by Starla Night
“I did.”
“Again—”
“Release her, exile!” King Kayo raised his trident in warning. “If you do not unhand her I will kill you!”
She whipped to King Kayo. Fear wrapped her in paralyzing bindings.
Faier ignored him to reach her. “You can order—”
“Silence!” King Kayo shook his trident again. “You agitate my sacred bride. Do it again and I will end you.”
Harmony’s shut her eyes tight. “No…”
Faier straightened, sheltering her with his arms. He’d encouraged her to issue orders because he was used to Queens Lucy, Aya, and Elyssa commanding armies. They would defy the All-Council itself without fear.
Harmony had just escaped a relationship that had bruised more than her body. She was unable to command these five armed warriors. He asked for too much and it was breaking her.
Faier growled at the king. “Leave us.”
The king laughed. “Leave you? Yes, beg me for your life. You know how this futile standoff ends.”
“I will not ask again.”
“You wield no weapon, exile. And you are tired, weak, and malnourished. There is one of you and five of us. I will send you into the Blacknight Sea with my own trident and there is nothing you can—”
Harmony pushed off of Faier and shrieked. “D-do you promise not to hurt him?”
“Hurt who?” Faier asked, his arms now strangely empty.
King Kayo also looked confused. “The exile will not hurt me, my sacred bride.”
“No.” She almost couldn’t speak she was so terrified. She gestured behind her at Faier. “Him. If I go with you, do you promise not to hurt him?”
Faier’s heart sank. “Harmony. Do not go with this king.”
“B-but…” She rested a trembling hand on Faier’s forearm. “Maybe it’s for the best.”
“What is for the best?”
“He wants me.” She swallowed hard. “N-not you. S-so if he takes me then you can—“
“No.” He rejected her flatly.
“What choice do we have, Faier?” She vibrated with helpless fear. “Tell me. Right now. What choice do we have?”
“I will fight to the death to—”
“No! You can’t.” She choked on a sob. “I can’t lose you, too.”
“But—”
“Evens is kidnapped. Monsieur Joseph is crippled.” Harmony’s palm pushed against Faier’s forearm. “I can’t let you die. Not when I can stop it.”
She was trying to be heroic.
His heart clenched.
Unsettling, jittery fear seeped into the black hole in his belly. His scars pulsed. His injuries twinged. Without Harmony he had nothing. He had no city, no Life Tree, and he would die alone.
“I cannot let you make this sacrifice,” he said quietly.
“You have to.” Her soul darkened. “It’s only a little while. And it’s not my life. It’s my b-body. And womb. And s-soul.”
His fingers loosened.
She drifted out of his grasp and began to turn, wretched and horrified, toward King Kayo.
“No.” Faier kicked forward to reach for her. He’d rather die than—
A trident blade flashed over his forearm. He jerked back. The blade slashed the water and cut the back of his hand.
The other two warriors had crept closer. Now Harmony was clear. They attacked.
Harmony shrieked and hugged herself.
King Kayo swam in front of her as a protective buffer.
The teal-and-white warrior thrashed to bring his blade up again.
Faier rolled over that warrior’s back. Blades scraped his arms. Blood scented the water.
The more cautious bright-yellow warrior jabbed his trident at Faier’s midsection.
Faier jackknifed.
He overextended.
Faier grabbed the trident and yanked. The bright-yellow warrior struggled for the long handle. Faier smacked the blunt end into his nose. He grunted in pain, and his nose bled. Faier kicked hard and bowled him over. He still kept a hold on his trident with both hands.
The dagger at his bicep passed Faier’s face.
He grabbed the pommel and yanked the blade free.
Now he was armed.
The bright-yellow warrior cupped his nose with one hand.
The more aggressive teal-and-white-tattooed warrior put his head down and his trident up.
“Chiba. Kusi,” the blue-green leader snapped. “Stop your attack.”
The teal-and-white warrior barreled toward Faier.
“Kusi!”
