“The pages are preserved in a wax mixture so that the water does not affect them.” Orion explains, placing a hand on my shoulder and I realise that he is behind me. I turn to look at him and our eyes meet, passion burning deeply within Orion’s face as he watches me explore his world.
“I’m going darling. If you have any problems with the apartment let me know. Oh and it was lovely to meet you Callie!” Marina calls from across the room feeling the mood between us turn personal and we both break our gaze and turn to look at her, smiling in appreciation of her work. Marina turns and leaves, shutting the door behind her. Suddenly we are alone.
“The bedroom is this way.” Orion gestures and I place the book back onto the shelf it came from. Normally the idea of being alone with Orion in a room with a bed would be appealing, but for now, I’m enjoying the lack of distractions provided by legs and everything that comes with them. I find myself enjoying new dimensions of his company that lacks the pressure added by sexual tension. I am peaceful.
I follow him through an arch in the right hand wall that I had not noticed. Pink shells decorate the outside of the archway; they are beautiful and delicate, defining the space simplistically. I swim, slowly flexing the muscles in my tail as I move effortlessly forward and enter the bedroom, which opens up as a large and luxurious space. There is a large four-poster canopy bed similar to the one in Lunar Sanctum except for a few details. The bed is not made of wood but crystal and the drapes on this bed are pinned halfway down to the bedposts so they don’t float freely in the water. There are no sheets on the mattress but it is stacked with pillows and a few fur throws that look heavy. Orion is hovering above the bed and I watch as he stops moving his tail and allows himself to drop through the water and land on top of the furs delicately. The bed is in the centre of the room but I look around and can see more bookshelves, a few leather armchairs, and a pair of double doors that lead out onto a balcony over-looking the city.
“Join me?” Orion requests in a gentle tone and I oblige. It feels odd once I am lying down, swimming onto a bed, though everything here seems odd so I’m hardly surprised. How did they get all this furniture down here? Why don’t these furs don’t feel wet? Once I’m lying down I notice that the ceiling is painted, a mural of mer fighting some kind of huge squid. I feel a little scared, that squid looks terrifying. Orion rolls onto his side, his tail finding its way around mine.
“Do you like the apartment?” He asks innocently, his pale blue eyes and chiselled jaw leaving me, as usual, stunned.
“Yes, it’s beautiful, I’m just a little confused about how this is all possible underwater.” I reply and he smiles.
“Always with the questions Callie, it’s funny; I just accepted everything as it happened when I first turned.” He elaborates on his past and I listen intently.
“Well I guess you came from a time when science wasn’t such a big part of the world. I learned science in school, and this goes against everything I was taught. It’s so confusing.” I say and he sighs placing his hand on my waist and moving his fingers up and down over the curve of my body slowly.
“Okay … well what is confusing you?” He smiles and I feel glad he is trying to help me understand the ‘how’ behind this whole thing.
“Well firstly, how can I hear the harp?” I reply blushing, feeling like my question makes me look unintelligent.
“I suppose that is a question best answered with a little mer anatomy lesson,” he pauses for a second, licks his lips, and then continues, “Our ears can hear frequencies that human ears cannot, that is why as a human who was destined to be mer you could sometimes hear us singing beneath the sea. You can hear the harp and our voices because under the water, we speak at a frequency that can only be heard by those with denser inner ear hair. The increased density makes the hairs more sensitive to sound. Something which, if you look at your head hair, you will see we possess.” The explanation makes sense and yet I am still wondering about so much; I am not satisfied.
“I have so many questions.” I frown and Orion can see I am not content. He takes my hands in his, and looks at me with a serious expression.
“Callie, I promise I will answer any and all questions you have, but you have to accept that this all began a long time ago, in a world of magic and Gods, not of science. What you have learned of the world needs to be forgotten and you just need to understand that you may not be able to explain everything you see or experience anymore.” He confesses.
“But that’s terrifying.” I admit, biting down on my lip.
“Don’t be scared Callie, you are in a world of power and magic now. You’re in my world.” He smiles and kisses me gently on the lips.
“But I am scared, and I am scared because nothing here follows any rules and anything can happen.” I realise the words are truer than I want to admit as they leave my lips and Orion strokes my cheek. I reach up and stroke the side of his face too, tracing the definite lines of his cheekbones and moving my fingers down his neck and onto his chest.
“This is nothing you can’t handle Callie, just trust me, can you do that for now?” Orion asks of me this one simple thing and I cannot deny him, I find it too easy to oblige.
“I trust you with my life.” I confess and he smiles.
“So what other questions do you have?” He breathes, looking exhausted from all my probing. I can tell he isn’t used to having to explain every little abnormality so I go for something easy.
“I want to know more about you.” I whisper, bringing my face closer to his, feeling the fur touch my palm beneath us as my hand drops from his muscular chest.
“Ask.” He commands, but I sense it will not be as easy as he looks wary and apprehensive. There is darkness in his past, emptiness where I was not. I just hope he will let me fill the void with light.
