Sunken Empire

by Brandy Slaven

  As opposed to the first time we came in here, when I open my eyes now, I can see through the water as though it's crystal clear. Even to the point of being able to see where the barrier cuts through all the way down into the sand. Right on the other side is a sharp-looking drop-off that probably leads down into a dark abyss. I'm in no rush to find that out for sure, though.

  My newly found magic races through my veins, begging for a release. Closing my eyes, I let it push out in a rush, giving it the freedom to consume me completely. That small tingle I had started to feel as I stepped into the water minutes ago now turns into a squeezing sensation around my legs. When I feel them meld together, I suck in a sharp breath, sparing half a moment to revel in my ability to do such a thing underwater. Then my eyes pop back open to a sight that leaves my tears mingling with the salt water already surrounding me. My tail is absolutely beautiful. Starting at my hip bones, the same as my mates, it flows all the way down to end in a double fan. The scales are a deep purple color that could almost be mistaken with black depending on the shadows in the water.

  Giving it an experimental flick sends me propelling backwards. My girly giggle is lost here in the depths. Both are going to take some getting used to for sure. A flash of gold is all the warning I have before Zeph is in my face. His smile is almost blinding but drops immediately as a look of confusion settles into his lowered brows. Zale and Zanthus pull up on either side of us and Zeph looks to the former before turning back to me.

  Opening my mouth to ask what's wrong, I forget that I can't actually speak underwater, so I point to the surface instead. It takes me several tries to get a feel for movement with my new appendage, but I finally manage to go in the direction I'd pointed the Zs. I break the surface, tossing my hair back with a laugh. It's cut short by the somber expressions my mates wear.

  "What is it?" I ask. "Am I deformed or something?"

  "Absolutely not," Zeph says, swimming over to sweep me up into his arms and spin us around in a circle. "You're perfectly stunning, little siren. Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful mate."

  I get caught up in the moment and tilt my head back with a laugh. When we stop spinning, smiles grace Zanthus and Zale's faces as well, but doubt creeps back in.

  "What happened down below?" I try again.

  With my head now tucked beneath Zeph's chin, I can only watch the other two's exchange as they look to each other then back to me.

  "Well," Zale starts, "we were honestly expecting you to be able to communicate with us underwater like we can with each other."

  "Wait, what?" I ask stupidly.

  "We can speak telepathically to each other while in this form," Zanthus clarifies. "As our mate, we assumed you would have this same ability."

  "So, I am in fact defective," I blurt.

  Zale shakes his head, closing the distance between us to softly yank me from within Zeph's arms and into his. His mouth secures itself to my own, leaving no room for argument. Our tails brush against each other and I let out a gasp of sound that’s quickly swallowed by him. The sensation is damn near the same of having him bury his face between my thighs again. Another brush against the back side of my tail near the top has my head tilting back while my eyes roll up in my head. Zephyr's soft chuckle in my ear lets me know he's the one responsible and doesn't feel the least bit sorry for it either.

  The angle in which my head has fallen back against his shoulder leaves the perfect opening for Zale to lean down to flutter his lips across my throat. Not one to miss an opportunity, Zanthus is the last to make his way over to us. Locking my chin between his thumb and index finger, he guides our lips together. As soon as they touch, I open mine, matching him step for step with greedy aggression. When his scales skim against the side of my hip, I don't fight another groan.

  Before being brought into this realm, and even a little while after if I'm honest, I would've been ashamed at my behavior now. Having the attention of three men on me at once. Hands, mouths, and fins touching all over. One indistinguishable from the next. Zanthus had said sex was more fun in our human forms, but I still feel that fire settling deep within my lower belly. The thought of the four of us crowded in my bed upstairs is enough to send my magic racing beneath my skin again, shifting my tail back into my human legs. Instantly, I wrap them around Zale's waist, and I feel him smile against my skin. Zeph's teeth sink softly into the meaty part of my ear, and I rock myself against his brother while grabbing a handful of Zanthus’ hair and yanking him even tighter against me.

  "I think we're slacking in duties and leaving our mate wanting, brothers," Zale says, his breath whispering across my heated skin.

