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

by Starla Night

  The Newas head guard didn’t blink. “She must not use her powers in the city.”

  Lotar’s fingers curled around her upper arm. “We cannot part.”

  “He’s right,” she said. “I always end up in trouble.”

  “She will not come to any harm,” the head guard told Lotar. “My warriors will defend her.”

  Lotar glared at them, and his unspoken question nearly deafened her.

  Who would defend her from the warriors?

  Man, look at how far they’d come. Once, he would have tried to stash her in a quiet spot and do the whole mission himself. These past few…days?…he’d changed completely. From the moment he’d stopped avoiding her at Sanctuary Island, they were a team.

  And sometimes being a team meant compromising.

  “Hey. It’s okay.” Hazel patted Lotar’s arm and wiggled free of his grasp. Her toes extended into little proto-fins. “We don’t both have to go. You can give the king the message.”

  He caught her fingers. “You are also a traveler on the All-Cities Gyre.”

  “I know. I’ll use the time to practice my powers. And power ballads. We’re linked, so if anything happens, I’ll call. You trust me, right?”

  “I trust.” He pressed her fingers to his chest. “Do not be deceived by kindness. If you are in danger, act.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. If I need to mace-Tase someone, I won’t hesitate.”

  He released her and faced the warriors. “If she is hurt, I will kill every warrior in this city before you raise a single alarm. Do you understand?”

  The warriors straightened, rigid.

  The leader sneered. “I thought Syrenka warriors did not waste so many words.”

  Lotar stared him down. The implication was that he had wasted no words. This was a final warning.

  What a sweetheart.

  Deadly and loving, like a shark.

  The head guard swallowed and ordered half his unit to block her. The rest surrounded Lotar and led him into the city. He rounded the curve of the nearest castle, swimming toward the glow of the Life Tree inside, and disappeared.

  Hazel was capable, and Lotar trusted her.

  But parting was a mistake.

  He instinctively evaluated the warriors and the readiness of the city to defend against a foreign force—the All-Council, the kraken, or him—as he followed the Newas first lieutenant.

  The first lieutenant stopped at the entrance to the king’s castle. “Leave your weapons.”

  Ha.

  Lotar rested his hand on his dagger pommel.

  The warriors tensed.

  The first lieutenant’s nostrils flared. “Disarm.”

  “Am I a prisoner? Or a guest?”

  “You are a…” The first lieutenant gritted his teeth and unsheathed his dagger. “Disarm. Now.”

  Lotar pulled his daggers from his sheaths and rested them along with his trident on the hard green surface.

  There were innumerable ways to take another warrior’s weapon. And he knew them all.

  The other warriors spread out, giving him a wide berth, as though he were more dangerous unarmed. They led him through the long entrance corridor into the courtyard of the ancient castle.

  The king floated in the middle of the courtyard. Elders and advisers floated behind the king.

  “This is Lotar of Atlantis,” the first lieutenant announced. “Formerly of Syrenka. He is unarmed, as you requested, my king.”

  “A dishonorable spy.” The king crossed his arms. “You realized approaching us by stealth was impossible. That is why we captured you so easily. No one enters Newas undetected. We are not tricked by the overblown reputation of Syrenka.”

  The king’s bicep dagger was slung low, nearly down to his elbow, and he wore a decorative blade on the same side thigh. Both were easy to reach.

  If necessary.

  “Well, say something,” the king demanded. “You are not made of ice.”

  “My queen and I travel the All-Cities Gyre.” Lotar spoke with soft, incisive vibrations. “You have an ancient duty—”

  “Bah.” The king waved away his message. “You have come to kidnap noble Newas warriors for your anathema city, Atlantis.”

  “False.”

  “You lie! You have kidnapped our beloved warrior Tial and keep him under guard. Now you are here to take more warriors!”

  Warrior Tial had escaped to Atlantis right after its founding. He was a thoughtful young warrior who had quickly made friends. The warriors of Newas had tried on multiple occasions to kidnap him back, and he had fought his way to freedom.