“Well …” I start to ask the question I’ve been most longing to know, when Orion sits bolt upright with a strained expression.
“What is it?!” I ask, feeling alarmed and on edge.
“I’ll explain later. I’m sorry, Callie, but I have to go and I have to go now.” He looks distressed and my heart rate starts to increase as he rises off the bed.
“Can’t I come with you?”
“Absolutely not.” he replies finally. There is no arguing with this side of Orion; he is broad chested, hard mouthed, and definite. I shrink back against the pillow.
“When will you be back?” I ask, wondering what can be important enough for him to leave when I only just got here.
“I don’t know. Soon I hope. Would you like me to get someone to sit with you?” He asks, trying to be kind but I can’t help but feel insulted. I’m not a child and I don’t need a crappy babysitter.
“No.” The word comes out truncated. I’m irritated when only moments ago I was calmer than I had felt in days.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can, Callie. I promise.” He turns from the bed without so much as a kiss and before I can utter a goodbye, I hear the door slam closed in his wake. I sit for a moment stewing in silence, alone in my brand spanking new underwater apartment. Well hell if I’m sitting here alone, I think to myself angrily rising off the mattress. I move through the water, not once touching the floor of my new home, open the door and head out as I cheer myself on mentally: Come on Orion, let’s see what you’re hiding.
ORION
“Do you mind explaining to me what exactly is important enough to pull me away from Callie the day after she’s turned?” I snap at my father and his eyes are full of concern.
“Demons, Orion, or rather, demon. A big one.” Starlet butts in and I turn to her incredulously, palms down on the long table. I am floating in the most boring of rooms inside the Alcazar Oceania: the small council chamber.
“Demons? But …”
“We haven’t seen any in over a century … yes we already covered that before you got here.” Saturnus looks at me impatiently. I am trying to remain calm. I’m itching internally to return to my soul mate, bu
t as ever duty calls. I scowl.
“Where?” This is the only question I can think of as my mind struggles to focus.
“The fault lines. Where else?” Starlet looks at me impatiently again and I exhale trying not to bite everyone’s head off. I just can’t avoid the skin crawling paranoia that’s taken over me at the absence of a certain blonde. My blonde. Callie …
“Orion focus!” Atlas snaps and I jump slightly.
“Sorry.” I mutter and he looks at me with disapproval, though I can tell amusement is not far behind his official façade.
“Yes. You know the fault lines are the place walls are weakest between this world and the next. It’s no surprise that it’s the first place reappearance would occur.” Saturnus looks at me, scarlet hair in a bloody halo around his head and I nod in agreement.
“So why haven’t you sounded the siren? We do have an army you know.” I look at my father with boredom. Another force of darkness breaking loose from some hell dimension. Same old, same old.
“I don’t want this handled publicly. We don’t even know if what Starlet saw was definitive.” Atlas reminds me and Starlet looks at me, mildly affronted.
“Yeah, blame the seer.” She raises her hands in disbelief at his distrust but I can’t blame him. Her power is hardly reliable, especially with Azure sharing it; who knows what problems that has really caused.
“If Starlet’s right, you know what this could mean?” Saturnus looks at me with seriousness radiating out of his emerald green eyes.
“Yes. Nothing good.” I reply and he nods, frowning. “So you want us to swim out there and check?” I ask, feeling something I had never known when it had come to duty: reluctance.
“Yes. You, Starlet, and Cole.” Saturnus orders but Atlas raises one eyebrow.
“I think you missed me off that list, Saturnus.” He laughs throatily and I watch the two old men stare at each other for a few moments. Tension hangs stagnant in the water between the two old friends uncomfortably.
“I want this party to stay small –” Saturnus starts but father cuts him off.
“So let Cole stay. I’d say I’m a tad more weathered in battle, wouldn’t you?” He looks at me with a wink but I don’t smile; I’m irritable still.
“Fine.” Saturnus looks at my father with a hard-set jaw. I can tell he’s angry. I watch him for a few moments before a mask of calm slides in across his exterior. I wonder what else he hides with that mask. It’s almost seamless how he transitions between rage and calm, it should be I suppose, after all, he’s been bending to the crowned ruler for just under half a millennia.
“Gear up.” My father says to me before turning to my sister.
“Get some armour, but no weapons. We only need you to help us locate the beast once we arrive at the fault lines.” He commands her and she nods, her eyes looking up at him like he were Atargatis herself.
“Yes father.” She smiles sweetly.
“Meet me at the armoury.” I instruct my father and he nods. Oscar still has my armour after my chest plate met an unfortunate end at the hand of Titus and I had to commission a new one. I turn to exit the thickly translucent, crystalline walls of the small council chamber and then move outside of the walls of the palace. I make my way across the gardens but something catches the corner of my eye as I pass. I turn, but it’s nothing but a small flurry of bubbles rising from the side of the outer walls of the Alcazar Oceania. Probably just a shoal of fish. They do so love the castle gardens during the warm swells. I move out into the courtyard and then toward the armoury. Many mer greet me as I pass. I smile and wave back to them but inside I’m wishing they’d avert their eyes. Being the son of Atlas wasn’t always easy. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to take part in any of the politics. I just got to command the part I relished. The part I was so good at after waiting for almost five hundred years just to sight my target. The hunt.
