by Starla Night
Oh, that was good. Concentrating on her name pushed the terrible swirling blackness away. His belly hurt. He applied greater pressure to slow the bleeding.
“I too think of my soul mate.” General Giru tipped his head back and regarded the ceiling. “We touched lips on the surface. She transformed for me and came into my castle. But then we could not progress.” His chest heaved. “I, the most honorable warrior of Djullanar, destined to fight in the All-Council armies of the most elite warriors, could not sire a young fry with my sacred bride.”
“Bella…”
“I secretly consulted with the only warrior I trusted. My then-closest friend, my second lieutenant. You can imagine my horror when he resonated with my sacred bride instead.”
He tapped the blade against his chest and then set it aside and removed his coverings.
“I considered killing him. Revealing the truth would cause his and my deaths. Djullanar, like the All-Council, does not tolerate deviations from the proper order.”
He set the chest plate aside and unwrapped his blades and the concealing cloths. The bruises and telltale blue rings emerged in the shadows of his atrophied muscles. His original strength had wasted away.
“I endured their secret trysts. Pretended his virility was mine. After that treacherous bride resurfaced, I thought we had reconciled as we jointly raised his outstanding young fry. I continued on to the All-Council and he took my place as a respected adviser to the king. But Blue Ring has forced me to realize that I have not moved past this betrayal.”
He twisted the blade in the air before his emotion-clenched face.
“The moment I held my dagger to his throat—to his throat, the male who saved my life uncountable times, who sacrificed his own father so I could live, who followed me without a moment’s cloud of doubt—and I was so blinded by jealousy over an unworthy surface female, I threatened his life…”
His face blanked, lost in the tide of memories that sucked him under.
Balim oriented once more on Bella to keep from losing his own life. If he lost concentration now, he’d bleed out.
General Giru’s words sparked a realization. He chased it. It was the key to curing Blue Ring.
Balim had thought his most painful memory was poisoning his king, but the memory that Blue Ring kept circling was when his father had healed Balim first. The king had cried in agony. “Is not my son’s warrior life worth a thousand of your weak healer’s?”
Yes. The prince was a greater warrior and a worthier male. If his father had healed the prince first, they would both be alive. Balim’s life wasn’t worth their loss.
Jonah was Bella’s prince. She couldn’t love her son and Balim equally. She had to love Jonah more.
But perhaps he underestimated Bella.
She said that she loved them both.
He focused on her memory. His life depended on it.
Her soul light connected with his, even separated by metal doors and glass, and the strength of the Life Tree flowed into him.
He was aware of himself. His sickness spreading from his chest and now his belly acids poisoning his blood. But he also held the answer. The cure.
The Life Tree could not heal Blue Ring sickness because there was more than one component. Dark memories clouded his soul and forced him to relive his worst moments repeatedly, killing his mind and weakening his body. Not even the freshest breeze could blow that sickness away. Nothing could shelter him from the onslaught of his past shame.
But Bella’s love could.
The realization filled him with relief and then faded. Thinking of her was not enough. Her thought kept the memories back but did not cure him.
“Ah.” General Giru jolted. His face blackened with shame, and then he steadied himself and focused on Balim. He lifted the dagger once more. “You will thank me before you pass into the blacknight sea.”
“No. I will not.”
“You say that now. But is not your supposed soul mate a mother of another male’s human child? You know my pain even if you do not admit it.”
He weighed the knife.
Balim was not strong enough to stop him. “There is a cure for Blue Ring.”
General Giru hesitated. “You lie.”
“There is.”
“It is an incurable disease. Even the Life Tree does not cure it.” He gestured at his injuries. “It will rot your body as it decomposes your mind. You will prefer this mercy killing.”
“I will show you the cure.”
General Giru lowered the dagger. Hope warred with disbelief. “Then show me.”
“Bring me Bella.”
“No.” The warrior raised his dagger once more. “You have lied too many times. Now you will die.”
Bella screamed and threw the fire extinguisher at the screen. It cracked—useless—but still projected the same images she was helpless to control.
Jonah on the ship. Alive. Sleeping.
Balim stabbed, lying on the floor, and the general kneeling over him to administer the fatal blow.
Jonah was in danger of being infected. Someone contracted the disease that shouldn’t have, Herc had said. Jonah’s compromised immune system was vulnerable.
They were all vulnerable to the bombs.
“Bella?” Starr’s quiet voice sounded muffled with allergies coming from the loudspeakers. “Are you still there?”
“Starr!” She jumped. “Were you listening the whole time?”
“And recording. The cell phone you called is on the ship’s Wi-Fi. There were hardly any protections. It’s like I’m inside with you.”
“Rescue Jonah!”
“You’re a little, uh, closer than me, Bella.”
“But I’m locked in!”
The cursor on the screen moved on its own. “There, I just popped the lock on your door. Jonah’s locked in too.” On screen, a light above his door turned green and his door swung inward. “Oh, not anymore.”
Bella raced to the bridge door and twisted the handle. It moved easily, but the door didn’t budge. “It’s not opening! I’m pushing with all my might!”
