Water Games (Watergirl Book 4)

by Juliann Whicker

“Ah. In that case, I swear, Sean Fielding, that you will never have to iron another t-shirt as long as you live.”

  He tugged me close until our foreheads bumped. “You still can’t iron a t-shirt to save your life.”

  “Right, but I’m just saying that seriously, you don’t have to iron your t-shirts. No one has to. It’s completely unnecessary for anyone who isn’t totally OCD.”

  His blue eyes narrowed. “But I am totally OCD. That’s the only reason I’m half comfortable being with you. If I didn’t plan and replan every possibility with you, I wouldn’t be able sleep even when you are in my bed, which you weren’t last night even though you specifically told me that you would be. Watching you sleep with Otto was a strange combination of terrifyingly boring. Let’s not do that again.”

  He tugged me up so we could swim beneath a net I hadn’t noticed it was so thin and delicate. That’s what kept out things from above. We swam to the entrance and once there, Goldie, Sean’s ship, waited to take us back to Sean’s apartment, where we’d be doing the interview.

  The interviewer was my favorite person in the entire world. You remember back at the beginning of this craziness when I went to my very first party at Sean’s house? You remember that girl who could drink and swim at the same time? Brenda? Yep. Apparently she was the up and coming voice of the Soremni nation.

  So, I sat there on one uncomfortable chair next to the lava fountain with her on the other side, both of us smiling politely, me with a bit of frost. I was a Vashni, after all.

  “You’ve cleaned up well,” she started our interview with.

  I laughed an icy tinkling sound of death. “And look at you, the voice of the nation. The epitome of culture and eloquence.”

  She laughed throaty and sexy, her teeth white, brown hair perfectly straight and cut to enhance her cheekbones and soft lips. Her eyes weren’t quite as soft as most of the Soremni females, but she was just as beautiful. “Shall we begin? Are there any questions you’d like to pass on?”

  I smiled back. “I’m sure you won’t ask me anything that makes me feel uncomfortable.” Yeah, right.

  “My sister Petra said that she got to know you rather well while you were in Terramore. How did you like it? She said that you truly embraced the Soremni life as well as our marriage customs.”

  Petra was her sister? So this girl knew that Sean had bitten me on the back of my neck like a true Soremni male, and I’d gone brain dead like a true Soremni female. Awesome.

  “That’s right. I believe that I should embrace my husband’s culture as well as my own.”

  “Your husband’s culture?”

  Here it comes.

  She leaned forward, eyes narrowing, lips curling. “Marking a female in public is considered slightly obscene. You must have been startled when your husband who you’ve marked repeatedly turned the tables.”

  Startled was one word for it. “I believe his Soremni instincts must have been over stimulated when he realized that Terramore and myself were in danger. I tried to react like a Soremni, but I’m afraid I overplayed my part.”

  “How so?”

  “I allowed him to face his opponents alone. I should have stayed at his side. It is one thing which I regret very much.” If I’d stayed with Sean, I probably wouldn’t have freaked out the ocean and smashed Terramore. Or it would have been worse.

  She raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t expected that. “Why would you want to interfere in his business?”

  I smiled at her sharply. “It is our business. I know I haven’t completed the Soremni rituals, but he’s been my husband since that first mark. I have no intention of leading or being led.”

  “Did you like it?” Her eyes twinkled as she flicked her eyebrows suggestively.

  “Watching helplessly from a distance?”

  “Him marking you. I still remember the time he was on Dimatrax and you were dancing with someone else at his party. He threw you over his shoulder and carried you off.” She laughed a tinkling Soremni laugh with an undercurrent of diabolical.

  “I did not dislike it. I expected to feel somewhat objectified. I’ve been raised to see Soremni women as mindless drones who do as their male tells them to do, but the more actual people I get to know, the more I realize how complex, intelligent, and kind they can be.”

  “My sister Petra is the ideal Soremni female. My mother is forever weeping over me for being incapable of catching a good husband. At least I still have time before I’m considered an old maid. But you married Takeo so young. When I first met you, I thought you had your sight set on prince Oliver.”