  Zeph chuckles in my ear. "Want to move the party upstairs, little siren?"

  Upstairs, downstairs, right here in the water. How about any or all of the above? If it wasn't for knowing we'd all end up with sandy cracks, I'd tell them not to bother with the trouble of going up. I'd gladly take them all right here. However, I'd rather not have sand in places that shouldn't have it for days to come. So, instead, I break away from Zanthus long enough to lock gazes with him then Zale before giving them a nod.

  Zale wraps an arm around my lower back and one underneath my thigh as his brothers move away, leaving me to miss their warmth immediately. As they shift back into their human forms, the magic is like a caress against my skin, much stronger than the other times I've felt it. Something tells me that we're missing a piece to our whole puzzle. Then the number pops back into my head. It can't be referring to us, because we're already a group of four. Still though, the feeling nags at me.

  "Why do you think I can't talk to you the way you do each other?" I ask, leaning my torso back and capturing Zale's gaze.

  His eyes flick from mine down my naked chest then back up again as he seems to be finding the right words, "My assumption places blame on the unbroken curse more than anything to do with you personally, damselfish. You may have given us our magic back, but we're still trapped here. Until all is said and done, I don't think any of us can expect the normal of what we were used to before."

  "I'm sorry," I whisper sadly, letting my eyes drop to his chin.

  "Don't be," he says, touching our foreheads together. "That just means we have more time to appreciate and love on our beautiful mate before we're thrown back into chaos. I could get used to the idea of keeping you naked in bed for the next couple of months."

  "So scandalous," I tease, barely containing my smile. "Would they have allowed that in the kingdom? We would've been the talk of the royal court, my prince."

  His cheeks pull up as his smile mirrors mine and he confesses, "I used to hate that title, but I think that's only because you weren't the one saying it."

  Warmth radiates through my chest, drawing me toward him. I let my lips drag down his jawline, the small amount of scruff there leaving a slight scratchy feel on my face.

  "You never did answer the question," I whisper in his ear. "Would we have been in royal trouble? My prince."

  I tack the last on just to see if it'll spur another reaction from him, and I'm not disappointed. His chest shudders with a shaky breath as his arms tighten around me. Glancing over his shoulder, I catch Zeph's gaze as he watches us. Noticing my attention on him, one side of his lips pulls up, and I shoot him a quick wink. This earns me a teeth-showing smirk. Gods, my mates are freaking gorgeous. All three of them. I don't even have to look to the front where Zanthus leads us. I can picture his ass in those jeans just fine without the visual.

  Taking Zale's face between my palms, I stare hard into the depths of those blue eyes, thinking I must be the luckiest woman in the world, before smashing our lips together. He doesn't stumble or miss a stair at the distraction. I think it's a safe bet to say we both trust the other two to guide us to the room safely. Like I thought downstairs, I wouldn't really care if he decided to lay me down on the rug right here in the hallway. I just need to be close to them and have one of them inside of me right now.

  I'm not even aware of wher
e we are in the Keep nor where we're headed. I'm so concentrated on my mate that it isn't until I feel a soft mattress at my back that I realize we've made it somewhere.

  "Are we going to be allowed to walk all over the kingdom naked when we get there?" I tease, running a hand down Zale's bare chest.

  He and Zephyr chuckle as Zanthus actually cracks a smile himself and replies, "I'm truly beginning to wish I had mind reading abilities. Is this the kind of random thing you think about every time we're intimate, love?"

  I catch his gaze and snicker. "Maybe, or it could be a lot worse." Slowly dragging my eyes down the front of his naked form, I pause dramatically on his cock already standing at attention and waggle my eyebrows playfully.

  Zeph jumps onto the bed beside Zale and me, jostling us slightly as he drops his face to my left breast and captures the nipple between his lips. His breath fans against my skin as he murmurs, "I love the off topic questions, though, I must say I'm with my brother on this one. I'd love it even more to know what's always going on inside that beautiful crazy mind of yours, little siren. Don't squander the element of surprise."

