"Underwood!" James roared. "What have you done?" Ione didn't appear to be in the boat with him. In fact, none of his henchmen were either. The coward had left them all to die. Still, James started swimming toward him.
Underwood shook his head. "You can come after me or save your woman."
The statement sent cold dread through his veins. He didn't want to imagine what he'd done to her if he could cut off a man's hand without cause.
"I tied her to the chair in your cabin. She's probably starting to see water coming in as of now."
He glanced back at the ship. If the water level was that high, it would be nearly under. His fear for her life suddenly turned to something different. Underwood didn't know Ione could breathe underwater. In his panic, James had nearly forgotten as well.
"So glad you find that amusing," the earl said dryly. "I hit her pretty hard. I didn't check to see if she was breathing."
James' heart seized, humor fading. She could breathe underwater, but not if she was already dead. Could she be killed before she became mortal? The unknowns did nothing to calm his rising panic at that last statement. He needed to be clear-headed. "If she dies, I will kill you. Mark my words."
Underwood hadn't shot him again, which meant he was bluffing. His pistol was useless and he'd thrown his dagger. James turned back and practically pounced at the ladder. Jonathan had made it up, realizing the truth about the empty pistol before he did, and helped him over the railing. Across the deck, Underwood's henchmen had paused in their efforts to tie empty barrels into a net of ropes to create a raft. They now gawked at the two of them as though their appearance had been unexpected. Though, from their perspective, two fools had climbed aboard a sinking ship everyone else wanted to depart.
The youngest, a boy of perhaps fifteen, wiped at his nose. "He left us."
A dark-haired gentleman, one of the oldest looking of the bunch, stepped forward and James sucked in a breath. He recognized this one. This was his quartermaster's son. Billy, he believed his name was. "We're sorry. We never meant for it to go this far."
"Why did it even begin?"
Billy fidgeted. "I was angry that my father was always leaving and not coming home for long stretches of time. I stole some documents from the locked drawer in his office, and gave it to Peter. We didn't know what would happen. I never told him your name, thinking nothing would come of it."
James shook his head, bewildered. "Why didn't you stop it when it happened that night in Summerfield?"
"I wasn't invited." He glared at two of his friends that wouldn't meet James' gaze. "Because they knew I would have."
Well, that at least explained why they had known so much and yet so little at the same time. "You lot need to choose better friends," was all he said as he and Jonathan sprinted to his cabin and tried the knob. Locked. James reared back and kicked the door in. The jamb cracked as the door slammed into the wall and they entered. Aside from a hole in the floor, the room seemed relatively untouched. Ione wasn't there.
The bastard had lied.
Jonathan looked down into the hole. "Christ!" In any other circumstance, the way he gaped at the damage and the water filling up the decks below would have been quite comical. "Do you think she's fallen down there?" Fear laced his words. "Do you think she's alive?"
He hid the smile that desperately wanted to cross his face. Suddenly the hole made sense. James couldn't even be upset she had done it to the ship. Ione must have created it and gotten out, but where had she gone? She might have stayed out of sight because of Jonathan, but he couldn't be sure. Her being safe from Underwood was all that mattered. A ship could be replaced, but she couldn't. He headed back to the main deck.
"James!" Jonathan called after him, but he kept going. Lightning flashed, illuminating the sails of an naval galleon closing in on their location. Thank God.
"Boys, you won't need that netting. Help is on the way." He pointed. They seemed relieved, but Jonathan looked ready to pummel him.
"How can you be so calm right now? Miss Ione, she—"
James didn't have time for this conversation. Ione would be fine, everyone else, however, had limited time to leave this ship before it sucked them into the depths with it. "Make sure this lot don't get charged for the crimes. Underwood takes the full burden of blame. Say they were coerced and threatened, but I think they've been punished enough by this experience." The frightened expressions on their faces spoke volumes. They'd been left to die by someone they considered a friend.
"You can't go down there. You'll drown." He must have thought James meant to look for a body in the hold. It would be what he'd think if their positions were switched. If Ione was a normal human woman, that would be the obvious thing to do for answers and peace of mind. She was a sea nymph, however. She was in the water somewhere nearby, waiting to protect or rescue if either were needed. His heart skipped a beat. Ione was out there making sure he was safe. Why had he ever thought she'd need rescue?
"I'm going after Underwood." He didn't know if the earl was a demigod or an immortal or whatever, but at this point he'd take whatever curse Demeter dished out just to smash his fist into that upstart's smug face and watch him bleed. James hoped he was human though. He'd hate to give the scoundrel more credit than he was due.
"You don't have a boat."
He didn't reply. Taking a running leap in the direction he'd last seen Underwood's boat, James hurtled onto the railing and dove into the sea below.
CHAPTER 11
AS IONE MADE it to the surface, she witnessed—with relief—James and Jonathan climbing up the side of the ship…and Underwood escaping, leaving all his friends behind to drown.
Not if I have anything to do about it.
