The Mermaid's Mate
Page 7
When the water grew cold and the rock wall’s surface transitioned from jagged and rough to eerily smooth, Marian knew she was close.
On the surface far above, hard-hitting vibrations rocked the water, sending tiny echoes of movement brushing against the scales on Marian’s tail.
Shivers blanketed her body as realization crashed over her; the only thing that could cause the water to pulse and throb so that she felt it all the way down in the abyss, was sudden impact.
Someone had jumped from the mountain. Ryder was already here.
Swimming with renewed vigor, Marian dove straight down, her body rolling through the water and gaining speed. Up ahead, a large crack that split the rock came into view through the dark. Marian slipped inside, her tail fin slapping the rock above and below with each curl and thrust. When the rock passage widened and finally gave way to a large underwater chamber, Marian swam upright, keeping her body as still as possible so as not to disturb the dirt covering the floor.
Gems sparkled from ceiling to floor, covering every inch of the chamber. Emerald and sapphire jewels as big as Marian’s fist were piled against the wall. Buttery citrine crystals were sprinkled to her sides, mixed with amber, amethyst and jade. It was a rainbow of precious, priceless color. It was stunning. Breathtaking.
Suddenly, Marian knew what she had to do: the only way to keep Ryder from stealing their stone was to steal it first. She’d hide it, take it deep inside their colony, and report to her Emperor that Ryder alone had planned to rob them of it.
Marian searched through the pile to her right, her fingers skimming over the smooth edges of the gems. She continued searching along the wall and floor. Each precious stone was more beautiful than the last, causing Marian to pause and admire them, even though she knew there wasn’t time to do so.
This, Marian realized, was the Emperor’s security system. This maze of magnificent gems prevented anyone from dashing into the trove and running out with the Mer Stone. She could search for hours. Days.
Which one was it?
Scraping sounds echoed through the water. Someone large was squeezing through the rock passage.
Heart in her throat, Marian did the first thing that came to mind. She clutched the gem closest to her—a large gold stone with flecks of onyx—and spun around.
* * *
Timber could see Ryder’s feet paddling through the water ahead of him. The bastard had to be an excellent swimmer, didn’t he? It was as if Ryder had been practicing for this moment. Maybe he had.
The water was freezing. The deeper they swam, the less Timber could feel his fingers and toes. Much longer down here and he wouldn’t be able to feel his arms and legs, either. His lungs tightened as if they were having trouble sucking oxygen from the water.
Removing Sapphric’s silver vial from his pocket, Timber brought it to his lips and tipped it back. The small valve on the top made it impossible for any of the liquid to leak into the water. Timber couldn’t afford to waste a single drop, and now, thanks to Sapprhic’s clever bottle top, he’d be able to save some for his return trip to the surface.
Instantly, his lungs filled more easily and energy returned to his sapped muscles.
Sapphric had been a genius to keep liquefied bits of the Mer Stone hidden in his den. Timber wished he could thank the healer. Unfortunately, fixing this whole damn mess was the only thing he could do.
When Ryder veered to the right, shadowing the rock wall before disappearing, Timber pushed through the water, sheer will and determination propelling him faster than before. Reaching a natural crease in the rock where Ryder must have vanished, Timber thrust himself through.
He wasn’t fast enough.
As he emerged into some sort of small cavern on the other side, Ryder had Marian from behind, a thick arm strangled around her neck. Marian’s eyes were glossed with fear, her mouth parting as if she wanted to speak, but couldn’t breathe.
No, no, no!
Rage blasted through Timber’s veins, making every muscle in his body seize. Timber shook his head and threw up his arms in a notion of surrender, though he planned to do everything but. Ryder was a madman. Did he really think he could sneak into this trove, find the Mer Stone among all the other beauties in the stash, and slip out without another mermaid being the wiser?
As if on cue, Ryder showed his true plan. He ripped the golden stone from Marian’s hand and shoved it into his pocket.
How could stealing the Mer stone be so easy?
Tightening his hold on Marian’s neck, Ryder maneuvered around the cavern, his back to the wall, his gaze glued to Timber’s.
You won’t get away with this. Timber’s lungs heaved with hatred as he willed the words to seep from his brain to Ryder’s ears. I’ll die before I let you leave this cave with my woman.
Timber ached to pounce. To rip Ryder’s arm off his body so he’d never be able to touch Marian with it again. But with Marian held so tightly against him, Timber was at a disadvantage. One solid squeeze and Ryder would kill her.
Timber shadowed Ryder’s every move as an idea rooted: there was no way Ryder would be able to swim through the crack in the rock with Marian in his arms; the space was far too narrow.
When Ryder circled the cave, and approached the exit, his lips twisted into a sick smile.
Bastard.
As Marian dangled in Ryder’s grasp, her azure tail whipping in front of her, Ryder reached into the front pocket of his shirt and removed a tiny corked bottle.
Diamond chips. He needed air before ascending to the surface.
Ryder popped the top with his teeth, then shook one of the diamond chips into his mouth.