  The last is said with a quick scratch of his teeth across the already sensitive flesh, drawing a moan from me. I might have something interesting to tell them if my brain hadn't in fact sputtered to a stop. So I say the only thing I can think of at the moment. "Please."

  "Please what, damselfish?" Zale asks, lowering his weight down.

  "I want you," I sigh while sinking my fingers into his hair.

  "Who do you want?" he pushes.

  Dragging one hand down his jaw, I tell him easily, "You. And Zeph. And Zanthus. All of you." Apparently, I have no shame because I definitely don't feel it as the words flow out.

  Zeph chuckles at my breast, making my belly do flips. "Mmm, our mate is a greedy little thing, eh brothers? Wanting all of us at once."

  "Stop teasing her, Zephyr," Zanthus chastises while climbing atop the bed on our other side and knee walking to us.

  As he leans down to claim my lips, letting those blond locks skim over my chest, Zale takes advantage of my distraction to nudge my legs further apart. I feel his cock sliding through my folds as Zanthus continues to ravage my mouth. With one hand now clutching Zeph closer and the other trapped between me and Zanthus, I'm completely at my three mates’ mercy. It's terrifying and amazing all at once. Zeph was right. I am ridiculously greedy because there's no place I'd rather be than right here in this moment with them.

  It's plainly obvious their mutual ministrations have made me wet enough for Zale to ease himself right inside, but that doesn't stop me from squeezing his hips between my thighs. There are just so many sensations all at once that it's hard to focus on any one thing. Zanthus' sweeping tongue determined to leave no space untouched. Zephyr's suction and teasing scrapes at my breast. Zale slowly retreating only to plunge in deeper with every stroke. Then one of their hands makes its way between our bodies to where Zale and I are connected. I'm already so close that with the first couple of strokes, I'm sent over the edge so fast it has my back arching off the bed with a jumbled cry.

  The pride of my three mates at having pleased me to the point of being lost in a dark abyss for a few moments is evident in the soft breath from each of them fanning across my warming skin as low sounds fills my ears. I've barely poked through the hazy bubble they've securely locked me in before Zale tenses above me then drops his entire weight down on me, pushing his brothers away in the process, much to their grumbling displeasure.

  "Eskrya," he sighs in my ear. His tone makes me suspect it's a term of endearment, so I ask, hoping not to ruin the moment. "It means beloved," he tells me, lips constantly brushing across my skin.

  Before I can steal another kiss from him, he's braced on his arms again and lifting himself away. I'd mourn the loss if it weren't for Zanthus immediately capturing my attention. My hand sinks into his hair as he hovers over me, dragging his tongue across one taunt nipple and then the other.

  "Waiting all this time has been torture," he says as our gazes clash. "But it was well worth it, and I'd wait another hundred years if I had to for you."

  Warm fuzzies spring to life in my chest at his words that have nothing to do with sex or the feeling of our bodies touching.

  Of course, Zeph never misses a chance to find humor in any situation as he grins and adds, "Good thing for us, we don't have to wait since our beguiling, greedy, little mate is here in front of us."

  "I'll show you greedy," I snap playfully. Neither he nor Zanthus are quick enough to stop me from twisting in their grasp. Shoving Zephyr on his back gently, I ignore the flash of gold in his eyes as I lean down to slip his cock between my lips. He groans as his head falls back with his lids dropping closed. The rapid rise and fall of his chest spur me on to move faster just to see how quickly I can push him to lose his mind. Unfortunately for that plan, not so much me, Zanthus chooses this moment to take my hips between his palms and lines himself up at my entrance. A small whine slips from me around Zeph, making him moan again.

  My brutish mate takes his time pushing inside, drawing out another pleasure-filled mewl from me as I let my eyes drift closed while basking in the feeling of being trapped between the two of them. A feat Zephyr will have none of.

  "Open those beautiful eyes, oh mate of mine," he demands softly. "I want to see them as I take my pleasure between these pretty lips."

  True to his word, his thumb traces my bottom lip where it's wrapped around his cock. The molten gold in his irises shimmers until I feel it deep down in my soul. It's hard to break the connection, but I must know what happened to my other mate. Even if he did already have his moment in this thing we have working. Finding him lying back on the pillows and watching us is a shot of unfiltered lust straight into my core.