  Despite Tial’s firm dedication to Atlantis, the Newas king had continued to send warriors to kidnap him back. Now, he accused Lotar of his own crime.

  “Listen, spy.” The king raised a bony finger. “You will leave Newas and guide my warriors into Atlantis. We will reclaim our warrior and return him to Newas where he belongs.”

  Lotar’s muscles tightened. “The next city on the All-Cities Gyre is Oria, not Atlantis.”

  “Refuse and you will die.”

  Hazel would have reasoned with this king. She would have tried to convince him of the truth.

  But Lotar?

  “Come to the Atlantis platform in two years,” Lotar said softly. “And take him back yourself.”

  Twenty-One

  Lotar must be having a nice, reasonable conversation with the king.

  Hazel twirled on her fin-toes and tried not to sigh. She should have prepped him with arguments she’d been practicing on their swim. Not that he needed it. He was a male of few words, but the words he used were perfect.

  She practiced her shield. The color was faint and weak. She pushed, and her fingers went through like pushing through a bubble.

  The guards studied her with unabashed curiosity.

  She flicked her fingers to make the bubble pop and go away. “You know, we’re both on the All-Cities Gyre. If you won’t let me in, that’s like a violation. You’re going down in history as the only city that wouldn’t let us stay the night. Is that how you want Newas to be remembered?”

  Nobody answered.

  She felt like the kid left after school waiting for her mom while everybody else had gone home. “Are any of you coming to the party? It’s going to be great. Everybody will be there.”

  They didn’t react to her practice speech.

  Oh well.

  She practiced the other part. “Ommm.”

  Yeah, that was the right pitch.

  It tickled the edge of her range like the princess in Space Balls singing “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” Which wasn’t exactly a power ballad.

  But since she was bored…

  When she’d been in high school, her mom had gotten a pack of old movies, and Hazel had ended up obsessively watching Flash Dance. Even though she had no dancing talent, the idea of chasing her dreams—like the main character going from a welder to a dancer—had made an impact. Forget Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear. She was a maniac, maniac…

  Hey, were her fingers glowing a little more? Cool.

  Hazel hummed that final song, “What a Feeling.” Now there was a power ballad. She’d loved that so much as a kid. Maybe her friends were onto something.

  Dance like nobody’s watching…

  “What are you doing?” one warrior asked.

  Oh, yeah, except like five were watching.

  She twirled back to them. “Yeah, I’m practicing for the party where your moms will be.”

  The warriors murmured.

  “Moms?” the warrior repeated.

  Another shushed him.

  “I told you. Everyone’s going to be there, including your mom. All of your moms.” She played with the glowing sparkles from her fingertips. Like having a Lite Brite for nails. “Probably. Hey, you want me to teach you a party dance? I was pretty good at the electric slide. And the Macarena.”

  The warriors stiffened. Faces paled. Jaws dropped in shock. One warrior grabbed an
other.

  She dropped her hands from her waist and didn’t even do the hip roll. “Hey, come on. It’s not that bad.”

  A warrior used a shaking hand to point over her shoulder.

  Huh?

  She turned.

  A sideways mountain filled the formerly empty basin. It had the rough shape of Merriam Peak in Idaho, with a sharp point flooding out into a massive body that supported two domed eyes. Masses of tentacles fluttered in front of her. They were uncomfortably large, thicker than California redwoods, and uncomfortably herky-jerky, as if they moved too fast for her to see and she was only getting a strobe effect. They parted to reveal not one, but three squid beaks.

  It was the kraken.

  Holy moly. Hazel linked her fingers. “Hi.”

  The creature was Cthulhu on steroids.

  “Come here often?”

  The kraken’s eyes didn’t blink. She hovered. A doom blimp. And Hazel was supposed to charm her away before she did any harm.

  Right. Okay. Dannika had told her.

  “Ommmm.”

