Aece groaned, too weak to yell, “Then you might as well kill the Nokken now. We cannot live in freshwater and well you know it.”
The woman with the cold, hard voice and lavender dress turned to him, “We are not murderers. You will be given a small sea that will be for your people, but you will never swim the open sea again.”
“What will we get for giving the seas to you?” I asked, biting my tongue in anger at the Nereid. Who were they that they thought they had the right to do this?
Six sets of eyes swiveled to look at me, and as one their voices harmonizing perfectly, they started to sing.
Nereid, to who all will pray
Nereid, to who all will thank
Nereid, grace you will receive
Nereid rule to breathe
“In answer to your question, you will live,” the cold, hard voice replied. “Now choose, death or comply.”
“May I ask something first?” Brehm stepped forward.
“What, mortal?” The leader looked at him, her gray eyes sweeping over his body then back out to the sea.
“If we stay out of the sea, what will you gain? Your women will no longer have boats to guide, there will be no need to sing the Qalupalik to sleep, no ships to save.”
The woman looked at Brehm as if she had just sucked on a citrocynthias, then turned to huddle with other women. After a few minutes, they turned as one back to us.
Pucker lips looked at the four of us, “We’re listening.”
Brehm looked around the Isle, then started to speak slowly. “Even though I am a prince, I do not know much of your history. But sitting here, looking around, it seems that you are lonely. Once you had a place in this world and were worshiped. Now all you have is the sea and this Isle. It must be lonely, living this far out, no one caring for you.”
The mouth on pucker lips drew in even further, her sisters glared at Brehm.
“I don’t think I would wish to live that way, but is forcing people to do things you’re way going to engender you the worship you desire?”
Chapter 30
Brehm’s words had the Nereids scurrying back to their castle to discuss things. The one good thing was not long after they left, two servants, smaller versions of hard edges voice came running down the path, a large basket in the ones arms and a large pot on the other’s head. A third servant walked out of the water, a string of fish hanging from her hip.
“Their graces bless you with this food. Eat and rest then they will come to you.” The one with the basket said, setting it down. Without another word the three turned to walk up the path.
My eyes didn’t leave their backs until they had turned the corner, “What is up with this place? Who are the Nereids?”
“I think that is a story they will have to tell, not much is known of them outside of the fact that they control the seas or maybe Ren be willing to tell since she seemed to know more than she had said. But I do know the Nereids I have met never age, or do not age until right before they die, usually their deaths are not of natural causes.” Brehm’s voice had me looking away from the path.
We ate in silence, each immersed in our own thoughts. I looked around the beach and realized something or some people were missing,
“Where are the Nokken?” I asked.
Ansil and Aece looked at me in confusion. “The Nokken? I was the only one taken when the Nereid attacked us.” Aece said. “I assumed that the others returned home.”
Brehm shook his head, “We were on our way to come save you. My brother brought his ship with a contingent of Selkies, Fairies and Nokken, all ready to help save you and fight the Nereid. It was night and we were woken by a Nereid attack, they attempted to swamp the boat. The Fairies saved us, but when it was over, the Nokken kelp bed was destroyed and all the Nokken missing.”
“Shortly after that, Brehm and I were taken off the boat and brought here,” I looked at Aece, “I had thought the Nokken would all be here.”
Aece shook his head, his eyes filled with worry as I spoke. “What happen to the other Nokken that had been with Ansil and me?”
“They were returned to the Nokken Kingdom, unharmed.” Brehm told him, “hopefully that is what happen with those who traveled with us. Without the Nokken, it will be much harder for us to fight the Nereids if it comes to that.”
Looking out to sea, I thought aloud, “I do not think they will want to fight, she said they were not murderers. It would have been easier to just kill us or the Nokken they have taken. Besides a lack of care for their prisoners, they have not injured anyone.”
“No, but what they want isn’t fair to the rest of the realm. If they take the seas, they control all of us.” Aece said and Brehm nodded his agreement.
Shaking my head, “They will only control those who wish to enter the sea. For those on land, the Brownies can have gateways built.”
“But for the Selkie and Nokken, that is a death sentence.” Brehm sat down. “What can we offer them that might appease them? I never knew the strength of the Nereid until last night.”
“We need to know more of the Nereid’s to answer that.” I replied morosely. Not like we had a way to find that out sitting here.
The sun set behind the Island by the time the Nereid’s decided what to do with us.
Chapter 31
“Where did you come from?” Hedad exclaimed as he turned around at the rush of water
that had deposited us on the deck, the last rays of the sun sinking into the horizon.
Brehm gave his older brother a cocky grin, “You could say that we are the new ambassadors for the Nereids. We have come to an agreement with them.”
Hedad’s eyes narrowed, “Under whose authority?”
I stepped forward, not wanting to witness a fight similar to those my brothers have had over the years. “Prince Harad, we had no choice. We were their captives, forced to listen to what they wanted and then bring their demands to the rest of the realm. Brehm was able to help them see reason, otherwise it would be much worse for us.”
