Out of Tune

by Amy Sumida

  “King Verin, this is Prince Saif of the Jinn,” I introduced them.

  Verin nodded crisply at Saif before asking me, “Another prophecy, Elaria?” Evidently, he was having trouble with the title thing too. “How many mystical portents have you brought me?”

  I grimaced at him.

  “You're rather cynical for the son of a seer,” Saif noted.

  “She is the reason I am cynical,” Verin countered. “Regardless, I will help you as much as I can.”

  “Thank you, Verin,” I messed up and left off his title too. When I caught the look Zhavage sent me, I cleared my throat and tried again, “King Verin.”

  “I think we can dispense with the titles, Elaria,” Verin said gruffly. Then he turned to Zhavage to add, “Thank you for the use of your ship, Brother, but it appears that things are more dire than I realized. We must leave immediately.”

  “Of course.” Zhavage went serious, all teasing gone, and handed Verin and odd key; wide, flat, and with jagged teeth. “May the tides carry you swiftly, my friends.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.” I inclined my head as one regent does to another; just slightly.

  “If you dispense with titles with my brother, you cannot keep them with me, Elaria,” a little of the Red Dragon's flirtatious nature returned. He took my hand and kissed it gallantly. “I wish you luck with your lover.” His gaze flashed to Verin.

  “The ship is docked outside,” Verin announced brusquely. “My apologies, but you'll have to go for a short swim to board it.”

  “If getting wet is the worst thing that happens to me today, I'll count myself lucky,” Gage countered.

  Verin grunted in agreement.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Verin started to strip.

  I blinked.

  Zhavage handed me a large, shiny bag, slapping it against my belly to get my attention. “For your clothes.” He grinned mischievously. “Unless you want them to get wet too?”

  Verin's sculpted body was unwrapped like a present. Welcome to the undersea world, Elaria. Here's a preview of what we have to offer. First came his broad chest, muscular arms, and lean waist then... more. So much more. Streamlined like a swimmer but with a hint of warrior-buffness, Verin's body was perfection; his skin pale but with a golden tint that kept it from looking unhealthy.

  I swallowed past the dryness in my throat, the bag hanging limp from my hands.

  Then my men started to undress, and I was assaulted by masculine beauty on all sides. From Gage's thick, Griffin muscles to Declan's sleek, Shining One elegance, it seemed like a display of the most gorgeous bodies of all time. I don't know what kind of museum would offer that sort of thing, but I'd be first in line to view the exhibits.

  “Little bird?” Torin lifted a brow at me when he caught me ogling his pecs.

  “Oh. Um... okay.” My hands went to the button of my jeans. They were a little shaky.

  I was still in the jeans and silk blouse I'd put on that morning in Slate's Zone. Had it only been that morning? So much had happened in a single day. I was so distracted by those thoughts that I forgot about the nearly naked men and unzipped my jeans absently. But a sharp movement drew my head up and refocused my attention.

  As soon as my zipper announced the departure of my clothes, my guys realized how much they didn't relish the thought of me standing in only my underwear before a large group of men. Especially since Zhavage was among that group, looking eager to boot. My men moved in front of me to form a living screen for my modesty.

  “How rude,” Zhavage muttered. “Queen Elaria got to look upon my glorious self—completely nude, I might add—twice, and I didn't attempt to hide anything from her. But I'm not even allowed a peek at her in her underthings?”

  “No.” Gage grinned and crossed his beefy arms. “But you can look upon my glorious self all you want.”

  “She will have to swim away,” Zhavage reminded us, ignoring Gage's comment. “Then what shall you do?”

  “We shall surround her then as well,” Darc declared.

  “So greedy,” Zhavage huffed while I giggled. “Oh, you find this amusing, Elaria?” He tried to peer around my husbands but they kept shifting to block him. “You saucy minx! Well, I'll have you know that I'm envisioning you right now, and I'm seeing you completely naked! You're lovely, I might add.”

  Banning started to growl and it was a Blooder growl, which meant that it was damn creepy; sort of unnatural and horrific all at once.

  “All right!” Zhavage gave in. “I shall excuse myself. It was good to see you all even though I didn't get to see all of Elaria.”

  “Brother,” Verin growled the word but his growl wasn't eerie, it was simply vicious.

  “I'm going!”

  “Goodbye, Zhavage!” I called over Gage's shoulder.

  “Goodbye, Elaria,” Zhavage said warmly as he left. “A pleasure, as always. Come back anytime.”

  As soon as the Red Dragon and his men left the airlock, it started to fill with water. Gage shouldered the bag with our clothes, Verin's included, and the men turned, breaking the shield in a way that left a straight line of sight between Verin and me but not Saif. Verin lifted a brow at that but didn't say anything. He didn't have to; his eyes said it all when his stare met mine... then lowered. My underwear was modest enough but it was red silk, and Verin stared at it as if he were a bull ready to charge. At least I hadn't worn the transparent bra that Slate adored, but I had a feeling that once the water got to it, there wouldn't be much difference between the two.

