by Katie May
done fast.
“Give me your sword, Z!” Dair called up to me. I hesitated, only a
second, before releasing the sword from the strap on my back and tossing it
into the water. Dair caught it expertly before taking a deep, shuddering
breath.
And then his body cleaved in half. Before I could even scream, those
halves turned into fourths and the fourths turned into eighths. Soon, there
were dozens of fishes in the place of my mate, all swimming in separate
directions to surround the Kraken. I had no idea what had happened to my
sword, but I trusted Dair had a plan.
The Kraken opened its mouth and released a roar. Row after row of teeth,
various shades of brown, sat crookedly in its gaping mouth, and air from the
roar blew my hair back. It smelled of decaying fish and blood, permeating the
air in a sickly perfume.
That one eye remained trained on me. All it needed to do was reach out a
tentacle...
I hooked the arrow into the bow and leveled it at the monster. Pulling the
taut string back, I waited until that one eye was in my direct line of vision.
And then, I released the arrow.
It flew through the air with a blistering speed, landing directly in the
Kraken’s eye. Its cry this time was anguished, pained, and the sea creature
withered. The arrow protruded from the milky, sunken eyeball, black blood
drizzling down the creature’s face.
With a newfound vengeance, the Kraken wrapped its tentacles around the
boat, shaking it. I let out a squeal as I was roughly thrown against the siding,
my head hitting metal and black spots forming in my vision.
“You okay, Bash?” I asked, staggering back to my feet.
He ignored me, eyes still squeezed shut and lips moving rapidly even
though he was on the ground.
The tentacles crushed the side of the boat, and water gushed through the
many holes now adorning the side.
“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Apparently, I was encompassing Bash’s use of
language. There was not a word in the dictionary that could encompass the
epic clusterfuck we had found ourselves in.
I turned my attention back towards the Kraken’s head just in time to see
two dozen fishes lunging from the water. One of the tentacles retreated from
the boat to swat at the onslaught of fish, and panic tightened my stomach.
Dair...
The man in question materialized on the top of the Kraken’s meaty body,
sword in hand. Without preamble, he jabbed the sword into the creature’s
head.
Once more, the Kraken bellowed and bucked its body. Dair held the hilt
of the sword, but the movements of the Kraken were getting more and more
volatile. With a cry, Dair was brutally tossed off its body and landed with a
deafening splash into the water.
“Dair!” I screamed, but I didn’t have time to worry about my Mermaid
mate. The Kraken had already turned its attention back to me, a tangible
incandescent fury burning in his one bloody eye.
Bash’s voice grew to a scream as he finished his incantation, and he
smiled in smug satisfaction.
Only to have the smile change to horror as the Kraken grew. And grew.
And grew.
His form continued to expand until it blocked out the sun, coating the
water and surrounding landscapes in darkness.
“What the fuck, Bash?” I screamed, not daring to pull my attention away
from the hideous monster.
“Shit!” My Mage scrambled to his feet, eyes wide. “That wasn’t supposed
to happen!”
“No shit!”
I grabbed a second arrow and placed it in my bow, pulling the string
back. The second I would’ve let it loose, I felt something slimy wrap around
my feet. I only had a second to scream before I was dragged off the edge of
the boat and into the water.
My ears rang, head reverberating with pain from where it had bounced off
the railing.
And then, I was submerged completely in water.
The change was so sudden, so abrupt, that I didn’t have time to inhale
before I was pulled beneath the freezing water. Panic clawed up my chest as I
desperately twisted my body. The Kraken’s tentacle still held my leg in an
iron vise.
I was going to die, I realized with a vivid clarity. And my death wouldn’t
be from assassins or from Kings.
But a damn sea creature.
I was going to drown.
Black spots penetrated my vision, and I desperately wanted to gasp for
air. The need was so strong, and my lungs were burning. One tiny inhale...
I was yanked from the water abruptly. Coughing, I only had a second to
see that I was dozens of feet away from the boat and still clutched in the
Kraken’s grasp before I was pulled back under.
Like the others, the Kraken didn’t seem to want me dead. Instead, he was
taking me somewhere.
No, not somewhere, but to someone.
Aaliyah.
The she-bitch had some explaining to do.
Strong hands wrapped around my arm, tugging. I didn’t even have to
open my eyes to know that it was Dair. Relief filled me instantly.
I wished I could open my eyes, could see, but I had to rely on sound and
touch instead. The guttural roar of the Kraken. The release of the tentacle
around my leg.
The sweet, sweet air as I was pulled out of the water.
I gasped, coughing wildly, and Dair patted my back.
The Kraken continued to roar, and it was only then that I noticed one of
his tentacles was shorter than the others. Dair must’ve cut it off to save me.
