Hidden Depths

by L. M. Brown

  “Is that Treacle barking?” Kyle asked.

  “It must be,” Finn replied. “I doubt there are any more dogs on the island.”

  “A dog?” King Nereus asked.

  Finn called out for Treacle to come to him as Kyle did his best to explain about the human affection for the animals that were known as man’s best friend.

  Treacle, who usually came to Finn more than even Jake, ignored his shouts. Finn quickened his pace as Kyle and King Nereus hurried to catch him up.

  As they approached the house, Finn continued to call for the dog and finally Treacle came charging down the path toward them, barking loudly.

  “What is it, boy?” Finn asked.

  Treacle continued to yap as he ran ahead, then back to the men, seemingly trying to encourage them to go faster.

  When they reached the house, Treacle ran around the side to the back door, where he continued to bark while jumping up at the handle. The dog barely even noticed the others arriving behind him.

  Finn tried to open the door, but found it locked.

  “Let’s go back around the front,” Kyle suggested.

  Finn encouraged Treacle to come away from the door and they all went back to the other side of the house.

  Kyle had an uneasy feeling as Finn slowly opened the front door. “Finn, wait! Where’s Jake? He wouldn’t leave Treacle running around on his own in a strange place. If he’d gone exploring the island, he’d take Treacle with him.”

  “I don’t know,” Finn said, “but I’m going to find out.”

  “What if there are wild animals on the island?” Kyle asked. “Maybe he’s been hurt by one.”

  “I didn’t see any dangerous creatures last night,” Finn replied. “And none of the mer came back to the colony with injuries or anything like that.”

  “That doesn’t mean there aren’t any.”

  “If Jake had been injured, surely Treacle would be with him?”

  Kyle guessed Finn was right, but he still didn’t like this. “Be careful.”

  “Stop,” King Nereus said. “I’ll go first.”

  “But—” Finn argued.

  “Step aside,” King Nereus ordered.

  Finn did as his father asked, picking up the struggling Treacle and moving out of the way.

  Kyle also let the king pass into the house first.

  “Otus is here,” King Nereus said in a low tone.

  “How can you tell?” Finn asked.

  “He’s close enough that I can hear his thoughts.”

  “Can you hear Jake’s?” Kyle questioned.

  The king shook his head. “No, just Otus. Jake has not sworn any vows of allegiance to me and his mind is therefore closed to me. Clearly the guards didn’t escort Otus far enough away.”

  Kyle wondered how far King Nereus’ power to hear thoughts stretched. Can he hear everyone on the island or do they have to be nearby?

  “Nearby,” King Nereus replied to the unspoken question.

  “You do know it’s extremely annoying when you do that?” Kyle said. “Between Jake and the various immortals who keep popping in, there are way too many people in my head already, without my father-in-law poking in there, too.”

  King Nereus chuckled. “Father-in-law? I think I like the sound of that. I promise I do stay out of people’s heads most of the time. I picked up on your thoughts because I was trying to scan a little farther to establish whether Otus was alone. I believe he is.”

  Kyle hoped the king did refrain from reading minds generally. He didn’t want the intimidating merman hearing his more intimate thoughts about his son.

  King Nereus shot him an amused glance. “I don’t want to hear those thoughts either, so try to focus on the problem at hand, please.”

  Finn snickered from behind them.

  “You should wait outside,” Kyle said.

  “Not a chance,” Finn replied. “I don’t need to be protected. I can take care of myself.”

  “Quiet!” King Nereus ordered.

  Kyle and Finn immediately obeyed and Kyle heard what the king had already picked up. Kyle pointed to the door leading to the dining room and kitchen. “Through there,” he mouthed.

  King Nereus nodded and strode over to the door. Kyle and Finn were right on his heels.

  “Jake!” Treacle escaped from Finn’s arms as Finn ran to his lover, who was passed out just inside the back door.

  Kyle took two steps toward Jake before he felt something prod him in the back.