I reach the armoury within minutes, knowing the streets like the back of my hand. Oscar is waiting for me. I don’t know him well, but he is a good blacksmith. Probably one of the only men in the world who can manipulate metal with just the touch of his palm.
“Oscar.” I nod curtly, all business.
“Orion.” he nods back, placing a hand over his heart and bowing his head in respect. I ignore the official greeting. Wishing all the while, I was with the one person who doesn’t treat me like something I’m not, who doesn’t care for my lineage.
“The breast plate is ready. Atlas called, he said you’d be needing your armour.” His expression is impassive but I wonder if he is sensing the possible disturbance of a century in demon-less waters.
“Thank you.” I am official and polite. I should probably be nicer to him. I mean, he has never once let me down with my armour or weapons. In fact, he’s probably the person who I come into contact with most outside of the small council. Something is putting me on edge though, making me feel something I didn’t realise I still could feel. Nervous.
“You don’t have to thank me. It’s my job and pleasure.” We walk into the armoury and he moves upward through the middle of the tall cylinder to retrieve my armour. Every inch of the curved walls are covered in weapons and protective metal-wear of every shape and size imaginable. Oscar had been busy. After all, he and his mate don’t go on land anymore. Especially after …
“I have given you a bit more breathing space, your chest muscles have grown considerably. Ever since …” He breaks my train of thought, but then trails off, not wanting to pry into my personal affairs.
“Ever since I learned about Callie. I have been working out like crazy.” I admit and he smiles.
“I saw you with her earlier. She’s quite …” He starts but then trails off again.
“Yes?” I ask intrigued. I long for another male’s perspective.
“I shouldn’t …” He begins, moving back down from the highest armour rack, my armour in his outstretched palms.
“Oh spit it out, Oscar!” I say irritably and he blushes an unseemly red as I take my new breastplate in hand.
“She’s quite the beauty.” He finishes and I break out into a grin I cannot contain as I put my head through the hole in my armour. Callie’s face wanders through my mind and I admire her internally, strapping the breastplate on using the hooks that connect under my arms.
“Yes, thank you, she is, isn’t she?” I ask the question rhetorically and swell with pride, feeling my pectorals push against the blue tinted metal.
“Yes sir.” So goddamn formal again, I think to myself, as his answer causes my irritation to flare. Oh well, why break the habits of a lifetime, or several in my case. I continue dressing in silence, putting on the bracers and then finally my helmet. As I am wrapping a thin mesh of chainmail around my tailfin, I notice that something is different about me. It’s not the armour, or the prospect of fighting a demon for the first time in over a century. It’s something else. Something far closer to home than just battle anxiety. It’s her. I realise after a few moments of feeling my blood rush around my body frantically, pushing my heart to the limit of its adept capacity. I have responsibilities now, I have someone waiting for me. Someone who needs me, just like I need her in ways she doesn’t even realise. The silence of propriety allows me to examine the conundrum internally as I sheath several knives in the belt from which the protective chain mail hangs. I need to do this, for us. To create a world in which I’m safe to take her out into, but in doing my duty and taking out threats, I’m leaving myself exposed in a way I never noticed before her lips found mine. I shudder to think of what would happen if I met an ugly end at the hand of some demon, leaving her alone. I had waited for her for almost half a millennium, what would she wait for if I were gone? I had a responsibility to take care of myself. For her.
Outside in the courtyard, I shake Oscar’s hand. “Thank you again, Oscar.” I smile at him, trying to hide the insecurities running rampant through me like a poison. He turns and heads back inside and I exhale deeply, trying to clear my mind
. I need to focus. Nobody ever does well in a fight with their mind elsewhere. At least Callie is somewhere safe, I reassure myself. I’m not sure how much use I’d be worrying about protecting her and killing hell spawn. It is no wonder to me now that mermaids aren’t recruited to fight. They are too precious. Fighting with them in our ranks would be like walking out onto the battlefield wearing our hearts on our sleeve instead of bracers.
“Oscar did a good job on that chest plate.” Father compliments me and I nod in agreement as he and Starlet join me outside of the armoury. We turn, each of us knowing the purpose of our journey and not wanting to stall our departure any longer. We move silently through the streets and out into the open water past the city limits, trying to avoid being recognised in full armour. The design on my chest plate is like that of the waves in which we ride, but it is none-the-less uncomfortable as it is new. The thin metal which holds the thicker plates of the front and back together has not yet moulded to my musculature and it’s rubbing as I move. I clench my jaw, enduring the pain that comes with a new set of armour with the knowledge that the protection it provides is worth it. I wonder if that’s what the fear that overwhelms me comes down to. Am I simply wearing in the relationship with Callie? Should it be this difficult to accommodate someone I love so deeply?
The Kiss That Killed Me (The Tidal Kiss Trilogy Book 1) Page 21