by Starla Night
He screamed, “Help me, Harmony!”
She arrested and turned blindly. On cue, the Life Tree flashed. Tibe jolted.
Of course. Because she used her powers to help him. Not herself.
Her little house guardian flew into the city, arms akimbo, and bashed into Chiba. The warrior released her and hunched over his abdomen as if a ball of lead had struck him. Lady whirled and wrapped all her arms around Kusi’s head, beak boring into the teal-and-white warrior’s forehead. He released Harmony with a scream.
Faier jerked his trident free from Tibe and kicked away from the injured warrior.
“No.” Tibe hugged his injured hand, pale and even more furious. “Warriors! She is the poison. Eject her!”
The warriors milled. At Tibe’s command, they snapped to attention and turned on Harmony.
“No!” Elder Bawa raised both hands. “Stop! You will only injure yourselves. Save your strength for the All-Council!”
“Attack!” Tibe shouted.
Faier fought through them to reach Harmony first.
So long as she was in the city, her presence would divide the warriors.
Harmony turned to Faier and closed her eyes.
Click. Click click. Click click click.
Iridescent rainbow specks surrounded Harmony. She commanded the mantis shrimp. They landed on the stunned warriors.
She opened her eyes on Tibe. “I said you’d regret it.”
Tibe’s smile faltered. “You are immune. But not… What is this?”
BOOM.
Chaos erupted as the warriors scattered.
Faier’s chest stung.
She flew to Faier. “Ow! I’m sorry.”
Click click click.
“Harmony, we must go.”
“I know.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
King Kayo watched them, one hand pressed to his heart, worry mixed with resignation, as if he knew he might never see his sister again.
Harmony held his gaze until the first round of castles cut them off.
Then, she fixed her eyes on the city as they escaped it. And long after.
“This will not be your final view of Aiycaya.” Faier kicked hard, navigating currents and watching for smart predators. “We will get help and return.”
“Get help from where?”
He would save her city. He would save her.
Because Faier was not an exile. He was a warrior. A citizen of two cities. Connected with friends.
“From Atlantis.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
They crossed the ocean.
Harmony had failed. Once again, she’d lost her home. She’d tried so hard this time to keep it. And King Kayo had stopped fighting to watch her leave.
Yes, he really was like her.
Make them listen…
She jolted in Faier’s arms. “Am I doing the right thing?”
He broke his steady stride. Below, spires of barren rock flew by as the fast current carried them to Atlantis. Her arms wrapped around his torso, over the trident he held tight to his side.
“What do you mean?”
“Running away.”
“We are not running away from danger. We are running toward allies.”
Yes. That too was weird. She’d felt alone for so long. Striking out with her true mate to return with a stronger force seemed crazy.
Was that the source of her unease?
Time passed differently under water. Which meant several days had already passed. Had the All-Council representative returned and wiped out the Life Tree? She felt so anxious.
“You have a doubt,” he noted. Always calm, that Faier.
“Yeah, I guess I do.” Her heart thudded in her chest. She rubbed her skin, trying to soothe the nervous feeling. When she’d lifted off US soil for the last time, the runway had felt way too short and she’d felt every bump. “Atlantis is half the ocean away. What if we don’t make it in time?”
“Then you will know.”
“How will I know?”
“You will know,” he repeated heavily. “Your heart will rip out its roots. Sour sickness will rise in your throat. Tight bands will constrict your chest. You will not eat. You will not breathe. And your colors will fade.”
“My colors?” She lifted her hand off his comforting broad chest and examined her thumb. The small chevron was DayGlo pink. “This will fade to skin color?”
“It will darken and gray like a wilted plant.”
“Yours weren’t always dark mauve?”
“My tattoos were once a bright purple you call lavender.”
She stroked the dark lines of his skin. Now they were a deep gray-tinted purple, or mauve, and they lacked iridescence. “Are they gone forever?”
“Perhaps, someday, my soul will heal enough to form new tattoos. My history will start again.”
The lines she had traced to unite his tattoos glimmered stark red. His scars had healed. But his tattoos had not returned.
Because he had not accepted a Life Tree?
“You’ve accepted me,” she blurted. “Haven’t you?”
He kicked steadily. “Hmm?”
“Our souls united. Right?”
“Yes, Harmony.”
“But you still haven’t fully healed?”
His aura dimmed.
He was hiding something from her.
Faier? Hiding?
“What is it?” she demanded.
“No. I do not know. It is nothing.”
She shoved back, putting distance between them in the current so she could look him in eye. “I’m a mer. So my tattoos are shiny because of the Aiycaya Life Tree. And we’re together. So I should heal you.”
His troubled gaze held hers. He rubbed his red-scratched skin. “I am healed. More now than ever before.”
“So what’s the holdup? Your skin is healed.”
“My body is healed,” he confirmed.
“So what is it? Your heart?”
“Warriors do not speak of hearts, Harmony. But please understand that any part of my body belongs to you.”
“Then, what?” The answer smacked her even as the words left her vibrating chest. “Your soul. Mermen are all about souls. Ours are entwined. Everybody said so. You haven’t fully committed your soul?”
