Saved by the Sea Lord (Lords of Atlantis Book 9)

by Starla Night

  Lotar had nearly died because she had no real powers.

  And she couldn’t do the one thing she was supposed to do, which was “the talking” while he escorted her around.

  They lifted through the layers of ocean, and even though she didn’t sense cold and warm like the old days, the water was lighter and fluffier, easier to move through.

  After the echo point, warriors from the city of Lusca met them. Lusca had once celebrated the kraken, but then they’d figured out how to trap her, and everything had gone wrong. In penance for their ancestors’ mistakes, these warriors had pledged to follow her and help.

  “Beware wild currents,” the leader told them. “The kraken has passed.”

  “Oh yeah,” Hazel said. “We hit one of those currents. It was wild.”

  His brows lifted. “You survived?”

  “Well, we got banged up, but Lotar kept me safe.”

  The warrior’s incredulous gaze turned to Lotar. “Exceptional.”

  Lotar looked away.

  That’s right. He didn’t like to be called exceptional. Because every time he’d drawn attention to himself, his father had had to work harder to pretend he’d never existed.

  “Don’t worry,” Hazel told Lotar. “My failures are bringing down the average.”

  The leader eyed her as if he couldn’t tell if she was making a joke.

  They continued to the island. Lotar identified himself to patrols and was directed to a cavern lagoon crowded with young mer. The boys peppered them with questions, but didn’t listen for answers. Lotar stowed his weapons—except for one dagger, for utility—and the little ones leaped out of the water onto a cavern ledge.

  Lotar paused beneath the water with Hazel in his arms. “Your powers will come in time.”

  Huh?

  Wait, had he been thinking about her “bringing down the average” quote this whole time?

  She spread her fingers, which did not have webbing, and only the faintest glow emerged from her fingertips. “It’s not just my powers. It’s the whole mission. I keep going over and over what I’m going to say to Dannika. I went to the easy cities and totally failed.”

  “I did not think any city would be ‘easy.’ You shared the message. They did not drive us out. You succeeded.”

  She wanted to believe him.

  “And you will improve your powers because you have a pure and determined heart.”

  Her chest squeezed. “I do?”

  He nodded.

  God, she could kiss him. “Oh. Well, um. Good.”

  He tipped his head as though it had taken this entire journey for him to work up the words to tell her his opinion, and then he surged out of the water in an incredible display of athleticism and landed with her on the floor of a cave.

  “Whoa,” she meant to say, but it came out gurgled.

  And she abruptly bent over and heaved out the contents of her lungs, plankton and all.

  About a million years later, she recovered.

  One of the island residents, Meg, greeted them.

  “I’m the welcome wagon and first aid.” Meg flexed her fingers, even though her powers only worked underwater. “But you two look okay. That’s lucky. I heard the kraken passed just before you.”

  Lotar nodded.

  “Wow. Okay, now I’m your valet.” Meg, a mid-forties mother from upstate New York, modeled a stylish blue sarong with a woven sunhat. The color set off her straight black hair and ethnic Chinese features. “Sarong or sundress?”

  Hazel gestured at the sundress and coughed.

  “Excellent choice.” Meg handed Hazel a towel and the sundress. “It disappoints some visitors we don’t still wear grass skirts. Twenty years of being a castaway, and let me tell you, those things itch.”

  “Death by a thousand grass cuts,” Hazel croaked.

  “You get me.”

  Meg handed Lotar Bermuda shorts and a button-up shirt. After they dressed, she led them up the cavern steps into the sunlight.

  A grassy headland led down to a glittering white sand beach.

  The castaways confined to this island for twenty years were no longer alone. Yachts anchored off the beach. Boys kicked a soccer ball up and down the sand. Beneath waving coconut palms, women and tattooed warriors worked between elevated huts clustered around a busy firepit.

  They drafted Lotar and Hazel to assist with the lunch rush.

  Meg’s mom, the island matriarch, issued directions. “I used to believe in not making guests work, but Dannika convinced me there are no guests here, only future brides.”

