Suspended within the delicate vial, a single fragile plant floated. “This is…what is it, actually?”
“It is a seedling of the Vircilien tree.” Her expression must have been absolute bewilderment, because a wide smile spread across the king’s mouth before he continued, “The Vircilien is our most sacred tree from the Lake of Life. Now, we gift one of her children to you.”
Kai blinked down at the offering. The single leaf shimmered and drifted in the water current produced by the vial’s movement. “The leaves are so pretty.”
“Indeed, they are. The Vircilien only produces seeds and fruit once per century, and few develop to this stage. This one has been cared for by me for many decades and acclimated to thrive in your saline water at the request of your mother, so that I might bear this gift to you on this day.”
Decades old, and yet it was still so small. Kai marveled over the tiny aquatic tree. “My mother?”
A broad grin brightened the king’s features. “I considered her to be a wise merwoman and often sought her advice when I was young and new to the throne myself. Gods, that was an awful time. I fretted over every mistake and error. I saw each mole hill as a mountain, yet she guided me and helped me to see reason. Her loss struck a terrible blow not only to the magical realm, but to each of us who considered your parents our allies and good friends.”
“I didn’t realize she affected so many people beyond Atlantis.”
“Once news of your birth reached Alfheimr, I asked Ianthe what gift would she prefer for her newborn daughter. She said no gift for your birth was necessary, but to save my effort for your wedding day instead. This seedling sprouted three days after. I considered it a good omen and a sign from the gods she was meant for your kingdom. I even asked Ianthe for water from Atlantis.”
Knowing her mother had been aware of the seedling made it all the more precious. Kai ignored the burning tingle creeping beneath her lash line and smiled through her blurry vision. She wondered if he could possibly know how much the gift her meant to her. “We will cherish her, King Andarien. Thank you.”
The elf tipped his head in a polite nod. “No titles are permitted between us. Call me Andarien. May this be the first day of many to come as friends. Should Atlantis ever require aid, call, and the fae shall answer.”
“Blessings to your marriage,” Selindrys said before the trio parted.
Next in line, the gargoyles gifted them each with a gemstone to be fitted into their crowns, radiant diamonds of pure starlight that shone with golden shimmers and absorbed the colors of all things surrounding them. Each gem held a thousand rainbows.
Their princess, a gentle giant who spoke with a surprisingly quiet voice, could have been living obsidian instead of a woman of flesh and bone. Kai admired her timeless elegance and the intricate style of her black hair, strands that must have fallen to her knees fastened by a rainbow of gemstones and pinned with a tiara.
“For as long as you wear these jewels, no magic will cloud your vision,” Princess Charmeine said. “May your reign be long and prosperous. I am not queen yet, but the love of the gargoyles and all dwarvenkind is with you. Ask for aid, and it shall be given, Your Majesty. Consider this the gift of my father—his word and promise as King of Ore Mountain.”
“Thank you,” Kai said, dazzled by the pretty gems as well as the sincerity in each husky word.
When Aegaeon stepped forward to remove the gift, Manu rose from his throne. “And now it is time to present you with the most valuable present of all. Thank you, Princess Charmeine,” he said. The three gargoyles had formed an enormous barrier so large Kai could see nothing beyond them in the procession. “Your assistance has been appreciated.”
Assistance?
As Charmeine stepped aside, both of her guardians parted ways to reveal they were not the final visitors in the queue. Clothed in identical shell pink dresses, Sunshine and Sadie waited barefoot on the sand, each holding a gift-wrapped present in white and silver.
Initially, Kai didn’t believe her eyes. She froze on the makeshift throne with her mouth half open, darting her gaze from the two women back to Manu, who only offered a smug, self-satisfied grin. Her disbelief snatched her gaze back to the two women again, the sun warm against Sadie’s brown shoulders and glinting gold over Sunshine’s graying blonde head. Tiny ivory shells with blush pink interiors decorated their braided hair, the intricate styles of braids and twists a definite indicator of Amerin’s handiwork. Gold bangles of Grecian design covered their arms and wrists.
It couldn’t be real.
