“I love you, too, Evadne. I don’t know what I would have done without your support through all the dark years.”
Keely stuffed her fist into her mouth and shrank back against the wall. Her heart ached as if a large animal with long dull claws had shred it, each swipe painful and ragged. Dear Domnu, what am I going to do?
“So have you bedded her yet?”
“What?”
“Have you fucked the Terran yet, the way your father wanted you to, so you could get her cooperation?”
Tears sprang to Keely’s eyes and streamed silently down her cheeks. She blocked out their conversation, unable to bear another syllable of his betrayal. Zion had used her. Made love to, no, fucked her because of his agenda.
She swallowed the huge lump that formed in her throat and fled.
Chapter Eighteen
The cold marble flooring reflected the chill in Keely’s heart. She had to get away from Zion and repair the damage to her soul. The past few days had been painful enough with the passing of her family, but she’d thought she had Zion’s backing and unspoken love. Believing in his support had somehow made those losses bearable.
Unspoken. That should have been her first clue. While Zion had talked about being a part of her life for eons, he hadn’t said the words that mattered. He hadn’t verbalized in any way, shape, or form his commitment to her. Keely knew why now. Zion was devoted to someone else.
Keely was simply a means to an important end.
Wandering the halls, she’d escaped the lovers’ voices. Eventually, after a good deal of time wandering, she found her way back to the only part of Atlantis she knew well, Zion’s rooms.
She tried to put herself in his place. Would she have seduced someone in order to protect a large unsuspecting populace? Maybe.
No, no, she wouldn’t. There was a matter of self-pride involved. Keely Shane would have found another way to save her people. Even though she knew her own answer, it didn’t resolve her present dilemma.
She paced in front of his rooms, unsure if she could face him after her discovery. A few drops of water escaped her eyes. Damn tears! She scrubbed them away with a balled hand and stood taller.
There would be time for weeping later. She had to get away from the man who’d caused those tears and shattered her heart into pieces so tiny she’d never be able to put it back together.
The obvious solution, though, wasn’t as easy to implement. “For Domnu’s sake, I’m in Atlantis, somewhere in the Atlantic. How am I going to get out of here?”
Weighing her few options didn’t yield many results. She could leave on her own, swim toward Ireland an unknown distance and fight off sharks, dehydration, blistering sun, storms, and anything else the ocean might throw at her. She could ask Zion to take her back with two variations, confront him regarding his amore or act as if nothing had happened.
A skirmish with the man she loved would destroy the little pride she had left along with the few memories she hoped to draw upon in the future when the lonely days threatened to drown her. Likewise, ignoring her discovery would require her to be as duplicitous as he had been, would continue to be.
She shook her head, trying to make it work. Making love with Zion wasn’t just physical for her. It meant something, a connection, a promise of a deeper relationship than just one of carnal enjoyment. Hell, if sexual pleasure was what she wanted, she could find bots to relieve her needs.
Keely stopped pacing, squared her shoulders, and approached Zion’s door. Her first knock went unheeded and she rapped the door harder.
“Who is it?”
“Keely.”
“Come in.”
She pushed against the heavy oaken door and nearly knocked Zion over, losing her own balance in the process.
His strong arms reached out to steady her.
Where his hands grasped her sexual heat entered her being. The sensations raced through her body, quickened her breath, and weakened her legs. This would never do. She couldn’t allow her body to react to his touch, not when she knew he belonged to another. She attempted to pull her arms from Zion’s flaming touch. “I’m sorry.”
His grip tightened on her forearms. “Don’t be. I promise I’ll never let you fall.”
Of course not. She’d already fallen to the bottom of her soul and lived at the bottom of the sea. She couldn’t drop any further. “Really, Zion, there’s no need. You are a busy, um, sea prince. Hovering over me has to complicate your responsibilities.”
