may only see them once or twice a year, and that’s more for me because they forget I’m there when I am visiting. But I’m definitely their kid. I look like my dad and have my mom’s skin tone and eyes.”
I clench my teeth. How could her parents not know she’s there? This woman’s right here, in my space, but in a room full of a thousand people, I’d spot her first. That smile. Those eyes. The long dark-brown hair and perfect skin. Her very presence draws me in. Her scent is like rivulets of ocean that have clung to a person, leaving behind the scent but not the complete immersive smell of the water after a day in the sea.
My gaze intense, I lean my forehead against hers. She lets this happen, so I share the next without qualms. “I don’t know you well, Lexie. I’m already not a fan of the people in your life, though.” When she tries to speak up, to defend them, I shush her. “No, babe. Again, you don’t see it but I do. You are everything.” I lean back. “You are so damn perfect.” I add, “You’re also a Sea witch.”
Her smile is slight but it’s there. “A Sea witch, huh? Shouldn’t I cackle and have an octopus dress on?”
I tweak her nose and say, “Smartass.”
She lifts a shoulder in a small, one-sided shrug.
“Did Rudy tell you this?”
“No, it was actually Doc. She’s seen the symbol before and noticed it in the tattoo even though it wasn’t entirely clear to us until she pointed it out … scales and a trident in bright-blue fire. It’s the Sea witch symbol.”
Her face goes blank.
“What?” I ask.
Eyes moving to the corner of the room, I hear her heartbeat speed up.
“It’s just … It’s just, I’ve seen that symbol before.” Lexie takes a deep breath and her coal eyes land on me. “In my nightmares. When I was younger, I used to have a recurring dream. I’d dive into water. I don’t know if it was ocean, lake, stream … I just know that the seaweed’s alive and it grabs onto my ankles and pulls me down into the dark, the only light is the symbol that’s now on my arm. I try to fight it, but I’m dragged under. I’m completely powerless.” Her eyes are wide and terrified. “Like yesterday. I felt something snake around my ankle. Even after the dreams, I was never afraid of water. But after yesterday … trust me. I’m no Sea witch. I’m officially out of water for the foreseeable future.”
“Okay,” I say to comfort her. I move my arms to pull her closer and rub her back. She’s shaking. “Okay, Lexie. No water for now.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
I lean back, but continue making circles along her back. “For what?”
“For making a big deal out of this.”
I can’t help it. I chuckle. It’s brief, but I feel her tense.
“We’re seriously going to work on you tensing every time I laugh, babe.”
“I’m s—”
I put my finger to her lips. “I think that’s enough apologizing from you.” She nods and murmurs against my finger. The sound vibrates there. I feel the vibration in my dick. I ignore my cock and instead work on getting her attention. “Don’t apologize for making a big deal out of this. This is a big deal. Meeting the woman I’ve been waiting for my whole life is a huge fucking deal.” Her breath wheezes out against my finger, so I pull it back. One more puff of air and I’m not going to be able to stop myself from at least stealing a kiss—and I don’t mean mouth-to-mouth. “We’re something special. We’re fated. So, this is a big deal. You being a witch is a huge deal. You’ve drowned, been knocked out by the strength of our connection. You’re probably still jetlagged. So, babe please, don’t apologize. There’s nothing to feel strange or sorry about.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
“Okay,” I reply. I don’t move though.
Her breath hitches a second before I brace and I feel lips on mine, soft. Her breaths coming in pants and breathing into me. Alive. She’s so alive. Her hands reach around to grip my shoulders. I’m shirtless and her hands on my back give me shivers. I want those fingers on my cock, giving it some lovin’. I want her lips there too. I want everything her tongue is doing to mine, done along every inch of my body.
Mostly, I want to fuck my queen.
Bad.
Murmurs escape her and I groan as I pull back.
Not in time, though.
Poison’s, “That’s hot, man,” is followed by Spider’s expected retort.
“But a little disturbing since your whole family, including us, are right outside the door.”
I deserve this. I so deserve their goading. I don’t care.
I twist my head back and growl. In my shark form, I’d be snapping my very large jaws at these jackasses.
Lion smirks.
The only one not there is Wolf. He’s in his mountains, hiding out and waiting for the runner-up to take his crown.
The others think he’s making a mistake.
I may be the only one who agrees with Wolf. There’s a reason the system has a runner-up king. If you don’t want to rule, you should have a choice.
For me, it’s not about ruling. I don’t care about power. But leadership comes naturally to me. It’s not stressful or tense. Leading others and being a part of community, ensuring their safety and continued success, is like breathing for me.
