by Munt, S. K
Tristan turned to Bane: ‘Does Ardhi know you’re gay?’
‘No...’ Bane said. ‘He was so pissed off to see me that I actually let him think I was here for her, for kicks.’
Tristan groaned, not wanting his nephew in the line of fire should it all come to a confrontation. ‘Do yourself a favor, okay? Either go down to my closet and try to find a big, gay shirt-or be prepared to scream ‘I’m a fairy!’ the moment he sees you tonight. It might just save your life.’
Bane crossed his arms and glared at Tristan. ‘Why don’t I just borrow the shirt you’re wearing now?’
‘Shut up.’ Tristan said with good humor. A crack of thunder made them all jump, and all four faces lifted to the heavens. ‘It’s Ardhi,’ Tristan said softly, reaching into the console and producing his own fishing knife from within, hoping Pintang didn’t see. ‘We’re running out of time.’
‘A boat!’ Ivyanne suddenly exclaimed, interrupting him. ‘Look!’
Tristan turned around, instantly spotting the glint of stainless steel against the black water. Lightning flashed again, illuminating the two men on board-they appeared to be wrestling. ‘Hurry!’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Flatten the throttle!’
⁓
Ardhi was towering over him, dripping salt water on Lincoln’s face, stinging his eyes. ‘She told you, didn’t she?! If I was feeling remorse for having to end you before, well I can thank her for relieving my conscience now!’
‘Before?’ Lincoln groaned as he realized he’d walked right into a trap. Or a net cast by a skilled fisherman. ‘You were waiting for me, weren’t you?! Is Adele even in trouble?!’
Ardhi chuckled and advanced on him. ‘Grey, Adele is the least of your problems.’
‘What are you going to do?’ Lincoln asked, beginning to sweat despite the sudden drop in temperature. The heaving of the boat was making him queasier than his fear. He thought of his mother and how her life had been stolen in a similar predicament, and his teeth gnashed together in anger- Lincoln couldn’t drown too! His father wouldn’t survive it. His grip on the boat tightened as he prepared to fight for his life.
Ardhi’s teeth gleamed, his posture coiled like a snake ready to strike, seemingly unaffected by the way the water tossed the boat around. ‘It really depends on how much you know...... which can’t be that much, right?’ His eyes sparkled mischievously. ‘I mean, if you knew I was a mermaid, you’d have to be an idiot to try and drown me, right?’
‘I wasn’t trying to drown you!’ Lincoln spat. ‘I was trying to knock your teeth out of your pretty little head!’
The kick connected with Lincoln’s stomach, harder that he’d ever been struck before. The air gushed out of his lungs and he fell back, gasping.
‘You look like the proverbial fish out of water,’ Ardhi jeered, crouching before Lincoln and grabbing a tuft of his hair painfully in his fingers. ‘Which of course, isn’t true given how green you are! Clearly, you shouldn’t be anywhere near the water, let alone getting involved in love triangles you have even less right to be in!’
‘It’s not a triangle!’ Lincoln hollered, elbowing Ardhi in the face with enough force to break his attacker’s grip on his hair, but not enough to stun him ‘She chose him. We lost, okay? Walk away! Or you know what?’ Lincoln felt the fight go out of him as another wave of nausea rolled over him. The boat was rocking too much for him to focus on a thought let alone an action. ‘Just kill me... I don’t want to face a life without her anyway!’
‘You can’t live without her?!’ Ardhi repeated, incredulous. He grabbed Lincoln by the collar of his purple polo shirt and violently shook him. Lincoln had the presence of mind to admire how easily Ardhi shook him, as though Lincoln were weightless. ‘You’ve known her for two weeks! Try loving her for your entire adult life! You don’t know pain, okay? You were just a stupid flirtation with her dirty old boss and nothing more!’
Lincoln gripped Ardhi by the wrists, threw his head back, then brought it forward with force, smashing his skull into the nose of the other boy’s. The blinding pain was quickly replaced by agony as Ardhi released his hold and dropped Lincoln back against the hard edge of the centre bench seat. He could hear Ardhi, cursing and stumbling around, but Lincoln didn’t wait to see how he was doing-he pushed himself up and searched for something to use as a weapon, cradling the freshly throbbing part of his spine with one hand.
But when he straightened, he realized that a light was shining onto his profile, blinding and white, the roar of a larger, more powerful engine clear despite his aching head and ringing ears. Another boat. He had a chance-if he could just buy time.
