Sacrificed to the Sea Lord (Lords of Atlantis Book 2)

by Starla Night

  But also more respect.

  She rubbed her elbows. Was this how Aya felt? Doing the right thing and standing firm against strong opposition was harder than getting along.

  That wasn’t the only reason for less boisterousness and dwindled laughter. Warriors went on triple patrols, returned exhausted, and barely shoveled in food before they collapse in the courtyard gardens, asleep. The mer who were not patrolling or sleeping worked feverishly to excavate the Sea Opals locked in the ancient city.

  Once they paid the debt for Elyssa, then they could get another bride. More warriors would join their city. Life would become easier.

  Something had to be done…

  Elyssa focused on growing fins with all her might. Nothing happened. Actually, she got sweaty and irritated, and the tiny blossom in her hair wilted. Forcing her fins was a bust.

  She’d been concentrating on the Life Tree when Kadir limped into the heart chamber. She’d seen him and her heart had swelled with joy. He was alive! Tears had come into her eyes. Thank you. She raced to him and her fins had unfurled.

  Tears sparkled behind her eyes just remembering it.

  Elyssa scrubbed her face, gathered up her rinds from the latest meal that she finished after Kadir led another group to excavate the ruins, and pushed off the green castle wall.

  Gailen shouted from the gardens below. “Queen Elyssa! Your fins!”

  She looked back. Long pink streamers trailed behind her toes.

  There they were!

  She kicked. Her fins swished, shooting her across the courtyard into the opposite wall. Oof. It was softer than the granite petals sheltering the Life Tree, but it still didn’t have a lot of give. She rubbed her bruised nose.

  The fins sucked back in and became human feet again.

  No! Come back. She grabbed her foot and flexed every which way. Angry sweat leaked from her pores. They were gone.

  But…wait a minute. What the heck was she doing? The secret was to be calm, meditate, and fill with joy. She kicked and — yes, fins! — she flew.

  “Very fine.” Gailen popped up from gardening duty and floated alongside her. “You are no longer a confined young fry.”

  She had done it.

  Elyssa kicked toward the entrance.

  Gailen turned effortlessly. “Where are you going? The Life Tree?”

  “The old ruin.”

  He darted in front of her. “You cannot.”

  “I made my fins.”

  “It is a long distance to the ruin.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “No?”

  She tried to stop. But she couldn’t. She flailed and braced for the crash.

  Gailen floated effortlessly out of her path. Confusion made him tip his head as she sailed past. “What are you doing now?”

  She bounced against the green wall. Near the exit, it was hard as marble. At least she wasn’t going fast.

  Elyssa pushed off again and kicked to the tunnel. She almost said, “Failing,” but instead she took a moment to think harder. What was she really doing? “Practicing.”

  He accepted it without comment.

  See? He didn’t even question her. “Where’s Tial?”

  “Resting. I will awaken him.” Gailen pivoted.

  “Wait a minute.” She brought up her knees and focused on slowing. The motion made her somersault gently. The castle rotated around her.

  If anyone complained about pulling endless patrols with no sleep, it ought to be Tial. He had guarded her from Kadir’s appointment onward. He waited in the corridor while she was in the heart chamber. Kadir finally told him to rest for the first time during today’s meal, and he had nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

  “Tial should rest,” she decided finally. “But I do need a guard outside. Would you mind?”

  Gailen’s face blanked. “Me? As your guard?”

  “Tial can’t guard me all alone. I need at least four or five warriors I can rely on so you can get in breaks. And you’ve always listened to what I say.” For better or for worse, like during the wedding feast, when her tossed-off comments had fired him up and almost started a mass exodus to claim brides.

  His shoulders went back and his pepper-orange chest puffed out. “I accept this great honor.”

  Great honor? She laughed softly. “I’m so glad to hear that. But I don’t want to cause you problems. You have to tell me if I’m making impossible orders that are going to cause discord with the other warriors.”

  “The other warriors whine like tired young fry.”

