Kai grinned. “You talk to them, huh?”
“Of course.”
“Are they pets?”
“Other species serve as ideal pets, though these are trained to accompany our keeper patrol units. They’re…” He paused and tilted his head, eyes briefly closed. “Many years have passed since my last visit to the surface, but I seem to recall your mortal law officers traveling with dogs.”
“Not all of them do. They’re called K-9 officers. Or drug hounds for locating narcotics at airports…” Cosmas’s brows jumped up, eyes glowing with unconcealed interest. Assured he didn’t find her rambling dull, she continued. “And the military uses explosive sniffing hounds in regions where terrorists hide bombs. Police officers train them, too, for the same purpose and to assist them with tracking or taking down criminals.”
“Our worlds are more similar than I originally believed. Some time has passed since my last visit to the surface, but from what you say, our beasts perform similar duties. The creatures detect the Gloom and notify their handlers of approaching dangers. As their sense of smell is leagues above our own, they’re also used during criminal investigations by our keepers.”
“What kinds of crimes happen in Atlantis? I’ve yet to hear of anything.” She’d also never seen one of their patrolmer keepers with an octopus, and the promise of spying one at some point thrilled her. His octopus reached for her, extending a glistening tentacle. She let him grab her and coil around her forearm.
“You wouldn’t. Aegaeon is going to coddle you because he wants you to see the best of Atlantis. He’s under the mistaken belief that if you see it isn’t superior to the surface, you’ll swim screaming back to the humans.”
“I wouldn’t!”
“We’ve tried telling him.”
She pursed her lips, eyeing him suspiciously. “Who is ‘we’?”
“Manu and myself, of course. He calls you stubborn.” At her frown, Cosmas only laughed. “Stubborn isn’t the worst quality in a princess and future ruler.”
“About that…” Kai tried to release her new friend back to the observation pool, but he refused. As Cosmas explained it, the hatchlings were kept until survival was guaranteed a few weeks later. “You do realize he means for us to like one another enough to marry, right?”
“I realized as much, yes.”
“And you’re all right with that?” She paused. Of course he’d be all right with that. It was a shot at becoming king of their entire underwater kingdom, though whether he wouldn’t morph into an egotistical asshole remained to be seen.
“I know what you’re thinking.”
Her brows rose. She straightened, folding her arms against her chest, tucked just beneath her breasts. The octopus clinging to her forearm nuzzled against the sharkskin body suit. “You’re a mind reader then?”
“No, but you’re a smart woman, and I know if I were in your place, I’d have suspicions about anyone courting me.” He shrugged, appearing more casual than his predecessors. “From what I’ve seen of your training—”
“You’ve seen my training?”
“I may have watched one or two sessions unbeknownst to you.” His grin widened, flashing pearly teeth in the dim room. Only a few blue lights glowed above them along the ceiling. “And I liked what I saw. You’re intelligent. You don’t whine. You speak your mind, and I hope in time we can become friends. There’s no rush.”
Kai scrunched her nose. “Aegaeon made it sound like time was of the essence and that the sooner I marry, the sooner I can restore peace to the kingdom.”
“Uncle is very melodramatic. More so than his wife at times.”
“Your aunt, melodramatic? Never.”
Cosmas had a jolly laugh. He chuckled so hard his shoulders shook. “I like your company. I like you, and I’m absolutely all right with doing this again.”
“All right. I’m willing to give this a shot. This isn’t official or anything, right? Not to sound mean, but if someone else comes along that—”
“You’re not tied to me. High mers court many among the peerage at a time when the need arises.”
Relief loosened the knot between her shoulder blades. “Then I’m down for seeing where this might go.”
He wasn’t her tall, dark, and quiet Manu, but he had a charm all his own.
12
Distressed
Manu barely spoke during training the next day. For three sessions, Kai received her instruction from a curt yet professionally aloof mer with an altered personality. Each morning, she wondered if she’d unintentionally offended him and lost his favor.
As they’d attained sufficient progress in evasive maneuvers, Manu was now teaching her to wield the preferred weapons of the realm, though she found the spear less awkward than the trident. They both wore armored plate and Corinthian helms with red fin crests, but she despised how much it interfered with her hearing. A true warrior, Manu said, did not require sight or sound to know his enemy approached. He demonstrated this fact twice by having her attack him from behind and the side, always anticipating her moves, always disarming her.
The ripples were what gave her away. Whether on dry land or in the water—but especially in the water—an Atlantian had a keen sense of awareness. It was a gift from the gods who had created them, a gift that made them superhuman. He told her battle training for a Myrmidon was about muscle memory and repetition, performing the same strikes over and over until her body took charge and reflexes acted for her. Fighting had to be instinctual.
They trained in and out of the water in the coliseum, the space far advanced beyond anything she’d ever encountered on the surface. Water filled and drained from it on the whim of an unseen guardsman who pulled a lever to roll the waves. According to Manu, a true warrior could go from land to sea without missing beat.
Afterward, he strode in silence alongside her to the barracks where they stored their tridents in the armory.
