by Ali Vali
Something from the water pinged Kai’s senses, but for the first time in her life she couldn’t decipher what it was. It was almost foreign, but she figured it a fluke and turned her attention back to Vivien.
“I haven’t had much time for romance, but I’d like to have someone carry on my passions, though only if that’s what they choose. In a way, that’s what happened at your birth, but it’s not something you want.” Kai tried not to invade Vivien’s thoughts, but the questions that ran through her head were so pronounced they were hard to ignore.
“What happens then? When you don’t get to pick willingly, I mean.”
“If you’re asking what I’d do, I’d follow my heart, but I can’t answer for you or anyone else because I also understand obligation. Before you decide to condemn your parents, though, they did name you Vivien—it’s French for lady of the lake. Maybe they saw that adventurer and explorer in you early on.”
“Sounds like they wanted me to be adventurous but only a little,” Vivien said with a smile.
After Vivien answered the question, Kai thought maybe this assignment wouldn’t be so hard as she’d imagined after the Palmer dinner party. Getting Vivien to see the world through a less negative lens might help solve her problem. “The Caspian Sea covers over one hundred and fifty thousand square miles, and some legends say it’s a mermaid habitat. It’s also a lake, as you most probably know.”
“Is your outlook always so sunny?”
“The world is a small and rather dull place if you choose to see it only one way.”
Chapter Ten
“What is it?” Hadley asked after listening to the low-timbre thumps emanating from somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico’s outer shelf. It didn’t sound like a natural occurrence, but their detectors couldn’t pinpoint it either, especially since they were sporadic.
Natal Robin, the commander in charge of their radar and communications center, stood at attention as Hadley ran the loop again. “We don’t know, Highness. We’ve run it against everything on file and found no matches.”
“Have you heard from Kai?”
“The Princess’s last communication was with you and our queen.”
“Put your best people on it and find whatever this is and where it’s coming from,” she said as she stood from her desk. “Make sure you check every monitor and see if it’s been repeated anywhere else.”
“The system’s checking now, but so far the Gulf is the only occurrence.”
“Only occurrence of what?” Galen asked, making Natal immediately turn and bow. “Please, Natal, when Hadley pulls me out of a council meeting, it’s important enough to forgo some formalities. What’s happening?”
Hadley played the loop and explained where the sounds were coming from. “Unless the military slipped something past us, we don’t know what that is.”
“Did you call for Kai?”
“I thought I’d wait for you. Whatever it is, she and her team are closest to it.”
“To me,” Galen said as she sat on the sofa close to Hadley’s desk, “it sounds like one of our vessels but off somehow.”
“That was one of the first things we ruled out, my Queen,” Natal said.
Hadley moved closer to Natal and placed her hand on her shoulder. “Go back to your post and report directly to me if you find anything else.”
“As you command, Highness,” Natal said, then bowed again. “My Queen,” she said as she left.
“Any ideas?” Galen raised her hand to her as an invitation to join her, which Hadley gladly did.
“I’m sure it’s not one of ours, which leaves some troubling possibilities.”
“Such as?” Galen rested her head on Hadley’s shoulder and placed her hand on her thigh.
“We have people serving in every navy around the world as well as with every major scientific exploration group occurring around the globe. That none of them reported something this sophisticated bothers me.”
“They can’t report what they don’t know.”
“I’m probably over-worrying because it’s where Kai’s swimming right now.”
“You get a reward for showing such restraint,” Galen said as she lifted her head to deliver a kiss. “If it was anyone else you’d be in the water by now.”
“Restraint like that deserves more than a kiss, my Queen,” she said as she opened a line to Kai so Galen couldn’t answer. They listened to the message Kai had left on board the Salacia before going on her swim with Vivien Palmer.
“Sounds like she’s making progress,” Galen said as her hand went under the hem of the shorts Hadley wore. “Maybe she was paying close attention when you reviewed the lessons on gentle persuasion.”
“It’s the most important part of any warrior’s arsenal,” she said as she slightly widened her legs and smiled.
“So if you hadn’t been able to persuade me, clubbing me over the head was your next move?”
She hadn’t laid eyes on Galen until she was twenty-one and attended the function the royal family hosted in honor of the military academy graduates. Every woman in Atlantis had a purpose and function, and Hadley had chosen the life of a patrol officer. She’d figured that after years at various posts around the globe she’d return, settle down with someone, and teach the next generation of cadets their warrior ways. The lessons were highly important to their security and future, even though they weren’t a warring people.
“Do you remember the night we met?”
Galen moved to her lap and nodded. “You were incredibly handsome in your new uniform and all the medals you’d earned at the academy. My date didn’t appreciate my open staring.”
She laughed at the memory of Galen’s date—a tall woman who’d been an instructor’s assistant, or so she’d been told. “I didn’t notice until my mother pointed it out.”
“True, your eyes were glued to the water, so I’m glad Yara elbowed you in the ribs,” Galen said as she combed Hadley’s hair back. “Your mother still laughs about that.”
