“How long have you been sitting there?” I asked him, suddenly suspicious.
He smiled, “Long enough to know that you snore in your sleep. That when you are dreaming your hands grasp at something.”
I felt my cheeks heat. I hope I did not drool. “You could have woken me!”
“Why would I do that?” He asked, clearly confused. “You needed the sleep and it was nice to see you so at peace.”
I shook my head, “Still. . .”
He moved so that he he was sitting facing me and leaned in, “Had I woken you the way I wanted to, we would have been putting on a show for everyone.” He kissed my nose and jumped to a stand, reaching down to help me up. “And now we must go meet with the Nokken, Fairies and Selkies.
Ortheus didn’t let go of my hand as we left the ship, as if he was quietly staking his claim on me. The one time I tried to pull my hand away, he just pulled me closer to him so that I was walking snuggled up to his side.
“Nope, not happen,” he smirked. “I like you right here.”
I felt my face flush, but my heart warmed that he was staking his claim so publicly. The second my feet touched the dock, Ansil and Brehm rushed to join us.
Ansil took my other hand and glared at Ortheus, “I thought--”
“We agreed that we would each have time with Thea and not rush her,” Brehm interrupted, leaning in to kiss my cheek.
I looked from one man to the others, not quite understanding what they were saying. Brehm ran his finger down my cheek, stopping at my lips. “We talked while you slept. The three of us, each of us has fallen for you. None of us are willing to give you up and it is not fair to make you choose, so instead we chose for you. If you will have us, all of us, we want to take care of you, to love you for as long as we can.”
“I- I don’t understand.”
“It’s simple, Princess. We love you and somehow will make this work so that we can all be together. The details don’t matter now, and we don’t have the time to figure it all out. Just know, that we are here.” Ansil squeezed my hand. “Now I believe your brother and the other heirs are waiting with Ren.”
“Oh God! What will Ailar say when he discovers you three?”
“He will congratulate the men who make you happy and threaten their lives if they make you cry.” Ailar met us at the end of the dock, smiling. “Thea, a man would have to be blind to not know these three love you. Now let’s go save our realm so you have somewhere to enjoy your love.”
Chapter 35
I had no clue how the Fairies and the Nokken knew when we would be returning, but the beach was set with food and drinks for all of us. Ailar led us down to the logs that had been set near the water’s edge. Prince Llyr was waiting in the water, chatting with Ren who was sitting regally on one of the logs.
“Princess Thea,” he said looking up at me, “I’m so glad that you are safe.”
“And you, Prince Llyr. It was quite a scare to find all the Nokken gone and your kelp bed destroyed.”
He scowled, “Nereids, power hungry demigoddesses. We were being pushed towards our home before we could even fully awaken. How do we fight their power?”
“We don’t,” Ren said. “The Nereids are an ancient race, one that long ago was one of the most important parts of this world. They were all that stood between the demons and the other races. We were safe in their care on the seas, the demons unable to touch us. If we were not on the seas, the coastlines were safe. But things started to change. Our numbers became larger and we could no longer live on the coastline, we desired to have peace in the land, so we banded together and forced the demons out of the realm.”
She looked over to Ailar, Brehm and I. “What message did they send you back with?”
Ailar responded, “Their first demand was for them to have the sea and everything it touched, pushing the Nokken into a small Kingdom underwater and the rest of us relegated to land or freshwater. Brehm pointed out to them that it wouldn’t achieve the worship that they once had, but they could not be reasoned with. Either we agree to giving them the seas, or they will kill everyone who touches the water.”
Prince Llyr spat out “We can’t live that way! How would we fish? Where would we go? Penned into a small space, like an animal. We would rather die!”
“Now, Prince Llyr,” Ren said in her gentle voice, “We cannot give in to these demands. Instead we need to find a way to work around them so that the Nereids have a purpose again. I am sure that once they feel needed, they will become more reasonable.”
“But they already have a purpose in the Selkie Kingdom. Only a handful of ships ever leave without a Nereid on board. We would never be able to make it through the Netvor Pass without them,” Hedad started pacing, clearly frustrated. “It already feels like the control us at times, what else can we give them?”
Suddenly, I found myself in a different meeting. One of women, sitting with an old man in a golden room. “Father, we cannot find the cure anywhere.” One of the women said, her mouth puckered as if she had sucked on a citrocynthias.
The old man coughed violently before responding, “It isn’t out there. It isn’t a physical thing you must find but one of memory. I am forgotten, no one speaks of me in the human realm or here in our realm. Time has betrayed me and when I die, your powers will start to fade, until you too are forgotten.”
“Never father! We will do all we can to make sure no one forgets the Nereids.”
“Thea?” I shake my head, the vision clearing and looked at Ailar whose voice was worried as he calls me.
“Sorry Ailar. I am not used to these visions yet.”
“Visions? What are you talking about?” His look of confusion reminded me that he had been away for quite some time.
“I will explain more later, but for everyone here, it seems I have been blessed with the gift of foresight. The bad thing is that I am not able to talk about what I see, or it could change the future events.”
