by C. W. Gray
King Ren turned cold eyes on Talia. “The curse is unavoidable. This is my kingdom and you, my heir, rebel against the wishes of my advisors. Another generation of the Rees family is betrayed.”
“Father,” she said and drew her spear, tears in her eyes. “Don’t make me do this. The mating call is sacrosanct. Would you truly do something so heinous and sterilize your son because he has a guppy tail?”
Lord Eades settled his hand on the King’s shoulder and gave them a satisfied look. “It is for the best, your majesty. The guppy prince has never had the proper decorum that is required from the royal family.”
“Your majesty,” Ervin said, hand outstretched. “Please don’t listen to him.”
“He won’t compromise,” Dover said. The buzzing hurt so much. He leaned into Shauna. He didn’t want to see Talia kill their father.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Ben said, then bent to kiss Dover’s cheek. “Be right back, love.”
“Ben,” Dover hissed, pushing away from Shauna and following his mate to the base of the throne. “What are you doing?”
A group of lords pushed forward to grab Ben and Dover squeaked.
A loud hiss came from behind them and a large crocodile moved to stand between the lords and the throne, snapping his jaws at the air. A beaver waddled behind him, snarling at the crowd pushing in.
The lords and the rest of the crowd quickly moved back.
“Your majesty,” Ben said, nodding. “You know what’s happening here, but it doesn’t have to. Today doesn’t have to be the day that another generation of the Rees family died because of the Sea Witch’s curse.”
Dover’s father looked Ben up and down, face impassive. “I am King of the Southern Silver Isles. This is my duty.”
“No, it’s not,” Ben said, smacking at Dover’s hands as he tried to pull him back. “This is you going along with an idiot’s plan to take control of your throne. This is you giving the curse its power. If you order this, your children will rebel. Princess Talia will take your throne and Lord Eades will have more ammunition to turn the people against your family.”
Lord Eades’ face lit up. “Perhaps it is time for a new ruler. A new bloodline would be free of the curse. Our nobility would be free of this undignified behavior.”
Fergus moved quickly and punched the man, watching him as he fell. “Don’t you dare insult King Ren and his family.”
Kai circled Romeu and Eloise and moved close to King Ren, pausing to kick Lord Eades’ gut while we struggled to sit up. “Did Eades actually just say what I think he said?”
“Guards,” Lord Eades yelled. “Help me!”
Dover wiggled under Ben’s arm. He was starting to get where Ben was going here. “You don’t have to do this, Father. Do you really want these traditions for your kingdom? Wasn’t it you who worked with your own father to reverse the law requiring all tentacle tailed mers to be sent to The Deep?”
“The curse is unavoidable,” King Ren said again, voice hard. “It’s better that this happens now.”
“Father, please,” Talia said, voice devastated. “I love you.”
The buzzing in Dover’s head grew to a crescendo, and he struggled to follow the conversation.
“She wasn’t supposed to love you, was she?” Ben asked. The mers in the room pushed closer, quiet and listening. “That’s why you’re distant and cold. You don’t want Talia or any of your other children to love you.”
Dover’s father’s mask cracked. “I didn’t want this to be difficult for you, Talia.”
The buzzing suddenly decreased and Dover gasped at the lessoning of pain in his head.
“Lord Eades doesn’t lead you,” Ben said. “You’ve used his vileness to build to this moment, trying to make it an easy decision for Talia.”
“She’s ready to rule,” King Ren said. “She’ll be a wonderful queen.”
“Father,” Talia said, growling. “I won’t kill you. I’ll fucking tie you to a chair and make you sit through one of Lorelai’s boring ass parties.”
“We have so much gossip to share, Father,” Lorelai said from behind them. Dover turned and saw all of his siblings on the other side of Romeu. “I’ll make you judge our dancing competitions and listen to Lori tell us all about her latest conquest. She’s a kinky bitch. You’ll hate it, Father.”
The buzzing lessoned with each word spoken and Dover fought hysterical laughter. Is this really happening?