She cast a glance at his face, careful to avoid looking into the depths of his eyes. To maintain this illusion, she couldn’t look him in the eyes directly. Too much was at stake for him to see her brokenness. She glimpsed his frown.
The room had taken on an unnatural stillness, as if time had frozen this vignette. Keely needed to move, get his hands off her. She shrugged and broke his hold.
“You talk like I rule the oceans.”
A faint floral smell tantalized her senses. Until now, she hadn’t realized how much she missed the scent of the world. She searched around for the source of the perfumed air. A small votive burned on a stand not far from the bed. An open book lay next to it. Had Zion been meditating?
For a moment she considered the possibility, Zion searching for inner peace. Then the memory of his woman’s laughter came to mind. Maybe he prayed for cleansing from his betrayal of her. She narrowed her eyes and tore her gaze from the accessories on the stand.
“Won’t you someday? I’m sure I don’t know how many are in line for Poseidon’s throne before you, but you are a prince of the ocean, son of one of the most powerful Gods of Olympus.”
“I’ll have charge of Atlantis, as I’ve had for some time now. Nothing more.”
There had been bitterness to his words and Keely didn’t know what to say. Neither of them spoke and the silence grew heavy and oppressive.
“Even if rule of the sea were granted me, I’m not interested. Someone else occupies my interests much more.”
The implication was she interested him, but Keely knew where that stood. Time to change the subject to one that would aid her in leaving Zion’s kingdom.
Pacing to the other side of the room she kept her back to him. Zion couldn’t be allowed to see how his casual statements affected her. She gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Be that as it may, my work is topside. I need to return to terra in order to stop Amidurah.”
Behind her she heard a sharp intake of breath. Maybe the use of the word “terra” invoked a memory of another word used to describe her, “terran.”
One of Zion’s large hands gripped her upper arm and turned her toward him. “What is this about?”
At least he was perceptive. She swallowed and took a deep breath. “Unless I stop him … soon …there will be few left to express interest in anything or anyone.”
Zion pulled her close.
Keely turned her head so she wouldn’t have to look into his face. Her ear burned against the muscular torso, his heartbeat thundered in a cadence that was all Zion.
Briefly, she entertained the thought of staying by his side in Atlantis. Just the word “Atlantis” reminded her she was out of her depth here, and another held the right to the position of intimate, trusted counselor.
She closed her eyes and sighed. Being close to him was not smart. “I’m exhausted,” she whispered.
*****
Swimming through schools of fish riding Lotis and Mona and taking in the colorful underworld sea Keely had come to love long ago, had been uneventful. The pair of dolphins stayed near one another and Zion’s grasp of her hand didn’t allow her to forget her goal of defeating Amidurah. She was on her way back to Ireland and her beloved Kilkee where she would confront the sorcerer and eventually sooth the ache in her heart.
Earlier, Zion explained the necessity of being near seawater. Kilkee would provide them both an anchor to renew their strength when needed. The ocean would refresh Zion’s flagging energy. Being among her own people in the land she loved
would revitalize Keely.
A solid night of rest and she would be as ready as possible to face Amidurah. A night next to Zion was a whole different proposition.
Last night, he seemed to accept her excuse of fatigue without question. Even though Zion did the guiding and swimming, carrying her along, Keely was exhausted. Maybe her body would force her into sleep once they got back to Kilkee. There was a possibility he’d even accept nervousness as a reason for lack of intimacy tonight.
Domnu knew she didn’t have the confidence she exuded. Her own reaction, refusing to kill when Amidurah’s men attacked, had back lashed on her. If Zion hadn’t shown when he did ... She choked the thought before it sprouted further.
Several hours later, near the southwest coast Zion spoke. His words came to Keely as clearly as if he’d spoken to her in her mother’s sitting room. “Amidurah is likely to have the Castle watched.”
“We can choose the location I should confront him at, and then rest. Tomorrow is a big day.”