He spun back to Ardhi, who was reaching for a lethal looking gaff, and delivered a kick into his side. ‘It’s you that doesn’t have a clue!’ Lincoln roared, struggling to keep his balance until he got his foot back. ‘I was there before any of you bastards! I was her first kiss and she was mine! You’ve wanted her since you became a man? Big freaking deal! I’ve been in love with her since we were eleven!’ Lincoln lifted his foot to kick Ardhi again, but the more agile boy caught it.
‘What?!’ Ardhi’s face had turned white. ‘How?’
‘We grew up here together, every summer! She saved my life! We fell in love and we hid it from everyone. Year by year I watched her blossom, anticipating the day she’d be mine for good-but then she vanished, and didn’t come back until two weeks ago!’ Lincoln’s voice broke but he tugged his foot out of Ardhi’s grasp. ‘I recognised her-god I’ve been waiting for her all this time- but she lied to me, pretended to be the sister of the girl I’d loved-one who was dead. That’s pain, kid!’ Lincoln paused for breath, noting that Ardhi’s eyes were wide with horror. ‘You’ve lost one love? I’ve lost two, and they’re all wrapped up in her!’
‘I don’t believe it!’ Ardhi screamed. Lightning turned the sky purple and thunder boomed like it might shake the stars free of the heavens above. ‘She’s never mentioned you!’
‘It was a secret! One of many! And the only one I was in on, until today!’ Lincoln’s stomach lurched as the ocean lifted and dropped the boat angrily. ‘Since she came back, I’ve watched you, Tristan, and every other man make a play for her thinking I was insane for being drawn to her, and betraying the dead sister for wanting her-but unable to control it! I’ve been sick with jealousy and mocked by all of you!’ He scowled. ‘But I worked it out, because that’s how well I know her. And today, I finally worked up the guts to confront her..... only for her to admit it was true, tell me she never stopped loving me- but too bad -because she fucked someone else this afternoon and now she has to leave me forever-again!’ Tears streamed down Lincoln’s face. ‘So boo freakin hoo to you, your best friend doesn’t love you back. But as far as my pain and torment goes, you don’t know shit!’
Ardhi was staring at him, transfixed. ‘I didn’t-’
‘Lincoln?!’ A voice suddenly broke the night air, paper thin against the wind but shrill. ‘Is that you? Ardhi?!’
Lincoln turned, and lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the bright light. ‘Ivyanne?!’ His heart leapt into his throat. ‘Yeah, it’s- Oof!’ The wind was knocked out of Lincoln as Ardhi suddenly threw his full weight into his side, winding him. He got one last glance at the shimmering night sky before his body hit the water.
⁓
‘They went over!’ Ivyanne tore her white sundress over her head and flung it at Pintang before pulling on the brake-not caring if they hit the other vessel now that it was empty. ‘Ardhi knocked him in! I have to help!’
Pintang brushed away the dress and rushed to the rail, leaning over to peer at the smaller boat below as they coasted closer. ‘Ardhi!’ her voice was frantic, her short blue dress billowing in the wind. ‘What are you doing?!’
But Ivyanne knew that Ardhi couldn’t hear his sister and even if he could, wouldn’t care. ‘Link!’ A sob escaped her throat as she pulled frantically at the lower half of the red bikini she’d put on after her shower and glanced back at Tristan who was ki
cking off his board shorts. ‘God what if he’s already...?’
‘He couldn’t have-they were unarmed and it’ll take Ardhi longer than a minute to drown him Ivyanne!’ Tristan had changed from his blood-splattered dinner wear to a pair of swimming trunks while they drove out, so within seconds, he had snatched up a wicked looking curved blade and was over the rail and crouched on the side of the boat. ‘We’ll find them!’
Ivyanne was instantly comforted by his declaration. Suspended by one hand on the rail, leaning over the water, knife raised-naked and rippling, Tristan suddenly resembled a bronzed statue of some mythical god on a ledge. Power seemed to reverberate off him. At that moment, her choice for king seemed more fitting than she’d ever dreamed-her mother was right. Always had been. Tristan was her match.
‘Tristan don’t kill him!’ Pintang yelped. ‘He needs help!’
‘He’ll be beyond help if he kills that guy!’ Bane said, taking the wheel of the boat.
