"This isn't over,” Pythias growled. “Don't even bother trying to ignore what just happened."
She sniffed, swimming around his large frame. Following Phocas, she ignored the two men, unbearably conscious of their massive presence behind her again. She wasn't a fool, despite what just happened. It was just hormones, lots and lots of yummy hormones that were crying out for more. It didn't change the fact that she knew nothing about them.
Turning the corner, the view in front of her was obstructed at first. The walls of the tunnel turned around on themselves, creating interesting paths normally, but now it was just frustrating.
The view opened up, the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean showcasing everything within its depths in one terrifying glance.
She screamed, crying out, unable to believe what was in front of her. The passion that was still infusing her limbs abruptly faded. Pythias immediately grabbed her close to his chest, bringing his strong, comforting arms around her. She burrowed back into him, closing her eyes briefly.
"What happened here?” Damon whispered, a thread of rage evident in his voice.
She shook her head, her chest heaving within Pythias’ hold. He was whispering to her, so low she couldn't make out the words. He lifted one hand, bringing it up to smooth along her hair, tangling in the red strands.
"Shh, it's okay. It's going to be okay,” Damon crooned, coming to block her front. He pressed himself close, trapping his friend's arms between his body and hers.
"It's never going to be okay,” she sobbed, unable to get the sight out of her mind. Shaking, she opened her eyes, meeting the concern in Damon's gaze head on. His face was blurry until she blinked away the tears filling her vision. Sniffing once, she straightened her shoulders, looking behind him to the devastation.
Over a dozen bodies floated within the small cavern, the dead seals laid out in their watery grave.
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Chapter Four
Damon snarled, his gaze moving past the diminutive figure in his arms to land on his closest friend.
This can't be happening. Pythias’ furious voice rang out inside his head.
The sea god was right, Linos must be back. We have to stop him this time, Pyth.
I know that! Pythias tightened his hold on Aella.
The two men had her bound between them, refusing to let go. Damon would never forget the sight of her face when she spied the seals. These were more than her friends They were her charges, her children. He would have given anything to spare her that.
Damon had never expected the depth of his emotions when he was first shown an image of Aella. She'd called to him, even through the mirror. He knew he would have her, from his first glimpse of her mischievous face.
Her nose was pert, tilted up at the end ever so slightly over wide, full lips. Her eyes really defined her, though. They were as bright and open as the wide seas, a greenish blue that hinted at untold depths. She couldn't hide her emotions there; they were plain for anyone to see.
I felt the same, Damon. She is meant to be ours. After all these years, we have been blessed. I won't let anything stop us from claiming what is ours.
He studied Pythias, considering the other man. They'd been together for centuries, since they were children. They'd been through a lot in the long years they'd been together, and nothing and no one would ever get between them. It was only fitting that they would share a mate. They would have it no other way.
Pythias nodded, silently confirming Damon's thoughts.
Aella stirred between them. “I-I have to contact my father. I don't know what to do. What do I do?” She sounded so uncertain, so fragile. So unlike the beguiling sprite she'd been when they first met.
He met her gaze, staring into her watery green eyes. The tender skin around the orbs was red and blotchy—her nose too, had a spot of red—but she'd never been more beautiful in his eyes.
She closed her eyes, furrowing her brow. He noticed she hadn't moved from their embrace, and a fierce pride filled him, despite the horrible surroundings. She was still clinging to them. She hadn't denied them outright.
Within moments, she shook her head, the frustration evident in her gaze. “He isn't answering me."
He closed his own eyes, reaching inside himself for his connection to Poseidon.
Poseidon? Your youngest needs you now. Please answer her call. Linos has returned. It is as you feared.
Tensing, Damon waited for the god to answer him.
Nothing.
What was going on?
"He's not answering me either. Something is definitely blocking our communication."
Aella tensed, wriggling out from between them. Pythias frowned, but Damon nodded for his friend to let her go easily. He didn't want to overwhelm her.
"What exactly do you mean, you can't contact him? Why would you be contacting my father? Who are you?"
Pyth growled. “Don't you think it's a little late for questions? You know who we are, our history isn't as important as the essence of what you already know. You're backing away from us and I won't allow it."
Damon shook his head, rolling his eyes at Pyth. Great, like that wasn't guaranteed to put her back up.
What would you have me do? I won't let her refuse our bond.
I know, Pyth, but she still needs time to figure out her feelings. She's young.
She's old enough, so don't even try to make excuses for her. She knows what she's feeling. She's just scared and wants to ignore it.
"Enough! I know you're talking to each other and you can stop that right now. I won't have you treating me like a child by leaving me out of whatever discussion is going on. Either you include me or you can just march your tails down that cave and disappear. I won't be ignored."
Aella had her hands on her hips, her coppery green tail swishing madly. She was churning up the sea around her, and if they hadn't been immortal—and immune, thanks to Poseidon—they'd definitely be affected by her siren voice. She was unbelievably appealing with her eyes snapping fire at them.
He tried to reach for her again, chuckling when she evaded his outstretched arms. “We weren't trying to exclude you, we are just used to talking to each other. We've never had another to concern ourselves with. Forgive us?"