Poison throws himself on one of my old couches, his smirk still in place.
“So, you’re the queen of the sharks, mama?”
I shake my head. “Dude, don’t call her mama.” Poison gives my queen the once over, and I narrow my eyes. “Whatever you want to say, hold that shit in
, Poison.”
He gives me an innocent look, and Spider sits on the arm of the couch Lexie and I are on. “Am I allowed to say it?”
“Nope.” I stand, and Lexie follows me. “No one is allowed to say anything in front of Lexie. You can be dickheads after she leaves.”
“Oh,” I hear her reply, “I can leave now, or you know, they can say whatever they want. I’m used to people making fun of me.”
I feel a twitch in my jaw.
I hate people.
Without looking at her, I say, “They won’t make fun of you, babe. They’re dickheads and are trying to rile me.”
She moves into my side and looks at the guys then back at me with a smile. “Aha, so I’m your protector today. Need a girl to be your shield there, Irons?”
I don’t know why, but the fact that she’s remembered my last name, even in all this mess, has me drawing in a breath.
I don’t play to her way of thinking, though, because … “Yep, I’m sensitive. Better get used to it. I need my ego stroked, among other things, at least a good dozen times a day.”
“A dozen times a day, huh?” She glances down at my dick. “Your ego or other things?” she asks.
I love her.
Grinning, I whisper, “All the things, babe.”
Her shudder at that is seriously fucking magnificent.
Spider clears his throat.
“The first summer bonfire was supposed to be this afternoon into tonight. You texted us last night about Lexie here. She could use a break I think. Poison’s recouped from the evil witch’s spell, and Chantelle and Jules are working on a small wedding tonight. So, if you’re still down and the shark queen’s up for it, we were thinking that a night off from witches, dealing with tribe issues, the end of the world sharks eating people drama, and really any responsibility is needed.”
“Shit, yeah,” I answer.
“Ummm, I’m a witch, apparently”—the sarcastic clip in the word says she’s not yet convinced— “and, if you’re having a bonfire, I’m not leaving.”
That’s my queen.
“You’re the only witch who gets to stay,” I reply on a laugh.
“And Rudy,” she adds. “Though he’s a traitor and I plan on learning how to use these supposed powers, just so I can zap him in the ass.”
“Don’t talk about his ass, babe.”
“It’s not his ass I’m talking about,” she counters. “It’s zapping his ass. Like a figure of speech.”
“I don’t think that’s a figure of speech, Lexie.”
“Uh,” she replies, backing away, her hands on her hips. “If I’m queen, and I say that it’s a figure of speech, then it’s a figure of speech.”
Poison’s response being, “I’m also not sure that’s how being queen works.”
Lexie turns on Poison. “Are you a queen?” she asks. “Because you sure as hell do not look like a queen.”
I try to hold it back but I just can’t. I burst out laughing.
“I take it back. You aren’t a hot surfer dude. You’re an evil sky-lord like the ones from Savage Darkness,” she says. “The ones with those ooey, gooey flesh wounds that smell like evil.” I have no idea what she’s talking about but it’s entertaining as hell.
She starts to pout but I can see there’s a small smile behind it like she’s trying not to laugh.
“An evil sky-lord with nasty body issues, babe? Because you’re yelling about Poison not being queen and telling the room you can make up figures of speech.”
She snorts.
Then, she giggles.
I’m laughing. She’s giggling.
Spider’s smiling at us. Poison’s lounging on the couch and watching the byplay, a smirk still on his face.
It’s Lion, though, who says, “You guys are a little goofy, aren’t you?”
I look at my queen. She looks at me. And we both burst out laughing again.
LEXIE
How did I end up here?
The light’s fading from the sky. There’s a fire pit in front of me. Shark’s friends laugh and joke and generally talk about how, in less than two weeks, three of them have found their queens.
Then, there’s Shark himself. My back is to his front. His legs are on either side of mine. I can feel his warmth surrounding me. I can smell the fire burning. I can see the river beyond.
I’m home. I’m sitting on a beach next to a swimming hole in a river bend, where I nearly drowned twenty-four hours earlier. Around me are a half-dozen people, most of whom I’ve only met within those hours. And yes, for the first time in my life, I feel I’m home.
I don’t know what that means—that I’ve never felt at home. But it’s there, digging itself into my being like some really creepy but still cool science-fiction creature.
And I do not care.
Not in the least.