‘He’s right,’ Tristan nodded, leaning out, surveying the choppy black water. ‘But I’ll try to bring him out alive. Bane! Keep the engine running, okay? And if it looks like we need help-’
‘I’ll do it,’ Pintang said in a small voice. ‘I can drive a boat all right.’
‘Right,’ Bane nodded. ‘Go man.’
‘Wait for me!’ Ivyanne shoved Pintang out of the way and cleared both decks with a single swan dive, beating Tristan’s splash by half a second. The moment she was under, she kicked the bikini bottoms free before bringing her feet together and duck-diving.
The fuse happened straight away, she knew that the second she flicked her knees again. She straightened, shooting a few feet down, willing her eyes to adjust to the murky, blackish green water, blinking when they did-dismayed that they revealed nothing immediately, but shadow.
Tristan’s transition took a few seconds longer, but he cut through the water ahead of Ivyanne, using his powerful upper body in a way she never bothered with. She followed him, heart racing, bubbles gushing out of her as the excess air she’d taken in slipped out. Almost instantly, she could see the hull of the small fishing boat, a mere shadow in a slightly lighter gloom. Tristan got to it first, breaking the surface of the water, pulling her up with him.
‘What?’ Ivyanne gasped, bobbing on the water. ‘Tristan we don’t have time!’
‘We’re on the wrong side of the boat, it’s turned!’ He squeezed the hand he was holding. ‘Ivyanne, you need a clear head, okay? So do I. Ardhi’s lost it- so this could be dangerous, for both of us. As the princess you should leave it to me to follow them.’
‘And as the future queen I’m telling you that won’t be happening Loveridge!’ Ivyanne spat. ‘I got Lincoln into this mess, and I’ll get him out of it! He’s been hurt enough! I won’t let Ardhi drown him if there’s a way I can stop it!’
‘How did I know you were going to pull rank on me?’ Tristan exploded. ‘Look if Ardhi’s drowned him Ivyanne, I’ll fix it, okay?’
Ivyanne recoiled. ‘Fix it?’ Suddenly, she understood. ‘Tristan-no! Don’t even think that! I would never ask-’
‘You don’t have to ask.’ Tristan whispered, brown eyes glowing. ‘I’d do anything to protect that heart of yours from breaking again.’
‘Killing yourself for him is not protecting my heart!’ She shrieked, panicking. ‘It’s breaking it a different way! Tristan if I can’t trust you to- Tristan!’ Ivyanne screamed, but Tristan suddenly sank from view.
Instinctively she launched herself up in what Ardhi had always called her ‘Sailfish showiness’ and propelled herself down, in the exact place Tristan’s head had just been.
The water was murky and churning, but Ivyanne glimpsed the harlequin shimmer of Tristan’s tail, already some twenty feet down, as he sank away. But straight away she realized, that she was seeing him from the wrong side. Tristan wasn’t diving, he was being pulled from below. His beautiful eyes were wide with shock.
⁓
The arm around Tristan’s throat was so tightly clamped that Tristan instantly worried if his throat was being crushed. He bucked and writhed, aiming his elbow behind him into Ardhi’s stomach, but the grip on his throat tightened. Ardhi didn’t have strong hands but his thin, hard fingers dug into the flesh around Tristan’s larynx painfully.
Ivyanne was above him, a blur of shimmering lilac and periwinkle scales, backlit by the searchlights of his boat, whereas her bikini top was practically colorless in contrast. Her hair floated behind her, her screams hitting his ears and almost rupturing them. He saw the panic in her eyes, though whether he actually saw it or simply recalled it he wasn’t sure, but it renewed his strength. He couldn’t let her down.
Tristan rocked his head backwards, catching Ardhi with a direct hit, but Ardhi’s grip on him only relaxed for a second. Tristan was twice as strong as Ardhi, but the other boy’s manic state was clearly fueling his rage. Tristan still had the knife in his hand, and as they were free, he knew it was the only chance he had. He swept his arm out in an arc to his side, praying that he had the blade pointed at the right body, then tried to sweep it back in.
But a hand caught his wrist, and Tristan felt his insides shrivel as Ardhi rotated his wrist and then forced it forward. The sensation of the blade slicing through a gap between his upper ribs was instantaneous and much worse then he’d ever imagined.
‘If I can’t have her,’ Ardhi’s watery voice warbled in his ear. ‘You can’t.’