Sadie and Sunshine couldn’t be there to share in the most important day of her life because they were human, and she’d been told humans were not permitted in grand meetings of the kingdoms, even if such were her own wedding.
“Mom? Sadie?”
Their smiles launched Kai into action. Once she lurched to her feet, the sand flew beneath them. All the while, treacherous tears crept beneath her eyelashes and spilled over her cheeks.
“I can’t believe—I just can’t—You’re here,” she managed amidst other barely coherent babbling and elated sobs. She sank into Sunshine’s warm embrace and enjoyed the comfort denied to her during the two seasons since her arrival in Atlantis. “You’re really here.”
“We are, baby. We couldn’t let this day go by without watching and coming to support you.”
“But how?”
The velvet-soft chuckle of her husband answered the question. Manu had done it, and if not Manu alone, then he’d worked in conjunction with the others. A quick search over Sunshine’s shoulder put her in eye contact with Amerin, who only grinned from where she rested in a chair. An umbrella had been angled above her by one of the other servants. Though it was a bright and golden afternoon, thunder rumbled in the distance with the promise of a summer storm.
A storm with the drum of rain against shores of their beachside retreat would set the perfect post-wedding mood.
“Thank you. However you pulled this off, thank you. You…you brought my mother and my sister to me.”
“Of course, I did,” Manu murmured. His warm hand touched the small of her bare back. “Amerin handled the arrangements and Elpis brought them, but it was my idea. That is the only credit I can take for this moment.”
“But Hipponax said—”
“I overruled him. What good is it to be a king if I can’t make my wife’s wedding dreams come true?”
“You both…I can’t believe you and Amerin did this.” Kai brought in a deep breath. Stinging tears blurred her vision. “I’m so happy to see you, Mom.”
“Baby, I’ve never known anything could be so beautiful,” Sunshine said, still hugging her tightly. “I am so honored your people allowed me to be a part of this, and to watch you find happiness.”
Leaning back, Kai peered into the shorter woman’s suntanned face. “Why didn’t you tell me before the wedding that you were here?”
Deep laugh lines creased the sides of Sunshine’s mouth. “Ha! Tell you about a gift before you’re going to receive it? That would have ruined the surprise. I knew if you realized we were here, you’d mess up the entire thing, and your mind wouldn’t be where it needed to be,” her mother answered. “This is your day. Not ours. We didn’t want to take from it or distract you.”
“Because we knew you’d sob like a bitch on your wedding day and ruin any attempt at decorum and being queenly,” Sadie chimed in while wiping Kai’s cheeks with the back of her hands, drying tear-streaks that were replenished within seconds. “So, we asked to watch from the crowd and keep out of the way until it was over.”
Kai choked back another sob wrapped in laughter, the two sounds blending in equal measure. The moment her mother released her from one embrace, Kai threw herself into the next and hugged her adopted sister. “Thank you. Thank you for coming all this way. Now it truly is the best and happiest day of my life.”
Raindrops splattered against Kai’s hair, not that she cared. The sky could have split asunder and sp
illed a bounty upon them all. She had a new husband and the women who meant most to her all in one place.
“How long will you stay?”
“Until tomorrow evening when the epaulia ends,” her sister replied, referring to the third and final day of an Atlantian wedding ceremony. “Amerin offered to entertain us while you, uh, you know.” Sadie giggled. “Enjoy the rest of your…your gamos?…with Manu. I’m so hungry I’m willing to eat whatever they serve at the feast.”
“Even if it’s shark fillet and dolphin tartare?”
Sadie laughed. “Even that.”
Her mother nodded in agreement. “I, for one, am always excited to sample another culture’s cuisine. Have fun, baby. Don’t worry about us.”
With bleak cloud cover rolling in from the ocean, it truly was time to retire. Aegaeon had already ordered a few of the servants to remove their plethora of gifts. An enormous banquet hall had been constructed beneath the frond rooftop of a great cabana for the diplomats to enjoy Pacifican hospitality. Her uncle stood off to the side at the moment, deep in conversation with Heracles and another stoic Myrmidon.
Something is wrong, Kai realized, a flicker of intuition dancing on the periphery of her thoughts.