  “Do the Sons of Hercules attack out here?” Hazel asked her. “You’re kind of a target.”

  “No, but we have emergency measures. A baby kraken has taken up residence near the island. Hence why there are no cave guardians nearby.”

  Huh. Now that she mentioned it, Hazel hadn’t heard the telltale sound of noise rock on the swim up to the island. “Where’s Dannika?”

  Lotar touched Hazel’s elbow and pointed.

  Dannika’s husband, Ciran, strode up the beach, dripping wet. He motioned to them. Dannika rested in a hammock with a sun hat over her face.

  Hazel rushed to her. “Dannika!”

  Dannika rolled her large belly over and tried to heave out of the hammock. “Oh, Hazel, I am so pleased to see you.”

  Hazel helped her up and hugged her. “You’re still pregnant.”

  “I know.” Her boss rested both hands on her belly. “But I’m due any day. That’s what I keep telling myself. Any day now.”

  Meg’s mother called for lunch, welcomed Hazel and Lotar to the island, and everyone clapped. The names of the warriors and potential brides were a blur, but they seemed nice, and Hazel recognized some from their profiles. She stuck close to Dannika while Lotar stood close to Ciran, and while the others chatted about other topics, Hazel told Dannika and Ciran everything.

  She’d felt pretty doom and gloom about the trip, but at the conclusion, Dannika reassured Hazel. “Of course it’s disappointing our allies won’t take this opportunity to strengthen our bonds. I’ve talked with the foundation and we sensed the Aiycaya group was leaning away, so I’m not surprised.”

  “I’m disappointed and surprised.”

  “Because you care so deeply.”

  “And what happens when we go to the next city? Newas is after this. They haven’t let anyone enter their city, and they even tried to kidnap their former warriors from Atlantis.”

  Ciran studied the blue sky as though he were strategizing.

  “Well.” Dannika patted Hazel’s knee. “You may tell them that if the prospect of meeting their soul mates doesn’t excite them, they may instead look forward to seeing their mothers.”

  “Their mothers!”

  “Queen Zara from Dragao Azul has been researching lost brides for years. She’s shared the party with the brides she’s found. This is a good chance to see their sons all grown up. Feel better?”

  “Yeah. I don’t know. This trip is so intense.”

  “Of course it is. You know, why don’t you take a week off? Rest, the two of you, and refresh.”

  Hazel peered up at Lotar. “Can we?”

  Lotar looked at Ciran.

  Ciran returned his gaze steadily. “As the leader of this mission, only you can answer that question, Lotar.”

  Lotar frowned.

  Ciran took Dannika’s hand.

  She rested her head against his shoulder. “If you can afford the rest, I’m sure it will give you clarity for the next section of cities.” Dannika rubbed her belly with her free hand. “And I’m due any day. You might get lucky.”

  Aw. Seeing a newborn mer would be amazing.

  Lotar stood abruptly and strode down the beach.

  Uh-oh. “He’s upset.”

  “He prefers solitude to think,” Ciran said.

  “No,” Hazel said. Something about Ciran and Dannika together had triggered him. Maybe he was upset that they couldn’t have a baby until after the All
-Cities Gyre. The mer were an endangered species. “This is different.”

  “I will speak to him.” Ciran squeezed Dannika’s hand and followed Lotar.

  In the distance, Lotar reassured Ciran that nothing was wrong. Then he glanced back at Hazel. The tiniest frown tugged at his lips, and he turned away again.

  Yeah, it wasn’t her imagination. He was upset.

  Maybe he didn’t want to travel with her after all?

  Even if he didn’t think Hazel was bringing down the average, she could still step it up.

  “Can you teach me how to make a shield?” she asked Dannika.

  “Absolutely.” Dannika heaved herself out of the chair. “What an excellent idea. You have to be honest and in touch with your deepest emotions, and I think you, Hazel, will be a natural.”

  Hazel could only pray. Please let Dannika be right.

  Sixteen

  Lotar strode into the water and dove.