  Zanthus lets out a shuddering breath behind me as my walls clench down on him. It drives him to pick up his pace until I'm rocking against Zephyr without much work involved on my part. All three of those bright-colored threads hum to life, sending a zing through my body. Even without the physical connection to Zale, ours isn't any duller than the others. As I feel Zeph tensing beneath me, those colorful cords seem to braid themselves together, wrapping mine in the middle.

  Instinct demands I slam my eyes closed, but I want to watch my playful mer mate as I push him over into that same abyss I fell into earlier. It doesn't take long. He clenches a fist in the back of my hair as he arches his hips off the bed. I'm working on taking all that he has to offer down the back of my throat when Zanthus digs his fingers into my hips, jerking me back against him with a low groan. Both of my mates filling me the way they are sends me right over with them again.

  Zanthus murmurs a soft curse as I tighten around him before slowly retreating and peppering kisses all along my back. Zeph slips from my mouth as my other mate hits a particularly ticklish spot near the bottom, and I collapse with a giggle on top of him. He pretends to grunt, accepting my weight like I'm heavy and earning himself a poke to his ribs. My imagination could probably do better than that if I could muster the strength to carry through with it. As it is, I do nothing to help either of them as they maneuver us up to the pillows where Zale waits.

  He folds me into his arms easily and kisses my temple, making me feel even more cherished. I fall asleep to the soft mumbling of my mates surrounding me.

  Over the next couple of days, the four of us fall into a routine. Since there's nothing we can do at this point but wait until we find the answer we need to break the curse, we spend our time training with the other mer and teaching me how to swim with my new tail. Which isn't as easy as it sounds. When we aren't doing either of those things or getting lost in the study, my mates and I take advantage of our window of opportunity at being alone every chance we get. Sometimes it's just two of us and other times it's three and four. The latter is the most fun. I never would have conceived there being such a variety of positions. Needless to say, that time is never boring.

  In a rare moment of
being alone, I find myself once again being treated to the wonder that is Zephyr's tub. He's currently on Rubi duty and ran off to track down some food, so I don't wait for his invitation to enjoy the massive pool. Not like he's going to mind when he returns anyway.

  Relaxing the muscles in my neck, I let my head fall back to the tiled surface of the floor. I swear I just mean to close my eyes for a second and no more, but that's not what happens. Immediately, there's a suction feeling that hits me right in the chest and drags me into a black void. I don't even have time to make any kind of noise before everything turns into a pitch-black nothingness and I swallow water down my throat.

  Days. It's been days since the last time I felt whatever it was that's been calling me. The same thing that set me out on this journey, leaving all that I've known behind. Not like there was much there to begin with. Ever since the darkness took over, none of us have seen the sun. We've been banished to the darkest, deepest parts of our realms to suffer an existence some of us didn't earn. I had no choice but to follow the orders given to me by the man who stole me from my mother's womb before slaughtering her where she lay. Anyone who risked questioning the king and his followers never lived to share the tale.

  Keeping my head down for years in my youth proved to be just as pointless. My mother was specifically bred to create me, a weapon to use against the false king of the south and his three sons. A perfect diversion to coerce their anger into thoughtless actions leading to war.

  Only something else had other plans. Before any of that could be put into motion, the darkness swept through our kingdom and swallowed everything whole without spitting it back out. I watched as the color drained from the eyes of the people around me until they were left with nothing but black pits. Those were the ones we had to watch out for. It seemed as though whatever the darkness leached from them, it replaced with a conscience-less anger.

  I'd just decided to take my chances as a rebel on the run from the kingdom when hell rained down upon our heads even further. A jagged hole appeared in the middle of the land, swallowing everyone and everything. It sucked us all right down to the bottom of the ocean and trapped us there. Those of us who weren't touched by darkness were able to restrain those who were. Falling through that pit made their powers useless and the clans blamed them for the curse brought down upon us. If there’s ever a day when the curse is lifted, there won't be a corner of our realm that would be safe from the wrath of those we've held captive for so long.