But it was time to let go of responsibilities for one day.
For one day, Aegaeon could bear handling her royal duties.
“Tomorrow is going to be amazing. I love you both so much.”
Another round of hugs passed, including Manu despite his bashful attempt to decline. Her mother and sister squeezed him tight anyway and kissed his bearded face.
Distant lightning flashed across the sky in a light show miles away from land, though each bolt came closer than the last. Heracles stiffened nearby, standing with his head cocked and spine rigid. He listened to a voice on the other end of his communicator and replied in a tone too soft for her hearing. His eyes narrowed.
Contrary to the balmy tropical weather, Kai’s body chilled as if she’d been plunged into an ice bath.
What hasn’t he told us yet?
A sizzling streak of lightning split a tree beside them. Its shower of wood and flaming debris rained upon the sand and flora. Rain poured from the sky in a great deluge that soaked through Kai’s clothing within seconds. It was a bitter rain, sharp and almost pungent, lacking the sweet purity she’d expect of their tropical location.
Heracles promptly called out commands that would have been lost in the thunder if not for the man’s amplified Atlantian voice. Meanwhile, the waves offshore rose to tremendous, terrifying heights. Spectators floating in the water screamed as they were carried on waves surging ever higher, until they threatened to cover the sky.
All at once, the Myrmidons assigned to posts throughout the beach moved into action.
“Gloom sighted!” Heracles roared, his shout followed by orders that sent his mers into action.
The wave rose tall and terrifying above them, contorting into an impossible wall of skyscraper proportions careening toward the island’s shore. Upon that wave, the dusky-violet form of Calypso’s vile daughter surfed toward them.
5
Everything Dies
Foaming waves of black water approached the beach with the dark silhouette of a monster within the massive tidal wave. All along, Manu had feared the Gloom would arise again, but he’d never anticipated Narkissa herself would lead the charge.
Thankfully, their men had been prepared for such an occurrence and the presence of the Pearl Shark meant they weren’t unprotected.
Gritting his teeth, Manu threw himself between the approaching aberration and his new family. He may have only known Sadie and Sunshine from a single meeting, but if it was the final thing he did, he’d protect his mother-in-law and little sister with his life. Their humanity made them the most vulnerable of all guests on the island, lacking magic, armor, or extraordinary strength granted by divine beings.
As Kai’s younger sister stumbled on unsteady ground that quaked and trembled, Manu caught her by the arm before she fell off balance. Kai did the same for her mother.
“Kai? Kai, what’s happening?” Sadie’s voice trembled. “What’s that thing? What is that?”
“A monster,” Kai answered grimly.
Shrieks from spectating mers echoed beneath the stormy skies as Myrmidons flooded the beach and drew arms. They were not enough. The bulk of their forces awaited deployment from Loto’s ship if they weren’t already in action.
Manu raised one hand to the communicator pinned to his chest, only for his fingers to slap bare skin. Fuck. He hated that he was no longer a commander, in the know and kept abreast of every security situation.
Handling imminent danger belonged to the other commanders.
“All commanders to me!” Heracles called, his rallying cry promptly summoning Cosmas, Loto, Elpis, and even Aegaeon to his side from the distant corners of the island’s shore. “We must quickly get the king and queen to safety!”
“Fuck that,” Kai blurted out. “Get my mother and sister to safety.”
“Kai—”
“Do it, Cosmas! Please. They aren’t the only ones in danger right now. Look.” She jerked him around to face a common concern. Amerin sat in a chair frozen with fear, eyes large and wide with terror.
He groaned as if suffering. “Go, then. Go. I’ll protect them.”
Their argument had only taken seconds, but seconds brought their enemy closer to shore. Rain fell from the heavens in a ferocious, stinging torrent against his face. If it hurt him, it must have been agonizing to the humans Cosmas ushered away into protection. The last Manu saw of the group, Cosmas had Amerin in his arms, and was leading Kai’s family deeper into the island.
At the same moment the Pearl Shark arose from the water to float on the turbulent waves, Kai broke away from Manu’s side and their personal guard. She rushed at the shore.
“Kai!” Manu shouted.