  “You have to tell me,” she emphasized. “I’m trusting you.”

  His chest puffed. “I will tell you anything you wish to know.”

  That was kind of reassuring, actually. “Is there any reason not to go outside and practice right now?”

  “Some warriors will think it is untraditional,” he said immediately. “If there are predators, you must return inside.”

  That sounded realistic. “Let’s go.”

  Gailen told Balim about the change of guard and their destination. The healer looked up from the ancient city’s diagrams and squinted his acknowledgment. If Elyssa wanted an excited cheerleader celebrating her fins, skeptical Balim was not her best choice.

  Swimming with fins was fun and weird. It felt like she was learning to drive a stick shift for the first time. If she kicked too hard, she’d slam into the wall, but if she moved too cautiously, her fins would roll up into her feet and she’d be stuck with the doggy paddle.

  Gailen trailed Elyssa out of the castle so she had more room to practice. In the open, she zoomed across the city, around the Life Tree, and down the stem column to the rocky ground where it anchored. Coral exploded in a thousand spiny colors. Small fish fluttered like butterflies and larger ones flapped like birds. She lost her fins and recovered them, practicing the transitions.

  At her request, Gailen gave her pointers on how to move faster and control her direction.

  “You never stop,” he said, as she crashed again into the warm, black sand where the Life Tree root anchored. “That strange pose you make, with your arms and feet in front, will not stop your forward momentum. You must kick harder to change to the opposite direction.”

  She bounced on her human feet off the sandy bottom. “That’s like saying ‘I never fail, I only succeed in the wrong direction.’”

  “Exactly.” Gailen did not appear to understand why it tickled her funny bone.

  She relaxed and rested her back against the thick cable that anchored the Life Tree. It was curved, but so thick it would take at least her and Kadir and Soren to wrap their arms around it, and they might not touch fingers. Long green streamers floated in the current. Her toes dug into the warm sand. The thick roots bulged close to the surface. It was as peaceful as the ocean shore near her parents’ home.

  She wanted to bring Kadir here.

  Gailen picked up a sharp piece of chert from the sand, nicked the column, and began feeding the long, green streamers back into to the thick stem. The Life Tree glowed brighter as he did it.

  That chert must be raw adamantium, or else the cut would have poisoned the stem. “What are you doing?”

  “The Life Tree puts out feelers searching for stronger anchors. There are no boulders or cliffs nearby. The Life Tree is strongest. I am anchoring its feelers to itself.”

  What a strange and beautiful concept. Now that she looked, there were small loops all over the stem. Little knots where the streamers had sought for a more powerful external rock, and the mer redirected its strength inward.

  “You have a green thumb,” she said.

  He looked at his thumbs. They were bent slightly crooked, as though he were double-jointed.

  “It means you like to garden.”

  “Ah. Yes. Gardening makes it easier.” His expression set into something less pleasant. He finished feeding the vine in and started another.

  She pushed. “Easier?”

  “To wait.” He frowned. “I cannot reso
nate with the Life Tree. I cannot make it bring forth blossoms or seeds or castles to secure brides. Only you and King Kadir can do that. And I know you will. It takes time.”

  Her heart swelled. Like Tial — like all of them — Gailen only wanted the chance to meet the right person and fall in love. Start his family and thrive.

  “It will happen,” she promised.

  “I know.” He glanced at her from the side. “When I left my old city to come here, a raiding party caught me twice. They broke my hands so I could not escape. They told me I would never see a bride.”

  He stared at his crooked thumbs for a long moment. Lost in thought.

  It was suddenly hard for her to swallow. She got past the painful lump and focused. “But you did escape.”

  He glanced at her. His brows relaxed and he was young Chris O’Donnell again, sunny and grinning. “And I am also seeing, and speaking to, and honored as the personal guard of my king’s bride.”

  She wasn’t the only one trying so hard.

  Making a good impression, trying not to cause disruptions, wanting to help Kadir — the other warriors felt the same way about her.

  She was their queen.