“I have committed everything I can commit.”
Her stomach dropped. “What kind of answer is that?”
He avoided her gaze. “Losing Nerissa was very difficult.”
“And what am I?”
“You are…the female I wish to be my mate.”
“You wish? You wish? We should be long past the wishing stage. Why aren’t we long past that stage?”
He had no answer for her. “I have been an exile for a long time.”
“You’re not an exile any longer. I’m your home.”
But this was a huge problem. No wonder she felt so anxious. Faier promised allies in Atlantis, a foreign city she knew nothing about, and he hadn’t even fully committed to her as his mate.
“Do you even love me?” she demanded.
His gaze flashed. He drew her into his arms. “Yes.”
She felt the power of his love wrapping around her, heating the water, forming an impenetrable layer of safety. He loved her. Loving her wasn’t the problem.
“I cannot lose you.” His chest vibrated roughly. Ragged with his love and his fear. “If I lose you as I lost Nerissa, then I will die.”
That was a very reasonable fear.
She squeezed him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You also have doubts. You do not have control of your queen powers. Why can you not drive off an army and protect the city?”
“That’s why the slimy representative was freaking out?”
“Yes. For you, it must be easy. Every step has come more easily to you.”
“Did those other queens have total commitment from their partners?”
He set his jaw. “Yes.”
And she didn’t hav
e his total commitment yet. So the logical thing was to continue on to Atlantis, gather Faier’s friends into an army, and invade her city to protect it.
Not much in her life had gone according to logic.
“I want to go back to Aiycaya.” As soon as she vibrated it, transmitting the thought through the water into reality, she felt calm. Certain. Strong. “Let’s go.”
“Harmony. You have not yet mastered your powers.”
“You said all I had to do was believe.”
“And you do not.”
“I have a plan. Please, Faier. This is right. Going back is what I have to do.”
He kicked out of the fast current, swam through the open water, and sought a current to return them to Aiycaya. She studied the barren land, the deep trenches, and the strange yet familiar creatures veering away from them at these brilliant depths. Giant millipedes, shiny eels with spots instead of eyes, and tiny hydras that floated like the blown bits of a dandelion casting wishes upon the deep.
Faier entered the swift current flowing in the opposite direction. Relief filled her as they flew back toward Aiycaya.
He kicked. “What is your plan?”
“Develop my powers on the way.” She nuzzled him and kissed his earlobe. “And convince you to fall completely in love with me.”
His cock hardened against her thigh.
Encouraging.
She sucked on the lobe and licked the sensitive skin beneath.
He shuddered. “I do love you. Never doubt I love you.”
“Convince me.” She encircled his hard cock. “I can see your aura, you know. You’ve always had an honest aura.”
“Soul light.”
“Is that what the mer call it?” She placed soft kisses along his jaw. “Yours is beautiful.”
He groaned. “Harmony.”
She tangled her legs with his, entwining with him in the huge, open tent of the ocean.
His cock entered her, and their bodies joined into one.
She loved him. She trusted him. She needed him.
And when the orgasm took her, she closed her eyes.
On the insides of her lids, she saw stars.
Faier made her strong. He took the strength she already possessed and showed her she could grow even stronger
All her life, people had denied her strength. Hidden it. Tried to capture and twist it for their own ends.
Her mother had hidden her strength out of love. Lifet had tried to exploit it out of greed. The warriors of Aiycaya had out of ignorance and then fear.
With Faier’s help, she broke free.
Harmony was capable of more than she had ever dreamed. Now, she needed to find her wellspring. The heart fed by Aiycaya’s Life Tree.
Before it was too late.
They made love again on the return trip. Then they reached the outside edge of city territory. Familiar spires appeared, and coral grew from barren rock.
The distant glow of Aiycaya’s Life Tree warmed her soul. It lived on. She was not yet too late.
An army surrounded the city.
She tensed.
“Prepare yourself,” Faier warned. “We may have to fight.”
A fearful lump settled in the pit of her stomach. “O-okay.”
He barreled out of the current.
A war party of strange, dangerous warriors surrounded them. “Yield, strangers! Or die.”
Her heart thundered in her chest. This was the time to show her strength. Show amazing powers. Even though she didn’t know how.
She would fight.
Chapter Thirty
Faier felt Harmony keying up in his arms. Tensing. Preparing.
He untucked his trident from his side.
This would become a very messy fight very quickly.
“Yield, warriors.” A confident warrior in pepper orange grinned at them. “This city is under siege by order of King Kadir and Queen Elyssa of Atlantis.”
Harmony’s fire went out. “Atlantis?”
“Yep.” He jerked an angular, previously broken thumb over his shoulder. “They have our buddy Faier in there, and—”
“Gailen?” Faier released Harmony, separating from her so that the young male could see him. “What are you doing here?”
“Faier!” Gailen’s jaw dropped. He rubbed his forehead and laughed. “You are on the wrong side of the siege! Or, I guess, you are on the right side. But how?”
“Is the city okay?” Harmony asked. “Is King Kayo all right?”
Gailen’s friendliness cooled. “You are?”
“This is Harmony.” Faier squared his shoulders. “My soul mate.”
