“What’s wrong?” I ask him and he looks hesitant.
“I may have… left you slightly love bitten.” He coughs, plunging into the water as to avoid my shocked expression. I look down at myself and notice he’s right. Red flecked areas of my flesh show the shadow of where his mouth has been on me. Oh for craps sake! I snap internally. It’s not bad enough he has to sex me to death, I’ve got to go around sporting battle scars now? He surfaces and I stare at him, unamused.
“I’m sorry.”
“This,” I gesture to the three or four love bites above my breasts, “Is not cool.” I don’t yell. I just stare at him, slightly disgusted.
“You think that’s bad. You should see your neck. I’m sorry. I just got carried away,” he apologises. My hands move up to my neck as I keep myself afloat effortlessly. The thin veil of skin above my carotid is tender. When he said ‘devour’ he wasn’t wrong.
“I’m going to look real classy at the coronation sporting these,” I mutter and he looks instantly mortified.
“Oh Goddess, I didn’t think about that.”
“Yeah well, now I can be the slutty Queen. Great,” I snap again and he winces. I stay silent as I feel the change take me. I look up and see the burning sun rising and then I’m back to my usual self. Tail and all. I look down, hoping my breast scales will cover the love bites. They don’t.
I turn back to Orion and I see the familiar royal blue facial scales that surround his eyes have returned.
“I really am sorry about these,” he murmurs and I nod. Not an acceptance but I’m not going to cause another argument either. Together we plunge to the bottom of the pool and through a small opening. It narrows but I power through, ignoring the encroaching sensations of the inner tube of the slide and the feeling of falling through the remaining height of the cliff. The bottom of the tube comes out into the sea. Orion and I head back to the Occulta Mirum, to all our problems and our new responsibilities.
The Alcazar Oceania towers before us as we reach the centre of the city. Eyes bare down on our undulations as the blackness of my shadow falls over the bottle bases that line the streets, dulling their shine.
“You know what I really hate?” I turn my head to Orion, my back is tickled by a slight warmth from the surface.
“What?” Orion asks me looking worried.
“I really hate it when people watch me like I’m an animal in a zoo,” I say to him and he looks apologetic.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could stop them. It’ll get better once the coronation is over,” he promises, but I wonder if it’s really Orion’s crowned ruler status that’s making me so popular, or if it’s actually the events that led to my death.
“I hope you’re right,” I mumble. We reach the gates of the palace and Cole is guarding the door as usual.
“Oh there you are.” He looks concerned and I smile sheepishly into his blue eyes.
“Yes. We’ve returned,” Orion says firmly, pursing his lips.
“I gathered. Saturnus isn’t pleased,” he warns, his expression strained and stormy. It’s clear he’s had to deal with more than one or two complaints because of our sudden departure.
“I’ll handle Saturnus,” Orion vows and Cole nods his head placing his right fist across his chest, leaving it to rest over his heart in a sign of respect, a sign of brotherhood. Orion does not return, he is the superior and merely waves a hand to indicate he wants Cole to stand down. Within moments Cole has allowed us to move past him and Orion is pushing his hands into the tall arching double doors. I swim past him and as Cole shuts the doors behind me I hear a voice call out from behind one of the crystal pillars of the main entrance room of the palace.
“You’re back brother.” A long black and azure marked tail fin wraps itself around the crystal column, pulling the pale body of Azure into the morning light.
“Azure,” I breathe her name even though she hasn’t called to me. Our relationship is strained for sure, she murdered me after all, but I am none-the-less fascinated by her, unable to look away from her. Even I cannot deny she is beautiful, especially since the powers of darkness have receded within her ever so slightly. Her eyes are no longer the diluted black pits they once were, returning to a polluted blue which shine against her inky torrent of hair that falls like a blade in a poker straight curtain of darkness. Her tailfin is still like that of a thick black eel, sparked with sapphire lighting. Her eye mask is still missing, but the azure veins of dark magic that once mapped across her forehead and cheeks are fading slowly into the past.