  “Stop right there,” Otus said.

  Kyle froze, recognizing the sharp point of a spear at his lower back. Sending a lone merman out into the ocean without a weapon was tantamount to a death sentence. Obviously, the guards who had escorted Otus away from the colony had decided he could keep the spear.

  “He’s still breathing,” Finn said.

  Kyle relaxed a little at Finn’s words.

  Jake groaned and opened his eyes. “What the fuck?” he mumbled.

  Treacle licked his face and Jake moaned, this time in a ‘yuck, don’t do that’ sort of way.

  “Hey,” Finn said. “Welcome back.”

  Jake sat up slowly and rubbed the back of his head.

  Kyle stepped forward again, only to find Otus jabbing him in the back again.

  “Not so fast,” Otus warned.

  “You!” Jake shot to his feet—way too fast, from the way he was swaying.

  “Otus did this to you?” Finn guessed.

  “Yeah. The bastard must have knocked me out when I turned my back on him.”

  Finn snorted. “Well, that was a bloody stupid thing to do, wasn’t it?”

  “Apparently so,” Jake replied. “A mistake I won’t make again.”

  King Nereus ignored Otus entirely and walked over to Jake. “It’s good to see you again. I’m glad to have the opportunity of thanking you properly again for opening your home to the mer. I’m sorry your kindness has been repaid in this manner.” The king pointed his trident at Otus, though Kyle hoped he wouldn’t use it while he stood between the two of them.

  “You dare to attack the mate of His Royal Highness Prince Finn, second in line to the throne of Atlantis and all the waters of the world?”

  The use of Finn’s full title told Kyle the king was furious with Otus, even more than he had been when he’d banished him a few hours ago.

  Otus sneered at Jake. “He’s a human. He shouldn’t even know we exist.”

  “Kyle, step aside,” King Nereus said.

  Although he could still feel the spear at his back, Kyle didn’t dare disobey an order from the king. He eased his way over to Finn and Jake, standing between them and taking their hands in his own.

  With an accuracy Kyle envied, King Nereus shot sea-fire from his trident, hitting the spear directly.

  Otus dropped his weapon and shook his hands as though they had been burned.

  “You know the punishment for striking a member of the royal family?” King Nereus asked. “Oh, of course you do. You reminded me of it when you reported what you’d seen last night, didn’t you?”

  “Last night?” Jake whispered. “Did I miss something?”

  Kyle glared at Otus. “Seems we had a visitor last night, one who watched us in the bedroom before going back to King Nereus to tell him what he’d seen.”

  Jake gasped and turned to Finn. “Are you okay, baby?”

  Finn nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. A bit embarrassed, but I’m dealing with it.”

  Kyle gave Finn a quick kiss on the cheek. “We’re dealing with it together, right?”

  Finn smiled and hugged Kyle briefly.

  Jake leaned around Kyle to pat Finn on the shoulder. “If I’d known about this creep, I’d have been a lot more cautious or I’d have decked him on sight.”

  King Nereus appeared to be waiting for them to finish their conversation. He gave them a mildly impatient stare.

  “Sorry, Father,” Finn said. “Carry on.”

  The king returned his attention to Otus.
“The penalty for striking a member of the royal family is banishment from the oceans of the world, or in extreme cases, death.”

  “That human isn’t a member of the royal family,” Otus argued.

  “As Prince Finn’s mate, he is,” King Nereus replied. “You are hereby charged with harming a member of the royal family and I banish you from all the oceans of the world.”

  Finn coughed. “Can he at least go back in the water long enough to get off this island? I don’t know about the others, but I don’t want him hanging around here.”

  King Nereus nodded. “Otus, you have one month to swim for the land of humans. If you’re still in the water when that time is up, I’ll know, and I’ll view your prolonged presence as an act of defiance punishable by death.”

  “You can’t do that!” Otus argued.

  “I can and I will.” King Nereus gestured to the door with his trident. “I would suggest you swim fast, Otus, because one month isn’t as long as you might think.”