Tristan felt some sort of weight lift from his body, and his eyes instantly rolled back into his head. The last thought was of Lincoln. If he’d bought the human Ivyanne loved time to swim to the safety of his boat, then he’d kept his promise to the princess.
⁓
Ardhi yanked the blade out of Tristan’s side, a shiver of horror and glee overwhelming him. The blood seemed to first spurt from the wound, before turning into a cloudy mist that stained his vision red. He glimpsed Tristan’s slackened face before the cloud absorbed him, and a thrill shot down his spine. He’d won! He’d finally bested Loveridge!
But Ardhi didn’t have time to pat himself on the back. Ivyanne’s sudden and blood curling scream was proof of that. It hurt him, but he couldn’t think about that yet. One day she’d understand that he had the kingdoms’ interests at heart.
Ardhi darted back to the other side of the boat, where he’d abandoned the human, wondering if sharks would finish Tristan off when they scented the blood, or if Ardhi had in fact delivered a death blow, unable to hold back a smile of satisfaction at either concept as he scanned the water to catch his bearings.
Then he spotted the legs kicking frantically for the surface near the shadow of the dinghy, and he blocked out every other thought as he zeroed in on his prey, annoyed. He’d abandoned Lincoln for Tristan, leaving him down in the coral, thinking that the other man’s fear of boats and near-death experience in childhood meant that the human couldn’t swim-but obviously that had been a mistake. For someone wearing pants and shoes, Lincoln was making speedy progress towards the surface!
Ardhi set his jaw and shot forward, reaching for Lincoln’s ankle. Oh well. I’m still better at it!
34.
‘Tristan swim! Flick!’ Ivyanne shrieked as she shot into the cloud of bloody water, heart in her throat. ‘I can’t see you! Follow my voice!’
A dark shadow suddenly whizzed by underneath her, and her skin crawled. Ardhi-it had to be. She knew she should go after him before she lost sight of him, because she had no idea where Lincoln was and if he was dead already-but that last lost look on Tristan’s face stayed with her. Besides-it was her people she needed to make priority, especially in a life or death predicament. She went down, frantically straining to catch the slightest glimpse of him. A bolt of lightning hit the water, no less than fifty meters to her left. It illuminated the underwater scene for a full five seconds. Ivyanne caught glimpses of coral and the slinky silver reflecting off a school of startled trout, before she spotted Tristan, still to her right, slowly and
lifelessly rotating in the water.
Ivyanne darted towards him, wrapping her arm around his torso, before hefting him up against her chest. She’d never kicked so hard with her tail before, but it didn’t fail her- Ivyanne shot to the surface. If Tristan was still in mer form, not dolphin, he still had a chance.
‘Help!’ Ivyanne screamed, filling her lungs with air she didn’t need yet. She spun around, Tristan’s weight heavy in her arms, searching for his boat. When she found it, she waved her arm. ‘Bane! Pintang!’
‘Coming!’ Pintang cried, pulling her blue dress over her head, revealing a naked, olive skinned body beneath. Ivyanne watched in awe as Pintang leapt off the deck of the yacht, bucked in mid air, her tail magically appearing before Pintang even hit the water. Ivyanne had never seen that before-a pre-submerged transition. It took her breath away.
When Pintang surfaced, Ivyanne didn’t hesitate to shove Tristan into the other girls’ capable hands. ‘Take him! I’ve got to find Link and Ardhi!’
‘Is he...?!’
‘Not yet-but he’s been stabbed, he needs help!’ Ivyanne used her arms to push backwards through the water. ‘Apply pressure to the wound and try to talk him round!’
‘I will! Go get Ardhi for me, okay?’
‘Okay,’ Ivyanne turned, astounded to find herself inches from the hired boat. But before she could go under, Lincoln breached the surface, one hand wrapping around the steel edge on the other side. ‘Link!’ she screamed. ‘Hang on!’
‘Ivyanne!’ His eyes were wide with terror. ‘It’s Ardhi! He’s-’ But just as suddenly as he’d surfaced, Lincoln vanished again.
⁓
Lincoln would barely have had the chance to fill half of his lungs before Ardhi caught his foot and dragged him under for the second time, the adrenaline surge from killing Tristan granting him even more speed and strength then Ardhi had thought he’d be capable of. He was practically drunk with adrenalin.
‘One down!’ Ardhi said, knowing Lincoln wouldn’t have understood it as clearly as his own kind would, but unconcerned. Actions really would speak much louder.