Ben gave a hoarse laugh. “Fuck, you make me want to cry. You love each and every one of your children, don’t you?” He spun around, facing Dover’s siblings. “Tell me, how many of you receive mystery gifts?”
Dover looked at them and raised his hand. All twelve of his siblings raised their own.
“King Ren and Queen Kelby are the ones giving them to you. They don’t want you to care too deeply for them, but they can’t help but love you all.”
“Mother,” Eugenia said, holding up her wrist to show off a gorgeous bracelet. “You only ever criticize us. Are you and Father really the ones giving us gifts?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Queen Kelby said, wringing her hands. “The curse will happen. We don’t want you all to feel guilty for what you have to do.”
“You love us,” Dover said, softly, not hearing his own voice over the buzz in his head. “Even me.”
King Ren’s face filled with pain. “We love every bit of you, Dover. We love all of you.”
The buzzing stopped and a few heartbeats of sweet silence soothed Dover’s senses.
“Just like you love your mates,” Ben said, grinning. “Right, King Ren?”
“Mates,” Kit said, “As in more than one?”
Dover’s father covered his face with his hands. “Don’t do this, human. Lord Eades and the others will use this as leverage.”
“Fuck Lord Eades and the ones that follow him,” Talia said. “We are the Rees family and we are given the responsibility of ruling this kingdom. We don’t have to wipe his dirty ass for him. He can deal with whatever you’re hiding.”
“You have the support of the guppy tails, your majesty,” Ervin said. “We stand with you.”
“You have my support, your majesty,” one of the younger lords said. Several of the other younger mers nodded with him.
“It isn’t appropriate,” Queen Kelby murmured, eyes pained. “This isn’t wearing the wrong jewelry at a ball. You won’t like it.”
Dover looked at his mother and father, then finally saw what Ben did. Fergus stood close to the throne, pain and worry in his eyes. Fergus was always with either the King or Queen. Always. He blended into the background in his guppy tailed merform and his servant’s uniform.
“Mother, you never told me what happened to your mate,” Dover said.
“Mate? What are you talking about?” Kai said, running his hands through his hair. “I’m so confused. Are we fighting or talking? Can I kick Eades again?”
Queen Kelby stood up, projecting her voice. “I will be brave. I will be like my darling guppy prince.” She looked at the lords and ladies. “Before I met Ren, I heard the mating call. It led me to Fergus.” She waved to the merman standing frozen next to the throne, eyes wide.
“A guppy tail?” Lady Belinda asked, looking horrified. “That’s impossible.”
“Fergus,” Owin said, delight filling his face. “No wonder you didn’t let us set you up with our friends.”
“He is my mate,” Queen Kelby said. “I turned my back on him at my parents’ bidding and became betrothed to Ren. When I finally met Ren, I realized I had a problem. Ren was also my mate.”
Dover leaned into Ben. “I’ve never heard of any mer having two mates before.”
Lord Eades finally made it to his feet. “This is too much. I call for a motion to exile the whole Rees family from our kingdom. They are a blight to our people.”
Yelling and fighting began again.
Kai gripped Lord Eades’ arm. “Guards, detain Lord Eades here. He just committed high treason. Again.�
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King Ren held his hands up and the room went silent. “Yes, the three of us are truly mates. I had just killed my father and become king. I had no wish for a mate to love me. I knew my own children would be faced with the same pain I felt, so I decided that I would not mate Kelby. We would have children and a loveless marriage. I would keep my distance from my family and do my best to create a kingdom that would be worthy of them.”
Dover understood why he would want to do that, but it was a dumb plan. “You couldn’t help but love mother, could you? She was your mate.”
King Ren laughed and the mers gathered around looked shocked. The King never laughed. “Kelby was easy to love. Then Fergus showed up and demanded his mate. Imagine his surprise when he felt the mating call for me too.”
Fergus cleared his throat. “It was… unexpected.”
“This is disgusting,” Lady Belinda said. “Two mates? That’s even worse than simply mating a guppy tail. Lord Eades is correct. It’s clearly time for a new ruler.”