  One of the massive tentacles slithered over the coral and hooked around the anchor cable of one castle. The castle jostled dangerously. The warriors behind her whimpered.

  Yeah, that wasn’t good.

  “Um, hey. How did you sneak up on me? I’m impressed. You could give Lotar lessons on stealth.” Hazel laughed awkwardly.

  The kraken toyed with the castle. The anchor creaked. The Life Tree made a discordant noise that echoed like chalkboard screeches in Hazel’s chest.

  Okay, she had to be awesome right now. Increase her energy. And Zen chants weren’t her thing.

  “Why don’t you take your tentacles back to yourself and, uh, let’s talk.”

  The castle creaked again.

  “No talking.” She had to get her energy up. Hazel flexed her fingers. Energy. Dance around in her underwear like Tom Cruise. Belt out songs in the shower. Anything before the kraken ripped up the whole city with the flick of a tentacle.

  She was a queen.

  A…queen…

  Queen…

  She closed her eyes. Not enough alcohol. Hazel pretended to clear her throat, put an imaginary microphone up to her lips, and mouthed the words emotionally as she vibrated one of her favorite karaoke songs. She never got a good score, but nobody cared because they were screaming along with her.

  And it was pretty likely that the kraken had never heard “Bohemian Rhapsody” before.

  She finished all four movements, rocking out as necessary, and it was kind of fun. The castle stopped creaking. She finished and dared to open her eyes.

  The kraken had rotated to stare her in the face.

  As in, the tentacles had tipped down and the mountain had tipped up. Like, What in the world are you doing? if the kraken could talk.

  Haha. Ha…

  But the tentacle had also released the castle, so that was good.

  The one warrior who’d been charged with getting Lotar if anything should go wrong zoomed into the city. Only about ten minutes too late, seriously.

  Hazel put on her best grin. “If you liked that, I’ve got a whole set of favorites I usually do. I could just—”

  The kraken whirled and jetted away.

  Success!

  Or, um, something. Karaoke wasn’t for everyone.

  One way or another, Hazel had saved the city, which was all that mattered—

  And then the wall of water hit.

  Twenty-Two

  “How dare you refuse me!” The king shook with anger. “Listen. The entire city knows you are lying.”

  The castles made odd creaking noises, and the Life Tree jangled with discomfort.

  “You see?” the king demanded.

  Lotar barely heard him.

  When his mind reached for Hazel, he sensed something like surprise and determination. The creaking stopped, and the city grew quiet. Whatever was happening outside, she was handling it.

  “You quaver in silence. Where is the vaunted Syrenkan spy? Where is your stealth that you are so proud of? You will use these skills, if you have them, to lead our warrior back to his home, or you will never leave here alive.” The king snarled at him. “Answer!”

  Very well.

  Lotar had delivered the party invitation. His next move would not please Hazel, but the Newas warriors would be even more sorry they had not allowed her inside their city.

  Lotar darted forward, slipping between the guards nearest the king, and grappled him around the neck.

  The king choked in surprise.

  The guards rushed to where Lotar had been a moment ago, then tracked on his new location with bristling fury.

  “Release my king,” the first lieutenant growled.

  Lotar flicked the dagger from the king’s bicep up to his hand and rested the blade against the king’s neck. He pressed the thigh dagger into the small of the king’s back. “No.”

  The king froze. “Wh-what do you want?”

  “The vaunted Syrenkan spy has doubts about Newas hospitality,” he murmured. “You will escort me to the city’s edge and apologize for your treatment of my queen.”

  “Yes. My treatment was wrong. Forgive me.”

  Lotar tsked. “Apologize to her.”

  The king gestured for his guards to clear the way. They fell back reluctantly, poised to attack. Lotar eased forward, aware on all sides of how close the guards were, and held the gaze of the first lieutenant, who alone looked as though he was gathering himself to attack. They let him pass. He kept the king between them and kicked slowly backward.

  “Now I understand why you wanted her to enter,” the king muttered bitterly. “You will assassinate me, install yourself as ruler, and use her mythic powers to lull my warriors into a false obedience.”