  Verin swung his head away, still channeling the bull, and hunched his shoulders, his stare set on the airlock door determinedly as he waited for the room to fill. I became determined as well... to not look down and see exactly how much I had affected him. I did, however, give my men the same questioning look that Verin had. Were they trying to show me off? Entice the Blue Dragon? Were my husbands attempting to seduce a lover for me? Did it make them feel more in control?

  None of them would meet my gaze.

  I barely had time to take a breath, I was so distracted again. I gasped one in just before the water covered my nose and then swam out of the opening doors after my men. Verin took lead, streaking through the water ahead of us with even more grace than he showed on dry land. But I suppose that was to be expected. A sleek vehicle waited for us just a few feet away; black, glossy, and with a pointed nose that would have worked just as well in the air as it did in water. Verin hit something on the side panel of the thing and a door opened, moving inward then aside. We swam into a tiny airlock.

  I found myself pressed between Verin and Gage. No jokes about a rock and a hard place, please. I would have groaned in despair if I hadn't been holding my breath. I tried to concentrate on Gage. His sculpted chest was pressed against my back so tightly that I could feel his heartbeat and his body curved around mine; biceps bracketing my torso and hands on my thighs. Gage had his face tucked in against mine, nuzzling my cheek, and his shaft was just an ass-twitch away from hardening. It should have been easy to focus on him. And I would have if Verin's hair hadn't been swirling up in the water before me, teasing me mercilessly.

  At least Verin—King... oh, forget it—was facing the wall, which left me leaning into the bulging muscles of his back while my lower half was plastered to his remarkably pert ass. I had my hands up between us but this only gave me an excuse to touch him. I found myself stroking his bare skin; my fingers moving ever so slightly and entirely against my will as I endeavored to hold my palms steady. He had on a pair of skin-tight shorts that left nothing to the imagination but that hardly mattered; my skin processed the feel of his body and translated it into a graphic image. But as maddening as that was, I had no doubt it was a better situation than what would have happened had I been set against Verin's front.

  Oh, sweet stones, I lamented in my mind.

  Yep, he definitely has a pair of sweet stones on him too, RS chortled. You may not have been looking, but this isn't the first time we've see
n all of Verin, and I have a damn good memory when it comes to naked men.

  If you had lips, I'd tell you to kiss my ass, I growled.

  If I had lips, I'd be kissing his ass.

  I gave up.

  Verin hit another button and the water was forced out of the airlock, replaced by air. As soon as the seawater drained, he hit another button with an anxious slam of his palm and a door slid open. We poured into the ship, my men grunting in relief along with Verin.

  “I didn't expect such... close quarters,” Verin said by way of an apology.

  “It's fine. No biggie.” I went to Gage and held my hand out for my clothes.

  Oh, it was big, RS murmured.

  Shut up! Kyanite hissed at her.

  “There are towels in the bottom of the bag,” Verin noted.

  Gage grinned at me, his stare lingering on the wet silk of my bra as he passed out the clothing. “You're gonna have to wait a second, Mate. I'm trying to get to the towels.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest, and he pouted.

  Finally, after all the clothes were passed out, Gage produced a towel and I snatched it from his hands before someone else could take it. He chuckled then focused on getting dry; the water had been freezing and everyone but Verin was shivering. When I was as dry as I could get, I squeezed back into my jeans—not so easy with damp legs—and hurried into my blouse. I was over appreciating the view; cold will do that to me.

  “Come here,” Gage drawled and pulled me into his arms.

  Gage generates body heat like no one I know. Even after that swim, he had recovered quickly and radiated warmth that had my other men leaning toward us until Declan finally thought to manifest some heat. A quick twirl of his finger and the cabin was warmer. All of us, even Gage, sighed in delight. Then the ship started to move, and I realized that Verin had left us to pilot it. I drew out of Gage's arms and away from the lovely warmth to head toward the front of the ship. It would have been rude to leave Verin to steer alone, wouldn't it?

  I found Verin in the driver's seat, the fingers of one hand hitting buttons while the other hand steered. After we lifted from the docking pad and spun about, he left off with the button-pushing and concentrated on steering. Headlights came on and illuminated the water before us but the lights weren't necessary until we sped past the sprawling city and beyond the halo it cast. Darkness so deep that it swallowed our lights within a few feet, greeted us. I stared ahead, watching little particles catch the light as we zoomed by. No fishes or other marine life appeared in the glow; only sea debris.

  “Sit down, Elaria.” Verin nodded toward the chair beside him.

  I slid onto the slick, cushioned chair to his right then glanced back at my men. They gathered behind Verin and me, staring ahead as well. Even when there isn't anything to see, you can't help but look out a windshield; or water shield, rather. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I don't know what you call the front viewing panel of an underwater craft. A porthole? No, that can't be right. Whatever it's called, staring through it kept me from looking at Verin. It was bad enough to have him in my periphery; the man seemed to ooze pheromones.

  “How far away is your kingdom?” I asked him without looking.

  “We should reach it in an hour or so.”

  Okay. Sure. I could keep it together for an hour.

  I'm getting hungry, RS whined.