Ren smiled at me, “You can’t talk about them, true. But you can lead us to the answers we need. You’re vision just now, it was of the Nereids?”
I nodded my head, unsure how I would be able to tell them what they need to know.
“Was it something that will help us to understand their motives? Why they are doing this now?” Brehm asked, already familiar with my visions.
I nodded again.
Ailar asked the next question slowly, “Is it a physical thing they need or desire?” I shook my head. “So, it is something intangible? Like a memory?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “It is all about a memory.”
Ren looked at me and nodded, “Do any of you know where the Nereids come from?”
We all looked at each other and shook our heads.
“That is the memory they are looking for. Gods of old are forgotten over time. Not much can kill a god, but if people lose the memory of the gods, the god will die.” Ren explained.
“What will happen when the Nereids if the god dies?” I asked, already knowing the answer but unable to tell the others.
“They will become as mortal as us overtime.”
Chapter 36
“Couldn’t we just tell the people of this god? Give him a day of celebration or something so that the Nereids retain their power?” Ailar asked.
“That’s not a bad idea.” Hedad replied.
Ren shook her head, “Do you really want to give more power to those who are making demands of you?”
“I guess not, who knows what they would find to ask of us next.” Ailar looked out at the sea morosely.
“Would it give them more power?” Hedad asked. “Or would it keep their power the same it is now but keep the God alive. And who is this God? It would be nice to call him by name or curse him by name.”
“Unless you are ready to give him power, then it best you do not know his name,” Ren looked at each of us carefully. Her eyes reflected the stars that were just appearing in the night sky, giving her a look of ancient wisdom. “Nam
es have power, as do memories. Be careful who you grant power to.”
“Can you tell us more of the Nereids powers and those of this God?” I asked, “Maybe if we know more of what we are dealing with we can make an informed decision.” An idea was brewing in my mind, but I didn’t know if it was possible to bind someone to an agreement.
“Each Nereid controls an element of the sea, the water, the salt, the current, the fish, the wind. . . The god that they call father has the gift of foresight and controls all elements of the sea. He knew this day was coming but has done nothing to stop it. I would ask yourselves, why that is?” Ren responded. “I think it best that we each think on this and meet tomorrow morning.”
Reluctantly, we each agreed. Was it something in the younger generation that we wanted to latch onto an idea and run with it instead of taking time and thinking about it? The thought made me glad that Ren was part of our council. How would my father react to this news of the Nereids actions? Considering that not many of us lived near the coast and we could create gateways, I imagined he would say to leave it to the other Kingdoms to do as they wish and get home.
“By the light Thea, what has you so distracted?” I looked up to see Ansil standing over me, his hand outstretched to help me up. “We have only been trying to talk to you for the past five minutes. It wasn’t until I stood and offered you a hand up that we realized you weren’t with us.”
My face heated in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I was thinking about all of this with the Nereids and fathers reaction.”
I looked up and down the beach, but it was suddenly empty. “Where did everyone go?”
Ortheus, Brehm and Ansil looked at me as if I have two heads. “I imagine they went to find their beds, like we should be.” Ortheus said as he pulled me towards the path. “Now what is this about your father? Once we get to the glade, the only talking that will be going on is about the four of us.”
“Father would not want us in discussion with the other Kingdoms, feeling that the problems of the seas are not our problem. We do not need the seas for any reason, being able to build gateways to each of the Kingdoms.”
“That is true,” Brehm replied, “But what happens when the Mhularuka attack again? Your aid now reflects on the likelihood of the other Kingdoms coming to your help.”
“You are right. It was just a thought I had had and one thing that will change when Ailar is King. He wants to open communications up, father is still very old school.”
Ortheus stopped in the middle of the path, holding the rest of us up. He turned to look at me, “Is there anything else we need to discuss in regard to the Nereids or your father?”
I think for a minute and shook my head.
“Good. We want your undivided attention tonight.” Brehm growled, “and I want my two kisses you owe me.”
Chapter 37
I opened my eyes to the bright sunlight filtering through the leaves and making shadows on the tent walls. Last night had been full of laughter and discovery as we spent the night getting to know each other. I had never known that Ortheus loved books and dreamed of a small stone house with a room just for reading. Or that Ansil had a hard time staying in one place for any length of time. He had loved being in the guard because his assignments could change as his feet started to desire to wander.
“Thea,” Ortheus called. “We have breakfast and hot coffee.”
I jumped out of bed, eager for a cup of my favorite beverage that Hades had given me. I wondered what Jake was up to, if he and Snowden had fully bonded. Once presentable, I pushed the tent flap open and walked into the sun filled glade. The three men were sitting around the cold fire pit, looking like the clowder that caught the canary.
“What is going on?” I looked from one to the next. “Where is this nectar of the Gods you tease me with?”
“Well,” Ansil said. “We have decided that you owe us one kiss for each time we saved your life.”
I raised my eyebrow, “You decided?”
Ortheus squirmed in his seat, then looked up at me, “We could just dump this nice steaming cup on the ground.”