“Shut up, Mother,” Lady Diana said, then turned to watch the King and Queen, hearts in her eyes. “It’s so romantic.”
“The most romantic story ever,” Dover agreed, nodding furiously.
“Because of people like you,” Queen Kelby said, glaring at Lady Belinda, “We decided we couldn’t openly mate our Fergus. We’ve been forced to hide our relationship for all these years.”
“You can love one another openly now,” Lady Diana said, sighing happily.
“Nonsense,” an older lord said. “The royal family is out of control. No one has two mates. This immoral behavior will ruin our kingdom.”
“Kai,” Talia said, nodding at their brother.
“Gladly,” Kai said and moved to punch the lord, waving happily at him as he fell unconscious.
“Such violence,” Lady Belinda said. “This is horrible.”
“Mother, I will hit you for Prince Kai if you don’t hush,” Lady Diana said. “Let our King and Queen tell their story.
Queen Kelby smiled at the younger woman. “We’ve loved one another behind closed doors almost from the moment I married Ren. I’ve birthed seven of Ren’s children.”
Ervin grinned. “Fergus, how many children have you had?”
Fergus met Dover’s stare, eyes watering. “Six. We always secluded Kelby so it seemed like they were hers.”
Dover’s breath hitched and he hugged Ben’s arm. Fergus was his father.
Kelby, wiped her eyes. “My dutiful ladies have always been most loyal and helpful. When Dover was born, they even started the rumor that one of my ancestors had an affair with a guppy tail so no one would suspect anything.”
Dover turned around, staring at the six mermaids that always attended his mother. They watched the Queen, tears in their eyes.
“Well, that explains why you were always given so much time off,” Ervin said, patting Fergus on the back.
Talia took a deep breath. “Okay. I call for a motion to remove our heads from our asses and recognize King Ren, Queen Kelby, and King Fergus.”
A resounding aye drowned out the older lords and ladies who protested. Queen Kelby pulled Fergus up on the dais between her and King Ren.
Talia nodded. “Motion passed. Now, guards, detain any lord or lady that suggested removing the Rees family from the throne. That is treason and the dumbasses don’t even seem to realize it.”
The guards whooped and did as they were told. Kai picked up the unconscious lord’s body and tossed him over his shoulder. “I’ll let him know why he’s in a cell when he wakes up.”
The crowd cheered for a moment, and Dover leaned up and kissed Ben. “Is this really happening? I’m so sorry you had to deal with this, Ben.”
Ben kissed him back, tongue dipping into Dover’s mouth before pulling back. “All this drama, love, and this is still better than you meeting my parents.”
“Father,” Talia said, turning to their parents. “I don’t care about a damn curse. I love you and admire you. You’re a good king when you’re not deferring to Eades, and as long as you do right by our family and our people, I will proudly stand beside you.”
Dover sniffed and raised his hand. “Me too, Father.”
“Me too,” Lorelei said, raising her hand.
“Ditto,” Kit said, smiling and raising his hand.
One by one each of Dover’s siblings joined in.
“We stand with you, Father,” Eugenia said. She looked at Fergus. “I’m yours too, aren’t?”
Fergus gasped, then nodded. “Yes. I carried you and gave birth to you, Eugenia. We named you after my grandmother.” He looked at Dover. “Dover is my surname.”
“Wait,” Lorelei said, face twisting in disgust. “I just realized something. You three have group sex, don’t you? This is so gross, but now I can’t unsee it. Father does you, then he does Mother. Oh, goddess make it stop.”
Queen Kelby stomped her foot. “Lorelei, you are in the throne room. How many times do I need to tell you not to discuss sex in public? And would it hurt to wear more than a bikini top and sarong?”
King Ren raised his hands. “I want to make something very clear to you all. Today has changed things. The curse will not hold me back any longer. I have always given my kingdom everything I could, and now I will give that same honesty and devotion to my family. Openly. I’m finished with living for others. Anyone who doesn’t like that is more than welcome to leave my kingdom.”
The lords and ladies remaining in the court cheered.