  Otus scrambled for the door, casting one last poisonous look at Kyle and his lovers.

  “Good riddance,” Finn called after him.

  Treacle, who appeared to agree, chased after Otus, barking and growling as he saw him from the premises.

  “Do you think he’ll go to land?” Jake asked. “Can you tell if he doesn’t?”

  “Oh, I can tell, but it would take a lot of energy to do so. As long as whoever has been banished doesn’t show their face again, I don’t tend to check up on them.” King Nereus shot Kyle and Finn a glance. “Unless they’re family, of course. When I couldn’t sense Finn in the ocean after he left, I thought I’d lost him forever.”

  Finn hurried to his father. “Not forever, Father.”

  “For which I am eternally grateful,” King Nereus said. “When you swam back into my audience chamber that day, I thanked every god and goddess of Atlantis for bringing you back to me.”

  From the corner of his eye, Kyle could see Jake rubbing his head. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Jake moaned but nodded. “Yeah. I suspect I’m going to have a bit of a headache, but I’ll be fine.”

  Kyle nudged him to one of the large comfy chairs in the living area. “Come and sit down so I can take a look at it.”

  Jake seemed as though he might argue, but one glare from Kyle had him scurrying to a seat and meekly letting Kyle examine his head.

  “You have a nice home here,” King Nereus said as he gazed around the room.

  “Courtesy of Caspian, God of Justice,” Jake replied. “He thought I might find this preferable to living in an underwater cave.”

  “You were going to live in the caves?”

  Jake smiled over at his lovers. “I go where Kyle and Finn go.”

  Finn squeezed in beside him and smiled. “I don’t think you’d like the caves much, but you will have to visit them.”

  “We’ll get you swimming at depths before you know it,” Kyle added.

  “And what of you two?” King Nereus asked. “Where are you intending to make your homes? Here or in the caves?”

  “Here!” Finn replied without hesitation.

  “He’s been very spoiled with human amenities during his time in England,” Kyle teased.

  “And you haven’t?” Finn countered.

  Jake laughed. “You’ve both been spoiled.”

  King Nereus gave them all an indulgent smile. “Well, since the three of you seem to have made up your minds already, I’ll leave you to settle into your new home. I hope you won’t mind my visiting occasionally.”

  “You’ll always be welcome,” Finn said. “We can introduce you to human foods.”

  King Nereus smiled. “That would be interesting, but not today. There is much to do in the caverns and I should return there.”

  “We’ll come and help,” Kyle said.

  “No, you stay here. I know you three will have a lot to catch up on, and I suspect there was little talking taking place last night.”

  Kyle’s face heated and he could see his lovers’ faces were equally flushed. King Nereus didn’t need to read their minds to know some things. King Nereus smiled knowingly and let himself out.

  Jake patted his lap and Kyle needed no more invitation than that to slide onto it.

  Finn snuggled up against Jake’s other side.

  This was how it was meant to be. Their ménage finally reunited once more. He vowed that nothing would separate them again.

  Epilogue

  Jake filled his days by working in his garden, a task he found to be fulfilling and enjoyable.

  Kyle and Finn sometimes joined him, but more often than not, their work required them to be in the caverns with the rest of the merpeople.

  Word had spread throughout the oceans of the new colony and more merpeople were arriving every day.

  They had located ground suitable for growing sea fruits, but until the first harvest, times would be tough. Jake’s crops would be essential in the coming months. As such, he was never short of helpers, with several of the gatherers working alongside him.

  Today, however, the garden could wait.

  The beach was crowded with merpeople and humans, many of them having been brought to the island for a temporary visit by Medina and the other immortals.

  “This isn’t actually a temple,” Medina pointed out.

  “It doesn’t have to be,” Caspian replied impatiently.

  “But it would be nice,” Medina said. “Maybe a little shrine over in the clearing.”