  Rather than a representative of Van Cartier Cosmetics who was supposed to secure a trade deal for Sea Opals so she and Aya and countless other would-be mermaids could live their dreams, Elyssa needed to be a representative of her warriors, securing the chance for them to live theirs.

  “Right,” she said, making a fist of encouragement. “We’ll raise the old city, start a sushi restaurant, and meet a hundred brides.”

  He laughed, a genuine bubbling vibration in his wide, pepper-orange tattooed chest. “We will need more warriors for a hundred brides.”

  “They’ll flock here once they see how great it is.”

  Behind her, the stem seemed to glow. The Life Tree, too, shared her vision.

  Yapping up above caught her attention. Her small, orange octopus was flying down the stem toward her.

  Gailen cocked his brow. “That is amusing. House guardians do not usually leave their castle.”

  It reminded Elyssa of one of her stepdad’s terriers, small and fierce and bright. “Benji.”

  Quickly overtaking the orange octopus swam Lotar, Iyen, and Tial.

  “Queen Elyssa.” Tial spoke formally. The dark hollows beneath his eyes looked better; he had needed his rest. “It is time to go to the surface.”

  Time to see Aya, then.

  Maybe they could avoid Chastity Angel. Elyssa couldn’t wait to tell Aya all about her future life. She would be on their side for saving the mer race and finding her warriors brides.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kadir needed more time.

  “Take that fulcrum,” he ordered his warriors, lining up along the thick bar. The collapsed wall barred his entry into his last hope to enter the old Life Tree sanctuary of ancient Atlantis. “Heave.”

  They pushed, their human feet digging into the muck coating the derelict ruin. Even Soren’s bulging muscles strained and shook. The bar moved a hands’ width. The collapsed wall shifted…and settled deeper into the structure.

  Curse it. “Release!”

  They eased off with disgruntled moans, rubbing their legs and arms. Pelan stretched backward. His black-and-red vertebrae popped.

  Everything ached and Kadir’s head pounded with exhaustion. But he did not rest with the other warriors. Kadir scraped at the seam between broken walls. It had sealed even tighter. He forced the wedge free and searched for a new location to push it in.

  Soren growled at him. “Rest.”

  “I will rest after we have found Sea Opals.”

  Soren’s growl deepened. “Do not destroy yourself honoring an agreement forced by enemies with no honor.”

  “They are not enemies yet.”

  And even if they were, he did not like being delinquent. At the time he had agreed, it had been necessary to secure Elyssa, and they had had a month to search the ruin. Balim thought this central tower, jutting like a broken tooth above the rest of the ruined city, was the best location for a treasury.

  Now Lotar was bringing Elyssa here to begin their first journey to the surface. Kadir’s time was down to the last hour.

  He forced the wedge against the seam. His hand slipped. The wedge fell. His wrist banged the rough wall and cracked painfully.

  Soren growled and scooped up the wedge. “Do not injure yourself. You have a long journey. Rest now.”

  Another king might bristle at being addressed so forcefully by his first lieutenant, but Kadir knew Soren’s orders came from a place of worry and kindness. He obeyed.

  Anyway, Soren was right. Kadir did need his strength.

  Soren called the others up and pushed the fulcrum at its new location. The wall didn’t budge.

  Kadir had to face the strong likelihood that in a short time, he would confront Aya with the news that they did not have the rest of the Sea Opals. And she would have to accept. Not steal Elyssa away from him.

  He rose with a growl, the new thought energizing him.

  No one would steal Elyssa away from him. Not away from his Life Tree or Atlantis. No one.

  In the distance, a group approached. His warriors released the fulcrum with a puff of dust and watched beside him. Lotar, Iyen, Tial, and Gailen encircled Elyssa.

  She kicked steadily on long, pink fins. A beautiful color, like the rest of her, they fluttered delicately in the water, glowing lightly as though sprinkled with the same energy as her golden chest. She was tired from this short swim but saw him and lit up. It eased his chest and his tiredness, as every time. He pushed off, his own silver-streaked fins unfurling, and opened his arms.