Aware of how fruitless it would be to argue with his wife, he raced after her, as did Elpis and Aegaeon. Skidding to a halt mere meters from the shoreline, she raised both hands toward the dangerous wall of water.
If it fell over them, most of their guests didn’t have a chance. A wave of such magnitude would flood the entire island.
Her family didn’t have a chance, the force of the wave as likely to crush Sunshine and Sadie as it was to drown them if they were swept out to the ocean.
Now or never, Manu thought as he joined her. The shoreline had dissolved into the chaos of diplomatic bodyguards attempting to usher their wards to safety. Elpis appeared to one side, and Aegaeon took his place at the other.
Loto and the new infantry commander fought alongside their units in the water, their ranks divided between rescuing civilians and holding the line to prevent encroaching Gloombeasts from reaching the island.
The wall of water continued to rise, citizens of Atlantis captive in the waves. Refusing to allow the tsunami to crash ashore, Manu tenaciously dug his mental fingers into the wave. The agonizing weight of hundreds of thousands of pounds of water came barreling toward them. Pressure squeezed his brain and pushed inward against his eyes. Manu gritted his teeth through the building discomfort.
Concentration contorted Kai’s features into a mask of pain.
I must do more.
Elpis fell to one knee beside them, and Aegaeon buckled under the pressure. The shoreline dissolved into chaos as the foaming waves of black water approached the beach.
Although he had anticipated the island have devolving into panic, most of their guests had yet to budge or seek safety. Perhaps Manu should have expected better of so many members of royalty assembled in one place.
“Princess! This is not our battle,” one of the gargoyle guards rumbled in a deep baritone smoother than velvet.
“It may not be our battle, but we will not leave our friends to fight alone,” Charmeine replied before reaching one black hand into the sand and dragging a full-sized war hammer from the ground as if it were a weed.
; Concentration drove a rail spike into Manu’s brain. Little by little, Narkissa lost ground, however. The water wavered and began to recede, appearing to decrease in size. In all the time he had pushed Kai to produce results, he’d never realized how difficult it had been for her.
“We can do this!” Kai screamed. “Push, everyone!”
Charmeine and her personal guard waded out into the water with steps that thumped against the ground. No longer did they appear to be stone. They simply had become gargantuan figures of rock each wielding weapons bearing the patterns of silica and sand, small pieces of quartz glinting.
Over the water, several Valkyries launched their spears into Gloombeasts on the surface or flew down and snatched civilians mers from the figurative jaws of death.
Everywhere he looked, members of their royal wedding party fought as if they too shared the blood of Atlantis.
And then there were the Pacificans, their brothers in arms, all taking command from their queen.
“Provide all assistance the Pearl Shark needs to quell the Gloom! Leave Narkissa to us!” Laka shouted to her men. She raised her spear high in the air, and then the unbearable pressure of the crushing waves yielded. Water droplets seemed to be frozen, suspended midair. Slowly, gradually the dangerous wall sank toward normal sea level, losing inches and then feet at a time. Manu could have collapsed in his relief, and may have, if he didn’t realize the queen’s concentration remained on neutralizing the force behind the water level.
Bloody battle and rotting pieces floated on the churning waves that escaped Laka’s control. Narkissa sailed closed to them on the foaming surf, only for an arrow to pierce the crustacean-like carapace protecting her torso. It vanished seconds later into black smoke and the midnight vapors dissipated. Manu whipped his head around to find the fae king’s general drawing another arrow from thin air and nocking it to a bow crafted from silver-white wood.
Charmeine pulped a giant squid beneath her hammer blow as a corrupted Myrmidon, still in his battle armor, stepped from the surf covered in barnacles and ragged bits of slimy kelp. More joined them as Narkissa scuttled onto the shore with a body twisted into a gruesome amalgamation of sea life. The chimera of crab legs and lobster claws jabbed at the closest obstacle, taking a mer into one pincher and easily shearing him in half. She lunged for another, only for a keen blade to intercept her. The deadly limb tumbled to the ground.
Goddess of Sea and War: a Fantasy Romance (Kingdom in the Sea Book 3) Page 4