“Mate!” Gailen’s smile returned full force. “Welcome.”
Harmony interrupted. “And also Aiycaya’s queen.”
“Ah. Okay. I think some people are desperate to speak with you. Come on.”
He indicated for his second-in-command, a warrior Faier did not know, to close the patrol around them. The warriors formed up neatly. A well-ordered patrol from a well-ordered city.
“But what are you doing here?” Faier asked as they swam, hands linked with Harmony, after the peppery warrior.
“You may not know this, but I am from Aiycaya.” Gailen pointed at a flat rock jutting above the verdant coral. “That is where the fish-excrement first lieutenant Tibe broke my thumbs to keep me from escaping.”
Harmony’s soul flared. “I’ve met him. He is fish excrement.”
“And I escaped anyway.” Gailen flew sideways, rolling over his former territory. “More warriors joined our army than we intended. Queen Elyssa would turn no one away.”
Away? He still hadn’t answered Faier’s question. “Gailen, why is an Atlantis army besieging Aiycaya?”
“To free you, of course.” He wove to the central knot of strategists around the king and queen. “Look, everyone! Faier is free!”
A wild celebration surrounded them. Warriors patted, hugged, and rejoiced over his safe return.
King Kadir gripped his arm. His silver-streaked eyes gleamed. “It is very good to see you, Faier.”
He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. “Sir.”
“Yes, you look wonderful!” Queen Elyssa threw her arms around him and squeezed him in a soft hug.
The lump grew.
He tried to swallow it. His chest vibrated awkwardly. “Where is young Prince Kael?”
“At home. Lucy and Torun are holding down the fort.” Queen Elyssa released Faier with a friendly pat and then entwined herself with King Kadir. “We’re past weaning, and he’s guarded by so many beloved uncles. There’s nothing like a little siege to enjoy couple time.” She squeezed King Kadir.
King Kadir smiled at her indulgently.
“But why…” The lump cut off his words.
“We overheard your capture in a message from Aiycaya to the All-Council,” King Kadir said. “I asked for volunteers to free you. You see the result.”
“It took longer to organize because so many warriors volunteered,” Queen Elyssa said. “It warmed my heart but was kind of stressful. I hoped we weren’t too late.”
“But…”
King Kadir raised a brow. “But?”
Faier gestured at his chest. “Why?”
The king and queen looked at each other like they didn’t understand his question. Then something seemed to dawn on Queen Elyssa. “You mean, why did we set off with an army to cross the ocean and come to your rescue?”
He nodded.
Queen Elyssa’s smile softened. “Maybe you don’t remember, but my husband has spent time in prison. The experience sucks.”
“It is not pleasant,” King Kadir agreed.
“But also, you’re you.” She pressed a gentle hand on Faier’s forearm. “You defended our city and saved our lives a dozen times. You welcomed me to Atlantis when I was new and terrified of making a mistake. You’re like a symbol of the rebellion.”
“You have represented us honorably to our enemies and to our friends,” Kadir said.
“If I could do anything to help you, I’d be there. In an instant.”
Around her, everyone nodded.
His chest shuddered.
“So here we are.” She smiled, her human eyes red, and she swallowed hard. “You’re one of us, Faier. You’ve risked your life for us so many times. We’ll always come to your rescue.”
He shook his head. Silently asking, yet again, why?
The representative had told Elder Bawa the rebels didn’t value him. It had been too easy to believe. In comparison, the idea that his fellow rebels valued him so much was impossible to believe.
King Kadir chuckled and gripped his arm. “If you must ask again, you do not know your worth. Listen to my queen. She will explain until you understand. She has such patience.”
“I need to hear the important words more than once myself,” Queen Elyssa agreed cheerfully. “But if you’re free, we can save it for the return trip. Let’s pack up.”
Gailen interrupted. “And this is Faier’s mate, Queen of Aiycaya, Harmony.”
Everyone swung to Harmony, who had been pushed out of the inner circle by the sheer joy of his fellow citizens. Surprise and welcome filled the water.
“Welcome, human female,” someone said.
“Human? No.” She held up a palm, stopping Queen Elyssa mid-hug. “Check my tattoo. I’m a mer.”
New amazement shook his friends. “Mer? A female mer? Secret, in Aiycaya, all along?”
He kicked to Harmony’s side, desperate to ease her transition to the warriors who had become his family. “Queen Elyssa is from Miami, Harmony.”
“I was born near there but I was raised in Iowa.”
“Nice to meet you.” Queen Elyssa’s soul burned eagerly, but she clasped her hands in front of her to respect Harmony’s reserved nature. “Have you been queen of Aiycaya long?”
“My whole life, it turns out, but I only found out about it a few…what? Days ago?”
“That must have been surprising.”
“Oh, you have no idea. One day, I’m shipwrecked, and the next, I’m a queen.”
Queen Elyssa’s eyes widened. “Of course! You dismantled a Haitian drug-smuggling operation and got thrown overboard.”
Harmony’s soul brightened. “You know what happened?”
“We got more details because the Coast Guard had to explain what happened to Faier. The teacher who helped you got hurt, and your cousin was kidnapped.”