“Did you try pulling?”
The door flew open with her tug, and she stumbled onto her bare butt. Laughter bubbled. “You’re the real hero, Starr.”
“I’m eleven thousand miles away and I haven’t left this computer screen since Jonah disappeared. You should really get him before the fighter jets.”
Bella leaped to her feet. “I’ll see you in New York.”
“You better.”
Bella ran out of the bridge as fast as she could. Where was Balim? They’d wandered all over the boat. She crossed the open deck and ducked into the science lab on pure adrenaline.
She had no weapons, and she was no match for a warrior on land or on sea.
But Jonah was alive and so was Balim. For now.
She had to save them.
Bella raced into the hall just as the general stabbed Balim for the second time.
She screamed.
Bella’s scream jolted Balim back from the brink of fuzzy memories. A sharp burning pierced his gut.
General Giru had embedded his dagger in Balim’s belly. Again.
“No!” Bella pushed General Giru aside.
The general’s grip closed on the knife, and he pulled it free, leaving Balim with a terrible seeping belly wound.
Bella cupped her hands over the dark blood. “No. No. Please no.”
Her soul light flowed into his. Despite the new pain, old disease, and his other injuries, peace welled in his heart.
His wounds were deadly and incurable.
Bella would cure them.
He lifted his lips. “Kiss me.”
“Balim.” Tears dampened her cheeks. “You’re dying.”
“I need…your strength.”
“Anything.”
His words were draining along with his strength. “Happy, Bella.”
“How can I be happy in this tragedy?”
“Happy. Kiss.”
She didn’t believe him but pressed her lips to his.
Their souls entwined and multiplied. Not ten times or a hundred times.
A thousand.
Her mouth fitted to his, and, sensing his response, she teased her tongue along his seam. He opened to her, welcoming her in and possessing her in return.
She loved him. His darkest time and his brightest. He was not a murderer to her. He was a warrior. A healer. A male.
Hers.
She pressed one hand to his belly while she nestled beside him. His heart beat with her blood, and his mind focused on their connection. His cock filled with their shared past. She had once invited him into her body while wearing a plastic, and she would do so again.
He connected to her. And her soul filled him with a fierce determination to live, to always chase the light, to heal others.
Now, he healed himself.
The stinging in his belly faded as his skin knit together, sealing his viscera away from the air. Her queen power shone. Because she had found her power. Happiness in sadness, sadness in happiness. The two coexisting in one.
Like them.
He pulled back, releasing her with a sigh. The bleeding had stopped. And so had the sickness. The dark bruises on his chest from the cursed dagger cut faded away. The rings disappeared.
That was why the first couple had survived.
And that was how they would fight the Blue Ring Disease.
“It is curable,” Balim said to her, aloud. “Heal the mind and the body.”
The shining in her eyes matched the brilliance glowing in her chest. “We can do that. Humans get a milder infection so if we catch it, give therapy along with whatever treatment, we can heal—”
“No.” Behind them, the general growled. “No warrior survives Blue Ring. No one.”
She fixed on the general’s still-bloody dagger and lowered her voice. “We have to go. The Sons of Hercules are bombing this ship.”
Balim was well familiar with their bombs. He groaned as Bella helped him to his knees.
The general brandished his dagger. “You are still infected.”
“A queen could cure you,” Balim replied.
“I am an All-Council general. I will never accept a queen.”
Bella tried to reason with the general. “Your bride—”
“Never.”
“If she knew you were sick, she could return to you and—”
“Others have fond memories of their brides. I do not.”
“You were not soul mates.” Balim took a deep breath and leaned on Bella. She helped him stagger to his feet. “When you meet your soul mate, you will know.”
“Stop.” He lifted his dagger in threat. “I had my bride. That was more than many warriors receive. So, we die together.”
“But my son, Jonah, is—”
“I have nothing worth living for. No one will cure me. And nothing will change my mind.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Bella had reached the end. She didn’t know how to reason with the general. Didn’t mer treasure their children? How could he wish death on her child?
The general was about to collapse. Could she attack him?
Balim held her tighter. Protectively.
They had no time. Something had to change the general’s mind.
“Bella?” Nora stuck her head in, squinting at the abrupt change from bright sun to the dull interior and still coughing up seawater. “Are you in here?”
“Nora! Where’ve you been?”
“Oh, first I was following you, and then Octopus Kong and I had to keep a low profile, and then we had to chase off the warriors. I saw you run across the deck, and I didn’t see the dick who captured you, so…” Her eyes adjusted as her gaze fell on the general. “Uh….oh.”
General Giru stared at her, dagger raised, obviously threatening them. He blinked as though he were the one who couldn’t see. “Who?”
“Great.” Nora touched her chest. “I’m great. I mean, I’m Nora. Who are you? Or, wait. Do I know you?”
“He broke into the hospital and dosed the water with Blue Ring,” Bella explained as she reviewed their options for sneaking out of the room unstabbed.
“Oh, I wasn’t around for that. I was on a bathroom, well, a what-to-do-about-rent break.”