She sniffed, obviously trying to hold on to her anger. Turning her back to them, she stopped when she was faced with the bodies in the water. Pythias swam up behind her, pulling her into his arms once more. She let him, leaning back into his embrace.
Damon smiled his thanks, turning his attention to the figures. Swimming closer to them, he studied the bodies. They'd obviously been poisoned by some means, they were pale and their soft fur was muted in color, as if the very life had been drained from them. What could cause such a thing?
I don't know how he did it, but it had to be Linos. You know it as well as I. Pythias met his gaze over Aella's head.
I know it. We have to tell her.
Damon sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.
"We have to leave them here, Aella. I'm sorry for even suggesting such a thing, but we don't know if the poison originated in the water or in their food. We should get out of here until we can contact your father to collect their bodies and send their spirits on."
She nodded, meeting his gaze briefly. Phocas approached her once more, rubbing his head against her belly. She raised one hand to run it along the side of the small seal. The other two survivors came close, pushing in to butt against her.
With a last, longing glance, Aella motioned the seals to move forward. It was in silence that they retraced their path, coming once more to the juncture where they'd first met. Aella continued on to the opening, sliding her body through.
Exchanging pained glances with Pythias, Damon approached the opening, squeezing his larger frame through the cave entrance. His shoulders scraped against the rock wall but he refrained from commenting. Pythias followed him out, cursing quietly.
She did that on purpose. Pythias sn
arled in his mind.
Probably.
Damon glanced up to where she'd surfaced above them. The seals bobbed in the sea beside her, staying close. He flicked his tail, cutting powerfully through the water, emerging beside her to study the island in front of them.
Pythias slicked back his hair, running his hands along the chestnut strands. “Is it a coincidence that you make your home at the Siren Rocks?"
"What do you think? Father gets a kick out of it. Said he loved it when our older sisters used to crash the ships here by singing sailors to their deaths. All except for Odysseus, but he's another story for another day.” Aella studied them both, flicking her gaze back and forth. “Is it time for that explanation?"
"I don't believe we have any other option. You need to know what's going on here.” Damon nodded to Pythias, motioning for him to swim to the small craft anchored nearby. The words Whirlwind were printed on the side in bold, blocky letters. He snorted. It was an apt description for the small siren beside him.
Pythias shifted his tail into strong legs once more, lifting himself out of the water and into the boat. Reaching down to grab the hand Aella held up, he hauled her up beside him. Damon quickly shifted his own tail, surging up to land on the deck.
Aella moved around, picking up towels and throwing them at the two men. He gazed out over the water, watching for nearby boats. They were alone for now, but he knew there was no telling when another craft would approach. It wasn't exactly empty water around here. It was a miracle that Aella had never been seen by a human while in the waters before now. She took entirely too many risks swimming as a mermaid so close to shore. The residents of Foca on the mainland of Turkey were always out fishing in these parts and the tourists flocked to the beautiful waters almost year round.
He reluctantly wrapped the towel around his waist, sitting down on one of the bench seats. Pythias sprawled beside him, unashamedly nude, placing his own towel on the seat to his left. Aella perched across from them, wrapped shoulder to calf in a thick terry cloth robe. Damon had an insane urge to rip it off her body, but they had a few things that needed to be taken care of first.
Rolling his shoulders, he tried to figure out where to start. As usual, Pythias grew tired of the wait, and forged ahead. He'd always been the more impatient of the two. Damon had always preferred to think things through before acting, looking at it from all angles.
Pythias had a different way.
"We believe that one of our common enemies has set his sights on you. We feared that he might be after you and that is why we're here. It's—"
"Pythias, perhaps we should start at the beginning.” Damon shook his head, studying the confused expression on Aella's face. She nodded, twisting her hands in her lap.
Damon took a deep breath. This was going to be hard for her to believe, but she was the daughter of Poseidon after all. She would have to be open minded to be able to deal with learning she was a mermaid and the daughter of a Greek god. This wasn't all that different. “Have you ever heard the legend of Damon and Pythias?"
"Is that a joke?” Aella frowned, wrinkling her nose. Damn, they'd been blessed with her. She was adorable, although she'd probably hurt him if he actually said that out loud.
Get to the story, and stop mooning after our mate. Pythias snorted, his amusement evident.
"Please,” Damon said. “I'm serious."
She sighed, rolling her eyes. “There was a story told back in the day, when the majority of people actually believed in my father, about two men called Damon and Pythias. Everyone's heard the legend."
"Humor me. Tell me what you've heard."
"Let me guess, you two were named after the men and you were destined to be as good of friends as them?"
"Aella, unless you want to be turned over my knee, would you just tell the story."
Her eyes widened and her gaze fell to his lap. Licking her bottom lip, she definitely looked interested. He swallowed his groan, shifting to relieve the sudden pressure of his towel. Glancing to the side, he noticed Pyth had a similar problem, although his hard on wasn't hidden by the folds of a towel. No, it was jutting proudly in front of him. Damon grinned wickedly, meeting his friend's gaze.