I glared at them, “you wouldn’t dare.”
Brehm laughed, “This is their idea. I never get between a woman and her drink of choice. But I will remind you, you still owe me two kisses.”
Realizing that I either left them to head to the beach, without my coffee or play their game, I walked up to Ansil. “You have stolen three kisses, so I think that would leave you with two.” I leaned in and gave him two chaste pecks on the cheek.
Turning, I quickly pecked Ortheus on the cheek as well, “I’m not sure if you saved me, but I don’t want you feeling left out.”
By now Brehm was laughing at the other two men. I walked up to him and leaned in to kiss his cheek. But he turned his head at the last second, my lips landing on his. He pulled me close to his body and changed the kiss so that it felt like my toes would curl.
“One.” He said against my lips, his hands sliding up my arms to rest on either side of my face as his lips captured mine again.
A throat clearing had him pulling away slowly, “Two.” His eyes held mine and then he looked at Ortheus and Ansil. “That boys, is how you kiss.”
I walked down the path to the beach with the three men, still unsure what my vote would be. I hadn’t thought on it much last night and this morning, well that kiss wiped all from my mind.
“Have any of you thought more about the Nereids?” I asked, hoping that one of them might have an idea.
“No, I had . . . other things on my mind.” Ansil said with a wicked grin.
“I have,” Brehm said. “I think we have to give the Nereids something. I wonder if we were to give the Nereids a day that we honor their help in the sea, not their fathers, would that help them keep their powers?”
Chapter 38
“Ailar, must you go to the Selkie Kingdom now? Can’t you spare a few days to come back to the Bog with me?” I pleaded with him. In all honesty, I feared facing my father once he found out about Ansil, Ortheus and Brehm.
“No, Thea. It can’t wait. Especially now that we have to give the Nereids a day of thanks. I need to speak with the Selkie king and make sure that our relations are secure. Once that is done I will come home.”
Neither of us would be traveling by sea, the Nereid warning ringing in our ears. Ren had allowed a portal to be constructed on one of the smallest Islands. The Fairies had built a series of bridges to connect the islands for those of us who couldn’t fly. Nip had told me that one of the Fairies would also make use of the bridges, as she had been born without wings.
“What about father’s health?”
“Thea, we both know the real reason you want me to come home. You will be fine, and I trust your men will care for you.” He tempered his words with a smile.
“Let him go, Thea. We will be fine together. You have a three-stranded cord to hold you up now. We will fight for you.” Brehm pulled me back so that I was resting on his chest.
“I will see you in a few months, Thea.” Ailar waved and stepped through the shimmering portal.
“I hate goodbyes.” I said to no one in particular.
“Honey, we all hate goodbyes.” a voice behind us replied.
“Nip!” Brehm released me as I squirmed out of his arms. I ran to the Fairy and give him a hug. “I thought you said you wouldn’t say goodbye?”
“Who said I am saying goodbye? Ren has asked that I be the Fairy Liaison to the Brownies!” His wings kept lifting him off the ground as he couldn’t control his excitement. “I will be joining you in the Bog in a few days.”
“Really?” I was surprised, but happy at his news. “I am not sure the Bog is ready for Fairy bedazzling.”
“Girl, no one is ready for bedazzling, but once it happens they never go back. So, what should I pack? Any hot Brownies I should prepare myself for?” he wiggled his eyes suggestively, making me laugh.
“Pack whatever you want, and you will have to tell me
when you get there.”
“Whatever you do, don’t pack anything red.” Ansil told the Fairy.
“Do you think I would wear red with this complexion? No greens and browns suit me better.” Nip preened, his hands sliding down his green tunic. He brightened with a thought, “Are Brownies into the snuggie whitie undergarments or the loosey goosey ones?”
I had to bite my tongue when Ortheus said, “Neither, we prefer al fresco.”
Nip’s eyes turned huge. “Oh my!” He started to fan himself. “You mean?”
Ortheus nodded, all serious.
“Nip, we have to be going.” Ansil chuckled, not bothering to correct the impression that Ortheus had given Nip about the undergarments we wore. “We will see you soon.”
We shook hands and hugged, saying see you later, as goodbye was not something said in the Fairy Isles.
Chapter 39
“Will you wait here while I talk with Da?” I pleaded with the three men. “He has become. . . difficult over the past few months and I do not know how he will react to you, to us. I need to find out about what the Nereids said before telling him everything that has happen.”
Ansil and Ortheus looked at each other, a silent conversation that I can read so easily, “I mean it, Ansil. No following me for my own good. Unless Da is in a good mood, he will keep information from me just to be ornery.”
Brehm held his hands up as if to stop the other two men. “We will do as you ask, though I don’t like it. I would march you into the palace and show you off for the treasure you are.”
I looked at him sadly, “I wish we had that liberty here. One day maybe we can.”
“Go,” Brehm pushed me towards the tent flap. “We will be here when you return.”
“Hello, Da.” I looked at the old man before me, wondering what secrets he would take with him when his time came.
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