by Starla Night
Tamed for her.
Well, tamed because she’d stopped assuming and listened. If only all her important conversations went this well.
Hazel, you have always impressed me with your resilience. You take the most devastating setbacks, grieve like anyone would, and bounce back the next day with new energy that gives me the shot I need to face the new problem. Resilience is something I’ve long struggled with and only recently started to feel as though I was channeling you.
Haha, her boss was funny.
Lotar took a deep breath and let it out.
Idle feel-good laziness drained away.
She’d been more than ready for this, but had he?
He sat up with a groan and gazed down on her.
No regrets in his eyes.
Thank God.
Just the same tired, amazed, gorgeous gaze. He stroked a love bite and frowned.
She grinned. So sexy. “I should have warned you. My skin shows everything.”
He focused on her eyes again. Still no regret—good—and an acceptance, as though he’d been worried for nothing.
Maybe this would turn out okay.
Just maybe.
Lotar helped Hazel to her feet and she dragged him under the stream, washing him with the bubbly liquid. His skin was still sensitive.
He took a great handful of the liquid and scrubbed it over her body, the places he’d marked and claimed, her softness. She grabbed his hands and wrapped his arms around her, giggling. “That’s ticklish.”
Their bodies pressed together. Her giggling calmed and she rested her cheek against his shoulder.
A great sense of wellness flushed through him.
He had taken an irrevocable step with her.
You’re the most patient, most protective, most fittest warrior in the ocean.
He had not heard “most fittest” before.
But the sentiment made him hold her just a little bit longer.
When he embraced her distraction, his soul would be at peace and he would experience the greatest strength.
With her faith, he would become capable of anything.
And then she will hate you too.
She wiggled in his arms, and he released her instantly. She looked up at him. “You okay?”
He nodded.
They finished up, replaced their clothes, and returned to the beach. The episode credits rolled, and the warriors scratched their heads while the queens and potential brides chatted about what they’d seen. Nobody glanced at them.
Hazel rose on her tiptoes to murmur in his ear. “I don’t think anyone noticed we were gone. You are stealthy.”
He nodded again, but doubts echoed.
She will hate you.
Because unlike Second Lieutenant Ciran, she can see into your heart. The admiration she feels today will curl into disgust tomorrow.
She squeezed his hand again. “You sure you’re okay?”
He nodded a third time.
“Hazel, there you are.” Queen Dannika waved her over and rested her hands on her gravid belly. “We were just talking about the ‘family’ challenge this week. Is it me or does this season feature more betrayals than usual?”
“It’s extra backstabby,” she agreed, taking a seat at their table. “It’s all about the ratings. But after six weeks with a bunch of strangers on a desert island, I’d probably backstab somebody for a chance to see my family too.”
“Try twenty years,” Queen Angie said.
“And you could be stranded with your mother,” Queen Meg said.
Hazel snorted. “Does that make it better or worse?”
Queen Angie squinted at her daughter. “Be careful. I’m the one ordering the chocolate around here.”
“Better, of course.”
Everyone laughed.
“Question.” One bride raised her hand. “For everyone who’s not Meg, how did you introduce your merman to your parents? Mine are a little anti-mer, so…”
“I haven’t done it yet,” Hazel said, settling in. “But my parents know about Lotar, so we’ll probably talk next time. But what about when you meet his parents? Do I bring a gift? What?”
Lotar edged around the group and crossed the beach to the shore.
Tomorrow would begin the second half of their journey.
And the hardest cities yet.
Hazel would never meet his father.
They would part again.
Before Syrenka.
Nineteen
Having sex with Lotar changed everything.
They bade farewell to her new friends on Sanctuary Island.
Dannika and Ciran paced them into the ocean for a distance. She’d tried to convince her husband a little exercise would get labor started. He’d indulged her up to a point, and Dannika gave Hazel her final farewell hug.
“Take care of yourself. Your passion and resilience will see you through.” Dannika squeezed her and paddled her long, gorgeous fins back into Ciran’s arms. “You’re exactly who we need on this, Hazel. Increase your resonance and remember: You are enough.”
It gave her a warm feeling.
As Lotar entwined her in his arms and they descended, the warm feeling grew even hotter.
His body pressed to hers like a promise. She’d only begun to explore. And she had to increase her resonance, right?
Except this time, half the island’s worth of warriors accompanied them. Not exactly the time to say, Hey, can we take a quick break? I just have to put my soul mate’s cock in my mouth. Twenty minutes tops.
Lotar outpaced the other warriors as if he sensed her silent fascination. At a certain point, he curled his hand around her finger idly tracing his musculature and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. His cock pressed hard as a rock against her waist. So he felt it, all right.
What did guys always have to do? Relax, think deep thoughts, and solve quadratic equations or something.
They descended through the currents, through a veritable deluge of squids, and reached the underwater city of Lusca.
Once, it had been the most feared city in the ocean.
But now, it was kind of bedraggled.