Diving back underwater, she swam until she was directly beneath his boat. Oars churned at the sides. It would be a shame if those went missing. She yanked one away. The second stilled and she could make out the vague outline of Underwood peeking over the edge to see where it went. She willed it to sink and not float like it was prone to do, then did the same with the second.
The boat rocked with the agitated mortal's tantrum. She couldn't hear the words, but the rumbling of his voice was crystal clear. Ione knocked three times on the bottom of the boat with slow, precise thumps.
Underwood went silent. She could imagine he was unnerved and afraid; that he didn't know what was about to happen and feared for his life. Good. She sank deeper and held her hands out to her sides, commanding the water, the waves, to do her bidding, and thrusted her arms up toward the boat. It rocked as the waves around it grew untamed and without mercy. Finally, the boat couldn't hold against her attack and capsized.
Her prey hit the water with a splash and every natural instinct she had flared on high alert. Drown him. She shook her head against the impulse. Drag him to the depths and watch the life leave his eyes.
Ione wasn't that creature. She never had been and never intended to be. As Underwood's gaze met hers, his eyes widened and a stream of bubbles exploded from his mouth. Yelling expelled oxygen faster.
She grabbed him by the throat and scowled. "You're lucky you're dealing with me and not one of my forty-nine sisters, hundreds of cousins, or Poseidon himself. Drowning you would be too quick when you deserve so much worse." Ione released her hold on him as his eyes bulged and he flailed. Spinning around, she smacked him upside the head with her fin. His eyes rolled back and he started to drop like dead weight, but she caught him by the back of his jacket collar.
"Ione!" Her name was a benediction on the air when she breached the surface.
James. She closed her eyes in happiness that he was alive. She'd seen as much for herself before going after Underwood, but the reminder was more than welcome. "Why aren't you on the ship? Help is coming." An outline of sails was all she could see of the galleon approaching on the other side of the Poseidon's Mercy. The rain had eased a bit, but was heavy enough to make visibility difficult, keeping them from view. James looked weary and his shoulder was bleeding
, but not a lot. The shark from earlier might have heeded her command, but others would come eventually. She channeled her magic into the waves around them, calming them.
"When I figured out how you escaped, I came after Underwood," James explained, wiping his wet hair out of his eyes as water splashed his face. It didn't deter him. "I wanted to make sure he didn't slither away from facing the consequences again. I knew he'd always be a thorn in our sides if he wasn't taken in to answer for his crimes."
Her heart skittered and warmth coasted through her. "You checked on me first." He had risked losing Underwood to ensure she wasn't hurt. Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked rapidly to urge them away.
James frowned. "You thought I wouldn't?"
"That's not what—you silly man. No one ever thinks of me first. It's why I wanted to try being human. Why I found you when I did."
"Oh." His eyes grew heated and he swam toward her. Would he kiss her?
Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder boomed before they were plunged back into the dark gray of the storm. She cringed. "Let's return to the ship." She shifted Underwood in her arms. "Can you turn that boat over?"
Talking ceased after that as he helped her maneuver the earl into the boat, but James refused to climb in with him. Instead, he moved in and kissed her. Holding on to the boat with his hook, he ran his palm over her cheek and pulled away despite her arms around him. "I was so afraid I'd lost you when I just found you."
"You won't lose me," she promised. "I'm choosing you. We'll have a whole lifetime."
His smile was blinding. "I love you."
"This is all very touching," someone said from behind them, "but this storm isn't going to subside for you two to exchange sentiments until the ship sinks."
She and James turned toward the voice. Poseidon floated a few feet away, with only his head and shoulders visible. He wore his armor but kept his trident below the surface. Mist swirled around the boat and the three of them in the water, blocking them from any mortal's view.
"You!" James said, a mixture of surprise and triumph on his face. "I knew it."
"When did you meet Poseidon?" she asked, glancing between them. What had she missed?
James offered her a small smile. "He sold me a ring this morning…" His face fell. "Which is probably lost now. It was in my pocket."
Poseidon laughed. "Where it has remained. I wouldn't sell you a ring and let you lose it. It seems that you have passed the test, and Ione loves you as much as you love her." There was an element of surprise in his tone. Like he hadn't believed it possible. "You didn't betray her, and you put her first in a moment where vengeance could have triumphed over love. You respected her ability to handle herself and not try to control her."
Ione kept her arms tightly around James' waist. Exactly what kind of ring had he bought from her cousin? Her curiosity was piqued, but that wasn't important right then. "James has proven himself to be a good man, and while I've seen an example of the bad side of humanity—" She nodded toward the boat. "—I've decided I still desire to live a mortal life on land with James."
"And I promise to keep her safe, but respect her ability to handle herself as she did today," James added.
"Would you like for me to dispose of this human who tried to ruin your life?" Poseidon asked James, ignoring her gasp. She probably shouldn't be surprised. The sea god did enjoy a good smiting or curse.
James cocked his head to the side. He was considering accepting, and she couldn't blame him. After all that had happened, it would add some closure. But then he shook his head. "I think we will let him be arrested and shunned for his actions."
"Very well." The sea god sighed and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "I'll go disappoint the kraken and tell him he won't dine on human flesh today. He was so excited too."