“Are you okay?” Dair yelled. Even treading water inches from me, he
was difficult to hear over the Kraken’s bellow and the rippling waves.
I nodded to tell him I was, though my throat burned and my body felt
leaden. Still, I couldn’t focus on the many aches and pains vibrating down my
body.
He cupped the back of my head and brought me into a quick, desperate
kiss. His hands rested on the back of my thighs as he lifted me.
And then I was flying, flying, flying through the air, landing sharply on
the nearest landmass. I screamed as pain radiated up my now broken leg.
“Fuck,” I cried. Unbidden, my eyes traveled to the skin. From the
Kraken’s tentacles, black and blue bruises covered the pasty skin of my leg.
Red welts, like ones you would get from too tight rope, intermingled. And
from Dair’s throw...
My leg was twisted backwards, the brittle bone peeking through.
The pain was immediate and intense, unlike anything I had ever felt
before. A strangled sob got caught in my throat.
Still, I tried to amble to my feet, using a nearby tree as leverage. The
shooting pain clambered up my leg, and I immediately fell back down with a
cry and curse.
In the water, Dair still fought the Kraken. Or, at the very least, attempted
to fight. It was apparent to me that it was a losing battle.
He dodged and parried, sword stabbing any expanse of skin it could find.
The Kraken cried, obviously in pain, but did not relent its ruthless assault.
I watched in horror as the Kraken batted Dair away as if he was nothing
more than a pesky bug. My Mermaid mate went flying, blond hair
disappearing into the thicket of trees.
He didn’t return.
I waited, breath held.
Please, Dair. Please. Please be okay.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the Kraken turned his face towards me. I didn’t
know how he knew where I was, how he sensed me, but the single eye in his
head seemed to narrow into a thin slit. I remained frozen on the ground,
shivering.
Dair, please. Please.
The Kraken, oblivious to my desperate pleas, unfurled another long
tentacle. It slithered through the water and onto the grassy shoreline that I
was lying on.
The monster suddenly released a wailing sound, head canting backwards,
before it began to shrink.
And shrink.
And shrink.
Soon, it was the size of a large fish bobbing inside the water, single eye
wide and fearful.
I whipped my head in the direction of the now sinking boat. Bash stood
on the railing, one hand tightly gripping the white sail and the other raised.
“That,” Bash called, breathing heavy, “was what I meant to do the first
time.”
All I managed to do was release a giddy, dazed laugh/cry mixture before
darkness consumed me.
THIRTY
DAIR
Ishook my head rapidly from side to side, but it did little to clear the
fogginess in my brain.
My body ached, pain radiating down my sides and to my legs.
I tried to recall what had happened, how I had ended up here, but the
memory eluded me. I squeezed my eyelids shut, waiting.
Something had happened...
Water…
Monster…
Z...
I scrambled upright, wincing at the initial stab of pain in my stomach,
before running through the trees.
Memories bombarded me with a dizzying clarity. The Kraken. Z. The
fight. The asshole monster tossing me through a forest and into a tree.
Z.
Her name echoed in my head, giving me the strength to run through the
pain. What felt like hours later but was probably nothing more than a few
minutes, I broke through the treeline and landed waist deep in water.
Immediately, I felt my body change. The stretching sensation wasn’t
uncomfortable, just strange. My tail emerged, and I kicked it out wildly,
splashing up water.
Holding my breath, I surveyed my surroundings.
The ship was completely submerged in water, only the side railing
visible. It must’ve tipped at some point, water greedily swallowing it whole.
There was no Kraken that I could see, and the sea was almost calm. It was a
direct contrast to what we had just experienced.
On the shoreline, Bash knelt over Z. It was there that I headed, pushing
the water aside with each breast stroke.
“Is she okay?” I asked roughly, pulling myself out of the water. My tail
was instantly replaced by two long legs.
Bash ignored me, perspiration beading on his forehead. His eyes were
closed as his hands hovered over Z’s form, a golden glow emitting from his
hands.
Healing magic.
Most Mages didn’t have that type of powerful magic, the magic capable
of defying death itself. From all I knew about my Mage brother, Bash didn’t
have it either.
So how the hell was he healing her?
As I watched, transfixed, the skin on her leg kneaded back together,
taking on a light pink pallor. My stomach twisted when I thought about how
she had obtained those bruises and red welts.
How she had broken her leg.
Disgust filled me, disgust directed at myself, but I pushed it aside. I had
been trying to protect her. Who was better to take on a sea creature than a sea
prince?
Bash finally removed his hands from above Z. His breathing was ragged,
but his eyes, when he opened them, were clear. They flickered to my naked
stomach, the skin between his brows crinkling.
“You’re hurt,” he said stiffly, and I followed his gaze. I must’ve bruised
myself when I had landed. The skin was already taking on an onyx black and
light blue color. I knew that cuts marred the length of my body - both from
the tentacles and my fall through sharp branches - but it was nothing serious.