“Callie,” the word slithers from her lips. I don’t know what to respond with now so I just smile at her. It’s odd, I know she’s kind of evil, but I can’t help but like her more than her sister. I laugh internally. Hell, I like pissed off piranha better than Starlet. I feel something move within me suddenly, a shift as my heart feels like ice for a split second as I look at her and a desperate anger appears from nowhere. Pity, I think, snapping like a bear trap. I blink, confused as to why I would think such a thing, I may have messed up feelings for her but I certainly don’t pity her. I shrug it off and wonder what came over me as I feel Orion at my back, protective as always.
“Yes. Are you alright?” He asks her, I feel his hand move to the edge of my skin, ready to pull me out of the way of a confrontation.
“Yes. Of course. I’m trying to decide what dress to wear to the ball. I’m thinking… black? Like my soul. My colour don’t you think?” She laughs in a hollow exhalation and I feel Orion relax next to me, shifting by mere millimetres in the water.
“I’m sure you’ll look beautiful whatever you wear.” Orion compliments her and she smiles a little too wide.
“You always were a terrible liar. I should know, you came in runner up to myself.” The whites of her teeth actually hurt me, but it isn’t the whiteness which pains I muse, but the extreme falsity of the expression itself. She skulks away from us in a split second, her tail slicing through the water seamlessly. I breathe out, not having realised I was holding my breath at all.
“She’s… having a bad day today,” I note.
“Yes. You know withdrawal from the darkness isn’t easy. She’s the only one… the only one I’ve ever known strong enough to stop once consumed.”
“I wish we knew a way to help her. She saved us all, Orion,” I speak the words out of loyalty to my soulmate, but I feel the truth of them ring out as they fall from my tongue.
“We will,” he sighs.
“I think Starlet could be the key,” I say aloud, moving across the foyer of the Alcazar slowly.
“I think you’re right, but that means that helping her will be harder than I thought. Fixing their relationship isn’t exactly an instant cure type situation.” He agrees with me, frowning as we move to the cylinder of clear water. It runs through the middle of the tallest shard of crystal which makes up the giant structure we float within, allowing for movement between each of the levels to be achieved momentarily.
“Do you think Saturnus is gonna yell?” I ask Orion as we move past the throne room and up toward our suite at the top of the tallest spire.
“I should think I am.” A chilling tone reaches my ears as Orion spins in the water next to me, creating a flurry of bubbles. I turn, a split second behind him, until my eyes rest on the one outline that always brings an awe inspired fear to me as of late. Especially since Orion started disobeying his every order.
“Saturnus,” Orion lets the name roll out from him calmly.
“Do you mind telling me where you thought it wise to disappear to, two days before you are anointed Crowned Ruler?” He looks really pissed, so pissed in fact that his red hair could be flames and his head could be on fire with all the pissed-ness, I muse to myself.
“I had to get away from here. Callie and I needed some time to be together.” I watch the two men move closer to one another, challenging each other with their stances.
“And you couldn’t possibly have told someone where you were going?” S
aturnus asks, arching one red eyebrow and folding his arms.
“I didn’t think I needed to. You’re not my mommy. I’m Crowned Ruler, remember?” Orion looks cocky in his manliness and I stiffen as Saturnus narrows his eyes.
“Not yet you’re not, and if something had happened? If the Psirens or a demon had attacked? What then? You left us with no protection. The Knights are gone. What if they’d taken you or Callie and tortured you until you let them into the city?” He looks at Orion seriously and Orion shrugs, as though in the act of physically moving his shoulders his responsibilities will disappear as well.