Seeing an opening, Timber acted fast, and kicked off the wall behind him. He drove his body toward them hard and fast. Marian saw the hit coming and buried her head in the crook of Ryder’s arm. Timber’s strike was slowed by the water, but it still struck true, right to Ryder’s nose. Holding onto Marian, avoiding the blow and grasping the bottle of diamond chips proved to be too much for Ryder to handle. He dodged first—typical for an egomaniac, and precisely what Timber was counting on—and dropped the bottle of chips. He scrambled to catch them as they swayed to the floor. He loosened his hold on Marian’s neck. And left himself wide open for another attack.
As Timber struck again, this time to his throat, Ryder let the chips go and fought back, pile-driving Timber into the wall behind them. Their movements were slow, but no less lethal. Ryder punched Timber in the gut, erasing the air he held. Timber retaliated, clocking Ryder in the side again and again, desperate to weaken his ability to breathe.
From out of nowhere, Marian struck Ryder in the back of the head with something dull and blunt. Ryder’s irises shook, then rolled back, disappearing completely behind fluttering lids. He sagged to the floor at Timber’s feet, unconscious from the blow.
Marian and Timber faced each other, out of breath and wavering in the wake of rolling current.
Clutched in Marian’s tiny fist was an ugly brown rock—the only grime-covered, jagged-shaped rock in the glittering grotto.
Chapter Ten
Marian couldn’t believe what was happening.
Timber had come to save her, to save her colony.
Unable to hold back the emotions teeming inside, Marian flew into Timber’s arms, and roped her arms around his neck. Even in the water she could feel the electric current that sparked across her skin when they touched. She nuzzled against him, her face buried into his neck. He tangled his hands in her hair, then let them drift down to her backside.
They didn’t need words.
They had everything because they had each other.
She pulled back and stared into his hypnotizing dark eyes. He loved her. She could read the words in his gaze and feel the passion blazing between them. Timber cupped her face in his hands and planted a wet kiss on her lips that melted her worries away.
He knew she hadn’t run to her Emperor and betrayed him. And now, he knew she never would.
Ryder twitched below them, and brushed against her fin. Both Timber and Marian’s gaze shot to the dirt floor. Ryder’s chest began to heave as his bodily instincts kicked into overdrive. His diamond chips were lost, sifted with the dirt on the floor and there was no more air in his lungs. He was about to get a mouthful of water...
They could save him. Or they could leave him.
But saving Ryder meant they’d be reviving a madman who deserved to die...
* * *
Timber ran through a myriad of possibilities in milliseconds, but there was only one option that would solve all their problems.
They had to save him.
Dragging Ryder by the ankle, Timber pulled him across the floor. As Marian fanned her tail beneath him, Ryder seemed to lift through the water, his body floating on an invisible current. Timber guided Ryder through the crevice, not caring whether the bastard banged his head on a rock or two, and into the chasm. Ryder was dead weight, dangling into the abyss as Timber shot through behind him. Timber heaved and tightened his grip on Ryder’s ankle, but it was no use. There was no way in hell that he’d be able to pull Ryder this way.
What had he been thinking?
Timber swam toward the surface, but didn’t get far. Ryder’s dead weight was dragging them both down. Marian swept beneath them and they rocketed upward, driven by the whipping force of her tail. She lifted Ryder by the hips when he sagged, and soared through the crossing currents like they were nothing. They hurtled through the water, and soon, Timber didn’t know whether he was swimming or flying.
It was amazing. She was amazing. Marian was helping save a treacherous werewolf and didn’t even know the reason Timber needed him kept alive.
He glanced down at Ryder’s wilting body. He was no longer breathing, his mouth no longer gasping for air.
Don’t let it be too late.
This was the only way Timber was going repay his debt. A life for a life. Saving Ryder was the only way Timber would get things back to normal. The only way he and Marian would have a chance at a future.
As if the mere thought of Timber’s life returning to normal made the gods roll in their beds, his lungs tightened, and it seemed impossible to get a solid breath of air. Molecules of water spun before his eyes, dancing with tiny black spots. Timber yanked Sapphric’s vial from his pocket and tossed it back desperately, emptying it.
They swam for what seemed like forever. But when the water finally turned warm and streams of sunlight broke through the surface, Timber sighed, glancing below him. Marian held Ryder by the hips, her hair flowing behind her in a silky blond current. Beyond their bodies, the effortless swish of her tail came into view, then disappeared again. The cerulean aura inked into the dark, lighting it a stunning shade of blue. Clutched in Marian’s fist was the same jagged-edged gem from the trove...only it wasn’t dull and muted like it’d been before.
It was scarlet red, vibrant and radiating energy.
While he was still trying to figure out what the devil happened to the stone, Marian propelled them to the surface. The sunlight was blinding and hot on Timber’s skin, so much more than it had been when he’d leaped from the cliffs half an hour ago. Filling his lungs with a breath of precious air, Timber spun around. Marian was smiling ear to ear, clutching Ryder against her. Unable to be apart from her for another second, Timber closed the distance between them.
As her gaze trailed over his shoulder, Marian’s smile fell and the color drained from her cheeks.
“Timber, you have to get out of here,” she said, pointing behind him.