  Oliver. No, no, no, no, no!

  I swallowed and forced my hands to stay calmly resting on my lap instead of trying to grip something.

  “Did you? This morning Takeo and I went to add our links to the wall in the old city. I saw Oliver’s seal on some links. Hopefully he’ll find a female soon who can fill the role of Soremni princess with grace and wisdom.”

  Her eyes narrowed but she went with the crumbs I’d fed her instead of following the Oliver madness-making conversation.

  “You added your links to his ancestors? What other customs have you taken part in and which was your favorite?”

  “We milked a brogge,” I said and she gasped and leaned forward.

  “No! Did you really? I’ve never seen a brogge. My sister is always telling me about the idyllic country life, but that’s never been a dream of mine. She and Anul were ecstatic when they won the drawing and were able to live in Terramore. What was it like, milking a brogge? Was it disgusting?”

  I laughed lightly. “A little bit. I’m afraid I was slow. Takeo had to pin it down for hours, poor thing.”

  “Poor thing,” she agreed, glancing at me in the first openly malicious look. “What else?”

  I ticked off my fingers, “Milking a brogge, praying in the temple, the duet, and the links. My favorite was the duet, naturally. I’d never heard him sing before.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “No? You didn’t rehearse together?”

  I shook my head. “He was extremely occupied while in Terramore with training for the Games as well as taking care of his duties.”

  “Isn’t it strange that the most stable, technologically advanced as well as affluent district was completely destroyed after you arrived?”

  “I believe Takeo was the target, not me.”

  She leaned forward, frowning. “Takeo? Why would he be the target? Everyone adores him. He is the perfect Soremni specimen, even if he is a half-breed who intends to marry far beneath him.”

  I stood up. “It’s been a pleasure. Our time together is over.”

  She stood up, staring at me with her head cocked, looking at me from this way and that. “Because I called him a half-breed, or because I insulted you?”

  “My husband’s nationality is not a subject worthy of contempt. He is the best of both worlds. There is good in both worlds, and he proves it. He has the loyalty, steadfastness, intelligence and strength of the Vashni with the charm, kindness and consideration of the Soremni. I have a little Soremni blood and hope that I can develop into a more whole person. If you’ll excuse me…” I walked away from her, into Sean’s bedroom and she didn’t follow. I closed the door and leaned against it while my heart pounded and Oliver’s voice whispered in my ear.

  “Good work. You didn’t throw her in the lava fountain,” Spyguy said, his voice in my ear instead of Oliver.

  I scowled and pulled off the small piece attached behind my ear and threw it on the side table. I fell over on the ridiculously enormous bed and put my arm over my face. Oliver. My skin ached for his touch. My beautiful, glorious Oliver. What would he think of the interview? I’d seen his name. I’d never put my link to his, never belong to him forever.

  I rolled over and tried to stop breathing with my face against the coverlet. How many hours until I’d see Sean again? Too many. So many hours when I needed him now. What could I do? I should go somewhere. Do something. At home I’d go to the do
jo and spar or do kata. The bed was huge. I pushed myself up in starting position and began, breathing in as deeply as I could before I moved through the first kata.

  Why was this so bad? My hands trembled and my heart fluttered. Oliver. Second kata. Kick spin. Punch block. I was on the eighth when someone knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” I called before keeiaing at my unseen opponent.

  In walked a woman who looked vaguely familiar. Only my mother didn’t wear suits or walk around in air without tanks under her arms.

  “Mom?” I walked over and dropped down to the floor. When I went over to her she raised an eyebrow like I was being an idiot.

  “How are you enjoying life as a Soremni female?” she said in a voice I thought I’d never hear again.

  I fainted.

  Chapter 22

  I woke up to voices. It took me a minute to recognize them.

  A man’s low voice, “The risk might be great, but you have to consider the rewards.”

  A woman’s answered, husky, rich and alive. “If the danger outweighs the benefits, she must be killed.”