I would live.
“I’m fine,” I said, pushing his hands away when he moved to heal me.
Healing magic took a lot out of a person, and the last thing we needed was
Bash incapacitated. Speaking of healing magic... “What the hell was that?” I
blurted, nodding towards the mended flesh on Z’s legs. Her chest was rising
and falling steadily, and I couldn’t help but inch closer to her, peering down
at her beautiful face. She looked so peaceful asleep. Younger. Vulnerable.
Her golden hair, matted with blood and dried seawater, was splayed around
her.
Keeping my gaze on Z, I addressed Bash. “And what happened back on
the boat with the Kraken? Why the hell did you help him grow?”
Bash made a nonsensical noise in the back of his throat.
“I don’t fucking know,” he admitted harshly. “I don’t know how I was
able to heal Z when I never had healing magic before. I don’t know why my
spell misfired and made the Kraken grow instead of shrink. I. Don’t. Know.”
I glanced up then, only to see Bash’s eyes fixed on Z. There was a
tenderness in his gaze I had never seen before. A warmth. His hand absently
reached out to stroke the smooth skin of her inner wrist.
“My magic,” Bash continued softly before breaking off. He swallowed
hard. “My magic is acting...wonky. It’s not listening to me. It’s not behaving
the way it should.”
“Do you think it’s because of the tension?” I asked, stroking Z’s hair out
of her face.
“Tension?” Bash glanced up in alarm.
I nodded towards our sleeping mate. “Between you guys. It’s not
normal.”
He bit down on his lip, expression contemplative. He didn’t seem angry
by my observation, only a little sad. I knew that he cared for her more than he
had ever cared for anyone before...and I also knew that it terrified him. He
had these feelings, feelings for her, that he didn’t know how to deal with
because he was afraid of getting hurt. Afraid of the consequences of falling in
love.
It was tearing a wedge between the two of them. A chasm that one of
them would have to jump before they could be a whole.
“Maybe,” Bash agreed after a long moment.
A splashing sound had us both turning. Immediately, Bash jumped to his
feet, swaying slightly from his depletion of magic, and held Z’s dagger out in
front of him. I must’ve lost my sword in the woods, but I begged the water to
heed my call. Instantaneously, the water rose from behind the creature, an
impenetrable barrier trapping it with us.
The Kraken pulled its small body onto land and crawled over to Z, long
tentacles digging into the grass. Bash lowered his dagger, preparing to stab
the ugly fucker, before he paused.
The Kraken was cuddling against Z’s prone body, desperate sobs
escaping it.
“What the hell?” Bash asked.
Friend, the water whispered to me. Don’t kill friend.
“Friend?” I asked in disbelief, and Bash turned to look at me as if I was
crazy. Ignoring him, I stared out into the ocean. “How the fuck is this asshole
my friend?”
Friend, the water insisted.
The Kraken slipped underneath Z’s arm, curling around her body like
some damn spider monkey. My poor mate moaned, and I immediately
dropped to my knees beside her.
She moaned again before she flickered her beautiful eyes open, and I was
lost in her fiery gaze.
“Z?” I whispered. Bash moved to kneel on her other side. His hand was
desperately gripping at her wrist, releasing it, only to grab it once more.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I had my leg broken by an asshole Mermaid who thought I couldn’t
protect him and myself,” she said dryly, and I winced, smiling sheepishly.
Yup. She was pissed about that.
She blinked rapidly, no doubt blinking away the fatigue, before her gaze
rested on the tiny asshole still curled around her side releasing pitiful cries. Z
glanced back up at me.
“Why the hell is the Kraken cuddled up to me?” she asked. Her eyes
roamed over my body, and my cock hardened when heat rose to her gaze.
“And why the fuck are you naked?”
THIRTY-ONE
Z
Inamed him Slippy.
Why? Because the damn bastard constantly slipped through my
fingers. Trying to hold him was like trying to push back a wave. And
yes, it was a he. I made a very reluctant and pissed off Bash look.
Now, the two of us sat huddled on the dock where we had gotten the boat
from while Slippy swam in the water. One of Bash’s palms was pressed
down on the ground behind my back, and I used his position to lean against
his shoulder.
The water rippled against the shoreline, an endless abyss of blue green
and glimmering pseudo-diamonds.
After two, excruciating hours, Dair returned. We had unanimously
decided for him to swim to the spot the map had indicated. Not only was he
faster than an average boat, but he knew the area better than anyone.
Whatever the King wanted us to find, he would find.
Only...
“There was nothing there,” Dair said, climbing out of the water. Dair’s
clothes were destroyed in the boat, so Bash handed the Mermaid his shirt.