“You know Orion, after all these years I never really understood what people meant when they said you were just like your father. But now I know, because I see you are just like him; Arrogant, stubborn, and careless.” I watch as Orion goes from calm to violent in under two seconds. He pulls his arm back and does what I’ve only ever seen him do once. To Daryl. He pulls his fist back and punches Saturnus straight in the jaw. The crack is horrifying and I watch Saturnus fall abruptly through the water as Orion clutches his knuckles in one hand. I rush to Saturnus, wanting to help. I understand he crossed a line insulting Atlas, but hitting someone so close to our Goddess is not okay. I move quickly to Saturnus’ side and place my hands on him as he reels backward from Orion’s primal unleashing of force. A split second passes and instantaneously I am seeing Saturnus but in a totally different way. His eyes are yellow slits. Terrifying like that of a feral cat. I blink, moving backward momentarily as his eyes bulge, with fear in their now emerald depths. What the hell was that? I think. The same insistently familiar and bitter voice in the back of my mind whispers Truth, before I silence it again. I don’t have time for this crap. I have a man in bits, the Goddess’ soulmate with a cracked jaw, and one half of a prophet team going out of her mind with withdrawal from the darkness that has consumed her for centuries. Since when did things get so wickedly complicated?
“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” I roar, feeling a violent fury unleash within. We’re afloat in the waters of the royal suite after Saturnus has skulked off to lick his wounds.
“You heard what he said about my father, Callie!” Orion tries to justify his violence.
“Yes, I did, and you know what, you’re proving him right by acting this way, Orion.” I bite out the sentiment and he looks wildly offended.
“You’re saying my father was arrogant? Careless?” He accuses me.
“No. I’m saying you are! You can’t just go around hitting people! Particularly not Saturnus. You’re shaming yourself, you’re shaming the Goddess, and more importantly, you’re shaming me. You think I want people thinking I love someone so violent? You think I want people thinking I’m the other half of someone who can’t control themselves?” I spit the words angrily, realising instantly that I’m not just talking about the violence. My mind wanders back to him grinding against me next to the fire place.
“I’m just…” His chest expands and then he turns, moving beyond the clam shell bed that sits central to the room at great speed and slamming his fists into the wall. I watch him pound, cracking the crystal but unable to move it, bloodying his beautiful knuckles. I stand with arms crossed, realising he’s really not interested in being angry at me anymore, more content with taking out his frustrations on the inanimate objects that don’t talk back. I move to the crystal chair of the vanity and pick up my conch shell comb, a parting gift from Shaniqua. I brush through my hair, ignoring the pained thuds. I turn as I hear them stop, watching Orion sink to the floor, spent. I place the comb back on the vanity and go to him. At my touch he begins to sob.
“I can’t do this,” he cries, his manly tears more beautiful than any diamond they could crystallise into.
“Yes. You can,” I whisper, sitting next to him against the now fractured wall.
“I’m just… so angry,” he mutters as I kiss his cheek.
“I know, but it isn’t Saturnus’ fault. I know he said horrible things about your father. But…”
“I shouldn’t have hit him.”
“No,” I admit, placing my hand on his scales that lay out in front of me. His tailfin is spread before him. Weary.
“I’ll apologise.” He turns to me and I wipe the diamonds from my tailfin where his tears have fallen.
“I think that’s a very grown up decision.”
“You’d think I’d be grown up by now. I am over five hundred.” he comments smiling slightly and I nod.
“I think age is just a number. Maybe you’re still young up here,” I point to his head and he nods slightly. I run my fingers through his locks again. It seems to soothe him.
“We had better get ready for the coronation,” I say, “I’m getting ready with the other mermaids.”
“I’ll miss you,” he kisses my fingers as I lower them out of his hair.
“Don’t. It’ll only be for an hour. You’ll get to be surprised by how not ugly I am.” I smile at him cheekily and he rolls his eyes. I think about the mermaids who have overtaken my personal grooming habits since I became the other half of The Crowned Ruler. Many of them have come from pre-feminist time-periods and self-maintenance is their only skill. It amazes me how they fill their time with creating underwater fashions and pearl hair pieces. I mean, don’t they know we’re here to do a job? I often think they’d be better off learning to fashion armour, or weapons, but then I’m reminded they’re the only ones who could transform me into the transcendent being I must be for the night’s events, and I find myself grateful for the shallow depth of their obsession.