“She laughs because she knows I inherited my cluelessness from her. Mama told me from the time she conceived me she knew I’d find the same love she’s shared with Mom,” she said about Yara, her birth mother.
“Do you regret all you had to give up to be my consort?” Galen had asked this same question of Hadley numerous times after their marriage, but she understood why, so she was always patient and truthful in her answers.
Hadley had been born Hadley Marus East, and had Galen been any other woman in Atlantis, when she’d asked for her hand, she would’ve kept the name East, and perhaps Galen would’ve adopted it as well, as had her mother Yara when she’d married Brook. Galen was heir to her mother’s throne, though, so if Hadley wanted to marry her, the name Merlin wasn’t negotiable. The ruling family was descended from Queen Nessa Merlin’s line, and it always would be. So Hadley’s sacrifices, as Galen thought of them, started with that and continued with the changes to her future plans.
Consorts to the queen didn’t leave for months on patrol, they didn’t turn down the promotions that came with the title, and they carried out their royal duties with honor and pride. With her marriage, Hadley had fulfilled her dream of active duty, but primarily with a seat on the military council. That honor came to most after a distinguished career in the queen’s service.
She’d led numerous missions that were in no way expected of her, but Galen had understood how important that had been to who Hadley was and hadn’t interfered. Because Hadley’s position on the council had come from what some thought luck, some people had talked about the unfairness of it, but Galen’s mother Mari had gone through the same thing. Mari’s guidance, especially early on in their marriage, had cemented a friendship between the two that grew with each passing year.
“Love, you know the answer to that.” Galen gazed at her with glassy eyes so she didn’t hold back. “I had my quest, like Kai’s doing now, but my mind and heart were here. Even if patrol and defense had been possible with our match, I wou
ld’ve turned it down because I couldn’t have been away from you that long.”
“But you didn’t mind the gossip?”
“After two broken arms in the arena, most of the idiots stopped questioning my abilities, and those who kept at it aren’t important enough to care about.” She slipped her hand behind Galen’s neck and kissed her hard. “When it’s just us, we’re Galen and Hadley, and you’re mine just like I’m yours. I love you, and I love that you still make my heart pound when I look at you.”
“Forgive me for my insecurities, my love,” Galen said before she kissed her again. “You have given me such a happy life that it seems like a fairy tale at times, and I want the same for you.”
“Anyone with the opportunity to spend time with you who doesn’t is an idiot, so not only am I blessed, but I’m one lucky bastard. I want no one else and I never have. Hell, I would’ve married you even if I’d had to change my name to asshole.”
“You’re poetic when you want to be, sweetheart.” Galen leaned into her and ran her finger down Hadley’s cheek and along her jaw. “Are you free for the rest of the afternoon?”
“I promised to check the progress of vector thirteen fifty-two before the foundation streets are laid. Are you up for a swim?”
“We’re at that point already? Didn’t we vote on that less than two months ago?”
The capital city, or the original Atlantis, was laid out in vectors drawn in a circular pattern, with the palace and main temple at the center. There were fifteen outposts around the world, built in the same pattern and at the same depth; the only difference was their center, since only the capital had a palace. Instead, every outpost had council chambers, and royal representatives appointed by Galen had their office there, their size varying.
Their architects planned every expansion carefully so the land dwellers wouldn’t notice their growth, and also so the new sections would blend well with the oldest ones. They also planned these additions well in advance of population growth so the new additions didn’t become overly populated.
“The area was leveled when they did vector thirteen fifty-one, since the building committee figured this section would have to be built much sooner than the last two.”
“We have experienced a baby boom lately,” Galen said as she traced her lips with the tip of her tongue. “If the couples throughout the kingdom find their spouses as hot as I find you, I totally understand it.”
“Did you two call me to embarrass me or did you need something?” Kai’s face appeared on the screen on the wall behind Hadley’s desk.
“We like to show you what you have to look forward to when you decide to settle down,” Galen said.
“You’ll have to wait a bit on that,” Kai said, and from what Hadley could see behind her, Kai was in the cabin of the Salacia.
“Did your monitors pick up anything today?” Hadley asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
“I’m checking now, but I felt something while I was out today with Vivien Palmer. It was brief but it was something.”
Galen stood and walked closer to the monitor, as if it’d bring her closer to Kai. When they’d become serious enough about their relationship to talk about a future together, Galen had wished for plenty of children, since they both had sisters whom they loved. It wasn’t until Galen’s pregnancy with Kai did they know Kai would be their only child, and both of them had hovered over her like hens with a chick.
“We miss you, honey,” Galen said as she lifted her hand toward Kai’s image. “Are you eating?”
“Yes, ma’am, and per you and Mom’s plan, I’m making new friends.” Kai laughed but seemed to indulge Galen’s whim when she lifted her hand as well. “I miss you too, Mama, but I’m having a good time.”
“Keep your eyes open and let us know if whatever happened today repeats itself.”
“Miss you too,” Kai said and winked at her. “Send me whatever you find and we’ll check it out.”
“Where are Isla and Talia?” she asked as she placed her hands on Galen’s shoulders.