Faier parried his headlong attack with a neat swipe of his blade and rotated to face the yellow Chiba.
“Stop. King Kayo did not order your attack!”
“It does not matter, Xarin.” The young king eagerly watched the fight. “This will end soon. Right?”
“I am not sure.”
Cautious Chiba dropped his bloody hand to his trident and flew at Faier. Behind Faier, Kusi once more charged. Faier rolled around both their attacks, tangled the two tridents, and kicked. Kusi’s third tine snapped off in the clash. Faier dove and collected it.
Now he had two weapons.
“He is arming himself,” the blue-green leader, Xarin, pointed out.
“We will take those weapons away once Chiba and Kusi finish practicing against him. Right, First Lieutenant Tibe?”
The mango warrior’s thin lips sharpened into what could be a smile. “Of course, my king.”
While the young king eagerly watched the fight, Harmony hunched in on herself like a dark spot in the middle of the ocean. “Leave him alone!”
Curse these warriors for hurting and frightening her.
He had to reach her. “You are not so helpless. Believe.”
She straightened.
Faier parried the next attacks, watching for his opportunity to reach out to her and help her escape. You have choices. He needed to figure out how to show her the way.
She looked up at the surface.
Yes, the surface. She could escape to land.
Faier parried another slash and thrust his knife beneath Kusi’s blade. The aggressive warrior evaded. Faier twirled beneath Chiba’s trident and switched hands with his blade.
His right calf twinged.
Harmony wiggled. Her little human feet wobbled.
Faier concentrated on giving a good fight. He would distract King Kayo while she snuck—
“Hey!” Harmony vibrated hard, her shout echoing in the water. “I’m escaping! Leave him alone! Look at me!”
Curse it.
She moved so slowly and inefficiently, King Kayo barely noticed.
“Hey!”
Bah-woomph. Bah-woomph.
Faier avoided Chiba’s slash and looked up.
The crocodile had returned. It floated on the surface like a log.
Harmony shouted at the king and the other warriors. But they all ignored her. She sounded scared and frustrated like she was going to cry.
She swam underneath the crocodile. “Hey, crocodile! Attack these mermen, okay?”
It rolled. Its claws slashed her hair.
“No!” Faier broke free of the attack and kicked for her. His right leg twinged more painfully. “You are not skilled enough to evade the crocodile. Stop!”
Her soul light brightened and darkened. She was even more terrified and still trying to save him.
His torn muscles spasmed.
“Kusi. Chiba.” First Lieutenant Tibe jerked his chin. “End this.”
He tried to kick through the cramp, but he couldn’t evade attacks, rescue Harmony, and endure his old pain. He punched his calf, trying to free the frozen muscle.
King Kayo laughed and lunged forward. He brought his trident to Faier’s neck. “You stop, exile.”
Kusi and Chiba grappled with Faier and recovered his stolen blade. Their daggers bit into his back and bottom.
Faier clenched his teeth. “Save her.”
Xarin
swam between Kusi and Chiba. He disarmed and bound Faier. But Faier secretly held on to the fragment of tine.
“What?” King Kayo grinned.
“From the crocodile.”
The king finally followed Faier’s bound gaze and exclaimed.
The crocodile dove and opened its toothy maw. Harmony scrambled away from its jaws.
King Kayo kicked hard. His trident extended, he rammed the beast.
They tumbled over and over in the water. The crocodile thrashed. King Kayo evaded in a blur of hot pink and masking bubbles. Deadly blades crossed impenetrable hide and eviscerating claws.
Behind Faier, Xarin kicked toward the fight.
First Lieutenant Tibe stopped him. “Xarin.”
“King Kayo needs help.”
“Nonsense. Give him his glory.”
Xarin crossed his arms. His gaze locked on the distant fight.
The water stilled.
Harmony was alive.
Faier’s heart calmed. His wrists flexed in the tight binding. He positioned the tip of the stolen trident tine to rub it. The bindings frayed.
He could still get free.