The Selkie turned, yelling down to one of the sailors to take the wheel, “let’s go talk this over. We no longer have the Nokken with us, we don’t know what happen to them.” He stopped speaking and looked around us, “Where is Prince Aece?”
I said, “He was not doing well in the Nereid sea, so they felt it was best to return him to his home rather than subject him to further distress. The rest of the Nokken should already be in their realm.”
“Enyo!” Prince Hedad yelled across the deck to where a group of Fairies were sitting, “Can you join us?”
A small, dark haired Fairy rises from the group and flies over, “Thea! How--”
She was interrupted by Ortheus running up the stairs from below deck at that moment, “Their back? Thank the gods. Where were you? Are you all right?”
He pulled me into a hug, his nose nuzzling my hair as he whispered, “I was so scared. Do not do that again.”
I laughed, “Not like I had much choice, but I will try not to.”
“Let’s go where we can sit and talk.” Hedad lead us down to his stateroom, shaking his head, muttering. “This makes no sense.”
“Have a seat wherever,” he waved his hand around the room. There was a bed pushed against the wall with the porthole over it, a desk and two chairs making up the seating in the rooms furniture. Hedad sat down in the desk chair and turned to look at us, “Start at the beginning. After the water curtain fell you were on the deck one minute, then gone the next.”
Enyo sat on the desk, Ailar took the remaining chair, which left the bed or floor for Ansil, Ortheus, Brehm, and me. The bed and its soft mattress called my name, leaving the guys the floor. Instead, I found myself crammed between Brehm and Ortheus on the bed. Ansil sat on the floor, his back to the door. Brehm wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and I giggled, until Ortheus shifted next to me, his hand making slow circular motions on my back. He hadn’t stopped touching me since I had returned, his hand holding mine, on my back, my
arm, as if he was afraid I would disappear again. Dinglesnap! His silent, supportive self was sneaky with showing his attraction. I had to bite back a moan of delight.
Squirming to get more comfortable, I looked at Ansil, waiting for him to speak, since he usually was the first to speak. But he just looked at me, waiting.
“Well, no one jump to speak at the same time,” Hedad snapped, irritation clear in his voice.
“Sorry, Haddy.” Brehm replied, ignoring the glare from his brother. “I guess we don’t know where to start, with Aece and Ailar going missing or when Thea and I were taken.”
Hedad turned to Ailar, “Why not start with what happen to you. The Nokken that traveled with you were forced to return to their Kingdom. They said it was as if a wall was in the water that they couldn’t pass through, then the current became so strong that it pushed them all the way back to their homes.”
“The wall separated us from the Nokken. Making it easy for them to use the sea vines to tie us up, preventing us from swimming or moving. Then they pulled us through the ocean at incredible speeds, dropping us off on their Island. After that we were left to our own devices, with little food, water or shelter.”
“Minus the wall of water, it was the same for us. One minute I was standing on the ship looking out over the sea, the next I was wrapped in a vine, being pulled through the water.” I recalled, rubbing my head, “and they were none too careful in the shallows.”
“They just dropped us in the shallows and left, not even making sure we were all right,” Brehm picked the story up. “If it were not for Aece and Ansil, I think Thea and I would have drowned. The trip knocked Thea out and I had trouble getting out of the vines. Once, Thea regained consciousness, the Nereids came down to make their demands, to give them complete rule of the seas or die.”
“How can we do that? The seas are not meant for one to rule or we would not be designed to swim in them, or the Nokken to live there.” Hedad jumped up and started pacing the small area.
“I pointed that and a few other things out to them. They returned to their castle to talk it over. When they returned, they had tempered their demands and are willing to work with us. We need to get home and gather all the races to have a meeting to determine how we will interact with the Nereids.” Brehm finished.
Ortheus quietly asked, “What are their demands?”
“They wish to be worshiped as they once were, to control the seas and those on them.” I replied.
Chapter 32
“So, either we bow down to the Nereids are they starve us, sink our ships and use whatever magic they have to make our lives hell?” Hedad summed up.
“Basically, yes.” Brehm shook his head. “From what they said and what Ren hinted at, they have lost their power in this realm, and want it back.”
“That’s not likely to happen. World’s change and we must change with them.” Hedad grumbled
“But they do not see it that way and sadly they have the power to make our lives miserable.” I spoke up. “We need to figure out how to make them see reason.”
“We should head home first,” said Enyo” and have all the Kingdoms meet at the Isles to discuss this together. We must make the decision as one.”
“Enyo is correct,” Ortheus spoke slowly. “This is not a decision to make quickly or without the other races. What about the Nokken who this will affect more than the others?”
“I agree” Hedad stood. “I best give orders. Is there anything else you learned while in their ‘care’?”
I shook my head and then stopped remembering the one Nereid’s words. “There was one thing, and it does not make sense. The head Nereid, she never gave her name, said that the next time Ailar or I enter the sea, we will become one with it and any past agreements would be void.”
“That was odd,” Ailar rubbed his head. “Ever since hearing her say that, my head has hurt as if something is trying to escape.”