  Finally, he could think.

  The dangerous thoughts that had plagued him before he fought the kraken’s wake returned with a vengeance.

  Hazel looked at Dannika with such admiration. When Dannika touched her belly and spoke of young fry, Hazel’s soul glowed.

  But that wasn’t what disturbed him.

  Lotar swam past the broken reef and circumnavigated the island with long strokes. Despite his recent exertion and his still-healing injuries, he needed to move.

  And young fry filled this island.

  Young fry of the castaways. Second, third, fifth sons. Young fry raised with attentive mer fathers and loving human women. Eager and loud, bright and determined.

  Totally different from his trainee period.

  He veered away from the island and sought peace.

  But even in the deep ocean, his mind would not quiet.

  Dannika’s hand resting on her belly had revealed the truth.

  He wanted to see Hazel glowing, her own body swelling to carry his young fry, excitement and tenderness in her features.

  Carrying his young fry…

  Never.

  Lotar kicked hard.

  He must not want a young fry of his own.

  He had long ago accepted that he must not have one.

  And now…

  Now he could not dismiss the idea.

  He exhausted himself and returned to the island only after a day had passed. A day in which he had not seen Hazel. A day in which he could avoid his building desires to cup her curves, press her soft places to his mouth, taste her before claiming her with his rigid cock.

  He shuddered and veered away from the island.

  But Second Lieutenant Ciran saw him, and before he could escape again, waved him to join the gathering of warriors. Adults mixed with trainees and young fry.

  “Lusca was closed for so long that you may not know the value of the other cities. Today, we correct that.” Second Lieutenant Ciran gestured to Lotar. “This warrior trained in the stealth practices of Syrenka. Watch how he disappears.”

  Lotar eyed the second lieutenant. He was not a trainer.

  Second Lieutenant Ciran grinned. “This should be a fun exercise for you. Exit the reef and return. We will see who notices first.”

  Ah. Very well.

  This was exactly what he needed to clear his mind. Lotar swam into the ocean. Second Lieutenant Ciran distracted the warriors with a speech about the value of learning from allies. Lotar released his impulses and drifted over the reef inshore.

  Reef squid made doot-doot-doot noises as they calmly swam under and over him, treating him as part of the coral and helping.

  Close to the shore, young fry frolicked in the shallow waves. Humans paddled with their heads above water. Others wore oxygen tanks and blew bubbles.

  “I see that no one has noticed Lotar yet.” Second Lieutenant Ciran’s gaze flicked over Lotar without recognition. “He has certainly entered the reef by now.”

  The other warriors jostled one another and laughed. “Impossible.”

  “I do not see him in the ocean,” Second Lieutenant Ciran said.

  The students studied the open water. They looked right past him.

  One warrior nudged another and muttered, “He probably swam into a cave before we remembered to search for him.”

  Second Lieutenant Ciran arched one brow. “He is probably strategizing how to steal your weapons right now.”

  The warriors reflexively clamped their daggers and tridents.

  Amusing.

  Lotar floated closer. He gauged his movements by the reactions of the reef squid, who provided acceptable camouflage. After his recent distractions, it was gratifying to stalk his prey, keeping them oblivious.

  He coasted beneath the oldest trainees. A little closer and he would reach the pommel…

  Hazel entered the water.

  He froze.

  Do not think. Do not react. He must not sense her nearness, calling like a siren, clasping his heart and tugging.

  Queen Dannika and Queen Meg entered the water after her.

  At least their entrance had drawn the attention of the training warriors. They watched the queens, giving him a chance to recover and stretch for control.

  Lotar crept closer to the trainee.

  The established queens flexed their feet. Their fins unfurled like rippling seaweed, huge and beautiful.

  Lotar stopped again, his fingertips inches from the warrior’s pommel.

  No matter how many times he saw it, it still affected him. Queens in the water. The future of the mer.

  The other warriors watched, equally affected.

  Still. Quiet. Silence.

  Do not think…

  Hazel flexed her feet. They doubled in size, skin stretching tight between the bones, small and functional like a trainee’s fins.