A couple of small castles floated in the wreckage. One single giant castle remained, bobbing on its tether, and it had a big chunk taken out so it was open to the ocean. The Life Tree still glowed with soothing, tinkling comfort, but its stalk was kinked in the middle and the dais floated at an angle, so all the Sea Opals had poured off.
The city rested right on the lip of an underwater Grand Canyon.
“So where did they keep the kraken?” Hazel asked.
Lotar pointed to wrecked structures lining the canyon. “The mirror stone trapped her inside.”
“In there?”
“She was nearly too large to fit,” he confirmed.
What?
“How can she even move through the ocean?” Hazel asked. No wonder there was a tidal wave from her wake. Holy cow.
A welcome group conveyed them to the Life Tree.
“King Ankena and Queen Bex are assisting with something beneath the city,” their guide said. “They will meet you shortly to offer food and rest.”
Another night in public?
Hazel felt antsy. “We just ate. And rested. We don’t have to.”
“For the All-Cities Gyre, it is tradition,” Lotar murmured.
“Oh, fine.”
Lotar eyed her with a hint of amusement and a hardening cock. So at least she wasn’t in this alone.
After some time, a trio of warriors approached from beneath the city, and even though Hazel expected a king and queen, it took her a long second to realize one of the three was actually a woman.
“You!” The youngest warrior hefted his trident in a warning. “You. Syrenkan spy. Do not think to reveal Lusca’s vulnerability. My mother is a queen. She will tear you to pieces if you even try.”
Lotar moved more prominently between Hazel and the young warrior. He rippled with readiness.
“Luk,
” the queen vibrated quietly.
“Mother.” The young warrior stiffened. “I was greeting the foreigners.”
The older guy was his father, the king. “Lukiyo, that is not a greeting. It is a threat.”
“He’s a spy. The patrol told us.”
“The patrol reported what was repeated from the echo point.” King Ankena gripped the prince’s arm. “When you treat your allies as enemies, it weakens your bonds. I taught you better.”
Lukiyo’s chin wrinkled. “Well then, you should have been here when Grandfather was king.” He whirled and swam away.
King Ankena held out his empty hand.
His wife touched his hand, then kicked after her son. Her fins unfurled, and she zoomed off.
That’s what Hazel needed. Longer fins and zoom.
King Ankena closed his hand and faced them again. “My apologies, Atlantean warrior. My father ruled quite differently, and he taught my son much hatred in the time we were apart. Lukiyo is doing better, but when we encounter new situations, my father’s teachings often emerge.”
Lotar nodded—silent again—and drew Hazel into his arms. She rested comfortably against his relaxed body.
“This way.” King Ankena led them to the large, damaged, and well-patrolled castle. “Not much survived the kraken’s rising, but we offer what we have. This is the first time anyone has attempted the All-Cities Gyre since Lusca seceded, am I right?”
Lotar nodded a third time.
“It pleases me now to welcome you as the first. Of many, I hope. Here.” He brought out unique fruits and seasonings, different from what she’d eaten in Aiycaya and Sireno. “Let us feast and rejoice. To new beginnings.”
“Cheers,” Hazel said, and King Ankena smiled.
Prince Lukiyo returned with his mother later. He looked red-eyed and chagrined, and he was pretty nice to both Hazel and Lotar, even offering advice on where to find the best hunting grounds if they wanted to detour on their way to Newas.
“The Newas warriors always venture outside their city,” Lukiyo mentioned. “Especially after Dad stopped Lusca’s raids on travelers. But Grandfather never invaded the city, even with his giant squids. What’s your plan for getting inside?”
“Winging it,” Hazel said, and Lotar nodded.
“Maybe you can break in. If you have my mom’s powers.”
His mom tossed a fishbone into the air and lifted her hands. Her palms glowed. A wave as powerful and chaotic as the kraken’s wake propelled the bone across the castle and embedded it in the wall like a tossed knife.
Prince Lukiyo beamed with pride. “Can you do that?”
Well, she hadn’t done the other powers too well, so this was Hazel’s last chance to find her special groove. After dinner, she gave it a shot. Practicing with Luk’s mother, she got as good at it as she’d gotten at shielding or healing. She could float a drink down a bar, but she would not smash anything.
They passed a restful night in the castle, grabbed a breakfast snack, and hit the watery trail once more.
Prince Lukiyo and two of his friends escorted them to the edge of the city. “See you in a year.”
“Unless we have brides already,” his friend called.
“And we might take them to the party,” the third added.
“Bye!”
They whirled and headed back to the city.
She and Lotar carried on alone.
And yet Hazel couldn’t drag her mind away from Prince Lukiyo. “His grandfather must have been a piece of work.”
Lotar kicked silently.
“I suppose I’ll say the same thing in Syrenka.”
Silence.
But not the good, companionable kind. Tension vibrated off him.
“So…I didn’t want to bring this up before, but we will someday reach Syrenka, and there is a non-zero chance that I could be pregnant. We should probably discuss custody and next-of-kin and grandparents’ rights before we arrive. Um…”
“My father is not like the former king of Lusca. He is honorable.”