“Mine too!” Ansil and I exclaimed at the same time.
Hedad looked from one of us to the others, “We must get you back to the Isle and see if Ren can help you. In the meantime, stop thinking on it. If the three of you are experiencing the same thing, my guess is magic is involved.” With that Hedad left the room, followed by Enyo and Ailar.
“Hey! Where are you going?” Brehm asked, his hand pressing onto my arm when I try to stand.
“To see how the Fairies are?” My statement came out as a question, the gentle pressure of Brehm’s hand combined with Ortheus renewing the slow circles on my back short circuiting my brain.
“Are you sure?” Ansil purred as he stalked towards me, my heart beat ratcheting up.
“Umm, yes? Wait what--” My words are swallowed as Ansil reached me, his mouth descending on mine in a soul searing kiss. He stepped back, his fingers touching my lips.
“We need to talk, the four of us.” Ansil said as he gently pushed me back towards the wall so that he could take my spot on the bed. Ortheus and Brehm each turned so that we are sitting in a circle, the boys staring at me.
“We do?” I looked from one to the other of them.
“Yes, we do.” Ortheus replied, he had moved so that he was sitting as close to me as possible.
“What about? The Nereids?” Maybe if I play dumb I could get out of this awkward situation.
“No, little Brownie,” Brehm said, his hand on my leg. “About you and us.”
“Is this some kind of intervention or something? Jake told me once about his sister’s idea of an intervention to get him dating.”
The men chuckled.
“You might say that. I think it is time that we--” Ansil’s words were cut off by Hedad yelling something above deck, which had the men all shifting to look at the door. I took their minute of distraction and scurry off the bed, almost falling off as Ortheus tried to grab my foot.
“Looks like we are needed above. Talk to you later,” I ripped the door open and ran up the stairs laughing.
Chapter 33
I heard the men groaning as I ran up the stairs to see what Hedad had been yelling. Nothing on the deck looked out of place, except for all the Fairies and crew members were leaning over the sides looking at something. I ran to join them but didn’t see anything besides water rushing by.
“What is going on?” I asked one of the Fairies.
“We don’t know. Prince Hedad came on deck and took the wheel, next thing we knew we were moving much faster than the wind would push us,” she said.
I heard the men coming up behind me. “Could it be the Nereids?” Brehm asked.
“It could be, if they feel that we weren’t moving fast enough.” Ansil responded, “I am going to go talk to Ailar and Hedad.”
I turned to see Ortheus’ hot gaze on me. “I think we need to talk.” His quiet voice filled me with heat.
I looked around the deck, Fairies and Selkies scattered around.
“No, not here. But soon we will talk.” His eyes rested on my lips for a minute before he turned and walked away.
“Damn girl.” A voice remarked next to me making me jump.
“Nip!” I spun around, grabbing the Fairy in a hug.
“Can’t. Breathe.” He gasped. “I’m happy to see you are okay. I knew you would give those Nereids hell.”
“The men are the ones giving hell. Giving it to me specifically.” I replied.
“Girl, don’t you get it? Those three men are all hot for you. They would follow you anywhere.”
“Nip, what can I do with three guys? And my father would have a fit if I was to marry one of my guards or a Selkie.”
Nip looked at me seriously, a haunted look in his eyes, “Thea, I am only going to say this once. If love finds you, do not hesitate to grab it and hold onto it tight. You never know when it will be taken away, so value every day you have with them. Find a way to make it work, for all of you.”
“But--”
“No buts. You can make it work. Talk with them, trust me they are talking between themsel
ves and soon they are going to take things into their own hands.”
“They wouldn’t!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, hunny! there is so much you don’t understand. But those men are not the kind to sit back and let things come. They want you and will have you. It is up to you to decide how that will happen.”
I gulped but know in my heart that he was correct. I needed to make the time for them, to find out where this was going. I decided to be honest with Nip, maybe he could help me through this.
“I’m scared,” I admitted to him. “Scared that they won’t want me, scared of hurting them, and scared what it will cost me.”
“Everyone is scared, Thea. Relationships are the hardest thing ever, you are vulnerable, with them knowing everything about you. But they will also be there with you, making your life so much richer. Don’t let this slip by.” He patted my hand and slipped by to leave me with my thoughts. I wondered what his story was, what love he lost.
Chapter 34
A loud bugle startled me awake. I rubbed my eyes, looking around the deck where everyone was getting ready for some event. I looked up and saw the hills and forests of the Fairy Isles.
“How did we get here so fast?” I asked groggily. I had been laying on a blanket at the
back of the ship, enjoying the sun while thinking about what Nip had said and what I wanted, as well as pondering over the visions I had been having. The stress and mental anguish, combined with the motion of the boat must have lulled me to sleep.
“Don’t you remember?” Ortheus asked.
I shook my head, “Not really. I remember our meeting, then coming up here and talking with Nip. . .”
“As far as we can figure, the Nereids helped us home.” he said. He was sitting next to me, partially on the blanket.
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