"Uh, right,” Aella stammered. “The legend. Umm, Damon and Pythias were friends. They did something to anger Dionysius the first in Syracuse. He was apparently so angry that he sentenced one of them to death. I can never remember which one it was. Anyway, the man asked to be allowed to return home to say goodbye to his family and Dionysius only let him go when the other friend asked to be held in his place. He told them both that if the one didn't return by a certain time, his friend would be put to death instead.
"Anyway, the appointed time came and went, and Dionysius was furious. He was about to kill the friend when the first man suddenly appeared at the last minute. He'd been stopped on the way—depending on who's telling the story it's always a different reason for why he was stopped—but he had only just made it back. He'd practically gone through hell to get back in time to save his friend. The story goes that Dionysius was so touched by the lengths the two friends went to try and save each other that he let them both go."
"Close, but not quite what actually happened.” Pythias lowered his head, studying the floor.
The gentle lapping of the waves against the hull of the boat, coupled with the sweet tones of Aella's voice, had almost made Damon become lost in his memories of that time. He'd been prepared to die for Pyth. He still was.
"I was the one sentenced to die, and Damon was the one who asked to be kept in my place while I returned home. But, the legend doesn't tell the whole tale. Dionysius had a man on his council at the time, a man who went by the name Linos. Linos was fascinated by power and he desperately wanted as much as he could accumulate. Damon and I weren't powerful men in Syracuse but we had friends in high places.
"We grew up on the shores, and fished in the waters around Syracuse for many years. When we were young men we chose to pray to Poseidon since he had always blessed us with good catches in our nets. We traveled to the closest temple, the sanctuary of Poseidon on the Isthmus of Corinth, to give sacrifice to the sea god."
Aella leaned forward, absorbed in the tale. Damon's gaze was drawn to the gap in her robe and the shadows within. Another few inches and he'd be able to see the creamy globe of her breast.
Shaking his head, Damon took up Pythias’ story. “We came home exuberant. We'd gone to the temple and come back renewed men, dedicated to Poseidon. When we reached the shores, Linos was waiting for us. It appeared that Dionysius has promised Syracuse to Zeus in order to help him defeat the Carthaginians, and so he was angry with us for turning to Poseidon instead. When Linos confronted us, he tried to have his men take us into custody. Pythias struck out, hitting one of the men in defense.
"Linos had Pythias arrested, and sentenced to die. I begged to take his place. Pythias was the faster sailor and I knew if I stalled for time, he'd be able to return to Isthmus and beg Poseidon to intervene. It was our only hope. Linos somehow got word of what we planned and he set out after Pythias, attacking him at sea."
Pythias shifted in place, distracting Damon. His friend smiled wryly, placing his hand on Damon's forearm.
"I was almost killed. With my ship sinking around me, I cried out for the sea god to save me, not for myself, but so that I could return to Syracuse and save Damon. I didn't want him to die in my place. Your father saw fit to save me that day and returned me to Syracuse in time to save Damon. When Dionysius learned that I had been saved by the sea god, he let us both go, afraid of angering him further. We were cast out instead, unable to return to our land again."
Damon shared a haunted look with his friend, both men reliving the events.
"What we didn't realize,” Damon continued, “was that Zeus was furious that he'd been thwarted, and Linos was none-too-happy that he'd been unsuccessful in killing Pythias. Linos paid him tribute, promised his services in whatever way the god wanted him. Zeus offered Lin
os immortality in exchange for extracting his revenge on Poseidon."
Aella held up her hand, stopping them. “I don't understand, you're saying that Zeus tried to harm my father?"
"We were eventually followed by Linos. With Zeus’ aid, Linos was able to penetrate Poseidon's protection at the temple at Isthmus, and he attacked us. Zeus had given him a weapon, a spear that threw true, even if the person wielding it lacked the skills to use it. Linos wasn't a fighter. He shouldn't have been able to defeat us both. Poseidon was too late to detect the threat, and Linos mortally wounded us both. We would have died if your father hadn't intervened once more. He swore that Linos would try again, and so he changed us into what we are now."
"What are you, exactly, now?"
"We are the protectors of Isthmus, and we are warriors dedicated to Poseidon and all that belongs to him. He's changed many humans into merpeople before, we had heard the stories, and we gladly accepted what he offered."
Aella stood up, pacing. Damon held his breath. He had a feeling that he knew what was coming, but he still flinched when she exploded.
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Chapter Five
"All that belongs to him? My father sent you to me? This was all part of your duty? And what, fucking one of the daughters of Poseidon was just a benefit of the job?"
Aella dragged in deep, gulping breaths of salty air. She felt lightheaded.
So stupid!
She'd been torn up inside over her instant attraction to the two men, even in the midst of her seals dying, and they'd only been doing their job.
Apparently, her father trusted her less then she thought. She couldn't believe he'd sent men after her. To protect her?
This wasn't fair. Just once, she wanted a man who wanted her for herself, not because of who her father was. No wonder they hadn't been afraid to stand up to her and put her in her place, they probably outranked her in the damn hierarchy among those dedicated to her father. She was half-human, even if she was the daughter of Poseidon, but these were ancients who had served her father for centuries. Yep, they definitely outranked her.
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