King of the Sea

by Elizabeth Frost

The most wonderful thing about being under the waves was the one thing he hadn’t shown her yet. Or one of the many things she had yet to experience as a faerie. Archer turned her head toward him, forcing her to open her eyes underwater by peeling her lids open.

  “Can you hear me, River?” He didn’t say the words, just thought them through the water and allowed it to carry the words to her ears. The ocean could do a great many things.

  He supposed it wasn’t fair to immediately talk to her like this. It was more a test than anything else. If she could hear him, then her faerie blood was strong. If she couldn’t, then he’d have to figure out another way to keep her under the waves.

  Her eyes widened in shock and she opened her mouth. Bubbles streamed from between her lips up to the crashing waves overhead.

  She kicked her feet in panic, but that wouldn’t do. He had a gut feeling she was holding back in all her faerie magic. Water magic flowed in her veins and she didn’t need air like she thought she did.

  Archer wrapped his arms around her more firmly and gave them a little push. Deeper they went, down into the darkness and beyond the waves until even he couldn’t hear them anymore. It was nothing but still silence, the kind he longed for when he was above the waves.

  He could just barely see her horrified expression. She was afraid.

  “Oh, sweet River, you have nothing to fear,” he murmured. “Didn’t you say you trusted me? You don’t need air to breathe.”

  Her thoughts played across her features. She thought about how she didn’t know him, that one was in the wrinkle of her brow. The twitch of her lips meant she was still stuck on the human thought process that air was required to breathe. And the flare of her nostrils said she wanted to go back above the surface because she thought she would die.

  But she didn’t need air to live. She was a half-breed and one of his court. All she needed was a little magic.

  That was it! Magic was what would give her the kick into his realm.

  And he had plenty of magic.

  Archer hated using the elemental inside him, merely because it gave the creature a taste of the outside world. But this was so easy to do. So simple to allow her just the smallest sip of his power.

  He dipped into the well of magic in his mind. The deepest depths of the ocean, untouched and mysterious. He scooped a handful of the blue, glimmering magic and drew it out into his physical hands. Archer pressed it against her back, letting the blue light sink into her body and illuminate on her skin.

  All the breath in his lungs fled at the sight of her. The magic danced upon her arms until she glowed like the rarest of pearls. The iridescent quality of her webbed fingers spread to cover her entire body.

  She was gloriously beautiful, and she took his soul right out of his body.

  To his immense pleasure, River gasped in a lungful of water and did not die. Instead, she breathed it in and allowed his magic to filter it into crisp, clean air.

  Eyes wide, she stared back at him until he could hear her voice. “What did you do to me?”

  “Nothing,” he replied. “You did this all on your own.”

  He flexed his magic again, pushing them away from the cliffs and the waves, deeper into the ocean. He held her tight against his heartbeat. Not because she needed help swimming, but because he didn’t know if he could let her go.

  She became a beacon of light, glimmering in the sea. A thousand creatures would desire her to sit by their side. They would want to touch her, taste her, hear her voice in their head and sigh in happiness.

  He knew this to be true, because he wanted the same thing.

  But for now, he couldn’t introduce her to the court. They would scare her off and he understood why she would feel that way. First, he needed to dip her toe into the magic of his world.

  He wouldn’t take her deep into the ocean trenches, but to the first place the Atlanteans had lost. Not in Greece, not in Rome, but far before their time.

  She held onto his shoulders and pointed out what she could see in the darkness. “Was that an octopus?”

  He glanced over his shoulder. The cylindrical shaped head definitely wasn’t an octopus, and he’d never seen octopi this deep before. At least not willingly. “No, I think that’s a squid.”

  “Wow. I never thought I’d see a real live squid.”

  At least she loved his world. Enough that he could share more with her and know she would find it captivating. Just as he did.

  Archer shifted and plunged them deeper. He had to use water magic to see through the murky water, but he was certain the temple was still here. The Atlanteans once worshiped in this place. They’d come from all over the world to spend a few hours paying their respects.

  At least, the faerie Atlanteans did. This place was as much home to them as the realm they came from.

  There, in the distance, he saw the columns appear. Great monolithic structures that created a circle with air trapped within, held by magic and radiating power into the sea. Many people had come here to dip into a shared well of power and then give whatever they could back.

  He straightened them from their reclined position until they could walk straight into the temple. Though pitch black, he could still see just enough to orient them correctly.

  Archer reached out and touched a hand to the bubble. Then he made River touch it as well. “Do you feel this?”

  “Yes.”

  “We’re going through it now, okay?”

  Her hair shifted on his shoulder in what he could only assume was a nod. Good enough for him.

  Archer used water behind them to shove them through the bubble of magic and air. He stumbled a bit, losing his grip on River. When was the last time he’d done that with another person in his arms? Ever?

  She fell onto the stone floor, coughing up gallons of water. That was different from a faerie. They usually just opened up the slits on their neck and let it leak out, as he was doing now.

  Frowning, he sent a few bubbles of blue magic to light the lanterns hanging on the pillars.