  “No,” Caspian snapped. “Now, is everyone here?”

  Jake nodded. Although he had no birth family present himself, his two lovers did.

  King Nereus was there, along with Malcolm and Coral, the former queen of Atlantis. They were all doing their best to stay out of each other’s way, rather than risk causing upset for Finn on his special day. Finn’s brother Alex stood beside him, with Summer and their young twins just behind them.

  Lynna and her family were also close by and Medina had even tracked down Kyle’s mother and brought her to the colony for the occasion. Kyle had expressed his hope that she would stay permanently.

  Jake, Finn and Kyle stood before Medina in a triangle, holding each other’s hands.

  The churches Jake had attended growing up might not accept their relationship, but the Atlantean gods had no such reservations. Medina had been delighted when they had approached her to ask whether she might consider officiating over the ceremony.

  Jake spoke the words after Medina, recognizing the concept of marriage, even though the words were somewhat different to the more traditional ceremony. He didn’t mind in the least. Theirs wasn’t a traditional relationship, after all.

  Kyle spoke his words second and punctuated each sentence with a squeeze of his hand.

  Finn went third, his voice sure and steady as his gaze flitted between Kyle and Jake.

  “I now declare you married,” Medina said, her voice cracking a little as she dabbed her eyes daintily.

  The three of them hugged and exchanged—for them—a very chaste three-way kiss, before their guests crowded around them to offer their congratulations.

  Jake was aware their marriage might not be recognized around the world, but here, among their friends and family, it was, and for Jake and his two husbands, that was all that mattered.

  Also available from Pride Publishing:

  One Perfect Wish

  L.M. Brown

  Excerpt

  Chapter One

  Scott Baxter woke with a strange feeling something wasn’t quite right. Half asleep and with his eyes still closed, he tried to figure out what could be different. The bed seemed too soft and far more luxurious than the cheap hotel mattress he vaguely recalled crashing on the night before. A thick duvet covered him and he could feel warmth similar to the heat that usually came from another body close up against him. He couldn’t recall ever waking in a hotel with such contentment as he felt this morning.

  After working nearly
forty-eight hours straight, he had flown back to England on the red eye, practically sleepwalked to a taxi, then had finally fallen into bed exhausted. Long overdue for a break, he told himself he’d take one after his latest consulting project had been completed. He told himself the same thing every time, even though he knew his boss would have another job lined up for him before the final work had been finished on this one.

  “Morning,” a sleepy voice murmured into his ear.

  Scott froze. His unexpected bedmate moved and Scott noticed he had some serious morning wood pressed against his arse.

  He opened his eyes. Only his companion’s arm wrapped around Scott’s chest stopped him falling out of bed from the shock. Had the relentless pressure of his job finally caused him to snap?

  The hotel room had vanished and instead he appeared to be in someone’s house. The drapes over the patio doors had been pulled back and a snow-covered garden stretched toward a frozen pond. Light snow fell from the cloudy sky. The landscape outside the doors seemed more like January than May.

  “Scott, are you okay?”

  Scott didn’t know what to say. Had he been drugged and kidnapped? And if so, why? He wasn’t anyone important and his family didn’t have the money to pay any ransom.

  “Ah good, you’re awake,” a second voice said. Like the first, this voice also belonged to a man, though he seemed to have a slight accent Scott couldn’t place.

  Scott wondered how many men he had climbed into bed with last night, before he saw the second speaker stood at the end of the bed with his arms folded across his bare chest. With baggy silk trousers and golden metal cuffs on his wrists, he could have stepped straight out of Arabian Nights.

  “What the hell is going on?” Scott shouted as he tried to untangle himself from the arms of the man sharing his bed. His companion wasn’t exactly helping him and instead seemed to be frozen in place like a statue. He poked the man with a finger. His skin felt normal, yet the other man didn’t react at all.

  “You’re here to fulfill a wish,” the man at end of the bed told him. “I’m a djinn and I’m here to explain your present situation.”