“I think I like the spear more. Thank you for the—”
“Good day, my princess.”
“Good—” She was already speaking to his backside.
Staring at his rather fine ass, she tried to recall some sort of law related to turning one’s back on royalty, until she realized she was remembering random etiquette facts she’d learned about Queen Elizabeth of England.
Later that afternoon, once Kai concluded her evening tutorial sessions with the rest of her teachers, she excused herself from the castle and made her way toward the barracks. Her head hurt from the attempt to cram too much knowledge into it at once. College had been different, an environment filled with other students on equal footing.
In Atlantis, she sat at a desk in an opulent office before a stern tutor who lectured about their history, from the time when the goddess sank their world beneath the sea to the many dynasties of the different queens who ruled before Ianthe.
“Excuse me,” she spoke to the first guard to cross her path. The young mer snapped to attention, taken by surprise it seemed, since she’d never until that moment had a reason to prowl around their barracks outside of her usual training hours.
“Princess Kailani. Forgive me, I didn’t notice you were—”
She waved him off. “No need to apologize. Where can I find Commander Manu?”
“His office, I believe. You go down this corridor and swing a left up the stairs to the second floor. His is the second door on the right.”
“Thank you.”
Other soldiers bowed along the way and gave humble greetings.
Kai smiled back and wondered how they were treated compared to people on the surface in the human militaries. Did Atlantian citizens thank them for their service? Did they purchase their meals and drinks at the bars, offer them discounts at vendors in the market squares and malls?
When she reached the door to Manu’s office, she found the glossy panel shut, but knew it belonged to him as his name had been scribed on the gilded faceplate with gorgeous penmanship. It wasn’t English, yet each loop and
straight line looked eerily familiar the longer she stared at them until the word made sense to her.
Strange. She’d always had an easier time in foreign language classes than most other students, picking up enough Spanish to have above-average grades when she applied herself, but this had never happened. Kai filed it away as another example of the unusual evolution that began on the day of the Sea Angel’s scuttling.
Kai knocked. “Manu?” When no one answered, she knocked again.
The door opened a moment later to frame a female Myrmidon with golden-red hair pinned in a tight bun. The young woman promptly dipped into a bow. She moved aside with a nimble step, permitting Kai inside. “Greetings, Your Highness. I’ll return at another time, Ma—Commander.”
Manu rose from behind his desk. “No, Elpis. Have a seat. I’d prefer to conclude our…business now.”
The two exchanged a silent gaze, the look charged with enough palpable energy for Kai to feel uncomfortable sharing a room with them. And since she was all about helping out her fellow woman, Kai smiled and said, “I’m sure Elpis would be glad to return at another time. I’d like a word with you. In private.”
“Perhaps a little later, Your Highness. If you wouldn’t mind. I’m currently on duty, and Elpis—”
“Thank you, Your Highness. Good eve to you both.” Elpis shut the door behind her, leaving Kai alone in the small office. It had only a pair of windows overlooking the narrow street outside, the lamplight golden through the thick panes.
“It won’t take much of your time.”
He nodded. “As you wish. How may I be of service, Princess?” He gestured to a seat, still standing behind his desk. Kai didn’t take it.
“You’ve been different for days now. The moment our lessons are over, you bolt off like someone’s lit a fire under your tail.”
“Technically, I don’t have a tail, Your Highness. You do.”
“You know what I mean. Don’t be a smartass with me.”
“Better than being a dumbass, I would think.”
He’d sassed her again. It took a moment for it to set in that he was behaving in a surprisingly obstinate way, unlike the Manu she’d always known—then again, how well did she truly know the man who had brought her to Atlantis and spent the last weeks teaching her the basics of survival?
“You’re behaving like an asshole because I beat you, aren’t you?”
He flinched back, blinking at her. “What?”
“That’s it. Everything changed on the day I went for your balls. Now you’re always cold to me.”
“That isn’t it.”
“Then what is it? Manu, please. If it changes anything, I’m sorry that I took the low blow. It was childish, and if I hurt you more seriously than intended, I apologize.”
When Manu didn’t reply, she stood taller and squared her shoulders, refusing to back down from his stare. “What. Is. It? If I’ve done something to offend you, I’d like to know.”
“It wasn’t the attack. For the record, my armor absorbed most of the force and redistributed it appropriately. No lasting damage occurred.”
“Oh. What is it then?”
“With all due respect, Your Highness, it’s no business of yours. My reasons are my own.”
Chills. An icy prickle touched her spine and lingered, blanketing her body beneath a cold sheet of dread. “I really did do something, didn’t I?”
“As I said, it’s nothing you have done. The fault lies with me. Regardless of my recommendations, my father insists I remain as your teacher.”
She blinked at him. “You tried to quit?”
“I did more than try, but found my offer refused. It seems you and I are stuck together until I have produced the warrior queen they desire.”