  Shut up, you harlot! We both know that you're fine, Kyanite exclaimed. Don't worry, my love, he said to me, Daha may have simply meant that you needed King Verin for his mother.

  Sure, that's what he meant, RS scoffed in a teenager-tone.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I should have known that Verin's kingdom, or rather the capital city within it, would be more defensible than Zhavage's. More secure. Instead of being out in the open, bulging out of the seabed, the Azure Court perched on ledges within the maze of a mid-ocean ridge—otherwise known as an undersea mountain chain or a seamount chain (I felt compelled to add that so I could prove that I do know some underwater terms). The range wasn't a single line of mountains, but was instead several of them laid next to each other like gigantic claw marks in the seabed. The highest points of the innermost mountain ranges held guard towers with men in uniform peering out of ringed windows.

  Verin took us down, past the guards, and into the glow that emanated from the space between the undersea mountains. Once within the light, we could better see the city. Austere structures clung to the sides of the jagged cliffs, extending forward from a curtain wall that filled the gap between the mountains behind us; a clear end to the city. The wall would have been useless if not for the guard towers capping it. Towers also sat atop the mountain peaks every hundred feet or so, watching over the Azure Court diligently.

  Verin took us along the passage that formed the main, and only, street through the city. Homes were stacked upon each other with every layer set slightly back from the one below it so that the whole took on the look of steps. This also gave each residence a courtyard, most of which were adorned with coral, underwater plants, and massive statues. Lóng in both human and Dragon forms swam through the passage with us, both above and below our ship. The ones in human form, clad in sleek suits, received only a cursory glance from me. It was the Dragons who drew my attention. I gawked at them in awe; at their whiskers, trailing behind them like ribbons, and their colorful scales that even seawater couldn't mute. They danced out of the way of our vehicle, daring to swim beside us while those in human form stayed closer to their homes. A few ventured further out but only on the backs of Dragons. They waved at their king as if his appearance were cause for celebration. Verin lifted a hand in return.

  “Impressive,” Gage murmured.

  “Indeed,” Prince Saif agreed as he leaned forward on Verin's left. “And I find myself utterly intrigued by your people, King Verin. They are very beautiful. Enchanting even.”

  Verin grunted in acknowledgment but also with pride.

  He grexed, RS corrected in my mind.

  Don't start that again, I growled at her.

  You have to admit that it's more descriptive of his noises, she taunted. Sex and grunting in one. Although, they usually come together anyway. Get it? Come together?

  Keep it up and I'll ask the Witches to suppress you entirely, I threatened.

  RS went silent.

  At the other end of the passage, another wall filled the gap from mountain peaks to base but this one served as a support for the Royal Palace. The sprawling palace stood on the ocean floor, far below the other structures of the crevice city, but it extended up the wall until its towers reached as high as the other residences. The palace wings spread out to either side of the main structure, going the entire width of the curtain wall, and climbed the mountainsides embracing it as if the whole thing had been poured into place. Windows sealed with glass emitted soft light and amid the shadows of the seabed, where no other homes had been built, it made the palace appear to be sparkling. Towers crowned it like a collection of spears and as we drew closer, I could see that carvings adorned the dark gray walls. The arch over the main door was especially detailed.

  Verin landed sideways on a stone courtyard before this door, aligning our door with it. Before I could stand up to start stripping again, the arch over the front door retracted and a clear tube extended from the space where it had been, moving toward our ship. The tube pressed against the hull and Verin hit a few buttons on the control panel. A whoosh of air came dully from outside.

  I lifted a brow at the Blue Dragon.

  Verin grinned smugly, got to his feet, and strode to the airlock. He pressed a button and the door opened on the air-filled passage. We followed him into the tube, which thankfully had a flat bottom. At the end of it, the palace door opened and a man stood to the side of it, bowing. Verin nodded to him as we passed by. The man shut the door behind us, hit a button, and hurried after his king without looking as if he were rushing. Nice trick. He slowed as he came abreast of Verin then spoke to h
im in another language. I assumed it was Lóng, I didn't recognize it as any human dialect. There was far too much growling in it, for one thing.

  The man scurried off and Verin glanced back at me meaningfully. I lengthened my steps to move up beside him. He nodded crisply but kept glancing at me as we walked. It finally occurred to me that he was gauging my reaction to his home. I smiled and nodded to let him know I was impressed. Yes, I was quickly learning how to communicate in his way. In response to my approval, Verin made a soft sound, not strong enough to be a grunt. It was just a breath of... delight.

  I didn't begrudge him it. The palace of the Azure Court may have seemed simple on the outside—at least compared to the palaces I was used to—but inside it was luxurious. The corridor we strode through was lined in silk tapestries that depicted Dragons at play and war; some of the scenes looked as if they could be either. Below the soaring works of fabric art, narrow tables held fine sculptures and paintings set on short easels. Beneath those, the floor was polished blue stone, a few shades lighter than Verin's hair. I thought at first that it might be coral but it wasn't porous enough. No rugs laid upon the stone, which I assumed was for the sake of convenience. Rugs in the entryway of an undersea palace was probably a bad idea.