Dig deeper, strange alien creature that makes me feel like I’m finally home, I cheer it on. Then end on an internal whisper, dig so deep that I realize this is real.
This place, with this bleach-blond-haired man who laughs at my jokes but not at me. Who’s so weird, he might really have been made for me. Who doesn’t get science fiction at all, but can tell a dirty joke like it’s going out of style. Who holds me at bonfires and rescues me from killing seaweed. Who says I’m made for him and him for me. Who thinks I’m perfect. Who has eyes so like water, they flow into various shades of blue. I want to get lost in those eyes. More than that, I want to get lost in this. This forever. This home my king has built.
My king.
It sounds better every time I think it. Still unusual. Surreal, even. But better.
“Oh, there you are!” a woman with bright-red hair and the prettiest green eyes I’ve ever seen says brusquely as she pops, quite literally, out of nowhere. She’s looking at me and Shark.
Shark’s, “Sera, you got something on the attacks?” is met with her shushing him.
“Don’t have much time.” She’s now glancing at me. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Of course, she has. Stick a pin in me, I’m done. This world is too strange. And when I think something is strange, you know it is.
“Ummm, why?” I ask instead of being a sassy-pants.
“You’re a Leland, right? Lexie?”
“Uhhh …”
“So,” the redhead says hurriedly, moving closer. She’s fast-talking but there’s something in her eyes that screams, don’t come near me, like she’s seen a fucking lot of the world—and not all of it has been good. “We haven’t met because your dad’s a little bit of the stick in the mud, isn’t he?”
I don’t answer. Then again, I think the question is rhetorical. I can’t tell because this woman is intense. As in she talks fast but she’s all business. Intimidating is actually the first word that comes to mind.
“He is,” she says in answer to her own question. “Trust me. God and Goddess love her, but my mom can be that way too, sometimes.”
She holds out her hand. “Nice to officially meet you, by the way. Seraphina Raynes. You can call me Sera, though.”
I hold out my hand but feel that Shark’s gone tense behind me.
My hand touches hers and there’s a slight shock when it does. Then, just as quickly, she smiles and that feeling of home returns. But this time, home feels like warm waters engulfing me and carrying me to safety. I might be going crazy. I nearly drowned yesterday. Water? Not a calming thing. At least I know my imagination isn’t failing, even if the imagery is a little odd. Still, that’s the way it feels. “My mom’s maiden name is Leland,” the redhead, Sera, continues. “She and your dad never talk. Though I’m sure your dad has told you all about it.” The redhead rolls her eyes and suddenly her tone isn’t as brusque. It’s still not quite light, but it’s as light as I think this woman gets. “Mom talks about how your dad left the family years ago and how he doesn’t even work with water. He works with computers.” She explains, like it’s shocking people would work with computers. You know, like m
e, who’s a graphic designer.
“Hey!” I cry out indignantly, standing and brushing off my shorts. Rudy went back to the hotel and grabbed my things earlier. We still haven’t talked but I’m thinking a few more hours of silent treatment will do the trick.
“Oh, are you one of those too?”
I throw my hands up in the air.
“Listen, Seraphina—”
“Sera,” she corrects.
“Sera,” I continue, “I had no idea my dad had a sister until this very second. None. But it’s kind of rude to ask if I’m ‘one of those’.” I use air quotes when I say it.
She smiles, and it almost reaches her eyes. I feel the sudden urge to say something that will make her really laugh, a laugh that bubbles up from her toes and fills her soul.
I’ll do that later.
Right now, I’m too riled.
“You look like me when you get angry.”
I don’t even know how to answer that.
“I can’t look like you. I’m Chinese American.”
“Right on,” Poison says from his corner next to the gorgeous Doc.
I smile despite being perturbed at the redhead.
No, not perturbed. Confused.
“Can we slow down here?”
She nods. “Sure.” Then, she sits her ass on the sand.
“I thought we said no witches,” Poison grumbles.
Sera and Rudy both shoot him looks that could kill.
Poison’s hands go up. “Sorry, sorry. Just, I haven’t had good things happen with one witch in particular recently.”
“Some witches are bitches,” Rudy says with a nod.
“Truth, my man,” Spider replies, and Poison shares, “Especially this one.”
I ignore all this.
“So, you’re what? My cousin?”
“That’s the deal,” she replies, stealing my beer from my hand and taking a long swig.
“Seriously?” I ask, glaring at my beer in her hand. I never had siblings. I’m not very good at sharing.
“That’s cute,” she replies, and lifts the bottle to point it my way.