“Excuse me if I have my doubts.”
“He is a great leader. Well respected by his warriors and other cities. That was why the elders chose him for king.”
Record scratch.
“Chose?” Hazel repeated. “They chose him for king? It’s not hereditary?”
“It is. But if a king dies without a fit heir, the elders will choose another.”
So lineage wasn’t as important as it was in, say, medieval Europe. “Huh. And they chose your dad?”
“My father was well-respected. He had two sons, a rarity in Syrenka. I remember when he was chosen. Sometime after, he chose my brother as the official prince.”
There was that word again, chose. “The prince is always the oldest son?”
“No.” Lotar’s vibrations tightened. “He could have chosen me. Or both.”
But he hadn’t.
What a slap in the face.
She squeezed him a little tighter. “I don’t care what you say. He still sounds like a jerk.”
“The memories are not all bad. Especially before. When he was only a warrior and we were his sons.”
But he had to become a king and turn into a jerk. She stroked his pectorals. “What happened to the last king?”
“His prince died fighting a goliath dragonfish. The king followed shortly after of a broken heart.”
“Wow. Hey, did you know that they didn’t use to believe in ‘dying of a broken heart,’ but they did studies, and now they do?”
“It is common for soul mates to die in the same hour. A healthy warrior will sicken. His soul fades and is extinguished. We are linked.”
“Right. Linked.” She placed a kiss on his shoulder and teased him with her teeth. “Speaking of links—or vibrating?—what am I thinking about right now?”
He twirled in the water, separating them and startling a school of shimmering fish like a flock of birds. He drew them together again. “You will distract me.”
“It’s important,” she assured him, drawing him in with a teasing kiss that worked wonders on his hardening cock. “I’ve got queen powers, you see, but I can’t focus them, so we’ve got to increase our resonance.”
“Mmhm.” His skepticism was tempered by the increasingly demanding kisses.
“Yep, and we don’t know what’s going to happen in Newas, so it’s important from a safety standpoint that you fill me up with energy.”
He filled her with a lot more than energy.
But as they coasted up to Newas, the danger remained. Hazel was still herself, and she had no idea what was going to happen in Newas.
Twenty
Hazel was healing something deep inside Lotar.
She needed him—and kneaded him, inside and out—and every time their bodies connected, her bright spirit shone into the darkest part of his soul. And it turned out those dark parts were not as terrible as he remembered. With her, he could face them.
He would not part from her again.
They crossed the currents following whale migrations to Newas, a city new to him, and immediately tested his resolve.
The city nestled in a basin, protected on three sides by cliffs, and unlike cities such as Sireno that allowed empty castles to float in their city, the Newas warriors had pruned their empty castles away. They actively patrolled all parts of the city.
He must review its strengths, evaluate its weaknesses, and make an escape plan should they turn hostile. But how?
Hazel clung to him. “Wow, it looks like a balloon bouquet. Instead of growing in ever-widening circles around the Life Tree, these castles come up from almost the same stem. That’s neat. I wonder why?”
“Each city’s Life Tree is different in its own way.”
How could he take her with him on reconnaissance? This arrangement required all his skills, and he had only barely begun to teach her.
Pop.
She made a noise with her mouth.
The nearest guards looke
d in their direction.
Pop. Pop.
The guards moved together into a unit formation.
“What are you doing?” he murmured. There was a short time before he had to decide whether to enter the city blindly, and she shortened that time.
“Theater exercises.” Hazel stretched her mouth and hummed. “I’m lifting my energy to convince the Newas king we’re friendly, the party is going to be awesome, and they definitely want to go. Also that you’re not a spy so we can go in together.”
The guards approached.
Lotar’s guts tightened. He had forgotten the rumors circulating the echo points. Even though he had announced them at every echo point including the one closest to Newas, giving ample warning, and he’d heard the rumors repeated, they hadn’t bothered him as deeply as before. With Hazel in his arms, nothing cut quite as sharply.
Unlike Aiycaya and Lusca, Newas had no reason to be friendly.
“And make the best shield so we don’t get hurt. All right.” Hazel patted his chest. “Ready or not, here we go.”
He swam forward with her to meet the guards in the middle of the basin. Before the guards could demand who he was, he announced them, the same as at the echo point. And it was as hard as at the first echo point, announcing his presence when he spent so much of his time trying to hide it, but with Hazel against his side, waving at the guards, he pushed through.
The guards traded looks.
So, they were expected.
The leader pointed his trident at Lotar. “You may enter, Atlantis warrior. But you.” He pointed the trident at Hazel. “May not.”
Lotar’s lips parted, and he looked as surprised as she felt.
“What?” But she’d been practicing her arguments since the last echo point. “Why not?”
“The king refuses entry to a human. Only a fool travels the open ocean with a bride.”
Lotar growled softly. “She is a mer queen.”
A little shock went through Hazel’s veins. A little zip of excitement.
That’s right. She was a queen. Her powers weren’t much compared to the other queens, but she did have powers, and that was more than she could have said months ago. Right?