“I also want to remind you that I am the king of The Southern Silver Isles,” King Ren said. “This is a monarchy and though I appreciate your advice and guidance, I rule. It is time we make new traditions, starting with the loyal and hardworking guppy tailed mers in my kingdom. They make up the largest percentage of our population, yet they have very little representation here. I want you to think of how we can improve this. We’ll meet in two days to discuss it. You are all dismissed.”
At the bottom of The Deep, a large city floated. Eerie lights illuminated the streets, shops, and houses as the tentacle tailed merfolk went about their day.
In the castle at the center of the city, Sea Witch Johanna watched the scene play out in her scrying bowl, her black tentacles fanning out around her. “Marlowe, they’ve done it. The Southern king finally broke his curse.”
Her apprentice blew his bangs out of his eyes. “It’s about time. Do you think Sea Witch Adriane thought it would take them so long?”
“I don’t think she cared at the time,” Johanna said sadly. Her two moray eels swam close, offering comfort. “I don’t think she cared how the curse would drain our power either.”
“It’s becoming harder to keep the gate closed,” Marlowe said, rubbing his shoulder. “It nearly opened today. I literally had to hold the gate shut until we renewed the seals.”
Johanna watched the Rees family gather together in the throne room, finally speaking to one another and forging the bonds that would hold them together for generations more. Well, assuming the gate doesn’t fall and release the creature into the world. Then, everyone will just die, she thought.
“We need our full power. We’ve had far too many close calls.” She waved her hand over the bowl and Prince Tack’s face appeared. He was leading his shark tailed mers in another excavation of a wreck. “One curse down, two to go.”
Chapter 19
Two months later
Ben put the finishing touches on Owin’s anniversary gift for Ervin. It was a picture of the ocean with a herd of hippocampi. Owin’s pearls, stones, and shells each had their own place.
A tug on his shorts made him look down. Shell handed him a small, pink stone.
“Thanks, Shell,” he said with a grin. “That’s just what Ervin’s picture needed.”
Chubber’s mother nodded, then scurried to the playpen, climbing in to check on Shawn. Their son sat up in his pile of blankets and chewed on the soft ear of his stuffed octopus.
“Ben? Are
you in your workshop?” Queen Kelby’s voice came from the hallway.
“In here,” he said, then bent to twist the wire at the edge of a hibiscus at the bottom of the picture. The stone would work perfectly there.
Queen Kelby came in and went straight to Shawn’s playpen. “Are you ready for the beach, my sweet? Grandma will take such good care of you.”
“Are you sure you and the guys are alright with watching all the grandkids?” Ben asked, giving her an amused look. “Does Ren even know how to change a diaper?”
She laughed. “No, but he’ll figure it out. He’s been looking forward to this since you broke him.”
Ben winced. “Does he have to call it that?”
Kelby grinned. “Yes. You broke him, Ben, and now he laughs and smiles and cries. The nobles don’t know how to handle it.”
Ben groaned. “You make it sound like a bad thing.”
She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “It’s the best thing to ever happen to us. We can love each other openly now and we can grow close to our children and grandchildren. We’re so lucky our Dover mated you. Even if you are bringing more humans to the isles for your wedding.”
“It’s just Stewart and his wife,” Ben said, laughing. “That’s just two more humans.”
“Kelby, hurry up,” Fergus said, poking his head in the door. “Dover and the demon chicken are leaving the creek now. I don’t want to be here when it arrives.”
Ben smiled fondly. Now that Ben knew Fergus was Dover’s father, he could it easily in the shape of the mer’s face and the color of his eyes. Even the man’s guppy tail looked almost exactly like Dover’s. He also had Dover’s sweet gullibility.
“Rachael’s been sharpening her beak,” Ben said, giving Fergus an apologetic look. “You better run, man.”
Fergus yelped and ran for the stairs.
Kelby laughed and picked up Shawn’s bag, balancing the baby on her hip. “We’ll see you for dinner tonight. Enjoy a few peaceful moments with your friends before the wedding, dear.”