“On Triton, since it’d be weird for them to be with me the entire time. Don’t worry. They check in every five minutes, it seems.”
“It’s our job to worry, tadpole, and we will until we’re fish food.”
“I know and I love you both for it. I promise I’ll be better about calling in.” Kai blew them both a kiss and smiled as the monitor went black.
“She couldn’t have chosen a project here at home?” Galen said after they’d both sighed. “She had plenty to pick from.”
“You gave Kai your adventurous heart, love, so don’t try to hem her in to only the safe parts of life.” She turned Galen around and kissed her.
“My adventurous heart? I’m not the one who wanted to swim off in search of glory, stud. Face it. Kai’s all yours, even though I got to carry her all those months and suffer through morning sickness that lasted until labor.”
She laughed and bent gladly when Galen initiated the next kiss. “Then let’s hope she inherited your gifts of persuasion so her time topside is fast.”
“Do you think Vivien Palmer will give her problems?”
“Depends on how fast Kai can get undressed,” she said, but Galen didn’t laugh.
“I told you Oba’s vision,” Galen said as she clutched her shirt as if to anchor herself in a storm.
“I seldom challenge Oba’s gifts, but I don’t know how accurate a reading she can get on Kai. She’s not seeing things as the high priestess but as Kai’s lover, so perhaps this time that’s skewed her vision.” She took Galen’s hand and led her toward their quarters. “Kai would neither betray us nor walk away for anyone, not even me if I asked it of her.”
“I hope you’re right, and I should’ve put a stop to their relationship a while ago, but Kai genuinely cares for Oba.”
“Don’t worry about that either,” she said as she closed their bedroom door and stripped her shirt off. “Oba’s main priority will always be her service to you and the goddess. In time Kai will see that, and she won’t settle for anything but the woman who makes her burn like I burn for you.”
“Thank you, my love,” Galen said as her dress fell to the ground and her nipples hardened. “You always were good at reminding me of what’s important.”
Chapter Eleven
“Will you accept my apology?” Vivien asked as they shared a bottle of wine on Salacia’s deck. Kai had offered to cook and was glad when Vivien immediately accepted her invitation.
“First tell me what you’re apologizing for, and I’ll let you know.” She ran her fingers through her hair a few more times to make it finally dry, and the motion made her miss both her mama and Oba. Both of them loved to do that when they spent quiet time together.
“I haven’t been very nice since we met, and I’m sorry.”
“You were protecting what was yours so don’t apologize. Doing that makes me think you’re a good friend and you love what you’re doing.” She poured Vivien more wine and went down to check on the fish she was baking. “I probably would’ve done the same,” she said when she returned and Vivien was staring toward the horizon.
“Well, I’m sorry, and I don’t mind saying it so we can move on.”
“Can I ask you something?” Kai leaned against the wheel and this time looked at Vivien, finding her attractive.
“Sure, I’ll do my best to answer,” Vivien said and surprised her by not turning away both her gaze and her emotions.
“Good. I need some background human-interest stuff for my story,” she said and winked when Vivien lifted her back a little off the cushion. “You could split me in two with deadly looks like that.”
“You have a way of making me question if you’re telling the truth, so cut me some slack.” Vivien shook her finger at her.
“Tell me about Steve, the guy who’s in love with you and doesn’t much care for me.”
“Steve’s not in love with me—he’s in love with my last name and what he thinks that’l
l get him if he’s able to bend me to his will. If you’re in love with him, he’s all yours. You’re not stepping on any toes.”
She laughed, and Vivien’s declaration made her think of Oba again. “Steve the fish-hater isn’t my type by a long stretch, and how do you know he isn’t in love with you as well as your name?”
“A woman knows these things.” Kai thought back to how Oba could make her crave her touch while keeping her at arm’s length. “At least, this woman,” Vivien pointed to her own chest, “knows that.”
“What does he do for the company?”
Vivien stood and stretched before moving closer so she could poke her in the shoulder. “I’m beginning to think you’re underplaying your interest in him.”
“I’m only curious since I seldom have so much trouble reading someone, and while I’m usually annoying, it takes me longer than a minute to piss someone off like that.”
“You’re right. It took you about ten to piss me off enough to get thrown off your boat,” Vivien said and tapped her glass against hers.
“Nah, you calmed down once you realized what a teddy bear I am.”
“Uh-huh,” Vivien said, not moving away from her, which made the shell at her throat almost hum. Could Vivien sense it? “To answer your question, Steve’s a senior vice president working with me and Frankie on acquisitions and production.”
“I’m sure he’ll happily lord over me in the coming months then.”
“Somehow I doubt he’ll get far with that approach. His bark is about all he’s got going for him.”
“How about some more wine, fish, and less about Steve?”
“That sounds like a heavenly evening, almost as good as whatever you’re cooking smells.”
Vivien returned to her seat after the compliments, so she went down and plated the meal she’d prepared. They’d have to head back in the morning, and now she regretted they didn’t have more time since Vivien perhaps wasn’t the empty shell she’d first thought.