King Kayo flew to them, exultant. The dead body of the crocodile plowed the water, speared on the end of his trident. He cupped Harmony to his side.
A conquering king.
Harmony’s soul dimmed, and her hands covered her eyes.
“Ah.” First Lieutenant Tibe smiled, arms out to greet the returning young male. “King Kayo, expert fighting, as usual.”
“I slew the monster and defended my sacred bride.” His chest glowed with eager approval. “Not even my father accomplished so many honors in one journey.”
“You are right, my king.”
The king frowned. “What are you doing there, Xarin?”
Xarin stopped, the crocodile half onto his trident. “Freeing your trident.”
“Taking my prize?”
The other warriors snickered.
“To free your trident,” Xarin repeated stiffly over the snickers. “So you will have weapons free to comfort your sacred bride.”
“Comfort?”
Xarin pointed. “Your sacred bride.”
“Yes, I know that is my…” He suddenly noticed Harmony’s desperation. “Do not fear, my sacred bride. I have vanquished the monster.”
Her shoulders hunched.
“That upsets her,” Xarin said.
“I see that,” King Kayo snapped. “We have lingered too long on the surface. That is why she is scared. We must hurry to the Life Tree to marry. Xarin, you carry my trophy.”
Xarin finished freeing King Kayo’s trident, bound the crocodile’s legs to its body like a long torpedo, and looped the end of the rope to drag it through the water.
“Tibe. Are you ready?”
“Journey without me.” First Lieutenant Tibe gripped his trident and approached Faier coldly. “I will finish the exile and join you.”
Harmony’s hands dropped. “Finish the…? No. No!”
Her voice edged into dangerous hysteria. The bones in Faier’s chest vibrated painfully.
King Kayo stopped. “My sacred bride, do not be alarmed.”
“You have to let him go.”
“Let him go?” King Kayo laughed. “This male is a dangerous exile. He has committed an unforgivable dishonor against Aiycaya. We cannot let him go.”
“But…but…”
“Do you pity him? He tricked you.”
“He didn’t trick me. You tricked me!”
“This exile transformed you into a bride and lured you to the open waters where you cannot survive.”
“He saved me.” But she sounded less certain. “Faier? Why am I underwater?”
Faier paused his subtle motion of sawing the bindings. “I do not know.”
“How—”
“He lies,” King Kayo interrupted flatly. “He stole elixir from this island and fed it to you.”
“Elixir? You drugged me?”
Mistrust darkened her heart and her soul.
Her doubts ripped his heart out.
“I did nothing against your wishes,” Faier said, hurt.
“Another lie.” King Kayo waved his trident at First Lieutenant Tibe. “Execute him.”
First Lieutenant Tibe’s teeth gleamed. He bowed. “My king.”
“Execute!” Harmony pushed away from the king. “No.”
Surprised, King Kayo let her go. “My sacred bride, it is necessary to—”
“No!”
“Do not be distressed. He is only an exile.”
“But he’s already injured!”
“That is common of exiles.”
While they argued, First Lieutenant Tibe moved his long trident blade in front of Faier. Slow, controlled. “You move well for an exile. Where were you from?”
Faier followed the movements to gauge Tibe’s skill. “Why should I tell you?”
“Because soon it will not matter.”
Tibe’s arm flashed. Wham. The trident lodged in the point of Faier’s jaw, its tip protruding to the underside of his tongue.
“Well?”
Blood and pain blinded Faier.
His jaw throbbed. Tibe had speared him like a fish.
Time. He needed time.
Faier’s chest vibrated. “Nerissa.”
“Nerissa?” A new light gleamed in the first lieutenant’s cold eyes. “You must be the last survivor. Let me change that.”
He yanked the blade free.
Faier bent over. Salt water invaded his mouth from the wrong direction. His wound stung.
“Faier?” Harmony’s cry reached him through the fog.
Someone yanked his head up. He cracked his eyes open.
Tibe’s sneer was audible as he raised his voice. “My king, take your sacred bride away.”