  “Two princes are highly invested in her. Consider your own position if you did something permanent to remove the problem.”

  Spyguy. That was definitely Spyguy. The other voice… My mother? I inhaled too sharply.

  Spyguy said, “She’s awake.”

  I sat up and glared at them where they stood at the bottom of Sean’s bed. I pointed at my mother. “Get out!”

  She raised an eyebrow and didn’t move. Was she going to make me make her? Oh, I would. I so would.

  “I will leave if you can prove that you can calm yourself like an adult instead of having a tantrum at every slightest provocation.”

  I gritted my teeth and forced myself to breathe evenly in and out, in and out until with a slight nod, she turned and left the room. I immediately slumped over my knees, head pounding, heart racing.

  The bed creaked beside me. “Do you need a hug or something?”

  I raised my head and made a face at Spyguy. “And you just standing there like it was a totally legitimate conversation. ‘Well of course we could kill Gen, but it isn’t convenient right now.’ Seriously, what is wrong with you people?”

  He still had blond hair. He looked so stupid with blond hair. “She has to be hard on you. You’re a danger not only to her, but to the entire world. She needs to make hard choices.”

  “Like sewing my gills shut, like letting me think that she was dead, like coming back into my life and then treating me like I’m expendable. Yeah, poor mom, such tough choices.”

  He put an arm around my shoulder and I tensed up, my shoulders going up to my ears.

  “What are you doing?”

  “The hug. It helps, doesn’t it?”

  “Helps what?”

  “You calm down.”

  I scooted away from him across the bed. “Sean helps. Not random people.”

  “Good. That was really uncomfortable. I’ve done a lot of strange things in my work, but comforting a Siren so she doesn’t lose it and possibly destroy the city, it’s up there.”

  I sighed. “Oh, shut up. I know every time you rescue me from Oliver, you hold me away from you like I’m a stinky carp, but I’m not that stinky. You really are a no personal contact kind of person. I wouldn’t torture you with hugs. Unless you needed one.”

  “So you could torture me for my benefit, but not yours? That’s very generous.”

  “How could she say that? She’s my mother! She used to sing me lullabies and take me on picnics with cherry flavored licorice. Was it all a lie or did she go completely crazy in the lake? She doesn’t treat Lucien like he’s expendable.”

  “This is really bothering you.”

  I glared at him. “She’s my mother. Sean was telling me I’m an endangered species so my reproduction is too valuable to belong to me, and she’s all, ‘let’s kill her.’ It’s a little confusing. Am I valuable or not?”

  He scooted over to me and put his arm around my shoulders again. I scowled at him but didn’t shove him off. Honestly, it wasn’t terrible. It was a little bit like my dad putting an arm over my shoulder at a game or something. Not cuddly.

  He cleared his throat. “Do you know, the last time I saw my mother, she took me down into the deeps, held me so close to the lava flows that the skin on my face burst open and told me, ‘Love is a lie, pain is the only truth, and what you are is nothing if you do nothing.’ I can’t say I appreciated it at the time. I can’t say I appreciate it now. Sometimes mothers do the wrong things for the right reason, or the wrong things for the wrong reason. I’m a little bit worried about you.”

  “Now I’m worried about you.”

  “You’re too soft, too gentle. Can you make the difficult choices that are the best in the long run for the most people, or at least the people you care about?”

  I scowled at the black blanket. “That’s how you feel? Like if it would be best for the world if I were dead, you’d just kill me?”

  He tugged me a little bit closer so I was leaning against his side. He was warm. Somehow that surprised me. “I’m not that altruistic. Also, I’m a tiny bit of an anarchist. No, I’m not going to kill you. I’ll probably betray you a few more times. It’s in my nature, but kill you? That would be sad.”

  “Why? Maybe my mother is right. I really am a danger that should probably be locked up or something.”

  “Ah, that’s why it bothers you; you believe her. You’re change. You’re the center that everything pivots around. If you’re alive, I have a tiny glimmer of hope that someday things will be different.”