  “I’m sorry,” he muttered, sagging onto his knees. “I didn’t think you’d vomit.”

  She dry heaved a few more times before finally wiping her lips with the back of her hand. “That’s okay. What goes in must come out, I guess?”

  Her voice was hoarse from the acidic vomit. And it wasn’t entirely seawater, he realized. Some of it was black sludge, or maybe a deep navy sludge that shouldn’t have been there at all.

  Perhaps he should have asked around before bringing a half-breed into the ocean. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice, but she was already deep beneath the sea. He’d bring her back in one piece.

  “Can you see well enough?” he asked. “I can always make the lanterns brighter.”

  “After so long in the dark, I think I’d like a break from light,” she replied. River eased back onto her heels with one arm wrapped around her ribs. “So where are we?”

  He moved out of her way and let her gaze upon the room beyond. “One of the most sacred places to our people.”

  Her eyes widened and he could tell she was drinking in every detail about the temple. Every crack, crevice, and water dripping down the walls.

  What did she see? Her artist eyes always noticed more than his did, but Archer did his best to see the temple as she was seeing it now.

  Cracks split through the floor where the water pressure had broken through the grey stone. White pillars held the roof up, though they had seen better days. The ruin was showing the stress of time. Water dripped from fissures in the ceiling, some of them pouring tiny streams onto the floor.

  The entire temple was about forty feet across in a perfect circle. Steps framed the outside edges, each one descending further into the center of the temple deep below them. A well opening was in the dead center. Coral had grown up around it, like forgotten crowns laid to rest on the edge.

  Deep within the well, a brilliant blue glimmered. It cast illuminations of water moving on the walls of the well.
>
  “A place to worship?” River asked. “Who were they worshipping?”

  He waved a hand and the lanterns on the columns glowed brighter. It revealed statues of men and women just beyond the wall of water surrounding them. “Mac Lir, and all the Celtic gods of the sea.”

  Their faces were as known to him as his own. They stared back at him with a soft expression of pride and quiet enjoyment. They hadn’t always, but today the gods were pleased he had brought a lovely young woman to meet them for the first time.

  “Oh,” River whispered, her voice reverent and quiet.

  She stood and turned around to see what statue was behind her. This was a tall young man, the son of Mac Lir and the god of the sea. Though Archer had never met the god, he knew people who had.

  He was broad and lean, his muscles ropes of strength and power. Chips of emeralds gave his eyes an eerie, realistic quality that unnerved some people. It was as if the god of the sea were staring back at them.

  Perhaps he was.

  “Hello,” River said with a little wave to the statue. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  A deep burble echoed through the temple. For a second, Archer thought the god had actually responded to her, which would have been the most surprising moment of the night. Then, he realized a jellyfish had bumped into the wall.

  “Look,” he said, pointing to the gelatinous creature. “It glows in the deep waters.”

  “Wow.” River walked to the wall where it stood and lifted her hand.

  She wasn’t so foolish to touch a jellyfish. Instead, she ghosted her hand over where it was, as if she were waving at the creature as well.

  He crossed his arms over his chest and watched her in amusement. She found so much pleasure out of moments like this. Had he ever looked at a jellyfish with so much pleasure? It was just a jellyfish. And yet... She seemed to care that it existed.

  “This place is so beautiful,” she said. When she turned, the smile on her face was so big, he wondered how it didn’t split her face in two.

  She really was so lovely. So impossible, and yet, called to him in a way no other faerie ever had. What had she done to him?

  “I’m glad you like it,” he replied, then pointed at the well. “But that’s what I wanted to show you.”

  She lifted a brow and descended the stairs without question. She proved her claim to trust him was real in those brief seconds when she hopped down to the well with no fear.

  Archer followed her, waiting for her to lean over the edge of the well and stare down into the light. He knew what she’d see. Water so crystal blue at the bottom and pinpricks of sparkling light that looked like stars dancing on the surface.

  Her gasp of shock and awe shook through him. “What is it?”

  “Magic.” He stepped beside her and leaned on the stone. “When a faerie needed help, we’d bring them here. All the strong faeries would pour their magic into the well, sharing it with those who were dying or sick.”

  “People can just take what magic they want?” she asked, her brows wrinkled. “How is that possible?”

  “Faerie magic isn’t limited to the person. We can share if we want.” He didn’t admit he’d already shared some of his with her. It felt good to know there was a bit of him inside her.

  He’d never felt like that before. Archer found words sticking to his tongue in shock at the thought.

  He wanted a bit of himself in her. So that no matter where she went, there would always be something of him in her mind, in her body, perhaps even in her soul if one believed that’s where magic was kept.

  Did he feel some kind of ownership over this half-breed? No, he couldn’t. She wasn’t his and he wasn’t hers.

  The King of the Sea didn’t make attachments. He knew the danger and folly of falling in love with a human, and he’d only seen her three times now. It wasn’t possible.

  And yet, when her lips parted in another gasp and she reached for his arm, he went to her without question. The second she needed him, he knew he had to be there. No matter the cost.