“I’m going to go and find Saturnus,” Orion says and moves from the floor.
“Don’t forget I’ll be travelling with the mermaids to the sanctum,” I say to him and he nods.
“I’ve got to be escorted by a collection of Knights.” He sighs at the security measure that I know Saturnus must have insisted upon.
“I’ll see you later?” He asks me almost at the door now, having moved seamlessly.
“Yes,” I reply, “See you later.” I’m still sat against the wall where the crystal has been crunched into a cracked dent at the hand of Orion’s grief built rage. I move upward and trace the fissures with my fingers gently, wincing at the pain it must have inflicted on his fists. It seems like things are as unstable as ever. Like I can’t quite catch my breath for a moment before something else starts to crack and disintegrate beneath me.
The voice that I’ve silenced twice already tonight snarls. Your descent will be glorious. I startle, looking back at the fractured jade and stroking it for comfort. A black cloud moves across my vision and I feel rage curdle in my blood at events beyond my control. I move to leave the room, but catch something out of the corner of my eye as I fume about Orion’s rage and Saturnus’ over controlling spite. I turn my head but before I can catch a proper look it’s gone. The seed of a shadow behind my aquamarine eyes fades as quickly as it came.
ORION
Down in my father’s old study, I hang upside down in the water, blood rushing to my skull, creating a pleasant calming numbness. I clench my taut abdominals, biting down to stop myself from grunting in pain as I haul my lower half upward, crunching toward the iron bar that is held up by two coral stands. I relinquish at the shock of eyes looking back at me, losing control of my muscles and feeling my scales slip against the metal bar. I fall to the floor, upheaving sand and debris.
“Real slick.” I hear the familiar sarcasm dipped tones exclaim lazily.
“What are you doing here Starlet?” I push myself away from the floor with aching but angry muscles.
“I just saw Callie leave. I heard her yelling at you,” she admits.
“Well. I deserved it.” I flex my fist as I feel the wounds on my knuckles start to heal up. They’re sticky with dried blood that won’t wash away.
“I know. I saw Saturnus a few seconds after he apparently saw your fist,” she informs me as her eyes flick to my knuckles and then back to my face in a movement so small anyo
ne who didn’t know her wouldn’t notice. Her magenta scales are shimmering wildly and her long white blonde hair flips over one shoulder as she moves her head slightly in disapproval.
“I shouldn’t have hit him,” I relinquish despite feeling satisfaction at the memory of Saturnus’ stunned expression.
“No. This isn’t like you. I know father’s death has been hard on you but…” She starts to go off on a spiel about repressed grief but I cut her off with a wave of one hand. I sit back into the clutches of the armchair pressed against the left wall.
“It isn’t father,” I admit. It’s the first time I’ve said it aloud.
“Oh?” Starlet corrects her position in the water, waving her tail in delicate minute movements and moving so she is suspended in front of me.
“It’s Callie.” The images come at me again, her limp form, porcelain face, and empty eyes.
“I don’t understand.” Starlet looks at me with a reserved expression and I wonder what she’s thinking.
“She just… died and I stood there. I let her. I let it happen.” The words drop from my lips like lead. Heavy with self-doubt.
“Yes, but she came back,” Starlet says with her eyebrows raised in surprise.
“What if she hadn’t?” I ask her and she shrugs her shoulders.
“I don’t like Callie, but what she did… what she did was heroic, Orion.”
“Dying is a lot of things, Starlet. Heroic is not one of them,” I bite out, feeling anger rise within me again, a tidal wave waiting to crest.
“Callie looked at the situation and realised that the needs of the many outweighed what she wanted. She didn’t want to leave you Orion. She chose what was right, not what was easy. I’d call that heroism.” Starlet looks, for the first time in a long time, calm with an unbreakable resolve.
The Kiss That Saved Me (The Tidal Kiss Trilogy Book 2) Page 4