“I would never have infected a female with Blue Ring,” the general said nobly.
“Well, that’s great. Because it would be awkward if you had.”
“Awkward?”
“Yeah. Because…” She trailed off, shook her head, and waggled her index finger at Bella. “You were right. Totally right. I didn’t believe you, but the knowledge is like, ‘Bam!’ and there’s no mistaking it.” Nora turned back to the confused general. “I’m your soul mate.”
Wait.
What?
Balim made a startled noise. And the general looked the most shocked. Nora just nodded and laughed as if everything made sense.
“You are a human,” the general stated as if that made any difference.
“Queen,” Nora corrected. “And you’re a dick. As well as terminally ill. And commanding a lot of warriors who lost to a giant octopus. But also you’re my—”
“No.” He lowered his knife and turned to her, Bella and Balim forgotten as Nora became his entire world. “No, no.”
Bella edged Balim away from the arguing couple. Which direction would Jonah be? Could she leave Balim near the railing while she investigated?
“Yes!” Nora laughed again. “Admit it. You feel the same.”
“I do not possess feelings.”
“Sure you do. And you feel you’re my—”
“I have had a bride.” He raised a finger. “One. Taking a second defies the law of the ancient covenant.”
“Oh, well, laws are made to be broken.”
His mouth opened and closed. “But I am the second commander of the All-Council armies. I cannot speak with, much less claim, a modern rebel queen.”
“And yet here we are speaking. Claiming is right around the corner.”
“Then I cannot take that turn.”
“You can’t fight reality.”
“Yes, I can.” He held up his finger again, refusing Nora the same way he’d refused to succumb to his illness. With sheer willpower. “And I do. I make reality.”
“Look, you’re making yourself sick.” She started toward him. “I’ll heal you. I’ve got lots of practice, so I ought to be great at it.”
He jolted back and stepped around a desk to keep it between them. “I do not need healing.”
“You do. Look at you. I can’t believe you’re standing upright.”
“I do not need you. I refuse you.”
“What’s your name? I’m Nora.”
“No one. I have no name.”
“General Giru,” Bella offered, easing another step deeper into the hall.
Nora stopped and smiled. “Giru. I like it.”
“You do? Nora. It is simple, like a proper name of the mer.” He seemed to taste her name.
She smiled. “Yeah. But I have to warn you, that’s about the only ‘proper’ thing about me.”
He shook himself and backed away from her again. “I fought your people. Poisoned them. Stabbed your healer.”
“Looks like he got better.”
“We are enemies!”
Nora closed the distance between them.
He lowered his knife to protect her from its blade. “I enforce the order. Tradition. I uphold the propriety of the mer.”
“And I got in trouble a lot as a kid.” She rested her hands on his bare chest just below a row of blue rings. “Let’s get this sickness off you.”
“I uphold the past to safeguard the future of our young fry.”
He did? All right, then!
“So help me find Jonah!” Bella raised her voice. “That’s what I keep trying to tell you. They’re sending fighter jets to bomb this boat, and my son, Jonah, is here!”
The two stopped a
nd turned. Her words broke their private spell.
“Where?” Nora asked.
“Young fry Jonah?” General Giru frowned. “He is still here?”
So, General Giru knew Jonah. He was here. “Herc said so. And we have to find him before—”
“Mom?” Jonah stumbled out from a corridor. He yawned and shuffled in pajamas she didn’t recognize, but in the crook of his elbow, he held his ragged bear. “Mom. Hi, Mom.”
Her heart exploded.
“Jonah!” She rushed to him and threw her arms around him, squeezing him tight.
He was here. Really here. Awake, in her arms, and here.
And he had hair. Inches of puffy red hair. She stroked it. “You’re awake. Are you all right? How long have you been awake?”
“Awhile.” He yawned again. “You’re naked.”
“Uh, yeah.” She hugged him. “I’ll, uh, find a towel.”
“You’re all naked. All of you.”
“It’s a long story.”
“The mer do not wear human fabrics in the sea,” Balim told Jonah, unselfconscious about his nudity. “We swim naturally and do not require these fabrics for staying warm.”
He seemed to accept that explanation. “Where’s the doctor and everybody? Oh, General Giru.”
“Young fry Jonah.” The general frowned. “You did not exit the ship with the others.”
“They never let me out. I heard shouting, but I was playing the Switch, and then it got quiet, so I took another nap.”
She kept hugging Jonah, partially to shield her nakedness from him, and partially because she couldn’t let him go. “Has General Giru been kind to you?”
“Yeah, we’re friends.” He squeezed the bear. “The doctors said I’m cured because of the Sea Opal elixir I drank and you just didn’t realize it. I’ve been waiting to tell you a long time.”
“I came as soon as I could.” She swallowed and stood, still holding him. Had he always been so tall? All arms and legs and boy? “The doctors hid you away from me. They are not good men.”
“General Giru is good.”
The room grew silent.
Jonah looked at the general expectantly.
The general’s brow wrinkled as he finally understood that he was not standing on the side of right. Self-hatred flexed across his features. Horror crossed with denial.