  “You did it!” Queen Dannika and Queen Meg cheered.

  “But they’re so small.” Hazel flexed her feet. “They’re nothing like yours. I mean, I always wanted small feet, but this is ridiculous.”

  “The size of a fin doesn’t matter.” Queen Meg wiggled her eyebrows. “Only how you use it.”

  Hazel snorted. “I suddenly have sympathy for the guys that didn’t comfort.”

  “But you are making fins,” Queen Dannika said. “Ciran told me it’s very rare to escape the wake of the kraken without significant injuries. I suspect, like these fins, you are already using your powers, but you aren’t aware of it.”

  “We got pretty banged up.”

  “Her wake leveled Lusca, Hazel. Crushed it right into the seafloor. And since you have no mortal injuries—which, tragically, is the more common result of the wake—I think you are doing something. We will try to help you realize what you’re already doing so you can focus.”

  “When you know what you’re doing, it’s super easy,” Queen Meg said.

  “That explains it. I don’t think I’ve ever known what I was doing.” Hazel flexed her fingers. “Okay. Here we go.”

  Queen Dannika lifted her hands. Her chest and fingertips glowed, and a white shelter twinkled over the trio.

  Queen Meg grabbed an injured reef squid. Her chest and hands glowed, and the squid glowed. It jetted away, revitalized.

  Hazel lifted her fingers and closed her eyes. Her chest glowed faintly. Her fingertips glowed the same amount. It was significantly weaker than the other queens and quickly faded.

  She opened her eyes. “How did I do?”

  “You glowed,” Queen Dannika said, and Queen Meg nodded. “You’re summoning a little power, but you’re not focusing it.”

  “Urgh.”

  “Maybe open your eyes,” Queen Dannika suggested.

  “I don’t want to see how faint it is,” Hazel said.

  So, she was aware.

  “You could always hunt down your husband and increase your resonance.” Queen Meg grinned. “That’s my favorite way to charge up my powers.”

  “Husband?” Hazel said.

  “You may have him as soon as he has f
inished his demonstration.” Second Lieutenant Ciran crossed over Lotar, swimming with long fluid kicks to entwine Queen Dannika. “Your warrior is giving a lesson on stealth.” He squinted across the reef. “I believe.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Hazel vibrated. “When does it start?”

  “It has started,” Second Lieutenant Ciran said. “Why? Do you see him?”

  “Yeah, of course I do.” She turned and pointed straight at Lotar. “He’s right there.”

  His heart spiked.

  He twitched.

  The reef squid fled, exposing him.

  The trainees he floated beneath yelped in surprise and fumbled for weapons, unsheathing them far too late.

  Curse it.

  Lotar darted back, out of their reach.

  “Oh, my God.” Hazel clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. “You didn’t see him? I just wrecked your lesson.”

  His body shook.

  How could his control fail? They had drilled it into him over and over. He must never move. Even after an enemy spotted him, he must drift, motionless and controlled. The instant a warrior looked away, he’d disappear, concealed again.

  As in Sireno, his panic had caused a core failure.

  Second Lieutenant Ciran laughed. His vibrations of genuine mirth echoed over the reef. “My warriors, you have received two valuable lessons today. The first, I hope, is a healthy respect for the reputation that a Syrenka warrior can murder you with your own dagger. The second is that the connection between soul mates has no barrier. Wherever you hide…” Second Lieutenant Ciran nodded at Lotar, “…she will find you.”

  And that was the most terrifying of all.

  Seventeen

  “So, that could have gone better,” Hazel told her girlfriends on the satellite phone from the beach paradise. “But yeah, things are going well here. I’ve failed to get two out of two cities to RSVP, and I have the weakest powers anyone has ever seen, but I can’t complain. Except how I’m complaining.”

  Her friends laughed.

  It had taken the whole week to set up the call. Pia and the others gathered for a girls’ night at Erin’s house while her family was out, and they’d gotten into the wine before Hazel had called.