They exited the water further south at Kilrush. Keely’s legs felt like columns of jell-o. Rivulets ran down Zion’s chest. Narrow streams of seawater dripped from the snug body pants he wore as a nod to Keely’s notions of propriety.
Slogging across the narrow strip of sand, Keely sighed. Low grasses covered the vista before her like a rich green quilt. In the distance, a variety of hardwoods dotted the hills. By their very existence, short houses made of fireproofed thatch welcomed her home.
Home.
Ireland.
This was where she belonged, not beneath leagues of salt water contained in an environment artificial to humans. Terrans, she reminded herself.
“We should find a place to stay, away from the water. I don’t think he’ll look for us at a distance from the sea. Kilmihill, or maybe Cooraclare aren’t far from here.” She sighed. It wouldn’t belong until her fight with the sorcerer was on. “We’ll choose the location and call him to us, taunt him to face me.”
Zion held out a hand.
She ignored it and climbed the slope of the beach unassisted. She didn’t need to be touching him if she intended to keep her focus.
He turned to her and grabbed her hand. “I don’t know precisely what has you upset, but it’s more than meeting Amidurah.”
Why did the strength of his hand wrapped around hers have to be so damn comforting? She had to let her emotions go when it came to Zion. He belonged to someone else. He belonged somewhere else.
Keely feigned humor she didn’t feel and laughed. “What else would it be, Zion? It’s not every day a woman faces the possibility of her death in order to save the world.”
He jerked her arm so she fell against him. She hit the solid wall of his bare chest, her breath whooshing from her lungs. Anger bubbled within at his caveman tactics. “Hey! What’s this about?”
“You’re provoking me, Keely, and I’d like to know why.”
The warmth of the words coming from his mouth caressed her cheek. Her legs began to buckle and she fought the reaction, grasping his forearms to steady her. “I assure you I don’t know what you mean.”
“It means,” he ground out, “that when I touch you, instead of welcoming the connection, you work at breaking it. It means you aren’t acting like yourself despite the reasonable fear a normal person would have confronting someone like Amidurah.”
He lifted her chin so she was forced to look in his eyes. “It means you’re distancing yourself from me and I want to know why.”
Keely loosened her hold on his arms and broke free of his embrace. The wind blew her hair across her face and she pushed it back and tucked the strands behind her ear. Apart from his warmth, a chill stole over her skin caused by more than the blowing air. She folded her arms across her chest and hugged herself. Comfort wasn’t forthcoming.
She marched away from Zion, moving further toward the small town. Here too, the aftereffects of the tsunami created by Amidurah were evident. Watermarks stained the white buildings. Sand, plant life, decaying fish, and pieces of debris sloped in curved piles against the street gutters.
Kneeling, Keely examined a soil deposit. Already, the bright green life of some sort of vegetation pushed through the muck, a promise that the world would continue despite the ugliness.
Carefully, she picked up a handful of damp soil; let it fall through her fingers as if she were some sort of mesh strainer. The smell of damp ground so close to her nostrils overcame the smell of rot; the sight of the green resurgent through the mess, even the touch of the wind on her cheek bore the simple truth.
Amidurah might win many battles, might destroy a lot of the living beings on the planet, but he wouldn’t defeat the human spirit. Earth would never be his. Life would win.
Accepting the fact that she’d face him had come far easier than she’d imagined. Oh, she’d put up an internal fight, even an external fight with Zion regarding her abilities, but she’d known deep down those attributes existed.
Zion’s strong voice crossed the distance she had put between them. “Keely.”
She stood and brushed the soil from her hands onto the knees of her jumpsuit. The rough particles were real. On the pseduostone pavement Keely walked toward the heart of the hamlet. They’d find a bicycle, a car, a jet bike, something to bear them away from Kilrush and toward a quiet place she could get her head together.
“Yes, I’m putting distance between us,” she confessed.
She sensed Zion’s approach from behind. He made walking away and not facing him difficult. The words of her explanation stuck in her throat like an ant caught in honey.