  She tumbled into them with a laugh. He caught her and they wheeled over. “I didn’t stop. Sorry! I need more practice changing direction.”

  He tightened his grip. “Do not apologize.”

  “Oh, I know.” Her heart pattered with excitement. The warriors ranged around her.

  “You brought Gailen,” he noted.

  “He’s my guard now.”

  The mer straightened. Those at the ruin craned to see what had touched Elyssa so especially about this young, enthusiastic, orange-tattooed warrior.

  Kadir regarded Gailen over Elyssa’s shoulder. “Guard her with your life.”

  He puffed his chest. “My king. Yes.”

  The others shifted uncertainly. A handful felt uncomfortable with assigning warriors the additional role of special guard to the queen. It had not been done since ancient times, of course. But many had looked as though they felt the longing in their chests when Elyssa had declared Tial her guard and not an exile. It was the ultimate act of mercy. Kindness and validation wrapped in an all new honor. Given time, even those who felt uncomfortable with it would change.

  She pushed free. “Look, I can make my fins on command now.”

  Her human feet wiggled. She frowned and squeezed her eyes shut, her hands in tight little fists. Nothing happened. She abruptly opened her eyes. A wave of discouragement was followed immediately with realization. “Oh! Sorry. I’m doing it wrong.”

  He needed to convince her not to use that word.

  She closed her eyes again more calmly. A moment later, her chest began to glow. She paddled her human feet…and they unfurled. She opened her eyes and smiled lazily. “There. I can do it.”

  “Good.”

  Instead of looking happy, she grew concerned and stroked his cheek. “You look tired.”

  He had no time for tiredness. “I am capable of the journey.”

  “That’s not what…well, I mean, good.” Her lips folded. His assurance did not comfort her. “Are we going to the surface now?”

  Dishonoring the agreement irked him. He released her. “We will make one more attempt to open this room. Lotar, Iyen.” He gestured for them to join him. Tial and Gailen floated forward.

  “Can I help?” she asked, paddling after him.

  “Remain here. The ruin is dangero
us.”

  She linked her fingers with worry. Her guards closed around her.

  Soren grimaced as Kadir organized the already tired warriors to push with the two rested ones. His grimace told Kadir he thought tiring his warriors was a bad way to start an already untimely surface journey.

  He ignored it. “Ready? Push!”

  They all strained together. The wall shifted. Dust puffed. Not quite enough. They released and rested. He would give this one more attempt before giving up for now.

  Elyssa floated at a safe distance with her guards. Gailen pointed out the distant boundaries of the ancient ruin. Tial watched for danger.

  “It’s like a huge square,” she murmured. “Like a whole city block. A Vegas strip size.”

  “The disagreeable noise is the cave guardian that lives below the tower,” Gailen said. “He is sleeping.”

  She made an excited noise and her light glowed. “Sleeping? Aw. I’ve always wanted to see one.”

  “This one should not be disturbed. It is bad-tempered and frightening, like Soren.”

  Soren’s gaze flicked to Kadir. Kadir suppressed his smile. In another city, casual comments like Gailen’s would result in a terrible punishment—just like Soren’s frequent outbursts and refusal to respect rank. Gailen’s home city of Aiycaya had not punished its free-speaking citizens harshly — until they tried to leave.

  In Atlantis, the bad-tempered and frightening first lieutenant would only give Gailen some hard tasks to increase his respect.

  Kadir nodded for his warriors to take the fulcrum one last time. They rose and did so. He tensed for the final push.

  “What’s that?” Elyssa asked.

  Her tone gave Kadir pause. He followed her gaze.

  “It is your house guardian,” Tial said quietly.

  Gailen squinted. “Odd. The house guardian should not be so far from the castle.”

  “She followed us.” Elyssa swam out to meet the small octopus. Her guards followed closely. “When I was a kid, my second step-dad had a Jack Russell Terrier that followed him everywhere. We had to leash Benji to the yard.”