James gawked at him and Ione giggled. "He's teasing you. The kraken doesn't find it sporting if he doesn't get to jiggle humans out of a ship and into his beaked mouth. He likes to play with his food, unfortunately."
His horrified expression intensified, and she and Poseidon laughed. Time, however, was of the essence. The sea god sobered and lifted is trident enough that it was visible but didn't break the surface. Light shimmered around them and Ione's fins broke apart into two legs. The gills on her neck closed and vanished beneath her skin. She would miss the tail, but giving it up meant she had a shot at true happiness. While she didn't feel any different, she knew without a doubt that she was mortal.
"And now the human's turn." The trident was turned toward James, and his hook dissipated. "My hand!" James let go of the boat to marvel at the returned appendage, then grabbed hold of the boat again before it could drift away. "Thank you."
"Take care of her." The god turned his back to them. "Oh, and one more thing. Your next ship…call it Poseidon's Gift." With that, he disappeared beneath the waves. Ione would miss him, but he could always visit the way he had James. The way Demeter visited her family.
"Captain James Harlow!"
Ione jumped at the sudden shout. As the mist began to clear, Jonathan waved at them from the galleon closing in on their location. They must have already gotten all the boys off the doomed vessel which was only hanging on by her magic. As soon as they were safely on the boat she'd let it loose.
"Here!" he called and waved, then looked back at her. "How am I going to explain the hand?"
His eyes were wide, and she snickered at his fretting. "If I know my cousin, you won't have to."
EPILOGUE
THE REST of the night had gone by in a blur. They'd had to answer so many questions, yet the most baffling bit had been that no one else seemed to remember he'd had a hook for a hand. No one except for the earl.
When Underwood had come to, he'd started telling anyone who would listen that Ione was a mermaid. When he noticed what had become of the hook, he snapped, babbling about how he cut off James' hand and threw it in the sea, as well as everything nefarious he'd done or planned to do. He wasn't going to Newgate—he was going to Bedlam. The gossip spread fast and nobody could stop whispering about it.
It would seem that the story Poseidon had set into place was that Underwood had attempted to cut off James' hand and then Ione surprised him and he'd run away. All the other details he and Ione had made up about her arrival remained the same. They could live with that.
Nevertheless, they'd both gone straight to their rooms to sleep when they returned to his parents' place, and the sunrise the next morning brought with it promises of love and happiness without fear or dread. Everything would be all right so long as he had Ione in his life.
"There you are."
He turned away from the window in the parlor when Ione came in, and he opened his arms to her. She ran into them, clutching him close. This woman, full of compassion and goodness, had chosen to give up a life of immortality to be with him. Emotion caught in his throat when he thought too hard on it. What had he ever done that was worthy of such a gift? Him, the third son of a viscount with his purchased title of captain to make him feel like he had a purpose.
Truth was, he'd never had purpose before Ione rescued him, not only from a villain but from himself. He hadn't been unhappy, but he hadn't known true happiness or looked forward to the future. She'd opened his eyes to so many things he'd been missing and didn't know he wanted.
Stepping back, Ione frowned at the loss of the embrace, and he kneeled before her, taking both her hands into his. While thrilled to have his hand back, he would have happily gone through life with the hook to keep her by his side. He wouldn't take the gift from Poseidon for granted. He wasn't rushing out to buy a new ship, but he definitely would heed the god's advice. James didn't want to find himself meeting the kraken face-to-beak if he made his new extended family angry. Besides, he needed to supply work to his crew and couldn't do that without a new boat. He had time to meet with them and deal with it. Luckily, their smuggling had been lucrative enough to sustain them in the meantime.
"Are you all
right?" Ione asked. "You seem troubled."
James mentally shook himself. "My apologies. For some reason, my mind keeps drifting back to all that talk about the kraken yesterday, and I do believe that creature will feature heavily in my nightmares in the near future."
Ione snickered and smoothed down the skirt of a lavender day gown. Her hair had been braided and she couldn't be lovelier. "I would never let him nibble on you. I'll tell you a secret that will dispel all that fear."
"Oh?"
"He's ticklish between his tentacles."
She said it with such a straight face that James burst into laughter. She joined him in his mirth, until another thought struck him. "Who is Demeter's relative though, if not Underwood?" Ione had told him about how she'd determined he wasn't related to the goddess. It had been clever of her.
"I suspect we won't know any time soon."
And it didn't matter. Not really. If it had been Underwood, it would have posed a problem in dealing with him since that goddess was not one to make angry. If there happened to be an immortal among the aristocracy, hopefully they were a better person than the earl had been. Then he remembered why he'd kneeled in the first place. Sobering, he let go of her hands and reached into his pocket, pulling out the ring. He'd hoped to give it to her during the wedding, but part of him wanted to see it on her finger. To see that symbol of her love for him because he still had trouble believing he could be so lucky in the wake of an experience that had almost killed him.
"Ione, I know I'm a mere mortal in a world filled with rules and laws and constraints, but I love you with all my heart. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?" He slid the ruby ring onto her finger and glanced up to witness her reaction.
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