“But—stop. Stop! Faier? They’re not listening to me. You said they would listen. Faier!”
The bindings were still too tight. Faier sawed faster. He had no intention of dying.
Harmony screamed. “Stop!”
Her high pitch was ocean-shattering.
A dark reverberation of horror echoed in his chest. Somewhere, a Life Tree had been pulled up by its roots and groaned a death cry, dooming its city and all its mer. His tear ducts prickled. He wanted to throw up and cry.
He shuddered.
The other warriors also curled in on themselves. Their soul lights fluctuated dark to light. The king swallowed convulsively. Even Tibe lowered his trident, jaw working, and looked unwell.
Harmony’s fearful darkness eased.
Dragged to the absolute edge of desperation, she issued her first wobbly order. “Don’t you hurt him.”
Faier wanted to cheer.
He choked on blood.
The warriors collected themselves, shaking their muscles and cracking joints. They did not cheer her for exercising her powers. No, they ignored her.
She was right. He had lied to her.
He had spent so long with rebels who listened to their females that he had forgotten how badly traditionalists behaved. Or perhaps Aiycaya ignored its brides more than the other cities.
From the moment he’d brought Harmony to this island she had been in terrible danger and now he had failed on every level to protect her.
His soul wept.
First Lieutenant Tibe pointed his trident at King Kayo. “This is why you should have taken away your sacred bride.”
The king flushed. “We were leaving. You moved too quickly.”
Tibe’s lips curled in a snarl. “Leave us now.”
King Kayo supplicated Harmony. “Come, my sacred bride.”
She hugged herself, shaking with fear and anger. “No.”
“Your destiny lies with me.”
“No, no.”
“But you must—”
“No! Look.” She swallowed hard and faced the king with noble sacrifice in her eyes. “I already said I would go with you. As your sacred bride even.”
“If you promised not to hurt him.” She glared at the hot-pink male. “Okay? Do you understand?”
The male understood, and he looked at Faier strangely. “I understand your words.”
“So? Your answer? Will you agree?” Her voice shook.
Faier couldn’t help himself. His chest vibrated. “Do not join with him.”
“No, Faier.” She whipped to him. Fearless, unflinching, she looked past his scars and straight into his eyes. Into his heart. Into his soul. “I don’t understand if you drugged me or if it was an accident.”
He shook his head. He had done neither.
“But you’ve only tried to help me, and I can’t watch you get hurt like Monsieur Joseph or my cousin or…” She swallowed again. “I can’t fight these guys. I can’t even swim. My one idea to distract them with the crocodile backfired and got you caught.”
He shook his head again. She had not distracted him. His body had failed.
“But being a useless prize who sits on a shelf, helpless, is something I can do.” She saw his refusal and her vibrations broke. “I don’t want this either. If you have another idea, tell me now.”
He needed her to save herself. Not worry about him.
But she was exactly the same. She wanted to save him and not worry about herself.
No, Harmony. Please. I could not live without you. You must save yourself.
She turned to King Kayo. “Promise you won’t harm Faier. Promise you’ll let him go.”
King Kayo shrugged. “I will not harm him.”
“Okay.” She squared her shoulders. “Okay, then. I’ll go with you.”
Faier’s heartbeat thudded in his ears.
The battle wasn’t over.
She wiggled her small human legs and feet, barely moving. The king flicked closer and folded her into his arms. She rested her forearms on his chest to keep a distance between their bodies.
Watching her choice ripped Faier’s heart in half.
“Harmo—”
Tibe wrenched Faier’s head back. His jaw radiated pain. “Silence.”
Harmony struggled in King Kayo’s arms. “You promised not to hurt him!”
King Kayo looked surprised. “I am not.”
“Your people are.”
“He fights his fate.”
“You’re supposed to let him go!”
“My sacred bride, that is impossible.”
“But you promised!”
“I promised not to cause harm. And I am not.” His cocky tone and attitude said he had only agreed to the part of the promise he’d intended to keep. Now, he acted as though he had won. “I keep my vow.”