  He pulled away from me and I realized how much of my weight I’d put on him. That was stupid particularly when he just told me he was going to betray me a lot more.

  “Where do you want me to put this?” he asked, lifting my bag by the straps.

  I grabbed it and held it close to me. “Right here. Where did you find it?”

  “It has a tracking device. One of Takeo’s other shadowy assistants retrieved it. I did not get back the money. I hope you don’t mind. It’s nothing to you, and to him it’s a month of not worrying where he’ll get his next meal, three months if he’s smart.”

  “That’s sad.”

  “It is. There are a lot of sad things. Maybe by the time you die, there will be a little bit more happy, a little less sad. You should get dressed for the concert. The red dress on the closet door is the one Takeo chose. I’ll help you with makeup when you finish up.”

  While Spyguy was working on my makeup, he cleared his throat. I frowned at him. He poked my face to keep it smooth and masklike for better coverage.

  “I don’t think you should be surprised. I was going to tell you earlier, actually she was going to tell you, but it didn’t seem like the right time. You seem a little calmer now.”

  “Tell me what?”

  “Relax your face muscles and shoulders, particularly your throat. Your mother is attending the concert with us along with Sean’s mother. You are going to have such a lovely evening.”

  I stopped breathing for a long time which was probably better than screaming. My mother and Sean’s mother in the same room with hundreds of other people, Sean and I between them? Oh lovely.

  “All right, all done. Sean is waiting for you in the volcano room. Try not to kill him.”

  I swallowed and nodded. I took a few deep breaths before I followed Spyguy out into the main room. Sean was in a black tuxedo looking like a prince. My mother stood beside him looking like a queen. And me. I’d just seen my reflection, the glittering black lace decal across my face that caught the light and shimmered a kaleidoscope of color, my perfect makeup, soft Soremni mouth, everything else hard and sculpted. Vashni.

  I greeted my mother in Vashni then took Sean’s arm.

  “You look beautiful,” he said in an emotionless voice.

  “Not as beautiful as you.”

  His eyebrow twitched, but that’s all the expression
he had. The ship arrived, a semi-armored black ship that attached to the wall. It was filled with armed guards who were probably wearing assault suits beneath their dress clothes. Would they escort us into the hall? Would they keep their guns? How would that affect the acoustics?

  The ship ride was quite short. Apparently, Gerveeg’s dome wasn’t too far from the Chromodome. Maybe it was like the dome neighborhood. The Chromodome had an enormous lip around the bottom of the dome and a lot of growths for gladiator training and things. Gerveeg’s dome was a simple dome. There were a lot of people outside. Were they waiting in line to get in? Then why did they have neon signs?

  I couldn’t read the signs, but I could read the people’s faces. This was a protest. I glanced over at Sean, but I couldn’t tell what he was feeling. I took his hand and he squeezed my fingers too hard. This probably wasn’t good then.

  We swam the short distance from the ship’s landing pad to the entrance. Dozens of black clothed tough looking men came out, holding back the protesters. The men from the ship escorted us past the screaming people and into the building.

  It felt like a dream, being hurried through this seething mass of hatred and trying to pretend I didn’t see them, didn’t hear them. I didn’t dare look at Sean until we were seated in the auditorium. We were in the place of honor, on soft and gelatinous seats. They reminded me of Otto. I wanted to be playing with my Cluverai, not sitting in the middle of this auditorium with everyone casting furtive glances at us. None of them screamed Soremni obscenities no one had bothered to teach me, but it lacked the feel of universal love. There was a rustle as the Vashni Queen entered, leaving a trail of her own armored men around the perimeter as she came towards us. When she reached our group, first she reached past Sean and I, hand outstretched towards my mother. My mother smiled slightly and took her hand. They stared at each other for a long time, slight smiles on both of their mouths, but I could see the strain in the grip as both of them tried to hurt the other most.

  Finally, Sean turned to his mother and bowed. She released my mom and bowed to him. She gave me a slight nod before sitting at his side, chin held high.