  Was this what love felt like? This ache in his chest that bordered on pain?

  “Look,” she said. “Do you see it?”

  Deep in the well, the water was swirling. It pooled together, lifting beyond the stone walls, reaching for her.

  “I do,” he said with a soft smile. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and waited for the magic to reach them.

  It rose just out of their reach. Archer knew what it was asking. The well didn’t just give, it had to receive as well. Otherwise, it would dry up.

  He lowered his hand and allowed magic to pour from his fingertips. It trickled out of his body in azure droplets that dripped into the pool with soft, musical sounds. Only then did the water cover his fingertips and wrist.

  “What’s it doing?” River asked.

  “Touch it.”

  “What?” She looked at him as though he were insane. “But I’m not sick.”

  “No, you aren’t. But you’ve been far away from faerie realms and you’ve been weakened because of that. The well always knows when someone needs magic.”

  “You’re sure I’m allowed?”

  “I know you are,” he replied with a grin.

  River reached down into the water and dipped her hand into it. She let her fingers swirl in the glittering liquid before asking him, “Now what do I do?”

  “Nothing. Just let it sink in.” And it did. The magic poured into her body with so much glorious magic that it lit up her skin.

  River gasped and pulled her hand out of the well. She stared down at the glitter sparkling in her webs. Her skin glowed again, but this time she noticed. She was so radiant. So infinitely wonderful, and she didn’t know how precious she was.

  “Archer?” she whispered, taking a step back from the well. “Is this supposed to happen?”

  “Not to everyone,” he said. “But you just become more beautiful with every sip of magic, don’t you?”

  Her gaze lifted from her hands and caught upon his. She stared at him as though his words made little sense. Or maybe she just didn’t believe them yet.

  Whatever the meaning behind her eyes, he intended on making her believe it.

  Archer gathered her into his arms, her hands pressed against his chest. His heart beat faster at her closeness, or perhaps for the reason why he’d drawn her against him. He dipped his face lower, just a bit, enough to feel her breath on his cheeks. “You don’t believe how beautiful you are, do you?”

  She swallowed. “I don’t know if you should say things like that to me. Friends don’t... they don’t tell each other they’re beautiful.”

  “I told you, River. I don’t want to be your friend.”

  Archer couldn’t stand it anymore. He swooped down and kissed her with every ounce of frustration in him. He groaned into her lips, pouring magic onto her tongue. He needed her to know she was a wonderful being, and that he was completely, utterly captivated by her.

  11

  Was she really kissing him?

  Was he really kissing her?

  River couldn’t quite grasp what was happening, but she knew the warmth on her lips was something she wasn’t ready to lose. Not yet. Not when she felt as though she’d finally found out what heat meant.

  It was as if she’d been cold all her life. Not frozen, like ice. Just drifting in a chilly ocean and his touch was the comfort of a warm towel.

  She curled herself into his arms. Pressed her fingertips against his chest and felt the beating of his heart against her thumbs. She could feel him everywhere, not just on her hands but on her body as well.

  He held her so tightly she couldn’t breathe. But she didn’t need to. No one needed to breathe when his tongue swept across her lips, seeking entrance to gently tangle with her own.

  She melted into him. If she could have become water and melded completely with his body, she would have. In this moment, there was nothing but her, the liquid heat of his touch, and the swirling depths of his
tongue.

  “River,” he murmured against her lips, and she felt his groan deep in her belly. “What are you doing to me?”

  She could ask the same of him. He was kissing a half-breed. Someone who didn’t belong in his world or her own. Someone with webbed fingers, who wasn’t powerful enough to exist in the hidden realm he’d shown her.

  Oh, how desperately she wanted to fit in here. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his again, searching for the connection she’d lost with dark thoughts.

  “Archer,” she moaned. The word was a question she couldn’t put into words.

  Touch me.

  Teach me.

  Show me what it means to feel alive.

  His hands flexed against her spine. He traced the bumps down her back slowly, as if he were counting them. Then, the heat of his fingertips skimmed over the zipper that held her dress closed.

  Would he? No, they had only just met. Surely he wouldn’t push for more than just a kiss.

  River wasn’t sure she could say no to him. Not because she felt trapped or worried he’d be disappointed, but because she thought she might want to see what all the fuss was about.

  Was that a reason to give in? She could dip her toes into the waters and see what everyone loved so much, but could she come back from the depths?

  “Where’d you go?” he said, drawing back to stare down into her eyes. “River?”

  “What?” she asked, cupping her hand behind his neck and trying to draw him back down to her lips.

  He didn’t let her tug him down. Instead, he leaned away from her, pushing against her palm. “You disappeared for a second.”

  “I’m right here.”

  “No, you weren’t. You were lost in that head of yours and if we’re doing this, then I’m the only thing you can think about.” He closed the distance between them, only to press his forehead against hers. “Do you want to try again or are you going to keep drifting somewhere else?”

  River hadn’t realized she was so easy to read. Or maybe he was just good at knowing people’s inner most thoughts. Whatever the magic was, it allowed him to read her mind. And that was almost a relief.