“Why?”
There were thousands of excuses, but what was the real reason? “My feelings for you are hindering my concentration.”
One thing she positively knew. She had to do this without him. He was a distraction she couldn’t afford.
Zion grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. “What about my feelings?”
The tenuous thread she’d used to keep her emotions in check snapped. “Your feelings? I think you’ve made it quite evident where your heart truly lies. I can accept that. But do not make the mistake of thinking you can continue to toy with me, my affections, or the job you’ve convinced me I must do. Once this is all over, you, Zion, son of Poseidon will go back to your undersea world and your lover. You’ll forget you even knew me.”
Maybe it was time to call for reinforcements and contact the EPA. She’d grovel if need be to get Denton’s support if it would keep Zion out of the picture and salvage what was left of her heart and dignity.
She stormed toward a rack of bikes outside a closed pub, rattled each of them viciously testing the locks. Glancing down she saw silt sloped against the tires. These bikes hadn’t moved since the lower reach of the tsunami’s waters receded. The owners were most probably dead or never returning. Renewed fury hummed through her veins at the thought of Amidurah killing more innocent people.
The low growl of Zion’s voice rasped her ear. “What are you talking about?”
She whirled, ready to finish the verbal battle, fueled by the rush of anger she felt toward Amidurah and the situation he’d created and Zion’s undersea lover. In equally low and menacing words she responded. “When you first tried to make love to me, I didn’t believe you were real. Now that I’ve been with you in the flesh and blood, you’re still just an untenable dream for a terran like me. A very powerful, physical illusion. You belong to the sea, not Ireland, and most definitely not me.” God, as she voiced the thoughts plaguing her, she was ripping out her heart as well.
“I heard you tell your lover how much you needed her during your dark days. Well, I have my own. I’m living them right now. I’ve lived them all my life, since the day my mother nearly drowned during an unanticipated squall.” Keely poked him in the chest. “You and I can never be.”
She sucked in her gut to slide past him. The air was colder now, the wind more fierce. Soon, rain would fall, along with the tears Keely knew she’d not be
able to contain. Hopefully, Zion would be nowhere near when the weeping for their impossible relationship struck.
Zion barred her escape with his brawny arms. “You ran from me when you were three, Keely. I’m not about to let you run again.”
Chapter Nineteen
Keely was trapped. Zion had her penned like a wild animal needing to be gentled. His words echoed in her ears, growing louder. Her breath came in shallow gulps. “What do you mean I ran from you when I was three?”
She glanced into his face. His eyes radiated sadness. Without conscious thought she reached out and stroked his cheek. Her voice was softer when she questioned him again. “What do you mean?”
“I was there the day your mother fell from the abutment.”
Keely gasped. “What! Why?”
He released his hold on the rack and turned his back to her. A few birds twittered from their perches on the gutters running the length of the rooftops. Her heart pounded as loud as tympani in an ancient orchestra.
Zion ran a hand through his damp blond hair. Somehow, the action made him appear vulnerable. If the situation hadn’t been so serious Keely might have laughed at the irony.
“I was swimming with the dolphins and saw you on the abutment. Your hair was long and loose and the wind blew it every direction. You looked like you were performing a scene from an old gothic movie I saw eons ago on an excursion with one of my brothers. Your back was ramrod straight, and your chin tilted obstinately toward the sea.”
Keely nodded. There weren’t a lot of childhood memories she recalled, but looking out onto the ocean from the abutment was one of them.
He turned and paced back to her. “Your mother came out on the abutment after you. I saw the similarity in your coloring and features. There was no mistake. You were her child. Your mother was beautiful. Her daughter grew up even more so.”
Keely tapped her foot and crossed her arms. “Where is this leading, Zion?”
“There’s no easy way to say this.”
Her eyebrows arched. Curiosity and impatience danced in her mind. “What?”
Watchtowers : Water Page 15