He spun. An army of mermaids was coming at them, the light of their tails blending into a clashing mess of color. Holy Poseidon, they were huge! The men were built like tanks, their torsos lifted high out of the water as they speared through the waves. Bluntly tipped harpoons were clutched in their hands as they sliced through the water at unbelievable speed.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Timber turned back to Marian, though he could feel the eyes of an army at his back. “I’m not leaving you.”
“I’ll tell them that this was Ryder’s doing, but they’re going to arrest you anyway until they figure out the true story for themselves. You won’t want to stick around for that.”
The notion pinched his heart. Despite everything, Marian was trying to save him. Timber treaded water, his legs feeling stronger than they had moments before. He grabbed Ryder beneath the arms and hefted him against his chest. “I’m not leaving unless you’re coming with me.”
She shook her head and held up the blazing ruby. “I have to stay and explain.”
“What happened to the rock? My eyes might be playing tricks on me, but I could’ve sworn the thing was crude.”
“Red is the only color of the rainbow that can’t be seen with the naked eye below twenty meters.”
“You mean...”
The Mer stone.
“Who would choose an ugly rock over all the other gems?” She smiled deviously. “Once I saw it on the floor, tucked in the corner, I just knew.”
“Smart cookie.”
“Marian!” someone called from behind her. “Don’t move!”
There wasn’t much time. Once the Mer army reached them, Timber wouldn’t be able to say what was on his mind, and in his heart.
“You have to go,” she said, sliding up beside him. “Please go.”
Timber brushed a wet tendril of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I can’t. I won’t let you be the one doing all the explaining. I’m a member of Ryder’s pack. They’ll have questions and I might be able to give them answers.”
“But you’re not a member of his pack, not really. You belong with the main pack. You always have.”
“You don’t know the whole story.” Timber felt the army closing in as water sloshed against his bare back. “I should’ve told you what kept me in the rogue pack before now...I was on a mission and I failed. Ryder’s brother died on my watch. Until now, I’ve been indebted to him.”
Her eyes shone with sudden understanding. “Until now?”
“By saving Ryder, I’m getting my life back.” Ryder twitched in Timber’s arms as if he understood the ramifications, even in his unconscious state. The bastard wasn’t dead, thank heavens. “My debt is repaid. If I petition the main pack, I should be able to return.”
“Timber, that’s great.” Marian pressed against him, her bare skin warming his beneath the waves. She watched the army close in behind him. “What if they don’t understand? What if they don’t believe that you had no part in this?”
“You’ll make them believe.” He kissed her. “Because you love me.”
“With all my heart.” She scrubbed her hands over his head as she stamped another, hotter kiss on his lips.
“And I love—”
His words were cut off as something blunt smacked him upside the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.
Chapter Eleven
When Timber roused, he was staring at a ceiling that was like no ceiling he’d ever seen before. There was water everywhere above him, flowing and streaming against something that looked like a thin sheet of wavering glass. It was as if he was on the bottom of the sea, looking up from beneath the waves. He could almost reach out and touch the rolling current. It was the most bizarre thing he’d ever seen. It was soft. Fluffy and fluid. If he sank his fingers into it, would the water be warm?
“It’s the Curtain,” Marian’s sweet voice said from beside him. “You’re in our world now.”
He shot up and glanced around, failing to gain his bearings. “But this—but I’m not—”
“You’re not underwater?” She put her hand over his. “Oh, we’re beneath the waves all right, but don’t worry. You’re safe. Once you pass through the Curtain, it’s just like your world.”
Marian was right. This room could be his den, only it was simple in its design, with rounded corners and blue-tinted walls. He was lyin
g on a bed with white covers pulled up to his waist, staring at a whitewashed dresser against the wall in front of him. Marian was standing beside the bed dressed in a white robe, her blond hair falling over her shoulders in tumbling waves. Even in his disoriented state, Timber longed to run his fingers through her hair, drag her to him and stamp a kiss on her lips.
“What happened?” He looked up and watched the water shadow with soft shades of pink and purple. “How long was I out?”
“Long enough to miss all the fun.”
His eyebrows shot to his hairline. “Fun?”
She settled on the edge of his bed. She was so delicate, so petite, it barely registered her weight. A low, simmering groan rumbled through Timber’s chest. If he went any longer without touching her, he’d explode.
“Our Emperor called an emergency meeting with your Alpha,” she said. “I reported what happened with Ryder and the rest of the rogue pack and what happened with Sapphric. I testified under oath that you saved the Mer stone, and that without your help I would most likely have been killed by Ryder in our trove.”
“What happened to him?” Timber’s heart pounded against his rib cage as her crisp, natural aroma assailed his senses. “Is he—”
“He’s fine.” Marian smiled, her blue eyes twinkling. “Well, he’s healthy, anyway, thanks to you. After what he’d planned to do to my colony, I think I might have left him to die down there. He forgave your debt for saving his life, Timber. That’s all that matters.”
The idea that he was now free to go back to the main pack took a few seconds to settle. But when it did and Timber let the realization sink it, he felt light and warmth radiate from within his chest. “Where is Ryder now?”