  “Hazel does not use her powers to soothe others.” Lotar approached the exit. “She uses her powers to soothe me.”

  The king made the mistake of catching his gaze. And whatever he saw there made him pale and tremble.

  Good.

  Lotar preferred not to show his true feelings.

  But this one time, he enjoyed letting the king sense the depths of his icy rage.

  A warrior burst into the castle in a panic. “The kraken! She is here. She is here!”

  His stomach dropped.

  Hazel was outside.

  The warrior pulled up in front of them. “My king?”

  Lotar released the king, whirled, and kicked to the exit.

  The king shouted, “Guards!”

  He did not feel nervous. Strange. Shouldn’t he?

  Were they not connected?

  Guards blocked the entrance.

  He lifted the king’s daggers to fight his way through.

  “No, not him.” The king gestured to the exit. “Defend the city from the monster!”

  The guards milled in confusion.

  Lotar jetted through, and the guards shouted and swam after him. In their panicked minds, one warrior was much easier to deal with than a mythic beast. But Lotar had to escape before the kraken triggered the castle defenses, and—

  The ceiling slammed into him.

  Outside, the view tilted. The castle bent. The Newas Life Tree turned sideways in a violent current. The view shrank as the castle sealed itself against the threat.

  Uh-oh.

  “Back!” the guards behind him shouted. “To the courtyard. Come back!”

  But he couldn’t retreat to safety.

  He kicked and crawled across the ceiling, moving through the rapidly closing entrance tube to the orifice as it closed.

  Curse it.

  The rest of the tube squished around him, tightening into a choking embrace. He expanded his ribs and held out his elbows to fight the crush.

  The city groaned and flattened. His elbows slipped. Spots danced, and his vision blackened…

  And the black receded.

  The orifice opened a crack. The castle was floating upright again. The tube behind him lo
osened as the entrance opened.

  “To battle!” The king’s voice echoed. “Assemble and attack on my command.”

  Lotar barreled out the orifice—and into another Newas warrior trying to barrel his way in.

  “The queen defeated—ah.” The Newas warrior pushed past him and jetted down the entry tube. “My king. The female defeated the kraken!”

  She did?

  Lotar flew through the disorganized warriors and bouncing unsettled castles to the edge of the city.

  Hazel floated in the middle of a small group of warriors. A translucent white shield encased them like a bubble.

  He gripped the daggers, ready to slash his way to her.

  But she saw him, and the bubble disappeared. She laughed. “Oh, Lotar! I defeated the kraken with my ‘queen’ powers. By which I mean, Queen defeated the kraken. Haha, I’m not making any sense. I’m all shaken up.”

  She was alive.

  His heart thudded hard and loud. He pulled up sharply.

  She flew into his arms. “Thank God you’re all right.”

  Her heartbeat matched his.

  He crushed her to his chest, careful to orient the daggers so they faced away from her soft, vital body. Her hair swirled around his face like a shield. He squeezed his eyes tight so no one saw this very private, very real moment of relief.

  “You won’t believe what happened,” she vibrated, her hands splayed over his shoulders. “I was trying to remember the words to my favorite karaoke songs, and the kraken showed up without a sound. It was amazing. She’s stealthier than you are. And I—”

  He lifted her chin with the pommel of the king’s dagger and pressed his lips to hers.

  All his relief, all his gratitude, was poured into that kiss.

  She was safe. She was alive. She was his queen.

  He would never leave her again.

  Finally, the noise of the gathered Newas warriors impinged on his communion, and he pulled back.

  Hazel’s chest glowed with strength. She smiled, pleased, and squeezed him again. “Anyway, then we got hit with the wake, and I made a shield. It was only big enough to protect the few of us, though. I have to try harder for next time. The city almost flew away.” Her lips quirked to the side, and she rotated in his arms to face the others—including the king. “Even though you kept me out, I saved you. You’re welcome.”