“Oh.” He disliked her that much—enough to feel trapped. A vice tightened around her heart, squeezing on every breath she took. “I had not realized that….” She paused, wetting her lips. Her mouth had gone drier than chalk, juxtaposing her stinging eyes. “I hadn’t realized you despised me so much, Commander Manu. My apologies. I will speak with Aegaeon at once and personally request a new trainer.”
Manu crossed the room in a few long steps. “Princess, wait. I believe you misunderstood me.”
She paused, her back to him. “What else is there to understand?” She wouldn’t look at him, wishing they were surrounded by water to hide the tears blurring her vision.
“I don’t despise you. I despise the situation.”
“I am the situation.”
“No.” The moment his warm hand took her by the bicep, sensation zipped down her nerves and lit her with heat she hadn’t known she was missing, coupled with an indescribable yearning to throw herself into his arms. To be in anyone’s arms for at least a while.
At times, she loathed Atlantis. She hated that they’d taken her from home, and she hated the mountain of responsibility they’d thrust on her. She wanted to sob and crawl into her room to throw the mother of all pity parties, but an entire kingdom depended on her being an adult committed to self-sacrifice. Despite all of the things she hated, she didn’t hate Manu nearly as much as she wanted to for being the one to take her away from the only home she recalled. The fingers on her arm felt too nice.
“Please. Give me just one moment to explain.”
“All right.”
When she didn’t turn, his quiet sigh stirred her hair. “Will you at least look at me?”
Debating whether or not she wanted to risk making a fool of herself, she turned and gazed up at him. The tears didn’t fall, and her dignity remained intact after all.
“I talked out my ass just now, Princess, and I’m sorry.”
The candor took her by surprise, and her emotions took a direct 180, going from depression to hysterical laughter. “You did. Yes. I’m glad you’re finally able to ’fess up to it.”
He sighed. “My father and your uncle aren’t pleased with the rate of your growth and feel I haven’t yet encouraged you to reach your full potential. So yes, I did offer to step down. I’ve offered twice.”
“Oh.”
His reasons had everything and nothing to do with her at all—it wasn’t her behavior or any offense taken to her presence, but her inability to become an overnight sensation with a trident.
“Well. Just the same, I’m sorry that I haven’t been enough.”
“You’ve done well. The fault lies with them.”
“You’ve made it abundantly clear that Atlantian children master these techniques faster than I can.”
“I was wrong to say that. I’d hoped goading would motivate you.”
“Which it did.”
“It did.”
His gaze remained locked on hers, the fairest shade of brown she’d seen yet beneath the sea. Brighter than honey. Before she could stick her foot in her mouth and make a regrettably stupid compliment, a shrill whistle pierced the air. Seconds later, a fist hammered on the door.
“Commander! It’s a distress signal from Fare.”
“We’ll finish this discussion later,” Manu said, turning away from her to yank open the door. “Notify General Lago.”
“Fare?” Kai asked.
“A smaller village to the south, one of the many colonies established by Pharae,” he explained, gesturing her ahead of him through the office door. It shut behind them.
“Right, right. I remember this from my history lesson. Pharae had fallen under siege from Rome and become one of their colonies. Then Thalassa answered their prayers and sank it into the sea.”
“Correct. Pharae became the second of three great cities in the Atlantian Empire, though Atlantis remains the largest of them.”
Kai fell into step behind Manu. As he paused in the corridor and glanced back at her, she quirked a brow. “What?”
“This is military business.”
“Yes, it is,” she agreed, squaring her shoulders and raising her chin to gaze up at him. “And as the future queen of Atlantis, that makes it my business.”<
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13
Fare Game
Manu didn’t expect Kailani to join them. He also didn’t expect his father to permit it, given the importance they’d placed upon her eventually claiming the throne. It seemed reckless to him that they would order him to take the princess into a potential skirmish.
Within an hour of the distress call reaching Atlantis, he led a battery of coral gliders to the south, with Kai sitting in his passenger seat. Her golden armor shone over the layer of sharkskin, a necessary precaution in the event that they saw battle beyond their glider. He’d never lost one in a fight, though he liked to prepare for the worst. An artilleryman always came prepared, ready to fall back on a martial weapon when necessary. For that reason, his trident and her spear had been strapped overhead behind them, though she barely knew how to use the thing aside from artlessly lunging, stabbing with it while leaving herself exposed to attack.
What training she’d received from her parents and General Lago had been forgotten over the years of living on the surface, lost to time and therefore useless.
So much for muscle memory, though Kai couldn’t be blamed. He placed all the blame on her damn uncle and his incorrigible father, because the two were too impatient to grant him the time required to hone and refine her skills. Like a raw gemstone, she needed months, if not years of polishing before she’d shine in battle the way they wanted.
And like a beautiful rare jewel, they risked ruining the final product by rushing and chipping at her before she was ready. He hated it, but what more could he do? As an officer under his father’s command, he had no choice but to accept their orders, though it killed him. Four hours of training each morn would no longer be enough, though he suspected she would protest him requesting her from bed even earlier each day, considering the amount of lessons she endured from stuffy aristocrats and historians.
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